The Faint Glimpse of Light

Strider calmed himself enough to feel comfortable in the presence of the Princesses but he couldn’t help but feel troubled as he thought of the citizens of Equestria suffering from this terrible war. He felt an unusual sensation in his heart which made him sit and cling to himself. “What...sorcery is this?” He was unsure about what to feel from this point forward. Out of pity for the slaves of Sombra and the bystanders who were suffering for nothing. “I-I know not what I’m feeling...but I am unsure if I should trust you…” He backed away slowly toward the window but the Princess of the Night spoke up. “Please don’t leave us worthy subject, for we require your assistance. Or more of our Kingdom shall perish. We ask you out of fear for our citizens.” As soon as she ended her sentence all four princesses bowed for approval but Strider was too shocked to even reply, or move. “P-please, I don’t understand any of this…” Strider gazed through the window unsure of what to make of this contradiction that he was about to step into. “I-I…” Just before he could answer a large crowd of guards with weapons (Including Shining Armour) arrived to apprehend Strider wielding several swords and weapons. “He’s holding the Princesses captive! Get him!” Before Strider realized it, he was caught off guard and managed to get hot by one or two of the deadly weapons, nothing too serious but it was enough to get him bleeding. And managed to shove him out of the window, which was at least 3 stories high. “Gah!” Strider screamed like he never screamed before and managed to stop himself, thanks to his trusty sword which he used to stab a wall which was sturdy enough to hold him tight.

“Search the perimeter, bring me the prisoner and we shall deal with him befo- Ow!” A book which was thrown at him by Twilight brought him attention. “What is it?!” He rubbed his forehoof against his head where the book struck and Twilight glared at him. “We had it all under control! We were only speaking to him under utmost importance!” Shining felt distraught and shook his head. “You’re negotiating with the enemy, and it’s my job to bring an end to them!” Celestia grew irritated with the quarreling siblings and spread out her wings while jumping out of the window. “My liege!” Screamed a random pony and all of the attention of the room went straight to the window. Celestia was flying around the castle in the cold where she was sure she saw the fresh blood of a wounded pony wandering straight into town. So she followed the trail unnoticed by the several working ponies with the fire pits. Until she came across an angry earth pony with a food stand. “Get back here you good for nothing thief!” Celestia instantly knew it was him so he continued to follow the trail of agitation. “Hmm…?” She turned her head to an alley of trash where two young fillies were sharing a loaf of bread and apples. “Where did you get this food?” The princess sat by the two startled fillies, possibly siblings. “T-the nice pony gave it to us…” Celestia dropped a small bag of bits by the fillies out of dismay and continued to follow the trail right into the woods where she saw a faint glimpse of light. Possibly a fire. “D-damn…” Strider shook in pain as he attempted to make his way back into the woods while attempting to put out the fire but stopped. The only thing to keep him warm was a small fire and black and velvet red hood he stole, much like the food he gave to the fillies.

“Comfortable?” A familiar voice asked as the flames grew slightly larger with a bit of magic. Strider sighed and shook his head. “You shouldn’t have followed me...I’m no use to you. I am just a lost cause.” Celestia took a seat next to the cold and wounded unicorn and looked down upon him. “What is your name?” Strider looked down. “I don’t know…anything about my past...not where I came from, my name, or the meaning behind my cutie mark…I am truly a lost cause.” Celestia looked into his eyes and saw the crimson red that the fire reflected off of the sparks and ash within. Some time passed and the only sound that could be heard was the blowing of the wind and the snapping of the fire until the ruler of Equestria spoke. “. . . how are your wounds feeling?” She clearly cared but Strider didn’t buy it. “Fine.” He said plainly and tried to keep the silence up. “Ow! What the hell?!” Celestia glared toward him and shivered slightly, just enough for Strider to notice. So he just sighed and made sure that there were no bloodstains on the small hood he had and wrapped it around her shoulders with his magic. “It’s not right for you to freeze on my behalf.” Strider stood and took small limps toward the forest but Celestia levitated him to her and brought him back to the castle. As blood still seeped from his wounds. He eventually passed out and was set on a table for a nurse to care for him. “I think her name is Red Heart.” Strider thought as he dozed off, from both exhaustion and blood loss. Dawn peaked upon the horizon and Strider woke in a small cot in unsurprisingly the dungeon. “Damn…” he looked around and noticed somepony walking down the walkway and it happened to be that same nurse. “Oh, hello.” She said as she set down a small platter with some food. “Who brought me here?” Strider rubbed his head as the caretaker opened the cell. “Under her majesty’s order she declared that nopony besides me and the other Princesses are to have contact with you.” As much as Strider wanted freedom he knew that he was gonna be there for a while.