"They say great things come from dark beginnings. Maybe they are right. They did this to me, to my mother. What they got is someone who's vengeance will not be quenched and subsided until I have reached my goal. To be the greatest magic user in all of Equestria."
rhetorically
Soul Flare rested his hoof on the window cell of the trains side. Looking out the window he saw the snow fall gently to the ground outside. All the other ponies waving to their loved ones as the train rolled away from the station. He sighed and shut the shutter of his room. A three day trip was required to reach his destination, Canterlot. Ever since the new princess was crowned, a lot of ponies were headed there to visit her and bid her their thanks for all that she has done before. Though Soul Flare recognized that the princess and five others have saved the world multiple times, he had feelings of bitterness towards the ordeal. Thinking that she did not deserve it, he grew even more grumpy as he laid down on his bed and went to sleep, it is all he could do at the moment.
The air grew cold as he entered his house. His anxiety was higher than usual once he saw the shattered glass spread on the floor. Blood trails we left on the ground, vaguely resembling hoof prints. Soul Flare knew something was not right as he followed the trail of blood. As he cautiously walked through the corridor, he saw a bloody knife laid on the floor. Strands of grey hair were attached to it by the blood. He then looked up to see his mother lay on the ground with what seemed like 3 stab wounds, none of them in a vital area. This told him that whoever did this wanted his mother to suffer. He rushed over to her, hoping that he was not to late. The grey unicorn who's blood turned her once brilliant fur to a brown and bloody mess, laid and looked at Soul Flare with compassionate eyes.
"This is my time I guess... didn't see that coming" She said with a faint chuckle. Soul Flares mother was always one to joke in a terrible and drastic situation. He did not like it but it helped to lighten the mood in some instances, but this wasn't one of them.
"Who did this to you..." Soul Flare asked rhetorically, knowing that she most likely did not know.
"Funny you should ask, I do not know the colt or mare who did this to me. The incident happened in seconds, though it felt like hours... All I could think of is how you would go on without me in your life. I wanted to see you grow up and live. I guess that wasn't my purpose. Fate seems to always win these things, right?"
"Fate isn't real... it never has been. Mother... you can't leave me..." Soul Flare whispered as tears fell from his eyes. He held her hoof with his. It was cold when he touched it, she was gone. To quick, Death smiles upon the unfortunate. He could only sit and stare as he held back the tears and bit his bottom lip. He bent down and kissed her on the forehead.
"I swear... I will find him, and when I do he will pay. He will be against the greatest magic user in the world... I swear" he whispered as he fell asleep on her chest laying in the pool of blood.
"Sir, we have arrived at Canterlot" the conductor at his door said. Soul Flare was disorientated, though that seems what being asleep for 3 days could do to you. On top of that he was starving. He slowly got up without a word and grabbed his bags and flipped a tip to the conductor and got off the train. This has not been his first time to Canterlot. His mother used to take him here for the festivities the had in the summer. Though most ponies were prude, there were some nice people in this town, you just had to find them. He slowly walked through the shopping district, which was not the best since he was not wearing the best of out fits. He dawned a hood and cape to cover the dismay on his face. The only thing visible was his horn which had a crack that ran vertically down the shaft. The damn thing hurt of course, but he did not have time to let it heal. He also perfectly knew that when a horn was cracked it produced an unstable magic that could hurt the caster, but at this point he did not care. He was headed to the academy of magic and alchemy. Though it was invitation only, he planned on getting in anyway. Then he saw it, the academy. He took off his cloak and hood, putting it into his saddle bag. His coat was a dark grey, with a silver mane with more dark grey highlights in it. He climbed up the stairs of the entrance and entered the main foyer of the building.
As he entered he felt the aura of the magic flow through the atmosphere of the place. He approached the front desk, failing to notice that all the other ponies were looking at him, gawking more like it. The secretary looked up and gave Soul Flare a strange look before speaking to him.
" May I help you?" she asked in a more annoyed manor than she had heard her speaking on the phone.
"You can... I was wondering if I could speak to the principal of this establishment" Soul Flare said flat out.
"Yes, but you will have to wait, there are 3 others ahead of you. Proceed to the waiting area when you want" she directed him to the chairs where 3 other ponies waited. Soul Flare went there as directed and sat down. Noticing that his cutie mark was glowing, he covered it with the saddle bag he carried. This tended to happen when someone of significant magical power was near him. Though the explanation behind this was not clear to him, he had learned to accept it. When this happened last, the new princess visited his town. Twilight Sparkle. That name reverberated through his mind as he thought about it. Though he did not know her he felt a strong magical presence when she was around. Of course this was only once, I could have been any one of the ponies there when that happened. He then snapped back to reality realizing that the wait was going to be hours before he got in. He decided to pull out the book he had been reading for the last month, "Alicorn magic and Other magic." The book stated that Alicorn magic was the most powerful of the types that existed. Soul Flare studied several artifacts in museums in his home city, which did not only have ancient alicorn on it but other conscripts that the scientist could not identify the markings. This led him to believe that Celestia and Luna knew about other magics that were abolished, though he was not sure why they would keep it a secret or abolish it. He opened his book and began to study the pages that laid before him.
He was more or less done with the book by the time he was called to the office for his appointment. He closed the book up and sighed as he packed it up and walked towards office door. When he got into the room he looked up and saw her. He was surprised to see her and knew that this was the reason his cutie mark was glowing. He sat down in front of her desk, and puffed up his chest. She looked up and smiled, putting aside her scroll and looking at him.
"Why hello there, what can i help you with?" Twilight said with a smile on her face as she took off her glasses. Soul Flare blushed, but then shook his head and straightened himself out.
"I want to join the academy, and if I need to persuade you I can pay my way in..." he told her as he lifted a satchel of bits onto the table.
"Sir... I can- excuse me, can I know your name, I am new to this" she asked him.
"Soul Flare"
"I am Twilight Sparkle, as I was saying Soul Flare, you do know that this academy is invitation only as the rules are stated in volume one section 45 sub-section 3. I cannot take a bribe or else I am violating the rules of which I follow. I am sorry" Twilight Sparkle explained. Soul Flare just stared at her as he was growing hot with anger.
"I-I cannot accept that. I need you to please let me in. my mother is dead... my only home is the streets the I reside in... I cannot be refused entry. Please..." Soul Flare Said with a light annoyance, but a depressed tone. He bowed his head and cried before her.
"I am sorry... I cannot allow you entry... but if you want, come to the castle tomorrow and meet me, I will make sure that the guards know that you have an appointment with me. And don't worry about the money use it for the comforts of your stay in Canterlot. I am sorry about your loss, and I am also curious to ask you questions about what happened and about that strange cutie mark you have" Twilight spoke with a comforting voice to his ears.
"Thank you your highness. I am de-deeply honored and thankful, But why do you insist to be hospitable to me?" He asked her.
"you seem to have a certain, let us say "flare" to you that i find rather intriguing" she laughed and walked to the window.
"Please come to the castle at 3 p.m. sharp, I will expect you there.
"Yes your highness" Soul Flare responded as he was still bowing.
"Please don't bow, i don't really like it anyways, i am the same as you anyways, we are all ponies. But please, find shelter at the hotel across the street. I expect to see you Soul Flare" she giggled but also had a serious tone to her voice. Soul Flare nodded and walked out the door but before he could, Twilight Sparkle said one last thing.
"Be Careful out there, your intentions can be dangerous you know" Twilight warned.
Startled and frantic, Soul Flare got up quickly and panted, breathing heavily. He looked at the clock, which to his disappointment only read 2:00. He groaned and went to the bath room. Turning the lights on he looked at the mirror and saw that he had a bruised eye. This must have been from the restless sleeps he was having, maybe he hit himself in his sleep. He took the glass cup in the bathroom and filled it with water and moaned. He couldn't stop thinking about the dream that he kept having over and over again. Yes, he would have flash backs but one dream stood out the most to him. The sky would grow red as fire rained down from the heavens. He would just watch as a shadow would fly over head, one that resembled a dragon, but was far to big to be one, at least that was the thought. Most dragons only grew to be about 25 meters high, judging by the shadow in his dream, this one stood around 30 to 40. This was all a dream though, so he put less thought into it as he yawned and finished his glass of water. After that he went over to the window that looked upon the academy and the down town district. Then turning to the clock, he only saw that is was 2:05. He grew increasingly annoyed at this because time always seemed to flow differently for him as opposed to other ponies. This may have been the reason that school bored him. Maybe it was the fact that he felt that he was to smart for school. Either one was plausible. He then decided to go on a walk to try and ease his nerves. He locked the door behind him and went his was down the hall way to the elevator.
When he was finally outside, the cool air was the only thing to fill his ears. The streets were dead in silence. Most ponies were asleep at this time anyway, so this was of no worry to him. He then thought of the possibility of him being mugged, though the crime rates last time he checked were very low for Canterlot. Of course, that wont stop anyone from at least attempting it. His eyes were then caught by the water fountain in the middle of the plaza that depicted Celestia and Luna rising their respective celestial objects. Water pouring from the sun and moon. This reminded him that a festival was soon to take place, not that he cared. The festival was called the Celestial Eclipse if he was correct. This seemed to be the only time that Luna would raise the moon during the day. This thought led him to the fact that he liked the night better than the day. No people to trifle with, no noise to break your thought pattern, only silence. Then he heard a sound, something familiar to his ears. The sound of a singular drum that kept a steady beat. His father used to play the same instrument around campfires when they went camping. He went to investigate what the music was. Though this reminded him of his father, he did not like to think about him often. His mother always told him that his father left them for someone else and that he never truly loved them. Soul Flare refused to believe this, but all evidence pointed to that conclusion. To be honest he actually does not remember what his father looks like it has been so long. Soul Flare finally found the source of the music. A lone pony sat, striking the leather of the drum with the his hooves.
"Do you expect to get any money for your performance at this time of the night?" Soul Flare asked the stallion as he approached him.
"I don't actually, I come to play to the trees and plant that surround the area, they say that they are more healthy when they are given affection and are talked to" The stallion responded with a crack in his voice. He continued to hit the drums and kept the steady pace and beat. Soul Flare looked at him, knowing what he was talking about but never saw anyone do that type of thing.
"I heard that yes, so what brings you out here then?" Soul Flare asked.
"I was going to ask you the same thing, I do not usually run into other ponies at this time of night" He responded.
"That's a good question, I am out because I can't sleep at night it seems, at least without medication. I don't like taking it though, it screws with my thought pattern. I like the night anyway. More peaceful and quiet" Soul Flare said.
"We share the same opinion on the time of day it seems. Say you have an appointment with Twilight Sparkle tomorrow don't you?" he asked Soul Flare.
"Yes, how did you kno-" Soul Flare stopped as he turned around to face the stallion only to discover that he vanished. This was odd yet intriguing. This led him to think that the possibility of him being crazy may be possible, but then again he heard tales of a being that appeared to people at the night. The oddest thing was that the "thing" left the drum behind. He then recollected a fairy tale that his mother told him when he was seven years old. A lone stallion that died long ago, used to be the jester of the queen of the forest. A day came where the forest was almost destroyed due to the faults of her kingdom. She then killed herself in sorrow because she could not protect the forest she ruled over. Her knight who was very close to her used to play music for her and comforted her when she was in need, found her dead body and grieved for many years until he himself died, which is how the Everfree forest was abandoned and left to grow. His spirit mends the forest whenever it is damaged. Could this have possibly been the spirit of that knight who died hundreds of years ago? Soul Flare sat and pondered the question before yawning. Now that he thought about it he had been out for a while now, maybe he should head back to the hotel and try and get some sleep before he had to visit the castle in the afternoon.
When he got back he locked the door behind him and snuggled himself into the bed and turned the lights off. In the distant background, he could still hear the beat of the drum. Before he could over think what he heard, he drifted off into sleep.
Oddly enough he did not have the dream that time, he actually did not have any dreams after he went for his walk. This only happened once in a blue moon. He felt rested and ready to go meet up with the princess for whatever reason she wanted to see him for. She did mention his cutie mark which he had been trying to figure out for the last 5 years himself, doing extensive research on the topic and the history of cutie marks, though nothing seemed to be related to it except for the cutie marks of an ancient tribe who were known for their skills in the arcane arts. The cutie mark he had looked like a mosaic water drop or flame, he was not sure. It was broke up into four pieces, which were all white. When he was near a source of magical power, say Twilight, One of the four pieces would light up usually the biggest one. He read that only one of these cutie marks have ever been seen in the modern age. As to how he got it, well he practically blew up the science lab at school with a sudden burst of uncontrollable magic power. The school was closed for the rest of the month after that. That is also when the crack appeared on his horn. Though the whole ordeal puzzled him, he never put much thought into it.
He went and got himself into the shower knowing that it was going to be a long day. Soul Flare also thought about getting some scones and tea for breakfast, like his mother used to make for him every morning.
