Chronicles of the Glow

Chapters

Chapter 2: Names
Chapter 4: Friendship
Chapter 6: The Cursed
Chapter 7: Every Coin...
Chapter 8: Streams of Weakness
Chapter 9: The Inevitable Truth
Chapter 1: Beacon
Chapter 3: Talent
Chapter 5: The Heart

Chapter 2: Names

Chronicles of the Glow
Written by: Rusty Parker

Edited by: Wanderwing

2
Names

Keeping low to the ground, the cyan unicorn made his way around the corner, not wanting the falling of his hooves on the stone to make any noise. He kept his eyes trained forward, looking through the hedge that encircled the park as he moved slowly around the interior. He did his best to avoid brushing up against the bushes, doing everything he could to keep them from moving. With the tall brick wall on one side and only the narrow area between the hedges, though, he couldn’t hope to keep his movement from transferring to the bush. He tried none the less, only hoping that nopony would notice.

Inhaling slowly, he brought himself to a stop somewhat in the center of the small passageway he had discovered. He looked over his shoulder nervously, not knowing whether the location was safe. Was there anypony even out there? Could he really have gotten away? His mind raced as his curiosity soon began to overtake his worry. He decided that there was no real risk in taking a peak through the bushes, barely able to bear not knowing any longer. He sat down and, very slowly, moved the branches of the bush away, trying to clear an area for him to see through. With some shuffling of leaves, he winced, but was able to see at the very least.

There were a few ponies passing by, their legs the only thing visible on them other than the tips of their tails through the bush. He pulled his head out, sighing in relief at having gone unnoticed. He had apparently gotten away, though he hadn’t been too sure up till now. He pulled his hooves away from the bush, slowly, not wanting them to move too quickly when he released them. They were practically spring loaded, and if he simply let them go they’d surely make enough sound and movement to give him away.

His thoughts were interrupted by a flurry of yellow flying through the bush where he was still holding the branches apart. “I found you!” it yelled, as the orange manned colt pined himself against the wall in fear. The branches he’d been holding not a second ago whipped together, smacking the yellow and gray assailant out of view. He blinked twice before realizing what had happened, and was through the bush the moment his fear subsided.

“Ditzy!” he shouted, unsure of if she was alright. She had backed up a few feet, and was rubbing her snout with a single hoof, her eyes closed. “Are you alright, Ditzy? Are you hurt?” he asked, his voice cracking as he tried to remain calm. “I’m so sorry! Please don’t be mad, you scared me!” he blurted out, not able to contain the fear in his heart. She was whimpering under her breath, looking down with tears brimming in her eyes. Oh no, he thought, she’s not alright. I hurt her, my only friend and I-.

She fell backwards, her hoofs in the air as she laughed uncontrollably. She was barely able to breath, her laughter keeping her from inhaling much air. “Y-you jumped,” she was able to let out before being overtaken by laughter again. She let it out, finally continuing when it subsided, “You jumped! You jumped so far back I thought you‘d break the wall!” She let out another burst of laughter, the thought bringing her becoming no less comical as she stated it. He thought back to it, and began to laugh too. It was pretty ridiculous, getting that frightened from a game of hide and seek.

The laughter soon subsided, and the orange headed colt looked toward the clock tower, concerned suddenly about the time. It was about six thirty-seven. It would be dark around eight, and he looked toward Ditzy with a frown. “We can’t play anymore, Ditzy. We have to go back to the shop… It’ll be dark soon.” he let out in a low voice, looking down at her with sad eyes. Ditzy got up, rolling over onto her hooves.

She nudged him with her shoulder reassuringly. “Don’t worry, me and Daddy will be back sometime soon, I’m sure,” said Ditzy, subconsciously knowing the colt’s reason for being upset about this. She offered him a smile, and he returned it. They both began to walk back toward the center of town, where the shop was located. The buildings around them were all single story, and they were able to see their destination from where they were simply by looking up. They walked for a while before a thought came to Ditzy. “Say, you haven’t told me your name yet. What is it?” she asked, suddenly stopping as she came to this realization.

The colt stopped in his tracks, looking up at the clock tower with a blank face. How was he going to explain this? He knew their town was very different, knew it had its reasons, but he still felt that in telling her, he’d be talking down on his fellow ponies. “I…” he trailed off, still looking up at the tower. “I don’t have a name.” Ditzy tilted her head, plainly confused. From the corner of his eye the colt saw this, and turned to her, inhaling for an explanation.

“Beacon is a very different place than Canterlot or Ponyville, we have different ways of doing things…” he began, stopping as he thought of how he should explain this further. Ditzy still looked confused, her head seeming to tilt a little further to the side with every word. “Your daddy told you about how we have monsters in the forest, right?” he asked. She nodded slowly, still not quite sure where this was going. “Well, those monsters are still out there. We can’t leave, and others can’t come in. Being a unicorn or an earth pony here is like being in a trap,” he explained. Ditzy looked back at her wings, and flapped them twice. She turned back to her unnamed friend with a frown.

“Well, because of that we’re stuck here. Those monsters, they keep pushing, and if we don’t push back, we’ll be doomed,” he said, looking down to the ground now. He had sat down, and as he began, his eyes still were locked on the ground, “We aren’t given our names until we can prove ourselves to be useful,” he looked up to her, “We have to get our cutie marks as soon as possible, and it was decided a long time ago that we don’t get to have names until we do.”

“But that’s wrong! Everypony needs a name, how could they take that away from you?” Ditzy exclaimed, tears welling in her eyes. She looked over to her pale, gray, and completely blank flank. While looking at it still, she said in a low whisper “I have a name…” Her eyes returned to her now concerned friend, who was up on his hooves looking at her with a pained expression.

“Don’t be upset Ditzy,” the colt almost whispered as he rose a hoof gently to her shoulder. “We live with this, and it’s not like there’s no reason,” he said, offering her a slight smile. “You can call me Orange Cyan, by the way.”

“Orange… Cyan?” she asked, confusion obvious as she tilted her head once more in thought. The colt got the message, and playfully shook his bright orange mane. “Oh…” Ditzy said slowly, as the connection was made in her head. She looked over him now and realized that his coat was a deep, dark cyan. She reached out a hoof, and tussled his mane lightly, “Orange,” she stated, moving her hoof down to his snout, “Cyan!” she exclaimed excitedly.

A wide smile spread over his face. “That’s right,” he said, closing his eyes and smiling now with all his white teeth showing before he continued. “All of us are known by our colors until we get our actual names.” He opened his eyes and looked around, now concerned once more for the time. Ditzy broke into laughter at this, unable to contain herself. The colt felt like he had just missed the punch line of a joke, and turned to her with an awkward smile on his face. His eyes darted several times from Ditzy to the clock tower. “What’s so-”

“You ponies around here are always looking up every time a minute passes by!” she interrupted through her laughter. The colt smiled, and joined in on the laughter. After a short while, they both calmed down enough to be able to keep walking back to the Glow Emporium. As they approached, the looming clock tower seemed to grow taller and taller. Ditzy thought all the while they walked. She was trying to think still of how this little colt, this Orange Cyan was so… What was the word she was searching for? Accepting? Okay with it? Happy? She didn’t know how to describe it. He is so able to cheer up, she thought.

Her thoughts now were something that she had to be put off for another day, though, as the gem shop’s big glowing sign came into view around the next corner.

…

“So Blitzy, we haven’t had much time to talk in a while, how have things in Canterlot been?” asked the large, blue and yellow unicorn as he used his magic to work some magical energy into the final customer of the day’s gem. The green crystal wasn’t giving off any light anymore due to the lacking of magical energies, and it needed to be recharged.

“Pretty decent I’d guess, things seem to be, well, calm,” answered Blitzy, looking down at the gem as it began to flicker to life. The customer let out smile as it did, relieved that her front porch wouldn’t go unlit in the looming night. “Things don’t really change around there, you know how it is. Always the same,” he added as the customer lifted the gem with her mouth.

“Thank you, Shine,” she said through her closed mouth as she turned around and headed for the street. The sun was already on its decline toward the western horizon, and shadows began to grow long. Soon, the forest’s shadow of darkness would engulf the entire town.

“Any time, Miss,” he called after her as she rounded the corner. It wasn’t a second later that two young ponies, a colt and a filly, came stampeding in. Shine lifted an eyebrow at the orange colt, giving him a questioning stare. “Cuttin’ it a little close, aren’t we?” he asked, looking down at him. The colt looked back up with worried eyes.

“Uh… well… yea but…” he stammered out, not wanting to argue now of all times. The stallion looming over him only stared on. The colt looked down, knowing there was no fighting it. “I’m sorry daddy,” he finally let out. His father let out a sigh, and averted his eyes to the dwindling light outside.

“Well, you’re here safe and I guess that’s all that really matters” said Spit Shine as he pulled his son toward him in a comforting embrace. “Just… be careful. Me and your mother wouldn’t be able to live with ourselves if you got hurt,” he said, looking down at him. Or worse he thought silently, not wanting to worry anyone in the room.

Ditzy had climbed on top of her father’s back and was now looking around his head at the scene play out, a smile on her face. Blitzy looked back at her and nuzzled her gently. “The same goes for you,” he said. She giggled uncontrollably, both from the nuzzling and the joking tone in his voice. The whole scene was cute, to say the least. As she approached from the full shelves of organized gems, the red and white filly had a large smile on her face.

“Thanks for the shipment, Blitzy,” she said, gesturing toward the gems. She had organized them based on two factors, size and color. The larger gems sat on the lower shelves, while the smaller were up higher. They appeared as stripes of color from this far away, and to Blitzy, it looked almost like rainbow. “We were starting to run low,” she added.

“Don’t mention it. It’s my job,” he said proudly as he looked over to her. The cyan colt was by her side in no time, not having a day where he was away from his sister this much in his memory. Blitzy was happy to see that his friends had such a tightly knit little family. He wished he could say the same for his own, though at least he had Ditzy.

“Sis, sis! We played hide and seek at the park!” the colt shouted excitedly. She gave him a smile, happy that he and Ditzy were able to have fun.

“That’s great!” she answered. “Mom’s upstairs making dinner,” she stated, turning to the shops open entrance. Outside, everything was coated in a warm orange glow, the sun’s setting imminent. She turned to Blitzy and Ditzy, a little upset. “I guess you can’t stay though, huh?” she asked the stallion. He gave a frown.

“Afraid not, little one,” he answered. Both brother and sister visibly withered, not wanting them to leave. The colt looked over to his father with pleading eyes.

“Can’t they stay the night? I’m sure there’s enough space…” the colt trailed off, not knowing how to validate his argument. “And… and mom’s cooking is really good…” he said, looking down to the ground now. He in some way wanted to have some reason that they should stay.

“I’m sorry, Orange Cyan. I’ve got a lot of deliveries to do in the morning,” he said to the colt before turning to a pleading Ditzy, “And Ditzy here has to go to flight school,” he stated. Looking upset, she got down from his back and walked over to the colt, where upon she wrapped him in an embrace. It lasted for several moments before she let go.

“We’ll come back soon… I hope,” she said reassuringly. The colt smiled at this, and nodded.

“Alright then… I’ll miss you,” he let out. She was his one friend, and she wasn’t going to be gone for just a couple days. His mother spoke of Blitzy on occasion, how he was a Wonderbolt, and how he was always busy. Despite that, this was the first day he’d met Blitzy, in all the six years he had lived. How could he be sure they’d ever return?

“Come on, Ditzy,” said Blitzy, “We should be going now. They still have to close down the shop, and it’s going to be dark in a matter of minutes,” Ditzy went unspeaking to her father and climbed back up to his back. She wrapped her front hooves around his neck, and tightened the back pair to his sides. She was still too young to be able to fly the long distance back to Canterlot, and thus had to be carried. Glitter walked into the room quite timely, only seconds before they were out the door.

“Dinner’s done,” she said to her family, who nodded. She turned to Blitzy then, and walked up to him. “Come back soon,” she said, a slight frown showing on her face.

“We will, I promise. This time I mean it,” he said, remembering that he’d done just the same when he first left the town around seven and a half years ago. He didn’t know why he never came back, maybe it was the factor of being in love, maybe it was to escape his old life. It didn’t matter anymore, and so he had no reason to stay away. He wouldn’t break another promise to Glitter. She smiled, seeing the honesty in his eyes.

“Good,” she said before giving him a hug. “There’s more than one reason to now anyway,” she stated, gesturing toward the colt behind her. Blitzy smiled, and started out the door. Yes, that’s very true, he thought. Now there are a multitude of reasons to come back. Glitter’s a good friend, and he was sure that Ditzy would want to see that little colt again soon, but of all things, he would be back over worry. Glitter was always calm, but now the beasts of the night had nearly broken her down mentally.

“I’ll see you all soon then, goodbye!” He said, looking over his shoulder.

In unison, the whole family said, “Goodbye!” as Blitzy reached outside, beat his wings a few times, and took off. This place, he thought as his altitude rose, was going to need more help than ever before. If Glitter could get this stressed, it showed just how bad things really were. He didn’t know what those monsters were up to, but whatever it was, it could never be good. Maybe all they wanted was an easy meal, or maybe they needed something in town. Who knew what the dark magic in them could possibly drive them to do?

His mind flowing with thoughts of what could be causing the incident with the shadow beasts, he flew off toward Canterlot, the day turning to night before he reached the city.

…

Dark figures darted from the forest, heading deep into the town that lay before them. Each bore a dark, color distorting shroud of energy that enveloped their entire body. They were nearly invisible in the black of the night, the tall trees blocking light from the moon most of the time in the town. One stopped before the clock tower, sniffing the ground in the area. The cat like beast looked up to the base of the tower in front of it. It reached out an enormous paw, and with little effect, scratched at the base of the tower. It hardly left a mark, and after several minutes of this, the beast growled. The great cat… if you could even call it a cat anymore, pulled its body low to the ground, claws extended. It prepared to pounce, its muscles flexing in its hind legs, forcing the veins below to the surface.

From a small, slit of a window which would only allow a thin fillies hoof through, Glitter observed this beast with tired eyes. “What are you looking for?” she whispered to herself, not wanting to wake her now sleeping family. Not a second later, the beast pounced, impacting the solid structure with a resounding thud that sent shivers down Glitter’s spine. The sound of flesh and bone impacting stone was a little louder than one would come to expect, and caused her to recoil. She had lost sight of the beast, the gleam of light on the now mirror-like glass blocking her vision of the outside world. The creature howled out in pain, forcing Glitter’s ears to retract to the side of her head. They raised slowly, and by the time she was able to see out the window again, the shadow beast was gone. The tower still was untouched, save the red stained point of impact.

During dinner, her little colt could barely get his food chewed. He wanted to tell her everything about his day, and how he couldn’t wait to see Ditzy again. Her daughter smiled the whole time, not wanting to cut in and leave him feeling upset. Glitter had beamed at this, both of her children were so happy. It was a ray of hope in this bleak town, where everyone simply went about their business and never slowed down to talk to anyone.

Glitter turned around, looking toward the beds across the room. There was no movement from either, and as she let out a sigh of relief, Glitter returned her attention back to the night outside. It was good that her family could sleep, they all needed their rest. “Ha,” she let out almost silently, knowing that she should be with them. That was the problem though, no matter how long she lay in bed, her eyes shut, she just couldn’t get herself to sleep. There was a screech in the distance, no doubt another one of these shadow beasts trying to do something similar to what she had just seen. These buildings were built for impact, but that didn’t stop Glitter from getting worried about it.

She let out a deep sigh, lowering her head from the window. Canterlot wouldn’t listen to her, and she knew it. Blitzy knew it. Even her own husband knew it. What could she do? It was plain that there was something going on with the shadow beasts, she had just bore witness to a prime example of that, but how could she do anything about it? She was just “that gem shop pony” to the rest of the town. How could she realize something like this being out of place? How could things possibly change in their neat little town, unaffected for two hundred years?

Well, things were changing. The beasts were changing, the feel of life was changing, and tension was building. It was the very fear of what the change would bring fueling her worry that made the others uneasy. The difference was, she seemed to be the only one, her husband aside, who didn’t want to simple sweep it under the carpet and pretend it didn’t exist.

Glitter turned away now, heading toward her bed. She didn’t expect to get any actual deep sleep, but at the very least she could hope for an hour or so of rest. She got into bed, pulling the covers over herself slowly as not to awaken her husband. She lay there, the sounds of the beasts in the distance being as white noise as she stared up at the gem hanging on the wall above the head of the bed. For what felt like hours she simply stared at the gem, not thinking about any one topic for longer than a couple of minutes. She didn’t feel herself close her eyes, didn’t notice everything go black, but eventually she slipped off into sleep.

…

“And that class, is the story of ‘The Mare in the Moon‘,” announced Kalk to a crowd of both tired and anxious fillies and colts. It was finally Friday afternoon, the first they would ever experience where they’d be relieved the week was over, and he decided to end the class on a more interesting topic to get them through. A tragic story of a pony having to banish her beloved sister to the moon could grab the attention of almost any young mind, and thus he felt it was necessary to use it for this particular time of the week. Despite this, there were no questions from any of them, save one. The white haired filly he had come to love in the past few days was eager as ever to ask a question, despite the looks the others gave her. She was always shooting her hoof into the air, asking how something or another worked, or why certain things happened. He did his usual gesture, nodding toward her in acknowledgement.

“Doesn’t she get… lonely?” she asked in her usual low voice, still acting like she was trying to hide while still asking her question. Some fillies in the class looked at her confused, not knowing who the “she” in question was. The filly got the message, and stammered out an answer “I-I m-mean the M-Mare in the Moon,” she managed to get herself to say, her voice shaking. Kalk couldn’t help but smile at this. Most of them wouldn’t think of the princess, Luna, as being anything more than a monster. This one though, she realized that there were two sides of this story.

“Yes, I’d imagine she does,” he answered, his smile fading. “She was just another pony, like any of you here now. I can only imagine being so alone for so long,” Kalk said, looking across the now silent room, thought flowing through his mind as his face locked out the emotions he felt. The result was a blank stare into space. He continued, “You know, in a couple of years, it’ll have been the one thousandth anniversary of the day she was sent to the moon.” The class was in utter silence, an effect Kalk tended to have when he got serious about a topic. This was where he excelled at being a teacher, truly. He could always grab the attention of the class. The filly who asked the question looked down, her eyes shut in something he hoped he’d never see about such a topic in a student; empathy. It was gone in a matter of seconds though, and as if it was never there, she raised her head, a smile on her face.

Kalk raised his eyes to the clock, which read two thirty. There was still a half hour left of class, and he was out of things for them to do. “Well then class, I am happy to inform you all that your first week of school is now complete. Congratulations!” he stated jokingly. There was a chuckle in the back of the room, but not much else. “Now then, I don’t make a habit of letting you out early, but this was your first week. I think I can make an exception, today only,” he said, the group quickly perking up at the thought of being able to get out early.

“However,” he said, freezing them as they rose, “let me first let you all know what the plan is for next week,” he commanded. The class was a little confused, but one certain orange headed colt perked straight up at this, eager to hear what would be in store for him. “We will be splitting up into groups based on whether we are earth ponies, pegasus ponies, or unicorns. Each will be assigned to a teacher, and we will get started on teaching you each about your abilities. I will be teaching magic for all you unicorns, and as for the other two teachers, well I guess you’ll have to find out!” he announced, causing the class to go into an uproar of excitement. “Now then, you may go home. We’ll meet here Monday to discuss where everypony will be going,” he said, the class resuming their motion.

They all filed out of their seats, leaving as quickly as possible as if trying to avoid Kalk holding them back another minute. The crowd congregated at the door leading out of the classroom. As they slowly filed out into the hall, Kalk noticed something out of place. Something that, to his knowledge, wasn’t there when he first introduced himself to the class. A cutie mark. No one had spoken up about anything of the sort in class, and he thought he knew why. White Violet hadn‘t shown much of her actual self in class, despite the fact that she was always asking questions. Something was wrong, she was upset and that was certain, but he couldn’t figure out why. It must have been more than a little empathy she felt for Nightmare Moon. Now that the thought returned, he had never actually seen her interact with any of the others.

Instinct caught up with him and he was out the door soon after the last of them disappeared from sight. His student could be in turmoil underneath it all, and he had to do something. He didn’t bother closing the door to his room, almost running now out the school’s front door. Upon reaching the outside world, he saw her, wings extended and hooves lifting off the ground. He didn’t even have enough time to call out to her. She flew off into the distance, her young wings surprisingly strong in the turbulent wind. Kalk walked down the road, his eyes trained on her the whole time.

She flew to the clock tower, circling around it once. Upon reaching the opposite side to where Kalk was, she vanished. There was no doubt about it, something was wrong with her. There wasn’t anyone who still went to the clock tower’s interior, as there was no point to it. It was empty, dusty and dreary. The only one to go was a janitor, and then only to check on the clock’s mechanisms and see if there were any problems. Not only that, she had a cutie mark, and instead of telling anyone or letting it even be seen, she rushed off to the most deselect place in town. Where were her parents? Did she even have any? Come to think of it, Kalk had never seen or heard anything about the filly’s family at all. He should have caught wind of this earlier, should have paid more attention to the little details.

He didn’t waste any more time, Kalk rushed off to the center of town, not wanting to leave the situation unattended any longer than he already had.

…

A small hoof watch lay on the floorboards of the clock tower’s top floor, the brimming light shinning from the gems hung around the room reflecting off it’s bronze surface. About seven feet from the floor, well above head level, their hung the various mechanisms that ran the clock. Gears and sprockets turned every second, resulting in a low, echoing “tick”. Outside the nearby window, the dark canopy of trees rose high enough to block the view of the mountains on the other side of the forest. As she looked out into the infinite blackness, the filly who lay before the window simply stared. Moving the watch back and forth with her hoof, she considered what she should do about her name.

It was just the other day that she was able to discover her ability, a strange coincidence considering she had come here only to get away from everything. Who would have thought that she’d discover her passion in a dark, dingy place like this? Something about the way the gears turned, the way she was inside this giant machine just brought joy to her. Below her now unmoving hoof, the watch ticked on the same beat as the clock asphyxiated to the side of the building. She smiled with pleasure, proud of her work.

Despite her happiness, though, she still couldn’t think of what to do. She certainly couldn’t name herself, that wasn’t the way it worked. It was always up to… Well, it was supposed to be up to her parents. As she looked onward, she remembered “The Mare in the Moon”, recalling how lonely the princess must be feeling right now. Well she wasn’t the only one. She lifted her head to the sky, her white mane flowing into her vision as her eyes rose. What am I going to do now? I can’t keep this up much longer… The others are going to find out sometime or another.

As the mixture of thoughts brewed in her mind, her eyes fell back down to the bronze watch she had set down before herself. She was smart, and she was strong, these last two years had been proof of that. But now, with school and her past gaining on her haunches, how could she hope to go on? She wouldn’t leave this place, this Beacon. She had promised to never give up on it. But if the others found out, they’d send her off to Canterlot, or Ponyville, or Celestia knows where!

She shut her eyes, bring her chin down on her watch. She let out a deep sigh, tired of thinking everything that was going on out. Her mind emptied, and a new thought entered. A plea, a need for something. She couldn’t stop herself from letting it out, her voice low and in a raspy whisper. “I wish you could be here to tell me what to do now. I’m… I’m…” she was able to get out before she couldn’t hold it back any longer. Tears flowed down her face, several pelting to the floor, but one landing on the face of the watch. She opened her eyes briefly, looking down at it, the liquid moving slowly over its glass surface. She began to shut her eyes again slowly as she began to sob. She pulled a hoof over her eyes, soaking the light violet fur in doing so.

Her ears suddenly shot bolt upright, her eyes now wide open as a distant sound grew louder. She didn’t hesitate a moment longer, her hooves moving faster than she could think of where to go, she ran into the corner of the room, and realizing there was nowhere to go and hide here, she turned around bolting for the window from which she had come in. She turned to the staircase, the sound of hoof steps still resounding loudly as a shadow began to creep its way in front of the gem that kept the stairs well lit. She began to flap her wings, not thinking about who it could be but only thinking that she needed to get away. A thought hit her like a rock. The watch! She had left the watch over by the other window across the room!

The filly bolted for it, not thinking at all of fear or what would happen. She needed that watch, it was the most important thing in the world to her. She had just gotten it working again, and with where it came from, there wouldn’t be a chance to replace it. Even a watch of the same model and made by the same pony in the same place wouldn’t come close to being able to replace it. That watch was the only one that would ever matter, it was irreplaceable. She reached it grabbing it with her teeth, and turning to fly out the window she had almost flown out of.

“Wait, please just wait! I only want to talk,” a familiar voice called out, freezing her in mid gallop. She turned, now being directly in front of the staircase, the shadow of the pony before her fading as it stretched into the light of the overhanging gems. It was Mister Kalk, and to her shock, he didn’t seem to be surprised that she was here. “Oh no,” he said in an almost inaudible voice, moving slowly toward her. He reached a hoof out to her, and she flinched away. This brought a frown to his face.

“Why are you here? What do you want from me?” the filly shot down his throat as he tried to speak, her voice fading to a high pitch tone. He lowered his hoof, looking down at her with sad eyes. The filly looked around frantically, checking to make sure it was just him there. She backed up lowering herself close to the ground, ready to make a run for the window if she needed to. He may be her teacher, but she wouldn’t let him take her away from this place. “H-how did you even know?” Kalk sat there, thinking about what to do next.

“I’m here to help you,” he said finally in the most gentle voice he could offer. The filly looked at him confused.

“What do you mean ‘help me’? I don’t need any help…” She said, the tears that began to brew in her eyes again contradicting her statement.

“It’s okay, I mean it,” said Kalk, taking a step forward. The filly again flinched, wrapping her white tail around herself as if it would serve as a sort of shield. “We can make it through this…” he said, trying to show her that he wasn’t going to do anything to try and hurt her. He took another step forward.

“No! Just don’t… I don’t want to leave!” she wailed out, not able to withhold her inner emotion any longer. It was exploding before, her mental wall just couldn’t stand up against it any longer. Tears now flowed down her cheeks yet again, their already wet surfaces reflecting a small amount of light.

“Leave? Now what makes you think I’d make you leave?” he said, taking another step forward. The distance between them was very short now, only a foot or two, and to his relief, she didn’t flinch away this time. She stared up at him with a mixture of confusion and sorrow.

“Y-you….you wouldn’t? But…” the filly whispered, unable to speak at this point. She sat there with something new in her eyes, hope. Kalk closed the distance between them calmly, not moving too fast. He wrapped a hoof around her head, and pulled her into his coat. The poor little filly began to sob deeply, not able to control the pent up emotion. Kalk nuzzled her gently, letting her get it all out.

Kalk understood now. He knew what was wrong. He knew why she had hid her cutie mark, why she couldn’t let anyone know. He knew why she had shown so much empathy for princess Luna, the apparent monster sent to the moon for eternity. For whatever reason, she didn’t want to be dragged away from this place, didn’t want to have to be forced out of the place that has always been her home. But there was something else there. something even more daunting that, in all likelihood, hadn’t even occurred to her. She didn’t have a name to go with her cutie mark, and how could someone so alone as her ever get her name?

The gears above their heads ticked as Kalk thought long and hard, not knowing quite what he’d do about this situation next. He looked over to the fallen hoof watch, the face gleaming with the fluid which now flowed from the filly’s eyes. He looked over to her flank, and instantly made the connection. Her cutie mark was a bronze pocket watch with a chain. In the near silence, the only thing other than the gasps between sobs that he could hear was the ticking off the seconds. He knew what he’d do now, and though it was a big commitment, he felt it the only right thing to do.

Kalk brought his hoof to her head, slowly pulling it along her hair in a brushing motion. He closed his eyes, a tear slowly making its way down his cheek. “Shh, Everything’s going to be alright,” he whispered gently into her ear. His chin now rested on her head, and he slowly continued the motion of his hoof as the other held her close.

“How do you know?” the filly wailed, not able to control her emotion still. The tear fell from Kalk’s cheek, landing on her forehead.

“Because I’m never going to let anypony take you away. You don’t have to live in fear anymore.“ he said as she continued to cry into his coat. The sobbing had subsided, but tears still flowed openly from her eyes. “You’ll never be alone again, Tick,” he said in a low whisper. The filly pulled away from him, looking up to him with wide eyes. She just stared at him, unable to believe what she had just heard.

“B-but… you… and you need to be…” she said in disbelief, thinking that what she heard had to have been a mistake. No one could do something like this for her. To give someone their name, you have to be their… parent. For him to do this, he’d have to be… adopting her. She couldn’t comprehend it, was he really doing this for her? For the filly she barely knew?

“That’s right, my little filly. Your name, from this day forward, is Tick,” Kalk said, tears now brimming in his own eyes. He promised himself he wouldn’t do something like this again, getting attached to someone. In the end it always hurt when something happened. But this little filly, he just couldn’t leave her alone. He had to be there for her, whether it would hurt in the end or not. She lost her parents, and at such a young age, she needed all the help she could get.

Tick leapt on him, pushing him over on his back and hugged his tightly. “Thank you! Thank you so much!” she wailed out, crying this time in thanks and happiness. She brought her eyes up from his coat, looking into his eyes. “I won’t disappoint you! I swear, I’ll be the best I can be! I won’t give up and I’ll work hard and I’ll-”

“You don’t need to do anything,” Kalk said, leaving her dead silent. “How could I not be proud of you with what you’ve come through already?” She looked at him, finally smiling , and pulled herself close to him. Whatever was going to come, suddenly she felt she would have the strength to face it. She could do it. She could carry out her mother’s will, and keep the fire that lit Beacon thriving.

=========================================================================

In the midst of nothing, a gleaming light came into view. It was not something often seen, not something very well remembered. The twin red lights glimmered lightly as they fluctuated. In looking into it, the reflection because clear. This was the one who saw. This was the one who could not see. This was her. Droplets of water fell to the liquid mirror, and destroyed her image upon it.

The water didn’t stop falling for some time to come.

Chapter 4: Friendship

Chronicles of the Glow
Written by: Rusty Parker

Edited by: Wanderwing

4
Friendship

Shattered pieces of what had been the miraculous, fiery gemstone pinged against wood, sounding like freshly broken glass as they hit the floor boards in unison. Ears still ringing, Spit Shine lifted his head over the counter, looking in confusion toward the pile of dark shards in the middle of the shop. The customers had either ducked for cover behind the display cases filled with gems or had run out of the shop outright. He cocked his head, wondering just what had happened. All Glitter had done with it was enchant that gem Blitzy had given her, and hang it from the ceiling. Why then, he thought, did it just explode?

It wasn’t anything major, not by far. A simple pop, like a small firecracker, yet there still was no real reason for it to have done that. What was with this gem? First, it has the energy to glow for far longer than any other, and then it simply… blows up? Spit Shine made his was around the counter, going first to see if the pony still behind the display case was alright. “You’re not hurt, are you mam’?” he asked politely as he offered the quivering mare a hoof. Shaking her head, she accepted it and let him pull her to her hooves.

“Uh… I think. Thanks, Shine,” she said, turning to the pile of shards in the middle of the room. She winced as soon as she put weight on her front left hoof, closing her left eye tightly as she quickly lifted it back up. “Or not, it could be… not,” she said in rapid succession with the pain, a gasp escaping her lips with her words. Her hoof was cut open, a single shard of the gem imbedded in the thick material. Blood escaped slowly, rarely dripping due to the size of the shard. It wasn’t a large injury, but it was deep enough to be the center of worry for infection.

“Oh my goodness!” a voice from the other side of the room called out. Turning, Shine found it to be his wife, a look of shock on her face. She had just made her way down the stairs, and the door still hang open behind her. She looked from the point on the ceiling where a moment before, her prized work as an enchanter had hung by a thick leather harness. It was now in shreds, the leather torn apart particularly well on the side that the mare who was hurt had been before she ducked behind the display. She didn’t stand there for long, and was soon bounding her way across the room, watching her step as to not step on a sharp gem.

Spit Shine couldn’t keep the frown off his face. This project had given her so much hope, and now it turned out that all that work was for nothing. She was going to be really upset, beyond doubt. He looked into Glitter’s frantic eyes as she approached slowly, avoiding the mess of possible daggers on the floor.

“Is everyone alright?” she asked as soon as she reached him. Blinking, he looked from her to the mare who still was now fighting the coming pain, shock from the miniature explosion wearing off and adrenaline fading from her veins. She pushed past him, going straight to the mare to examine the fresh wound. “How deep is it?” she asked, pulling the injured hoof gently toward herself.

“I-I don’t know. I don’t think it’s too far in…” she responded, still fighting the pain as it began to reach its peak. She looked worriedly from Glitter to Spit Shine, not sure what to do. She had plainly never been injured before like this, and wasn’t shy to show how worried she was. The blood from the cut began to stain her light yellow coat around it.

Spit Shine went and retrieved the first aid kit from behind the counter, making his way around the last customer who was leaving the scene. Though he still didn’t think it would prove much help. Explosions don’t usually happen in a simple gem and lighting shop, after all. He couldn’t get over that, just what had caused this? Was it the gem? Or just the amount of power it took to enchant it? He couldn’t decide what to think, so he pushed the thought off to the side.

Returning to her side, he popped open the kit, pulling from it a set of tweezers. The mare looked at them with fear, not wanting anything to do with them or their wielder. Holding them lightly with his magic, he closed his eyes and gave her a nod. Glitter was behind her, massaging her shoulders and trying to relieve stress before the coming waves of pain. Looking all around, she finally calmed and let out a light sigh, closing her eyes and turning her head away from the scene. She bit her lip, not wanting to find herself tongue less when it was out. Spit Shine moved quickly, gently, and with precision. He wielded the tweezers with just enough power as to not cause her much more pain than there needed to be. In one swift pull, the shard was out, a yelp and hastened breathing the only response from the mare. With the gem gone, the blood was flowing much more quickly. Spit Shine quickly and lightly bandaged the mare’s hoof with cloth from the first aid kit, being sure to not apply too much pressure. She gave a weak smile as thanks, thought the intensity of the pain was still plain to see.

“Okay, I’ll take you to the doctor’s, Clover. You did well” she said to the injured mare. Glitter made it a point to know all the customers that came frequently, and though Shine had tried, he could never get names to stick well. He smiled at her, nodding in response to her statement.

“And I’ll see if I can figure out just what caused this… and clean up, of course,” he added, blushing a little as Glitter let out a slight laugh. At least she wasn’t upset about her work, he thought. Glitter held Clover’s injured hoof around her shoulder, and made her way for the exit.

“Oh, thanks so much for this Glitter,” Spit Shine could hear her say in the distance as they faded into the crowd outside. Exhaling a long, slow sigh, he then turned his attention to the mess that the once brilliant gem had left. Shards were imbedded in the display case, around where Clover had been standing when that thing had gone off. Wood splintered up, and it was plainly the same force that had caused her injury. She was actually rather lucky, now that Spit Shine looked more closely. If one of these had hit her in the right spot, it would have been over.

Looking around the rest of the room, he found that the area Clover was standing was the only place where shards were imbedded in the wood. The rest of the mess was just clattered in a pile, easily moved and cleaned with a dust pan and broom. Thinking it out, he could now conclude one thing about what happened. The gem only exploded in one area, not as a whole. Something went wrong with the magic cycling through it, and there was probably some form of congestion. Then, like a balloon filled with too much air, pop. Spit Shine smiled at his analysis, and it seemed to fit with the area of the leather harness that was torn to shreds.

Putting the loose shards into a bowl, he began the long, tedious process of digging out the rest of them. Well, he knew what caused it. Now if only he could figure out why the congestion had occurred, he might be able to stop it from happening again. Pealing the wood back, he pulled one of the shards out, and held it near his face with his magic. He let out a sigh, and returned to his little chore for the afternoon. This was going to take a while.

…

Dim light from the flickering gem above fell on the cyan colt’s face as he lay down on the wooden floorboards. His tears had dried since he ran out of the school, not able to take his utter failure as a unicorn. Yet still, it showed more plainly than anything else that he had been crying, and he felt that it would start again at any moment. Laying here in the clock tower, he came to realize just how worthless he was. How can a unicorn not do any magic? What was the point of being able to channel all that energy he knew was there if he couldn’t in the least bit use it?

He let out a heavy, rasp of a sigh that sounded as if it had to fight its way up broken glass to escape his mouth. Staring down at the texture of the boards beneath him, memories of his sister stabbed at his mind. He tried to fight them off but it was of no use, they persisted just like the genuine article. “Your going to be a much better pony than I am, you know?” resounded in his head. Without any warning, fresh tears poured from his eyes, the memory reawakening his sorrow. Here he was again, in the clock tower, with the worst pain possible in his heart. Her faith in him was genuine, and he wasn’t able to live up to it. He wanted so badly to make her proud…

Sniffling, he brought himself to his knees, having to pull his tired body off the floor. With effort, he was able to bring himself to his hooves, tears still falling to the floor as he moved. His front legs were numb, having been under his chin for what seemed like hours. Wobbling, he made his way to the glass window that was in the lower section of the large clock that still ticked above him. The wind gently blew in, cooling his warm body and pushing some of his mane out of his face as he approached. The colt reached the sill, and sat with his front hooves on the ground as he looked out to the black forest before him. It was so deep, so dark, so… infinite. Usually he hated it, but right now, in his pain, it brought him relief. He was able to lose himself staring out at the forest, the memories receding as his eyes bore into the shadows.

A sound behind him brought him back to reality, and while he was initially startled, he didn’t move from his spot before the window. It didn’t matter to him anymore who or what it was. He felt there was nothing left to lose, nothing left to worry about. His sister would never love him now, and he had no friends in Beacon. Perfect loneliness, even with his parents, was still the worst depression he could imagine. For a moment, he almost wished… wished that the sound was that of a shadow beast, ready to pounce and steal away the pitiful life he had left in him. Everyone hated him, after all. The colt’s eyes clenched shut. No. No no no no! He wouldn’t think like that! Life was never worth giving up on… no matter how much it hurt.

He felt the light touch of a hoof on his shoulder, and in the silence it remained there, unmoving and ever gentle. It took him a moment to realize that he had been weeping. The floor beneath him was tinged darkly with the puddle of tears upon it. Slowly, he turned his head to the side of him where the hoof still lay soothingly on his shoulder. His vision was blurred, and though he could barely see, he knew instantly who the filly beside him was. “Why… why are you here?” he asked, his eyes falling to her hooves as he lost his strength to face her directly.

“Don’t worry about me now,” her voice spoke out in a light, high pitch whisper. This can’t be happening, he thought as he stared at her in shock. “Y-you… are you okay? You were… crying. If I can help… well…” she dragged on, looking at him shyly as he stared on. Her white mane covered half her face, and as the colt looked into her visible eye, he saw sincerity. Honest concern for him. He almost couldn’t believe it, this had to be a prank, or a trick, or something. How can she worry about someone like him? Who is she, this Tick?

“I… I don’t know. I just… I’m worthless,” he let out, not sure what to think of her. His ears lowered as he spoke, pointing downward as he admitted what he knew to be true. Tick’s eyes seemed to be having trouble looking him, darting off to the side every now and then. When she was able to focus on him, she seemed unable to speak for what seemed to be hours. After a while, she inhaled deeply, and sat beside him, looking out the same window as him.

“You know… I feel the same way sometimes,” she whispered, rubbing her left hoof against her right ankle nervously. She stared at them, not speaking for a while. Her eyes slowly shut as she turned away. “But you know,” she began, “It’s never true. You can do great things… I’ve seen you in class, you’re really smart,” she said as she looked over to him again. The orange manned colt stared now in awe, not sure how to feel.

“But… I can’t do magic… Why can’t a unicorn do magic? I’m pointless,” he said through his raspy voice. “I can’t make her proud… What’s the point of trying if I can’t even do that?” he let out slowly, his eyes falling to his hooves on the floorboards, which were trembling furiously. Slowly but powerfully, his eyes clench together. “I’m so pathetic…” he whispered softly to himself, unsure and uncaring of weather or not Tick could hear him. It didn’t matter, there was no point in hiding anything here now. He would just break down.

“No you’re not!” she let out almost angrily to his surprise, raising to her hooves and looking him directly in the eyes. Her movement was swift, her wings quickly extended and her expression angry. It almost inspired fear in the cyan colt. She seemed so shy all the time, he never expected her to take a direct approach. Is this really the same filly who, just the other day, couldn’t finish giving an answer in class without stammering? She sighed, looking up in thought, her aggressive posture retreating. “Listen,” she said, returning to a less aggressive voice, “I… I know, okay. I know,” she reiterated as she sat back down, this time facing him. “It’s just… you can’t give up on yourself like that. That’s what a friend of mine would always say, at least. But it’s true!” she pushed, no longer seeming like the same scared little girl the colt had seen in class all this time. He looked at her, tears welling in his eyes.

“But… I can’t do it. I can’t do magic. I can’t even levitate a pin. How can I…?” he found himself asking her, as if she somehow had all the answers. He hoped to his deepest depths that she could help, though he still felt it would be of no use.

“You sound just like me,” Tick said, looking down now, lost in memory. “But back then, there was always one friend who came to help me. She always reassured me with her smile, her positive thinking, and her kindness…” she said, still staring down as a smile began to cross her face. “But… of all things, she would always tell me not to give up hope, that there was always hope,” she said, looking to him now. They both remained silent for a while, the colt thinking through what she had just said. She… she was right. He could keep trying, he could keep pushing… there was always hope.

“That sounds a lot like my sister… she’s always making me feel better whenever things are tough. I came here one time, when I was young, and she found me,” he said, Tick’s eyes widening as he spoke. “I had given up then too… but she came and told me I was going to be a great pony one day…” he said looking out the window with new emotion painted plainly on his face. Though his fur was soaked with tears, he looked happy. Next to him, Tick simply stared in awe at him, unable to believe what she was hearing.

“That… that was you?” Tick asked excitedly, getting up to her hooves in one swift movement. “No, that can’t be right. It just can’t be,” she said, seeming to question herself more than the orange manned colt. She shook her head and blinked her eyes a few times, checking to make sure she wasn’t imagining this.

“Why is that so strange?” the colt asked, unsure of what to think about her reaction.

“The filly with a red mane and snow white coat, is your sister? She is isn’t she?” she asked, grinning largely at him as she eagerly awaited his response.

“Well yea, but how did you kno-“

“She is! You’re her brother! I never had a clue; you were under the staircase that night,” she said, wings erected in her excitement. The orange manned colt cocked his head in question. “Your sister is the friend I mentioned!” Tick elaborated plainly with a wide smile across her face. The colt couldn’t believe what he was hearing, the irony of it… this just never seemed to happen.

“Wait, hold on a second,” the colt pressed, a hoof held up to get Tick’s attention. “You were there? But… why? I thought I was all alone that night…” he stated, looking at her in question now. She blushed, her face turning a bright, beat red under her eyes.

“It… it’s a long story,” she began, ready to explain herself. “Your sister, she was bringing food for me that night, since I had nowhere to go and-” The clock above rang out, stopping her dead in the middle of her statement. The orange and cyan colt before her jumped, startled by the noise. The bell rang out six times, a resounding “dah-dum” thundering in the room. Tick looked over to her new found friend, who was looking frantically out the window to check the horizon above the tree line. It the sky above was a light tinge of orange, the day’s ending approaching as the sun beyond the dark forest surely was close to falling.

“We need to get back home!” the colt announced, turning to her frantically as he made way for the stairs. The shadow beasts would be out the moment the light dwindled enough, and he knew more than well enough that they needed to move. “I live across the street, will you be able to get home in time, Tick?” he asked over his shoulder. She remained in place, watching him as he went.

“Yea, I can. Wings and all,” she said, extending her feathered appendages as he looked over to her. The colt reached the stairs, but stopped before heading down. He turned to her slowly, his nerves catching up with him.

“Uh…” he said, still not sure what to say. This was, after all, his first encounter with a friend who he would be able to see regularly. Above them, the clock ticked away the seconds, time slowly passing away as they both remained still as stone. “Maybe we can… talk… or play sometime? I mean, if your not bus-”

“Oh, I’d love to!” she cut in, noticing his struggle. She offered him a light smile, her eyes brightly reflecting the flickering light from above. The colt returned her smile, happy now that he had come here again. To think, such a great thing could come from nothing.

“Well… goodnight then, Tick,“ he said, turning to the stairs again. “Don’t let the shadow beasts bite!” he added teasingly, now thundering down the staircase. Tick remained for a moment, looking at her watch, and recalling why she had come in the first place. Under the window sill where they had been looking outside lay a small tool kit, the very one she had used to fix her watch. She picked it up in her teeth by the handle on top, carrying it with little effort. She flew out the window then, heading for Kalk’s house.

As she flew, she couldn’t help but happily rotate in the air, easily navigating the lower airspace of Beacon. The orange manned colt was her friend… she never thought anyone in her class would even so much as talk to her, let alone befriend her. It brought such joy to her, to know she now had someone else in class who she could go to other than her adoptive father. Light faded as she reached her still new home, entering quickly as not to be caught up by a monstrosity from the pitch black forest.

…

“I see,” Kalk said to the mop-headed filly who had just finished explaining where she had been up to the very setting of the sun. “and how is he now, Orange Cyan?” he said turning to her. “Had me worried all day, going off like that in the middle of class like that.”

“I think he’s better than when I first came. I think I saw a smile before he left,” responded Tick. She sat on the soft, brown couch in the living room. Kalk turned away from the his work at his desk, looking over to his adopted daughter with a look of relief. His eyes had brightened since she got back, and though he still had bags under them, he looked relieved.

“Good… good,” he walked toward the small, slit of a window that the structure allowed for. Looking through, he saw nothing. The darkness seemed to pour out from every point he could see, almost seeming to pull him in as he looked. It was as the maw of a monster, ready to swallow him in a single gulp him. There was no moon out tonight, and thus, no light aside from the gems in the town. Turning away, the stallion went to back to his desk, sighing as he did. He sat back down, pulling the mess of papers into order as he did. “He is a great student in class, but he could be having trouble doing magic,” he paused. “A lot of young fillies and colts don’t have much talent for it when they are young.”

“I hope he gets to be better soon,” Tick let out, pawing the cushion beneath her gently, its surface wrinkling under the weight of her hooves.

“He will. That colt, I haven’t seen a pony like him in years,” Tick smiled at this, lifting her head a little.

“I sure hope. I mean… he’s like I was,” Kalk finished his work on the last student’s test, a perfect A. Taken by the very colt they were talking about, ironically.

“If that’s true,” he patted her gently on her pure, white mane. “Then he’s going to be more than alright,” he told her, a smile on his tired face. Tick received the compliment lightly, not really responding. Instead, a yawn ensued, her little wings extending as she exhaled. Slowly relaxing the muscles, she brought them back to her sides and used her knee to rub her eyes that had watered over. Kalk looked down at her, knowing exactly how she felt. “I think we should both get some sleep, don’t you?”

“Yes, that sounds,” she yawned again. “Nice,” she let out midway through it. Turning to the hall, she headed off to her room, stumbling to the side a bit as she did. It was rather late, Kalk realized. The sun had set at least two hours ago, and the long day must have been getting to them both.

“Goodnight, Tick!” he called after her, hanging back in the living room for a moment.

“Goodnight Kalk, see you tomorrow,” she said as she turned into her room, smiling at him before she got through the doorframe. For a few seconds, the unicorn simply stood there. He couldn’t decide if he should go to sleep yet, he did have a lot of responsibilities after all. He had some paper work to catch up on, having pushed it off while he searched the town after school and looked for his missing student. Looking toward the next stack on his desk, though, he decided against it. They could wait, it didn’t matter so much as what he came to worry about now. A night like this… it definitely was going to bring in a lot of shadow beasts from the black forest.

Those monstrous beings… they still kept him up with worry even now, with all the experience he had in the town. It was a big part of why he had to give Tick a big lecture on why she shouldn’t put off coming home for so long. No one but him and Glitter seemed to realize the all too real danger the shadow beasts posed. Their strange behavior didn’t help, and he had a guess as to what they were after, a guess as to what she was after. He didn’t want to believe it, but it seemed to be just as Glitter had said many times before. These things, they were… learning. Getting smarter and more cunning with each passing day it seemed. He walked to the window once more, staring out into the blackness. Their calls reached him there, wails of failure and frustration. He inhaled, breathing in the cold, odorless air through his nostrils.

His eyes remained locked outside, still not sure of what to do. He levitated his coffee over to his lips, sipping its warmth in slowly as he considered his options. There were more out there tonight, that was for sure. Maybe he should… no. That wasn’t the kind of magic he could delve into often. He looked over to the pale wall over the couch in his living room. It’s clay surface hid rocks beneath it, and he looked to it now with the intent to see them. His eyes did not blink as he looked at the wall, arguing with himself over what to do. What he thought of wasn’t his magic, but he still knew he could use it. It could help, and that’s what ultimately convinced him.

Sighing deeply, the cold causing his hot breath to turn visible, Kalk turned back to the window. He closed his eyes, his horn gleaming as he channeled energy to them. He had to struggle to keep them closed, the magic causing some pain as he forced it out of its hiding place within him. In all his years, he had never experienced anything like this spell. It always felt like something was clawing at his forehead from within, the headache pushing harder and harder as he finalized the energy. With a flash, he opened his eyes and the spell was complete.

The whites of his eyes had turned to a deep black, matched only by that of the forest before him. His pupils had grown to almost the size of his iris, allowing only a sliver of the gray color to show through. If anyone had seen him like this, they would have thought him to be a monster himself, the look of his eyes were truly horrifying. They did, however, allow him to see what he needed to. Everything around him lost all its color as the magic took hold of his vision, leaving only dark outlines of what had been his living room in sight. From where once was nothing but darkness, there now glowed many bright blue lights. They all took the shape of small spheres, and were scattered across the town. Some moved in the forest, but the vast majority formed together into one mass in town. He sat in awe, unable to believe what he knew to be there. There were so many, he couldn‘t hope to count them simply by the sight of the overlapping spheres. How long has this been going on, he wondered.

The same magic that gave the shadow beasts their strength illuminated them in the eyes that Kalk now bore. Wincing, he fought back the pain in his head. Simply maintaining this spell took its toll on him. Looking around, he took in everything around him. The walls that kept him safe were no barrier for these cursed eyes, the magic could be seen through most anything. He came to face the opposite side of the window, only to fall back on his flank in shock. This is unbelievable, he thought. His jaw hung open as his breathing increased and his heart pumped faster. How can one be… so… enormous? Beyond the back wall of his house, he saw a sphere of energy within the forest, approaching the town with speed. It was far off, but it must be something big to have that much magic in it.

Sweat rolling down his forehead, Kalk let the spell die out, his pupils shrinking to regular size and the whites of his eyes fading back to white. The sight of his walls returned in plain sight around him as he fought the coming migraine this spell always gave him. There was no time for this! It’s coming here, to Beacon. It could easily lay waste to the town. He got up off the floor with haste and almost bolted out the door before stopping. He turned to the hall behind him, thinking of Tick.

Memories of the ponies in his portrait flashed before him, the little filly in particular haunting his vision. Kalk shut his eyes tightly, knowing he couldn’t ever let that happen again. Her face was always the happiest when she was young… and then… “Tick! Come on! We have to go, now!”

…

Dinner lay on the table, untouched since it was set for the family of four. The gems hanging above swayed from side to side, gently pushed by the forces outside. The room was silent from within, but outside, the beasts were in an uproar. They ferociously tackled buildings all through the town, as if blinded with anger. While all was still in the room, the impact against the walls from outside was starting to shake things up, the silver wear vibrating and clanging on the plates. Screeching could be heard that could have been a hawk, though there was no telling when it came to the shadow beasts. With every shattering blow made close by, the colt shuddered, pulling within himself tightly.

The filly looked down at her brother with worry, not sure if she could do anything to help. His head hung low, eyes hidden behind his mane, there was no doubting that he had broken out into tears by now. Her eyes thinned as she watched the colt, feeling sympathy for him. She was terrified of what could happen, though she didn’t show it. She couldn’t show it, not with him so scarred already. Another impact sent cracks up the wall behind them, and both were instantly on their hooves. Pieces of clay chipped away and fell to the ground as its growth halted. Wide eyed, the filly looked up the enormous fissure in aw. The walls were at least two feet thick… and made of stone and clay… this was just insane!

She turned to her brother only to find him standing still as stone, staring at the wound made in their home. From behind him, she couldn’t see his eyes, but he seemed paralyzed. The filly’s eyebrows arched upwards in seeing him there, unmoving. She lifted a hoof to go to him, to lighten his worry, but she was stopped in her motion mid step. He turned slowly around, his mane hiding his eyes until he was directly facing his sister. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. His face, though was still filled with worry, was not wet with tears. Nor was he in shock. The filly couldn’t help but blink several times. Then, slowly, a smile came to her face as her hoof lowered back down to the ground.

“Let’s go see if everything’s alright in the bedroom,” she told him. The orange manned colt nodded and even gave her a slight smile as he walked past her. Did… did talking to Tick really change him that much? She watched him for a brief moment before following. This situation was horrible, so many beasts right outside the shop. Mom and Dad were talking about what to do. It was plain, Mom had said before heading into the other room to discuss what was happening, that there was no way Beacon could handle this anymore. She had heard them talking about teleporting a letter to Celestia directly asking for help, though Dad seemed to be against it. They reached the door and in opening it, drew both their parents’ attention.

“Everything alright in here? They cracked the wall in the kitchen,” the filly let them both know. Her father cocked his head to the side, looking at her with question.

“Did they really?” he asked, his wife pushing past him as he spoke.

“Don’t be ridiculous, of course they did. It’s a war out there! Just listen,” she said, turning from him to the children standing in the doorframe. “We sent a letter to Celestia, though, I won’t lie,” a beast just outside the window screamed, shortly drawing their attention. “It doesn’t look like she can help,” she said, a little flare of anger entering her tired eyes as she spoke. She was getting more and more fatigued with each passing day. The filly had almost forgotten what it was like to see her mother without the dark circles under her eyes defining her lack of sleep. She walked out into the hall quickly, hastily heading to the kitchen to assess what was done. They all followed close behind, and as they were entering the kitchen, a crack formed above them, sending dust and sand down on Spit Shine.

The family looked to one another, then to the fresh scar formed on their ceiling. The wet thud of flesh against brick could be heard across the street. As they all remained silent, they could hear the pitter patter of paws on the rooftop. Large paws. Glitter’s right eye half closed as she turned back to the task at hand. She reached the kitchen, and in looking at the crack there, sat on her flank and sighed deeply. The noise outside persisted as she sat on the floor, her head hanging low.

“There’s… nothing. Nothing at all!” she said, her head cradled in her knees. “We can’t do anything to get ourselves out of this, just hide and… hope,” she whispered, looking to her family now. Spit Shine came over to her and sat directly beside her, wrapping a hoof around her. The filly and colt also came to lie before them, the family huddled together now in hopes of staying safe. Glitter used her levitation to grab a group of gems from the counter and pull them toward them.

She began to enchant some, setting them down around them to provide more light. As she went about this, she began to hum… She hummed the same song she had used to comfort her children when they were just little foals, laying in their cribs. Spit Shine joined in and for a while, it seemed to bring peace to them. It brought back memories for the red manned filly, who could recall in this tune her brother calming and coming to rest peacefully in time. They stayed that way, together, holding closely to one another knowing full well that this could be the last time they would have the chance to.

The storm of shadows roared viciously outside, the beasts almost driving themselves to death as they tried again and again to break down the walls of every home in Beacon.

…

Horn glowing brightly, the gray and blue stallion made his way through the city streets. In the darkness, the filly clutched more tightly to his back for dear life. She didn’t know why Kalk had to bring her outside in this… disaster. She thought things would be much safer inside, not stuck here on his back with no light of her own. They turned the corner, the cries of the monsters growing louder and louder as they approached. In full gallop, Kalk rushed down the street, panting lightly with each falling of a hoof. Tick couldn’t see much, but from the bulb of light her teacher and step father produced, it seemed the whole town was in ruins. Shattered pieces of wall lay beneath where they had broken off from. Stones that once evenly covered the street now were broken to bits. It was as if everything was made of glass… except this was solid stone that was scattered everywhere.

Kalk stopped suddenly, pulling Tick’s attention forward. Before them was a beast at least double Kalk’s size, glaring at them. Unmoving, the beast looked to them both, almost having expected them. It seemed to be a standstill, the light blocking him, but him blocking Kalk and Tick. It refused to move, rather seeming to almost make its way to them. As it moved closer, the low light gave way to its true appearance. Its fur was a ragged, jet black. Its eyes were no different; rather, there was no white to them, only a gleaming, single toned black. They seemed empty… as empty as the forest. Drool dripped from its upper fangs, and as it took a step forward, it snarled viciously.

“K-Kalk,” Tick whispered into his ear, eyes wide and trained on the monstrosity before them. “We need to run… it’s going to k-“ the wolf like beast roared out, spit flying in every direction as it shook it’s head from side to side. With a yelp, Tick was stopped entirely from speaking. She felt herself begin to shake in terror as she curled herself closer to Kalk’s back. She opened her eyes, only to find that Kalk still hadn’t moved, and shockingly, his eyes were closed. “Kalk! Kalk we have to move!” she screamed, the shadow beast still approaching, its eyes looking longingly at her. Looking into them, she could only see a distorted reflection of herself on Kalk’s back. “Kalk!” she screamed again, pulling herself closer to him and clutching her eyes shut as it leaped toward them.

She shook viciously, waiting for the moment of death… and felt nothing. Slowly opening her eyes, she found that they were behind the beast now. Kalk, without hesitation, took the opportunity to bolt around the nearest corner before the beast could turn around. This did nothing to detract it, as looking behind them, Tick saw it jump from the street level up to the roof tops and follow overhead. Her heart pounded loudly in her quickly rising and falling chest as she looked around and only saw more… so many more. One, two… four. And that was only the count she could see in the light from Kalk’s horn. Behind them, there was the roar of many more paws and claws erupting from the darkness.

Tick felt her heart stop as Kalk, against all sense, stopped beneath the clock tower. The noise from the beasts was everywhere, but the ringing in her ears seemed to drown out even that. The world around her seemed to slow down, the beasts ripping at the walls and buildings turning to them in slow motion. She’d experienced this before, but only in the air while moving at high speeds. The adrenaline rush didn’t last long, and she felt the end draw nearer and nearer as Kalk’s horn burned out and stopped glowing. It was throwing a hunk of meat into a sea of sharks. The buildings around them seemed to close in on them, the glimmering eyes of the beasts drawing near as Tick felt herself cry out and curl into a ball once more. A hook covered paw was in full sweep, ready to hack them in two when, without warning, it stopped.

The beasts hacked and slashed, bit and stomped, but to no avail whatsoever. Tick looked all around them, relieved to be alive but utterly confused. None of them seemed to be able to get through a circle around them… one lined out by lightly glowing green lines that took the shape of a pentagon. Understanding instantly came to her, and she looked to the beasts now with fascination more the fear. How can there be so many here?

She turned to Kalk only to find his eyes shining brightly in the low glow of the seal below them. His teeth gritted, and as he stood beneath her, his back arching slightly, he seemed to be focusing a lot of energy. All at once, a shockwave released from his horn, going in every direction from the tip. It passed straight through Tick with no affect, but upon reaching the outside of the barrier, it seemed to turn into a hurricane-like force. Shadow beasts flew in every direction, the pulse of energy seeming to only take hold of them as it passed over the town. Buildings endured the pulse with no damage at all. Tick couldn’t help but gawk at what Kalk had just done. Every single shadow beast in town had to have been thrown away all at once.

Kalk blinked once, and in that very instant, they were standing on the top of the clock tower. He lowered himself, his eyes fading from their glowing state and motioning for her to get down. “Sorry for the rough ride. It’s only just begun, though,” he told her, looking off into the forest as she got down.

“Whoa whoa, what do you mean ‘just begun’?” Tick asked with haste, looking at him with fear as she hopped onto the solid rooftop. “You just got rid of all the shadow beasts right?” she looked in the direction he was looking. “It’s ov…..er,” she was barely able to say, her eyes widening as the trees rising above her in the distance parted.

Two enormous bead-like eyes gleamed in the dark as a black, sparkling shadow emerged. Enormous paws stamped into the ground, bringing a cloud of dust up as it moved forward. Reaching the town, it did not even make the effort to fit its foot into the narrow streets. Rather, it went over the buildings, stepping upon the rooftops with no struggle at all. Under its great weight, the stone and clay that made up each building cracked and deformed as it came forward. Taller than the tower they stood upon, it had no trouble sighting them. Its mouth opened wide, hundreds of long, dagger like teeth showing. A wave of sound blasted out that could deafen those who were close enough to it. Tick found herself on the stone roof, holding her ears down in a failed attempt to block it out. The sound was jarring, causing a high pitched whine to ensue when it had finally passed.

Kalk, still standing tall, looked straight into the shadow’s eyes. It was almost like what had happened before in the streets, a stand off. But this time, on a much bigger scale. Rather than a street, it was the entire city, and looking up to Kalk, she couldn’t tell who was bigger now. Kalk was different than any unicorn she’d seen… It was almost like he was an alicorn. Closing his eyes, he inhaled deeply, and held in his breath for a few seconds. In an instant, his eyes opened glowing more powerfully than ever before.

He vanished before her, the battle that would decide the very fate of Beacon beginning. Standing on the rooftop, she wasn’t sure weather or not she should feel confident or fearful for him. She was able to spot him on a roof some distance away, and in trying to move in his direction, found herself hitting a solid object. Tick had to get back up, having tried to leap into flight to go to him. All around her, glowing faintly, was another bubble surrounding a seal on the rooftop. Tapping the bulb, she came to realize that there was no way she could help. All she could do was sit down and hope… just like always.

=========================================================================

Pain thrust through all, pushing back any that could have hoped to stand where the light had come from. Gone now was the brilliant source of energy that was the driving force behind all. All that remained was boiling… boiling heat. The searing would not relent, the sight difficult to even take in with such devilish things. Blood pushed, a force that broke though all. Blood called forth like never before, and so its will was allowed.

There is no fighting the blood. All come to obey.

Chapter 6: The Cursed

Chronicles of the Glow
Written by: Rusty Parker

Edited by: Wanderwing

6
The Cursed

A fuzzy image came into view slowly as two black walls parted at the center. In front of her face lay a blur of a white blob that, when she tried to move, responded. The white blob reacted to her commands as she lay there, beginning to gain her mind again slightly after having awoken from such a deep sleep. Her hoof fell now on the soft surface beside her, pins and needles shooting down her side as she tried to move the rest of her body. Pain shot into her skull like as if applied with a hammer, and her attempted movement was instantly stifled as the clearing room went blurry again. She found her head against the fluffy pillow, her eyes closing… no, sight fading.

“Ahhhg,” a ragged voice responded when she tried to speak. Somewhere past the blue tuft of a blur, she caught the shooting up of a darkly colored figure. The image shifted and grew larger as her vision still faded. She had to speak, to get help. A pain now accompanied the pins and needles that kept her stomach completely numb. It felt as if her blood was boiling, the pain intensifying as time went on. “Ha..aa.. uh,” she heard again in a gasp of a voice as she opened her mouth, trying desperately to ask for help.

“The anesthesia… wearing… more, stat!” barley penetrating the popping of her ears, the voice sounded so distant. She couldn’t catch everything that was said.

“Haaagh,” she again moaned, trying her very best to fight the pain in her stomach that wouldn’t stop burning. Like a fire with plenty of timber, the pain intensified. “Haaaa,” she breathed in now, barely able to keep her lungs pumping air. She desperately needed help from somepony… anypony. She’d be panicking if she could move. The darkly colored blur moved quickly to her as she lost sight entirely. When she felt her stomach was about to explode from the inside out, the needles came back. Numbness set in, and the pain slowly retracted back into the crevice it had crawled from.

“Whew, that… that was a close one,” a voice said in from far off, barely audible as her she felt sleep pulling her in. “Almost lost her… I-“ she didn’t get to hear the rest of his statement. All left her, and as she floated through the space she felt something terrible creep into her mind. An urge… an urge to move that was not hers. In the cloud of her mind, something had her… and it was pulling now with power she had never before experienced.

Nothing was done, not by her or any other. She lost consciousness then, still feeling the tug and pull from within.

…

Long, lively green vines hung from above, swaying in the light breeze. Through the canopy above, the bright blue sky could be seen past the gleaming noon sun. Moss covered trunks stretched as far as the eye could see, and in the crisp fall air, the chirping of birds ready to head north for the Winter could be heard throughout the forest. Standing in the knee high grass, the unicorn looked up, breathing in the clean air that flowed all around him. His aqua blue mane was kept neatly, a solid, white streak running down it off the center.

“Such a beautiful day today, isn’t it?” he asked as he turned to a mare that lay on a plaid mat in the meadow not far from where he stood. Turning to the young, aspiring artist he bound himself to, he felt happiness in where he was. This place was great! So much life, so few worries. The air was fresh from the greenery, and light seemed to seep from every surface. It was perfect.

“You’re always one to inspect nature,” she said softly, eyes moving down to the basket beside her. “Come sit down, let’s enjoy our lunch together!” she said in her sweet, lucid voice. A growling beast roared from his stomach, confirming then what his wife already known. He was hungry, and by more than a small margin. He couldn’t remember the last time he ate. A smile crossed the unicorn’s face as he came to lay beside her, ready to feast on the daffodil sandwiches they had thrown together earlier in the day.

As Kalk tucked his hooves underneath himself, he came to a realization. There was somepony… missing. Yes, he could remember now. His daughter, the yellow coated filly that would one day “Paint the world,” as she had always proclaimed, wasn’t there. Ah, so much like her mother, he thought as he stared at the mare beside him. He could only hope the best for her. “Hold on, where’s our little filly?” he asked her, still smiling. She wasn’t in any danger, and he knew that much for a fact.

“Last I saw, she was heading into the woods… said she was going to ‘Take in the scenery,’ much like how you were,” she told him, happily biting into the sandwich she so gingerly held in her dainty hooves when she finished.

“Ah, I see. Just like her daddy!” he joked, pushing himself up from the blanket. “I’ll go fetch her, be right back,” he said as he stretched his back legs. The muscles had relaxed to the point of stiffness, and he had to get the knots out before he could really move.

“Dear…” the mare said, trailing off as she looked down to the plaid texture beneath her. Her eyes seemed to trace each line individually, her mind focused on something that Kalk couldn’t quite pick up on. He took her chin in his hoof gently, turning her up to face him in a slow motion. Without saying a word, he brought his lips to hers, lightly connecting the two at the mouth. One look in the eyes afterward said it all. He loved her more than she could ever know, and in his gesture, she found comfort. “Don’t lose her,” she whispered, looking up to him with gleaming eyes.

“I won’t, that’s a promise,” he announced with confidence as he turned and walked toward the rich forest that skirted their wide meadow. The thin canopy of leaves did nothing to end the light that seemed to pour from above in rays. Walking through around the trees to get by, he started to search for the yellow of his daughter’s coat. Her mane was a dark, grey color much like his coat, and wouldn’t stick out as much as her coat.

On and on he searched, but to no avail. Worry filled his heart as he struggled in vain to locate the filly. What if she got lost, or, Celestia forbid, hurt? It seemed that, in the forest, there was no threat to behold, but the thought still left him unsettled. Unspeaking, he crossed over the top of a hill, coming upon a scene he did not altogether expect to find. One that was eerily familiar. It seemed that here, the forest divided. One half was the same bright, colorful and peaceful land he called home. The other was a different setting entirely. The trees there grew much taller, and much more closely together. Jagged roots shot out of the ground at the border between the two separate biomes, and as he came to the cross section, he could see nothing within. Darkness seemed to be the only thing that filled this forest.

Kalk stood baffled by the sight unsure of what to do or even think. He was certain nothing like this had ever existed here before… and yet, it felt unsettlingly familiar. It was like he had been here before, but he had never seen this place. The thought of going in there sent a shrill of fear down his spine, but his daughter was in there. The idea lacked any knowledge, and was completely without reason. Why would she go in a place as horrid looking as this? She was more afraid of the dark than your average foal, and this darkness seemed infinite. Yet still, his mind couldn’t be swayed with logic. She was in there, and he was going to get her out.

Inhaling air deeply, he stepped into the darkness, flaring on a light spell as he penetrated the sheet of blackness. Even with his horn lit up, he could still barely make out the first meter or two in front of him. A chill passed him by as he stepped around a thick tree, doing his best to force his way through the nearly tangible darkness. It felt like hours had gone by, and from what he could tell, he was lost now just the same as the very filly he was searching for. With a sigh, he sat down, the empty, silent forest seeming to envelop him as he took his time to rest.

His eyes scanned all around the bubble of light he had erected around himself, trying to find any sign that maybe, he was near the edge of the forest. Or, if he wanted to get his own hopes riding high, perhaps his little filly had been here. No such luck seemed to exist in this dingy, dank world that he somehow found himself roaming through. His eyes dropped to the dirt below, no life seeming to grow this close to the ground at all. Roots weaved their way in and out of the ground all around him, the trees the only thing able to live here, it seemed.

Kalk breathed in a long, tired breath of the stale air that surrounded him. There was no wind at all, and for all he knew, this air had remained here, not shifting for all the time of the forest’s existence. A loud crunch in the distance brought his head up from his slouching posture. Ears twitching, he scanned the tiny horizon that his spell had formed, searching all around for any sign of what was there. “Your mom is worried, honey, where are you?” he said to the wall of darkness that seemed to be getting closer and closer to him. His light spell seemed to be fading, and as sight diminished, a small, glowing blue light shone in the distance. It shifted, moving side to side in a sway as it grew closer and closer.

The dark cloud snaked its way up his leg as he stood there, unable to speak at the sight of the approaching orb… no, orbs. There, two orb, floating through the darkness with no sign of impediment. The shadow constricted its way around the stallion’s stomach, coming to grab his throat as it whirled around his body. Tendril like in shape, the shadow slithered further up his neck, getting tighter and tighter as it moved. He couldn’t move, and could barely breathe. His spell wasn’t fading at all! The shadow… or whatever this thing was. It was choking the very life out of him.

The blue orbs stopped, levitating just outside the former radius of Kalk’s spell. They seemed to shift in shape as he struggled to heave air into his lungs. “I,” a very hostile sounding voice erupted from the two, faintly glowing spheres. “Beckon you, Kalk,” the voice said in a near whisper. “Or, should I say, faaather?” it hissed. No, that’s not my little girl! He wanted to scream it, but the constriction around his neck would not end. “Heh eh eh,” it laughed, finding some sort of satisfaction in his lack of ability.

“Dear old Kalk, always trying your very best to save the truth from yourself,” the voice whispered now. The orbs vanished and reappeared, the creature before him only blinking rarely As if it were a gesture, rather than a necessity. The pair of eyes shot from the darkness to his right, seeming to have instantly changed position. The shadows were too thick to see through, and only the bright blue of those eyes would show through. Kalk breathed very long breaths now, trying his best to clear his panicked mind. He couldn’t get enough air like this, and coughed through the grip around him.

The orbs vanished once more, not reappearing at all this time. “I see you are enjoying my gift, dear old friend. How is it? Your ripe, vivid old age?” the voice whispered from directly behind his head. He couldn’t do anything, even his horn was unresponsive. Worse yet, his memory became fuzzy. Why was he here? Where was here? And what was… Beacon? A flood of memories came to him as he thought, the realization of what was happening setting in. Tears streamed down the unicorn’s cheek as he came to recall everything. All this, his wife, his daughter, were gone. Gone and never to be seen again. Victims of time that had only spared him because of the monster that enwrapped him now.

Kalk struggled in vein to fight back the shadow that ensnarled him. Every muscle in his body convulsed as his emotion exploded. Laughter rang out from every direction, echoing through the emptiness. “So you see, now? It has been a long time, dear old Dad,” the voice taunted. Kalk’s teeth gritted as he did everything to move. He felt his eyes burn, the whites in them fading to and from black. Like turning on the lights, his vision shifted between darkness and light. Light that moved with such violence in every direction, light that formed the shape of a filly that moved with such speed that he thought it had to be a trick. His eyes faded back to white, the blue spheres suddenly directly in his face. “I didn’t think you’d forget me so soon!” the frail looking, filly before him giggled out through its own laughter.

Darkness quickly replaced the sight of the two pools of blue, but the thought could not be shaken. That was his daughter! There wasn’t any doubt; he knew it for a fact. Through the malicious intent, the joy in his suffering, he could see a glimmer of what was. “Dad?” a familiar, high pitched voice called out in its nervous way. He turned to the source, having gained a little leeway in motion. What he saw was far worse than any he had before. He promised himself he would never let this happen! That he wouldn’t let her down! He promised her that! His mind screamed at him, the sight of a filly before him causing the loss of all hope.

“Didn’t you promise me, Daddy?” the filly said, her voice still sweet and innocent. Her head was turned down, and though her mane was tussled over her face, Kalk knew all too well what she looked like now. The sight of the yellow filly he had once called his daughter retuned, her head rising and revealing the truth. The filly, in the same manner as the yellow filly before her, lifted her head, revealing the whites of her eyes to be a deep black. A bright blue glow radiated from her pupil-less eyes, and tears streamed down her cheeks freely. Her purple wings were ripped and torn, twisted as anything else the filly bore. Cuts ran down the length of her frail, starved body, and blood dripped from her chin. “Why? Why didn’t you keep your promise?” she wailed.

Horrible screaming erupted from the darkness, and as it went on, unimpeded, darkness enveloped all. Tears ran down his cheeks, and after a few moments, his scream came to a crackling end. Sweat ran heavily down his back and forehead, and as he sat there, the sight still all too vivid in his mind, a hoof came to his ribs. He breathed in spurs, unable to keep a steady breath as he shook. Blinking several times, he recognized that he was in a well lit room for the first time. And there was a heart monitor beside him, beeping more quickly than was healthy.

After a few moments, the white walls around him echoing in a sense of welcome and safety, he turned to the pony that had a hoof so gently pushed against his rib cage. A horrified Tick stood there, eyes white where they should be, and her coat was without a scratch, save a scraped knee. “Kalk! Kalk are you alright?” she asked frantically. “Kalk, say something!” she begged, her eyes watering up.

“T-Tick?” he asked, blinking several times. She nodded, looking up to him in confusion now. More than likely questioning what had made him scream. The memory reentered his shocked mind, causing him to cringe a little. He instantly wrapped the bewildered filly in a hug. A tear fell from his cheek onto her wing, causing her to hug back more tightly. A thought came to him… She hadn’t called him “Dad,” or for that matter, referred to him as “Father” even once. She still called him Kalk. He smiled at this; the monster that he battled still had much to learn.

But why now? Why, of all times, did the nightmare happen now? He stared at the wall, the filly still tightly in his embrace when something occurred to him. The attack! Somepony must have gotten… “Listen, Tick,” he said, a serious expression crossing his face as the gravity of the situation rose in his mind. She came back to stand on her own hooves, and looked at him knowing the seriousness in his voice to be pertinent. “Was anypony hurt by one of the beasts last night?

“Yes, yes there was! Red White, well… not really anymore but. She used be called that an-“

“Tick!” he silenced her as she trailed off. “Where is she?” He asked,

“D-down the hall, in the third year room,” she said in a stammer, not sure what was going on. There was no time for Kalk to explain, he had to go now. That monster was up to something again, and he’d be damned if he lost anypony else to her so easily. He was out the door in the next second, galloping down the hall as quickly as his numb legs would take him. Tick stood stunned by her adoptive father’s shift in behavior, having grown used to his usually calm demeanor. “H-hey, wait for me!” she called as she ran out the door after him.

…

The sheets rose and fell slowly, the filly below breathing in more deeply than before. Her breath drew in and out as sweat beaded on her forehead, the heat building up from within. She wasn’t getting any better at all, the colt thought as he sat silently in his chair by her makeshift hospital “bed”. It was an emergency cot with extra blankets thrown below it, all they could afford with the actual beds filled with the other injured. His eyes fell to the ground below him. He traced the tiles on the floor, following the pattern that made up the checkered red and white... just like her. He couldn’t escape his thoughts; they ravaged him as he sat there, helpless to even do anything.

He kept jumping back to what happened, how the beast was about to leap on him, how it was about to do to him what happened to her. Why didn’t she just let him be hit by that last blow? Why did it have to be her? He looked up to her, the sweat beading off her forehead and flowing to her cheeks. He got up, and with a hot cloth from the tub beside the bed, he whipped off the sweat. He then placed the cloth gently over her forehead, allowing it to cool over her. “Why?” he whispered to himself above her. Looking down at her pained features, he could tell that even now she was feeling the effects of the wound.

He raised a hoof to her curled up form under the blankets, and with a gentle stroke, ran it across her shoulder. His eyes were deep and hollow as he stared at her wounded area through the sheets. Poking out under her leg, he could see the bandages that had stopped the blood, but not on the inside. Was there really no doctor in the whole town who had ever worked with this before? He had heard the conversations about such things, of how she was a lost cause. To his horror, one even proposed to throw her out of the building.

“She’s too dangerous now! That infection is what caused the animals to go insane and start killing anything they could reach!” the angry one had argued. “We can’t risk it here!”

“Do you even hear yourself, Steff? She’s not one of those monsters yet, and we are doctors! There must be something we can do!” the other pushed as he walked around the bed to face him directly.

“There has never, been a case where the infected pony didn’t go insane and try to kill somepony,” he whispered into his challenger’s face. “You hear that? Never!”

The argument went on for what felt like hours. Neither would give up, and in the end, it took a nurse walking in to stop the two. Steff, the one who had been threatening his sister’s life right before him, snorted and stomped his way out the moment she came in. He didn’t know who the nurse was, but the colt had to be thankful for her timely entrance. He didn’t know what he would have done if he had to hear that horrible stallion go on like that about his sister.

“Orange… Cyan?” a frail voice entered his mind. Looking now to the side, he saw her, his sister, eyes barely opened and breathing heavy as when she woke up before. “Hey… Don’t you worry about me. I… I will make it through,” she said, a weak smile coming to her face. She huffed in another breath of air and exhaled as if she had just run a mile. He couldn’t stop himself from hugging her there. Hearing her voice after all these hours… it gave him some hope. “Hey, hey… t-that hurts,” she was able to push out through her weak breath. Realizing what he was doing, he released her. The infection caused her pain whenever she tried to move or was moved. Or at least, that’s what he gathered from the nurse’s explanation.

“R-right. Sorry,” he said, his ears folding down as he looked to the corner of his eye. She laughed lightly for a moment, only to clutch her stomach in pain where she had been cut. “Are you alright?” the colt asked hectically. His hoof remained on her shoulder still, lightly placed to try and comfort her.

“Yea… yea. I shouldn’t be… laughing,” she said as she curled herself back into a ball. She still kept her eyes opened, but didn’t seem to be as eager to try and move again. “So, what did they say?” she asked, looking up at him with a sly smile.

“W-what? How did you k-“

“You’re my little brother, silly,” she told him in her teasing way. “I can tell when something’s wrong,”

The orange maned colt looked up to the ceiling and then back down to her after a moment of thought. He could never get around her, she knew him too well. “It’s… not good,” he said as his face folded into a frown, his forehead creasing as he admitted it.

“Orange. I’m older than you, now tell me,” she demanded with surprising strength in her voice.

“They… they talked about throwing you outside,” he said, his tone getting slightly more angry as he went on. “But… you’re going to be okay, I just know it. They don’t know what they’re talking about!” he said, trying now to relieve her.

The filly’s eyes were wide, her realization coming to bear right before her younger brother. That look in her eyes, the colt thought. Does she already know what this is? “Little brother… Get away,” she told him, her eyes trained on the wall.

“What? Bu-“

“Just get away! As far away from me as you can! I’m not… I’m not safe!” she shouted now. The colt backed up a step now, eyes wide and tearing. She looked straight into his eyes, pleading for him to listen. “Please… I don’t want you to get hurt!” she begged, tears now flowing down her cheeks openly. Despite her pain, she was still able to sit bolt upright and stare him down with perfect movement. She really meant this… he didn’t have a choice.

The orange maned colt walked to the door, looking at her the whole time over his shoulder. Her tears kept flowing as she stared at him, sobbing every other moment. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her, the thought of abandoning her too great. There had to be something he could do here! Surely somepony must know! That doctor was wrong, and he knew it. He just had to be. The colt was so caught up in his thoughts, and in his sister’s eyes, that it surprised him when her expression changed to one of surprise. He found himself bumping into the chest of a stallion as he walked forward without looking. His fresh tears caressed the coat of the pony in front of him, and when he looked up, he saw just what was so surprising.

Standing there, his coat positively ragged and mane flowing in whichever direction it seemed to fall, was a usually well kept unicorn. Kalk’s eyes were glued to the colt’s sister, not once leaving the scene of her bed even after the colt had walked right into him. A bandage showed a small bit of blood through its clean, white surface on his tired face. His eyes, filled to bursting with veins and arteries, fell down to him, and with a nod, he looked back up to his sister in the cot. He breathed in a deep breath, and stepped around the orange headed pony without so much as saying a single word.

“Kalk! Kalk hey,” came a frantic voice from the hallway from which he had appeared. “Hey, you’re hurt too you kn-“ she said as she slid to a stop in the doorway, her white mane falling into her face as she did. It was Tick! The colt would have positively bounced if it weren’t for the grim look in her eyes as she looked on at the scene in a mix of emotions he couldn’t identify. Her eye traced the look on Kalk’s face, and then did the same for the red headed filly in her bed. She stayed silent for several moments as Kalk tiredly looked into the wet eyes of the filly before him. Turning to where she faced, the colt was shocked.

His sister’s eyes… they faded in and out of darkness, the whites of them becoming jet black every few seconds before fading away to white again. Her expression was one that hurt him simply to look at, her pain so apparent as she fought it back. “K-Kalk,” she barely was able to say as she choked on her own vocal cords. “Please… just prot-tec… protect them… from… me,” she begged, forcing her words to form, even though it hurt so greatly to even breath. She had to breathe much more heavily after just to get air into her lungs, the pain throughout her whole body taking over. Below the sheets, a black mass seemed to glow on and off with her eyes. She gasped for air as she pulled her hooves into herself again, the pain becoming too great for her to stand.

Kalk looked her over with intensity in his eyes. They looked from her eyes to the black spot that kept flashing through her blanket. His face grew distorted as he thought. What could be going through that head of his head? He knew something more than the doctors that the colt had watched arguing before, that was obvious by how he looked at the strange occurrence without any surprise. It was almost like he had seen this before… “Kalk!” he found himself shouting without even meaning to. He didn’t know what possessed him, or even what he was about to say, but he knew that it must be important. “You’ve seen this before… please, please, I can’t lose her!” he begged. “Save her! You know how to so just do it! She’s not a monster,” he said as tears poured down his cheeks, the stallion looking at him now with sorrow in his eyes. They clutched shut and he turned his head to the side, facing now toward the bed ridden filly.

Standing there, the room silent except for the filly’s gasps for air, the old unicorn opened his eyes to look at her. She was staring at him, eyes pleading for him to do something. She couldn’t speak, but there was so much meaning in her eyes. Inhaling once, Kalk opened his mouth and began to speak finally. “I can’t stop it,” he whispered, eyes still locked on hers. “I can’t stop it but I can slow it,” he said loud enough for the two across the room to hear clearly. “It will hurt, and you will eventually become the beast… but you’ll have life for a while,” he spoke softly to her, the dark color still coming and going in her eyes.

“I don’t want to lie to you, you may end up hurting somepony if you don’t stay strong. Do you still want to do it? Only one chance here,” he said almost sympathetically as she continued to gasp for breath. Her white eyelids clenched shut over her eyes as she nodded, the mess of hair falling off the bed with the motion. Kalk shut his eyes and a small grin came over his face. “Good,” he whispered under his breath.

Horn glinting, he pulled the sheets from overtop the filly. She still pulled herself into more and more of a ball as he worked, the magical energy appearing as a visible blue powder as his spell activated. The dark color was now in full view up the side of her body, veins visibly full of it. It seemed to be growing across her, reaching farther and farther as it spread. The gash she had received seemed to be the center of the dark curse that pushed its way through her body. Kalk’s spell formed a circle on her body from the glowing blue dust that lightly sprinkled out and floated in the air around him. Symbols the cyan colt couldn’t remember seeing before took shape, and the overall seal seemed to have a main central focal point. There, in the middle of the forming seal, was a snake, maybe symbolizing the venom that was being sealed below. The circle seemed to contain the snake like a pit, and as the seal became more detailed, it glowed more intensely.

The red maned filly slowly began to relax her tightly closed posture as the seal came to complete itself. It inscribed itself onto her wound, some parts of it still visible underneath the bandage. Her breathing became less erratic, and as she laid there, eyes shut, the shaking of her body came to stop. She seemed to have passed out now, the stress from the curse exerting so much force on her causing exhaustion. Kalk sighed in relief, seeing the filly finally back to a peaceful state. It really was incredible. None of the doctors could even do anything about this, but here he was.

A weary look crossed Kalk’s face as he came to face the two young ponies who waited, still as stone by the doorway across the room. “Tick,” he said, a somewhat gentle tone in his voice, though it was plain that he had to struggle now to maintain such a collected demeanor. “Are there any others who were infected?”

“N-no. None,” she replied somewhat nervously, glancing over to the orange headed colt as her head bowed down a little. “Or at least, since we got here,” she said, the sadness in what had happened apparent. The colt hadn’t known this filly for long at all, he still barely knew anything about her. Yet still, even with their friendship so fleeting, she still seemed to show concern for him. Her eyes kept shifting to him, to see his expression through this all. He was Red White’s brother, sure, but Tick was still a close friend of hers. It must hurt her just the same as him, to see her this way.

“Good... very good. Now, for you two,” he said, stepping toward them both. What could he mean? They hadn’t been hurt really at all during the attack. Thanks to others, they had made it through with only a couple scratches. So why was he coming to them now? Kalk was his teacher, but it he still found a way to elude predictability. “You two,” he said in a near whisper, his voice sounding so filled with emotion, like he could burst out into tears at any moment. “She’s not going to last forever like this. I am sorry, I am truly sorry. I know what she must be to you both. But there’s nothing else I can do,” he trailed off, staring at the wall.

“But… Kalk, she can fight it, can’t she?” the colt’s voice cracked as his teacher’s gaze remained glued to the clean, white wall. “There must be something somepony can do!” he said with tears again welling in his eyes. “She’d never give up anypony, never! She would try again and again and again!” he gasped in some air, his teacher now looking into his eyes. “She is always saying that there is hope! There is always something somepony can do,” he cried out as the tears worked their way down his face. Tick, who was weepy-eyed herself, lifted a hoof to his shoulder, gently touching him in a gesture to try and calm him.

“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice again monotone and plain. He turned to look at the filly, her chest taking in air and releasing it at a healthy rate. “This was the only hope she had left, there is nothing that will stop that infection once it is in you,” he said, his eyes still trained on her almost peaceful face. He wanted to scream, to jump at his teacher and just hit his head against his own. He hated everything about this… but he knew that Kalk was right. He should be thanking him, after all. She would have been killed otherwise. He lowered his head, allowing himself to simply let the weeping come.

For a while, they all stayed there, the colt silently letting all his sorrow spill to the floor, Tick looking on in a pale, hollow expression and Kalk simply sitting by the resting filly with his eyes closed. After some time, the colt finally ran out of tears to cry. His eye sockets felt dry and empty, his eyes having grown puffy and bloodshot. Tick still rested right next to him. Her eyes seemed hollowed out, her expression blank as she stared at the filly in the bed. It was plain to tell that Kalk had fallen asleep while he sat, his head hanging slightly as he still stood guard over the filly.

“You know,” Tick said after some time, her eyes still trained forward. “Your sister really saved my life in the long run. She stopped me from starving, gave me her kindness… and hope. And even considered me her friend,” she said, her voice trailing off to a whisper as she went. “All I ever hoped to be able to do was repay her… and now,” she barely let out before her voice stopped altogether. Looking over, she had the same pale face, the same blank expression.

“She would always come back happy,” he found himself saying. She turned to him now in question, her brow lifted. “When she would go to ‘eat’ her dinner outside, she would always walk back in with a wide smile across her face, like she had just had the best meal of her life,” he said, looking at her now with his puffed up eyes and wet face. She looked back to the bed, the filly having just rolled over in her sleep. She didn’t smile, frown, or let a tear role down her eyes. But rather, she let them close; let them rest surely for the first time all night.

He still felt terrible, the factor of what was to come so soon never leaving his mind. But as he looked back, he couldn’t help but smile a little, knowing how good of a pony his sister was to everypony. They would have to make sure she was the happiest filly alive before… it ended. As he himself came to rest on the floor beside Tick, he wondered on and on about how he could do something to bring her the happiness that she had given them. Soon, his thoughts gave way to dreams as surely as Tick’s had.

…

Warm, red light reflected from the surface of the pooled water all around town. The sun could not yet be seen over the tree tops, but the red glow was a sure sign that it had peaked its bright image over the mountains in the distance. In the early morning glow, the water running still from the cracks in the sides of many buildings, all seemed oddly peaceful. Unlike most mornings, there was no sound, no ruckus of ponies waking up and getting ready for their day. The rain had long given way to a silent sprinkle, small drops falling in spread out intervals.

The scene would be beautiful, worthy of being painted again and again on crisp, clean canvas. That is, if this hadn’t been their home up till now. Looking over the ruins, the broken down buildings and abandoned household items that floated down the street, Glitter couldn’t help but feel depressed. This was the same town she had sent her little foals out in, all alone, to get to a safe place. No matter where she looked, nowhere seemed to be safe at all. Hazards remained in every place she could spot. Precariously hanging roofs that sagged and could collapse at any moment, sharp shards of rock hidden beneath the murky water. She felt like she had sent them off to their own death.

“They aren’t normal foals, Glitter,” her husband said reassuringly beside her, knowing her enough to recognize the hidden worry in her eyes. Looking over to him, he was all sorts of beat up. His face was riddled with scratches from the stone shards that had flown everywhere when the monster hit anything, and his eyes showed the deep depravity of sleep and rest. “They made it, so stop worrying for now,” he told her, stopping for a moment to readjust her limp foreleg that hung around his neck. She felt the shifting of her broken ribs as he pulled her up, and clenched her eyes shut in the pain. “We have to get you to the school so we can finally get that looked at,”

“Yea, you’re right,” she responded. Though he never could fix her urge to worry about every little thing that could go wrong, he did know how to reassure her. She smiled and lifted her legs to move on. The bandages restrained the movement of her face a little, and being improvised, weren’t fasted in the best of manners. She must look ridiculous, the thick patch fastened to the side of her head being much larger than it would ever need to be. Stepping forward, they once again had to cross the flooded street. The end of her tail was already soaked, her hooves still shaking with the cold. Yet still, if there was any hope for relief, it wasn’t in these ruins. They moved on.

In and out of buildings they went, looking all the while for a way through the streets. Many of the narrow streets had stones and clay toppled on top of them, and finding a way through what was already a maze proved difficult now more than ever. It was tiring for Glitter to move so much in such a bad condition, but she had to. Her compulsive need to fill her pack with supplies might not be helping either, now that she thought about it. Her legs were getting wobbly by the time the two stepped into the nearest building to try and find a way through to the next street. “Okay, let’s have a quick break here,” said Shine as they came to find it just as empty as the rest. Whoever lived here must have been in the middle of some documenting when the attack hit, pieces of disintegrated paper littered the wet tiled floor.

The crumbled steps that once led up to the second floor now seemed to be the only place to sit that wouldn’t get them both soaked to their waists. Looking up, Glitter was able to see bits of the blue sky through the fallen pile of rocks. She opened her bag and pulled from it a small pouch, levitating it before her with her magic. She stared at the pouch with intensity as she pulled out a small shard of the large gem she had worked tirelessly on for a week. Its surface was jagged, and it looked like it could easily cut anything with a little force. “I still don’t get it. What did I do wrong with you?” she asked it, still looking at it as if she expected some sort of answer.

“Maybe it just doesn’t like us,” Shine joked as he sat beside her.

“So much that it tried to explode and kill us? What a thing to do!” she said with angst as she placed the shard back in the pouch. “You know, something else has been bothering me about this whole incident,” she said, looking over to him now.

“Oh? And you mean beside our destroyed home and workplace?” he laughed a little. Plainly, he had made light of the grim situation already, seeming to be happy as ever. She wondered how deep it went, how far he had extended and stretched this happiness to cover up all the pain.

“Stop it,” she said, smiling herself. If anything, he was doing this to make her feel better, and she couldn’t help but do just that. “I mean about this gem,” she admitted, placing it down on the step between the two.

“What, you mean how it exploded? The energy got clogged up and exploded. What else is there to be worried about?” he asked, the two looking one another in the eye as they spoke. Glitter’s eyes shot off to the side, focus needing to be on her thoughts if she was going to explain what she worried about.

“You know how Kalk says that the shadow beasts can see energy inside of one another?” she asked, still looking off to a blank wall. She saw him nod in the corner of her peripheral vision, looking straight at her still. “What if the gem… I don’t know. Gave off energy that they saw when it exploded yesterday morning?” she asked, turning to him with worry filling her eyes. “What if I caused all this?”

He took her hoof between his own two, pulling it up gently as he looked her dead in the eye. “Everypony in the whole town who cares will be blaming themselves, Glitter. All of them. And you know what, they will all be wrong,” he spoke softly, knowing her fears with little need for thought. “It’s not anypony’s fault. Things happen. We move on, we do better, and we make sure that we are more prepared for when it happens again,” he told her. She looked down to the little bag, holding in it the small crystals that could have been the whole reason for Beacon’s destruction.

“You’re right. Thanks, love,” she said with little power. Slowly, the two pulled in to one another, and for just one glinting moment, their lips met. It always seemed that when things got bad, nothing would ever bring her comfort. She couldn’t be happier to find, every single time, that her loving husband could do that for her. “Let’s get moving, we have to get to the school before they start to worry even more,” she said, pulling herself up and onto her hooves. While hurt, she could still stand on her own, just not easily. The pack of gems secured in her bags, and her hoof fit snugly around her stallion’s shoulders, the two made their way out of the building into the flooded streets.

…

The ceiling above lit up with a cool, calm blue from a hanging gem stone, the atmosphere was soothing and peaceful in the room. All around, she could feel the fluff of the soft blanket that she was cocooned in. Lifting fore-hooves into the air, she stretched and let out a weak yawn. Despite having slept for so long, she still felt her every movement as being heavy. Her limbs seemed to crave being in the very same position as they had been in for the past few hours, or longer. She really had no idea how long she was asleep, but judging by the empty room, it had been long enough.

The filly did what she could to lift herself up, but nothing seemed to work. She couldn’t get her legs to put out any strength at all, and after a bit of struggling, simply gave up. She lay back down on her side, looking off to the slotted window across the room. Daylight had long since fallen on the town, or what was left of it. She could see the destruction even from her position. It seemed even worse than she remembered. Though, for her to think that would suggest she remember it well. She still couldn’t quite grasp why she was lying in this hospital cot, alone in this room.

The memories came back in bits at first, simple images that did little to help her. Her little brother, crying desperately in what looked like this very room popped to mind. Then Kalk and casting some sort of spell on her because… Her eyes widened as she came to the realization. It was clear in that instant what had happened. She had to do something, to try and find out if everypony was alright. What if the spell didn’t work and she hurt somepony? She couldn’t bear the thought, and it drove her to worthlessly try and pull herself out of the bed again.

It seemed her muscles were torn apart. Every movement felt like she had just run several miles on end without letting up. She tried time and again but made so little progress. She again gave in, knowing all too well she wouldn’t make it far like this anyway. Sitting upright now, after much effort, she just stared at her hooves. A sigh escaped her lips as she sat, helpless to lift herself.

“She’s been out of it for almost the whole day, are you sure she’ll be alright?” she heard a familiar voice say from outside the door.

“Yes, I’m certain. She will be fine… for now at least,” another said, the shadow of a unicorn appearing on the other side of the foggy glass that made up half the door. Her ears bolted up. Were they talking about her? The door opened, and in walked the best thing that she could ever ask for.

“Mom! Dad!” she nearly shouted upon seeing the two. A doctor accompanied them, and after everypony was in, she let out a huge smile. “Thank Celestia, you two made it here safe,”

“We should really be saying that about you,” her mother said, her brow arching up in the center. She stepped forward, and gave her a concerned look. She looked from her eyes to the bandages and back several times before saying anything else. The filly could feel the intensity of the worry her mother bore like a pile of bricks stacked neatly on her shoulders. “But well… are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Mom,” she said, looking off to the side as to avoid contact with her mother’s eyes. “I just-“ she trailed off. Her mother looked at her with a larger and larger frown, one that could only be sadness. It wasn’t disappointment, as far as she could tell, and anger didn’t seem to exist with her mother right now. Her father approached beside her, having the same, sad eyes. “I… I had to protect Orange Cyan. I couldn’t let him,” she sniffled, feeling the burden now of the scar that ran down her side. “I’m his big sister… that’s what I do, right?” she asked, looking up to her mother’s eyes now.

“Crimson,” her mother whispered under her breath. She pulled the filly into a hug, holding her close to her chest as fresh tears fell to the filly’s back. “Crimson, my daughter. The filly with a heart big enough to lose herself in it,” she whispered into the filly’s ear. Her father pulled joined in, nuzzling her gently. After a moment, her mother backed up a little, and looked at her with a smile. Her father remained right beside her, his hoof gently pressed against her own.

“What do you mean?” she asked, eyes wide. She looked from one to the other, and still couldn’t make any sense of this. “Who is Crims-“

“You,” her mother interrupted. The filly had to shake her head a little; sure that she had misheard her mother. She looked at her with wet eyes, this whole situation suddenly seeming to be a dream. It had to be a dream. There was just no way, no way at all that she could have heard that right. “That’s right, my daughter. Crimson is your name. Not any other’s,”

The red mane flew off in one direction as she whipped her head around to her flank. There, a wavy, red heart had somehow appeared, its center an offset of the outside shape. It almost appeared to be a ribbon, but had no curves to show. The heart was all there was to the cutie mark, no hidden meaning or anything. She couldn’t believe it. She… had a name! “Crimson,” she said, the word seeming od and foreign to her. That didn’t matter anymore. It was hers. Her identity, the word she would respond to should it ever be called!

“We wanted to name you when you were born. So we did. We would always call you Crimson when it was just the two of us, and now, we don’t have to hide it anymore,” her father said, coming to join her mother before her. They both had this smile on their face, like they couldn’t be more proud.

Crimson looked at the two and couldn’t help but smile. She wanted to get up and hug them, to be able to pull them both so close and just cry her happiness into their coats. But she still couldn’t lift herself up, she knew. Something else occurred to her. The sad expression they had on their faces when they entered the room. It could only mean one thing. She felt the bandages at her side as she lifted her hooves out to them. Smiling, she knew the tragedy behind this all. And so did they. She had a timer now, and this was where it started.

“I am so happy,” she cried as the two embraced her once more. Crimson’s emotions flowed like a powerful river, not stopping even for the biggest of boulders. They knew. They heard it somewhere from somepony and knew all about her curse. They knew she was going to have a hard life, or what was rest of it. They knew all that, and still wanted to give her happiness now. They dodged the grim reality to bring a sparkling joy to her on this most terrible of days. It probably hurt them, to hide it now.

She cried with the happiness, soaking their coats and manes where she buried her face. But it was not the cutie mark that brought her this happiness. Nor was it her name. No, what made Crimson so happy now was how much her family loved her. Her parents doing everything they can now to make her happy. Her brother crying because he couldn’t save her. She could be content with this. What time she had left, she would make it into a life worth living. Most importantly, she would help everypony she could before then.

The scar beneath the bandage burned painfully, a reminder of what was to come.

=========================================================================

The other was gone. The forest was so thick and dense; the thoughts of this other being found were hopes long past possibility. For a while, everything had become clear. The snippets of emotion that surged through the head, the body and the essence seemed to have a reason, for the very first time. The other was bright, brilliant and gave so much. The other had to be found. The Blood did not tug or pull in any direction now, seeming only to be content with the darkness that surrounded all. The Luminous One, for whatever reason, seemed to be of no importance anymore.

Hours past, and nothing changed. The clearing where the other was seen, where the rocks rose from the ground rather than trees, was now lit ablaze. The very contact with such flames that seemed to be everywhere in the clearing already would burn the skin, singe the flesh and turn the bone to ash. There was no going back now.

A heavy boulder seemed to tug down at the throat, the emotion having gone. Head hung low, wandering now seemed to be the only option. The Blood was content. Everything was all right as long as the Blood wasn’t boiling with urgency. A trail of fresh hoof prints painted the soft soil of the empty forest.

Chapter 7: Every Coin...

Chronicles of the Glow
Written by: Rusty Parker

Edited by: Wanderwing

7
Every Coin…

The clock tower shot up from the ruins like a single soldier at the end of a massive battle. It seemed to be the only untouched building in the whole of Beacon. Ponies went here and there, shifting through the chaos that was once their homes in search of possessions, food, and possibly, other ponies. It still wasn’t entirely clear whether there had been any losses of life. Glitter’s eyes didn’t stay too firmly stuck to the ground, however. She had no real interest in the ants below; it was the flies above that pestered her now. On top of the school’s roof, she would have the perfect point from which to spot anypony coming in to land. Hey, they might even land on the roof itself, the rest of the town so thoroughly wrecked.

She heard from somepony that Blitzy had decided to fly off to Canterlot in order to get help for everypony here. It seemed reasonable enough, but Glitter still didn’t trust much about the idea of asking them for help. She had sent letter after letter in to the royal offices to try and get just a little extra aid here, to try and help out the ponies that lived here in the most meager of ways, and she was still turned down at every chance. The politicians didn’t think anything that happened here was important enough to bother with, since they had no real exports, and she rather hated the idea of them. Asking for help now, it just felt like they would get the same pat on the shoulder that a foal would when it did something out of line.

The wind blew through her hair as she felt its chill run down her body. A slight sigh escaped her lips as she lowered her head. She still didn’t know what to think in this whole situation. She knew that they needed the help, and that the ponies of Canterlot would gladly lend their hooves in aid once some of them saw the destruction, but she still couldn’t stand any of them. Celestia herself couldn’t find the time to bother with them, and even if she could, it felt like there would be nothing gained anyway. Everypony here was so enslaved, so entrapped by the beasts. They must seem like myths and legends to anypony who had never spent their nights wide awake, terrified for their children.

Her children… She felt the heavy stones in her chest grow as she recalled yet again of the situation with poor Crimson. She was so young, so innocent, and even with that, she still had the kindest soul a pony could ever hope to come across in their days. And now she had a time limit on her life. She felt her eyes clench shut as she thought of it. This would have all been prevented if Canterlot had sent help like she had pleaded for so often. If they had, maybe her daughter wouldn’t be lost to this.

Glitter stomped her front hooves into the thick clay that made up the roof. She hated them, all of them. Her little filly was going to die soon, and it was their fault. If only they had listened… if only she had been more convincing. She sat down, her head still hung low. There was nothing that anypony could do now, and not even Celestia had the power to change that. Her eyes clenched shut, she breathed deeply to try and calm herself. They would be here soon, and she would have to be strong. So strong that she would be able to look them in the eye without lunging at them.

There was no denying it. She needed their help and she knew it. The wind blew lightly as she sat, waiting for her enemies to come to her in all their glory to help.

…

A chalk board was nailed solidly into the back wall. Where usually there was some sort of equation or sentence to be rewritten now were many tacked on papers, the arrangement appearing messy and disorganized. Pictures of injuries, x-rays, and medical reports were amongst them. They seemed to be thrown up one on top of the other, and to the any other, must seem a rather big disaster. This was not the case for Steff, as he knew all too well how each sheet was placed. The wall gave information on several of the patients of which he was assigned to, the ones who were in the most severe of conditions. While he wasn’t used to working in the school house, he had done what he could to turn it into a workable space for himself.

As he looked at the board, his eyes caught on the picture of that red manned filly’s gash. It was a frightening sight; the veins flushed black with the vile infection. They were fortunate that this had been the only infection, though she had more than one issue. He squinted as he looked at the muscles around the infection, the shape and size not at all regular. The report that hung half over the image detailed how the muscles had been torn from the very bone. The tendons had given way, and as he looked it over, he shook his head.

This one would have been better to just put down. She didn’t have any hope here, with these injuries. The poor little filly would never walk again, the damage was permanent. Kalk was able to give her time. Time that would be wasted. Steff had become a doctor to help ponies, to make their pain go away and let them continue on with their lives without it. All this did for the filly was fill her head with more pain, he knew. She wouldn’t be able to walk again, everypony would be terrified of her, and she wouldn’t be able to do anything with what she had left now.

Steff turned and, with a bit of levitation magic, pulled all his utensils and tools into his doctor’s bag. “Some spells are forbidden for a reason,” he spoke as if to the filly herself. It was plain what had happened, she had gotten ahead of herself and used a spell to beef up her muscles. He had a friend once who did the same, and who met the same results as her. It doesn’t matter what the reasons are, such things are not to be played with, he thought as he brushed his way out of his temporary office.

He had his routine to get to, and if he was correct, she was the first on his list of lost souls to check up on. As a doctor, he knew that he shouldn’t be angry with his patients, but he couldn’t help it. His friend died not much longer after his disability was earned, the will to live having faded with his movement. As he walked down the corridor, some ponies off to the sides spoke to one another in hushed voices. They were using this wing of the building as a hospital area, the magic labs and second wing of the building were now housing.

Steff soon found himself in front of her door, the window tinted as to not let anypony see through. He inhaled deeply, letting the oxygen calm his mind before he went in. He couldn’t be angry with her for her mistakes; he had to make sure she was alright. Or at least, close enough too alright that she wasn’t screaming with agony by midnight. He pushed the door open, letting it swing off to the side and almost close as he stood stunned.

“Hello there, Doc!” the red manned filly said with near glee as she stood near the window, a small jewel held in her levitation spell. “I was just chipping away at this gem a little, think I might have figured something out!” she said, smiling with all her teeth. He blinked several times, staring not at the gem she held proudly up to him, but at her legs. They were solidly set on the floor, not wobbling, not shaking. “Is there something wrong? Why the confused look?”

“Y-you standing?” he stammered out. “You shouldn’t… you shouldn’t be out of bed at all right now,” he said, his voice growing a little louder.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, looking off to the side with a bit of a pout. “Did I break a rule?”

“What?” her almost yelled, his expression being thrown deeper into its twist of confusion. He shook his head, and inhaled deeply to let himself calm down a little. This shouldn’t be possible, but maybe she knows something. “Um. Well then. Did you… How are you standing?” he asked finally still unsure of what he should ask first.

“What do you mean?” she asked, an eye lid rising a little in question. “All I did was rest and let my legs get better. They were weak for a bit, but now they are just fine!” she said with a smile again adorning her face.

“That… doesn’t make any sense at all,” he said looking at her plainly now.

“What do you mean?” she asked, her expression suddenly serious. “Why wouldn’t that make any sense?” she seemed to be completely without worry still, but she was also taking this with a logical hoof hold.

“Your legs are what don’t make sense,” he told her, a tilt of the head her only response. “Right then, how do I say this?” he asked the ceiling as he brushed his green mane to the side. “The muscle in all of your legs had been cut off from the bone entirely, you shouldn’t have been able to stand,” he said as he brought his gaze back down to her. “Ever.”

“But I am standing,” she said, laughing a little. “Are you sure about that?” He gave her a solid look, not shifting his eyes away. He didn’t know what was going on, but he didn’t like it in the least. Sure, she was standing, walking even, but there was no defined cause. It could be anything that made her legs better, but he was more inclined to believe it to be a negative cause.

“Did you use another forbidden spell?” he asked, his expression showing a little bit of his anger.

“What? No!” she said, shaking her head in a sudden shrill of obvious fear. Her eyes grew wide as she took a step back. “You knew?”

“Of course I knew! It disabled you,” he said, pausing for a moment. “Or, it should have. But you need to tell me, I can help you if it’s not too late. Did you use a forbidden spell to walk?”

“No! I would never even consider doing tha-“

“Then why did you the first time?” he interrupted. Her expression instantly faded, a frown forming as she looked down and fell to her haunches. He felt himself regretting that, it was a little harsh to be so accusative with her. That didn’t change the fact of what she had done, though. She closed her eyes, and after a moment, smiled.

“I had to,” she said, looking up to him as her eyes reopened.

“What do you mean you had to? You don’t ever have to use a spell like that,” he asked with a raised eyebrow. She seemed oddly content with what she had done, like there were no regrets behind it.

“Out there, in the dark with the rain pouring down,” she paused, her eyes closing again as she thought. “My little brother found a filly. She was out cold, and in a bad way, but alive. I… I couldn’t carry her, and she would have died from the rain or the beasts if I left her. So I did the only thing I could,” she said, her voice low but filled to the brim with emotion. She opened her eyes and stared him in the face. “I saved her.”

Steff stared at her with an outwardly blank expression, but just below the skin, he was in turmoil. She didn’t have any greedy, malicious intent with which to use a spell like that? Impossible! She had to have her own little reason for using it and not leaving behind the other filly. Who would, in their right mind, sacrifice their movement entirely just to save someone who could be a lost cause already? It was more than likely that this filly they came across would have died by illness than ever recover. He turned his gaze down. “That’s just stupid,” he said, turning away from her now to head for the door.

“How is that stupid? How can you think that?” she asked, anger flaring in her voice. “You’re a doctor! Doctors know more than anypony else that anypony who has a chance is worth trying for!” he heard her stand and step forward as he approached the doorway.

“That isn’t the way it works,” he said, not turning to her or even stopping as he stepped through the door. She ended up in front of him, her face butting into his as she lifted herself up off the floor.

“If that isn’t how it works, then why did you let Kalk try to save me?” she asked, putting the facts before him as plainly as they had occurred. Steff froze entirely, his eyes growing wide with her question echoing in his mind. She was right; he was the one in charge of dealing with her condition. Why didn’t he do his part and stop her suffering? He found himself blinking several times as she glared into his face. “Well?”

“I… don’t know,” he said plainly, looking her in the eyes. They were so bright and full of life, and as he looked on, he noticed something. The bandage that covered her scar was clean, no blood to be shown at all. Instead, a deep, black vein popped out of the filly’s white coat just outside the wrappings. She would be dead now without Kalk’s spell, he remembered, or without his daft skill with a needle as soon as she arrived. It reminded him of why he became a doctor. He turned and, without saying a word, started down the hall.

“Wait, please,” she asked as he stepped farther down the hall.

“You’re fine now. You can walk, move around, and soon you might even be able to run. There’s nothing I can do to help you, all your wounds have healed,” he told her, staring straight ahead. She was so persistent; even now she walked alongside him as he went. What was it about this filly that brought him back so far? He never remembered his days an assistant anymore, but he could see himself now, nervous and eager to do what he could. It wasn’t long before he became a full-fledged nurse, and after years, a doctor worth his skill.

She followed him all the way down the hall to the next room he was going to enter, the next patient laying inside still. He stopped, and turned to see her face, a small frown upon it. “Why are you following me?” he asked plainly, looking at her with blank eyes. What did she intend to gain? “I have to check up on the other patients now. You are fine, that vile curse excluded. Go on, back to your room now,” he told her, annoyed as he pointed his hoof down the hall they had come from.

“I want to help,” she said out of nowhere after rubbing her hoof against the other. He blinked. He blinked again and again, almost certain he had misheard her. She has so little time now, and she wants to help? Where was this foolishness coming from? It was positively outrageous! “So… can I please help? Please?” she almost begged. He let out a sigh and turned half way to the door before stopping.

“I guess there’s no stopping you,” he said before stopping to think for a moment. He turned back to her and brought himself on level with her “However,” he said, looking her in the eyes now. “You’ll have to listen to my direction here. I don’t want any more miracles, got that?”

“Oh, yes, yes! Of course!” she almost squeaked with joy as he turned back to the door. Steff, what vile mess have you gotten yourself into now? He opened the door and entered the first of many patients’ rooms for examination.

…

The old floorboards seemed to be creased with dust, and it was evident that they had been there for a very long time. The building was rebuilt many times; erosion having taken its toll, but the wooden floors never seemed to need to be changed out. They were solid, creaky at times, but very steady. In all of Beacon, there were only a few buildings that had wood built into them. Sitting there, it seemed an oddity to the purple filly. Why were only some buildings floored with wood? Why wasn’t Kalk’s? Or, most confusing of all, how was wood obtained without a huge shipment or having to risk life and limb by traveling into the forest?

Tick sat beside the door to a room where her friend had entered to check on somepony. It was more than apparent that she was only trying to come up with an excuse to not think of the many things that worried her so, but that didn’t matter. She’d go insane if she kept on thinking of what was wrong with Kalk earlier, or of how Re- Crimson was going to die soon. Was it so bad that she didn’t want to think of these things? Her eyes traced the faded but fluidly swirling texture of the floor to her hooves. She saw the watch firmly gripping her hoof, and starred at it. It was just like back then, when everything happened.

The creak of the door opening snapped her attention to the orange manned colt as he stepped out into the hall. He bore a morbid expression, his eyes downcast as he unconsciously came to her side. She looked at him with a frown. It was plain that, not only had the blue manned filly remained asleep still, but that she wasn’t getting much better. “Hey,” she found herself saying. Why was she so quick to speak all of a sudden? It was never like this before; in class she would always remain dead silent for moments after she felt the urge to speak. Even then, she was still reluctant to say what she wanted, with all those eyes focused on her. It was as if she could be herself near him. “She’ll get better,” she said after a moment, offering a smile as he sat. He returned it.

“I hope so,” he said in a low whisper. She was still confused, as confused as she had been when he asked if it would be okay with her if he went in alone. Tick knew this blue manned filly. She was not in any way friendly; rather, she was completely wretched. She was more than often the spark that lead to many fillies and colts laughing their flanks off at her for something she had said. Either her low, whisper like voice had invoked this, or they all really thought she was an idiot. Tick didn’t want to admit it, but she rather hated the blue manned filly. She looked over to her friend with concern.

“Are you two… friends?” she asked nervously. The cyan colt laughed at this, bringing his yellow eyes to her now.

“No, I don’t think we are,” he said, smiling now. He let out a puff of air from his nostrils, and then turned his attention over to the wall as he began to think. “I actually think she hates me,” he let out softly.

“I see,” she responded, not at all surprised. Was there anypony that she liked? Even the ones who responded to her pointed and cruel attitude in a positive way seemed to get shut out by her. “Um… this is going to sound… weird,” she let out. She knew it was rude, intrusive, and of all things, a little mean to ask, but she had to know.

“What is it?” he asked, turning to face her again. He seemed eager to hear what was on her mind.

“Well… you’re not friends with her… and she’s… sort of,” she paused, trying to think of a word to fit the description well. “Mean,” she said as the colt nodded in agreement. So he knew what she was talking about then? She inhaled before continuing. “So… why are you so worried about her?” she was finally able to say. He raised his chin in thought, his tired eyes closing for focus. A few moments passed with him just sitting there, trapped in his thought. Tick felt herself creep back into her shell little by little the longer he was silent.

“To be honest,” he said, opening his eyes finally and turning to her. “I don’t know at all,” he said, his eyes dropping to the floor. “It’s just… well. I think there is more to what she does than we know. She’s hurt me a lot already… but what kind of a monster am I if I do just the same?” he asked. The sincerity in his voice, the way his eyes were so focused as he spoke, he meant every word. Tick let out a little sigh of relief. She had thought her curiosity might make him dislike her.

“You’re just like your sister, Orange,” she said, putting a hoof gently against his shoulder. He looked up to her and smiled. Tick brought her hoof down as she rose the other one to her mouth in thought. “You know, Kalk should be back soon. He said he just needed to check up on some things around town,” she said as she put her hoof down. She rose and stretched her legs out, the floor having left them stiff.

“I really have no clue what he wants to tell us,” he said, getting up himself. “I can’t wait to find out though.”

“With him, you can never know for sure. I just hope it’s not more bad news,” she said as they both went down the hall. Tick wasn’t all too sure why her step father had needed to leave so quickly, but it must be important. He left with the same haste he had when she told him about Crimson’s injury, and that could only mean he was incredibly worried about something. What that was, though she had no idea. For the time being, she simply enjoyed the company of her friend, conversing on many things as they waited.

…

Sticky mud coated the spaces between the stones that made up all of Beacon’s streets. The rubble was being steadily cleared away, and to a surprising degree, everypony was really pulling together. It would take a long time to rebuild, but with so much done already, there seemed to be plenty of hope for the little town yet. Just an hour or two ago, these very streets were flooded to knee height. Now, with the path cleared, the water could drain and the late afternoon sun could beat down strong on the mud.

Walking through the destruction had been such a hassle. Were the matter not so urgent, Kalk could have simply waited and then wouldn’t have had to dirty his hooves. The mud that ran up his legs didn’t matter though, he got the job done. The damage was minor, a small crack over the surface of one of the five pillars that stuck up from the ground around town, and proved an easy enough fix. He was quite sure that a few of those who worked on clearing the roads had thought him insane for rushing across the mine field that the streets had become, but if he hadn’t gotten there on time, things couldn’t have been worse.

Appearing to be normal stones, these rocks were actually the very reason Beacon could even continue to exist. They were as old as the town itself, dating back to its very foundation. His magic had once formed seals that burned their way deep into the surface. They were invisible to the naked eye, though a little magic detection from just about any unicorn would light them up like a Hearth’s Warming tree. The crack in the stone had cut off the flow of energies to the rest of the seals, causing it to nearly fail altogether. Kalk let out a sigh as he walked around a puddle in the path.

He didn’t even want to consider just how bad it would have been if that seal had been broken. His nightmares as of late were nothing compared to what this would cause. Right now, everypony was just happy to be alive and that their loved ones had made it through this. Kalk himself, a few others aside, was more than likely the only one who thought things only got worse after the attack had ended. He knew all too well what this all meant, and if any one of the others did, they would likely be running and screaming at this very moment.

Around the next corner was a surprising sight. Ponies were gathering up in a circle around one pile of rock and clay that had half poured into the streets. All around town, everypony had been working hard to clear this type of mess up and get it out of the way. And they usually worked alone. He flicked his ears a little, trying to get his head around what was going on. All of their voices were either frantic or in shock.

“Oh Celestia…”

“Is she okay?”

“She’s…”

“This can’t be happening!”

“Doctor! Somepony, anypony, get a doctor!”

Kalk moved in closer, coming to push aside a few of the ponies who formed the crowd as he did. There was somepony lying on the rocks, not moving. Had there been a cave in while she was working? He pushed farther into the group. There was a pony with a black coat kneeling beside her, eyes overflowing with fresh tears.

“Why?” she asked, her face buried in her ankles. Her mane was shortly cut, but still showed signs that her hooves had been running it over many times. Some stray pieces stuck out at odd angles while the rest was in a frizz. She was sobbing heavily over the inanimate pony that lay still on the rocks. Having finally reached the front of the crowd, he could now see the way she laid, her head turned to the side limply with hair falling over her eyes. “Why did you have to stay here? Why didn’t you just…”

He knew. He knew from the moment he saw the gathering ponies what this might be. He didn’t want to admit it, and in the end had to see it for himself to accept it. We’ve lost some poor soul after all. He looked at the mare beside her, the dirt that covered her own body must have been from the other’s. Kalk hung his head low. There was nothing to be done about it. Nopony said a word now as the crowd settled down, the sound of the mare’s weeping the only thing audible now.

“You’re stubborn as a mule!” she cried, looking at the lifeless face below her. “How you can you just…” She became overcome with the pain in her to even speak another word. She sat there on her haunches, letting it all flow from her as Kalk turned to go. He wasn’t a god. He wasn’t like Celestia. He couldn’t make this all better.

Who were you to her? Who were you to the others? You poor, poor mare. It was never meant for you to end so early, to leave us all in this life behind. He knew that now, there was a family with an empty space. Somepony missing from the equation, somepony they all loved and cared about now gone. Just like him. The only difference was, he was the only one who didn’t find an eternal slumber. Do you miss them, wherever you are? He knew he missed them. So she must too.

Every step was heavy, and as he walked, he could feel the weight bearing down on him. This innocent mare, gone forever from all of those she loved. He knew that feeling too well. He would have to go on just a little while longer now. Just long enough to make sure what happened to him doesn’t to others. Then he could rest.

…

Rays of glimmering light broke through the creased window on the wall. Seeping into the room in every direction from the small window, they shone brighter than the gem that hung overhead. Squinting, the filly raised her head from the pillow. Looking straight ahead, she saw her leg hanging limply from a harness. Cast in a solidified, white material and wrapped in gauze, it seemed she had broken her leg. How had she done that? She blinked several times as her blue mane fell off to the right side of her face dark grey face. Then she remembered.

Her breathing hastened as she her eyes widened. She didn’t know where she was, but she had to go back to the house. She lifted herself to her side before she was stopped mid motion by the harness. A grunt of anger and frustration escaped her lips as she pulled the bound limb. She stopped, feeling her eyes well up with the frustration. She couldn’t just sit here in this hospital bed! She needed to find her family right away.

She threw herself back onto the pillow with the frustration of it all. In this position, the cloth holding her leg up in the air hooked her leg so that she couldn’t get it out without moving it. She would have done so eagerly, broken leg or not, had it not been for the blasted cast. Tears welled in her eyes as she stared at the ceiling. She quickly blinked them away. No, I can’t cry. I can’t. What would she think?

The very thought of her mother almost made the water in her eyes burst down her cheeks. She sniffled as she blinked it back desperately. “I am not weak,” she grunted as she did her best to keep her tears where they belonged. Mother would never cry. She was always telling her how she can’t cry, no matter how hard things are. Don’t show weakness.

Her thoughts took control as she felt herself begin to drown in the memories. It was a hot day in the middle of summer some time ago, and she had scrapped her knee playing with some of her friends. They were pretending that there were monsters in the park, and they had to run off from them. The monster in question this time turned out to be her, her dark mane and coat letting her hide more easily in the long cast shadows of the afternoon.

One of her friends had tripped over her as she lay in waiting, his knee colliding solidly with her cheekbone. She could remember clearly how the two ended up in a clump on the ground, the lot of her friends encircling to see if they were alright. She had scrapped her other cheek heavily on the stone pathway, and was stunned by the blow she received to the head when she hit the ground. She couldn’t bear it; the pain was too much for her. She ran off, tears streaming from her eyes as she headed straight home. Her friends had tried to follow, looking back now. She could hear them galloping not far behind, but that didn’t matter anymore. She had already stopped speaking with them.

Bursting into her home, her mommy came quickly to her. Blood had dripped its way off her cheek onto the floor, but her priority was the wound itself. She was rushed into the bathroom, where the wound had to be cleaned with a wet, rag. It burned and she cried out as it was rubbed against her exposed flesh. Tears were rolling right out her eyes all the while as Mommy finished the process. Smiling, she wiped away the tears with another rag before pulling the bandage over the scrapped skin.

“There, all better now!” she announced triumphantly as she threw the rag into the hamper with a flick of her horn’s magic.

“But it still hurts so much, Mommy!” she said as tears continued to pour from her eyes. Her whole face seemed to hurt, as well as her head. Sniffling, she almost burst out again. Her other mother stepped into the room now, looking down at her with eyes that seemed filled with concern. She turned to Mommy and spoke.

“I think I need to talk to our little filly alone for a minute, dear. I hope you don’t mind?” she asked.

“Of course not, I will be in the living room cleaning up if you need me,” Mommy responded with a smile, trotting out of the room now. Mom’s attention now came down to her, the little filly with tears and snot spilling from her face. She still cried then, her eyes feeling like they could go dry.

“Blue grey,” Mom addressed her, bringing her flanks to the ground as she inhaled deeply in preparation.

“Y-yes,” she was able to say through her gasps for air.

“We… we live in hard times now. And well… things are probably going to get worse,” she said earnestly, staring off at the wall. “I wouldn’t lie to you,” she paused briefly, thinking for a moment. She got up and pulled her into a hug.

“W-why are you telling me these things?” she had asked as she buried her face in Mom’s bosom.

“Because you are going to have to be so very strong, my dearest daughter,” she said looking her in the eyes now with a frown. She lifted her hoof, and whipped a tear away from the filly’s cheek. Holding it before her, the fluid forming a bubble on her hoof that dripped away, she spoke again. “Don’t let anypony see these tears. These tears that show your pain. They’ll take advantage of your pain; they’ll use it against you and make you weaker. To survive in hard times like this… you have got to be strong.”

From then on, she didn’t let herself cry. She would hold in all the while, and didn’t let herself show any of her pain. She was strong. She had to be. That’s why she couldn’t let herself give in now. Would Mom have been happy to see her giving in to the pain now? She couldn’t let her down, especially after what had happened.

Her eyes had risen to the ceiling, and in looking up, saw that the harness hung from an arm attached to the bed. She had to get out of here; it didn’t matter if she had to limp the whole way. With a flick of her horn, the cloth near the arm, where it was thinnest, was cut through. Her leg fell like a lead weight, and she could feel the pain of the impact in the region near her hoof. It was plain that she wouldn’t be able to simply walk her way back home. She stared at the cast with anger alight in her eyes.

The filly rolled off of the bed, stumbling as she landed on her three good legs. The broken one was locked at the joint, and so she had to hold off to the side in order to keep it off the floor. With time, she knew the small amount of muscle needed to hold this position would grow weak and she’d have to stop. She’d get to that when it came, though. For now, she needed to get back to her home. Mom might still be there, she hoped as she limped out into the hallway. In both directions, there the hall was clear, not a single pony in sight. With it came an eerie silence.

Her blue mane getting in her face again, she rushed for the stairwell. With any luck, she could avoid anypony else if she was quick. They would never let her back to her home at a time like this, she knew. Especially not with her leg as it is. As she rounded the corner, she heard voices coming from below. Looking under the railing, she spotted a doctor with some red haired filly. They turned and headed up the flight of stairs right toward her as she scrambled to climb the stairs to the next level. They were speaking, but she didn’t hear a word they said. She was hiding behind the railing at the top of the last step, looking down on them as they walked through the doorway she had come from.

A sigh a relief escaped her lips as she waited a few moments. She had eluded the pair, but she was more cautious now than ever. As it turned out, even more were making their way up the stairs now. She puffed air from her nostrils in frustration as she turned away. Now what was she going to do? She couldn’t sneak past them all like this. Her eyes wandered across the wall until they came to another door at the top of the stairs. Light glared from the other side, showing underneath the door brightly. That must be the rooftop. Maybe there will be a way to see how things are from there, her mind wondered as curiosity took over. A good view couldn’t hurt her odds of reaching home either.

With a short, stumbling climb, she was pushing the door open. It was heavier than the kind that her room had, but then, it had to be with what happened at night. She struggled to put enough strength into her shoulder as the hinge creaked and the door slowly slid aside. Not wide, but just enough for the filly to slip through. On her way through, though, she forgot herself. The cast caught in the frame, and she tumbled over onto the flat roof with a thud.

There was another mare sitting not far off from the door, she saw. She immediately scrambled around the structure from which the door frame was attached, but stopped when she saw that she didn’t move. Looking around the hut like structure on the roof, she saw her just staring into the sky. She heard her. She knew she had, the mare’s ears twitched right when she fell over. The blue manned filly let her own eyes rise with hers, and came to know why immediately.

She fell back on her flank in surprise. There is no way this is happening; it has to be some sort of dream! She rubbed her eyes with the wrist of her hoof, shook her head, and looked up again. No, it was. It really was her. Mom never believed she would, and thinking now, neither did anypony else in town. But there she was, coming toward them, at that, with her guard escort and a pegasus she recognized from somewhere. Princess Celestia had finally come to their aid, for the very first time since even her mothers could remember.

=========================================================================

A jagged trail of hoof prints zigzagged through the caking mud in forest. Every now and then, the trail took a sudden skid off to the side. Many sharp turns lead to these lengthened prints, each an attempt to get around the trees that were scattered close to one another. Roots reached out like fresh clams, grabbing at anything that might come by. It wasn’t clear just how many times the cold, wet mud was felt as balance was lost. There was never any time to recover, never any let up on the power being thrust away. As far away as possible from that place.

The whole of the dark veil was on the move, not one able to withstand the pull of the Blood. Burning was felt in the joints that brought the mud flying in the air. Like never before, Blood forced its way into the body of every single one of them. This wasn’t a venture of regularity. With a push, actually, it seemed as though this had never happened before. Images flashed in every eye, ones of burned flesh and piles of ash. This was the work of the flames that engulfed all but the safety of nothingness.

The feeling that the Blood gave on this one was so very different. Something sparked the memories of times that never came to be. Memories of things that were never seen. They brought on something so familiar, a rush that was felt so often in this fake place. Fear jolted from it like a strike from impact. The Blood was pulling away from the blazing flames, rather than forcing its way around it. There was no suppressing this flame, that of the Burning One. None were safe with it there, and none would stop running for as long as the Burning One chased.

The emptiness was the only shield that would stop this fire.

Chapter 8: Streams of Weakness

Chronicles of the Glow
Written by: Rusty Parker

Edited by: Wanderwing

8
Streams of Weakness

The golden horseshoes that exquisitely clad the tender hooves within touched down on the dusty rooftop. It wasn’t often that she flew without the aid of her carriage, her mighty guards doing all the work to pull her along to her destination. Then again, neither was it the norm for her to show up anywhere except for some holiday or event. Celestia was all too often stuck in the castle like a caged bird. It felt nice, for a bit, to be able to finally stretch her wings out personally. They had grown quite stiff in the time they had seen no use.

The sight of Beacon, however, ripped all the sensation of this right from her. Like wet paper, her smile grew deformed in seeing the destruction. It was worse than perhaps anything she had seen any settlement go through. The faces of the two who sat stunned on the rooftop didn’t do much to lighten up the situation, at that. Her guards came to attention beside her as she looked into the eyes of the mare that stood now, looking at her with a stone solid expression. Blitzy landed last, having circled around the building to come by the side of her. His daughter, a feisty little filly with a lot of energy and good will, clung to his back.

“As you can see, dearest princess,” he began with a low bow, “Things are just as I had described them. We are safe… for now. But we can’t keep going on our own without your help.” He turned to the mare beside him, who still stood still without a bow. Odd, she thought. Usually there would be no hesitation at all in any of her subjects to show their respect for her in some formal ilk of a bow. In honesty, she didn’t know what this meant, as none seemed brave enough to do this. She made it a law, she never asked for the formalities. They simply followed her wherever she may be, like ducklings being led to and fro.

“This is Glitter...” Lifting his hoof in her direction. “She has been try-“

“I think she knows very well just who I am. Or at least she should, with all the letters I send in to her,” she cut in as Blitzy tried to explain. Yes, this was the one who constantly asked for support, who seemed to send the very same letter in with more frustration each week. Like a fresh knife to her back, regret shot through her whole body. She saw the letters so many times, saw what they asked for, and saw that she felt things would go astray. Yet she had set them all off in favor of honoring whomever would waltz into her court.

“Yes… Glitter, I have read every single letter you sent in. I do not know what you think of me, but Beacon was always in my mind. I-“

“You what? You considered what to do? You thought about it, I take it?” Glitter again cut in. She was absolutely furious, her brow arched far down as she huffed air in and out of her mouth.

Celestia simply didn’t know what to think of it. Her regal expression remained at the point of calm, as was usual for her whenever she had to deal with stressful problems back in Canterlot Castle. Diseases, accidents, and all manner of attacks by some sort of monster had always caused her to feel pain for her subjects. She could never show it, but inside it tore at her. Sometimes there was nothing she could really ever do to fix it. What would never help anypony, though, was to see their leader turned to depression over their problems. She always had to keep her face as one that could show hope to any who looked to her.

“Glitter! She came to help us, calm down,” Blitzy pushed as the unicorn fumed.

“Blitzy speaks the truth, Glitter. I am only here to lend all of my hooves, wings and my horn in rebuilding Beacon.”

“So now you come to help?” she snapped back right away. “I sent you letter after letter asking for you to please just do something, anything, to keep us safe, and you choose to ignore every one of them. You’re too late, alright…” Glitter turned to face the forest to her right. Her face wasn’t filled with anger anymore, but seemed to turn sorrowful and distraught. Her eyes glimmered against the sun’s rays, and her neck arched downward.

Celestia didn’t remain still any longer. She walked up to the mare and, with a gentle touch of her hoof, tried to comfort her. “I am so sorry, Glitter. I should have listened to you. Even Kalk would agree in his own letters that there needed to be something done here, but I put it off…” Celestia sat down as her two guards drew more attentive. Their faces were steady and unwavering, but with how angry Glitter was, they must be concerned about her getting so close. “I am here now, though. Let me help you, daughter of Equestria.”

“And how are you going to help?” she asked, turning her head to look up at the princess again with anger. “Do you think you can fix what is really broken here? Nopony in the world can! You can’t fix this anymore than I can…” she fired away.

The sun princess remained silent with her downcast eyes locked on those of the poor little mare. Somehow, without knowing what was to come next, Celestia knew that the unicorn was right. She wondered if her own expression still showed the powerful alicorn that ruled without fear throughout the land of Equestria. In truth, this place was more of its own country than anywhere else in all her nations. It ruled itself. Her presence must not seem too comforting with how long this place has been left without any help from the outside.

Glitter, without saying a word, let a tear roll down her cheek as she stared right back into Celestia’s eyes. Then another. The pair made equally long streaks of wet fur down the mare’s face, and dripped off together as one at the chin. Celestia closed her eyes and bowed her head slowly. To her shock, Glitter’s forehead came to meet her own as her breathing grew stifled.

“My daughter… My poor little baby foal. She’s…” Glitter broke off. Their foreheads together, Celestia could feel the pulsing of her heart as the thoughts came into formation. “My daughter is dying, Celestia,” pulling her head away, she looked over to the forest again. “She’s hurt and not anypony in the world can fix that. Not anypony can stop her from turning into one of those…”

Blitzy came by her side to comfort her, pulling a wing around her shoulder as the filly atop his back clutched closer to him. A pain like none before grasped her as she realized just what had happened. Kalk had told her a great deal of the things that these beasts were in his time here in Beacon. Monsters spurred on by a dark magic. Nothing could release them from the hold that this strange energy took over them. In truth she felt pity for the creatures that they were before all this. Now this; a filly that had gotten unlucky enough to come into one’s path during her retreat had now been infected, and was doomed to become just as vicious as the lot of them someday soon.

Celestia remained silent, nothing she could possibly say able to in the least change the moral of the situation. She knew this feeling she saw in Glitter, knew it from experience herself. In a lot of ways, it seemed similar to what she had to see her sister go through. To watch the thing you care for most become a monster… there was nothing worse in this world.

Her eyes swept the roof, trying to find the filly that had sat near the door only moments before. She was long gone by now, she thought. Things got pretty tense here, and she had appeared to be hurt. She couldn’t blame her for wanting to be elsewhere. In the back of her own head, Celestia felt just the same. She wanted to fly off and hide back up in her chambers alone, free of the stress that this place had come under. She would never do such a thing now, though. No, this place needed her, even if she had failed the whole of the population already. She’d help even if it killed her to.

…

Word spread quickly of the Sun Princess’s visit. Ponies all around town were suddenly abuzz of how life was finally looking up for once in their lives. As he approached the school building, where he so often inspired his students to aspire to the great things they would someday do, Kalk felt the hope of it all fill him too. Things may not be as simple as everypony else was making it out to be, but he still couldn’t help but feel the updraft that lifted the town’s spirit from the ruins. Smiles were clad on almost every face as he walked through the doors that acted as the gateway to knowledge for his youthful intellects.

Within, however, he was met with a much more grim stare. While everypony was indeed happy, his presence seemed to squander that in them. As he stood just inside the building, he could feel their eyes beating upon his body. Shifting away when his own gaze came to bare, they suddenly seemed to be completely different ponies than those he saw working. His entrance had changed the atmosphere in the room, all the celebration and uproar seeming to quiet down to a low mumble.

Slowly, he made his way down the hallway as they all glared in his direction. If looks could kill, he would be in a pretty bad predicament. Further down the hall, a foal too young to have been in school playfully reached out to him. Smiling, Kalk offered his own hoof as if it were a sort of plaything. The near newborn pony reached out for it, but was stopped by her mother’s sudden movement. The infant was pulled toward her, being held close as she stared knives at him. What was this? Was he suddenly the plague come to kill them all? Just what had happened in the few hours he was out of the school?

As he rounded the corner to the stairwell, he could hear the voices of a nearby stallion whispering to his companion. “What could he possibly want here?” he uttered as Kalk froze in the place. Ears down, he turned to the pony who had spoken, and he shrunk back in reaction. Kalk’s eye half closed as he looked from him to the rest of the room confused.

“Just what in the name of Luna and Celestia has gotten into the lot of you? Why do you all look at me like I am one of the beasts that roam the forests around our town?” he asked in conflict. Not one of them gave an answer, nor did it even seem to register that he had said a thing. The stallion who had spoken was still staring at him with wide, hatred filled eyes. He heard the sound of something moving behind him and turned.

“You would be one to know about beasts, wouldn’t you?” a mare said behind him. Turning, he saw it was a nurse, her eyebrows arching up in sorrow. “Why would you do this?” Kalk only tilted his head in even more confusion.

“What do you even mean? Do what? I stopped the beasts, didn’t I?” he responded after a moment. Kalk didn’t have a clue where this was going, but he had a terrible feeling in his gut about it.

“Stopped them?” she asked as her brow came down in a glare now. “So you stop these monsters by letting one run around in this building? You stop them by letting it near all the injured and sick patients we have here? Are you trying to kill us all?” she barked angrily now. Kalk blinked as he came to realize what she meant. The red manned filly. She was actually calling the little girl a monster?

“You imply that that little filly is a… monster?” he asked as he looked around the room. They all seemed to look at him as if it were obvious all along. Some seemed disgusted that it had taken him so long to realize what this was all about. “So that is it then? That is why you all look at me like this?” he asked again as he looked around the hallway. He could feel the heat in his chest begin to rise and boil in his head.

“Of course we do! You traitorous little-“

“Me?” he cut in, yelling now. “You’re all calling me a traitor here? You are all saying that this little, innocent filly is a monster!” He looked around and saw that none had any quarrels now with him. Not one of the foolish ponies said a word as he now seemed to be the only one with any anger. “Did you ever stop in your burning hatred toward me to consider that maybe, just maybe, that ‘monster’ you speak so despicably of is actually just a poor, sick little girl who only has a few weeks left before her illness overcomes her?”

Heads lowered in shame as some came to realize just what they had been doing. Some, though, remained frigid and refused to accept this as any sort of truth. They kept to themselves now, but only because the majority of the group had backed down. Kalk exhaled through his nostrils some of the hot air that had built up in his skull and turned to walk up the stairs. It disgusted him truly that in a time like this, with so many having lost so much, none seemed to even care about the one who was about to lose so much more. They all disregarded the life of such an innocent little filly. He remembered looking into her eyes as he made her the offer to suppress the curse. Only when he said that she would not harm her family and friends had she accepted it in her mind.

Kalk reached the top of the stairs and was met by only one or two wayward glances. It seemed that none of the citizens of Beacon had any love for him now, even after having saved them from certain doom. The magic labs were just around the corner, and as he approached, a familiar face came into view. It even had a smile on it.

“Kalk! It has been so very long since last we met. How has this place been treating you?” Celestia, goddess of the sun asked as she saw him. Further back in the room, he could see the framework of some sort of pillar based devise being set up by her guards.

“On the whole? Well, things haven’t been that bad, though, I really could have used that pool-or-lake,” he said gingerly with a smile. This certainly hadn’t been the best of days, but Celestia was a very old friend to him. They crossed necks in a sort of kinship that most couldn’t say they shared with royalty. She was always busy, he knew, and that’s why he made it his duty to take care of things in Beacon himself so often. Still, it had been a seriously long time since they had her in town. “On a serious note though,” he mentioned, his face losing any semblance of his former smile. “There is a lot we need to discuss.”

“Oh? What such things need discussion?” she asked with her wings extended far behind her. Kalk’s eyes glanced over to the guards across the room, and then to the small group of unicorns that sat at the ready not far from them. He brought his eyes back to her with a raised eyebrow tilting his head toward where his eyes had just been scanning. “Ah, I see. We will have to find a good time to speak privately, then. I am sure there is a lot that has happened here.”

He nodded. “Yes. Now then, what have we got here?” he asked, raising a hoof toward the structure that was being erected in his lab.

“My, Kalk, and here I thought you had been the Dean of Magic?” she joked. He rubbed his head, laughing a bit at the old memory. It had been so many years since he had heard anyone use that title on him.

“Well, years go by and new things happen. We both know that now more than ever,” he said with a smile. Celestia’s flowing mane was brushed aside as she raised her head from him to the device. Two pillars erected at a decent distance from one another that bore large spheres atop them. The spheres gleamed in the light of the swaying gems above, their texture smooth and clean. It seemed that they were made of a reflective type of metal, maybe brass. The guards seemed to be attaching to them a variety of other smaller objects, some Kalk recognized and others he didn’t. The flat, brick like stone that sat near the base of both pillars was a sort of magical battery that could hold reserve energy.

Celestia inhaled before speaking, “This is a new project that our current headmaster in the arcane arts, Spell Nexus, was able to piece together. Really quite incredible, if I do say so myself. I think you two could get along very well, given the chance,” she mentioned offhandedly as she paced off to the side with her eyes glued to the device’s spheres. “The implications are… complicated. Suffice to say, it is a ‘door’, as I have heard him call it.”

“A ‘door’ you say?” Kalk asked, intrigued now more than ever about the device. Could this really be that sort of magic? He had theorized in his studies, but never did he suppose it to be something he would see. “I think I know exactly where this is going. Oh, and did I mention I absolutely love it?” he added with emphasis, smiling up to the princess now.

“You’ve already got this thing figured out better than I have!” she laughed a little, having forgotten just how into his work Kalk had been all those years back. “It is exactly what it seems. With this, a door to Canterlot Castle will open here in this very room. All the supplies, food, and help you could want will pour through as soon as we open it up.”

“Amazing! Ha!” Kalk half shouted as he walked around some of the stone tables that filled the lab. “Never thought I’d see the day…” escaped from his lips in a near whisper as he observed the two pillars up a little closer. Markings that were no doubt magical in their print lined their way all the way from the bottom of the pole to the shiny metal ball that sat atop it. It seemed as though his work back in that old school had been dated for some time now, this new stuff really had the works of genius in it.

He came trotting back to the smiling princess with a slight bounce in his step. “The oldest one in all of Beacon and you seem to be the most youthful in spirit too. How have things been going recently? Before the attack I mean,” she said with a tender, inviting voice. Kalk’s eyes wandered to the ground for only a moment, though he knew she had seen it. Always the problem with knowing someone so well, he guessed. They know you just as well by the end of things.

“Better… life has been… getting better.” Kalk sat down now, his eyes closed as he thought beside Celestia. Several moments ticked by as he let his mind come to a conclusion of how it had really been up till now. Though his eyes were sealed, he could feel her gaze upon him. “I was lonely for so long, Celestia. Not for lack of anypony trying to reach out, no, there have been many attempts to get near me. I just couldn’t find it in me to let them in, though. I couldn’t let the past repeat itself…”

“Kalk, the past is the past. I know that life has its ways of hurting us. But we live still, there is no point in fearing the past so much as to avoid others for its sake,” she said with a tongue dripping of her remorse for what she knew had transpired long ago. In a lot of ways, she wanted to see him happy like before. How could he ever forget or let go of his past now? His own hooves were a constant reminder of how things used to be. He had held them in close with these hooves, had kept them safe in his embrace. But then, something else came to his mind. A smile crept its way across his cheeks as he rose his head to peer into Celestia’s eyes now.

“Even after all that though. After all the running and hiding from the others. I still couldn’t stop myself…” he said as his eyes pulled across the room in a wide arc. “She was just like her. Everything about her, she was smart, kind, and stubborn as the earth we built this place on. Part of me felt content finally… to know that there were others like her.” He spoke in a disjointed mess. To anypony else, it must seem that he was yammering on like a mad-horse. Celestia looked down at him with a smile of her own now, relieved, he was sure, to finally see some semblance of his hope restored. “None of that mattered though. Even if she was nothing like her, a complete polar opposite, I would still love this little filly all the same. It may seem strange… but I already think of her as a daughter, in these few weeks I’ve known her.” Celestia, still smiling, walked around to be beside him once again.

“You always were a softy, Kalk,” she joked. Neither said a thing for a while as the guards finished their assembly of the many parts that made up the device that would no doubt be the population of Beacon’s salvation. As they sat, Celestia’s mane flowing to the side and Kalk’s remaining still against his neck, neither spoke for some time. Celestia finally broke the silence, “I am glad... Truly. You deserve every bit of happiness and joy that filly will bring you.” Kalk watched as she rose and stepped away from him, moving over to some papers that lay upon the table she had been standing near when he entered the room.

“What about you?” he asked before she could reach her ‘office’. Celestia froze in place, having not been accustomed to speaking of her own mentality. Kalk knew that she couldn’t really speak truthfully to much of anypony nowadays, her sister locked away on the moon and word of her anything she does short of sneezing being spoken of across Equestria. He also knew, however, that he happened to be an exception when it came to this rule. He not only was one of her oldest friends to date, but somepony who was isolated from the rest of the world due to the oh-so lush forest that surrounded the town.

“Honestly… I am tired. This is a lot of work to manage on my own. And well… call me daft, but even with so much company,” she added, looking to the guards. “I am still so very much alone…”

“I think I know what may solve that, my princess,” Kalk said with a sly grin on his face as he rose to his own hooves. Celestia breathed out a long sigh, expecting the most insane from him. And if she would ever except this, he wasn’t sure if she should thank him or throw him in some dungeon. He didn’t know exactly what could happen, given what he was about to suggest. But he had an implicit faith in a certain mare on the moon, and it was all thanks to the questions of a brilliant little mind that he was proud to think of as his daughter.

They spoke at length about his solution, and in the end, Kalk felt he may have won some ground toward her making a change that could either bless or forsake Equestria forever. He knew that there were more pressing issues at the moment, but for now, he simply wished to enjoy the company of his own long time teacher and friend.

…

Floating in the grip of her magic, the gem slowly rotated as she observed every edge. The surface was smooth all the way around, almost perfect in its form. As Crimson turned it over, she recalled her little trip through the classrooms turned hospital. Not one of the patients seemed happy to see her in the least, and feeling the throbbing beneath her bandages, it was plain to tell why. The veins and arteries that surrounded her wound showed through her coat as being jet black and pulsing with some sort of energy. Kalk hadn’t lied; his spell was only slowing it. How long was it before she started to change elsewhere? How long before she started to lose herself and began to want to hurt other ponies? The very thought sent shivers down her spine.

Her mind snapped to attention as she caught sight of a deformity on the small sphere’s surface. It protruded just off to the side like a lip in a rock. Syphoning some of her magic, she shaped a small amount of energy into a thin sheet against the sphere. Like a knife sharpener, she ran the energy smoothly and evenly over the gem, chipping away the bit that jutted off to the side. This had to be the third or fourth gem she had taken to help her shift her thought’s and gain a bit of closure.

Time had passed while she was lost in herself, and as if she had jumped through it suddenly, the red light outside ushered in the evening. Sitting in her hospital bed, she looked over this gem one final time. It seemed to come out in a familiar orange color, the texture within swirling like a typhoon. In a way, the strange way the sphere looked made her think of it almost like a miniature world, floating gently above her sheets. Mother had worked so hard to get these working, to get them to take to her magic. She wondered if her plan would work, but the possibility for failure was always evident.

Mom had thought that she could make these gems keep the original gem lit forever. What she remembered her saying of it gave Crimson an idea. “The magic swirls around, traveling through the gem like it’s on a current,” she had said to her father. “If I can work my energies into it the right way, the light will keep itself going. The glow will not simply emit itself until there is no energy left; it will simply circulate and show through in the outer-most part of the gem!” She had been so excited by this that she was practically bouncing around the shop. She didn’t fully understand how it worked, but the way her mother explained it, she thought a more rounded shape may help. No points for the energy to clog up in. Father had complained that this was the reason it exploded… she gulped air down her throat as the thought came.

Crimson had to get this to work, and if the gem exploded, things would be horrible. She diligently rechecked her work on the gem current ensnared in her magic and then on all the others. Small though they were, she felt confident with each she checked that they were perfectly round. An eternal light… something that would outlast her and anypony else. Something that everypony she knew and loved could carry with them, and remember her by… she sighed as she placed the spheres down on the desk beside the cot. She wasn’t even sure she was wanted anymore, with how everypony looked at her. Still, she wouldn’t want to leave her loved ones without anything from her. Looking over to the spheres, she smiled for just a moment before her eyes drifted to the window again.

She had to blink a few times, but what was there was no illusion. Daylight, bright as if it were noontime, shone through into the room. Crimson was on her feet in no time, going to get a better look. She had to kneel down, with the window being too thin to see up high enough, but there it was. A light shining brightly at the very top of the clock tower was the source. Everywhere she looked in town, she could see just as clearly as ever. Panic worked its way to her head as she wondered at the cause of this phenomenon. Clearly it was spell work, she didn’t think a fire could burn so brightly, but just who cast it?

Out the door she went, galloping at a surprising speed. Her muscles were as strong as ever, despite the her injuries and apparent handicapped status here. As she passed through the hallways, she noticed that nopony was anywhere inside the building at all. Was she the only one, she pondered, who was this confused right now?

The door came into view around the next corner, and through the glass slits in its structure, she could see ponies crowded around the front of the school building. She pushed the door open with ease and saw everypony staring up with awe, and to her relief, happiness. It was then that she turned her own gaze up and realized what was going on at last.

“Mares, fillies… stallions and colts of Beacon,” Celestia’s voice boomed as she floated lightly over them all. Crimson was a little surprised, she had heard that help was coming but this was still unexpected for her. The princess of the sun herself came? No wonder almost everypony in Beacon had gathered here, in this one spot. It was not too big a population, but there was certainly clutter. “As you may have heard, I have come to help in your time of need… While you all have suffered great loss here, some have lost so much more than others. Homes, possessions, business, and anything else you can think of lay in ruin across your great township. Some, however, have lost more than even that…” she looked around to the faces of each citizen as she lowered down to the ground. Celestia’s eyes locked on Crimson, and as she blinked in the face of her princess, Celestia’s eyes came to close.

“For those of you who have lost so much, for those of you who do not stand amongst us now, I am so greatly sorry,” she said with a genuine frown. Her guards seemed shocked, frantic even. They walked now behind her, looking to each other with confusion in both of their faces. As she approached the little, red manned filly, her eyes still met hers directly. Crimson didn’t understand any of this… did the princess know? Was she told of what happened to her already? “Mostly, I am so sorry. I am so very sorry, for the one who stands before me.” Tears seemed to well in her eyes as she looked from Crimson’s eyes to her bandages. She was directly in front of Crimson now, her tall frame making the filly have to look almost straight up to see her face. The crowd seemed staggered at this; none knew why she approached the one amongst them they had avoided most.

Reaching the filly, her sorrow seemed more real than anything about her. Her crown, hoof cups, and regal mane couldn’t shine a candle to the expression on her face. Celestia turned now to face the rest of them, her eyes closed and head downcast. “Of all the ponies in this town that have lost so much, she will lose the most. She will lose herself; her will, her very existence as a unicorn, and every bit of life left in her soul…” Celestia’s eyes opened and swept the crowd as Crimson looked up in disbelief. “Right now, though, she is the liveliest one amongst you. Where you all look to me for hope, she was looking for some other way to help every one of you. She worked with Dr. Steff to heal your wounds where hers remained open and painful. Do you not think I have heard what you think of her for this? What you think of my former student for his own actions?” Celestia said with actual anger in her voice.

Not one of them had a response, they all remained silent. Crimson looked to the princess, blinking now. Could any leader really be so incredible? Whole crowds of ponies turned upside-down morally so suddenly that they are speechless of it, and all with a few simple statements. The princess took in a breath of air before she allowed herself to continue. “Times of difficulty are never when we should be fighting amongst ourselves. Kalk saved her life because she knew and accepted that she would come to an end in the not so distant future. Can you put yourselves in her shoes?” Celestia walked through the crowd now, looking to each one of them as they cleared away from her. They scurried away as if she would lash out at any one of them for even the slightest resistance. “Can you imagine how brave this little, tiny filly would have to be, to know, just know, that she would lose herself any day? Can any of you say you’ve ever been that brave? She is accepting her own death when that happens because she wants to help you all before she leaves you forever!”

Crimson was positively dumbstruck. Of all the ponies she expected to avoid her, to think of her as a little monster to be gotten rid of, Celestia was one she thought would be more so inclined to break out the stakes and torches. Instead, here she was, pushing back all of those who even so much as looked at her funny. It was humbling, to say the least. She never asked for this… she could have dealt with their accusations and insults. In fact, she was almost certain that she would still need to. Celestia couldn’t stay in Beacon forever, just showing up must have been a nightmare for everypony back in Canterlot. These ponies would all lose their need to shield what they thought of the filly when the princess went back. In a way, it was oddly comforting. She needed to die, after all. Not soon she hoped, but definitely before she got worse. The affliction was already noticeable down her leg, the veins popping out in a deep black near her stomach.

The citizens of Beacon, for all their hope in the princess, seemed to lower their heads now in shame of their actions. So many backed away from the princess, avoiding her direct gaze as she search the crowd. It seemed like they were all children, trying to avoid admitting to the guilt of some petty rule being broken, with Celestia as the stern parent. With a few long, drawn out breaths, the sun princess spread her wings and lifted herself off the ground, her royal guard joining her now with attentiveness. Their armor shined in the light from the miniature star that had been brought to the town as they brought their bodies as close as possible to Celestia. With them at her flanks, she looked out at them with regained composure. No longer were their tears welling in her eyes, nor a deep arch in her brow. If anything, it was blank.

“We all need to stick together in this time of hardship. Things will get difficult, but they will only grow more so if you start to attack any one amongst yourselves…” Celestia paused, flapping her wings a few times to raise her altitude. “In this time, you are not alone. You have us, all of Canterlot, to do whatever we must to bring you back your home!”

She floated just above the schoolhouse when, as if from nowhere, the silhouettes of many pony shaped figures burst free into the air. It was as if they had just popped into existence one after the other. All different colors of pegasi flew to and fro, their wings extended through the air, seeming to slice right through it. Like leaves from above in the middle of fall, they cascaded and came to land in the clearing in the crowd where Celestia had stood just moments ago. The crowd was taken aback, and with good reason. Just where had all these ponies come from?

“Rest now, Beacon! The “door” to Canterlot has been opened inside the labs. Anypony we need, be it the best of engineers or the strongest of workers, is more than willing to lend their hoof to their brothers and sisters in need!” Celestia announced with a voice that could rally even the simplest of armies. Cheers of joy and relief rose from all directions, and as Celestia went to land atop the roof, more ponies poured out of the building. As the crowd dispersed, Crimson came to finally look away from the rooftop that Celestia had disappeared over. She turned, and to her surprise, her brother stood right beside her. Better yet, he hadn’t been looking at her when she looked over.

“Orange? How long have you been there? Come here, give big sis a hug” she teased as she pulled the unsuspecting colt in for said hug. With the squirming came the yelling into her chest as she held him tightly.

“Hrmm! Leh mm roh!” she made out as he pushed at her with the knees of his front hooves. Another moment and she finally let him go, the colt plopping to the ground gasping as he shook his head. Before he could open his eyes, find her, and yell at her, she brought her nose to his. With a smirk, she pushed against his snout with her nose. The cyan coat of the colt came to the ground as he giggled at his sister’s antics. Success! She shone all her teeth in a victorious smile as he got up.

“So then, little brother, what have you been up to all day? I didn’t see you around the hospital much,” she said as he looked away, disgruntled. She could see the blood rushing to his cheeks, the blush impossible to hide as he tried to turn away. She pulled her hooves over his back, and leaned in to his ear. “Hmm?” He quickly shook it off, turning to face her finally with a small smile showing. She had to work at it sometimes, it seemed, but that smile always came one way or the other.

“I’ve just been talking to Tick, really. Mom has been missing all day long, and Dad went off to help rebuild, think he’s still out there actually,” he said as he shot a look at the town, where the many pegasi and now earth ponies and unicorns all were starting to get down to work. His eyes seemed tired, the lids hanging drearily over them as he looked around thinking. Suddenly, they grew wide and he was unable to stand still. His hooves danced about as he trotted back and forth in place. “Oh, oh oh! Ditzy showed up again! She’ll be staying here while her daddy helps with the reconstruction!” he said with a wide smile.

“That’s great! Maybe we can all get together and play a little game!” she stated, seeing the eagerness suddenly in his eyes. Tick could really use some fun, with what she had gone through. More importantly, though, she wanted so badly for them to have this memory. How depressing would it be for her brother, Tick or Ditzy if later in life, they wonder what she must have been like? The four of them really ought to get some good times in, now that she thought of it… A thought struck her like a blow to the head, she blinked several times before she could confirm why it was so urgent. “Orange?” she asked frantically. He came to attention immediately, recognizing the way her voice showed her worry. “Orange, where is that blue manned filly? The one who was hurt in the rain? Is she alright?”

“Last I saw, she was still in bed… Hadn’t woken up yet either,” he answered after rubbing the back of his head thoughtfully. “She had a broken leg, but the doctors said she was going to be okay.”

Crimson almost felt idiotic. Of course, Steff couldn’t be responsible for all the hurt ponies in Beacon. There were other doctors to help too. No wonder she hadn’t seen her in her little run around with him, she was just under somepony else’s watch… Though Steff had opened an empty room or two… She shook it off. The filly wasn’t her responsibility, though she felt the need to make sure she was okay, still. It was a matter for others now. She had gotten her to safety, now the filly had her family and loved ones to take care of her.

With that in mind, she turned to the orange manned colt once more, seeing him off on his own tangent of thought. She smirked. Another joke or two wouldn’t get him too mad, she thought. He must have seen her expression, because in that moment, he galloped off as quickly as his legs could take him. She let out a small giggle, letting him get a head start for a few seconds before chasing him down for the biggest tickle attack of his life.

…

All was quiet as the light from the clock tower kept everything lit throughout the ruins. Whole buildings had been plowed out of the way, their state too degraded to rebuild on top of. This left several areas where, instead of roads and paths, there were wide courtyards. Stretching the length of several houses, they were a dangerous place for the young filly to attempt to cross straight over. She stuck to the sides, edging along the piles of debris that had been piled along the sides.

Her blue mane was full of dust and dirt, her hooves muddied with the dirt patches. Somehow, through some stroke of miraculous luck, she had eluded every single one of the workers as she had made her way this far. Limping, she could feel the stiffness in her three working legs. The cast had gotten wet, and she could feel the ilk of the muddy water at the tip of her hoof. For a while, she worried that it might fall apart, and that her bone would fall out of place again. Fortunately the solid shape held its form, and as she pressed on, she could feel the thing weigh her down more and more.

Gradually, she grew tired. Several times she had to find an alcove or an unchecked building to hide away in while she caught her breath. The stress of all of this was getting to her now, and in her mind, she began to feel the outset of panic. What if one of the places that had been plowed was her home? Where would Mom be then? Did they know before they knocked everything down that she was still inside? The thought surged adrenaline into her veins, and with it, she began to move just a bit faster.

As she rounded the corner out of the empty bowl of a site, something familiar caught her eye. She stopped dead in her tracks as her blue mane flowed off to the side in the breeze. She squinted at the object that lay upon the ground not too far off. Slowly, she approached disbelief in her mind. The bird shaped pendant lay there as if it were dropped and forgotten, but that just couldn’t be right. She slipped her hoof under the tightly wound twine that connected at two ends to the bird’s top wing and lifted it up to eye level. She had to balance herself on two legs, but now she knew for certain. The chip that ran from the bird’s head to its beak was exactly as she remembered it. This was the very same birthday present that Mom had given to Mommy last year.

It was a sunny day, and Mom had decided to take them all out for a picnic for the occasion. The filly could still remember the look in her mother’s eyes as the pendant was fastened around her neck. A mix of surprise and shy appreciation were visible in her, as her cheeks grew pink. Mommy looked to Mom with a smile and eyes that dripped with love from the edges. After giving her a moment to take it in, to come close and hold her, Mom turned her attention to the fluffy clouds above. Together with her parents, the filly had looked up as Mom spoke. “I love you both so much, you know…” she said, pulling both the filly and her mother’s attention to her. She looked off to the side, the forest the only thing in that direction.

“Are you alright dear?” she had heard Mommy ask behind her as her mother looked off to the dark abyss. The memory was plain and clear, as if it had been just yesterday.

“You two are with me… so I must be. I am just fine…” She looked over to Mom with the strangest look she had ever seen in her eyes. Mom had never shown any sign of being sad; she was always either happy or mellow. It never seemed that she was low in the dumps, and it was rare that a simple frown crossed her face. But then, with eyes wide and focused on the pendant, Mom had tears in her eyes. “I don’t want this place… I’ve been here all my life. That pendant, I saw it in a shop and knew why I needed it for you instantly. I don’t want you or our filly to have to be stuck in a cage for the rest of our lives… I want us all to soar together one day!” Mom had said with so much power, her eyes wet as she smile at the clouds. She stared at the sky then, imagining herself and her parents both flying high above the trees. It was funny; she had never in her life before, envied anypony really. But there she was, wishing so badly that she could be a pegasi like the ones she saw around town every now and then.

Seeing the pendant now, she could only hope that days like that would still come. Looking around her, she wondered if this would change anything. Maybe they could finally get flown out of this it in the forest. She took up the pendant in her magic, and closed its pin behind her neck. It hung loosely from her neck, but then, she was much smaller still than Mommy. Which begs the question, how did she lose it? She wouldn’t have just left it here, or forgotten it… something must have happened. Now, more than ever, the blue manned filly knew she needed to be back at home.

She turned the next corner with haste, and as she did, came to recognize where she was. The tea shop sign that lay at the side of the street was the same one that had hung only a short ways off from where her house was, and she was sure of it. She loved their tea, it was always soothing and warm in her belly. She frowned at seeing the sign on the ground, right beside the collapsed shop, but couldn’t stop now to get lost in her good memories. Around the next corner, she was certain that she knew exactly where she was now… Just one more turn and she’d be there!

The filly galloped to a stop at the end of the street she lived on. It was a shame really, to find it so completely crushed and torn apart. Her house was in view, and as far as she could tell, it still stood strongly enough to be rebuilt. Slowly, she walked down the path, letting her legs grow a little less tense as she moved. When the house was directly in front of her, she sighed in relief. She was home at last, after all those hours of sneaking and wondering. She had lost track of time, but now here she was. It didn’t matter to her anymore that her legs were sore, or that her cast had grown so heavy. Everything was alright now, because she had made it back.

Inside, the place was an absolute mess. Crumbled rock and clay lay here and there in piles, and light shined in through the holes they had left. The floor was still moist, and mush that must have been paper at some point covered a lot of it. She did her best to step around them, but they were too many and close together. She flinched as the cold, wet clump fell from her quickly raised hoof. Though it mattered little, with her hooves already covered in mud, she still didn’t want any of the stuff anywhere near her. After a few moments, she simply swallowed her feeling of disgust and walked right over the degraded papers. The next room over had much of the same, and was entirely emptied of any sign that life had once been there. It was, in fact, the dining room… or so she thought. It looked nothing the same, even the table was gone from the once well-kept picture.

The blue manned filly froze as she came to the doorway into the next room. There, atop a pile of rubble that separated the inside from outside, was Mommy. Her head sulked low, her mane in a total mess. With minute movements, she edged herself closer, coming around slightly to see the exhausted expression on her mother’s face. She looked down at the pulverized stone and clay below her, seeming to search it for answers. The puffy flesh under her eyes was bruised, and it was more than apparent that she had been crying.

Something must have stricken her in the emotional fog that surrounded her mother, for the filly’s legs suddenly became too stiff to move. In her shock, she stumbled to the side, her broken leg hanging off to the side throwing her off balance. Though she struggled, wiggling the appendage to and fro as she tipped, it was of no use. Her body came to collide with the wet and cracked floor with a loud thud. She couldn’t have helped herself; Mommy had never shed a tear in her life before the filly. She was the happiest mare she had ever seen even with the depths of the situations she always found herself in.

Her eyes clenched shut for a few seconds before she could bring herself to open them. Directly in front of her was the pile of rubble, and as she looked up, she saw Mommy. She stared back in disbelief, looking over the filly as if she was some sort of ghost. Blinking did nothing to clear her head, and as she rose to her hooves, the filly turned herself over. Slowly, they both approached each other. Mommy’s black coat gleamed in the light as she stumbled to the side, a rock out of place coming to meet her hoof. She almost fell over altogether, but was able to catch herself. Tears welled in her eyes as she looked down at the filly before her. Sitting there before her mother, she felt herself recoil backwards slightly. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but with her having a broken leg and all, Mommy might get overly worried. Without a word, she lowered her neck and pushed her forehead into her daughter’s. She flinched at first, but then closed her eyes and let herself feel the warmth of her mother’s coat. Eventually, Mommy pulled away, and when she opened her eyes, fresh tears fell to the ground before her.

“I am so happy… you are okay, Blue Gray…” Her mother said through her sobs. Was she this way because she and Mom had been looking for her? Was she thought to be missing? The filly just couldn’t get it. “Where… where were you? Just what were you thinking leaving the school in a time like this?” she yelled. Mommy glared down at her with rage the likes of which she had never seen before. The filly drew within herself as she looked back up, shacking. After a moment, her mother simply broke into tears. “Thank… goodness, you’re alright…”

“I am sorry, Mommy,” she said as she hugged her tightly. She didn’t know what caused her mother to break down like this, but she knew that it must have been horrible. Maybe some beast had caught a foal somewhere in town, and her missing was more worry than she could handle… she could only imagine how much trouble she must have gone through. Her mother sobbed on, and as she did, the filly could tell that none of that was relevant. No amount of worry would drive her this far… would it?

“No, don’t. Don’t be sorry, you are here! You’re here and safe… and that’s all I need,” she said as she hugged her daughter more tightly. Mom must be out looking right now, she thought. She must be out there, somewhere in Beacon right now, looking for her as Mommy waited here. It sounded just like her… The filly had to fight off the tears that came to her own eyes. She had to be strong! She needed to be strong for Mommy.

“Mommy, can we go get Mom now? She… she must be worried too,” the filly asked, bringing a stop to her mother’s sobs. Slowly, she pulled away from her, looking at her daughter dead in the eyes. Many moments passed before either of them did a thing.

“Dear…” Mommy began finally, sinking the filly’s heart into the sea of helplessness. She knew… she knew but it couldn’t be. She kept telling herself it wouldn’t be. She wouldn’t have been strong enough if it was true… “Mom… Mom isn’t worried about you. She knows you are safe and that you are so very strong…”

“No she doesn’t! We need to go tell her…” she argued. Nothing she did could fight it off, nothing she did would make it any less real. It wasn’t a dream, or a nightmare… it was worse. Silence passed between the two as they looked at one another.

“I… Listen, Blue Grey, Mom is… she isn’t…” she struggled to say as tears crawled down her cheeks.

“I know, alright!” the filly shouted, pulling her hooves up to her as she shook it back and forth. “I know already… I was there! She… she saved me… but not… but not her,” her voice turned almost to a whisper as she spoke. Tears came now, and this time, nothing she could do would stop them. They wouldn’t be stopped now, they were too strong… and she was too weak. She wasn’t strong enough, and she knew it. Mom was gone, and she was weak. Her tears, for the first time in years, fell to the floor instead of staying in their place. She sobbed on and on, for all the times she was strong she cried now; right when she needed to be strong the most.

Quite a bit of time passed with neither saying a word. They both sat, eyes looking where ever might be darkest, and simply let their sorrow pour out together. It wasn’t the first time they had both been sad together, just the two of them. They had to fight through really hard times, and while it was true that this was the hardest, they both would make it through, the filly knew. Somehow. Right then and there, though, none of it mattered. She only wanted the one thing she could never have again. She remembered all times she had been with her Mom, all the times she was scolded, all the times she was loved and all the fun they all had together. Then she remembered the necklace that still hung from her frail neck.

“When will we be free, Mom?” she asked, her drying tears growing sticky on her face.

“I don’t know, dear,” she said with nearly an empty voice. It was plain that she had grown exhausted, the travails that occurred today having brought their weight down on her. Without saying another word, the filly took off the necklace, and lifted it up before her mother with her magic. Standing there, she saw it twinkle lightly in her mother’s eye. She then fastened it around her neck, letting it fall gently against her chest. They both looked at the pedant with sad eyes. “Where did you?”

“On the sidewalk,” she answered quickly.

“I must have dropped it… but. No, I think you should have it now,” she said as she pulled the chain around to try and undo the bolt in the front. It took some work, but she eventually undid it, and then placed it around her daughter’s neck.

“Why are you giving me Mom’s necklace? She loved to see you wear it…” the filly said with a rasping voice.

“One day, you are going to soar high above those trees and finally be free… just like the birds she loved so much… and I want you to take her with you…” Mommy said as she looked up at the stars above. “She loved you so much, Blue Grey…” she said as the two looked up now. A light cast from one side of the sky to the other as they watched; a shooting star. It went from one side of the sky to the other, not stopping for anything below.

“I… I am not strong enough,” she admitted, remembering how she had finally lost her fight with her weakness.

“You’re wrong. You are one of the strongest ponies that anypony will ever see. She thought so, and so do I,” she whispered. The filly whipped her head around to face her mother.

“Did… did she really say that?” she asked. A nod was her mother’s only response, but as she looked up, she knew somehow that it wasn’t a lie. Like Mom herself had been there, right beside them confirming everything, she believed it all. Somehow, Mom had thought that she was strong. She felt the sorrow at her loss, felt the pain of it all. But in a way, the pendant that hung from her neck gave her reassurance. She would soar one day. She would soar and she would show this world just how strong she knew she could be. She had to, if only so that her mother could finally rest easily.

=========================================================================

Never ending flames shot out into the safety of nothingness, bringing doom to all foolish enough to go near. The endless forest gave way, at some point, to a clearing. Though it was a place of flame and loss half the time, hooves came to rest here, finally granting the free moment to rest. Eyes searched all around, and found no sign of the flames that had threatened to eat away all, nor was there any feeling of burning inside. The Blood had long ago calmed, and now, it seemed to only want silence. No other made sound, and for all that was known, no other even moved. Their light shined in the nothingness, scattered far and wide like the stars above.

As eyes were cast upwards, it seemed to be that others were truly in every direction but down. Up, left, right, back and forth; it didn’t matter where one turned. They all gleamed so brightly in the absence of such brutal fires. Swiftly, a heavily feeling entered the chest as rich visions opened inside. There was the same, gleaming light all around, and the same beautiful image everywhere that could be seen without such visions. Yet still, there was so much different. There was another… one with eyes that reflected the wonder within them.

A thought came, not born of the Blood nor of force. It was not the product of the strange other, either. No, this seemed to be new, something that spawned all on its own.

Why is it raining?

_________________________________________________________________________

Author's Note:

Well thank you, everyone, for reading this far! I have had a lot of fun writing so far, and I have so much more planned. This chapter took a long time for me to finally finish, and that is mainly due to some family issues and the factor of stress with finishing up school. I don't plan to take so long in the future! Hopefully my esteem will be fixed up a bit by finally releasing this chapter. It helps that the next chapter will be composed mainly of a crucial part of the story that I have been looking forward to for months now. The story is going to be taking a lot of turns soon, and I look forward to telling all of you every little detail once I release each chapter. In truth, this is only part one of a much larger story still, and I have plans for story to lead to a conclusion finally in part four.

Also, please don't be afraid to tell me what you think! I am always looking for insight, and whatever I can get, whether it be positive or negative, helps significantly. The positive will increase my moral and the negative will tell me what to change in how I write. So whatever your thoughts are, I am open to them. I have two tumblr accounts, one of which I use primarily and the other which I log to every now and then. I can answer any questions or take your criticism here or on one of them!

http://askdrearycloak.tumblr.com/
http://rusty-parker.tumblr.com/

Thanks again! I can't wait to show you all more of the tale that has spun for so long in this head of mine.

Chapter 9: The Inevitable Truth

Chronicles of the Glow
Written by: Rusty Parker

Edited by: Wanderwing

9
The Inevitable Truth

Dim light barely pierced the branches hundreds of feet above the ground. It filtered down through the dense thicket above, and came to form pools of eerie and scattered color. A near silence seemed to weigh down the trees above, as if they were being pulled downward by the vacuum that should be filled with sound. Birds chirped in the far distance, but they were so low in volume that it seemed they could just be a figment of the imagination. Buildings of tan clay stood strong not far off, the blue day’s sky visible over their structure.

Bringing his hoof to bask in one of the patches of light that were scattered across the ground, Kalk smiled dimly. The light warmed and soothed his coat where the dark had brought a chill to his skin below. It had been ages since he dared come near this thick, dark forest. It seemed almost alien to him now, nothing about it had remained the same through all his years. Kalk sat down for a moment, and brought his eyes to the small patches of light in the outer canopy above him. Even with his back turned to the great forest, he felt no fear. Life had taken a turn for the better, it seemed.

In the weeks that had come to pass, every building in the town had been reconstructed. To him, it felt almost like nothing had ever happened to the town. Blinking, he allowed his eyes to drop to the ground. He couldn’t let himself think like that; there had been so much loss in the time it took to get here now. The poor filly’s mother, almost every personal possession, some of which that had been passed down for generations… and then there was Crimson, who had run off into the forest never to be seen again. He sighed as he thought of it all. Things were peaceful now, but the costs had been so high.

There hadn’t been any sign of the shadow beasts since the attack, and as time went on, he saw something new in his people. Pure joy, the likes of which he hadn’t seen in so very long, burst from everypony’s hearts. They were happy, finally and fully. Kalk’s battle with the ursa was now viewed as some heroic accomplishment to them; it was the last time any of them had to deal with a shadow beast. Maybe they had seen what he did, and now ran from them instead of coming to attack them, he thought jokingly to himself.

Kalk rose slowly to his hooves, his muscles sore now with a burning that in some ways felt nice. So long he had been numb, unable to feel much of anything from his body, and it was nice to finally have some semblance of livelihood back in his body. Truly, things must be over. She gave up, no more fighting to kill them all. He couldn’t even use the dark magic that gave him his vision to see the infected ones. Walking slowly and with a smile, he made his way back toward Beacon. He had much work to do still, there were foals to teach still, after all. One of which he was sure needed just a bit more attention than the rest for the sake of his own love for her.

In the looming peace, Kalk had settled into a pretty average life. In the day he taught his classes all he knew, and made sure they were up to par with their skills. In the later hours, he would spend all his time with his daughter. Tick was turning out to be one of the smartest ponies he thought he had ever met, and that was quite the accomplishment. Her skills with machines had only grown since he took her in, and now she was working on designs. So young and she was already creating new things for the world! He was proud to know also that he had brought a regular smile into her daily life.

Yes, Beacon seemed to finally be a town like any other in Equestria. Soon, they would be able to waltz their way through the forest with a simple light spell and maybe even make a path so that other towns could be traded with! The possibilities at this point were unimaginable to him before now. As he rounded the corner, Kalk opened his eyes, expecting to find a shop keeper or two selling their merchandise in the storefront just across the street. What he saw instead brought him to a dead stop. Nothing… just nothing happened at all. There was not a single pony in sight, and it was still midafternoon!

Kalk could hear himself breath heavily as worries returned to him. Could it be…? No, absolutely not. That whole situation is over. It just can’t be. The shop keepers all went to the school for a demonstration! Yes, of course. What other explanation was there that was logical now? Silence pierced his thought as he stood in place still, his legs becoming shaky.

“Is there anypony here?” he shouted at the storefront, hoping to the princesses that he would get a reply. After a few seconds of him looking around frantically, Kalk grew more paranoid. What if they hadn’t heard me, or thought I was talking to somepony already? He simply couldn’t chance something like that. Walking down the street now, Kalk looked all around him. “Anypony? Anypony at all?”

Crossing his way to the next path, he found this area to have a similar situation. The inside of the structures turned out no further evidence of life. Each building he walked into was completely unlocked, and each was entirely empty. While it was apparent that there had been ponies in each recently, the homes were now but empty husks without their owners. Kalk dodged in and out of almost every building he came across, and with each he grew more stressed. After finally having searched the last home on the street, even having checked under the beds and furniture, a light breeze blew through his teal and gray mane.

As he made his way to the next street, his pace increased. Going down the next passageway, he was nearly at full gallop. Not a single pony was in sight, and as he began to sprint, Kalk felt his stomach turn in knots. Something terrible has happened, he thought. What had happened to his home?

The next street proved no different, as did the next. Kalk gave up altogether on searching the insides of each home, and was now simply making his way from street to street. There was no damage anywhere; all the freshly built buildings remained crisp, clean, and in nearly perfect condition. With time passing, his pace increased. Soon, Kalk found himself nearly sprinting across town in search of anypony he could possibly come across. Reaching the school, he found his previous assumption to be completely wrong; the place seemed more barren than anywhere else he had already been.

A sight came into view that paralyzed Kalk, even with the adrenaline pumping through his veins like crazy. The clock tower was based in the very center of town, where Kalk stood now… except it wasn’t there. It was gone from sight and view, a large courtyard having come to replace it. The gem shop that Glitter and Spit Shine ran was directly across from him, and as he stepped forward, he shook. Nothing was making any sense, he had just seen the clock tower above, and he knew it. Was… was he going mad? Kalk reached the middle of the courtyard, and looked all about him. The place was as empty as any other part of town, and now, his breathing heavy and his limbs worn, he sat down.

“Why is this happening? None of this… none of it makes any sense at all,” he whispered to himself as his eyes went from one door to the next. It wasn’t even an hour ago that he had been in the busy, congregation of ponies that were making their way through the busy pathways, and now, not a sign remained that could prove they had existed at all. “Where have all of them gone?”

“Isn’t that plain to tell, Mr. Kalk?” Kalk sat bolt upright suddenly at the sound of the feminine voice, and with little effort, he was able to whirl himself around to face the source of the voice. Nothing, though, was there. Just another empty door, another space left without life. Blinking several times, he looked around himself in vain.

It took a while for him to collect himself, but finally Kalk decided it was time to move. The voice must have been his imagination, as there was no other logical reasoning to put to it. He turned to walk down the street, to leave the courtyard, when he spotted just a glimmer of a shadow cast from a rooftop. Its long, drawn shape cast down upon him, and as it moved, so did Kalk. A quick teleport brought him to the same roof from which the shadow had fallen from, and it was from there he saw a figure jump off the building into the street below.

He wasted no time in chasing it down; there was no point in waiting or trying to speak to whoever or whatever it might be. It was plain to tell he had been eluded purposely, and he wasn’t going to have any more of that. He’d get his answers, even if he had to chase this thing down and beat them out of it. Whatever was going on, the figure must know something about it or another, and its running was only further proof that it must be the cause. Kalk jumped into the street without even the slightest thought for his own harm and gave chase.

Seeing the shadowy figure below dash away, he cast a barrier spell to trap it. While his casting was fast and the spell strong, it did nothing to stop the coward. He spotted it run down the next street and as he chased, he could only catch dark glimpses of its full shape. Round and round the form led him, as if it had no real purpose or direction. Kalk started to wonder if this thing was actually just some animal he mistook for a pony in his desperation, but part of him knew that couldn’t be the case. There were no animals other than small pets that would be out in the daylight in this forest, let alone run away from a pony like this.

He was gaining on it, the dark form of its rear hooves close enough for him to grab were he to lunge now. He didn’t get the chance to, however, as it dodged quickly into an alley directly to his right. Kalk was able to turn just in time to run into it after the pony, whom was now turning the next corner. He bolted after it, bursting from the thin alleyway with as much speed as his old limbs would muster, but when he finally emerged, nothing was there. He was back in the center of town, the courtyard where the clock tower should be, and again, nothing gave even the slightest hint of life. There was no street in the direction the shape had taken, and as he looked around, it seemed impossible that it could have gone anywhere at all. There was no time for it to have reached the nearest off shoot, and Kalk was sure of that. Had it teleported?

“My, my. You really are as blind as I thought,” the same voice teased again from behind. Kalk again whirled around to face it, sure this time that the one who said it was the silhouette he had just chased down. Exactly like before, there was nothing there at all.

“Stop these games! Come out now and tell me what you’ve done to the ponies who live here!” he yelled into the air, fuming now with the ridiculousness of this all.

“Ah, but the game can never stop, Kalk! Didn’t you know? Somepony has to win first, and at this rate, nopony will!” the voice called, this time seeming to come from all directions. Kalk snorted air from his nostrils in anger as he walked to the center of the courtyard. There was nothing he could do to catch this thing that taunted him, but the least he could do is put some distance between him and any dark corners. “Why the long face, Mr. Kalk? Don’t you remember anything?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” he said, his eyes closed as he sat in the middle of the stone field.

“You know exactly what I mean…” the voice echoed from above.

“I’m done with this!” Kalk growled. “Tell me, right now, where is everypony? Where are my people? My loved ones, my daughter, my students; all of them, Tell me where they are right now.”

“Why would I need to? You have eyes Kalk, good ones too. If only you’d open them…” Kalk opened his eyes and glared at the still empty space around him.

“My eyes are wide open… Maybe you should show yourself, so I can show you just how well I can see,” he threatened, pressing his hoof into the stone and pulling it backwards.

“Show myself? But I have been sitting right beside you this entire time. And how rude of you, you don’t even face me when I speak to you,” the voice taunted. Kalk looked to both flanks, and saw absolutely nothing. Kalk didn’t have a clue who this could be, but she was really getting him down to his last bit of sanity. With a flash of his horn, energy erupted from his horn, pushing dust off the ground in every direction around him. Breathing in deeply, he could feel his sore body as he regained his head. Nothing had been around him at all, that he was sure of.

“Sure you are. You are right beside me, sitting there, twiddling your hooves around as we have a nice little conversation,” he snorted, “Just what sort of fool do you take me for?”

“The blind sort,” the voice said in a cold whisper, originating not an inch from his right ear. He turned now, to look at her in the face, but again, there was nothing there. Though he didn’t see anything, he stared intensity in the direction the voice had come from.

“Who are you? What do you want from me?” he asked now, almost growling in his rage.

“You remember me! Don’t even try to play it off like I am forgettable. You keep on asking questions, but what’s the point if you already hold the answers in front of yourself?” Kalk looked off to the side, not wanting to acknowledge this foolishness further. “Just look at yourself! You’re a wreck, Kalk…”

“I don’t need…” he broke off. Looking down now, he saw his hooves. Or at least, he thought they were his. No, they couldn’t be. They were ragged, torn, and drenched in blood. Kalk started to breath more heavily with each passing second, and as he tried to move his hoof, it began shaking. He looked back, toward his flank and rear hooves, and much of the same could be said for them as the front hooves. He was soaked in blood, as if he had been bathing in it!

“Kalk... you look as if you just saw something horrible,” the voice said again in a teasing voice. He turned to face it again as he backpedaled, falling to his flanks. There, equally as coated in the red fluid, stood a filly with eyes that resembled that of the shadow beasts. Her red mane mixed was undoubtedly mixed with blood, and as he stared, it seemed as though she had grown… She was at least as tall as him now, and in his shock, he felt himself start to shiver. The sky above was not a clean, vibrant blue, but a mix of orange and purple that hung ominously above them both. “So… your eyes work again!”

“W-what are you? What have you done to me? Wh- whose blood…” Kalk couldn’t even finish, he was shaking so much. He kept looking from his hooves, so dirtied with the red fluid, to her. Crimson had become an absolute monster since he’d last seen her; her teeth turned jagged and her shape was twisted and unrecognizable. Her eyes were perhaps the worst part. Looking into them, there was no sign of the lively filly who wanted to help everypony she could. The fire was gone entirely from her.

“I didn’t do anything, Mr. Kalk. You did…” The filly turned something under her over, pushing it back and forth now beneath her hoof. “Don’t you remember?” He shook his head, eyes still opened as wide as they could be. “You did all this!” she waved a hoof in an arc at their surroundings.

He looked for the first time, and was even more endeavored by what he saw. Bodies… bodies everywhere! All of them limp, unmoving, and many painted red with their own blood. Kalk could feel himself start to hyperventilate as he realized the depths of the situation. She was right… she was completely right. He had walked through town blind… Not one of the ponies in town was missing, nor were they gone from their homes. They were… everywhere. He began weeping as he sat there, unable to believe anything but knowing it all to be true.

“What’s the matter, Kalk? This is what you wanted, right? I can help you,” her voice turned deeper and more menacing as she spoke. “You miss your family, don’t you?” Kalk pushed himself up, the tears still pouring from his eye sockets like rivers, and looked at the once gentle filly with angered eyes. She wasn’t herself anymore, and for all he knew, neither was he. She smiled at him with downward arched brows that seemed to take joy from his state.

“First you kill them…” Kalk was finally able to say after staring into her soulless eyes for several minutes of pure hatred. “Now… how dare you!” he shouted, “You call this helping me? Know what would really help me? If you just died already!”

“Hehe… I do love it when you talk to yourself like that, Kalk.” The evil inside the filly was smiling so fully now, all of her fang like teeth shown in her mouth. Kalk blinked as he watched her giggling to herself, somehow knowing her to be right. He wanted to die… and there were only two ways that could happen for him. Even then though… there were still things in this world he needed to live for. Even if most of them lay dead now…

“I am not going to give in to you!” he yelled. He had someone to be strong for, someone to protect. He didn’t remember what happened that made his coat become so drenched in other’s blood, but he knew for sure that he would never be able to do that to the only filly that trusted him completely. Tick was alive… he could feel it. “I have somepony that needs me more than them now.”

“Your will doesn’t matter anymore… the moment you left me unchecked, alive and well, was the moment you chose your path!” she spoke softly, as if to a child who was in pain. Moving her hoof back and forth, she seemed to cradle the corpse she was so manically obsessed with. All the while, her eyes had grown lazy, and drawn instead to the bloody form beneath her. Her smile was almost gentle… almost. “The townsfolk who thought me a monster couldn’t have been closer to the truth if they had married it.”

There was no arguing with her, she was right on every turn. He was helpless to hurt her, he knew. He wanted to break every bone in her whole body, but he was paralyzed with the shock of this all. He could barely speak now. His legs had all become shaken, barely able to hold him up now, and he inhaled quick and rapidly exhaled breathes. He couldn’t fall now, though. Tick was still out there, she was alive and he could feel it. As he fought his own weakness, Crimson’s eyes went from the corpse to him, still lazy and deadly in their nature.

“Do you forget your family, Kalk? Are they unimportant to you now? They mean nothing, don’t they? Your poor wife, she never had a chance because you were never there to save her. And then there’s your daughter, the one you gave up on, and let die out of fear…” Her voice was still venomous in its composure, and it was plain to tell she toyed with him. With those dead eyes of hers, she looked to the corpse and smiled at it from cheek to cheek. “I guess history repeats itself after all.”

Kalk remained silent. He looked her up and down, searching for any sign of the foal he had once known. His eyes were on their way down to his own hooves, when he noticed something. He stopped breathing altogether when he made the connection. The body beneath Crimson quivered, shook and whimpered even, now that he looked more closely. She was alive, covered in blood but alive… As he stared, he noticed a light purple patch of her coat untouched by the red of the bloody mess. And then he saw her dirtied, but still white mane…

“YOU LET GO OF HER RIGHT NOW!” he screamed, lunging forward at her with all his might. She snorted in anticipation before turning on her front hooves and bringing her hind legs to bear. The speed of her body was unparalleled, and though he tried to cast a spell, there was no time. Her hind hooves collided with his skull, sending him whirling off to the side. He landed in a pile of rubble with a smash of his ribs not too far from where she stood, and quickly tried to rise up for another charge. It was a worthless effort; he couldn’t lift himself up more than a couple of inches.

“Poor girl,” Crimson said to the filly below her, who looked over to him as she shook. “To have to watch the one and only pony to ever help her kill everypony else in town and then chase her around like she was the monster…” she said as she pulled the white mane out of the filly’s face.

“Get away from her!” Kalk growled as he tried again and again to push himself off the ground. He then resorted to his horn, using a spell not altogether unfamiliar to Crimson. With its forbidden magic, he was able to pull himself to his hooves, but was still badly hurt. His muscles were beefed up, but his bones were still shattered.

“You say you are going to protect her? How foolish. Kalk, my dearest little slave, you couldn’t protect anything,” she said with menace. One eye opened larger than the other as they both gleamed black in the low light. Tick, still beneath her, shook, looking at him with pleading eyes.

“K-k-Kalk… Hel-p-p-p me,” Tick begged as he looked into her eyes. She was through so much torture… especially after seeing him be as much a monster as the red manned monster that stood over her now... Even with that though, she still trusted him…

“I’ll save you, Tick. Don’t worry, I’ll protect you,” he promised as his eyes began to glow. Horn in its strong aura of magic, Kalk fired off a ray of energy at the red manned filly. It was then that she grinned. The spell bounced off her and went straight into the ground, burning a hole where it hit. Kalk started to brew up another blast, but was suddenly powerless. He couldn’t focus his energy… or there wasn’t any left.

“You will do my bidding Kalk. It doesn’t matter how much you fight it, you are my puppet. You will dance when I command you to; you will die when I deem it necessary. Most importantly, you will weep when I wish it!” She lifted her hoof above the filly and grinned at him as she did. Kalk felt his heart sink as he saw her face, her intentions plain before him. “Goodnight, dearest little filly... Don’t wait up too long, he’ll join you one day soon,” she whispered before lifting her hoof higher into the air and then bringing it down with incredible speed and force.

“NO!” he screamed. Kalk ran forward, trying to reach her before it was too late. Her hoof was far swifter than he, though, and he watched in horror as Tick curled herself into a ball out of fear. The hoof came down and landed dead in the middle of her neck.

The sound of the snapping bone brought Kalk upright, screaming. He breathed heavily, wept deeply, and of all things, shook in fear. The sound of hammers beating in nails and workers shouting could be heard off in the distance as he sat, still unable to see. Nothing but the infinite darkness before him was visible, but as he looked around himself, the blurry room eventually came into view. His eyes now opened, he sat there in silence, staring at the wall in front of him in silence. His eyes were wide and as he looked back, the memory of what had just happened was so real.

Another nightmare… the second since only two days ago when the attack took place. This situation was far graver than any he had ever experience. She was coming back; he knew it now for sure. He didn’t know when or how, but she was going to break free and would soon be stronger than ever. These nightmares weren’t average; they were her way of whispering into his ears and making him fear even sleeping. It had happened before, but it was never this intense. Now, with the filly, Crimson infected, the connection to her was stronger than ever. It was almost as though she could delve into his very mind.

Such terrible things in his head, it was almost like the real thing had just happened. He looked at his hooves and was relieved to see them plane and gray, no blood to be found. He was still shacking just thinking of the visions he had just been shown. She knew every quirk about him every little thing that could get to him. He couldn’t do this anymore; he had to tell the reality of the situation to a certain group of the townsfolk. They had to know if they were going to survive this… Phobas shows no mercy to her enemies, after all.

…

All the sounds of a major construction project could be heard coming from every direction as the actual sun rose over the tops of the tallest trees. Piles of stone, wooden planks and bags of sand were arranged neatly to accommodate the workers as they gathered the parts they needed to keep building. Pegasi and earth ponies alike carried away pieces they needed as they each returned to their own work sites while the unicorns handled the more elegant matter of assembling some of the tougher pieces for fastening. The old clay that had made up the majority of the town was a thing of the past now, a pile of broken stones and shattered pieces of wall being all that remained of it. Some of the only surviving buildings, such as the clock tower, were being refitted to keep them from toppling over on themselves. Modern designs were far stronger in structure and could take a hit like none of their old buildings could.

Sweat trickling from his head, Spit Shine lifted another support beam into place. With precision and swift swings of the head, one of the workers hammered in the nails that would hold the beam in place. As he finished, Shine let go of the piece of wood and looked down to the floor plans blinking. This was probably his fourth home so far, he thought. Or was it the fifth? He shook his head and looked up to the waiting pegasi clad in a yellow hard hat and dark brown apron, who was now looking at him with question in his eyes.

“Everything alright, Old-timer?” he asked as he came to his hooves. “Maybe it’s time to hit the hay; you have been working since way before I even got here.” Kalk looked to him as the beads of sweat crawled along the either side of his face. At his chin, they met and plopped off to the dirt below together in a single droplet. Shine wiped his chin with his front leg and laughed under his breath.

“You kidding me?” he asked with a smile. The colt, who was barely out of his teenage years himself, tilted his head in confusion. His ears turned outward, he looked at the unicorn as if he had been out in the heat for just a bit too long. His shortly cut blonde hair was filled with sweat and he had to admit, he was really tired. This was his home, though, and he couldn’t just let some punk kids from Canterlot take away his responsibilities as a proud member of Beacon. “I’m just getting started here,” he said with a confident grin. “Let’s get back to work here, before we waste too much time on-“

“There you are!” a familiar voice announced, stopping him mid-sentence. A warm feeling rose in his stomach as he recognized every tone to the voice, its beauty unparalleled in his mind. He turned to face her, the mare he loved more than any other as she approached. His eyes scanned her up and down for a second before his mind was able to put in place something wrong.

“Why are you out of the schoolhouse, Glitter? You’re ribs can’t have healed already…” The pegasus looked to them both, and with an understanding smile and a wink, he walked back toward the skeletal structure they had put together so far. Glitter only grinned at this, and then turned her attention back to her sweat covered husband.

“I may have been hurt, hun, but I’m not some disabled old coot,” she joked. “Fear not, I am able to walk through the streets unharmed by my back giving way!” Shine smiled at this, and sat down. The tension in his legs finally releasing, he could feel his tired body wanting to hit the ground. Everything was heavy, now that he had let himself rest.

“So I see… Maybe you could carry me back to a hospital bed then, in an hour or so?” he said, rubbing the fluid from his forehead and cheeks.

“Only if you like the sound of ribs being broken again,” she said a bit too gingerly as she circled around and sat beside next to him. Shine laughed a bit as Glitter looked him over. “You look like you could use a few days to sleep off all this work right about now. Having trouble keepin’ up with the young ones, are we?”

“If only. I still have a lot of work to do, though. Towns don’t rebuild themselves from the ground up, after all.”

“You’re right… Canterlot’s best array of workers and specialists do,” Glitter smiled as she put a hoof to his neck and applied minor pressure. “We’re not in this alone anymore, you know.” She pressed into the muscle, causing some of the tension that had built in his shoulders to ease. He had been doing a lot of manual heavy lifting before, since magic takes so much out of a pony if they use it too long. The relief in his neck and shoulders perked him right up from his slouching posture.

“Maybe… I just don’t wanna let ‘em have all the fun!” he announced with a smile as he looked off to the homes he had helped pull together. All night he worked, and still he felt he could go all day if he pushed it. “So then, how are things going back in the old learning institute for emergency housing and hospitality?” Glitter’s eyes turned up as she thought.

“Pretty well, I’d say. Our daughter has still been helping Steff out with the patients, and it seems our orange and cyan fluff ball has cheered up since, Tick, and Blitzy’s kid, Ditzy, got a game of hide and seek going,” she looked back toward him after a moment of silence. “There is… one thing though. Something important.”

“Well, let me hear it. Nothing I can’t handle, what with what’s going on now, after all,” he said gently as he turned to face her directly.

“Kalk needs us… and a lot of others… to come to a meeting he has planned. He says that the very fate of Beacon could lie in our hooves, and there are some vital things we need to know about our history that was never put down to paper,” she let out slowly. It wasn’t surprising that old Kalk had gotten worried for everypony’s sake, but it still seemed rather suspicious to him that he would ask for specific ponies instead of gathering the whole town.

“Did he say anything about what it is?” Glitter shook her head and looked off to the forest that hung over the fresh buildings.

“I don’t have a clue… but I can guess. He had the most worried look in his eyes, Shine. Nothing gets to Kalk like that, nothing.” Spit Shine rose to his hooves and stretched his legs out a little as Glitter too got up.

“I guess we’ll have to see just what it is, then, now won’t we?” he asked, enthusiasm in his voice as they both began to walk. Shine looked over his shoulder to the pegasus he had worked with for the past few hours. His wings tucked strongly to his body, the young colt pushed a piece of wood up and onto his back. Their eyes met for a moment, and in it, he nodded toward Spit Shine in sympathy. Not a bad kid, he thought… for a pony raised among complete Canterlot spazzes, at least.

Glitter was right; Kalk wasn’t the type of pony to worry about anything. He always seemed sure of himself, for all his life that had been true. Could it have something to do with the attack? The shadow beast infection? Just what could shake him to the point where he takes such measures as this? Shine could only wonder, some things were simply over his head.

“Knew I could find a way to rip you from that work site before you killed yourself,” Glitter joked as they trotted side by side.

“Yea, well. I have a thing for pretty mares, so that’s one up on me I guess,” he said as he looked away with blush in his cheeks. Glitter giggled, and instantly cringed in pain. One eye closed, she was obviously in pain from her now bandaged up ribs. With a frown, he looked at her wound and wondered if there was anything he could have possibly done to stop the pain. Glitter only smiled faintly as she resumed walking. Tough as ever, he thought.

Together, they made their way back to the school, wondering what may lie in store for them once they arrived. Shine yawned, his lack of sleep catching up to him. At least he knew one thing; whatever spooked Kalk would wake him right up.

…

Blank walls extruding in either direction led to empty corridors, each bearing their own source of light. The large, solid wooden door to the magic labs had a mysterious feeling to it, like almost anything or anypony could be behind it. As the orange manned colt shook his head, he considered why he was called here. Surely there was a reason he had been asked to come here? Was Kalk mad at him for something he had done in class before the disaster? He breathed deeply, and with determination, stared down the door with all the might his eyes would allow. He looked it over as if his very gaze would burst through its clean, well smoothed and shiny texture to the other side.

Truth to be told, he had been too scared to try and go in before. Kalk didn’t seem to be interested in him, specifically, and so he wondered if others would show up. The clock ticked away overhead, ten minutes having passed, and there was still no sign that there would even be anypony else in the building at all, let alone in the magic labs. He couldn’t sit here; hoping somepony would come and rescue him anymore. He had to take action… even if that meant he’d be doing so alone. Ears cast off to each side; he lifted a shaking hoof and pushed the door nervously. It creaked as it slid to the side, its weight much less than one would think from its appearance. Beyond the thick frame lay a surprise that sent a jolt of energy throughout his entire body.

“There you are!” Crimson said with glee as she walked around the encircled group of ponies and came to greet him. He didn’t have a single clue before as to what was going on and now he was even more confused. Sitting throughout the room was an unlikely collection of ponies from all over town. There was Greenhoof, Blitzy and Ditzy, his parents, Tick, Kalk in the center of the room, and to his surprise, the blue manned filly as well. While most of the group sat or stood closely together, the filly sat alone, facing instead to a wall rather than looking over to him like the rest. He wondered for a moment if she was feeling alright. The last he had seen of her, she had been in a hospital bed unconscious, after all.

“What… what’s going on?” he asked nervously. His head lowered to the ground, he did whatever he could to keep his eyes from meeting any of theirs’.

“I have something very important to speak to you all about, Orange Cyan. You were not the only one who I asked to come here, but it was vital that you came,” Kalk said from the other side of the room. He stood stone still in front of the board, as if ready to teach a class.

“I still don’t understand…” He looked down to his hooves, which scratched back and forth at the tiled floor. “Why did I have to be here?”

“We all have to hear what Mr. Kalk has to tell us, silly,” his sister said in a gentle, low voice. “Now come on, we’ve been waiting for you and one other pony.” Together, they walked to where their parents sat. Tick was next to him in no time, and Ditzy whispered to her father before joining the group. Within a few moments, all the young fillies and colts in the room were sitting in a cluster except for one. Still staring out the silted window in the wall, the blue manned filly grunted under her breath as she simply ignored them. While his friends had come to join him, the colt still couldn’t help but frown at the lack of inclusion she had with them.

Off to the side, two poles shot up from the floor, all kinds of odd trinkets protruding from their cylindrical surfaces. Knowing of Celestia’s recent arrival and that there were Canterlot workers everywhere, the colt could only assume that this was the portal he had heard of. Looking the thing over, he questioned just how it would work. Did ponies really come through those poles? The device was plainly turned off, but he couldn’t stop questioning how it worked. Magic was still such an oddity to him.

Next to him, Tick fumbled with her hoof watch. She looked at the face with a frown, and shook her head when Kalk’s gaze came to her. With a sigh, Kalk turned his attention to the blue manned filly. “Are you sure that your mother is going to show up, Blue Grey?” She had no reaction to his question at all. Her posture remained limp and frail as her broken leg rested on a cushion and her chin on her forelegs. Her eyes kept to the window, and as they twitched from one side of the hole to the other, they slid closed.

“She said she would try… I don’t know if she will,” she nearly whispered. Kalk frowned at this, but did not press on for more information. Something wasn’t right, she was usually at least responsive to anypony who addressed her, not always nicely, sure, but she wouldn’t be inactive. Was it her wound that caused this? He couldn’t know, she wasn’t easy to read normally and that certainly wasn’t any simpler to do now.

“We could begin without her, Kalk. I could fill her in on everything… Blissan is going through some really troubled times,” Greenhoof said clearly and in a calm voice. It wasn’t often he spoke up, but when he did, everypony noticed. “She needs her time.” He turned then to the blue manned filly, his thick brow arching upward in the middle. “And you might too… Are you sure you want to be here, instead of beside her?” The blue manned filly breathed in deeply in response before she opened her eyes and turned them to Greenhoof.

“I’ll… stay,” she was barely able to say, her voice reaching a high pitch as she mouthed the words. Kalk nodded to her, a frown cast over his tired face. It might be the attack, or something else, but Kalk really seemed to be getting into a worse and worse condition since it ended. Everypony seemed to, in fact. Crimson was strong as ever, but she had… little time left. He hated to admit it but she was right… there wasn’t anything he could do for it. The blue manned filly was awake, sure, but how she is now, she might be better off asleep. Tick rarely spoke, having been close enough to Kalk to probably see more of what was eating away at him. He just hated seeing everyone so torn when he couldn’t do anything but drag them all down farther.

Several moments passed in silence, Kalk’s head lowered and his eyes closed as he waited. When it was clear that this Blissan wasn’t going to show up, he slowly fluttered them open and raised his head to look them all over. “It seems that we will indeed have to go over this without Blissan present, I am sorry to say. There is much to discuss, but before all that, I have something to tell you all. Something that not a single pony in all of Beacon or even Equestria knows anything about, save Celestia herself.” All eyes turned to him as he spoke up, and some shifted as he inhaled slowly.

None spoke, and as time ticked away, they all wondered what Kalk could mean. Anything could come out of his mouth in the coming minutes or perhaps hours. Blinking, they all waited for him to speak. Even the blue manned filly seemed to have gained some interest, though she still kept her eyes glued to the window.

“All of you have come to know Beacon; the way it feels to live here, the way our culture views each pony as a bottomless pool of potential, and how we must live our lives in fear. Though some have questioned before, none have ever known just how we came to be in this place where fear itself quite literally creeps below our hooves. This isn’t a bedtime story, I am afraid to say. Every word I am about to speak is truth, every happening and event real. This is more than just a history lesson; this is my very life, and soon you will all know just why I must tell you of it.” Kalk seemed to grow morbid as his eyes fell to the floor. He closed them, breathed in deeply, and reopened them with newfound determination, facing them all with intent. “This is the tale of a broken stallion that had it all, and foolishly let it slip out of his hooves like it was nothing…”

=========================================================================

Slowly, the forest that engulfed all moved as the pains came and went. Others all around flickered into the distance and back into view as they traveled in their determination. Wavering, hooves could barely be lifted anymore. Blood urged on, but the pain within would not end. Desperate was the plea to stop, to rest and let heal what was wounded. It wasn’t clear what had brought suffering now, but it was plain that it wasn’t about to end.

A stray obstruction came to bear with an uplifted hoof, sending turmoil into the weak body that carried on. Tumbling over, the pain spiked as the ground was met with force. Nothing would move, but it was plain that the Blood wouldn’t let that be an excuse. Slowly, with legs pushing against rotting leaves and such, progress was made. It took time, but eventually enough distance was gained that the Blood stopped.

Pain thrust through every bit of existence, causing a physical reaction. Instinct took over yet again, bringing teeth down upon a plant. Lush with life, this oddity seemed to be so very out of place in the depths of this emptiness. Before long, all life disappeared from the greenery, its meat being ingested like that of a fresh kill. Pain slowly faded as strength returned. Turning over and rising, there was no longer any pain, but instead strength.

The filling feeling within brought a washing over of vision, faint but also very defined. Others were everywhere, feasting as a light, rising fluff came to the chest. Words like those heard from the place of fire came and went, seeming to come from nowhere instead of from the others that seemed to be everywhere. Though they felt familiar, none stuck in the mind long enough to be recited. The feeling that came now was one too unfamiliar to place in a category at all. It was new, strange and uplifting. It was almost as if there was nothing to fear, nothing to worry for, just life as it was.

With time, the visions faded, and so did the semblance of freedom they brought. Blood urged forward, and so, the hooves below carried on as to not delay further what needed to be done. Emptiness again filled the void once rife with visions.

Chapter 1: Beacon

Chronicles of the Glow
Written by: Rusty Parker

Edited by: Wanderwing

1
Beacon

Shivering viciously, a young colt wrapped himself in a blanket, fear taking over his usually calm demeanor. The night outside was dense with darkness. The blackness of it was almost tangible, and for all the poor colt knew, it was. He looked around the room, seeing his parents sleeping nearby while another lump beneath his blanket began to shift in its sleep. The gemstones that kept the room lit to almost the point of daylight shone brightly as he looked all around the room, searching for the horrid beast whom had so vividly broken into the building only seconds ago.

“It was… a nightmare?” he whispered to himself, trying not to wake his family. A scratching noise at the wall quickly followed by a low and malicious growl rang out from the wall behind him. The colt gasped deeply, his eyes widening as he found himself up on his hooves in no time at all
He was on the opposite side of the room in an instant, fearing for his very life that perhaps his dream had been a reality. That wasn’t the case though, as he soon came to realize the sounds had came from outside the wall his back had been against.

The lump below the blanket began to rise, the blanket falling to the bed as the figure beneath it lifted two hooves into the air. A nearly silent, high pitched yawn followed as the filly beneath turned around to face her brother, still quivering from the sudden surge of fear. “Brother, what’s wrong?” she said, beginning to rub her right eye socket with her hoof as she looked lazily around the room.

The colt opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by a loud roar in the distance. The colt’s hooves didn’t need any prompting to cover his ears and pull his head down to the ground. He began to shake again, his eyes sealed closed as if the very action of opening them in the slightest would be the end of him. The filly, however, simply widened her eyes and shook her head a little, not wanting her brother to see her own fear. She was on her hooves in almost the instant she was able to regain her composure. Crossing the room quickly, she nuzzled the cheek of the orange and cyan colt who still couldn’t bear the thought of looking up.

“W-why can’t we live in peace like the rest of Equestria?” The colt cried out, tears seeping through his clutched eyelids. “Why do we have to,” he sniffled, the tears now openly flowing down his cheeks as his strength wilted in the presence of the coming waterfall. Opening his eyes and looking, pleadingly, at his sister, he repeated himself “Why do we have to sta-” She kissed him on the forehead, silencing him with her reassuring smile. His hooves were around her in no time at all, his weeping no longer able to be contained. His tears soaked her white mane, but she didn’t mind.

“That’s it, Orange Cyan. Let it out,” she said, running a white hoof down his orange mane. “I know, I know,” she reassured, doing her very best not to let him know how much this place made her feel contained and enslaved by the veritable plethora of monsters.

“But why?” he persisted, still soaking his sister’s coat. He finally managed to look up at her, though the tears still poured and he had to keep sniffling to breath.

She chewed it over in her mind, wondering if she should tell the weeping unicorn in her arms just how stranded they were. She couldn’t bear to see him like this. She closed her eyes, inhaling in preparation for whatever reaction her brother may provide. “Look, its…” She didn’t find the time to finish her sentence as another beast outside was now screeching out. The high pitched wail caused both to cling to each other more tightly, both fearing for an instant that it was inside. Silence ensued, and both brother and sister met each other’s eyes.

Though he was still horrified, the colt was no longer crying. His face was wet, and he felt like he would lose his dinner any second now, but the worst of it was gone for the moment. His sister, recognizing the queasy look in his face, took a single step back, giving him some space to breath and catch himself before he hurled. He was able to stop the fluids within from emerging, but he still felt sickly. His sister let out a sigh of relief, looking at him with reemerging fatigue. She let out a long yawn.

The fright in them both had pretty well subsided, and the slightly taller filly looked down into her brother’s face and gave a weak smile. “I think your teacher would be better suited for this when you go to school tomorrow,” she said as the colt took in and processed what she was saying. His eyes widened and he bounced into the air. His eagerness for the coming morning returned in its fullest. The filly raised a hoof to her forehead as she realized the tornado of energy the colt was now filled with. He continued to bounce up and down happily, not a trace of the sorrow or fright that had been almost the only trait he was able to show.

“School, school, school!” he shouted, unable to contain himself. He soon found his sister’s hoof pressed not so gently into his mouth in what was probably the only way to get his attention without hurting him. She took her hoof away from him, shaking off some saliva and motioned toward the two sleeping unicorns across the room, which quickly made him come to grips with what he was doing. He looked at them worried that his burst of excitement had woken them, but neither shifted in their bed. An enormous smile still adorned his face as he began to walk in stride back to the bed.

They were both in bed quickly, not wanting to insight their parent’s punishment should they be caught up at this hour. They lay there for a while, neither sleeping but both trying. The colt turned to face his sister with his dreary eyes as he began to speak in a hushed whisper, “Sister?”

“Yes my insane, completely insane, little brother?” She responded keeping her eyes closed as she let out yet another yawn. It must have been contagious, as he did the same almost immediately.

“Thank you so much,” he said halfway through his yawn. He turned back over and soon enough he was snoozing soundly. The red and white filly couldn’t help but smile as she herself nodded off to sleep.

In the bed on the opposite side of the room, the mare that lay beside her husband couldn’t help but be happy that her two little unicorns were so good together. She didn’t move, not wanting them to know she was awake the entire time. Those two can be put into the worst situation in the world, and still manage to help each other out. A mother of such wonderful young ones couldn’t help but be proud. She closed her eyes, and began to drift into thought. The noises from outside continued to reach them, but no longer bothered any of them all that much. Those beast can make all the noise they want, she thought. Those two have a light between each other brighter than any gemstone could ever hope to glow. The monsters would never stand a chance she thought, smiling inwardly to herself.

…

“Everypony, quite down please,” the single gray stallion said above the group of young colts and fillies as he walked in from the back office. His cutie mark was of a mathematical equation: an “x” plus a “y” with an equals sign, but no answer, his mane a bright blue, streaked with white hair. He had been making last minute preparations for class today, and by the time he reached his new students, the room was in an uproar. The first day of school was setting in, and as he looked over them, the stallion knew all too well that if he didn’t do something to quite down the class, they could go on for hours. His voice wasn’t enough to get their attention over their own conversations, and despite what others would do, he didn’t yell. He didn’t even in the slightest get angry. No, he simply smiled as his horn began to glow.

A single orange and cyan colt in the front row was baffled at how anypony could so calmly approach the situation. He along with a white manned pegasus were the only two amongst the group of eleven who weren’t talking, and the only two who took notice to the presence of the stallion. Having been lead into the morning class for the first time, the colt had felt so excited. He had happily bounced along as his elder sister, who was in the classroom down the hall, led him to this room. Upon reaching it, all his energy poured out of him. The crowd of other ponies his age was a sight he’d never expected. Still, he didn’t fail to feel energetic at finally being able to go to school just like his big sister.

Suddenly, everything went silent in the classroom, bursting the colt’s bubble of thought. Nopony in the room said a word as they looked around in fright. He soon came to notice why. The room was dark… as dark as the night. The unicorn in front of the room had dropped the blinds, and covered the overhanging gemstones with cloth.

“Well well, it seems I’ve managed to grab your attention,” said the gray coated stallion in the front of the room. There was not a sound as light returned to the room. “And yet, I wonder why that is? Why do you all listen so well to the dark? Why is it that only this could get your attention?” he asked in a somewhat creepy voice, and looked around the room, staring each individual pony in the eye. He came face to face with the orange manned colt, who didn’t hold back in answering.

“Because there are monsters that come out at night, when it’s dark out. Really scary ones,” he said, looking the older unicorn in the eye.

“That is absolutely correct!” he said, a smile now breaking over his previously serious poker face. This warmed the young unicorn with a sense of accomplishment. “However, that begs the question… Why?” he asked, and looked around the room again for anypony who may be able to answer. “Why do the monsters come out at night, and not during the day? Why do they want to hurt ponies that have never done them any harm?” Nopony dared even to try at answering this one, for they were never told it. This was something they were not allowed to talk about, something they had to find out when they were older.

Well, I guess we are older now, thought the orange manned colt. The unicorn in front began to speak again, “So, not one of you has heard from a sibling any rumors of why these monsters do what they do?” Everypony shook their head, honestly having never been told anything about the beasts. That is, other than the factor of light being the only thing that ponies could hope to protect themselves with. “How about this then, do any of you have a theory of what might, and I mean might, make them act the way they do?” He asked a little more kindly than before, with less force in his voice.

The white manned pegasus raised her hoof, wings erected as she waited for the prompt to provide her theory. The old teacher smiled inwardly as he nodded her way. She began her answer with a stammer, “W-we-well, I don’t know if this is what really might be going on but…” she put her head down, not wanting anypony to see her. She couldn’t bear the thought of all the eyes in the room being on her. The teacher took note of this.

“It’s okay, there are no wrong answers here miss,” he said, smiling at her bravery. Even though she was horrified of speaking up with so many ponies around, she still dared to try. The unicorn could really appreciate that in a student. She blushed with embarrassment, and continued her explanation.

“A-anyway, umm, I think they may only come out in the dark because…” she paused looking around before regaining her composure and kept going, “Because they are afraid of the light.” The stallion was smiling ear to ear as she answered. This one little pegasus, whom was so shy as to barely be able to speak her mind amongst her pears, had figured it all out. This year is going to be interesting, he almost said out loud.

He waited a moment before continuing, “Yes. You’ve hit the nail on the head there. They most certainly are afraid of the light,” he said, still smiling as he came to a stop in the middle of the area between his desk and the students’. The pegasus perked right up, smiling with all her teeth as the teacher continued, “Alright, let me explain the whole reason that you’ve been kept away from your whole lives.”

“Wait!” an earth pony with a yellow coat said before the teacher could continue. He looked at her accusingly, but she continued anyway. “What’s your name!?! We gotta be able tah call you somthin!” she said, not quite noticing how loudly she spoke or how unprompted it was for her to interrupt the teacher. He simply laughed though, not showing a sign of being angry.

“By Celestia, I must have forgotten to actually introduce myself.” he said, smiling thinly at his class, “I’m Kalk, and I will be your teacher for this year!”

…

The orange colt waited outside the school building for his sister rather impatiently. He had spoken out on various occasions during Mister Kalk’s class, but outside the classroom he felt… exposed. There was nopony there to keep judging eyes off of him, and from what he could tell the class distained his constant insight through the lesson. One even gave a disgruntled moan when he spoke up to answer a question. If he could manage to shrivel up and disappear from sight right now, that would still be better to him than having all those hating eyes on him. He shook his head, trying to keep himself from crying.

The colt needed a distraction, something to keep himself from thinking of the other ponies in his class. He looked around him at the various structures in town, able to see most everything from his vantage point on the hill of which the school sat. Beacon wasn’t an enormous place, but it certainly was packed together. There wasn’t much room for anything else to be built in the town. Structures across the town were low and strongly built with only a few exceptions. This was to prevent the beasts from causing constant structural damage at night, or at least, that’s what the colt’s father had always told him.

The big white building behind him reached up three stories, and was the highest point in Beacon other than the clock tower. The tower was about eight stories high, visible from where ever you were. The time wasn’t something anypony forgot about in this place. The clock towers of other towns may be slightly important to the community as a whole, but here it was absolutely crucial for everyday life. If anypony lost track of time, there was the enormous red-bricked tower, constantly counting down to the hour where the sun would set. This was one of the only places where not following your curfew was a death sentence.

Beyond those two buildings, though, there really wasn’t much that brought interest to the town. There was a small park, with a very small pond, but that was the only place that wasn’t packed with buildings. It looked nice, sure, with its smart use of construction to pack in as many buildings as possible, but it definitely wasn’t where you found your eyes wandering to first. No, that honor belonged to the surrounding forest. The town was built in a clearing in the dead center of a forest of immense darkness. The trees stood hundreds of feet tall, with canopies so dense that no light reached the forest floor. One could stare out at it for hours and still only see a single tree into the forest before losing sight of everything else beyond.

This was the place where the monsters lived, their home, and it completely surrounded Beacon. They were stranded, the ponies of this town, with no way in or out except by wings. His sister was right, Kalk really had answered his question for him, even without him having the need to ask. As if on cue with his thought, there she was, emerging from her after school meeting with the student board. She approached him with happiness adorn on her face, having had an excellent first day back from the looks of it. The colt stood up, having managed to get an annoying numb leg while he sat. He found himself falling forward on his face, unable to stabilize on the limp leg.

The filly giggled at her little brother, but not harshly. They always played around with each other, and this was no different. He smiled as he got to his feet, almost hoping to seem like it was on purpose that he fell. The filly’s giggle quelled to a simple smile and they hugged, happy to see one another after such a long day. “So, how was your first day of school?” she asked, curious to how her little brother had managed to deal with the new variation in his life.

“It… it was fun but…” he paused, looking down at his hooves as the memory of the others’ judgment returned.

“But?” his sister asked, knowing now that something must have gone wrong.

“But nopony likes me…” he said in a nearly silent voice. His sister gave him the look that told him she wanted to know why, a raised eyebrow with a half frown. He explained, “They all see me answer questions and ad to what Mister Kalk was saying, but they always snort or groan when I do. They looked at me with hate in their eyes… like I’m one of the monsters that came out of the forest!” he said sorrowfully, not wanting to believe it was true. His sister frowned as she took a step forward and wrapped a hoof around him. She pulled him close and looked down at him from her two inch higher vantage point.

“You’ll meet somepony who will be your friend in there, little Orange Cyan, I know it,” she said smiling, “how can anypony hate such a nice, sweet and innocent little colt like you?” she asked in a voice that imitated how adults acted near newborn fillies or colts. He pushed away, not wanting anything to do with the silly notion. “Awe, don’t be that way!” she teased in an unrealistically high pitched voice, lightening up the mood a little. The colt couldn’t contain it. He just had to let out that smile she always made him have. He hid it immediately, not wanting her to feel successful yet again, but she had already seen it was there. She could only smile at having bested her brother at their little game.

“Let’s just go already” he said, rolling his eyes as they both set out for the area of town near the clock tower where they lived.

…

The Glow Emporium, the gem shop in Beacon, was always bustling with activity. The streets weren’t all that wide, only allowing three ponies to fit by each other at the same time, but that didn’t stop a crowd from forming. It was near the town center, directly underneath the clock tower. Standing two stories tall, the building both housed the owners and allowed them to do business with those who needed their services.

It was here that Glitter and her husband, Spit Shine, ran their local business. Glitter’s cutie mark was a shining red gemstone, a calling card to her ability of being able to enchant any gems she came across. Spit Shine had a similar cutie mark, though his was deep blue and he was better at fixing broken gems or recharging those that ran out of juice. They were the givers of light for all of Beacon, and as such they were always busy.

As Glitter waited anxiously at the counter, selling her glowing rocks as quickly as possible, she wondered how her children’s first day back to school had gone. The thought didn’t have much time to materialize though, as yet another customer walked up to the counter. He was a tall pegasus with a letter adorned on his purple flank, and was accompanied by a blonde and gray filly. She came to realize just who the stallion was, and greeted him appropriately, “Good afternoon Blitzy, been a while, hasn’t it?”

“More than I’ve come to realize. How have things been around here the past few years?” The yellow manned stallion asked, having not been in Beacon for a long time. Glitter smiled at her old friend and walked out from behind the counter.

“Apparently!” she said, looking down at the adorable filly who stuck to her father’s haunches like glue. “Why didn’t you tell me you had a daughter?” she asked while bring her eyes back to Blitzy. He laughed, rubbing his mane with one of his hooves. Glitter pulled her eyes up to the ceiling, and began to speak, “Things have been going well,” she said, bring her eyes back to him, “or as well as they get around here. The kids are happy, if fearful at times,” she said, a little bit upset about the grim reality.

“I know, my friend. It can’t have been easy having to stay here,” the pegasus reassured, placing a hoof on her shoulder. He took it away, looked down at his daughter, and smiled. He pulled her around him, putting her in complete visibility. She cringed a bit at first, but reluctantly allowed herself to relax, if only because her father had given her that smile. “This is my daughter, Dit-”

“Mom!” yelled an excited young colt from behind him, interrupting his statement abruptly. The orange manned colt ran up to his mother bouncing all the way wanting to tell her everything he had learned on his very first day of school. His sister soon followed, just happy to see her brother had cheered up. “Mom, I learned so much at school today!” he yelped out, oblivious to the presence of the pegasi beside his mother.

She gave Blitzy a sheepish smile and explained, “This is my son, and the red and white unicorn over there is his older sister,” she stated, pointing a hoof toward her first born, who was helping out a customer in her place. She was always trying to help out in any way she could, even though she was so young. Blitzy laughed at the adorable little colt’s happiness at having been in school. The colt took notice, and turned to see the two pegasi he didn’t even notice before. When your bottom floor’s a shop, it’s hard for you to tell if someone’s a guest or just another customer. He turned to them, and smiled with all his teeth.

The filly beside the stallion walked forward now, intrigued by the presence of others her age. “Hi!” she said, leaving Glitter a little stunned. She hadn’t spoken this whole time, but now was almost as excited as the colt before her. Both parents looked at each other, and laughed out loud.

“That’s Ditzy Doo for you, always shy around adults but never amongst her peers,” stated Blitzy, as his daughter now openly smiled. “Why don’t you two go off to play for a little bit?” he asked, looking relieved that Ditzy had finally opened herself up. “We have some important things to talk about, and I don’t want you two to have to get bored,” he stated. The colt looked to his mother, who nodded as if to say it was alright. He leapt up and was off with Ditzy before long.

“Don’t go too far you two!” shouted Glitter after them, “It’ll be dark in a few hours!”

“Alright Mom!” the colt yelled back as they both rounded the corner into the street. Glitter looked over to Spit Shine, who somehow felt her eyes on her. He looked back over, saw Blitzy, and nodded at her. He understood that the two had much to discuss, and with his daughter here to help him, he had no problem taking over for the moment.

“Let’s go upstairs. There’s a lot that’s been going on, and I think you should bring the news back to Canterlot with you,” she said, motioning toward the door to their upstairs home. He nodded, and they both went toward the door. Glitter’s horn glowed slightly as she turned the knob and pushed open the door, her invisible magical energies reaching out to the door and applying the kinetic force. She closed the door behind them as they both walked up the stairs, her horn’s glow subsiding as she locked the bolt and released it.

“So, what’s so important that you can’t say it in public?” asked Blitzy as they both came to the kitchen table where they sat across from each other.

“It’s not that I can’t say it in public, it’s just…” she trailed off, thinking for a moment how to describe it, “I don’t want anypony to get scared about it. We all know what’s been going on around here, don’t get me wrong, but this isn’t something that the community likes to think about too much,” she said not too calmly. “The shadow beasts have been… changing.”

“Ah,” he said in acknowledgement, now realizing just how stressed the unicorn was.

She nodded, inhaling for the coming speech. She let out her breath, and began, “They have been coming into the town more and more. They usually wouldn’t come too close to here, but now they’ve taken a sudden interest. Beacon is filled with light all the time, so the fact is that they’re risking a lot,” she said looking up at him from the table, “They want something! And I don’t mean just somepony to eat for lunch. The dark magic in that forest is driving them here for something.”

Blitzy chewed over what she said for a while before deciding what to say, his hoof on his chin. He came to his conclusion and lowered his hoof as he began to speak, “Are you sure?” he asked, not too positive what to think. She looked up at him, one eye half closed and annoyance painted on her face. He got the picture, “Well, what then? What would those mindless beasts be after?” he questioned, truly trying to consider it now.

“Look, I don’t know, okay!” Glitter half yelled, trying not to draw attention from those down stairs. She couldn’t stand it. There was something going on here, and she knew it for certain. The shadow beasts were never this organized, never this thorough in a search. Hey, they never even came near the town for fear of the lights. She was able to calm herself somehow, though not all that much. She hadn’t even noticed she was standing, and sat down while trying to breathe a little more.

The purple stallion across from her was shocked at how this was affecting her. Glitter was usually the essence of calm, never angry about anything out rightly. She felt that really wrong, and if he knew her, she was most likely right. “Alright, I get it. I know you, this would have to be serious for you to get so upset about it,” he said calmly, not wanting to push her. “I’ll bring the news to Canterlot and let everypony know what’s going on here, but I cannot guarantee they’ll believe me. I may be a former Wonderbolt, but you know that a lot of ponies are gonna think we’re both crazy.”

Glitter let out a long, drawn out sigh, exhaustion apparent in her rugged breath. It was plain to see that the thought alone was keeping her up at night. “That’s all we can do about, I guess,” she let out. Her chin was now resting on the table, eyes focused downward. “Nopony wants to accept that something bad might happen,” she let out softly, almost in a whisper as the reality of the situation set in. There was a deafening silence in the room, with Glitter not wanting to raise her chin from the table, her eyes still locked on the texture in the wood.

Blitzy waited a bit, giving the unicorn some space before he spoke. He decided that it‘d be best to talk about something they could both smile about, not wanting to stress out the mare anymore than she already was. “You know, that colt of yours is probably gonna be one hey of a unicorn!” he said smiling. “So much energy in him, I thought I could almost see the excitement pouring out of him.”

“Ha, you got that right,” she said, thankful to not have to talk about all the doom and gloom in Beacon any longer. She lifted her chin from the table, and continued, “You should see him with his sister! They’re always doing every little thing to help each other out.”

The pegasus could only smile, happy to see his friend in a lifted mood. Though he knew the worry was still behind her current thoughts, he’d do what he could to help her through it. “And that beautiful little red manned filly of yours! I haven’t seen her since she was a newborn,” he said, closing his eyes to picture the little hoof-held filly he recalled meeting before he moved away.

The conversation continued for a while like this, neither wanting to cause the other anymore worry than they already had.

=========================================================================

Emptiness. Deep, endless, pure emptiness. Staring into the infinite void, there was nothing more that could be conceived of. Nothing could be seen, and in the shadows, nothing could be felt. All was numb, and just the same, nothing was the result of a choice. Emotions fluctuated, but never came of the will. Joy was present at times, but only as a past event, something having been long past. Now, lurking in the web of darkness, there was nothing to do but latch to that feeling…

Light laughter filled the forest, coming and going with the beasts.

Chapter 3: Talent

Chronicles of the Glow
Written by: Rusty Parker

Edited by: Wanderwing

3
Talent

The spare bedroom was well lit, but that didn’t stop Tick from drifting straight off to sleep the moment her head hit the pillow. With all that had come to an end today, Kalk couldn’t help but be happy to see her finally resting. She just looked so peaceful, so relieved. Whatever weighed her down back in class seemed to have been lifted from her shoulders. Her hoof watch lay on the nightstand directly next to the bed, reflecting light wherever it‘s metallic surface faced. Outside the slot of a window, the night wasn’t exactly set in yet outside, the sun still leaving the town in an orange glow.

Kalk turned his attention to the portrait that hung from the wall next to the bedroom door he stood in. In it, there was a orange and yellow mare, a little gray and yellow filly, and a Kalk which showed as being a little less gray in the mane. “So, it’s come to this again,” he whispered, his eyes staring into the eyes in the portrait. Their painted faces were unwavering, but Kalk didn’t let up on his stare, as if he expected them to move any second now. He let out a deep sigh, lowering his head in defeat to the portrait. “I… I won’t let her down,” he stated, now raising his head back up. His eyes met that of the mare in the painting, and were locked there. Several tense moments passed, the unicorn trapped in the memories the portrait radiated.

There was a knock at the door, snapping him out of his mental lock on the figure. Kalk shook his head, and walked to the door, opening it without hesitation. There was no real crime in Beacon, largely due to the shadow beasts. Who would even think about doing such things when they all needed each other to survive? There was a red manned, tan coated unicorn on the other side of the door. “Kalk! Good evening, how are things going?” she asked, her horn glistening with energy as she held a brightly lit gem in her levitation magic.

“Glitter?” he asked, a questioning look coming over his face. “What are you doing out this late? Do you know what time it is?“ he continued to question as he stepped aside, letting her into the room. She smiled sheepishly and let out a bit of laughter as she walked into the room. She presented the gem as if it were an answer to all his questions, her magic holding it before him as Glitter smiled triumphantly.

“Nothing to worry about, this would scare off any shadow beast!” she announced with confidence. Now that Kalk looked at it more closely, though through wincing eyes, he noticed something distinct about it. Unlike the classic diamond shape of a hexagon, this one was a shaped as if made from various cones forged together at their bases. It resembled a star, glowing much brighter than any other gem Kalk had seen around town.

“My Celestia, where did you get this?” he asked, unable to contain his curiosity. “It’s not like any gem I’ve seen in my life. And that’s saying something!” he exclaimed, still looking over the crystal in amazement.

“I have no idea where it’s from, to be honest. An old friend brought it by the shop Monday,” Glitter stated, bringing the gem to her own eye. “This has been my little project ever since,” she said as she spun it over, beaming at her success. “Whenever I wasn’t helping a customer or taking care of the family, that is,” she added, a small smile folding up from the corner of her mouth.

“Wait just a second… You said ‘an old friend brought it by,’ What did you mean by that? Who was it?” asked Kalk, still confused about this whole situation. “Better yet, why is this thing so important that you would risk coming over here at this late an hour?” he pressed on. Her only immediate response was to smile wholly, her teeth showing bright white in the light.

“Oh, you’re gonna like this,” she said, looking at him now in anticipation for his imminent reaction. “It was Blitzy who brought it to me!” Glitter exclaimed, her head held high. Kalk blinked several times, his mind bringing back memories from long ago of the ambitious little colt who wanted to be a Wonderbolt one day. Kalk smiled at the thought of how proud the pegasus had made his parents at such a young age. It dawned on him then that he hadn’t seen Blitzy in a long time.

“He’s back then? In town?” He asked, a smile dawning on his face. Glitter, looked up, rubbing her chin in thought.

“Not right now,” she said, a little upset that he had to leave so soon. “But he said he’d be back this time… and he seemed sincere this time,” she added, clutching to the hope that he hadn’t lied. Glitter turned her eyes back to a thoughtful looking Kalk, who was now looking out the window at the sky, a smile on his face.

“Yes… yes this could work quite nicely,” he half whispered to himself, looking up at the orange and red clouds in the distance. Kalk still hadn’t found a suitable teacher for the pegasi in his class, the town being relatively void of young and adult pegasi due to their escape method. Now that Blitzy was going to be back, as he likely wouldn’t be able to bear breaking two promises to his childhood friend, Kalk knew just who to ask. Blitzy wasn’t one to abandon his home, his dream and family simply lead him elsewhere.

He turned to Glitter, a fading smile on his face as his mind brought him back to the conversation at hand. “Well, that’s great to hear and all, but I assume you didn’t risk life and limb just to give me some good news?” he asked, looking to the gem once more.

“It’s not like I intended to show up at this hour,” she said after a moment of thinking her answer over. “I was here about an hour and a half after my colt got home, but there was no sign of you,” she said while she rubbed the back of her head with a single hoof. Kalk turned slightly and looked over his shoulder at the closed door, a smile crossing his face as he did.

“Yes, sorry, I was… busy. Helping a student after class,” he said, not quite sure if now would be the time to come out with what had happened yet. Knowing the mare before him, she’d rush into the room where little Tick slept and wake her with an overdose of comfort and reassurance. It could wait, and Kalk was too tired himself to be explaining everything at the moment anyway. He turned back to Glitter, his smile gone before she was able to see it. Glitter looked a little confused, but moved on none the less.

“Right… Anyway, about why I’m here,” she said, pulling them back on topic. “I never thought that a gem could be made to give off light eternally, there were never any that could hold enough energy to do such a thing,” she explained, pausing for a moment to stare at the ceiling and think. “This here gem,” she began again, pulling the small star toward her with her levitation spell. “It has that kind of power! It took a week, but this baby will never run out of juice!” she finished, holding her head high.

“I think I see where this is going,” Kalk said, looking at Glitter as they both smiled. “Shall I get the letter started now? The sooner the better, eh?” He asked, pulling a drawer across the room open as he approached the desk. Held in the envelope of his magic was a piece of parchment and a capped ink well, floating to the desk as he pulled up a feather for use as a pen. “Where should I start?” he asked, the pen in the ink well and the parchment lay flatly across the fine wooden surface.

Glitter laughed a little. It was comical to her that Kalk, her teacher from when she herself was a filly the age of her children now, still knew her well enough to be able and understand her motives. “To our great princess, leader to all in Equestria, Celestia,“ she stated, over dramatizing the Princess’s title on purpose. Kalk smiled, and began to write with the feather in his magic, each stroke leaving a thick black line of ink. He knew already what she needed; a letter asking for more gems of the same kind for the sake of keeping the citizens safe. He had been around longer than the rest of the town, and Celestia knew him personally and she trusted him to an extent. Kalk didn’t do this often, only when he thought the town absolutely needed something, and these gems would definitely be needed if the shadow beasts kept coming into town on their little search. He wrote for a few minutes, being sure to punctuate why the gems were a necessity.

Kalk added the finishing touches, signing his name in what most would call an illegible scribble, and folded it to be mailed. “This should be suitable, I’m sure Celestia will listen. The shadow beasts are a serious threat after all, and if we could get these gems ourselves by any means we would,” he stated, listing off various facts to reassure Glitter. She smiled openly at him, her teeth reflecting white in the glow of the gem.

“Thanks Kalk, I’ll send Blitzy your way when he shows up. He works as a mail mare anyway,” she said, levitating her gem toward the door. Kalk had gotten up, and was now walking over to the door, ready to see her off. His horn glowed, reaching out to the door and pulling it open slowly. Outside, the red glow of the evening was an evident calling card to the night to come. Glitter’s ears lowered, having not realized how long she had been over. “Oh no, better get going now,” she said to herself, pulling the gem along with her as she brushed past Kalk, through the doorway. “I trust this gem, but I don’t think my life would be a good thing to pit against that trust… not yet anyway,” she said, turning to Kalk as she spoke.

“Get going, I’ll see you some other time,” said Kalk, smiling at her. His smile faded and he looked up to the clock tower, seeing the time was around seven thirty. “Goodbye, Glitter,” he said, not wanting to hold her any longer. She turned and began her trot down the road, a little faster than she would normally at that.

“Yea, have a good night Kalk!” she called back, not stopping for a moment as she went toward the center of town. He watched her until she was around the corner, and then pulled the door shut. The ink well still lay on the desk, the cap off. In capping it, he brought himself back to the factor of the other teacher he was going to have for the class. There was himself and Blitzy, whom Kalk was certain would help, but who else was there? He needed an earth pony, someone who knew what it was to lack flight and magic but still appreciate the gifts he held. His mind filled with names, but he still had no real idea of who to go to first. It was a matter that he could wait to figure out though, there still the weekend after all.

No, now that his mind was on school, he couldn‘t help but think of his students. There was Tick of course, one of the most promising having already gained her cutie mark, and that Pink Yellow who sat in the corner always seemed to be ahead of her game. But the one who Kalk’s mind really got caught on was Orange Cyan. He almost always understood a concept, and unlike the others, seemed eager to learn every little detail. Oh, he couldn’t wait to see how that one would turn out. He’d never seen the colt use magic before, not even to write, but he knew there was potential.

Kalk walked down the hall now, pausing as he came again to Tick’s door. He looked in to find she was still asleep, snoozing soundly in the lit up room. He turned back to the picture he had been staring at before Glitter arrived, and smiled now. Yes, this lot was going to do amazing things. He wouldn’t let them down, and he felt it in his heart. “I promise,” he whispered, turning away from the picture his smile still dawned as he headed for bed himself.

…

“Everypony will get the chance to learn just what they can do today,” Kalk announced before the class early Monday morning. To his left was a brown and tan pony who the orange headed colt had never seen before. He had a cutie mark of grass, growing from one point and leading outward in a fan-like shape. To Kalk’s right stood Blitzy, wings held close to his light purple body. The colt was happy as ever, having seen the pegasus for the first time since the day they met. There was still no sign of Ditzy, and that worried him to a point, but seeing the mail mare himself was enough to bring a smile to the colt’s face. If he returned now, he would no doubt come back again.

“Now then, to my right is a former Wonderbolt, an expert flier who will be teaching the pegasi in this class. His name is Blitzy,” Kalk said, allowing the pegasus to step forward. He looked around the room, smiling at all the young fillies and colts.

“My my, you’ve got a lot bigger of a class here than when I was a colt myself,” he said to Kalk, then turned back to the class. “I’ll be showing anypony with wings and the guts to use em’ just how to do their very best in the skies,” he stated, a smirk across his face. “it’s a pleasure to meet you all,” he added after a moment. One pegasus across the room had a smile across his face, his hooves planted on his seat and wings extended. Tick, however, was shrieking back a little at Blitzy’s words, still unconfident in herself. He stepped back again, allowing Kalk to continue.

“To my left, a well grounded earth pony who will be showing those of the earth how to be just as skilled with what you do as anypony using magic,” he said, the pony in question stepping forward.

“I don’t need this over dramatic introduction, Kalk,” he stated, his voice deep and low. Now that Orange Cyan saw him a little closer, the stallion was a giant among even the adults. He made Kalk look almost like a colt in comparison. He must have noticed the stares he was getting, for he turned now to the class and rose his head, a plain expression across his face. The students in the room seemed to shriek away at his voice and size. “I am Greenhoof, and as you may have guessed, I am skilled with farming and the like. I’ll be teaching you what being an earth pony is all about,” he said, his voice still a deep tone. It seemed as though he couldn’t help it, like his size made it impossible for him to speak any differently. He stepped back, and Kalk nodded toward him before addressing the class once more.

“You all know me already, or so I’d hope. I’ll be the one teaching the unicorns amongst you about the arcane arts and how to best control and use your magic to its fullest potential,” he said, a smile on his face as the unicorns in the room seemed to perk up. “Now then, lets all move out,” he added, motioning toward the two other teachers. They all filed out into the hall, grouping up with their appointed teachers. The two pegasi in the class found their way to Blitzy, and the six or seven earth ponies carefully approached Greenhoof.

In the doorway, the orange headed unicorn looked over to Blitzy, who was smiling confidently at his two students. His teeth shone white, and his eyes shooting back and forth between them as he spoke. The only one in the whole class with a cutie mark, Tick, shied away each time he looked toward her. Blitzy must have noticed him, for he winked in the colt’s direction. He gave a smile in return, happy to see that the pegasus still remembered him. It was someone. Now that he thought of it, he really should be getting to-

“Not intending to fly today, are we?” a voice shot out, shattering the colt’s thought. He couldn’t help but yelp out in fear, flinching severely at the voice. He turned to see it was Kalk, standing directly behind him. He was still in the class room, having left something or another on his desk. “Relax, I’m only playing with you,” he stated, grinning slightly at the colt, “Now come on, we have a lot to go over, and it’s best not to keep the others waiting,” he added, nodding his head toward the group of three unicorns that had congregated further down the hall.

“Uh, yea… sorry,” the orange headed colt said, rubbing a hoof against his mane in embarrassment.

“Don’t be, nothing for you to worry about,” he responded as they walked down the hall side by side. “I needed to get the key to the magic labs anyway.”

“Really? Magic labs?” the little unicorn asked excitedly, bouncing up and down as they walked. Kalk nodded, happy to see his enthusiasm. He bounced ahead of his teacher, not wanting to waste any time getting to their destination. Kalk laughed a little, this one was always so energetic.

“I’m kinda nervous…” the orange headed colt heard one of the unicorns in the group say as he approached.

“Yea, me too. I only ever did magic once,” the biggest of the group said. “But it was awesome!” she added as the fourth reached the group.

“Cool!” he said, bringing his bounce to a stop. The other three in the group brought their eyes to him, giving him a look as if he shouldn’t be speaking. “So… what did you do?” he dared to ask, despite the scrutinizing looks. The dark blue manned filly snorted out of her nostrils, not wanting anything to do with him.

“What does it matter to you?” she said, giving him a threatening look that brought him to his flank. The colt only tilted his head in confusion. All he did was ask a question… was that really so bad? He asked questions all the time.

“Well, you said it was awesome…” he said looking down as they all continued to stare. One shook her head as if disgusted. “So what was awesome about it?” he asked after a few seconds, lifting his head as he spoke. She looked at him with one eye partially closed, giving him a terrible and angry stare. She seemed to ooze her disdain from her very being.

“Can’t you just shu-”

“Alright then, let’s get a move on,” Kalk broke in from behind the colt, halting her in mid speech. She immediately lost any sign of having been angry, perking up at the sight of him. The others had also stopped their beaming stares, and were now looks up toward Kalk with smiles. The colt was a little stunned, having thought he could be hit by one of them if it had gone on much longer. He also looked up toward his teacher, and gave the only true smile in the group. He rose, and Kalk continued, “We’re going to the magic labs, second floor up. There, we’ll be going over some basics of magic, and a little later on in the day you’ll all get to try some of it out for yourselves,” he said with a smile.

“I can’t wait Mr. Kalk!” the blue manned filly announced in a high pitched voice as he began to lead them to the stairs. It was so much different from the sound the orange headed colt had heard just seconds before coming from her mouth. It had been almost like what he’d heard coming from some of the shadow beasts he saw in his nightmares, or heard outside in the middle of the night. As they walked on, he held pace with the group. He kept looking over to her, not sure what to think of her.

As if from nowhere, she was back to the beast she had been before Kalk had come. She looked over to him with the same, threatening look. He lowered his ears and stopped momentarily to bring himself lower to the ground. She seemed to drip with the poison she so well wished to fill him with. When she was a few paces ahead, she waved her head forward, not wanting to keep on looking at him.

He didn’t know why, but she really seemed to… to hate him. They all did. What was so bad about him? What made them so annoyed to tell him to buzz off all the time? He just wanted to be friends. After a few moments, he lifted himself back up and began to follow. This time though, he kept his distance behind the rest.

…

The wind over the town was roaring fiercely, a common phenomenon considering the density of the thick, impenetrable forest that the winds had to go over. Beacon always had some form of breeze blowing over it, since it initially created an infinite pocket of low pressure for the ocean of air swirling down to fill. Atop the school house, the second highest location in the town, three pegasi stood with their hair flailing in the wind.

“As you both know, flight can be very dangerous in winds like these. It can cause you to lose control, and at high elevations, this can be the end of you,” said Blitzy over the roar of the wind. “Now, I know you two both know how to fly already, but you’ll still need to be very, and I mean it, very careful when we reach the top of the trees,” he continued, looking now to the cliff like forest surrounding them. He pointed a hoof to the edge of the canopy. “There is a lot more turbulence there, around the perimeter of the tree tops, than anywhere else. Pierce that, and we’re golden.”

“E-excuse me, Mister Blitzy?” asked Tick, as she held herself low to the flat roof of the building, her wings snapped close to her thin body. He nodded toward her as the other, not so intimidated pegasi drew his attention to her. “Um… Aren’t there a lot of monsters in the forest? What if we-”

“I’ll be right there, ready to catch you if you get too close or start to fall, Tick,” said Blitzy, seeing the worry in her eyes. “I know this is all new to you both, since your so young. I wouldn’t let some mistake be the end of you. I’m a Wonderbolt, after all. You’ll be safe,” he reassured her with a smile.

“Yea, we’ll be fine,” added the other student who was looking down at her. His mane was a bright green that contrasted against his dark brown coat. Tick rose a little, but still seemed intimidated by the looming thicket of branches above. She inhaled deeply, closing her eyes and forcing herself to calm down. She flew every day, what made this so much different than usual? A couple of branches? Sure, there were shadow beasts in there, but they would never come close to the light. She could do this.

The eldest amongst the three observed his students steadily for a few moments, giving them time to prepare themselves. “Okay, time to get started then!” Blitzy said once he saw Tick’s reassurance. “Remember, the wind is going to try to fight your every movement once we reach the edges of town, don’t let up! Push through the current, and you should be able to make it to the other side of it just the same as if it weren’t there,” he reminded as his wings spread, their span wider than that of the two children’s combined. He lifted off the ground, pushing through the currents that sent his blonde hair flying back. Tick looked up to him as he gave several beats in the wind with his wings, pulling higher and higher before beginning to fly toward the canopy’s edge. The other pegasus began to beat his wings next, raising in much the same way Blitzy had despite much more stress being put on him. As he too flew upward, Tick bit her lip, looking now to her own wings.

She could do this, Tick thought. She had to. Otherwise, what was she? An earth pony with clipped, frail appendages off to her sides. She closed her eyes, and pulled her wings out to her sides. She wouldn’t let that happen, there was no way she could. With a few beats, she felt her hooves rising from the ground. She felt herself pulling her eyes open, ready to make way to the canopy’s top. The wind blew strongly, making her wince, and yet still she pushed, not relenting. Her mother wouldn’t have given up, and there was no reason she should either.

A current of wind blowing opposite the direction she flew caused her to turn a little off course, but with a grunt she pushed on. Push, push push push! She had to push through, lest she fell to an early doom. There was no way out of it now, if she stopped her forward momentum, she’d lose control and crash. With tears streaming from her eyes, forced out from the wind, Tick was able to see the edge of the trees getting closer and closer. She’d be over it in a few seconds… if she could hold on. The air around her was acting as a net, trying to pull her down the same way a fish net would pull up on a school of fish.

“Just… a little… More!” she grunted out, her whole body in pain against the convulsing air. Her eyes shut tightly, her teeth clenched together, she felt she wouldn’t make it. The wind that was sucking her down grew stronger and stronger as she went. She was on her last leg, barely able to even stand the pain when suddenly, it stopped. There was no more force on her, and the unrelenting pain began to calm. Across her coat there was now only a light, soothing breeze. She opened her eyes, tears still strewn back across her cheeks, to find that she had made it! The trees below were at least one hundred meters away, and she flew over them with little to no effort. She was battered, sore and felt worse physically than she had ever thought possible, but she couldn’t stop herself from crying out in joy. She floated there, too happy to realize anything around her.

The horizon… it was something she hadn’t remembered ever seeing. The forest was too tall to let anyone see where the sun went when it set, or for that matter, what there was beyond the entrapping woods. She looked around her wide eyed, shocked at how much there was to this world she knew so little about. The land continued on, uninhibited by anything. In the distance, she saw that the forest came to an end, and there were wide, open spaces she had never even dreamed of. There, across the valley ran a river… A real river! She whirled in circles, looking all around her. She was unable to close her eyes for even a second.

The most shocking to her, though, was the enormous mountain that was behind her, past the town. It rose high into the clouds, seeming to go up forever. It seemed as far away as the sun. It must be enormous, she thought. She couldn’t pull her eyes away from it, this mass of rocks and dirt that turned white half way to the clouds. “Does anyone live there?” Tick felt herself say aloud, a thought escaping her lips.

“I would think so,” spoke a deep masculine voice from behind her. Blitzy flew nearer her, looking toward the looming mass in the distance just the same as she did. “I’ve never been there, but it makes the mountain that the Princess’ castle is on look like a filly standing next to somepony as big as Greenhoof,” he added. Tick looked to him, a smile on her face before returning her attention to the vast world before them.

“I think I know why so many pegasi left our home when they got old enough,” she said as she closed her eyes. Blitzy turner to her again, a look of understanding coming over his face.

“Yes… it’s a wide, wide world out there. Never know what you’ll find, who you’ll meet, or what you’ll see,” he said with a warm smile adorned on his face. Green brown had flown to them, and was now looking off into the horizon the same as Tick had. “Question is, what will you do?” Tick kept her eyes closed, a small smile crossing her face. She knew the answer without thinking, the thought ingrained in her mind screamed for her to listen to it the moment her new teacher had asked.

“I am going to stay… How could I leave? I made a promise to stay,” she said, her voice turning to a rasp whisper as she spoke. Mother, she thought, I will not leave. I can’t, not after what you did for me. Tick felt her eyes clench more tightly as the thought siphoned pain from her. As always though, she was able to hide it. I will protect everyone, Mom. This world is vast, more than I could ever think before, but I will not abandon my home. She opened her eyes, the sight of the horizon entering her vision immediately. Her eyes went to the little town where she knew she would spend the rest of her life, and then to her hoof watch wrapped around her left front hoof. She couldn’t stop herself from smiling at the memory it contained. Indeed, it was far more beautiful than any sight she would see in her life, this memory. Her mother was still alive then.

…

The entirety of the second floor of the school house made up the magic labs. If not for the ceiling, one could mistake this room for a highly decorated roof or porch. There were countertops lining the white wall opposite the large, dark green chalk board. Various instruments rested on them, obviously for use in magical training. Huge, circular columns rose a quarter of a way into the room, acting as a gateway between the training and class areas. The same was for the opposite side of the room, having a central area for practicing magic and two areas for teaching it. Hanging from the high ceiling were sturdily hung gem stones, glowing more brightly than most to fill the enormous room. Lining the two walls within the practice area were targets, and in the center of the room were tables and pedestals with more instruments lying on their tops.

It was in the class area that the unicorns had spent the morning, learning the various ways in which they could begin to use their magical talents. Kalk had given several demonstrations at his podium, using his levitation spell to pick up all four of them while they still sat in their seats, or lighting the room with blinding light. “So you see, my young apprentices, magic can appear in many different forms. If used properly, it can be a valuable asset to daily life,” announced Kalk as he was finishing up his speech. He gave them all a stern, much more serious look. His eyes traced from one student to the next as he spoke. “However, it can also destroy you if you cannot control it. Every time you use magic, your wielding a force that can often be very dangerous,” he said in a slow, solemn voice as he walked past them to the back of the room. He looked up at the wall for a few moments. “I have faith in each one of you, but please. Be cautious,” he finally said.

He whirled around suddenly, new energy seeming to flow through his veins as whatever thought that occupied his mind was pushed away. “Let’s get started then!” he said with a smile across his face. “Over to the training labs with all of you, it’s time you put concepts to action. Try out some basic spells, light and levitation tend to be pretty easy to grasp,” he announced as they walked to the center of the room.

The orange headed colt couldn’t help but have an extra bounce in each step, anxious to have finally come to this point. During Kalk’s explanations of magic, he had paid more attention than he did on even the most interesting subjects. He was finally going to be able to use magic! How could he not learn everything he could about it? The navy blue manned filly had given him angry looks and sneers all the while, but that didn’t bother him in the least here. In the halls, yes, and maybe even in regular classes. But here? It had been a dream of his to learn magic for as long as he remembered, and nothing could bring his mood down now that it was finally happening.

They reached the central table in the training area, a wide, ovular stone slab that sat upon a single cylinder of stone at its center. There, Kalk brought into line a few of the instruments with his magic. He detailed each and how they were to use them. “This here,” he said, raising a small blue gemstone with two perpendicular steal bands wrapped around it, “Is a detector for light spells. We can’t exactly turn off the lights here, so this tool is the only way to really tell if it’s working. Simply cast your spell,” he said, as his horning began to illuminate at its tip. “And it will change color!” he pronounced, the little blue orb turning a deep orange in the presence of his horn‘s magical essence. “You’ll have to give each other some room for it to work right, though. Otherwise you won’t be able to tell all that well who is casting the spell.”

“Mister Kalk! Why can’t we just look and see the glowing of our horns? I can see yours just fine,” asked the orange headed colt. Kalk gave a smile at this, pushing the gem aside with a hoof as he began to speak.

“Yes, that may be true. However, not all of you will be able to get it bright enough to see in here. It detects the magic, not the light, so you’ll be able to tell if your channeling the right sort of energy,” Kalk explained as one of the other unicorns yawned. With a sheepish smile, he moved onto the next instrument. There were several that tested specifically for levitation precision, some that required you to simply move a tiny piece of sand through a maze, others that required being put together like a puzzle. It didn’t take long for him to conclude his explanations, and soon they were all soon allowed to try some magic out for themselves.

The colt looked around him as he walked over to a rectangular table near the larger one they were just at. The others moved to their own areas, not paying him any heed. All except for the navy blue manned filly, who was actually smiling before she set eyes on him. Her eyes only stayed with his for mere seconds, but the message of disapproval was clear. She sat on the opposite side of the room with the other filly, facing directly away from the orange manned colt. He turned back around to face the tools that lay before him, the excitement whittling down and a sense of nausea replacing it.

There were so many, he didn’t know where to start. He didn’t know how to start. All the memories of the hours they had spent in the class lab seemed to shriek away the moment he tried to access them. What he could recall was fleeting at best, his mind unable to focus in the suddenly hot room. He felt sweat beginning to creep its way to his back and forehead, and his breathing shifted to a much faster pace. He looked down at the trinkets below him, which seemed miles away despite his hoof being right next to one. He felt as though his very life hinged on this moment, like all he’d lived for up to this day was nothing if he couldn’t do magic here and now.

He clenched his eyes shut, feeling and hearing his own heart beat as the adrenaline set in. He sat there for what felt like an hour, his eyes closed as he breathed deeply. The anxiety in his mind was completely intolerable, it was as if a brick wall was between him and rational thought. Every little attempt he made at starting to try turned to an utter lacking in self-confidence. He couldn’t do this, he thought. He was a unicorn, and he couldn’t manage to even try magic. He opened his eyes, remembering now clearly something that seemed to snap him from his sudden waves of duress.

His sister had come home after beginning her first week of school, having learned so much more than he could even come to understand. She was strong, a filly who could master spells that their parents had taken years to perfect. Then, he had become depressed because he felt that he couldn’t compare to her. She was the stand out of the class at the time, no other able to perform as well as she did. What had he been? The colt no one talked to who didn’t have any friends. Yet still, something in the memory had calmed him, a warm feeling of relief and happiness. His sister may have been the best, but she thought he would be better.

At some point, he couldn’t quite recall how, but he had ended up in the old clock tower, having run away to cry about how he couldn’t be like her. He was so outshined, and Mom and Dad had seemed to forget he existed when she started to show off her abilities. It was in that cold clock tower on a winters day that she had come to find him, curled up in a ball. Tears soaked his cheeks, and there wasn’t much light at all. “Orange Cyan!” she had said in a low whisper when she saw him, a plate half filled with food falling and shattering on the floor. He remembered seeing tears instantly spring to her eyes as she moved to him, wrapping him in a full embrace. They both cried, and after a while, she asked him why he had run here. He told her that she was so much better, why should he even exist? She cradled him as he wept out his reasoning behind having run away from home. “Don’t be silly, my precious little brother. You’re going to be a much better pony than I am, you know?” she had said, stopping his sobbing in its place as his eyes opened wider than he thought they would go. “I know you’ll be somepony great someday… So don’t cry… Orange…”

She had stayed with him for the rest of the day, not letting him feel upset about anything. His sister’s words brought him such joy and happiness. She spoke with such sincerity, and looked at him as if she could see his very soul within. His lacking in confidence had been blown to pieces, and a fresh smile dawned on his once again eager face. The memory in and of itself brought such power to him. He looked down to the magic training equipment with intent, ready now more than ever to begin.

The first of the trinkets he decided to test out was the blue gem. He figured that since the rest of his family seemed to have luck with them, he would as well. The orange manned colt inhaled, not letting the air escape as he mentally went over the process of using the light spell mentally. First, he channeled all his energy to his forehead and horn, as if pushing against an invisible wall in his skull. His eyes clenched tightly as he tried to put as much energy into the coming spell as he could. His horn remained without an aura of energy, as most did their first few times attempting magic. Next, he had to get the energy converted to light, so that he could prepare it to be released at his horns tip. It took a lot of mental focus, but he managed to get the same warm feeling in the front of his head that Kalk had mentioned.

He opened his eyes, the energy now requiring little effort to maintain near the base of his horn. Looking to the gem, he saw it still remained blue. The final step was for him to force the energy out of his horn where it would glow brightly at the tip… If he could get it there at all. Kalk had told them that this part took the most effort, but he never imagined it would be on this scale. It was like trying to push your brain through your skull, it just seemed impossible. Yet gradually, he felt the energy move to the tip. It took a while, and near the end, he felt exhausted. But he had finally gotten the energy to where it could release.

Bracing himself, he gave the final push as his very first spell released… and did nothing. The energy he had built up with effort seemed to have dissipated. Blinking, the unicorn looked down to the gem to find it was still blue, completely unchanged from its state at all. He looked around, and saw that the others weren’t having any trouble getting their magic to activate. The filly who seemed to despise his existence was moving the grain of sand through the maze with little effort, and the others seemed to have gotten their gem to turn orange on their first try.

Maybe he had to try a different type of spell, he thought as he slid the simplest of the tools over to the center of his table. It was a really basic setup, just move the ball to the top of the tube with levitation magic and let it fall into the other tube. He prepped himself once more, bringing his horn to bear as he focused. Yet even after trying what felt like one hundred times, he still couldn’t coax the ball into budging. He couldn’t even use levitation magic, he thought as he felt panic set in. What unicorn couldn’t do that? It was the most simple thing there could be to do, just reach out with a small amount of channeled arcane energy and grab hold of something. Why couldn’t he do this?

He looked around himself, only to find that the other students had halted their practice, and were snickering to one another. In seeing that he noticed them, they all burst out into laughter. The orange manned colt couldn’t stop himself from cringing visibly, not wanting to be anywhere near the magic labs suddenly.

He felt helpless… He felt useless. Their laughing was the least of what he truly worried about. He couldn’t live up to his sister’s expectations of him, couldn‘t meet her thoughts of him. To her, he was the one who would be better than the rest, the one who could do more than any other pony in all of Beacon. He couldn’t bear it, the pain in his chest throbbed as he pulled himself more inward with each beat of his heart. The colt didn’t think, just ran. Ran out of the room and down the stairs, tears streaming down his cheeks.

=========================================================================

Light! Brilliant, bright, soothing and warm light! It flowed like a stream down onto the world, anything in its path a mere observer to its majesty. As quickly as it had come, it was gone, vanishing into nothingness once more. “The…. Luminous One,” a voice whispered, rugged and unfamiliar in its tone. It came as a plea, begging to be listened to. Begging to be heard. As the light relit itself, the darkness enveloped from within.

Blood guided all through the thicket. The darkness was alive, thriving with a new found force. Nothing remained still.

Chapter 5: The Heart

Chronicles of the Glow
Written by: Rusty Parker

Edited by: Wanderwing

5
The Heart

Huddled together with her family inside, the red manned filly felt herself shrinking in fear. The sounds of the beasts were gone for the moment, but outside, it seemed the world itself had opened up. Earthquakes, something the town of Beacon had never experienced before, were shaking the building apart from its foundations. The crack in the wall had grown substantially, creasing along the floor now. The crack in the ceiling had collapsed in on itself, rocks now blocking off the whole other side of their home. And if that wasn’t enough, there was the loudest thunder outside that she had ever heard. Indeed, even her parents were shaken up. Her brother looked to them all with pleading eyes.

“Is… is the world ending, Mom?” he asked with a tear slipping down his cheek. As if in answer the rumbling returned, sending a book onto the floor with a bang, as if it had been thrown. On the table, silverware clanged on the plates of uneaten food. It had been cold for a while, and likely wouldn’t be eaten now.

“No,” her mother told him with a low voice. The quaking ended, and after a moment, she continued. “It’s just… changing. It will never end, my dear little colt,” she reassured, a weak smile crossing her face as she brushed his mane to the side lightly. The roar of thunder sounded again, drawing all of them closer together. In the low light, they all remained silent, waiting out the storm even in this moment.

Dust and dirt poured in from the hole in the hall, drawing all of their attentions to it. Fear cloaked them all, and Shine was on his hooves in no time, horn glowing and ready to attack. In slipped a snake, small and very well normal. Its scales weren’t colored darkly, and as it slithered over, it seemed to even be accustomed to being around ponies. A lost pet, it seemed. It slipped between her father’s legs and came straight up to her, brining its head to level with hers and sniffing her lightly with its forked tongue. She laughed lightly, bringing her white nose to its own in a light butterfly kiss.

“Get away, y-you monster!” came a voice from behind her. Head rearing forward, the colt showed fear in his eyes. He seemed to be pushing, trying to cast a spell. The floor shook, and as it did, the snake slithered off into the rubble. With a sigh, the colt released his attempt, exhaling only to inhale again. With a crash, the ceiling above them became creased with many more cracks that centered directly above them. The filly felt herself scream as the loosened clay loudly snapped above. She and the colt found themselves ensnared in their mother’s levitation spell, moving the two across the room quickly.

Almost the instant they were out of the way, the roof caved in. The filly felt her heart stop as the mare who raised her was engulfed in the dust and stone from above. “Mother!” she screamed involuntarily, fearing the worst. She took a step back, not believing this could be real. The dust settled slightly, and all that was to be seen was a dark, shadow like protrusion rising from the floor and out the gash in the side of their home. “Mother…” she whispered, falling to her haunches. She couldn’t blink, couldn’t move. She’s not there!

A figured suddenly appeared atop the pulverized roof, dark in appearance with the exception of the two suns that were its eyes. With a flash, the dark mass was pulled out of their home, ripping stone with it as it was sent in the direction opposite the figure. Huge claw like marks were left behind, the force of the blow having literally forced it through the solid material. A crash was heard in the distance as the pony on the roof jumped down into what had once been a closed in home. Stepping into the light, it was revealed to be her brother’s teacher, Kalk. The filly found herself looking up at him blankly, the shock still not having set in. Without saying a word, she returned her attention to the point of impact. The dust had settled, and from what she could tell there was no movement at all. “No…” she whispered, staring at the wreckage for a moment longer before getting to her hooves altogether and bolting to the rubble.

Stones flew in every direction, propelled by her magic as she searched for her. “She has to be alright, she has to be alright!” she said increasing loud as she moved each bolder sized stone like it were a pebble. “She just has to be!” she yelled, the last stone flying out the side of the building. A hole was left under where it had been, going down into the shop below. There, more stone lay piled in a heap. The filly looked frantically to her father, who had the most pained look on his face. The colt had made his way to her side, and now was looking up to her with eyes that begged for an answer. Kalk walked to her, putting a hoof to her shoulder and lowering his head, eyes closed. Not one of them said a word, silence setting in for the first time in hours.

A roar shattered the silence like a prized vase. The filly and the others reared around to find the most incredible, and terrifying, thing she had ever seen. A fully celestial beast, twinkling white against its pitch black form, stood at least three hundred feet tall several blocks away, Its claws dug into the roof of another building, it’s yellow maw of teeth opened and prepared to dice anything it pleased. Worst of all were the black, empty eyes it bore. She had read about one of these in school, how only the greatest unicorns in existence could hope to overcome one, but she never expected to be in one’s presence. An ursa minor, around the size of an ursa major made its way into a full burst of speed, its enormous limbs lumbering across the roofs at surprising speed.

She stood there, in the open, staring at it as it moved closer and to within a range of striking in seconds. Its claw reached across the sky, preparing to bring her down in a single swipe like she was nothing. Her bones screamed for her to move, but she did not. Her every instinct told her she had to get out of the way, yet she would not. No, this thing… She took a step forward. Her eyes glowed like stars as she stood there preparing her energies as the beast’s limb swept through the air. “Move, you’ll be killed!” a voice called from behind her.

“Mother!” she screamed as loudly as her lungs could muster as the spell released. Blinding light emerged from the tip of her horn, the beast’s swipe veering down and into the street. The ursa sizzled loudly in the bright light, bringing its paw to block it’s now blinded eyes. While the filly maintained the spell, her eyes lost their magical influence, returning to their regular shade of blue. The beast wailed out in pain, the light having been very well akin to flames against his cursed form. It seemed to have worked… until the ursa went on a rampage. It took random strikes at any building it could make contact with. Behind her, she noticed Kalk vanish and her father running forward. Blinded as the beast was, it could not hit its intended target, it still threatened everyone’s lives. She could see Kalk popping in and out of existence all around the town, each time seeming to cast a spell before he vanished again.

The filly’s spell died down as she looked on in terror. The ursa completely destroyed a building right next to theirs with a backward sweeping of its claws, and as it raged on, it got closer. Spit Shine leapt down to street level without even thinking and began bombarding it with rocks, though they seemed only to make the monster angry. It reared itself back on its hind legs, pulled its head back and cried out in rage as it forced its blood vessel popping eyes open. Looking to her rather than her father or Kalk, it lunged, jumping through the air to a rooftop near the building in an attempt to outright kill her and her brother. There was no reaction from the filly this time. “My… fault” she whispered, seeing the buildings that had been destroyed. Surely, there were those that had been hurt because of this… if not worse.

The ursa landed, the stone below it crumbling below its massive weight. Pulling its hind legs forward, it made its charge for a tackle directly into the gem shop. “Sis, please move! Sis!” the colt cried, pulling on her tail. The filly fell backwards, unable to stand the shock of all that was happening. She simply stared at the crumbled pebbles beside her as they bounced around with each falling of the ursa’s paws. It’s over…

The ursa reared itself on its hind legs, hanging over the building with both front paws pointed straight down, claws at the ready. Screams in the distance could be heard. There was Kalk, her father… and the voice of a filly. There was no thought as the world around her became plain. She was dead, and she deserved it more than anything. She wanted so badly to help out someone and make them happy… it’s all she ever dreamt of, making others happy. The ursa let itself fall forward, now about to crash down on them both. A single tear fell from her cheek as the beasts claws fell forward. She clutched her eyes shut as her brother screamed.

“Don’t. You. Dare,” a booming voice in front of her said, hatred seeming to drip from each world. The filly let her eyes open, only to see, to her shock, her mother, mane flying in the air and a strange aura akin to that which surrounds a unicorn’s horn when they use magic surrounding her. She was covered in cuts, scrapes and bruises, and as she floated, her eyes brightly shone. Above them hung the claws of the ursa, seeming to be held in place. Her mother was never like this… was it really the same mare she had been raised by? “Don’t you dare ever hurt my children, you pathetic little cub!” she yelled, her voice almost sounding more monstrous than that of the beast. Without warning, a sphere of light formed from the front of her horn. The beast screamed in pain, its celestial body becoming misshaped and deformed as white smoke rose from its sizzling skin. The bulb of light floated up, only forcing the beast further into agony as the light reached its back now.

Glitter’s horn released one, small twinkle of light, causing the sphere of light floating high above to expand in every direction. It was almost an explosion, except it had no sound at all. The light swept over the shadow beast, causing it to fall backwards in a failed attempt to avoid the enormous wave of energy. As the dust flew into the air and the light went out, the ground shook with a quake once more. The cloud rising over the ursa, Glitter’s aura of energy all together vanished, the mare falling to the ground with a thud. “Mother!” the filly found herself scream as she went to her now. The mare coughed, cringing toward her stomach as she breathed heavily.

“Red… White,” she said, pulling her head up to see her. From the looks of things, she had broken a few ribs when she was buried in debris, and now was feeling the affects of moving with them. She grunted in pain as she lay on her side, hooves pulled in closely to her chest. She clutched her eyes closed as her son and daughter looked on in horror. “Come here, Red White,” she said, her voice rusty in her condition. The filly lowered herself so that she was lying next to her mother, facing her directly.

“Mother, please don’t move! Your-”

“I know what I am, sweetie. Now listen,” Glitter cut in, seeing the fear in the red manned filly’s eyes. “I... will be alright. But listen to me now,” she told her daughter. In the distance, the ursa rose once more, this time distracted more heavily by Kalk and Spit Shine. An eye half closed from the pain, she continued. “You have to take your brother and go to the school house,” the battle resumed and she turned to make sure the monstrosity wasn’t approaching. Seeing that it was off somewhere else in town now, she turned back to her daughter, “It’s the safest place in a situation like this, everypony will be going there, and it’s outside of town,”

The filly’s eyes filled with water, barely held back by the thresh hold of her eye lids. “B-but Mom, you… I can’t leave you,” she said, tears spattered to the ground as she spoke, looking at her mother as if she’d never see her again for the second time this very night. Glitter took in a deep breath, her eyes closed as the pain still came in waves. Laying there on the ground, her coat ragged and cut worse than ever before and her mane falling over her eyes instead of being brushed over her ear, the filly’s mother truly gave the image that she wouldn’t make it. She reopened her eyes, staring the filly in the eye as the colt curled up next to his sister.

“I,” she said, putting her hoof steadily on the ground. It wobbled a little, but with effort, she was able to put decent pressure on it. “Am fine,” she continued, her body rising off the ground. The battle rumbled the building, causing her to almost lose her balance. The filly couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Even after being beat into the ground, breaking her ribs, and fully exhausting her magic, she was still able to get up again… She found herself gasping as her mother reached her full standing height. Glitter cringed, the pain from her ribs shooting up her side, but remained standing. “See?”

`The filly looked up to her and rose to her feet, her sight not leaving her mother’s eyes all the while. After a moment with the two dead locked in a stare, the filly closed her eyes and nodded. “I’ll take him,” she said, turning to her brother, who was too scared to even speak. Glitter smiled, looking at the both of them with pride. They headed for the door, but before they reached it, the both of them stopped. The filly came galloping back, stopping and staring her mother in the eyes. After a second, she had wrapped her hoof around her Glitter’s neck gently, trying to cause any pain. “You stay safe too, Mother,” she whispered, the mare’s eyes watering as the colt went and did the same.

Horn lit, the filly guided her brother outside, and began her trek through the ruins of Beacon. They would have to avoid the ursa, but it seemed like it had more on its mind than them now.

…

In the dead of night, Beacon seemed to be leveled. There were barely any structures left standing that weren’t crumbling on their foundations. While he couldn’t see everything in the darkness, he could tell the damage was worse than ever. He couldn’t let this go on anymore, the ursa needed to be defeated now, lest something far worse descend upon the citizens of not just this town, but all of Equestria. He could not let the shadow beasts accomplish their goal, no matter what.

Teleporting to another rooftop, the beast twisted in frustration trying to search for him. Standing their far behind it, Kalk started the tenth seal. It would take a moment, the magical energy being etched into the stone he stood upon. The spell, however, when completed with all twelve seals, could easily take care of the ursa. He found himself panting as the seal finished forming. It was a triangle pointing toward the point he had chosen with various symbols encircling it. Kalk was starting to feel the toll of teleporting so much, of fighting off a monster so large and trying to protect anyone in town it may hurt.

Spit Shine must have lost the beast’s attention, for now it was barreling toward him in rage. Kalk had been the source of all its frustration over the past two hours, and to its credit, it wasn’t exactly happy with him. Kalk blinked again, finding himself at another point in town. The ursa scrambled again in confusion, not knowing where the source of his frustration had gone. Hooves now planted again in place, prepared the spell once more. The most dangerous part of this all was when he was creating the seal itself. He could move, sure, but any loss of concentration and the spell over all would fail. Moments past by in crawling increments, Kalk’s struggle making time seem to slow down.

The seal completed, shining green once and then fading out of sight, Kalk looked over to the battle Shine was still having with the ursa, and was glad to see the little bolts of light still flying up into the air. He had been a student of Kalk’s when he was younger, and was one of those that just never gave up. He was glad to see that over the years, that hadn’t changed. His pelting may not accomplish much, but he still kept at it none the less.

Only one seal remained, and Kalk smirked to himself as he stepped to the edge of the ruined building. Spotting a good location for the spell to be complete, he started to gather the energy for a teleport. His head throbbed with pain suddenly, and as he brought it lower, the whites of his eyes darkened again. “Agh,” he moaned in pain, the migraine taking its heavy affect. He looked to his hoof and saw only a blank, black image. Everything was blurry, and it took him a moment to realize what was happening. The spell he had used to see all the shadow beasts on top of his fatigue were now taking hold, and he wouldn’t be able to use his magic accurately with the migraine accompanying the condition. His vision slowly faded back to a blur of what he’d usually see, the black in his eyes lightening as it did.

He couldn’t believe this, of all the bad luck, the effects were setting in now? His face creased with frustration as the pain throbbed with each beat of his heart, the pumping of blood overcoming the battle across town. There was no choice now; he had to make it to the next location by hoof. He lifted a hoof and in moving, his eyes instantly turned jet black. Pain shot up the front of his skull and caused him to groan as he put it down in front of him. Each movement not only left him blinded, but also brought an increasing level of pain. Kalk collapsed after only taking ten steps, unable to bear the pain any longer.

“No… I won’t” he thought aloud, pushing himself back up. “Stop,” he continued to move, now on his hooves again. His head felt like it would burst, and he was quite sure his veins would pop at this rate. “Arrrrg!” he roared, pulling each hoof up and fighting through it. He couldn’t see, couldn’t even make himself breathe, and yet he pushed on. Shine wouldn’t give up… and neither would Tick… or… or…

He fell forward, his face scrapping along the rooftop as he gasped for air. He had come into a full gallop, and had tripped over the small ledge connecting the two roofs together. In the small time he had come to a stop, he began to see again. The final point for the seals was just on top of the staircase in front of him. He was actually surprised at how much ground he managed to cover, he thought that he would be crippled before even reaching the half way point. And he had somehow, by some dumb stroke of luck, managed to jump over the gaps in between buildings in his sprint.

Kalk’s breath drew in heavily as he rose up again, this time his vision remaining untarnished by the spell. It seemed that in pushing himself through such a large amount of pain, the minor amount he suffered from simply moving his body wasn’t much of a comparison. As he moved, he felt the warm, wet fluid running down his neck and dripping to the rooftop. The pain had gone numb, but he had apparently cut up his face pretty badly in his trip. Swaying back and forth, Kalk pressed on, knowing that if he didn’t reach the top of the staircase, the whole town would be doomed.

One by one, step by step, he ascended his way to the top. As he neared the last steps, his vision again began to fade from him, and the loud ringing in his ears seemed only to grow as he moved. Upon reaching the cracked clay of the rooftop, he fell to his knees, unable to remain standing any longer. Everything around him seemed to blur, the world beginning to spin.

Gritting his teeth, he rose, the pain in his head still coming and going with each movement. Slowly, he turned to face the point he had chosen to center the final spell circle at. Nothing mattered but getting rid of that ursa at all costs to himself, and as he steadied his legs, he breathed deeply and slowly. The ursa was thankfully distracted, and thus he could complete the spell without interruption. He knew he would pass out after this, but he also knew that if he didn’t do it, everything was lost. With one final, long breathe of air, he started to focus energy to his horn.

The pain came instantly and his vision went as it came. He didn’t need to see the seal to know if it was done right, he could feel his magic shaping beneath him, though the pain would be a problem. Standing there, casting a spell with the migraine still in its full, he was only furthering his pain. He felt his legs tremble, wanting to give way and fall. He had to hold on… for Beacon… his students… for Tick.

The spell completed, Kalk falling to the side when it finally did. The force from the seal immediately forced its way out, pushing him farther to the side. He breathed as if through dense mesh wire, but now, it was active. Twelve beams of light shot up in the air, forming columns into the dark clouds above. The ursa, however, was not hesitant. In casting the last spell, it must have noticed him. The magic that caused his migraine was what controlled the ursa, and worked both ways. Kalk could see them when he used it, but they could see him.

The ursa roared, the wave of sound barely piercing the high pitched whine in Kalk’s ears. He could see the beast in still images, could see it charging toward him as his eyes stopped working again. And then, suddenly and without warning, the beast was pulled away. Not just that, but everything in his sight seemed to fade into the distance, leaving only darkness all around him. Kalk passed out within seconds.

…

“Kalk!” Tick found herself screaming, the unicorn falling to the side of his spell. He slid across the roof, his bloody face dragging as he slowed to a stop near the edge of the roof. Her eyes widened as she saw him, lying there, completely motionless. She was so struck by the scene of her teacher’s fall that she barely noticed anything around her. The ursa wailed in the distance, the columns of light shot up all over town, but Tick’s eyes never left him. Without thinking, she ran forward, bashing her head directly into the barrier Kalk had erected around the roof. She had tried time and again to get through, but this time she was more desperate than ever.

The battle with the ursa had lasted for a long time, and each second ticked by more slowly than the last on the tower below her. She did everything to try and stay calm, but there was no hope of that with the town her mother had loved so much being entirely destroyed as she sat there, unable to do anything at all. Now Kalk, her savior and teacher, was hurt and she couldn’t even reach him. The barrier held strong to her forehead, and though she had done this many times before, she brought her skull back and tried again.

The impact left her dazed, but not too bewildered to stop. Again and again she tried to break through. The ursa turned to Kalk now, and was seemingly ready to charge. A trickle of blood ran down between her bright, green eyes as Tick swung herself around in panic. Her back hooves came to meet the barrier, and to her surprise, left a small, gleaming crack in it. Without thinking or stopping at all, she lifted herself into the air, wings beating furiously as she accelerated up to the other side of the box that enclosed her.

All four hooves met the opposite surface, the wall becoming visible only when they drew close enough. It gleamed brightly, and floating there, Tick took the moment she needed to line herself up. From this position, the crack she had just made and Kalk lined up. Her eyes closed as she took in breathe, knowing that if she couldn’t make it through here and now, she wouldn’t be able to help Kalk. She couldn’t let that happen, she owed him so much… her name, her home, her life, and even her happiness.

All at once, Tick’s muscles in her legs contracted and then, pushed from the wall taking off from standing. The force brought her enough speed to get into a high speed burst, and as she lifted off, everything came to be clear. She opened her eyes, front hooves pointed outward in one final effort to break through. The barrier approached rapidly, Tick’s wings beating strongly to provide more momentum. In a single impact, the crack she had left became a gaping hole, Tick flying at high speed through it. Behind her, the remains faded away as it dispelled altogether from the breach.

“Kalk!” she shouted, hitting the ground with force. Tick hadn’t slowed enough to land well, and she bore the forward and downward moment still as she moved. She tried immediately to bring herself to a gallop, but ended up tripping over her own hooves as she took her second step. She was by his side the moment she was able to get up. Kalk’s eyes remained shut, and as she came around to his side, he remained still. “Move, Mister Kalk! It’s coming!” she shouted as she brought her hooves to him and began to try and shake him awake. “Kalk!”

The claws of the great shadow beast bore down toward them, tearing into the ruins of Beacon as it approached, fast and powerful as ever. As it moved toward them, the celestial energy that made up its body circulated in waves as if forced back by the trajectory of its body. It was a shadow of the monster, following it but never catching up. Tick neither looked up nor stopped, but kept shaking Kalk. If he’s gone… there’s… No! The quakes with each pummeling step the ursa made toward them increased in magnitude as it approached, the time between them closing as it got fiercer. She hugged herself close to Kalk now, as if to shield him with her body. If he didn’t make it, what use was there? Her life… she was nothing if she didn’t have him. She couldn’t be left alone like this again; it would be the end of her.

The sparkling shadow still oozing from its form, the ursa reared its head forward, ready to take out the building and the ponies alike with its cranium. In full sprint, the force of an impact from this could be likened to a wrecking ball. The filly only clenched more tightly to the unconscious stallion she knew as her teacher and father, unwilling to leave him behind. She felt the cracking of the concrete beneath her rear hooves, the vibrations causing some weaknesses to break away beneath the surface. The clay and stone crumbled and flew in every direction as the ursa’s mighty skull made contact with the building.

It seemed to her that, as soon as the explosion occurred, there was… nothing. The bits and fragments flew out toward them as the battering ram of a monster crashed its way through, yet she felt nothing besides the heavy impact and a slight sense of lifting in her stomach. A slight pain rose in her spine, but it seemed almost like the event passed her by entirely… Was she… dead?

“Don’t give out on me here, kid!” a familiar, almost cocky voice called as she dazedly raised her head from Kalk’s messy coat. She was hit immediately by a blast of wind as she squinted to see. Her vision blurred, but she could faintly make out the very light violet of his coat, the sunshine blonde of his flowing mane. The two hanging over his neck, Blitzy lowered himself to a rooftop some distance off from the building the ursa had just destroyed. Light from the spell circle faded as the seal surely broke to thousands of pieces. “That… can’t be good,” said the pegasus as he stared at the closing gap in the clouds.

The ursa in the distance thrashed around violently, as if hurt severely. As Tick lowered herself to the ground, Kalk remaining on Blitzy’s back, she looked on in fright. She was just at the front of the beasts head, taking the impact full force, and now here she was. To be able to get not only her, but also Kalk, a grown stallion, out of that situation with such precision in speed, it was unthinkable. Yet Blitzy had done it, and now stood beside her as if it were no large feat at all. Could it really be possible that a pony could be so sure of himself? She was always second guessing everything that she tried.

“Ah!” Blitzy proclaimed with punctuation as his features lightened from their serious form. “Ha! You crazy old man, this was your plan all along!” He became nearly giddy as he spoke, a smile forming over his face. The ursa in the distance scraped at its face with its claws, stumbled, and fell backwards roaring as if in more pain than ever before. The ominous aura rising from its body grew in intensity as it struggled. Tick couldn’t really make out the whole scene to a die, but she could see what had happened. Whatever Kalk had done, Blitzy was right. Through the shadowy cloak of stars that made up its body, Tick could see plainly one of the seals that Kalk had etched into the ground directly in the middle of the ursa’s forehead. Blitzy’s teeth all became visible as his smile widened. “Brilliant…”

The eleven beams of light that shot into the sky flashed red, a compliment to their former blue glow. In fading back to their original color, they all faded away, the spell seeming to end entirely. Tick and Blitzy stood in silence, watching the ursa struggle to erase the seal in its skull. If not for the sounds of its grunting and heavy breath, all would have been silent. The loudest thing Tick had ever heard thundered suddenly from above the clouds, and as she noticed, the seal flashed red the moment it happened. A building next to them had a cave in where the cracks on the roof met, and all around the world seemed to shake more than when the ursa had charged her. She held her ears to her head with both hooves, the sound seeming to draw out as it echoed across the forest.

Above, the clouds around where the columns of light had risen parted, forming a hole in the cloud cover the size of the town below. Spectacular light seemed to pour from the sky, a miniature sun floating above. It was almost blinding, but Tick couldn’t turn away now. Fluctuating white, red, blue, yellow, and all the other colors conceivable, the light seemed to shrink. No, concentrate. It crushed in on itself, getting smaller in volume but much greater in density. When the light seemed to be but a miniature star the size of a house, it stopped doing anything altogether.

Floating there, shining dimly over Beacon, it seemed to be the truest sign of their town in existence. Without warning, the sphere seemed to melt. Light dripped away, falling to the ground in a stream. Before any of this fluidic light could hit the ground, it seemed to shift course. The ursa cried out in pain as the seal on its forehead glowed a bright, vigorous white. The steam of light lashed out like a snake, engulfing the ursa and all around it. Twisting and churning, the light again formed an orb, this time over the surface of the town. The process seemed to repeat itself now, the light shrinking in on itself, and now, the ursa. There was no sound to be heard from the beast anymore, its cries now entirely gone from this world.

Rising now, the compressing light shrunk more and more with elevation. As it lifted its edges from the ground, the town was left behind, but the ursa was nowhere to be seen. It rose, higher and higher, back up to the clouds. In the center of the right over their little clearing, Tick could barely see it now. A slight twinkly revealed it to be the very same as any of the stars that could be seen on a clear night, either too small or too distant to be seen or admired fully. When the light seemed to fade entirely, the clouds began to swirl back together.

Tick fell back on her rear, her messy mane falling in her face. Looking up at the closing hole in the sky, she could neither think of nor even consider what had just happened. “What… What kind of spell was that?” she found herself asking aloud.

“I wish I could tell ya,” replied Blitzy, who was also looking at the hole in the sky. A single drop of rain fell to Tick’s face, then another. Soon enough, they were in a downpour of warm, wet rain. Neither of them cared, both simply staring at the sky. “Crazy old geezer…”

“Blitzy!” shouted a stallion behind them. The rain almost drowned out the sound of his voice, but he was still audible. Several buildings away stood Spit Shine, looking to them both with urgent eyes. “We need to get to the schoolhouse! This is far from over,” he shouted to them. Blitzy, not speaking looked to Tick, and grinned lightly.

“We’ll meet you there!” he shouted, lowering himself to allow Tick back on his back. She didn’t know what in Equestria would still come into this town after that display, but she’d rather not stick around to find out. She climbed on her teacher’s back, right beside Kalk. Looking over to him, the rain falling more heavily than ever, he had a smile on his still unconscious face.

…

Water cascaded down through the cracks in what had been a home in the outermost area of Beacon’s ovular structure. Now, the pulverized stones scatter across the floor, and no sign of anyone having ever been there, the orange manned colt wondered if he was really still in his home town. The sounds of crashing in the distance had stopped some time ago, to his relief. Across the room, his sister searched for a sign of life. She was so quick to try and help anyone that might be trapped or hurt inside; it was almost like she was the rescue squad herself. Every building they came to, she seemed to do this and had him keep an eye out for any sign of danger.

The colt, however, felt utterly helpless. He kept looking out for signs that someone, anyone, might still be around, but there was nothing. Standing there, his legs stiff as stone, he wasn’t sure if he could even tell her if there really was something wrong. He still hadn’t spoken a word since they left mother behind, only nodding to his sister’s requests in acceptance. Eyes sweeping the room, he noticed that there was now a pool of water where once was a crater left behind by the monster. The rain outside must have gotten even worse, he thought.

“It looks like everypony made it out of here alright, let’s keep on going,” she said, her red mane drenched darkly and held down by the added weight. They had been going around for quite some time now, and the colt wasn’t sure about how his sister was acting. She looked through each home as if looking for a lost pet, frantic and eager to be reunited. Not just that, but she was seemingly even more worried than he was. This whole disaster, as it was, seemed to have torn her apart inside. He couldn’t help but feel the same, Mom was still back there.

The filly closed her eyes, horn glimmering a light red before the tip flared out in a white glow. There was no doubt that they were going to get even more drenched than before, but the colt couldn’t find the will to care. So much had happened already, the rain actually rather felt like a relief. They both headed for a broken down wall on the opposite side of where they had entered. The only benefit of this whole situation seemed to be that they could make it straight through to the outer reaches of town without having to go into the streets too much. Almost every path now had its own alcove that lead through to the next.

They stepped out from under the crumbled roof, the rain instantly becoming visible as a haze of water. It was almost like they were swimming, the swell of rain so thick it could barely be penetrated. Never had the colt experienced rain so heavy, it seemed to be almost unnaturally powerful. The light from his sister’s horn could barely reach the other side of the street, blocked by the millions of tiny, reflective droplets. Each step resulted in a thick splash, the now destroyed chunks of rock in the road causing puddles to form. Stepping around their wet surfaces, the two made their way into the next building through an open door.

Stepping inside, the colt let the water simply run off his horn, down his face, and roll off of his chin. He had slicked his soaking mane to keep it out of his eyes, though the storm outside had just undid his work. Strands of orange hair fell before his eyes, sticking to his face as he stood there with a blank expression. The water pooled on the finely tiled floors, the building only having sustained minor damage from the attack. Looking down, the colt could see his reflection. His coat was ragged, and his mane wasn’t quite as neatly slicked aside as he thought. The image reminded him almost of how the shadow beasts looked; their fur in a rugged, torn mess. A drop of water dripped from his nose, falling to the puddle and rippling away his reflection.

Stepping into the next room, the colt found that this building had indeed experience a great deal of damage from the beasts rampage. Half the building was gone, nothing left but the rubble from the upper levels. It seemed strange to him, how, from the front door, nothing seemed wrong. The rain beat hard against the remains, each drop splitting up into the air as it hit the crumbled home. Looking around in the glow of a gemstone that hung from a wall beside him, he could make out the overlaying layer of stone that had been the rooftop. Wood splintered from below, plainly the remains of furniture, though unrecognizable now.

Eyes scanning, he found himself falling back in surprise. There, amongst the broken stones, lay a filly, her mane falling over her closed eyes. The thick, dark blue of it complimented her gray coat, and as he looked, he came to recognize her face. Her! It was the filly who had bullied him in class. The one who had grown angry with him at every turn, for no reason whatsoever. His eyes widened at the very sight of her, the instinct to flee setting in as the memories surged through his head. The colt found himself stepping backward, only to stop dead. Just as he was about to bolt out of the building, he saw that her left back leg was stuck beneath the bottom most layer of stones.

Staring now, the colt couldn’t make himself move either forward nor backward. Locked in his position, he couldn’t make up his mind on what to do; while she was helpless she still was the one who had caused him so much pain already. Looking at the filly, drenched with rain and unconscious, he felt a shiver of fear work its way down his spine. All the others in class rejected him solely because of her, the one they all seemed to look up to. Not only that, but it seemed to be for no reason at all. Why should he…

No, no this isn’t right. He hated her, and she him, but he couldn’t just leave her hear to die. He galloped toward her, the water splashing with each falling of his hooves. Knowing it was worthless to try magic now, of all times, he brought his head under the rock that lay on the filly’s leg. “Red White! I found somepony!” he shouted toward the other room, the sound of her hooves clopping against the tile responding immediately. Before she came into sight, he pushed the stone up with all the force his tiny body could muster. The rock lifted with a snap, something below the surface having been pushed out of the way to force it out of its position.

The colt’s sister ran into the half destroyed room, not even stopping to check the damage. She came straight to him, and in seeing the injured filly, moved quickly to get her out from under the rubble. Ensnared in a bubble of red magic, the blue manned filly was floated out of the rain. The colt didn’t need to be a doctor to tell that her leg was broken; it hung limply and bent in the wrong direction while it hung limply from her floating body. Still not awake, the filly was unresponsive to being moved away. The red manned filly laid down the injured one on a dry area of the floor gently, doing her very best not to hurt the smaller filly.

“We have to get her out of here now, Orange Cyan. It’s a good thing you found her,” she proclaimed, turning to him with wide, focused eyes. “Come on now, we must move!” she pressed her hoof against him, prompting him toward the open air outside the building with a turn of her cheek. Even now, it seemed, she was calm. He turned to walk out, when a thought struck him.

“Wait,” he said, turning his head back to face her. “How are we going to get her there too?” he questioned, now realizing that they might not be able to help after all. His sister could only smile in response, making him tilt his head in question.

“Well… simple. I’ll carry her,” she said plainly, turning to the filly that lay still as stone beside her. Her eyes glowed as she looked the filly up and down. With a small flare of magic, the blue manned filly on the ground was lightly levitated onto her back. The result was instantly visible, the filly crippled by the added weight. Her legs shook as she tried her best to remain standing, and it was more than plain that she wasn’t going anywhere like this. Her brother brought himself quickly to her side, pushing against her side to try and help her stay up.

“You can’t, see! What will we do?” he asked, looking to her with questioning eyes. If they couldn’t carry the filly out of here, she wouldn’t survive the night. The cold from the rain would bring a deadly illness if she was left to sit in it for the rest of the storm, and then there was always the threat of more shadow beasts. It shocked him to find that, of all things, his sister laughed a little under her breath. “What are you doing?”

“You know, they say some things are forbidden. It’s pretty funny how it can work out sometimes,” she said, a smirk fading from her face as her horn glowed intensely. “Because sometimes, those forbidden things can save somepony,” she said, a tear rolling down her cheek now. Forbidden spells… they could hurt the user if they were used for too long or in any way at all sometimes. There were even those that could kill the user outright. Both of their parents had made it clear that neither of them was to ever even attempt such things.

“Stop, please stop! I don’t want you to die!” the colt pleaded his sister as her horn reached a second level of intensity. As energy poured from her glimmering horn, her muscles tightened visibly. Veins became visible all down the side of her flank, rapping around her legs as the muscles bulged below them. The red manned filly seemed to be on the verge of exploding, when as suddenly as the transformation began, it ended. The veins that appeared to jump from her skin vanished beneath the surface, and as she breathed deeply, it seemed like the spell had actually failed.

The filly stood there, unmoving for several moments as her younger brother looked on in distress. She didn’t seem to be injured, yet at the same time her heavy breathing suggested that perhaps something was actually wrong. Her head lifted, revealing her brilliant blue eyes from below the curtain of red hair. She looked tired, beyond any doubt. Whatever it had done, it really must have taken its toll. “Let’s… let’s get moving now,” she said to him as she lifted front left hoof.

To his surprise, she didn’t seem to struggle under the blue manned filly’s weight anymore. Rather, she seemed to move effortlessly. It was as if a weight had been lifted off of her, she seemed to positively bounce. After a short trot across the room, she stopped and stretched her limbs as if relaxing them. She began to laugh a little, and to his shock, sincerely had a smile on her once grim face. “What are you waiting for? This spell won’t last forever!”

The spell! Of course, it must have increased the strength in her muscles. No wonder she seemed so bubbly, she had just gained a huge boost in ability. It baffled him to find that such a spell seemed to have no draw backs… but it was forbidden. “S-sis?” he called to her, as she made headway for the wet street. She stopped and turned to him immediately, hearing the concern in his voice. “What happens when it stops?” she tilted her head in question at him. “I… mean the spell,”

A warm, reassuring smile crossed her face as she noticed his concern. “I guess we’ll have to see,” she said in nearly a whisper, turning back to the downpour just before her. “When we get to the school, that is,” she stated after a moment. With that, they were off. Darting from building to building, they made their way across the wrecked remains of town. Many more homes lay in ruin, and none of them had the slightest sign of someone having been there at all. One home remained in perfect condition, dinner abandoned on the table. It was an odd sight, so many houses and no ponies at all.

All three were soaked to the bone when the school house finally came into view just on the other side of one final pile of rubble. From their position, it seemed a shining lighthouse. The shadows of ponies were cast against the bright panes of glass. With a smile of triumph clad on his sister’s face, the colt followed her into the ruined building that lay before them.

The cavern inside was pitch black, far darker than any other part of town they had come to before. No light at all seeped through any of the cracks in the walls, or from any of the gems that lay scattered about. The colt almost tripped over a slab of stone as he entered one room, unable to see a thing. He felt his way over it, doing his very best to not knock anything over as he slowly made his way across the tipping stone. As he reached the other end, the edge along the bottom of his hoof, he felt a vibration through his hoof. With a loud, resounding snap, the slab broke in two.

The orange manned colt pushed himself back up to his hooves, quickly trying to regain his balance from the crash. He backed himself up into the wall opposite where he had entered, still unable to see anything in the darkness shrouded the room. The sudden fall had startled him, and now, breathing heavily, he searched for any sign of an attacker. Instinct was a strong force, even though he knew he had simply fallen, he still feared for his life. The pain of a scrapped knee came in force as he silenced his breathing.

The pitter-patter of movement over stone entered his ears as he stood erect and pumped with adrenaline. The sound seemed to approach, getting louder and louder as he pushed himself farther back into the wall. No… no please don’t be! “Sis! That’s you, right?” he called out, the sound still getting closer and closer. His eyes locked onto where he suspected the door way he had entered was.

The sound stopped altogether, and as he looked around, he considered what was going on here. Was he… imagining the sound? “Sis?” he called out again, still not daring to move from the wall he was glued to. Dust fell to his face, and as he looked up, he saw two red rings glimmering in the darkness. “Sis!” he cried out, the shadow beast above him pouncing down toward him. Instinct again took over, his hooves moving without him needing to think. He dodged to the right, where to his surprise, was enough empty space to get around the monster attacking him.

He bolted, running faster than he ever thought he would need to. Veering around each corner and sliding a little on heavy turns, he made his way through the house without being able to see much of anything. He didn’t know where he was going, or how he was going to ever escape the much larger beast that was still right behind him. The sound of quickly drawn breaths accompanied the foot falls closely behind him. He was sure now more than ever that he was dead… dead. A small light appeared from the corner of his eye, and as he turned to face it, it was plain that he was seeing the way out of this building.

Reaching the open air, there was now much more visibility. Sight, however, wouldn’t save him, though, and as he rounded the corner of the broken down wall, he eyed the monstrosity as it climbed its way out. “Red White!” he wailed as he ran off, the beast seeing him and running after him. He rounded another corner, the beast tearing into the ground behind him only inches away. What looked like an escape to him now proved to be his doom, a dead end ally lay before him with pooling water near the end.

He slid to a stop, pulling himself down as the beast behind him pounced. In that moment he was either the smartest or dumbest pony in existence. The beast flew over him, having aimed too high, likely for the throat, as it descended onto wet mud. The colt turned on that very moment and ran back around the corner as his pursuer regained its composure and reoriented itself. The chase was back on, and as he ran, the colt felt the wear of fatigue on his weak legs. They had already been walking all night long, and he was starting to feel the toll. There was no getting around it; he could almost feel the beast’s claws digging into him as he thought of it.

A stone came between his lifting hoof and the open air. It brought the colt sliding along the ground as the beast pounced at him. That’s it, then. He was done for, no more running. In a way, his mind relaxed. This is the final second of his life, and in it, he felt… accepting of it. He was struck with a blow that sent the breath from his lungs, and found himself being pushed far off to the side. Everything went blurry as the impact brought tears to his eyes due to the sudden lack of air.

Standing where he had fallen was his sister, her red mane slicked down with rain as she stared down the shadow beast. Her face was painted with a mix of concern and pain. The colt gasped as he saw a large gash that had worked its way up the side of her stomach. Blood dripped from it, and as she stood, it was plain to see that she wasn’t in any condition to fight. The beast got up from where it had fallen, mere feet away from her. “Sis, run! Please, don’t get killed!” he cried out, his voice weak. He couldn’t even yell like this, the pain, which had strangely enough saved his life, still pressing his stomach in.

“You!” the filly growled through her pain. “You can’t have him! Or her! Or anypony else!” she began yelling, the beast only seeming to get more aggressive as she persisted. It was an odd sight, a filly many times smaller staring it down like a beast of equal or larger size. “You hear me? You can’t take anypony else, not a single one!” she shouted, taking a step forward. The wolf like shadow beast did not back down, instead growling aggressively at its new found prey. Her wound bled on, but to the colt’s surprise, a small gleam appeared on the filly’s flank. His breathing grew slightly less ragged as he looked on.

“I won’t let you!” she screamed, her horn glowing intensely as levitation magic enveloped the beast’s rear legs. The beast whined in pain, as to the colt’s shock, the cracking of done could be heard. It stood still, anger replacing the pain more quickly than one would expect. “I love the ponies here, in Beacon! They are all great, and all have hearts that burn with the will to be free!” she yelled on, the glow at her flanks taking shape. It was an amazing thing to behold, someone getting their cutie mark right before your very eyes. The light lined its way to the shape of an oblique heart, one side more boldly shaped than the other. “And that’s why,” she whispered now, “I would do anything to keep them safe!” her voice rose to yelling once more as the pink heart on her flanks finally formed completely.

“Sis…” the colt whispered under his breath. He knew she loved ponies to death, knew she had more care than others, but never could have guessed that her love would be her talent. He always assumed it would be her amazing talents with magic, the way she could wield it like a precision tool. His amazement turned quickly to worry. The gash at her side showed darkly now, veins popping out around it as she continued to step forward.

With a final growl, the beast opened its mouth, ready to tear into the filly that stood before it. Just as its teeth were inches from her face, the red manned filly let her horn erupt with light, and grabbed again at the beast’s hind legs. If this was anything like what she did to the ursa, then that wolf was done for. The sizzling was audible from where he lay, and as it was pulled down by its legs, the beast seemed to finally submit. Its mouth was burned to the point where it would never be able to eat again, sores already appearing as it hung open.

No one had ever seen a shadow beast give up, ever seen one retreat. Yet on this night, of all nights, one finally did. The colt watched in awe as the monster gave up, and ran off over the rubble, its mouth still hanging open. The whines of pain could still be heard for several moments after it left his sight. The sound of a wet thud brought his attention back to his sister. Lying on her side, she cringed toward her gapping cut in pain. “Ah… ahg,” she gasped out, air escaping her longs in bursts.

“Sis!” he yelled in fear, getting up and running toward her now. “Oh no,” he whispered under his breath when he reached her. Veins showed beneath her skin around the cut as pitch black. The ooze in her veins worked its way slowly up her side, and it was plainly more painful than the cut itself. “I… No,” he whispered.

“Don’t,” she said through the pain. It shocked the colt that his sister could still muster the strength to even speak, the way this wound was. “Don’t go blame yourself,” she said to him as she wrapped a hoof around one of his. The colt’s eyes watered over, fresh tears falling on her wet face. “It’s… not your fault… ahg!” she choked out. Her eyes closed as she pulled herself closer into a ball.

Her eyes lightened their closing force as the pain drove her into an unconscious state. “No! Please stay with me!” he cried over her. “I can’t…” A hoof fell on his shoulder, shocking him to the spine. Turning now, he saw the wet, green fur of a giant… “Greenhoof?” he asked, looking up to the stallion in a mixture of confusion, terror, and hope. Without saying a word, Greenhoof nodded. The colt’s eyes traced their way back to his unconscious sister, and then he saw the blue manned filly just feet away, in an alcove sheltering her from rain.

The enormous earth pony was not hesitant to carry them both back to the school, though the colt couldn’t stop the flow of tears from his eyes. It was a miracle, what had happened here tonight… He silently thanked Greenhoof while he trotted to keep up with him. They made it to school without further incident, the colt only hopped that it wasn’t too late.

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The Luminous One… Iterating over and over again, each imprint leading closer to where it would be. Wet, soaking brown mush left a line of light, forming the path for which to follow. The Blood drove after it, not relenting for anything. It burned more intensely than ever before to move. Move on and never stop until The Luminous One was found. The water that fell from the sky served only to cool, the Blood pouring heat into all. The Blood suddenly said to stop, to slow and to watch. Another had found them… the Luminous One still nowhere in sight.

Slowly, a force pushed from the darkness, the source of the other moving rapidly in the swell. It danced in the dark, foreboding wall of emptiness, moving here and there at speed. The other lashed out, and it was then that all changed. Burning like a gaping wound, the memories flew forth. More clear than ever, the sorrow… the hope… the disgust… the love.

The Blood screamed, pushing with all its might to have its will done. Yet, there was no result to this. The Blood did nothing to move, did nothing to sway. Fresh water poured to the ground, the dark wall suddenly becoming more. Suddenly becoming familiar. There had been others like this… Others that were in the memories.

The emotion was thicker than ever before, the other… there were two now, seeming to avoid the Blood’s call altogether. Looking now, the other did not move an inch, though the source pushed and shoved with more strength than ever. A burning desire came to stop the Blood, to stop the source that had brought into existence the other. In time the other within control of the Blood fled for the darkness.

More water fell, splattering to the floor in puddles now. The source was pushing now, driving the Blood’s will over the other laying just beyond the wall. “What is the other?” crawled into the emptiness within. So familiar was this voice, that it brought it to speak more. “Why… Why?” There was nothing to see, but still sight was awash with a blur. Lines that did not exist were gone, and there was only one thing that rose now beyond the swelling heat of the Blood.

“What am I?”