Your faithful guard, Zen: Prologue

Black clouds were beginning to form over the sky's of Ponyville, as the rain began to fall and the winds picked up, Narchu was beyond confused as there was no storm's planned till next week. The storm soon turned into nightmare as the winds forced Narchu to the ground.

"Narchu maybe you should hang back here and make sure everypony gets to safety, I'll keep going and find Applebloom" Zen tried to scream over the sound of the storm.

"Alright, but be careful, this storm isn't anything us Pegasus can handle" Narchu said in a panic "We must wait for it to die out on it's own"

"I'll be fine, besides I rarely get hurt on the job" He said with a sarcastic chuckle as he made his way toward Sweet Apple Acres.

Zen rushed as fast as he could go, he wasn't sure what terrified him more, the thought of Applebloom hurt, this storm or Applejack's wrath if Applebloom was in danger. With what seemed like hours, Zen finally arrived at the barn as he screamed Applebloom's name to no response.

He searched the barn, house and fields to come up empty handed when he remembered the CMC clubhouse just a little ways from Acres.

Few more moments passed until Zen found the clubhouse, but what he saw wasn't what he wanted, the clubhouse was in ruin, struck by another tree most likely from this storm. He quickly started to dig through the rubble only to soon find Applebloom under several boards of the once tree house, her leg looked badly wounded but not bleeding and she was covered in scratches and bruises.

"Applebloom!!!" Zen screamed as he shook her trying to wake her up "Applebloom, are you alright"

She was breathing but not responding, the storm had gotten worse as the rain fell harder and the lightning roared in the sky, Zen put Applebloom on his back and carried her all the way back to the barn, the winds pushed him back and forth as he finally opened the barn doors and set Applebloom down on the hay bale when she finally started to speak.

'Z..zen?" she spoke softly as she started to get up

"Well at least nothings broken, I'm just glad you're alright, does Applejack have any First Aid anywhere?"

"In the back their.." She said as she laid back down, Zen was stunned to see she was in a lot of pain yet she never cried, I guess being an apple he shouldn't be surprised. He quickly got the First Aid and patched Applebloom right back up. He bandaged her leg and treated her wounds although she wasn't a fan of how it stung.

"Alright that should do it, so how exactly did this happen anyway?" Zen asked

"I was just grabbing a few things from the clubhouse for our sleep over at Rarity's, then I just see lightning strike the trees and the it all went black" She said trying to remember every detail

"But the lightning only started when I got to the clubhouse, when did you even go to the clubhouse" He asked confused by her story

"I left as soon as my sis left, around three, I'm sorry for making ya'll worry about me, I was going straight to Rarity's after that I swear I was only even their a few moments" She said defending herself and overreacting.

Zen soon checked the time and saw that he only left to find Applebloom at seven, four hours before she got hurt, which meant if Applebloom was right then the lightning struck hours before the storm.

Zen stayed with Applebloom for a good while as the two waiting on the storm to pass, Zen told her stories of the Knight Academy which made her want to try and get her knight cutie mark which Zen soon talked her out of, but then she asked a serious question which no one had asked Zen before.

"So how exactly did you get your cutie mark Zen?"

"Funny thing you mention that, see I don't really remember" He said trying to think back to how he got his dragon shaped mark.

"You don't remember? how could you not remember the best moment of your life" She shouted

"I don't really know, I guess I was already born with it"

"Awe that's no fair, ever thought of asking your folks about it" she asked

"Well I'm adopted and my fake parents don't exactly know a thing about me, or care for that matter" He said looking at the ground.

"I'm sorry" She said feeling bad as she knew she hit a nerve.

"Oh it's not you're fault it's just, well I'm not sure if I should tell this story to a kid but I need to vent so don't tell Applejack" he said

Applebloom simply nodded as she took in every word Zen said about how he was only adopted to work in the family market and that's all they cared about, but then she cheered up as he told her of his grandfather, well not his real one but he was close enough to be considered by him as family, the only one who supported his dreams.

"So have you ever considered finding your real family" she asked

"Well about that, see I know who my dad is but..." He cut off trying to stop himself from telling her the truth.

"What is it?" she begged

"I haven't even told Twilight this story yet so I don't know if you're the one who I should tell this too or not"

"Come on, if anyone can help you with a family problem it's an Apple" she said proudly

"I've told you basically everything so I guess theirs no harm in it" He said as he began to tell Applebloom about his father Zane, how he was an evil ruler who almost took over all of Equestria and then he went into the black mist and how he was on a quest to find and stop whoever was controlling it, this story excited Applebloom as she hung onto every word.

After Zen finished his story he left Applebloom with so many questions, none of which he could really answer, although the thoughts on why Luna was so quick to rush he speech to him did leave so many unanswered questions in his own mind. He begun to wonder if she was leaving out any important details or simply making him her errand boy. Soon enough he would ask her more when he got the chance, but for right now he was more concerned with current events.

"Zen? ZEN!!!!" Applebloom started screaming until he snapped out of his daydream.

"Sorry I blanked out for a second" He said shaking his head to get a hold of himself.

"I asked you a question ya know" She said looking annoyed "when exactly do you plan to get Twilight to help you, I hope you don't plan to do everything on your own like my sister"

"I'll tell her everything once the storm calms down and we can return to Ponyville, I promise"

The conversation was cut short when they both heard a loud sound and screaming coming from Ponyville. Zen opened the barn door to see smoke and fire coming from Ponyville.

"What the..!!!" Zen said as he quickly grabbed his gear and started to rush to Ponyville only to be stopped by Applebloom.

"Hold it Zen, Don't just run into it head first like an idiot, Theirs and path just over yonder that sneaks behind Ponyville, take that and check it out first."

Zen simply stared at her stunned, having a sister like Applejack you would think she wasn't so level headed but she already had a plan before he even fully left the barn.

"Trust me, we Cutie Mark Crusaders are ready for everything" she said as thoughts of her friends came to mind and she remembered they were in Ponyville. "Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo" she screamed "GO!!! I'll stay here in the barn" Zen nodded as he rushed down the path she showed him, he looked to the sky as the storm continued to rage on. The sky was black as the darkest nights "That mist is behind this, I know it but she's right I can't just run into it, I'll sneak into town and find out what's up"

Zen quickly made it back into town when he noticed black creatures with green wings attacking the Ponies, fighting them were the Mane Six and more Mane Six and..."wait a second are those, CHANGELINGS?" Zen had heard stories about their attack on Canterlot during the wedding but he never saw them in real life before "Darn, now I really can't just jump in, how would I know which is real" His question was shortly answered as he saw it, those yellow eyes that would haunt his dreams "The mist..." he whispered under his breath"

"Sadly yes" He heard a male voice behind him to notice Narchu had hidden himself behind him

"Where are the others?" Zen asked

"Over their fighting with everything they got, I went to get you but Applebloom told me you left" Narchu said in a panic

"Narchu what the heck happened here" Zen shouted

"There isn't time to explain that, we have too..." He words were cut off by loud explosions coming from behind as he saw he, the one in control of this army, the queen herself.

"Chrysalis" Twilight said as her and her friends stared down the army that now laid before them.

The Queen spoke no words as see pointed her army to attack the girls, they took care of the few changelings that came at them but were out matched as Chrysalis soon attack them all knocking them to the ground.

"You're still as pathetic as ever" The Queen said laughing "Although I must thank you for spreading your love and cheer throughout Equestria, it was quite the fest for me and my babies"

"You monster" Twilight said weakly

"The only monsters here are you for allowing me to gain such power, the same power I will now use to destroy you so you won't foil my plans again, and don't expect that brother of yours to save you this time" She said as she began to change a massive ball of energy on her horn. She soon fired it straight at Twilight, time slowed down as Zen rushed out of hiding and jumped in front of Twilight with his shield facing the blow, The energy wave reflected off his shield thanks to a spell placed on it by Twilight when it was made, Her shot soon blasted her into the mountains in the distance. Twilight soon looked up to see Zen standing above her with his sword drawn staring down the army of changelings in front of him.

"You mess with her, you mess with me got it" He said as he could feel a sudden burst of power awaken inside.

Narchu soon jumped up and joined beside Zen, his lightning already charged.