Sweet Pink Sunset

Title: Sweet Pink Sunset

Chapter 0: Prologue

A/N: Yes, this is my first fanfic and yes the start is just a little slow but action rolls in pretty soon. The main six have a large role to play in this fanfic and is based on a certain timeline within season 1 and season 2 of FIM.

Originally uploaded on fanfiction.net. After being convinced, I decided to upload it here as well, so my previous status updates will not show here. My next status updates however, will.

If you would like to view the artwork of my oc's, there's a link to my deviantart page in my bio :)

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"Hey, Twilight!" a voice called from behind.

Twilight Sparkle turned to greet the voice she knew well and found that Forest Thundertred was running up the dirt road with his unkempt brown mane curving back in one spikey row.

"Hi Forest, what's up?" asked Twilight.

"I just finished up with helping Mr Cake at the sugarcube corner for today, Pinkie Pie told me that his wife is feeling kind of ill so I offered to do them a favour for today." He said while brushing his hoof against his goatee.

"Anyway I just wanted to ask, are you on your way to the library? I was wondering if you have a book of moral boosting spells, you know, like ability boosts and stuff like that," he continued to say.

"Of course, you're welcome to check out anything you like. I'm sure that I've got a book like that in the library," Twilight replied while giving the stallion a grin.

"Thanks a bunch, I'll walk with you then," Forest said, gleefully.

"You're welcome."

As they turned and walked down to the library, Twilight noticed a marking around Forest's horn which resembled three quarters of a ring. 'I don't think I ever asked him about that before and I'm kind of curious, I wonder if it means anything' she thought to herself.

"Hey Forest, I've been wondering for a while now about that marking around your horn, does it signify anything special or does it have a meaning of some sort? You don t have to tell me if you don't want to, I haven t really seen something like it on a pony before," she asked, seeming a bit peckish about it.

Forest stopped dead in his tracks when Twilight completed her inquiry, although not looking nervous, but it seemed as though he was staring into space. Twilight thought she had brought up something personal but Forest quickly came back to his senses and smiled. "Oh, heh, this old thing?" he said while directing his ocean blue eyes to look up at his horn.

"Well, you see, this mark actually has something to do with my family but... I'm not really sure how to say this. I sometimes feel magical properties from it but I haven t really uncovered any hidden potential from it yet. You know what I mean?"

"Oh, umm, I guess..." Twilight replied while looking a little unsatisfied with his response. 'Magical potential, maybe that's something I can look into' she thought to herself.

"They weren't around long enough to tell me about it, Twi." Forest added while looking down and softly kicking the ground with his left hoof.

"Oh, right yes, sorry I didn't mean to bring them up like that I should have-"

"No, no, don't worry about it, you didn't know anyway and besides, I don't mind talking about it." Forest told her as he smiled.

Twilight smiled back and nodded.

The day was getting late as the sunset gave out an intense shine of deep orange, blending with Forest's coat. 'It's almost like he's being camouflaged by the sun' Twilight mused. The stallion noticed the shine and turned his head halfway away from the mare so that his eye could just catch a glimpse of the sight.

"Sunset already, huh?" Forest said, and with that he was reminded of the past.

Before Forest had decided to take residence in Ponyville, he used to travel all across Equestria helping villages and towns that had trouble with 'outsiders'.

When Forest was just a colt his parents were killed in a civil town war. His mother and father who were two mighty users of combat magic, took down twelve other ponies before they died, all in an effort to protect him.

The sky was grey and cloudy with an unusual type of darkness surrounding the town, on the ground lay the parents of a young colt named Forest Thundertred. The little colt sobbed and could not believe the madness he had to witness. What was this war about? Why were friends becoming enemies?

Forest's mother and father then looked at him to use their last few breaths to give him the final words of wisdom he would receive from them.

"Be strong my son," Forest looked up with misty eyes as he heard his father s voice.

"You must move on, I'm sorry your mother and I cannot be with you any longer. We had so much to teach you."

Forest's mother then began to speak. "We love you so much my strong little stallion, we will always be proud of you no matter what and we will always be with you in your mind and heart."

"Son, promise us you will not fill yourself with rage and darkness, these things happen for many reasons even when we don't want them to." His father stated.

"I... I promise" said Forest as he released a shaky sigh.

His parents smiled, looking paler than before, Forest could tell they didn't have much time left.

"Promise us you will stick to your dreams even now and try your best to find love and friends in the future." His mother intoned.

"I promise" he said, this time while sobbing.

It was a rainy night as well, he could not remember everything clearly due to the weather, all he knew is that it was raining, cloudy, dark, and his parents were on the ground slowly losing their grip on life. The fact that he could not do anything made him feel like a burden to his parents, but he stood by the promise he made them. They nodded at him and at the exact same time they told him:

"We love you our son, Forest Thundertred, our joy, our light. Be strong."

Their eyes slowly began to seal, and he cried into the night, his plea for help lost in the pitter-patter of rain.

He stayed next to them that whole night until the next day when he was found fast asleep by town rescuers. He woke up in a foster home a few hours after being collected. Forest remembered the feeling he had back then; hoping he had woken up from a nightmare, but alas the grim fable was reality.

Forest did not have many friends whilst being educated in the foster home, there were a few colts and fillies who had also lost their parents due to the civil war and they decided that 'every pony for himself' was the best way to go. With this, he decided to excel in combat magic, learning from a book which had belonged to his father that was also the only item he had left with from his home. That and a family picture of him and his parents. He practiced everything he could from basic to advanced, from defending himself to defending multiple allies, from attacking one opponent to striking multiple opponents.

Once he was old enough to leave the foster home, he set out to explore Equestria. After a few good years he decided to carry on a career as a 'defender' in Ponyville. After the numerous amount of stories he heard about the current three, he found out they needed one more.

With this information bestowed upon him, he began writing letters to the mayor of Ponyville informing her of his existence and interest in becoming the fourth defender. With acceptance he moved into Ponyville so his skills could be tested to prove that he was the real deal. He was then arranged to be toured around the town by Twilight Sparkle. The mayor picked Twilight due to her outstanding organisational skills, and so they befriended each other. Twilight soon decided to introduce Forest to her friends, having him well acquainted with them. He then met up with the other three defenders, Jokey Bizarre, Boa Quakes, and Arrow Distorton. Three ponies that he had such a powerful bond with that he was not hesitant to call them his siblings.

It was then that Forest had finally met the ponies that were truly important to him, his loved ones, his friends. Because of their acknowledgement he was able to carry on his dream to become a protector, a defender of Ponyville.

Although it was Pinkie Pie herself that was able to shed the most joy to Forest. The two had much in common, the ability to just be happy. He was always able to make her laugh and smile as she would do the same for him. After they had learned so much about each other they soon fell in love with each other. Forest was with the mare of his dreams, he believed he had the greatest friends anyone could ever ask for and was also able to become the stallion he had always hoped to become. A protector.

He will always be there to protect his loved ones no matter what and help them in any way he can. He was determined to make sure no other pony would have to go through what he did.

"Um, Forest? Are you ok?" Twilight asked.

Forest quickly came back to his senses from the memory. "Yeah I m fine. It's getting late, Spike's probably wondering where you are right now."

"Oh right, well let's go then."

Forest and Twilight then continued to the path of the library so that Forest could pick up on the book he asked about so he can finally call it a day and go back to his residence with Pinkie Pie. And one day, life threw an overwhelming challenge at him.

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A/N: please tell me what you think, critiques are highly welcome, so please review... please? this is my first fic, and i hope you guys will enjoy it. i've got something pretty special planned. If you do not like the idea of OC/Canon shipping then I don't think you would like to continue, but I am working hard to make this story as entertaining as possible.