Under the Moon and Sun

I had a horrible dream. I was amidst the battle, standing there taking everything in. It appeared we were winning, until I turned to my left. There was Rainstorm, fighting her hardest against an enemy soldier. It looked like she was winning, but suddenly she started losing ground. Her eyes pleaded with the need of assistance. I started running towards her, but it felt as if I was in a slow moving trance. The soldier disarmed her, and she fell down looking up for pity. He went for the kill, and as his blade thrusted towards her I screamed her name. Sitting up in my bed, I looked around. It was still daytime, and Rainstorm was still next to me, eyes full of concern.

        "Solar! What's wrong? What happened?" She asked. She looked scared.

       "I had this dream. We were back in the battle, and I saw you fighting an enemy soldier, and he disarmed you. He then went for the kill so I tried to get to you, but I couldn't move. I felt so helpless" I explained.

       "It was a dream Solar, it's ok. I'm here." She said soothingly. As she hugged me I calmed down, we then left the tent to find a surprise. Equestria had turned back to normal. Ponies were celebrating a little with cheerful chatter and cider. I looked at Rain.

       "It's finally over, we've won." I said. Relief overwhelmed me and Rain smiled a bit.

       "Yes it is, we did it." She replied. We hugged then walked through the camp, congratulating everyone. Birchtree was helping others as we approached him.  I high-hoofed him and we congratulated him. We had started talking as a voice from behind made itself known.

       "Congratulations you two for achieving your mission, you did well." Celestia said. We turned around to greet her and Luna. Luna immediately became concerned about my eye and me.

       "Solar, what happened, are you ok?" Luna said. She walked over and looked over my eye.

       "I'm fine, my eye will survive with some damage." I said. I neglected to tell her about the dream I had, thinking it would never happen again.

       "There isn’t a lot time, we have a new mission. Come to our tent, we'll discuss it there." Celestia said. I looked at Luna with a confused face. New mission? Why so soon? We just finished this one. What did she want us to do now? She only looked away and followed her sister. Me and Rain followed suit. We arrived at the tent with news I was not in the mood to hear.

       "I have a new mission. We need to liberate the Crystal Empire from King Sombra. " Celestia said. Me, as was Rain, was in total disbelief from hearing this.

       "Why? Don't you realize what we just did. We do not have the resources for it! They need to help themselves, we can't fight everyone's fight!" I replied.

      "They need our help, Solar, Sombra's dictatorship is ruthless and has gone on long enough. It's time to end it." Celestia said.

       "They may need our help, but we don't have anything to help them with. Very little of our resources are left, and there isn't that many recruits coming in." Rain said.

       "It does not matter. I must free the Crystal Empire just as I freed Equestria from Discord, it is my titles duty, and you will help me." Celestia said. I became confused about that statement.

       "What do you mean you? You weren't the only one who freed Equestria! What about our army? What about Luna? Hmmm? That's a bit selficious." I barked. She looked annoyed.

       "How would you know Solar? You didn't face Discord." Celestia responded.

       "But I did, and I say you are wrong sister." Luna said. "Everyone who fought today helped free Equestria, not just you."

       "Regardless, we are going to free the Crystal Empire. Tell everyone left to get ready, we move as soon as possible. Which means tomorrow, go!" Celestia ordered. Rain and I moved outside the tent.

       "We just finished one war, now we have to fight another? This is a bad omen, Solar." Rain said.

       "I know, I have a bad feeling about this as well. Unfortunately, we must help them. We must go..." I said, sadly, but I looked up and smiled. "Don't worry, I won't let anything break us apart, nothing." Rain hugged me and we went to get ready.

       This was the worst decision we ever made. It was bad, and I'm not getting into everything that happened; I would be here forever. Sombra had been prepared for us, and it wasn't pretty. His strategy was to lewer us in by allowing us victories for some time. Then we hit a hornets nest. Horrible doesn't even begin to describe how bad things became for us. Loss and loss decimated our forces to almost nothing. We weren't prepared for his magick, so it overwhelmed us. Having to fall back, it led to retreating numerous times. Finally, we were at a last stand right near the border of the empire and Equestria and a hard decision was at hand.

       "What!? Why does one of us need to stay here? We all need leave this place!" I pleaded. A group of us needed to stay behind and make sure Sombra and his forces don't invade Equestria. It made no sense to me, we could just have a group guard the border in Equestria, not have to stay here.

       "This isn't a discussion, Solar, either you or Rainstorm must stay to help lead these ponies. There is no other way." Celestia said. I look at Rainstorm, she looked at me. I promised to protect her since the beginning; I wasn't going to stop now.

        "Your leaving Rain, go with them, you've done enough. I’ll take over." I said. She didn't like that.

       "No, I'm not leaving, I'm staying here. You would be a better help to everyone if you left with them." She replied. I became a bit teary eyed when she said that, she almost said exactly what my dad said before my family was killed.

       "I'm staying and that's it, no discussion." I said. I guess she figured it wasn't worth fighting me. As we walked towards the chariots to help prepare them to leave, she did the unexpected. As we got to the chariot, she shoved me into the chariot and Celestia locked me in with magic. I realized what was going on and started struggling.

       "No! This can't be! Let me go!" I yelled. I tried my hardest, but Celestia's magic is too hard to resist.

      "This is the way it has to be Solar, stop struggling." Celestia said.

       "Thank you for your help Celestia." Rain said. She then looked at me with tears. "This is the way it has to be my love, hold me close, and never let me go." I started struggling even harder while tearing up. I was fighting a losing battle and I didn't want to lose her. Finally I stopped exhausted and just looked at her.

       "I promise..." I said. As the chariot pulled away we never broke eye contact. She mouthed a "good bye" silently.

       Once our chariot had left the view of the group, Luna hugged me and hummed a tune that calmed me down. Soon I fell asleep, either from exhaustion, or Luna put me asleep, i don't know. No dream ensued, only a empty abyss.

       I woke up in a unknown place. The room was squared with black walls, and a black rug covered in stars, although the lights were off anyway. I got up and looked around a bit more. Other than my bed, the room was filled with a writing desk and a bookshelf lined with books. I walked to a telescope looking outside towards a window. I looked out the window to find a view of a savannah. It was night, and view of the moon was next to spectacular. I decided to find anyone who could tell me where I was. As I turned to go towards the door it opened, and Luna walked into the room.

      "Hello, little one, are you ok?" She asked. She always called me that, it made me feel happy and comfortable whenever she said it.

       "I'm fine, where are we?" I asked. She walked in a bit more towards me.

       "We are in my sister and I's castle. This is your room, we will live here now." She said. I felt happy to have a room again. We lived in tents for so many years i forgot what it felt like.

       "How long has it been since..." I said. I couldn't finish it. I missed Rainstorm so much already, maybe she returned when I was asleep.

       "A day, you were out for quite awhile. Solar, I don't want you to be upset but, she didn't return, no one did. They're gone. The Crystal Empire disappeared." Hearing this hurt. Emotion flooded my body. "While you were asleep, We were going to wait for them just inside Equestria, but Celestia moved us forward and we came back here. Now don't be hasty with-" I bolted out my door and ran towards Celestia with my anger showing me where to go. She was in the library when I ran right up to her and got in her face. She knew what I was there for.

       "Solar there was nothing I could do, she disappeared with the empire." She said, trying to get me to leave her alone I'm guessing. I didn't take it, I was done with her act.

       "Why did you force us to leave!?  We could have waited for her!” I yelled. Celestia became annoyed and upset. It felt good to see her cringe.

       "I waited long enough, we sent a small team to find them, but the empire had disappeared. There was nothing left to do." Celestia said. I couldn't hold my emotions in anymore.

       "I knew we should have left the Crystal Empire alone, now, because you had to help them, Rainstorm is gone!” I screamed and pointed at her. She grew angrier.

       "She was a sacrifice for our cause. Sacrifices are necessary to win wars Solar, you of all know that.” Celestia said. This one comment infuriated me to levels I've never been to. I basically exploded at her with rage.

       "Sacrifices!? Rainstorm was a sacrifice!? Were all of us sacrifices? It sounds as if that's the case! Sacrifices so you could claim all the glory!” I said. Luna must have heard enough, because she stepped in.

       "Sister, without them, Equestria wouldn’t have gained independence from Discord in the first place. Give them more credit than that." she said. Luna always thought more logically than Celestia did. Celestia became surprised and let her intentions slip.

       "They didn’t free Equestria! I did, they were only recruited to execute the mission to distract Discords army, nothing more!” She said. Without shame, she looked at us like we were to accept this as is. I looked at her disgusted. Everyone who fought, who died, were recruited only to give this monster prestige. I lost it.

       "Do you realize that there are those who have died for your glory, gave their lives to protect Equestria only to be used for a reference. If only they knew they were cannon fodder, their attitudes may have been different. Had they known, you wouldn’t have all your prestige, you selficious monster.” I said. She became very angry at me and walked towards me with eyes of hatred.

       "Don’t you dare talk to me that way cur, or i will discipline you” she said. She was about to hit me when Luna stood in her way.

       "You will not touch him Celestia!"  Luna said. She wasn't happy, even more than Celestia. "You should rethink your views on who did what to free Equestria from Discord. Yes, only we imprisoned him, but without Solar, Rain, and everyone who fought that day, we couldn’t even have gotten that chance, now leave! Or this will get ugly between us.” Celestia stood back and just looked at me, then her. She backed off.

      "Very well, I will expect an apology before tomorrow from Solar, he knows better than to talk to me that way.” Celestia said. She walked out of the room. I didn't care about her stupid apology, Rainstorm was now gone forever. All I could do is cry, it seemed at this point in my life all I have ever done is cry. Happiness would be short-lived while sorrow always infected my life for long periods of sadness. Luna walked over to me and hugged me. She then hummed my favorite tune to calm me down. First my family, now my friends and love. Luna is all I have left.

       "Don't worry Solar, I'll protect you from anything that will hurt you, like I always have." She said. She looked at me and smiled. I looked up at her and smiled a bit. We walked to my room and I layed down. Luna sat down next to me and covered me with her wing. Soon I fell asleep and she met me in the dream.

       "What would you like to do Solar?" She asked. I noticed a ball over near some stuff, I walked over to it and picked it up.

       "Let's play some catch, me and Rain used to play to get things off our mind." I said. I hit it over to her. She picked it up and threw it back.

       "I want you to know understand that Celestia doesn't mean to act like she is. She is just stressed over all that has happened. Please give her some time to relax, she will turn back to normal." Luna said. I didn't believe her.

       "She has acted that way since after Discord, she was the reason Rainstorm is gone, and we need to give her time to relax? She doesn't deserve anything!" I said. Luna frowned a bit.

       "Solar! There is no need for that, she has done a lot for us in the past." I just looked away and kept playing catch. We dropped the subject and spent time together. After some more catch and teachings about the moon. It was time to wake up.

       After waking up, I went straight to building the chariot. As I built it, Luna would help me with it. I usually worked on it a night under the stars, because I started hating the day. Everytime I saw sunlight it reminded me of losing Rainstorm. Celestia could keep her stupid Day, it was nothing compared to Luna's Night. After many nights of hard work, the chariot was finished. So I decided to surprise Luna.

        "Come on! It's this way!" I said happily. Luna followed behind me, excited, she always likes surprises.

      "I'm coming, little one, what is it you got me?" She said. Smiling, she walked into the room I had the chariot in. I had covered it with some blankets I found lying around.

      "I present-" I said as I took off the covers with magic. "-your chariot!" The chariot looked amazing. She gasped and grew an even bigger smile.

       "Solar, I do not know what to say, thank you!" She said. She gave me a big hug. "Tomorrow night, we will take a trip around Equestria, sound alright?"

       "Yes, that sounds wonderful!" I replied. I always loved trips, and this one was spectacular.

       That night, we went everywhere, taking in Equestria's amazing landscape. Occasionally, we stopped in a town. Although we didn't stay long as everyone was asleep. After the second town, I noticed Luna had become a bit depressed.

       "What's wrong Luna?" I asked.

       "Every night, I make the Night as beautiful as possible, but every pony sleeps through it and never sees its majesty. They all prefer my sisters daytime magic." She said.

       "What if you didn't lower the moon when you should, then everyone could see it." I blurted. Luna looked at me sternly.

       "Solar, that sounds ludicrous. Celestia and I cannot break that balance. We would be powerless separate. Don't speak of that again." She said. I grew bold a bit.

       "She's a hog, why should she get all the praise? What does she have that you don't? The night is definitely better than the day, why can't anyone see she is a monster?"

       "Solar, enough!" She said. I just sat there, upset that Celestia was causing trouble and not even present at this moment. Luna calmed down and realized my motive. "Solar, I know you will be upset about Rainstorm for many nights, but it wasn't Celestia's fault fully. Rainstorm sacrificed herself knowing full well she might not return. She also knew there was no way I wanted to lose you, as I had given her the idea to trick you into the chariot in the first place. Losing you would have been catastrophic to me." She said. I didn't realize that until now. "She may be gone, but there exist ways to wait for her, as the Empire will return one day, knowing Sombra. You'll need to figure that out yourself. You must not be so judging of Celestia either. She may take credit and want praise often, but remember, she cares about you as much as I do. Also remember, if anything were to ever happen to me, and I am not able to care for you, she is your guardian." This took me by surprise. Celestia? My guardian? Heh, that sounded impossible as Luna would never be able not to take care of me.

       Arriving home, I decided to become a bit more patient with Celestia. I slept a bit before I put together a little gift for her. She was in Her and Luna's private room in the library when I found her.

       "Hey, Celestia..." I said. She looked up from her book.

       "Hello Solar, come in, what is it?" She said. I was a bit taken back, she was calm and happy to see me, what happened?

       "I wanted to give you this, as a small apology for my behavior a while back." I said. It was a bouquet of sunflowers. She smiled so I relaxed a bit.

       "Awww, thank you, apology accepted, Solar." She said. I figured she was doing a act, but again she surprised me. "I also would like to apologize, for my attitude recently." She said apologetically. Shocked is a good way to describe me at that moment. She stood up and walked up to me. "I know losing Rainstorm was difficult for you, it was all of us. I hope we can still be friends even after our disagreements. Please forgive me." I couldn't speak, I stood there, fighting myself whether or not she was being serious or not. I just went with it.

       "She is gone, and I really miss her. I can try to forgive you, but it might take awhile, she meant a lot to me." I said. It was a bold statement, but she smiled. Surprisingly, she hugged me. I flinched a bit, but I relaxed. She felt as warm as the sun itself. My hatred seemed to flush out of me by the second.

       "Thank you, Solar, that means a lot to me. You remind me so much of my sister, she's done a great job raising you." She said. She let go and looked at me. "If you would like to learn about the sun and daytime, ask me, I'll gladly teach you about it."

       "Ok, I'll think about it, thank you." I said. I turned around and walked away.

       I hurried to find Luna and tell her about Celestia's abnormal behavior. I found her in her room.

       "Hello Solar, what is wrong? It appears as if you have seen a ghost." She said, laughing a bit.

       "I went to apologize to Celestia, and she is acting so differently." I said. Luna raised a eyebrow.

       "Differently? What do you mean?" She said. "Was she being mean again, but more aggressive?"

       "No, she was composed and nice to me. She actually apologized for her behavior as well. She even hugged me." I said.

       "Well, it would appear she has turned back to normal. After all we went through with Discord and Sombra, her normal self is back. This is great news." She said.

       "She also offered me lessons on the sun and day." I said. "I don't know if I want to go though."

       "Why not? I've taught everything I know about moon magic I could have." She said. A question popped in my head. "It would be a advantage to know about the whole day cycle. Go ahead, you'll find out the day and night operate much the same."

       "What about all the other moon magic you do? Why can I not learn that?" I said. She walked over to me.

       "You are not ready yet. As you have read, me and my sister are what scholars call Alicorns. We are able to posses much more powerful magic than unicorns or any other race. The magic I have not taught you can only be done by Alicorns. Also, most of what I do only I can do. It is my job, you could say, and cannot be done by anyone else. It is up to the Elements of Harmony, the force that gave me and my sister our gift, to deem you worthy." She said. I've always wanted to be a Alicorn, not because of their powers,

but it would relate me and Luna even more.

       "The elements? The rocks you used to make Discord a statue? What do they want from me?" I said.

       "Solar, they are more than just rocks. Me and my sister have a connection to the Elements. Ever since me and my sister met you, we have felt you represent a powerful magic that does not want its presence know yet. I am not talking about you time ability, it is a more powerful magic than just time manipulation. We have put the elements near you and around you when you have slept. They react oddly to you. They seem disappointed at you, and they become non-responsive near you. Due to this, they will not help you as of right now. They seem to be waiting for you to forgive something. Your past is full of many tragic events, that is quite clear, but what event do they want you to forgive? That is what we cannot answer, you must answer it." All these questions appear in my head at once, my mind exploded. Luna chuckled knowing I was lost in questions and thoughts. "No need to rush Solar, this takes time. While you learn more about the day from my sister, ask her about, she knows a bit more about this than I do." I figured that was a good place to start. The next day, Celestia started teaching me about the Day and the Sun.

       I walked into the observatory, light bursting from the sun. I walked down the stair to meet Celestia. She had set some books down on a table and was adjusting a huge telescope.

       "Hello Solar, glad you could make it. You look tired, are you alright?" She said, turning to look at me. I should have went to bed earlier.

       "I guess I'm not used to getting up this early, I'm more of a night pony." I said. Celestia chuckled a bit.

      "I'm sure you are, give some time for your body to adjust to your new sleep schedule. You'll be fine. Now, are you ready to learn?" She said.

       "Yes, I am." I replied. I sat down and we started. She quizzed me about what I knew, which wasn't much. She decided to start at the basics. I never realized why the sun was so important to this world. I've always disowned the sun, thinking it was only created to block the Night's majesty. The Sun is practically a light watch for the farmers who grow the food, and for ponies to know when to start working. The Moon and the Night are equally as important, since ponies need rest to keep working their hardest. On nights when they do not need to work, that is when they honor the Night for its beauty. Something bothered me, so I spoke up.

       "If this is true, then why does Luna think no one likes the night?" I asked. Celestia looked confused.

       "Solar, what do you mean? I'm sure she is aware this country respects and acknowledges the Night, where did you get such a crazy idea.?" She said. I assumed it was ok to tell her.

       "When we went on our Night trip, she was sad that no one was enjoying her Night, all the towns were fast asleep." I said. This was new to Celestia, for sure.

       "Solar, thank you for informing me. This is important to know, so If anything else comes up, tell me immediately." She said. I shook my head yes and she smiled. For the first time, I actually trusted her completely. It felt wonderful.

       "That's all about the Sun, any questions?" She said.

       "Why don't the elements react to me?" I said.

       "Ah, Luna must have told you about them and you. They're not happy with you, Solar. They seem to think you live in the past too much, especially the element of magic. Forgive your past, and a specific event from your past, and they may help you unlock the magic your represent that is unknown to us at this time." She said. My past? That would be fine, but what event needed another forgiving? Why must I need to figure this out?

       "I have no clue what event the elements are talking about, do you have any idea what they mean?" I said. She looked as perplexed as I was.

       "No, that is for you to find out, we cannot help you. Do not think that we know and are having you discover it yourself, even me and my sister do not know." She said. I figured I would find out sooner or later. That ended that lesson, so I went to my room and fell asleep.

       "Rainstorm! Where are you?!" I yelled. I was sprinting towards a infinite abyss looking for Rainstorm, Sombra had taken her and I had to find them to rescue her. After a few more minutes of running, I had enough of his hiding.

       "Sombra! Show yourself! I want Rainstorm back! Fight me!" I screamed. As if he was waiting for it, he appeared in front of me, a limp Rainstorm next to him. My anger flared significantly.

       "You're gonna pay for this, you monster!" I said. He laughed as if a child had threatened him. I drew my swords, he only laughed harder.

       "You are not worthy of fighting me, a child could best you in a fight." Sombra said. He picked up Rainstorm and turned around, a big mistake. I ran and swung my sword right at his neck. His laughter echoed in my head as he turned and struck with tremendous force. I flew and hit a unwelcoming wall. It felt so real and painful. Wincing, I looked up to see him hovering above me, evil smile in full effect. I felt true fear for the first time in awhile.

       "Until you die, your dreams will be the worst nightmares you will ever experience, unless you find the wedge between you and your regular dreams, simpleton." He said. I wanted to obliterate him, he smiled and turned around. He passed through the wall of the abyss and I was left alone. Slowly, I got up and ran over to where they disappeared, there was nothing left.

       "Rainstorm!!! Nooooo!" I screamed. He looked left and right trying to find anyway to break through.

        "Solar!" I heard. It was Rainstorm, I looked to where she was calling from.

       "Rain!? Where are you?!" I yelled. She responded.

       "Solar!" Rain said. I turned to face where she was coming from. I was forced to take action. I fired magic lightning towards the direction. It went a small distance before exploding. Everything started shaking as a voice shuddered through. I began awaking.

       "Solar! Solar! Wake up! What in Equestria is wrong!?" Luna said, concerned. I awoke to her and Celestia next to my bed. I was soaked in sweat with my pillow drenched as well.

       "Are you ok? What happened? I wasn't able to go into your dream, what was going on in there?" Luna said. I couldn't speak, i was in shock.

       "Solar, you fired magic in your sleep, please, you must tell us what happened, this is very serious." Celestia said. I looked, my desk was a smoldering mess on the floor. I finally was able to speak.

       "Sombra was torturing me, he said I'm going to have terrible dreams unless I found the wedge blocking my regular dreams. I dont know what he meant." I said. Luna walked closer to me and hugged me. Her presence comforted me a bit so I calmed down.

       "Do you think these are dreams from his mind?" Celestia asked. Luna shook her head.

       "No, it's Sombra alright. Curse him! He's either toying with him, or he has one of his crystals somewhere on him." She said. She looked at me. "To be sure, you need to sleep again. I know it will be hard, but be strong, we will wake you as soon as something happens, ok?" I decided if it must be done, it must be done.

       "I'll be fine, go ahead and make me sleep." I layed down and waited. Luna activated her magic and I felt myself falling asleep. Finally asleep, my nightmare started.

       I appeared in Manehattan. Little had changed, but it was now completely deserted. I walked around to see if I could find signs of any life. As moments passed, a faint view of a figure was in the distance. The fog started fading around it, allowing me to make out what it was. It was Rainstorm, she was walking away, so I ran over to her. She didn't notice me run up, but I wasn't aware.

      "Rainstorm, are you alright? Where are you going?" I said. She walked passed me and kept going. "Rainstorm?" I asked again. She kept walking, I caught up with her, she didn't even bat an eye. "Rainstorm! What's the matter? What's wrong?" I said. I was pleading for an answer. Again, she kept walking, a sad emotion was fixed on her face. The environment morphed around us, but I was not in control of my actions, so I didn't notice. She walked up to a stone. The stone was surrounded by fog, she walked up to it and sat down, weeping. I stood next to her, wondering what was going on. I looked at the rock, it had something inscribed on it. It read "HERE LIES SOLAR ECLIPSE." I became engulfed in tears. I looked at Rain.

      "Rain, I'm right here! I'm fine!" I said. She only kept looking down, crying. "Why won't you answer me, I'm right here! Please, look at me!" I screamed. I grabbed her, she was as cold as winter. I shook her to no avail, I no longer existed in her world, she was gone. Defeated, I rested my head on her shoulder and wept. It was my fault she's gone, and I can't do anything to help her. "I'm so sorry." I said. Everything faded as I woke up. My face was dripping with tears. Luna hugged me again, i turned and cried into her.

      "It's ok Solar, I'm here, it's ok, what happened?" She said.

       "Sombra, he's torturing me with nightmares about Rainstorm, make it stop!" I screamed. Luna looked at Celestia and shook her head.

       "Solar, Celestia is going to look you over, stay still." Luna said. I did, and Celestia scanned over me, she didn't stop until she looked at my horn. She poked at something, it felt as if there was something stuck at the base of it. Painfully, I twitched.

       "Ah, here it is, you were right, sister." Celestia said. It felt as if she pulled a splinter out. Once gone, she showed me what is was. It was a small crystal. "This is a piece of his crystal, this is how he is messing with you. Those dreams should be over now, but you may have some residual dreams occasionally. Luna will be able to assist you with those." Luna hugged me tighter, I felt comfort, but exhaustion was taking over, so I layed down and passed out with no dream ensuing.

       Waking, I walked around to find Celestia, since she took the crystal. As I walked I was wondering what that crystal was. She was in the library when I found her.

      "Hello Solar, feeling better?" She said as I walked up to her. She gave me a warm smile, I smiled back.

       "Much better, what is that Crystal? Is some sort of magical carrier?" I asked. She picked it up and held it infront of me.

       "Kinda, it was designed by Sombra to bring out ones worst nightmares. While we were in the empire, you must have gotten it stuck on you." She explained. I looked at it with hatred, but was intrigued by it.

       "Does it hold any magical power?" I asked.

      "Very much so, this little shard is too powerful for one to possess. I've ordered for it to be placed-." Someone spoke up behind us, vivid I might add

      "No, I wish to have it."