The Search

Chapter 1

************************************************************************

Stefan could just vaguely remember what life before all of this morbid suffering. It was great, filled with peace, prosperity and euphoria. Until that fateful day dawned upon his joyous soul, crushing everything he loved, scattering it into the abyss of non-existence.

He felt defeated. It was as if someone had decided his fate for him, his actions and thoughts merely written out on a page for all to read. Who could possibly force such a terrible fate upon him? Even if it was the case, did the author of his life really have to do this? Couldn't he or she give him a less painful storyline?

Stefan would have continued looking out into the vast emptiness of Space through his view port, wondering the point and purpose of existing, but was jostled by the gruff voice of The Captain, “Attention all crew members! Return to your assigned positions! We got pirates off the starboard bow!”

Marksman Stefan readied up his weapon systems and he started letting off shots using his 2 Chain Vulcans and Glaive Beam. He had to admit; whoever was his competition was doing a crap job at performing well, his shots were horribly timed, wearing down the shield only for it to recharge. Soon, The Skillful Marksman finished off the pirates with an unending barrage, causing their ship to quickly dissolve into nothingness.

“Dam that’s overpowered,” he thought to himself, the captain obviously knew where to put their investments at. Stefan added another streak onto his notebook, it was the 17,520th ship killed by Stefan in sixteen never ending years of service, and he spent most of his time here, since he was an orphan, he had no family, and since he had no family, he focused on his work.

Therefore in sixteen years, he had become an Ace marksman, constantly practicing on the simulator, never losing a battle. He was poop at piloting though.

*One wormhole later…*

Finally, after being pulled apart then placed back together, they had reached Canterlot, it was a massive planet which had one of the densest traffic routes passing through it, and Stefan felt miniscule compared to its sheer size. He gazed outside his view port; he saw a plethora of ships, cruising around serving whatever captain had commandeered it.

“This is the Royal Space Federation of Equestria, present your data chips, or be fired upon,” A hologram of their insignia appeared on the captain’s screen, it was a shiny golden Galea (helmet), and it had different colored crests, ranging from titanium white to navy blue.

The Captain transferred his crew member’s data over to their receiver dish, he felt spooked, the last time he came here, they weren't so ‘on the edge’. “You are clear for entry, stay safe” the guard spoke before the hologram dissolved into thin air.

The Captain pressed the announcement button on his holo-desk and cleared his throat, “to all crew members, it has been an honor serving with you all, I wish you well in whatever endeavors you might pursue, and with that you may go”.

Stefan stood up and collected his belongings from the cabinet beside his bed, then switched his hologram projector on, a picture of a young colt standing beside a happier, less troubled Stefan appeared, suspended in mid air, it reminded him of many carefree adventurous days, filled with nothing but joys, but it also reminded him of that horrible moment, seeing him enter the orange and black evacuation ship, not to be seen again.

Stefan closed his eyes, visualizing the colt standing in front, wearing a smile on his face, looking at him with his smooth brown coat, which made him feel all tingly inside, accompanied by a lifting feeling. He opened his eyes; they were glossy, filled with the regret of not admitting his true feelings to the one he adored oh so very much.

Stefan exited the ship really wanting some sort of alcohol to quell his burning desires. The bar seemed like a good place to find some, so he headed there, through the waves and mountains of people to get there.

The moment he opened the door, a pungent smell of quality alcohol descended upon him, nevertheless, Stefan grabbed a drink, paid for it and dragged him and the bottle to the back of the bar, where he was isolated from the rest of the patrons. He could be sad in peace, without being questioned.

‘I hope he’s safe, where is he now?’ Stefan quickly found himself lost in troubling thoughts; he has continuously tried his luck, offering his services as a ship weapons operator in exchange for transport to different planets to search of his beloved.

As of now, all of his efforts were futile much to his dismay.

After a fruitless search across the major cities, he would browse through the immigration records of that planet, port or outpost, if that turned up nothing (it has been, for 3 years), he would try his luck in the lesser known parts of the place, he would ask question like ‘have you seen a colt with a brown coat, black eyes, goes by the name of Midnight-Strikey?’

Sadly, they would usually respond with ‘No man, none close’ or ‘No, but I hope you do find him eventually.’ Then, he would find himself in a bar, drinking to forget. This has become such a reoccurring theme that whenever someone challenges him to a drinking game, he would always win by a landslide.

But on the rare occasion that he does find a lead, once in a blue moon, he would celebrate by high amounts of cheering.

Minutes later, he exited the bar, ready to start the disheartening cycle of failure, and then Stefan decided that the digital records would serve as a great start. He whipped out his phone like a gun, spinning it around his fingers, just like a balaclava wearing assassin would.

Stefan started scrolling through the list of names, narrowed down by appearance features, all the while doing it in secluded area. (This wasn't really legal, mind you) And again, he was very disappointed.

*Three Disappointing Hours Later*

Stefan with a heavy heart decided that now would be a good time to go sleep. Thankfully, he had bought a small house not too far from the town center, so he quickly made his way there.

[Insert Walking and House Entering Montage]

Stefan lay onto his springy bed and wondered what will he dream of this time? Who is that mysterious figure whom keeps visiting him in his dreams, telling him not to be crestfallen? What will tomorrow bring? He pondered these thoughts for a few minutes before slowly closing his eyes, ready to enter the eternal domain of subconscious.