Origin: Alaru

Alaru considered defying him but after a moment he found himself following along the dark corridors. They arrived in the throne room where the tapestries hung with the images depicting ponies and other creatures fighting monsters and Alaru now noticed that a few depicted scenes where the heroes failed. The sight of the false sun was now replaced by the moon in the windows over the thrones. He could now clearly make out the shape of the Mare on the Moon now that he wasn’t running for his life.

As Alaru was looking around the room he hardly noticed as Starstin led him purposely through the center of the room. It surprised him when something seemed to seize his hooves and he looked down to see an elaborate transmutation circle. Dark magic swirled around him and as much as he struggled to stand straight it became harder and harder until he was dragged to the ground by the magic.

“What are you doing to me?!” Alaru screeched at him as he strained against the magic in vain and his wings were spread out against the circle as he hit the floor.

“You can understand what I’m saying now, can’t you?” Starstin growled.

“Of course I can!” The young pegasus replied hotly, “What kind of foal do you think I am?” He realized a moment too late that Starstin was hoping for an answer like that and that he was speaking in the language of the shadow walkers in order to test his son.

“And you’ve killed your best friend, your brother,” Starstin replied, ignoring his son’s harsh tone. The air began to shimmer around Alaru and he screamed in pain as something started to grow from his head that gave him a splitting headache. He realized, with great apprehension, that it was a unicorn horn—no!—an alicorn horn.

“I don’t want this,” he howled as he continued to struggle and the pain intensified each second until the process drew to an end at last and he laid gasping and shaking.

Starstin drew closer and hissed, “It no longer matters what you want. You will do as I say or you will be destroyed. I will live on and there’s nothing you can do about that.”

The pressure of the spell subsided and Alaru trembled as he tried to stand and Starstin began to chuckle even as Alaru looked up with glaring, swirling orange-yellow eyes. Rage swirled in his chest and energy built in his new horn. Everything seemed to slow to a stop leading up to the moment when a blast of molten fire burst from his horn’s tip and seared through Starstin’s chest. He staggered back, startled and surprised. He tried to say something but all that came out was a sizzling hiss. Alaru barely noticed as spiders began to creep from the corners and the cracks in the walls, too shaken by the sight of his father whose eyes were growing uncharacteristically wide.

“You never cared about any of us. You didn’t care about Darcian and me and after my mom stopped being any use to you, if you ever cared for her to begin with, you discarded her. You don’t even care about the country you rule, letting the ponies in the village starve,” Alaru growled. “This is what I think about your power game!”

He placed his hoof firmly on the side of the horn and started to push as hard as he could. At the same time he could feel himself using magic to expel it from his forehead. It came free and slid loudly against the floor, bouncing a few times on the uneven stones as he threw it away. He took a few deep breaths, feeling light-headed and sick for a moment just as Starstin hit the ground.

He wasn’t quite dead; Starstin was breathing heavily though it was obvious that he couldn’t catch his breath and it was certain that he would die and soon. Alaru was just now starting to notice the spiders as they streamed around his hooves like a rush of water around jutting rocks. He shivered and tried not to move though he was afraid that his father had summoned them.
They started to swarm over Starstin and a sense of foreboding and apprehension filled Alaru but it was decidedly not for fear that they would help him. They began to bite and tear into his flesh and his face contoured into a silent scream, unable to make a sound. He turned his head and squeezed his eyes shut, shivering though he was almost afraid to close his eyes for fear of the spiders turning on him.

“They’re only here for him,” the Crow whispered in his ear, “His Shadow Caller was a spider. Their kind of the most unkind and brutal and won’t give an inch to weakness. You’re lucky that yours is a crow. We at least wait until your dead before we feast.”

Alaru gulped as he got a strong mental image of his body, dead on the ground, being feasted on by black birds. He retreated from the room, spiders crunching loudly under his hooves that still streamed from the cracks until he was finally clear of the room and his father’s body.

Spiders care only for their own strength. That’s why they eat and kill each other. Do you remember the gate that you went through? It was decorated with spiders now that I think about it. That’s a dead giveaway if I’ve ever saw one, the Crow cackled and Alaru was tempted to yell at him, to tell him to shut up.

He wanted to find his mother. To plead with her and tell her what happened but he realized that he didn’t know where she slept at night. He didn’t think that he could even manage to explain it to her when he was shaking so badly. He retreated to a part of the castle far from the round chamber and his room where his brother lay dead. He collapsed to the ground, scrambling as close to the wall as possible for warmth, and tried to fall asleep. He was shaking so badly that he didn’t think that he’d be able to sleep ever again but it was not long before he fell asleep.

The next morning he awoke to sheer darkness. Normally there was enough light to see by in the hallway but there was nothing but darkness now. He realized that he never really thought of where the light came from before now, other than perhaps Sterling, and it was unsettling to have it gone now. He stumbled to his hooves and struggled in the dark, trying not to catch his hooves on any jutting stones. He forced himself to calm down and as soon as he did he found his senses opening and after a moment and a map was beginning to form in his mind that shown him where to step without falling. After a moment he slowly made him way through the halls to his mother’s garden, hoping that she hadn’t decided to stay in her room.

A bit of hope began to surge in his chest as he started to see the light from Rosepetal’s garden streaming into the hallway ahead. He galloped until he was in the room and came to a dead stop. The light hurt his eyes after coming from complete darkness and he closed them tightly. His eyes were watering but he could hear a soft coughing so he turned towards the sound. It seemed to take forever but after a while, opening his eyes in increments, the blinding white began to fade and leave in patches until it finally was gone even if everything looked a bit blurred and there were still some dots. Not only did the light bother his eyes but it also seemed to feel heavy on his shoulders. He was finally able to see though so he tried not to let it bother him too much. The one who had been coughing was his mother.

“Mom,” he whimpered and went to stand beside her. She had been laying on the ground and her cheeks were redder than usual. She looked at him with fevered eyes but she still managed to struggle to her hooves. She smiled at him though it faltered when she saw the bloody scar on his forehead. He hadn’t realized it but removing his horn had left more of a mark than he thought it would.

“Your forehead,” she whispered and then shook her head. “Did that happen when your father died?”

“Y-yes,” Alaru replied, startled. “How did you know? Wasn’t it only last night?”

“The lights are all out and the sun hasn’t risen,” she nearly whispered.

“What do you mean? There’s still light here in the garden so why not just have Sterling fix it? Why would they go out just because my father’s dead?” Alaru said in surprise.

“Sterling has been dead for quite some time,” Rosepetal replied gently. “Haven’t you noticed that you haven’t seen anyone but your brother, father and I lately? The last thing he did was make this spell for me; the day before he died. Where is your brother?”

“I was trying to…he tried to kill me…Darcian is dead,” Alaru stuttered and began to shiver. He started to look down but Rosepetal leaned into him and nuzzled his shoulder before he could. It nearly looked as if she had just fallen. He realized that she was now slightly shorter than him and he didn’t know what to make of that.

“I know. I thought something like this would happen but I didn’t want to believe it could go so far. At least I still have you. You’re taller though, just like Starstin when he became an alicorn. You also finally have your cutie mark. It looks like a brown hill with a spear through it. There’s a red ribbon tied to the spear,” she said in a calm, soothing voice even as he started to sob.

“My cutie mark? I read about them but you always had yours covered and father’s was too badly scarred and Darcian never got his. I was too young to remember what Sterling’s looked like. It’s supposed to be a representation of what a pony’s special talent is, right? Does that mean that I’m always going to be a killer?”

“That doesn’t have to be what it means,” She mused, shaking with a small cough, “It could mean that you’ll always stand tall despite the horrible circumstances that are laid before you. You’re kind and brave and you’re going to be very strong one day. I know you, my son, and I know you’re not the type of pony to be corrupted by power. It could mean that rather than using your power for yourself it will be used to protect your stance and bring peace to those around you.”

“What am I supposed to do?” He whimpered and he couldn’t help but shake as she realized that it felt wrong for him to be shaking like a colt now. “You’re sick and I don’t know what to do. I can’t even raise the sun because I don’t have any magic.”

“Everything is going to be okay,” Rosepetal murmured, trying not to cough anymore. “It’s only a passing cold. You and I will figure this all out but I want you to know that no matter what happens everything will be okay in the end.”

“You’re not just trying to tell me that to make me feel better, are you?” He demanded, both upset and slightly angry now. “I’m tired of all the lies. I just want a straight answer!”

“I want you to understand that there isn’t one and I don’t even know how things will turn out,” Rosepetal finally replied after a long moment of silence. “I also want you to understand that no matter what happened I have strong faith in you and your ability to make it out of this.”

“What if I want to save everyone?” he mumbled quietly as he laid his head on her shoulder.

“I want you to understand; I need you to understand,” she whispered before saying aloud, “Sometimes there are things that you can’t change that has become deeply ingrained and I need you to accept that maybe you won’t be able to do everything you were hoping for and that’s not always a bad thing.”

He nodded miserably and muttered, “I think I understand. I’m going to see if I can find some blankets for you. Will you rest for me?”

She nodded, giving him a weak smile before laying her head down on her hooves. He gave a satisfied nod in return and went off back into the pitch black hallways. His senses sharpened almost immediately and he distantly wondered if there would be a time when this power he had would become dangerous. He didn’t want to think about it but he wondered if there was a possibility that he would accidentally kill somepony like he had ended up killing Starstin. He knew and believed that Starstin deserved what happened to him, or at least partly, but he found himself shaking when he considered what might happen if somepony he cared about in the future approached him when he was angry, upset or fighting. He nearly found himself walking into his room but he paused when he remembered that Darcian had died there.

He didn’t want to see his corpse. He also had an irrational fear that his brother’s body wouldn’t be there at all; that the spiders had eaten away his body. He continued walking rather than risk not finding his brother’s body. The problem he immediately faced was that he had no idea where to find blankets besides his own. He wasn’t even sure if there were blankets anywhere else in the castle and he certainly didn’t want to use Darcian’s when his death was still fresh in his mind. He started walking closer and closer to the wall until his flank brushed it. He stumbled away in fright when he felt cloth, thinking that it might be spider web. He then realized that what he felt was a tapestry and felt immediate relief. He had completely forgot that there were tapestries scattered around the castle as well as the throne room and was quick to tear it down to drag back to his mother’s garden.

He closed his eyes as he went, his senses sharp enough to keep him from stumbling, not to mention his night vision wasn’t strong enough to make out each jutting crack under his hooves. He hoped that keeping them closed prematurely would make it easier for his eyes to adjust to the light. As he approached the room and started to see light through his eyelids he slowly started to open them and let light in little by little until he was able to enter the room without squinting, or at least not as badly as before.

“I’m back,” he said with a grin and his mother just opened her eyes and gave him a weak smile before sinking back to sleep. He started to feel worried but tried to push that down as he approached her and started wrapping the tapestry around her. His heart jumped as he saw what it depicted. The wolfpony.

The blood in his veins ran cold as he remembered the last time he had seen it, more than a year before, and even more so when he remembered what it had told him. The only reason why it didn’t harass the villagers at night was because it didn’t like the light from the sun, even the false sun. There was nothing stopping it from staying out in both moonlight and complete darkness when it had senses that allowed it to go where it liked without the light. For a moment Alaru considered finding the horn and trying to reattach it in order to raise the sun to keep it at bay once more during the day.

“No!” He hissed, already trotting back out and into the hallway’s eerie darkness. “I swore that I would never do things like my father and I have to keep it. I’m stronger than I was last year and even without the horn I have the strength of an alicorn—even if it’s an artificial one—running through me. I can’t just let it run free either. Even if I didn’t care what happened to the ponies of the village eventually it will realize that my father’s magic is no longer protecting the castle and attack. He might find the garden.”

Alaru let the thought trail away, not only because it was starting to freak him out how he was talking to himself but also because he didn’t want to think about what the monster might do if it found his mother’s garden. The thoughts of what might happen if he didn’t act drove him forward through the dark hallways, his hooves thundering on the stony floor and his flank scraping against the walls and corners as he made sharp turns before finally bursting through the front doors and into the outside. He stopped for a moment, feeling a bit out of place and uncertain.

It felt almost natural for the castle to be in complete darkness but outside it felt absolute and oppressive even as his senses painted an image of shadowy outlines before his eyes. His pulse began to race as he drew closer and closer to the arch in the gate. Even though he had a strong feeling that it no longer had any power it still felt like the absolute entrance and exit and that it was still the last thing standing that protected him from what laid beyond. With everything he had he forced himself to cross through the arch in the gate and step on the other side even as his mind screamed at him that it was too dangerous.

Is that just me or the Crow? Alaru considered once he was far enough away to force himself to firmly believe that it was too late to turn back. It doesn’t matter. I’m here now and I’m not going back even if the Crow knows my limitations better than I do.

At first he thought that the ponywolf would spring at him at any moment and he walked tensely but the longer he walked the more he began to wonder if he would even meet with the beast. Maybe he just doesn’t come out unless the moon is out. Maybe he’s afraid of the dark like Starstin.

He froze as he saw a dark figure ahead of him on the road. He cast his night vision out but he couldn’t quite make head or tails of who it was. All he knew was that it was a pony.

“What are you doing out like this?” He finally asked when the pony didn’t move. Alaru considered that maybe the stranger simply hadn’t seen him.

“I was about to ask you the same,” the pony replied in a rich, deep tone as Alaru drew closer. “This isn’t exactly the most hospitable place to live and I would think it would be too dangerous for ponies to come out with total darkness such as this.”

“Then why are you out here?” Alaru asked brazenly before giving a sigh and adding in an attempt to make it sound more polite “Out of curiosity, I mean.”

“You could say that’s the reason why I’m here actually,” the stranger replied. “I was curious about this place when I was younger and since then I’ve made a lot of decision, decisions that have kept me from going back home.”

“Why not go? I don’t see how anything’s stopping you from returning home,” Alaru replied, tilting his head ever so slightly.

The stranger shook his head and turned toward the distant horizon. “Do you see that over there? If you look close enough you can see a line of light where the sun is shining; the real sun.”

Alaru squinted and realized that the stranger was right and the longer he looked the more it began to look like there was a curtain with a bit of light shining under it that separated his land from the rest of the world. “That’s amazing,” he whispered, “but you still haven’t told—“

“Some ponies have secrets that they just can’t share. You were born here though so I wouldn’t expect you to understand. This place is dark and desolate compared to the world beyond. There’s plenty of better places than this and I hope that you live long enough to see them some day. Better yet, I hope that this place becomes a place worth living in so it won’t matter whether or not you were born here, let alone if you die here,” the stranger said. “I was called Bellantone, by the way.”

“My name is Alaru,” he replied, scarcely looking at the stallion as he continued to watch the horizon. “It looks like it’s starting to get darker over there.”

“No,” Bellantone replied, “it’s getting brighter here. The moon is going to rise soon. If you haven’t noticed it’s the late afternoon but I guess it’s really hard to tell now.”

“Have I really slept through the morning?” Alaru muttered before turning with a startled look back at Bellantone. He took a shaky step back as the grey pony’s hair began to lengthen and grow thicker by the light of the rising moon.

The ponies muzzle grew more streamline and its teeth began to sharpen as it seemed to grow bigger though it might have just been the hair which changed from grey to a reddish-brown. In any case the pony was becoming more muscular and its hooves began separate and become more finger-like and sharpen, the cartilage becoming the claws. The eyes changed from a dull brown to a vivid yellow that swirled like seething plasma.

It’s not natural, Alaru thought with horror as sudden fear caught him and he realized that this was the same beast he had so confidently come out to fight. He thought about his mother and how she would be torn apart and until then alone to fend for herself if he lost here. Of course it’s not natural. He told me that himself after he almost killed me the last time we met!

He took a jump back as the beast already was trying to tear him apart with rending claws despite how it still trembled from the transformation. “Why are you here? I swear I warned you what would happen if we met again like this,” The beast snarled.

“I have to kill you,” the young pegasus replied, shivering as he took a few more leaps back to keep clear of Bellantone’s sharp teeth and claws with a few strong flaps of his wings.

“Is that so?” The beast hissed. “How do you suppose you’re going to do that? You can’t even get close enough to touch me. Are you going to buffet me with those pitiful wings or maybe you’re going to throw rocks at me from afar like a scared grade school foal.”

Alaru grimaced as he took to the air and replied, “I’ll figure it out. Don’t worry about that.”

“You’re right,” Bellantone replied, “I’m not worried. Not at all.”

The ponywolf launched itself at him in one strong leap, tearing its claws through the air as it drew closer and closer. Alaru had to think fast and was just barely able to fly out of the way as the tips of its claws brushed him, leaving shallow cuts across his chest. As soon as the beast landed it circled around from behind, ready to jump on his back. Shadows flared around Alaru and the ponywolf fell upon empty air. Bellantone growled angrily and looked up to see that Alaru was now flying far overhead.

“Are you just going to hang around up there until you can fly no more or until I figure out a way to get you down?” Bellantone grumbled, slightly annoyed. “Though this is far more fun than I’ve had in a long time. It’s been a while since the villagers have left their homes after moonrise. I’m practically starving.”

Meanwhile far in the sky Alaru was trembling. “What am I going to do? He almost got me. I could have died just then. He was right. I’m not ready to fight him but…what if he gets in the castle.” He gave himself a shake before diving down. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do or if it would work after he figured it out but he hoped that something would come to him when he collided with Bellantone. He had learned that his powers as a Shadow Walker weren’t so much in his control but would come to his aid when he needed them most. Still, uncertainly flared in him as his nosedive brought the ground up to meet him along with the ponywolf that leaped to intercept the falling pegasus.

Before he came too close a spear sliced the air and came inches from hitting his right wing. As it passed he noticed the gleam of silver and his breath caught in his throat. He had to change directions quickly, rising back up into the air again after a decisive, premature turn. He glanced around, trying to find the source as hot anger manifested under his skin. Sure enough he saw the cream-yellow pony from before that had rallied the rest to try and kill him more than a year prior. He wore a leather fedora and his eyes were chips of hatred as he reloaded the ballista and once more took aim. It was clear that he wasn’t using it to fight the ponywolf as he pointed it towards Alaru.

Seconds passed in slow motion as the ballista was fired at him and the light of the spear’s gleaming tip seemed to shine around him. He knew that despite how truly it flown he would be able to dodge out of the way but that was no longer his intention. He waited until the last moment, everything seeming to slow down around him, and flipped back, the spear flying over him. He kicked it up with his back hooves before it could catch him or fly completely over and it was knocked higher in the air.

In his state of slow motion it felt like it hung there, suspended and waiting for him. With a quick flap of his wings that propelled him upward he found himself parallel with the spear shaft. He kicked it around and with a powerful strike to the back sent it flying swiftly down, spinning and nearly jumping in the air.

To the onlookers below, mostly the yellow earth pony, this happened too quickly to comprehend but now the spear was heading towards him. It came faster and faster. It’s coming too quickly for me to get out of the way! It’s going to kill me! Cold went through him and he squeezed his eyes shut, though not quite ready for the obliterating, piercing pain. Rather than his own cries it was the cries of the ponywolf that startled him into opening his eyes. What now laid before him was the ponywolf, Bellantone, squirming and snarling in pain. The ponywolf had noticed the pony silhouetted beside his ballista and had come after him, clawing his way over the edge just in time for the spear to dig deep into his back.

The beast continued to struggle and growl in anguish, the spear too deeply buried in the stone of the roof, to no avail. Blood dribbled from his mouth and around his fangs and pulsed from the piercing wound each time he struggled. He finally began to cough up blood, his eyes watering until finally his strength was so diminished that he had to change back despite how the moon still rested high in the sky, unopposed.

“Bellantone? You’ve been alive all this time like this? When we sought the power to take over the castle I had thought you had died. I never would have left you if I thought you were still alive.”

“Demartis,” Bellantone choked, his eyes going glassy, “Killing ponies isn’t any way to solve a problem.” Bellantone was wearing a red fedora, previously unseen in the dark by Alaru, his night vision more reliant on heat, and not visible while the ponywolf was in beast form. It was visible now and as he slumped in death it tumbled from his head and blew away in the wind, hidden in the contrasting shadows. The yellow earth pony, Demartis, trembled and glared up at Alaru even as he seemed to fade from sight. The others of the village surrounded Demartis and hailed him from the ground, cheering him as a hero for killing the beast but all he felt was a sense of rage and loss that he did well to hide as he walked away from them.

“I want to be alone,” he growled as he pushed past the ponies complimenting him on the stairs and even as they gathered around and pondered Bellantone’s body. He imagined it must be strange to find out that the beast that has been terrorizing them for long was a pony like them; a bell ringer according to his cutie mark.
***

Alaru stumbled through the halls, feeling confused and disoriented. “Is that what my cutie mark means? I can’t believe I actually did that. I don’t know how it even happened but…I know I was going to kill him. That is, if the ponywolf hadn’t got in the way. Am I really a monster like my father?”

He was heading back to the garden, feeling tired enough to sleep for months on end, but he hastened as he heard his mother start coughing, now feeling wide awake. He tried not to screech in annoyance—not knowing any cuss words though he certainly would have used them if he did—as soon as he entered the room and his eyes started to sting and smart. His finally was able to see but after a horrifying second he wished that he couldn’t.

She was not dead but it was obvious that she was dying. Blood dribbled down her mouth and he could see blood smearing her hooves where she had worked hard to wipe it away before she had finally gave up. She was now shaking heavily and Alaru quickly laid beside her, more worried about keeping her warm than getting sick himself. It wasn’t something that he could catch anyway.

“Everything is going to be okay,” he whimpered as he heard her murmur something that could have been his name. It was too soft for him to actually make out and it could have been anything, even Starstin.

“I love you,” she whimpered a bit louder and he tried not to cry as he laid his head down and tried to sleep.

“I love you too,” he replied, trying to pretend that he was younger and she was putting him to bed before he was put into his own room the moment he closed his eyes. He couldn’t stop the tears though and he was glad she was too sick to see him crying.

“I love you,” she said again, “Alaru. Everything is going to be okay.”

He fell asleep, thinking that everything might be okay by the next morning but deep inside he knew that wasn’t true. Sure enough when he woke up again she was gone. She was dead. There were no more tears left and he just looked at her with dark, empty eyes. He covered her head with the tapestry she had used for a make-shift blanket and started to walk away but paused. He wanted to know what her cutie mark was so he went back to the tapestry and lifted it so he could see her flank. What he saw was a pink rose that looked wilted as if it was dying and falling apart resting in a calm pool though there were waves as if the rose had disturbed the calm.

“Was this what you were always meant for? To die like this after years of pretending. Maybe you’ve been sick all this time and maybe you lived this long because of Starstin. That’s ironic,” he sighed as he covered her again and left. He didn’t merely leave the room but the castle itself.
He didn’t plan to return, thinking that now that the beast was dead he would be welcomed in the village. The scratch marks across his chest were beginning to burn like fire and he roared to try to relieve the pain that he knew nopony would be able to stop since he was alone and nopony would hear him. It was almost relieving to feel such a pain since it distracted him from the feeling of loss. In the span of a week he found his entire world in ruin and everypony he knew dead.
“I don’t think you’ll find things as you imagine,” the Crow hissed, “Ponies can be cruel to those they don’t trust.”

Alaru snorted but deep inside he felt the same. He didn’t want to stay in the castle though. It was colder and darker than ever now that he was all alone and it frightened him each time he would stumble or bump a wall and hear the sound echo through the passages. Even the sound of his hooves as they walked across the stony floor echoed eerily no matter how softly he tried to walk in the castle. It made him wonder if it was really just an echo. He knew that the ponies in the village probably needed someone to help them also. Alaru wondered this was something new that his father had brought to this land. His mind was too scrambled to recall any history lessons his father may have given him.

He wandered down the streets, the moon just starting to rise. He was certain they knew the beast was dead but they all seemed to be in hiding despite how this was now the only time when light shown.

“I’ve come from my castle to help you,” he called, trying to get at least one pony’s attention that would rally the rest. “I know this is probably scary. I’m scared too but I think I can help. I’ve read a lot of books and—“

A rock hit him in the side and he froze, blinking heavily in order to contain the rage and tears that were starting to well up. “Please!” He cried after a moment. “I just want to help. I don’t care what you guys think of me but I wish you would understand that I’m not like my father. I actually want to help you now that he’s dead.”

He could hear ponies rustling in their homes and a sense of hope began to replace the frustration as he wondered if that was all it took. A rock hit him again though, this time from behind. He turned to see the yellow pony that had tortured him before. Demartis, as Bellantone had called him.

“You’re not going to trick these good ponies anymore. I’m tired of your conniving tongue and so is everypony else. If you want to help us you can go far away and let us inherit your castle,” he said in a mocking tone.

“Why?” Alaru answered, now apprehensive. “So you can defile their graves? I don’t care at all about my father and I can’t deny that my brother wasn’t the best. My brother doesn’t deserve that though and neither does my mother. As far as I could tell she never did anything wrong. She even tried to help the town ponies when she could.”

Demartis hurled another rock at him and it hit him squarely between the eyes. He stumbled back but instead of responding he just bowed his head. He began to shake with rage however as Demartis sneered and replied, “That’s why you killed her. Do you think you can tell me that you being the only one left alive is a coincidence?”

“I didn’t kill her,” he choked, trying hard to swallow his anger. “She was sick. My brother got into an accident and I killed my father because he was trying to change me into a monster as soon as he found out about my brother.”

“It serves you right,” Demartis muttered darkly as he started to pick up another stone and added clearly, “As for your mother. Well she was a filthy—“

Demartis found himself choking under Alaru’s hoof as he slowly started to press him into the ground. He had moved like lightning and Demartis hardly saw him until it was too late. He got in his face and growled, his teeth bared, “Don’t you ever speak about my mom that way. You’ll never do it again!”

Ponies surrounded him though they all kept their distance as they watched from nooks and crannies and through cracked doors. He could hear them whispering about him and the phrase ‘monster’ and ‘fiend’ came up more than once. He cast his gaze around the crowd and he screamed, “Stop looking at me! Leave me alone! He said…He said about my mother…”

“Please let him go,” a young foal cried daring to wrap her hooves around his, trying to make him at least ease up. For the first time he could hear how Demartis gasped for breaths that would not come and Alaru tore himself away in horror, stumbling back with his wings flared in fright. He bumped into another pony and she shrieked and darted away and he yelped and backed from her as well.

“Just leave me alone! Stop looking at me like that; I’m not a monster!” He pushed his way through the crowd that was more than willing to part for him, afraid of what he would do next. He took flight and went to hide away in the castle once more.
***

The next morning, or technically night, he found his mind completely numb though the scratches still bothered him, making him ache with pain at every waking hour. He had not dreamed despite how he could now sense the Crow’s mocking laughter beneath the surface just as constantly as the burning. He realized that he was starting to feel like he was starving but he dared not return to the garden despite how there was likely plenty of food there to sustain him. Even after the episode the night before he felt bad for taking food that the ponies in the village didn’t have. What was worse was he was just as afraid that he would find him mother’s body missing like he had been when he went searching for blankets and nearly walked into the room where his brother had died.

He walked from his tomb, feeling hollow-eyed and stiff. He wandered leisurely down to the village that night and didn’t speak a word. He just returned to the scene of last night and waited. Sure enough a rock came hurling towards him head but before it could strike him he knocked it aside with an outstretched wing. It cracked against the nearby walls loudly and ricocheted and landed on the ground beside his hooves. The noise had summoned the rest of the villagers and they crept from their homes, now looking at him with fright that was closer to actual fear than before when it was just cautious avoidance.

He ignored them and instead turned slowly. Sure enough the pony that had thrown the stone was Demartis but his face was now bruised and bloodied. It didn’t even look like he bothered to wash any of it off. Alaru snorted and replied in a deeper, scratchier voice than that of the night before, “Oh look. I messed up your face.” He did not try to hide his sarcasm though he sounded tired and worn.

“So you admit that you did this!” Demartis yelled at him and Alaru felt irritated with how he was playing up the crowd.

“Yes, I admit you’re an (idiot) and deserved it,” Alaru replied derisively. “Alright. I tried to be nice but that might as well have been a decade ago. We’re done with that. We’re going to do things my way or no way. You guys like fear apparently so that’s what we’re going to have!”

Demartis continued to yell at him but Alaru was tuning it out and none of the others seemed eager to follow Demartis anymore. Alaru still felt a twinge of regret but he tried not to let it bother him as he growled, his façade strong and well, “This is what we’re going to do…!”

The next few months were spent learning how to grow things that didn’t need photosynthesis, such as mushrooms and moon moss. He used his pseudo harshness and sarcasm to encourage ponies to become more in tune with their magic and special talents and soon life became more livable in the kingdom. With Starstin gone there was no longer the magic that prevented them from using most of the skills he had shut down to make them more complacent. Things did not go perfectly but after a while they became mere wrinkles rather than the mountains they were before.
The ponies of the kingdom started to love and respect Alaru though he made sure to act as if he didn’t care and acted indifferent when they tried to offer him things. Even when he was offered a chance to stay with the villagers—even by the youngest—he refused and retired back to his castle when the moon set.

In his castle he would sleep a dreamless sleep in the stony entry hall and he rarely ate, often neglecting eating even when he had food. Rather than growing big and strong he became bonier and bonier though each night he managed to get up and walk back down to the village.

One night he felt so cold and pained that he couldn’t take a step farther after crossing the castle gate. He stared at the kingdom with glassy, cold eyes. He barely noticed the stranger that approached him with a sword on her back. She was a grey unicorn with a dark blue mane and sharp green eyes. She walked like a noble and was tall and slender.

“Are you Alaru, the monster that has been rumored to have been a plague on this land for the last few months?” She said, her eyes gleaming with hatred.

He managed to focus on her by the sound of her voice. At first he looked confused, as if he didn’t hear what she said and he could see her hair raising at his hollow, unsettling gaze. Finally he replied with a ghost of a smile. “I am.”

“Good. Then know that I, Silve, have come to kill you in the name of Celestia,” she replied formerly though her voice wavered a bit at the strangeness.

“Go ahead. No need for formalities,” he croaked.

“You’re not going to fight back?” She hissed, taking an ever so slight step back and she couldn’t help but flinch as she really took in his dilapidated state.

“Do I look like I can fight you? I wouldn’t even if I could though, if that answers your question. I have no family; no friends. I would just ask that you go and check on the villagers once the deed is done. They may hate me but I would hate if they should fall into disorder,” Alaru said with a hint of a sneer.

“Why would you care about them?” She asked, feeling a bit put off.

“They’re my people. I’ve been working hard at making them self-sufficient ever since I killed my father and the sun ceased to rise. You said you were killing me in the name of Celestia, right? I hope that’s not just a saying that your ponies use but if you know her can you speak to her for me. Implore her to raise the sun over this land once more so my little ponies won’t have to continue in this wretched darkness once I’m gone. Starstin is dead after all,” Alaru coughed.

Silve looked confused. This didn’t make sense to her. “But why would you help them? I thought you were the monster that killed ponies!”

“If that were true the reason would be that if I let them die there would be nopony left to kill,” Alaru replied sarcastically. “But I’m not a killer; at least not realistically. I’m sure I convinced my flock that I am. The last time I killed a pony was when I shot my father through the heart—the lung?—well it really doesn’t matter. Now that I think about it if I really wanted to I could kill you.”

Silve’s frown deepened and she took her sword from her back and positioned it to go through his heart. He smiled, his eyes, his swirling yellow-orange eyes, glimmered with amusement as he grinned at her and it grew darker and darker, the moon setting. They were in complete darkness and Silve knew that all she had to do was put enough pressure on the blade to pierce his chest and end him. Everything seemed to be bathed in a grey light that slowly started to grow in color and she wondered at how she could see everything so clearly.

“I never thought the day would come. It’s nearly blinding but beautiful nonetheless,” Alaru sighed, “I’m glad I lived long enough.” Silve then realized that she wasn’t imagining it. The light was real and as she turned her head she could see the sun rising before her.
“I didn’t know it was so late in the night,” Alaru said, looking surprised and pained as he squinted at the light. “I bet they were worried about me after I didn’t show up but I guess that’s how it goes.”

Silve heard a thump and turned quickly to see that Alaru had collapsed. She cast about, looking for something that could help him. She didn’t know when the situation changed from killing him to helping him but she found himself trying to wake him up.

***

Alaru woke up in a bed. He didn’t understand. He fell asleep again.

***

Silve sat beside him, watching him as he slept. He didn’t look much better than before but she knew that he was getting better. “He must get better,” she whispered. It all felt strange to her. She had never felt this kind of compassion for somepony before and she couldn’t imagine why she would feel this way about this dilapidated lump of black and red fur. His red mane covered his eyes. It was obvious that he had not cut it in quite some time, let alone groomed it. It flowed around across his face and neck and some of it tumbled over the small cot. What she noticed most was the small smile, the smirk, which played across his face. She couldn’t imagine loving a stallion that seemed to flow with such dark and despairing mirth and yet that’s what she felt.

“It’s illogical,” she whispered and tried to hide her blush as he started to shift about in the cot.

“What’s illogical,” he asked, his voice dry and cracking. He struggled to sit up but with his face contorting in pain fell back down again.

“Nothing,” she hissed. He had startled her. “Would you like a drink of water?” She pulled out a sponge and dipped it in a bowl of water she had waiting for him. He drank from it gratefully as she held it to his lips.

“Where are we?” He groaned as he cast his gaze around the room. “This isn’t my castle. You didn’t take me away, did you?” He noticed the filtered light streaming through a nearby window covered in dust. It didn’t seem quite right. It was too bright and warm. He still wondered if seeing the sun rising was really a memory or just a cruel dream. The mare is still here though.

He didn’t hear what she said in reply, slipping back into unconsciousness. “He’s asleep again,” Silve finally muttered after she realized that he hadn’t heard any of what she had just said. She had told him that they were in the house of one of the local villagers and that they had helped move him here. She had also told him that they had come looking for him after he didn’t show up that day.

“He’ll be fine,” the old pony that had offered up his home said. “He’s a strong colt. He’ll be fine.”

“He told me when I found him that you all hated him. That couldn’t be true though. You all came looking for him and you even let him rest in your home,” Silve said, not taking her eyes off of Alaru. “You’ve let him have your home for weeks even.”

“I could see how he could say that. When his father ruled we were neglected and abused and many ponies feared Alaru because of how much he looked like his father. We all believed that he would become the monster that his father, Starstin, was and that made us blind,” the old stallion croaked. “Some still are afraid that he’ll change and things will go back to how they were.”

“I came here to kill him,” Silve said quietly.

“Well don’t,” the old codger replied simply. “He’s done more for us than anypony has for years. It would be a shame if the young prince were killed after he helped us the way he did. He had every right to despise and torture us like his father for how we treated him.”

Silve nodded and the old pony walked away after a moment.

***

Alaru finally woke up again a week later. The old pony that had offered up his home was staying with another so he didn’t mind that Alaru had been there for so long. Alaru was up and trying to march out the door this time around and Silve had to practically stand in his way to stop him.

“Are you sure you should be up and moving about?” She said crossly.

“I have to check on everything since I was thinking of leaving soon. Where did you say you were from?” The dark pegasus asked, not looking back as he stood in the door frame.

“I never said,” Silve replied, “but I’m from Equestria. My parents and two sisters live on the outskirts of the Everfree forest.”

“Excuse me if I should lack the knowledge in which to appreciate where the Everfree forest is,” Alaru replied in order to hide his excitement.

“You were the one who asked,” she shot back, following him out the door as he walked out. He stumbled and after a moment let her support him as they walked side by side. “You really shouldn’t be up so soon after just waking up. At least drink a bit of water first.”

“The last time I did that it knocked me out,” he joked, as he continued to walk. She could hear ponies talking amongst themselves and they started to walk with him though none of them came closer than a yard. She felt slightly disturbed and nearly stumbled as he stopped suddenly.

He looked around at the gathered ponies and a few of them cheered him. “He’s back!” and “Where do you think he’s been?” were echoed again and again in the chatter.

“Listen,” he said, addressing the gathered ponies, “I’m going to make one last round and then I’m going to leave. Where’s Demartis. I want to talk with him also.”

“You’re retiring to your castle already?” Someone asked from the crowd. “The sun’s out! Don’t you want to enjoy it?”

“Demartis is gone,” another pony called out. “He’s been gone for a long time now. Nopony has seen him for at least a month!”

“He’s gone? That’s a shame,” he replied sarcastically, “It looks like you all will have to take care of yourselves from now on. I’m leaving and not just back to my castle. I’m leaving the country. I know you all are looking for a king out of me but I’m not your king and I never will be,” he thundered.

“What do you mean?” a few ponies called out. Another few cried, “Then how are we going to survive?”

“You can make your own decisions. You don’t need me to tell you what to do when you already know what to do. Take care of each other. Vote on things that will affect all of you if you must. Just don’t look for me to help you do it. You can even vote for a new leader but I promise you that if you give one pony all the power there will be a struggle when a new leader less deserving decides they can push the rest of you in the dirt like my father did. I’m not immortal and you shouldn’t expect the next generation to clean up the mess,” he told them, stomping his hoof in the end.

“Please don’t go,” another pony called and another added, “You’re not well enough to travel. At least wait before you abandon us! You might collapse on the road and then what?” Yet another pony called out, “if you wait you might realize that you don’t want to leave after all!”

“I guess I’m going to have to live with that,” Alaru sighed, “and if I wait you’re probably right. I might decide not to leave. I don’t want to build a nation full of foals reliant on me though. I might come back one day to check on how things are going but don’t expect me to stick around.”

“Alaris,” a stallion in the back called and the rest started to call it out as well.

“Alaris! Alaris! Alaris! Our nation, Alaris!” They all cheered.

“Call it what you want,” Alaru replied lowly, pretending not to care as he turned about, “but I’m not staying.” He turned around and began to trot away though Silve still had to help him.

As he promised he went through his regular routine, taking in how they were growing and seeing how things were being resolved. They had started planting new things as well now that they had the sun back.

“See!” One of the famers said excitedly. “Won’t it be great to see how they’ll grow?”

“It would be. I’m glad you all will be able to see that,” Alaru replied coldly, turning away. It was night by the time they were finished and he could hear them cheering when they saw him heading back to the castle like he did every day. It wasn’t to stay though. He wanted to pay homage to his mother one more time.

“Are you really sure you want to leave these ponies?” Silve finally asked him though she had kept her silence through most of the day. “Don’t you have a responsibility to them?”

“Absolutely,” Alaru replied. “I couldn’t live with myself if I should leave this place to somepony that won’t cherish the work that I’ve worked so hard to make, especially if that somepony is my own foal.”

“Somepony may very well take over if you’re gone,” Silve argued, “somepony like that.”

“Perhaps,” Alaru sighed. He was starting to feel better, or at least stronger, so he drew ahead of her. “But at least I won’t be here to see it and like I said, I’ll be coming back one day. If I return home to a dictator then I guess I’ll have to clean things up again and start over but I don’t want that dictator to be my son or daughter that blind-sided me long enough to destroy everything I worked for. I don’t care if that sounds wrong when I don’t even have a mate.”

She looked down and blushed and he glanced back and chuckled, “that may change but that doesn’t mean I’m going to keep this place. Besides, I don’t have a home anymore. I don’t have anywhere to live and I don’t have any intentions of living in the village. It’s better if I go.”

“What does that even mean? What about the castle? Are you going to try to burn it down?”

“It’s easier to disown stone than to burn it,” Alaru replied sarcastically as they approached the gate. It didn’t have any actual gate to close because it was closed off with a spell and he simply stood outside of it, looking in. He murmured something that sounded like a prayer though Silve couldn’t imagine who he would be speaking to.

“Fine,” she replied. “Then where are you going to go?”

He looked back and smirked. “I thought it would have been obvious if I haven’t told you yet. I’m going home with you and there’s nothing you can do about it. Well nothing but kill me.” She glared at him and he just laughed.

“I wanted to know something,” Silve said, being the direct unicorn that she was, “do you love me?”

“What kind of question is that? I barely know you. If I was to love you I would be grateful that you nursed me back to health and helped me see my village one last time before we left together. That would be preposterous,” Alaru laughed aloud, not looking at her.

“What does that even mean?!” She yelled at him.

“It means yes,” he replied, wiping his tears away. He couldn’t help but wonder what his mother would have thought of him now. “I know you probably think this is strange but you’ll have to deal with it.” He told her when he noticed the look she was giving him. “Let’s leave while the moon is still full. I also don’t want the rest of them to catch up or they might see me crying.”

Silve didn’t know what to say. It felt strange for something like this to happen to her. Something so sudden and inevitable.

“Okay,” she replied quietly, not knowing what else to say as she followed behind him as he started to trot down the path. She didn’t even bother to tell him how foolish it was for him to be leading when she was the one who knew where they were going. He paused and she nearly ran into him.

“What’s wrong?” She asked and he shrugged a bit before trotting back up the path back to the castle. Caught on the fence was something that looked like red and black cloth but the closer he drew he realized that it was a fedora and he gingerly gripped it in his teeth. Before long he had it on his head.

“Now we can go,” he told her when she gave him a strange look. “You should lead this time.” She rolled her eyes at him and took the lead and together they walked on together on their way out of the country.
The Crow bubbled with mirth.