Azariah Lucius Taylor sat against a tree with his white T-shirt, black pants, and black shoes dirty. His black hair which he normally kept combed and well kept was now messy and unkempt. He had a few scrapes and bruises on his hands and lower arms from the woods he was in. He looked to the few things he had with him, a backpack with a few change of clothes and other things he thought he'd might need at the time while the the other thing was a case which held his acoustic guitar.
He thought back on how exactly he came to be in this state, the main thing was a flash of light that he walked into when he saw it appear in front of him. Now he knew other people would probably say "Who in their right mind would walk into a bright flash of light that appears randomly in front of them". Well he wasn't really in the right state of mind at the time and there were a few things about that night, One being he was going through some things so he wasn't really caring, and the other being that he was high. That mix of things rather clouded his judgement and when he was no longer high he was quite shocked at being somewhere he didn't remember being anywhere near home.
Since then he's spent the past two weeks walking around and looking for a way out of the damned woods he found himself in. He sighed and took out his guitar and smiled down at it with happiness at the fond memory of his mother giving him it. But that memory quickly turned to the sad memory of his mother passing away and from that memory came memories he'd prefer not to remember and wished would go away.
He shook his head and relaxed as best he could and closed his eyes as he began playing the guitar and singing a song. He sang Simple Man by Shinedown since it reminded him of his mother. As he sang and played memories of her came back to him.
He smiled with a bit of sadness at singing the song. His mom had taught him that song shortly after getting him the guitar. He loved music and books since he was a kid, while other boys played outside he preferred to stay inside with his mom since he and her enjoyed books and music, she got along with him better then she did his father.
He shook his head again with agitation at thinking of him. With that he put his guitar away and closed his eyes as he decided to take a nap before having to continue looking for a way out of the woods.
A Hour Later
He woke up to the feeling of his leg being nudged. "What is it Storm Light ?" He heard a female voice ask with a bit of worry close by. He kept his eyes closed wanting to ignore these people and get back to his nap.
"I don't know but what's this ?" He heard a male voice ask with curiosity. He then heard the sound of my guitar strings being touched. At that he sat upright and was wide awake with a lot of agitation.
"Don't Fucking Touch My Guitar!!!" He yelled causing the two other's in the small clearing to jump back. He was shocked at the two creatures in front of him. One was a pony with a light blue coat, pink mane and tail, and magenta eyes but what caught his attention was it's wings. The other was also a pony with a purple coat, green mane and tail, and blue eyes but it had no wings.
"I-It can talk" The pony said with a shocked female voice. This completely shocking him at hearing the pony speak. Before he could fully get a grasp of this new information the winged pony moved towards his guitar.
He very quickly punched the winged pony and grabbed his guitar and backpack. "Wha-whatever the fuck you are stay away from me and my guitar" He said before making a run for it out of the clearing. He didn't see it but the two ponies ran the opposite direction of him.
He kept running for a good while and only stopped when he saw it was dark. He panted with a bit of exhaustion and collapsed out of exhaustion. He closed his eyes and choose to fall asleep.
A Week Later
He laid down on the ground breathing heavily from all the running he had been doing lately. A few days ago he started to be chased by ponies who were wearing armor. "I guess I made a bad first impression with those two" He laughed a bit as he remembered the first two ponies he had encountered.
He looked in his backpack and saw he had no food left and groaned as he was hungry as heck. As he sat against a log he looked at his guitar case and heard the sound of wings go by overhead and sighed. "Well they know where I am now" he said exhaustion as he had finally given up on running from them anymore.
He stayed where he was and waited for the inevitable which came much later then he had expected. It was dark in the woods when finally they came out. Nearly three dozen armored ponies surrounded him and he figured there were more probably hiding.
"Have you given up trying to run... Creature ?" The armored pony infront of him asked with caution in her voice. He noded to her since he really didn't have any other option's left. As she came closer to him he put up his right pointer finger as a way to say 'one minute', the others immediately became defensive but she held her ground and looked at him quizzically.
He grabbed his guitar case and put on his backpack before speaking. "I'll come along and won't resist, I have a couple requests, first I want to keep my stuff with me since they are all I have, and second can I have something to eat, I don't have anything to eat which is why I finally gave up trying to run" He says to her shocking her and the other armored ponies with her. Apparently they must not have known or believed he could talk.
"Y-your requests are reasonable so until we get to the king you may keep your belongings" She said to him after overcoming her initial shock. He offered no resistance as they put him in chains and started leading him away. Their journey lasted for a few hours and nothing really interesting happened.
When they finally reached a castle Azariah was quickly lead to the throne room and apparently without many others noticing them as the armored ponies seemed to be avoiding going through certain areas or something. But when they reached a set of large doors the armored pony he spoke to and gave his requests to went in first. After a minute she came back "The king is currently occupied with Night Court, so he needs to go to the dungeons until his duties are done" She said as he was then lead away.
Two Days Later
Two days after he was taken to the dungeons was how long it took for a pony to come and speak with him. A Large Female Pony with a horn and wings entered the cell he was kept in. She looked wonderful, her coat was mainly white but turns orange down her legs, her mane and tail started as orange and turned into what looked like space at the end, her eyes were pink, and she wore a tiara as well as what he could assume were regalia.
She smiled at him sweetly and warmly. "I am Queen Galixia of Equestria, I'm sorry my husband has been occupied with his royal duties, but I heard of what happened and would like to speak with you, may I please know your name ?" She asked him kindly. She sat down in front of him and kept her smile, the way she sat down looked like she was laying on her legs.
"My name is Azariah Lucius Taylor but I prefer being called Taylor, I'm sorry for what happened in the woods between me and those two ponies, I've been going through some things and I care greatly for my guitar and didn't want to see it broken" He said to her gesturing to his guitar. Queen Galixia just looked at him sweetly but the way she stared at hi. made him feel strange. He watched as her face showed sadness after a minute.
She came a bit closer to him and what she said next shocked him. "You ranaway from your home because your father blames you and accuses you of being the reason your mother died" Galixia said with sympathy for him. He looked down after this as this brought back the painful memories he really wanted to keep buried and never again remember, but instead of him burying the memories again he finally let them get to me and he started to cry.
Queen Galixia came closer and wraped her wings around him and soothes him. "I-I wasn't th-the reason she died, h-he was, he had h-her go and get something and s-she was runover, s-so I ranaway t-to find a better home" He cried into her fur with sadness. She continued to soothe him for the next several minutes before he managed to pull myself together.
"Young one you will stay in the palace with us" Galixia said to him with kindness and care. He hugged her happily and still with a bit of sadness over his painful memories. They remained like this for several minutes before she tells him kindly to follow her.
A Thousand And Twelve Years Later
He wore a black cloak which covered my entire body as he leaned against the wall of the train and looked out the window. His guitar case was with me on the seat next to me. His hair was now down to my shoulders and he now had a well trimmed goatee.
He sighed as he remembered the past, mainly the times when he was still mortal. Among the memories he remembered are the memories of how he was back then and then of his fiancés. He couldn't think of why he was doing this especially since they believed he passed away long ago.
As he looked out the window he rubbed a hand on his chest and felt the scar he got from one of his old fiancés. That scar reminds him of the day he gained immortality, his status as prince being taken away, his heart being broken by the loss of both his fiancés, and why he kept his heart from being open to more heartbreak. The day after he got that scar he swore to himself, he would change, he wouldn't be Prince Azariah Lucius Taylor of Equestria, Betrothed of Princess Celestia & Princess Luna, now he was Dark Light.
Dark Light, a man who was famous for many things, some bad but most were good. The good being Dark Light The World Famous Musician who was coming to a town to open a Music School and settle down, The Hero Of The Caribou Revolution which made a democracy called The Caribou Republic, and several others. The bad however being Dark Light The Arch-Mage of Dark Magic even though he was allowed to do and master Dark Magic, and The one who slew The Caribou Royal Family even though he only slew the ones that wouldn't adjust to the change of their nation.
One of the very few who knew who he used to be said "On the outside your Dark Light but no matter how much you try and convince yourself or tell yourself otherwise, deep down you will always be Azariah Lucius Taylor". He laughed him off and told him that who he once was is forever gone, his fiancés made it like that. The one who said that to him was Discord.
He closed my eyes as he felt that old bond slowly grow a bit stronger as he rode the train to his destination, Ponyville.
Author's Note
I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.
Several Years After Arriving In Equestria
Azariah slept in his bed peacefully as the day began only to be woken up by the sunlight as the sun shined through his window. He groaned and begrudgingly got up from the comforts of his bed and went to his bathroom to get ready for the day. He looked at himself in the mirror and his hazel eyes, spotted beard, side burns, and mustache that were getting more noticeable, both of his future wives didn't like him having long hair or facial hair since they loved his normal look, so he shaved off the facial hair and sideburns before he showered and brushed his teeth.
He used my magic to get the clothes he would wear today, Galixia and Cosmos told him that when he was brought to Equestria he somehow developed an affinity to magic so he's been being taught magic for a while by Galixia until the magic he had a particular affinity for turned out to be dark magic, since then Cosmos has been teaching him magic since he knows more about dark magic. He put his clothes on and got his hair the way Celestia and Luna preferred it. When he was all done he looked at himself in the full body mirror that he had in his room.
His hair was dark brown, short and in a small pony tail. His clothes were a black shirt with the sun and moon on it, he wore dark blue pants, and black shoes. He also had on three rings which each had a unique symbol on them, the symbols were the sun, a fading crescent moon surrounded by the night sky, and the last symbol was a guitar with a crown, the ponies who made the rings for him had made a couple of tries until they got it correct. He also wore a necklace with that same symbol, and finally he had black crown made of a strange mineral that he didn't know, on the crown was a set of gems that were supposed to resemble him, Luna, and Celestia.
He laughed as he thought about how he was supposed to marry Celestia and Luna. At first his relationship with Celestia and Luna was bad since they played pranks on him that were kinda mean. But do to being the only thing that was genetically compatible with Alicorns, their relationship slowly improved as they spent more and more time together. During this time we developed a magic bond between the three of them, this bond was made it so them were connected and that it would strengthen their love.
He gave one last look to the mirror and smiled before leaving his room. Since the whole thing with him being Celestia and Luna's future husband started Cosmos and Galixia made him The Crown Prince Of Equestria, meaning that after he married them he'd be King Of Equestria and they'd be Equestria's Queens. This also caused some problems for him whenever he was alone outside the palace.
Before he was made Crown Prince of Equestria the nobles for the most part ignored or avoided him since he was basically just someone who lived in the palace with the royal family. But the minute he was made Crown Prince all the nobles changed their attitude towards him. Now nobles want to get to know him and some try to get him to side with them during Day Court on issues that for the most part he didn't really want to be involved with.
A portion of the nobles didn't really care for the ponies that weren't nobles. So he tend to avoid being present at Day Court since he really didn't like being put on the spot. But when he was required to be at Day Court he tried his best to listen carefully to what the nobles are asking for to be approved or things like that so that he didn't make a mistake and accidentally approve something that would be bad for Equestria.
While he walked to the dining hall he hoped that Cosmos wasn't present today since some days he is either finishing up Night Court or no nobles had arrived to petition for something to be approved. Azariah's relationship with Cosmos was okay at first and then it improved when his affinity for dark magic developed but after he and Galixia made him Crown Prince their relationship has started to be on a small decline.
Cosmos has started teaching him about being King Of Equestria and how exactly to do things since he was now his successor. He believed Cosmos wants him to rule Equestria exactly like he rules it when the time comes for him to be king. He also doesn't like his interests in music since he claims a king doesn't have time for such things.
Cosmos is a large Alicorn Stallion with grey eyes, an almost pitch black coat, and his mane and tail resemble the night sky much like Luna's mane and tail but different. When he entered the dining hall he saw Celestia, Luna, Galixia, and Cosmos were all present. Not even a second after he sat down, Cosmos spoke to him "Azariah, you are late, do you plan on being late when you are King ?" Cosmos asked him with a bit of a stern tone to his voice.
"No, I do not plan on that sir" He replied to him quickly as her expected him to. Galixia, Luna, Celestia, and Azariah believed that Cosmos knows that he scares Azariah quite a bit. Luna and Celestia get on either side of him as Galixia talks to Cosmos.
"Taylor, thou knows father wouldn't hurt thee a second time with mother present" Luna whispers to him in an attempt to get him to stop being scared of Cosmos. Luna was referring to when Cosmos spanked him during the second year of him living in the palace. His butt hurt for nearly two weeks and during those two weeks Galixia kept him with her twenty four seven, this made Cosmos have to sleep alone while he recovered.
"Cosmos, can you perhaps be a bit less stern with Taylor ?" He heard Galixia ask Cosmos with the same kindness she is famed for. Before he could try to eavesdrop more Celestia licked his cheek causing him to blush deep red. Celestia does this on occasion to see how far she can go with it until other ponies would say something about it.
When the food is brought out we start eating. Since Azariah is an omnivore he was eating some eggs and bacon. When they finished eating Galixia and Celestia went to Day Court while Luna snuck out of the dining hall at some point leaving him with Cosmos. "Azariah, you have the day off from your Magic and Ruling Lesson's, but tomorrow you will pay attention when I teach you" Cosmos says as he gets up and leaves to most likely go to sleep.
With that Azariah got up and headed to the palace gardens that were just outside the palace. He hoped to get some peace and quiet and alone time, not counting the guards though. Roughly twelve minutes after he started to relax in the gardens his hopes were washed away.
"Oh Prince Taylor, what a surprise to see you here" He heard a mare say. He slowly opened his eye's the entire time thinking to himself 'please don't be a noble, please don't be a noble'. When his eyes are fully open he was greeted by what he already figured was the speaker, A Noble.
He looked at her and a few things go through his mind, the first being why isn't she at Day Court like most Nobles are, what was her name since he didn't recall ever seeing her before, and what did she want to try and get him to side with or against. "Greetings Miss... I'm sorry I don't think I've had the pleasure of making your acquaintance before now, may I ask what your name is ?" He asked her while forcing a smile onto his face as he was taught by Cosmos. He told him that he should be polite to the nobles and act with courtesy even though he disliked most nobles, and the most important thing, find out what they want and be careful how he responds after he found out since a noble would be waiting for anything he did that they can use to say that he approved what they wanted.
She smiled at him and bowed gracefully before speaking. "Oh my apologizes your highness, I am Blue Shimmer, I came here to see the nice plants and didn't know you were here, but since you are may I ask you a few things ?" She asked with a smile. Upon hearing what she said he thought to himself 'dang how did I know you wanted to ask me a few things ?'.
"Why of course you can Miss Shimmer, but why not ask Queen Galixia or Princess Celestia instead ? They are holding Day Court at the moment after all" He asked her with a forced smile and with politeness. He could tell that she will most likely come up with some excuse as to why she is asking him and not Galixia or Celestia. But to his surprise she gasped which he couldn't tell if it was a fake gasp or a real one.
"I didn't know Day Court had started, thank you your highness" She said sweetly and bowed before heading into the palace. He truly wasn't buying this and walked over to a guard. He tapped the guard on the helmet and he turned around to see him.
The Day After Nightmare Moon Is Banished
He breathed heavily as he had been running non stop for the whole night. He was bleeding from where Luna, no from where Nightmare Moon stabbed him with her horn and if she was telling the truth where she cursed him. He collapsed to his knees and can't hold back his tears as he started crying.
He held where he was bleeding and with a small amount of dark magic and what remained of Nightmare Moon's magic healed the stab wound which just barely missed his heart, even though the wound is healed there is still a scar. He panted and looked down at the rings that are meant to symbolize his and their love for each other and cried fully into his hands. 'I've lost both my fiancés in one night, one banished to the moon for a thousand years and the other blames me for what happened and exiled me' He thought to himself sadly.
After a minute he pulled himself together and stood up as he subconsciously hardened his heart determined not to suffer a betrayal like this again as he looked towards where he can still see one of the towers of the palace. "Fine, you want me go-gone so bad Celestia, well I'll grant your wish, H-have fun ruling alone si-since you banished and exiled those who sho-should have ruled along with you!!!" He yelled and did the thing that he never would have done before, he threw away her ring and stormed off as best he could. Azariah Lucius Taylor was gone, sealed in his frozen heart where he will never again be hurt or betrayed, now there is only Dark Light.
Unbeknownst to him Celestia had calmed down from her anger and was worried for him. Then she heard what he yelled and panicked as she tried looking for him. Nearly a week later she found the ring of his that was meant to symbolize her.
She cried believing she may have caused him to go off to his death since he had been stabbed by Nightmare Moon and now she couldn't find him.
The Present
He rested his head in his hands as he remembered that night and fought back the sadness. He calmed down as he felt the train stop and realized that he had reached his destination. "Welcome to Ponyville" A Pink pony with a puffy mane said with her face against the train window scaring him a bit.
Author's Note
The rest of his past in Equestria will done through flashbacks that will occur during the rest of the story. The Mane Six will appear in the next chapter, well technically Pinkie appeared in this chapter.
