The Shallowby EasayChaptersChapter 1 - LightChapter 2 - TwilightChapter 3 - SolsticeChapter 4 - DarknessChapter 1 - LightThe Shallow Light ---------- Chapter 1 The bright sunlight already stretched over the beautiful Equestria while Light made up his way through the busy Canterlot. With him was Paperpen, the head of the organizational unit that Light belongs to. "Thereby one thinks that Canterlot is so large. Not only that, the streets are crowded every day, familiar faces are also to be found anywhere." Light moaned. "Now, now." said his companion, "This is probably due to your coat color. A unicorn with dark red fur and an chocolate brown mane is probably unique in whole Canterlot. You just stab out from the crowd Light." Light lowered his head as they turned left at an crossover. His eyes often went on the brownish mare. "And your popularity is simply caused by your excellent skills in the organization. By now you haven't committed any error in your calculations for the organization." "I've already made more then enough mistakes. At some point it's just enough..." whispered Light, still with his head lowered. "Did you just say something?" "Are there any new orders? " Light asked. Paperpen thought for a moment. "Just a small one. A brunch for a small club in the city." Light lifted his head again. "So once again a couple of ponies with the money to be lazy." Paperpen threw an angry look on Light. "Never discriminate customers!" Light looked in another direction. "Yes, yes, I get it." The two stopped in front of a large tower. "There we are already. Seems like nopony else is here." smiled Paperpen. The tower was still completely darkened. Light and Paperpen where the first ones that appeared at their workplace this day. "Miss Chief, our team consists only of you, me and two other ponies. We are always the first, anyway." "Yes, that's true." A fresh wind blew through Paperpens mane. "The days are so beautiful, aren't they Light?" "Hmm ... what-? " Light got interrupted by the loud voice of a foal. "Light!" shouted the kid. "Your fan is here light. 5 minutes. Then we have to get to work." Light rolled his eyes. "You just talk as it would be a pleasure." "Light! Light!" "Yes, yes ..." "Light" "Yes, I can hear you damned." "Have you got some great jobs today? ", The Pegasus colt looked at him with wide eyes. "No, not really, Skyseeker." "Ohhh .... " Light sighed loudly in the round. His eyes wandered through the crowd and stopped at the grinning Paperpen. Her eyes betrayed her thoughts completely. Light turned back to Skyseeker. His lips were directed far down. "If something major is pending I try to direct you to be there." Light cheered him on. The filly jumped in circles for joy. "Thank you, Light!" A smile appeared in Light's face. "Now I really need to get to work, kid." In the same moment Skyseeker jumped around wildly before he slowly walked away from Light. "See you later Light!" he yelled to him. Light pursued him briefly with a gaze. At an crossroad, only a few meters away, a rock crumbled from the house. A large piece of rock broke out of the texture and sprang on Skyseeker. With a yellow glow on Lights horn a shield bubble appeared around Skyseeker. The boulder crashed just off the shield and slammed to the ground. As Skyseeker realized what just happened, a wide grin spread across his face. "Thank you Light!" The second time. Shortly after that, he romped down the road again and disappeared from Lights sight field. "Hard to believe that these deficiencies haven't been resolved yet. Who knows how long this piece was hanging there loose. That could have injure him seriously." Paperpen went back to Lights side. "Good to foals, an outstanding talent in the guardian magic and you don't look so bad. No wonder all the mares run after you." Lights view sharpened. "Right. All the mares out of my imagination. I'm just the lackey. Nothing more." "Don't be so grumpy." Paperpen nudged into Lights side. "I've heard that a certain pony in our team has an eye on you." "I don't want to know." Paperpen rummaged a key out of her saddle bag. She took the key between her teeth and opened the lock to the still darkened tower. "Unicorns have it far easier then Earthponies in such things." She made the first step into the building. "This certainly will make her sad." A short silence layed between the two as they walked through the dark entrance hall. "Tell me, how did you even met Skyseeker? Sometimes you act like a father." Paperpen asked curiously. "Skyseeker? He is the son of some high horse here in Canterlot. I had to prepare a larger exhibition for him and just saved him when he fell from a ladder. Since then he clings to me like glue. Bad enough that he enjoyes the organization industry and that he is falling from ladders without flying, as a pegasus. What a stubborn pony." "I remember the contract. What was his name again?" "If I would remember all the names of the ponies which I had met in a job, I wouldn't do anything else in life. I only know that he has almost never left Canterlot." Paperpens view changed in a mocking tone. "As if you've ever left Canterlot. I know that a year is a rather shorter time with us, but since you joined us you have not set a hoof out of Canterlot." "Yes ... it's already a year ago …." "And I think his name was Thunderbolt Cloudbearer. I'll better check that in my papers." With every floor they climbed up the tower, Light opened all the curtains in each floor. At the top there was the office of the chief, Paperpen. Light followed her into the office and sat down to the desk. Once arrived at her usual workplace Paperpen already began to rummage around. She browsed through countless folders in a frightening speed. Her Cutiemark, a feather in an ink pot with an big pile of paper next to it, she really deserved it. "Here are the documents for the brunch." She put two sheets of Paper on the table. "As expected. Nothing major." Paperpen wasn't listening to him anymore. The search for the documents obviously messed up her order. She just took one folder after the other in her hooves and replaced them correctly back into the cupboards. He put the papers back on the table. "I'll be back at lunch time. That wont take me long." Completely away from the world Paperpen gave no answer. Right now she was completely buried in her own world of paper. Several hours already had passed when Light was back on his way to the office. The sun now reached the lunch time, while the door to Paperpens office opened cautiously. "Light! The customer has already given me notice. As always, good work." She presented a letter which probably included the commendation. Light just sighed without an answer, and slowly sought his way towards the desk. An awkward silence stretched between the two. Paperpen got up from her comfortable chair, stood close to Light and put her hoof on his forehead. Unimpressed, he just looked into another direction. "You don't look so good, Light. But you have no fever." Slowly, he sank into another world, his very own world. It is very difficult to masquerade as your true self. Especially if other ponies think that they really know you. "Maybe you should allow yourself a break. But not too long! I've got a big job and I need the best of the best for it. You!" Paperpen almost flounced as she said this. From sunny days she spoke. Without assessing what was before and what will come next. You can't blame her for that, because youself chose to be against the truth. "Can you hear me at all?" The mare looked at him with wide eyes. "Light?" His trance dissolved. "Yes, a break would be good." Without looking back again, he went on his way home. Paperpen just shook her head and let him go. At home the emptiness if silence already waited for him. He had never been in love, and therefore no mare could wait there for him. Only the dark and cold walls. He lived on the corner of his salary while it was enough for a far better live. It's a shame that somepony with his skills represses himself. At least some of his organization team think so. But Light feels the silence very relaxing. If everything goes to pieces, in the silence he can forget the world around him for a moment. From a window in the bedroom he had a good view of the royal palace. There sticked out a tower, Celestia's private chambers. Light just watched him quietly from his window, with the setting sun in the background. What are you just doing? The world is, as always, going in the right direction. The days here are beautiful. Even the with self stress filled Paperpen thinks so. Light sighed. Sometimes I just wish- There was a knock at Light's door. At this time? I hope it's important. He cautiously opened the door. In front of him stood Senity Heartshine. She is part of the organizing team and his colleague. Her voice, her style. She seems to be so shy. A bitter disappointment, in truth she is full of confidence and Light can not stand this kind at all. He even regretted that he responded to the knock. "I heard you didn't felt so well today. I was worried and thought I'd come over to drop by." You have to be careful in what you say and how you say it. One wrong step and she takes you to the horns. At which horn is probably the wrong word. Because she is a Pegasus. "Yes, the job today, I probably was more exhausted than I thought." Her special talent is in the understanding of other ponies. And anyopony who tries to understand me ... "Paperpen said that everything went great at the brunch. And besides, this didn't seemed so hard now. Especially for your caliber." Just one wrong step … "It was just the combination. For a long time I came again to the use of a barrier and my rusty I was probably not quite clear on it." "To me you seem like something occupies you." Damn, there it goes again. "May I come in for short?" Light thought for a moment, but there was just one answers. "Just go ahead." Try your luck. The white pony sat on a sofa in the guest room, in which the guest room, the living room and the kitchen where one room. The three-room apartment wasn't offering much space. Carefully she watched Light trotting behind her. Light sat on a chair, a little further away. His eyes fixed on her slight grin. He could already imagine what awaits him. "Is there something that depresses you, Light?" This honest look. It's not her fault but somehow this is bugging me. "No, no. I'm fine. I already told you. I was just not prepared to conjure up a barrier today." Her eyes wandered around the room like there was something to see. The kitchen was only equipped with the absolute necessary things, and the white color on the wall wasn't worth seeing at all. "Why do you never want to say anything to me? You always bury yourself." The mare turned something on the couch and showed her Cutie Mark. Two hearts that give the appearance to be consistent with each other. The exact opposite of the situation. And that's a good thing. "Listen ... This is not something I don't want to speak about, but it's something nopony can help me with." "At least you admit that there is something wrong, but to bury it in yourself won't make it any better." "To strain others with it, won't help either." "I just want to help you Light." Light sighed. "This constant sighing literally expresses your inner pain." Oh ye gods make it stop." Can I offer you something to drink, Heartshine?" "I already told you enough times. Just call me Senity. Almost nopony calls me Heartshine" "I am sorry, Senity?" She leaned back on the sofa. She seemed somewhat satisfied. At least she draws away from the conversation. "Yes, please. Do you have apple juice in the house?" With a levitating bottle and two glasses Light went back into the room. Senity was already waiting impatiently for him. When she speaks with a customer you can't recognize her. To others, she is always so ... quiet. But to me she reminds me of a bloodthirsty manticore that wants to protect its children. Light poured the glasses and handed one to Senity. "Light, you only hurt yourself with that." "Senity. I'm slowly getting headaches from this conversation." The White Pony pondered about Lights words, she just watched her surroundings and drank the juice completely. "It's getting dark." remarked Senity. "I'll get on my way home. I dare you to not come to work tomorrow. And don't even come to the idea to go out of my way." She grinned at Light. Unimpressed Light led Senity to the door. "Come home safely." This is something you must let Canterlot. It is completely safe through the streets at night, but her words. Tomorrow will be a damn long day. Light layed down on his bed shortly after the visit. With an eye on Celestia's tower countless thoughts about Canterlot and Celestia self flew through his mind. After some time he finally suffocated his thoughts and was able to sleep in peace. Chapter 2 - TwilightTwilight ---------- Chapter 2 Light rushed through the streets of Canterlot. Countless eyes caught the unicorn. How could I just oversleep? For how long was I still awake yesterday? Confound it! Completely out of breath, he finally reached the tower. Unlike usual, all lights were already turned on and a wild ado was going on inside the tower. Obviously, everypony had already found its work. In the fast trot, he thundered up the stairs to Paperpens office. The crash on the stairs drew the attention of everypony in the team to Light, although he did not want that. Without further ado, it became quiet. - Quietly, the door to the office opened. Other than usual Paperpen wasn't buried behind a mountain of paperwork. In front to her sat another pony. A yellow Pegasus. "There he is! I already worried about you." Paperpen beckoned Light to her. With a hanging head he approached to the table. The Pegasus threw a condescending look at him ."Light, if I may introduce to you. This is Skystorm, captain of the Stormguards. I told you of a big order yesterday. Although I did not expect him to arrive already today, but the sooner the better, don't you think?" Light observed Skystorm critically. There was something he didn't like. "Yes ... the sooner the better." repeated Light dull. His eyes fixed on the yellow Pegasus. "Let's come to the business part." Paperpen flapped with her hooves. One could recognize her anticipation from far distance. "Our dear Skystorm and his Stormguards are ordered to let a storm ravage. And this right here in Canterlot. This is where your role comes in Light. It is absolutely important to avoid any damage to the city itself and I just needed the best. Almost everypony in town would probably recommend you to it." Lights look changed regularly. First Paperpen, then Skystorm. Skystorms eyes had fixed on Paperpen, but he was absent. Just as the whole meeting here wouldn't interest him in any way. - Paperpen rolled out a plan with the surrounding lands of Canterlot. "The storm should include all the fields that surround Canterlot. The mountain ranges are less important." With increasing duration Light distanced himself from the conversation. Skystorm was a mystery for him. Either he knew already how it works, it does not interest him how it ends ... or something completely different. "Just as it should work then. I would say, Light, lead him to your office there you can argue the details. This will require a lot of teamwork." Skystorm held his hoof in Lights direction. "On a good working relationship ..." he paused, "What was your name again?" He hasn't even listened a single second to the conversation. Something does not fit. - The door snapped in the lock. Skystorm strolled to the desk with tired eyes fixed on the timber. Light sat down to his opposite. "So Skystorm. We should discuss the situation of the storm over the city. I can not let a single flash strike into the city that maybe causes a fire. Countless ponies could be violated. "Skystorm left his hoof on the table. "Listen ..." he thought for a second, "Light, why don't you just let me and my Stormguards do all the work. We have enough experience and will not damage your estimated city." A spark flashed in Lights eyes. "Yes, maybe we should do that. I might come over occasionally and check it. If I have to note something you will get to know it first." A slight smile pulled on both faces. "Looks like we both know how it goes." Skystorm seemed very satisfied. He rose from his chair and looked briefly to Light. "We'll start work tomorrow. I guess the storm is available in 3 days." Light checked a piece of paper lying on his table. "So, perfect on the proposed date. I make sure that all clearing operations are done by the Earthponies and Unicorns until then." Light waited for Skystorms respond. The silence swelled in the office. Without a word Skystorm moved slowly towards the door. "Then everything is settled." Whispered light. - Minutes passed. The door to Lights office opened again. This time Senity cautiously came in. "Uhm. Am I disturbing you right now?" Her voice was so timid. Quite different then Light was used to, but the same applied to him. He crouched on his chair and looked towards the door with an empty look. His thoughts wandered far from the reality. Senity cautiously approached the desk, pushed his chair to the side and looked directly into the eyes of Light. They flickered briefly and met Senity's eyes then. "Can I help you, Heartshine?" The atmosphere was uncomfortable. She hesitated, her gaze jumped wildly. "You ... you seem so different Light. Are you all right?" Light gave no word any attention. "What do you think of the world?" The question surprised Senity. "Uhm ... I think there is nothing that is in need of a greater improvement." Her eyes were large and were waiting eagerly for answer Lights. He was standing still and wandered towards the door. A Deja Vu played in Lights head. As Skystorm, he was leaving the room, only with his documents in his luggage. "I understand, Senity." Our world is standing still. Then the door shut and Senity was left alone in the office. - A group of Stormguards marched through the streets. Light watched them from the main entrance of the tower. Presumably, they went straight towards the nearest hotel. Skystorm wasn't seen among them. The unusual sight caught many ponies as they walked through the richly-filled streets. Light looked after them until they disappeared behind the next corner and the usual daily grind of the bright Canterlot came back. I must be sure. He continued his way through the streets. What is the plan of the Captain of the Stormguards? Was the entire group inaugurated? What is the goal he wants to achieve? He briefly flew back into reality. He almost was on the other side of the town. The time flew by quickly in his thoughts and just dragged him on through the city. Maybe he's just strange. Annoyed by the world and avoids any cooperation. As Captain, he probably has enough experience to establish the storm by himself, even in Canterlot, maybe he just didn't want a fussy Unicorn around him. - He found himself in front of the palace. Maybe I just should get sure about it. Guards secured the building. The sinking sun wrapped the whole place in red light. After some time he walked to the guards. One of them suddenly stared at Light and walked towards him. With a broad grin, he held out his hoof. "Hey Starglare. Haven't heard something for a long time from you. I thought you'd abandoned your job and already left the town." Light replied the gesture. "Not yet about your second guess. And please call me Light. The old days are over." I don't want to think back on it ... "Okay ... Light. How can I help you then?" The other guard was holding his position and looked empty at the square. "Can you let me into the archives? I imperatively have to look up somepony." The face of the guard darkened. Silently he turned and went back on his post. He waited a moment and then began to talk again. "Excuse me ... Light, but as you've given up your job you also lost any right to the archives. You know I can't let you in. It would also endanger my job." "Yes ... I understand. Maybe we'll meet again someday." Dead end. The sun has already gone down. - Light started his way home. Starglare ... I hope I don't have to hear that name again. He forgot the past and focused on the present again. The streets were dark, but there was no danger to expect. Ultimately Canterlot behaves like a quiet and peaceful community. Even the whole world behaves to this ideal. We live our lives to give life and counter problems. Everything is tuned to a peaceful time, a future led by the timeless existence we call Celestia. Changelings, creatures, and who knows what else is out there that we haven't discovered yet. They all make our lives difficult, but finally they are also organs that are part of our perfect world. - Light reached his home. His thoughts literally had eaten him and he was just happy to return to the silence of his lonely home. The door opened with a slight creak. It's not locked. I've probably forgotten it in the hurry this morning. He looked carefully into the hallway. After a few steps, he put his caution away. There won't be a burglar. With a pounding his ears pricked up again. The knock repeated in a constant cycle. Light noticed that the noise was coming from the living room. Carefully he sneaked to the door and peeked into the room. In fact, the light was turned on and a annoyed Paperpen sat on the sofa with her hoof knocking a beat on the floor. Her view of waiting already revealed the whole situation. Light walked into the room, his gaze on Paperpen. "There you are!" Light lowered his head. The conversation only could go out “cordial”. "Listen, we need to talk …" Her voice dropped greatly to Lights surprise. "Something seems to bother you, right? That you forget to lock your house, the thing with Senity this afternoon ... it does not suit you at all. She couldn't recognize you. And then you haven't even took care of loose branches or other dangers. Could it be that it comes from the order? Is such a big one, connected with so much responsibility, too much for you?" Another one tried to understand me ... And the thing with Senity got around really quick. But it also could be that Senity and Paperpen are friends. "I've been thinking about replacing you with Aspire White." "What!?" The sudden exclamation frightened Paperpen. "Not for the life of me! I'll finish the job. And above all ... replaced by this ... I'm much better suited for that!" "Stop Light. It's nothing personal. I'm just worried about you." "Just like Senity, but I don't need your care!" Paperpen looked away and stared at the floor. Light did after her and tried to collect his thoughts. "Paperpen ... Please." She remained silent. The silence stood in front of Light. She was uncomfortable and almost crushed him. After some time Light looked up again. Paperpen sat motionless on the sofa. Stains adorned the floor in front of her. Only now Light realized the silent tears that flew down of her cheeks and shattered on the ground. In a fast pace she left the house. The door closed loudly. - Still shocked, Light was standing in the living room. His inner tension made him say things which he regretted now. Even if he never wanted to open himself to Paperpen or Senity, hurting their feelings was the last thing he would imagine. Light grabbed himself again and his view tightened. I'll have to explain something later, but first ... I hope for you that you're not planing anything Skystorm! With a new goal in mind, he left his house and entered the path to which he has run before, towards the palace. - Inside the Building Light still could see some lights when he arrived at the great square. Hidden behind a wall, he watched the palace shortly. Some guards patrolled inside the building. Luna kept her guard on the balcony of Celestia. Lights Horn glowed briefly. Sparks flew in all directions, and dried again. The lights grew fainter and fainter, and at the end Light was again in complete darkness. Just what I thought. Shielded from the outside. You can't teleport directly into the archive. Cover was thin and the moonlight lit the room enough to locate a pony. Light was waiting for the perfect moment. A Moment wasn't moving her eyes over and over again, and no guard was to see. After several minutes of observation he sneaked on. A gallop would have only drawn Luna's attention on him. Black shadows wandered behind the windows. There are always guards passing windows, but now he could minimize the risk to get caught if he monitors the windows. Would just one of them come to the idea to watch out of the window Light would be caught. He reached the cold wall. With luck he might even tell that nopony noticed him. - Direct at the wall sneaking became a lot easier. Unlike before, where he had to monitor the whole building Light now just hast to flit past each window. On the backside, he reached a garden. The garden of the bazaar. Light knew the "Royal Palace" only too well. So he knew that at the bazaar is a window which can be opened from the outside. In his past he often mentioned gaps in the security, the only one that never got fixed was this window. Light looked up in the bazaar, just a few empty tables, the garden, also empty. With some magic he lifted the window out of his holder. The lock opened and the window was in the air. Light got in and carefully put the window back to its position. - From inside the room seemed much brighter than from outside in the moon light. Countless windows and doors to the garden. Only one led to the castle. A large double door made of wood. The grain was very gorgeous and gave the bazaar the last cut. It's been a while since he could admire the room. His admiration was interrupted by steps that approached in his direction. Light crawled under the nearest table. Shortly thereafter, two Guardponies came into the bazaar. The footsteps echoed softly through the large room. When it was a bit quieter Light blinked out of the tablecloth for a moment. The Guardponies positioned in the middle of the room and chatted with each other, the passage from which they came was free so far. I better wait until they're gone. I don't want to pull off a scene here. Light went back on his look-out and lurked the two Guardponies. "Every night the same thing. Luckily we work in shifts." If they feel alone, they are very well able to speak. The other one touched the speaking one on."Tell me, don't you celebrate your birthday here soon?" He laughed aloud. "Yeah, I was given the approval. I'm just waiting for the adoption of this organization office in the city. They are organizing a lot of things and their reputation is very good." Aspire White should feel free to take care of it. "Over there are still brooms." The guard pointed toward the door. In fact, 2 brooms stood at the door. Light wasn't even noticed by them. "I bet that they swept the whole mess here just under the tables." Who knows what kind of dirt. "Let me take a quick look. Maybe I can complain to the cleaning crew again!" He laughed hearty. Damn! - The two split up and went to the external tables. Damn it, damn it! Light analyzed the environment. He was in the second table from the window. 6 table were dragging the room. When the guard is finished with the first table, he will find Light. Nervousness overcame him. What do I do now? Think about it! He disappeared in his thoughts for a moment. Magic! No, teleportation is too loud. Barriers! No, it won't help me. I might try to knock both of them out, but then new guards will appear in no time. No matter what I do, I'll be detected! Light tried to grasp himself again. "Nothing to see down here." said the one from the other side of the room. If they already have to know that somepony else is here... how do I get the best out of here! "Here too." The steps grew louder. From his angle of view Light could see the brooms at the door. But of course! The Brooms! One guard reached the table that Light was under. When the guard heighened the tablecloth for a bit a bright light flashed into his eyes. Before he knew what happened, it disappeared. Light appeared at the brooms. Short confused he recovered quickly again. Teleportation really isn't my specialty. "Hey, here is somepony!" The shadow figures galloped toward Light. Light quickly grabbed the broom and the large double door closed behind him. He blocked each handle of the door with the broom. Had there been no handles, they would've got me now. The first guard banged on the door. "Intruder," he screamed. His roar certainly could be heard in the whole castle. Light went on quickly. That won't stop them for long. Guardponies are trained very well. This corridor was relatively free until he reached the entrance hall. The entrance hall was simply partitioned. Two corridors, left and right, the main entrance, stairs to the second floor and to the left of the stairs other stairs that led to the basement, where the archives are. In the hall, the roar of the two Guardponies still was heard. Even very loud. As he crossed the hall steps were heard from the hallway. Light quickly leaned against the wall to the archives. Three more Guardponies stormed out of the hallway Light came from just a second ago. Again more luck than mind. If they just would've came a second sooner... Light scurried quickly down into the archives as long as the guards were distracted by the din of the bazaar. - Down in the Archives Light faced his next challenge. Two permanently stationed guards kept the archive. Damn it! Clock is ticking. How do I get them away there? Light was in a short spacer. A few shelves of books and scrolls decorated the walls. The guards themselves were in a bare anteroom. The anteroom was extra separated by a door, that seemed to be open always, from the spacer. The stamping of countless hooves was heard in the castle. They searched very well through everything to find the "intruder". Light summed up his thoughts again. I've got it! He grabbed a couple of books and scrolls, and threw them on the floor, in view of the guards. It did not take long until he could hear the steps. Slowly the both moved towards the door. Light waited. When they reached the door ... a bright light flashed up and Light appeared behind the two at the door to the archive. At the same time a shield wall appeared in front of the two guards. It trembled and blazed, and in the end it exploded. The recoil threw the Guardponies against the wall of the archive where they then sat motionless, confused by the sudden impact. If you vibrate the inner magic of a shield it becomes unstable. This can go so far that the shield explodes creates a pressure wave, but a shield shouldn't have enough power to hurt somepony. But the worst is that probably everypony in the castle knows now where I am. - Light entered the archive. For safety, he built another shield which blocked the entrance. The archive itself is like a gigantic library. Countless shelves which are seperated into a strict order from A to Z. This was used to be Light's favorite place. Here he was able to hide in case of a lot of stress, but he also could prepare for all situations, because each of these books and scrolls contained informations about all ponies from Equestria which have managed to get a high rank or are attracted negative attention in public. There certainly also was a comment about Light.But Light came here for another goal. His path took him to the shelves which are marked with "S". The sounds were loud in front of the shield wall. Meanwhile, probably half the castle gathered in the hall. Again separated from the real world Light found the folder with “Skystorm” on it. He held out the folder and began reading. His childhood, connection to the Stormguards, his rise ... everything is not relevant! A picture stood out in Lights eyes. A picture with a group photo from elapsed Stormguards. From the time when Skystorm had his rise. One of the Pegasi looked familiar to him. The situation calmed down in front of the shield wall. A voice of a mare was to be heard. Luna! That's its end. The shield dome has no chance against her. He quickly read the list of names from the photo. The shield wall fell and lud surprise was to hear. Thunderbolt Cloudbearer. Skyseekers father! Countless hooves trampled in the archive. Light dropped the folder. His horn began to glow. The chance that this will work is below a minimum. And even if ... I will hate me for doing it. The steps were approaching to him louder and louder. The bright light of his horn attracted the guards like moths. When the first blinked around the corner ... a blinding light and everything was quiet. Light did not know where he was. Everything went black for him, he staggered. The only thing he could realize was a cool breeze. Then he fainted. Chapter 3 - SolsticeSolstice ---------- Chapter 3 Cool air touched Lights fur. The sun rays of the dawn tortured his closed eyes as his buzzing head. It took a few minutes, but finally he decided to stand up. His eyes opened slowly, his head empty of the memories from yesterday evening. Looking around he saw himself lying in a side alley of Canterlot. Damn ... What happened yesterday? Light rubbed his forehead with his hoof. Everything was spinning. Completely weakened he searched his way out of the alley. - There where only a few ponies on the streets, mainly guards. The castle was very close and good to see. Celestia was on her balcony. Her mane and her tail danced in the same wind with a wonderful sparkle caused by the light. The sight was simply majestic, how she raised the sun slowly and how the country increasingly looked like her radiant presence. With every minute the streets became crowded more and more. As the sun appeared completely over the horizon Celestia turned and went back into her private chambers. Light returned to reality. Ah, the evacuation teams! They are still not organized. I gotta go now. The next moments were to be horrible. Light could hardly stand on his legs, but he had to travel a huge distance from the castle to the outer walls of Canterlot. - The tortured walk of Light attracted countless glances at him. They just watched him plod along the road, but then quickly walked away. Light paid no attention for them, their eyes followed him street by street. At the halfway point, about 10 minutes later, Skyseeker ran on his way. "Light! You look terrible!" The concern was to hear formally, as if Light were just dying. Well, maybe he really was. "Skyseeker ... I need to get to the offices of the evacuation teams." "From here, it's still a huge piece!"The Pegasus thought for a moment. "I really have no time to explain it. I must finish my work. Time is running out." The standing did not benefit him. A gradual pain crept up his legs and Lights bearing was getting weaker. When he threatened to fall Skyseeker assisted Light to walk. He just could call this gesture welcome. "Thank you, Skyseeker." A wide grin stretched across the face of Skyseeker as they continued their way to the offices. The upcoming pain from before was disappearing again. - With hard efforts the two finally reached the coveted office. The evacuation team couldn't look for a better place than the last house of the road at the outer wall. As they entered the office, there was already a surprise waiting for them. A white unicorn pranced out of the office of the evacuation team captain. The snooty walk formally screamed for provocation. When the white unicorn striped his gaze through the room his eyes directly sticked on Light. In the same walk as before, he pranced up to him. "Light, my dear, you look terrible. Is all this rising over your head?" "Aspire White." He competes with me since I work in the organization team. Previously he was the best, but then I suddenly appeared without doing any mistake. For all I care he can have the title, I do not care, but he just does too many mistakes. "Miss Paperpen already introduced me to the job. Why don't you just lie down? Take a little vacation. It looks like all the stress is getting you." Some day I'll finish him off, just for his arrogant kind. "Then we'll work together now. How is it going with the evacuation work?" "Everything in the works. Just what you haven't done." "Fine!" I despise him. "And the storm?" "Haven't you looked to the sky yet? Apart from the sunrise or the sunset, we will see nothing from it. The sky is blackening as it was planned." Aspire shaked his head. As if he would think about what bothers Light all day. "Then we split up now." stated Light "You take care of the evacuation team. It has to stand until morning. Meanwhile, I'll see after the storm." Asper White turned slightly away from Light. "Fine. Don't screw it up. After all also the reputation of our team is depending on that. Otherwise I have to cut it out again." Light did not react on it. Together with his walk assistant Skyseeker he left the office. Quiet laughter could be heard behind them. Asper probably found a lot of joy in Lights crippling. - The fortune gave Light no rest. Outside the office, the yellow Pegasus already walked down the street. Skystorm seemed to want to relax after finished work. "Skystorm!" said Light. Skyseeker seemed a bit irritated while Skystorms ears fluttered briefly. At that moment he probably wondered if somepony really called his name. After a few seconds, he decided to look for the sound. The red unicorn was hard to miss. His expression changed significantly as he was coming to Light with heavy steps. "What is it ...?" Skystorm thought for a moment. "Light. I wanted to ask what the storm is doing, Captain." "Light, exactly. I should remember that name. It's just going ahead as anypony in Canterlot can see. I think you should devote yourself to more important tasks." Skyseeker intervened in the conversation. "Are you really the captain of the Stormguards?" Skyseeker grew more excited. His assistance was weakening and leaving Light on more wobbly legs. "Skystorm, captain of the Stormguards!" Until now Skystorm probably hasn't noticed Skyseekers presence at all. His face twisted in anger. "Listen, kid. Don't get on my nerves!" "Are you really the captain of the Stormguards? Is it hard work? Does it make fun?" He tolerated the question bombardment just for some moments. He cut into Skyseekers hysteria. "That's it!" He roared. Skystorm lifted one of his front hooves and overturned Skyseeker. The good physical training of the Weathererponies made it look easy. The sudden loss of his mate brought Light out of balance. He fell to the ground unprepared and his entire body was covered with horrible pain. "Ouch ..." whined the little one. "I really can't stand annoying little ponies like you! Just stay away from me!" Skystorm didn't cared for the two and just left them. - No matter what Skyseeker was going through, it was nothing compared to the pain that burned Light at this moment. Out of sheer pain, he lost all sense of reality. Everything was spinning, getting darker. Light was losing control ... - As the unicorn awoke the pain was gone. Skyseeker stood by him and watched him with wide eyes. "Are... are you all right, Light?" "Yes, I feel much better now." He stood on his legs. His attitude was much more stable. "You were lying motionless on the floor for almost an hour now..." I remember yesterday. Couldn't expect another thing that I am in such a bad condition. Long range teleportations aren't my specialism anyway, and then I try to do it through a magical shield. This could have been much worse... Light checked his horn. Some sparks sprayed wildly into the environment, but no magic was shown. "Seems like I can't use my magic at the moment." He moved around in a circle to look how his body generally is doing. The small Pegasus critically observed Light. "Skyseeker, your father is Thunderbolt Cloudbearer. Am I right?" Skyseeker nodded. "Very good. I need to speak with him." "My dad wanted to fly to Cloudsdale today. I don't know if he's still there." "Then bring me quickly to your house. It is extremely important!" If I couldn't catch him all my efforts would be in vain. Must be fortune that he leaves Canterlot just now after one year. "Are you sure that you can walk again?" "Yes, yes. Everything is fine. We now need to go quickly." Skyseeker ran ahead. With his regained strength it was an easy for Light to keep up with him. He just wondered if he ever had seen Skyseeker using his wings. Even when he fell off the ladder he hadn't used them... - The path towards Skyseekers house was relatively quiet. Light just watched the increasing deployment of guards who scoured the streets looking for suspicious persons. Nothing of what happened yesterday is allowed to come to light. Light thought about the time, when Thunderbolt wanted to fly away today. The sky was darkened completely, so he had no chance to guess the time. "We're here!" Skyseeker became slower and slower until they stopped in front of the big house. Oh yes. Thunderbolt is a nobleman. His house is therefore also very showy. The two entered the house. Even the entrance hall was so big that it overtrumped Light's house. In the hall stood a few benches, seats, for the guests to wait. "Could you please arrange a short interview, Skyseeker? As I said earlier, it is very important." Skyseeker silently saluted and ran up the stairs that leads up to the second floor. Light sat down on a bench. I think I had forgotten to give back Skystorms file. Therefore, I am already in sight. After all, there is currently nopony else working with him. Asper White also joined later. And if the father of Skyseeker belongs to the nobleness I can't allow myself any wrong questions. "Light!" It really sounded through the hall. Skyseeker was louder then ever. Without much delay Light was on his way up the stairs. Thoughts captivated his mind again. Almost absent, he reached Thunderbolts office. "Welcome, Light!" The welcome was much more pleasant than the unicorn had expected it. The office was also very nice. Countless books which adorned the wall in shelves and a decorative wooden desk in the middle of the room. From the desk you only had to turn and you could enjoy all the glory of Canterlot through the window. "With the party you've done me a great favor, Light. Of course you can stop by at any time if you need something." Light brooded over the past time. Apart from the ladder he couldn't remember anything accurate. "Thank you. I have a few questions." Thunderbolt waved Light to the desk. There were two chairs ready, and the both sat down together. "It's about Skystorm." Thunderbolts face darkened slightly. "The storm outside. I'm tasked to plan it together with Skystorm. But I find his ... kind very curious and would like to find out more about him in order to evaluate him. I heard you had worked together with him?" The old Pegasus leaned back in his chair. "Certainly, I once worked with him. I lost my job and was temporarily employed by the Stormguards. Back then when Skystorm became captain." He didn't asked how I knew about that. Either I'm busted or he trusts me. But I rather guess the former. "Is there anything specific you want to know?" Don't rush now. "I'd like to know something about his kind. Was he always used to be so hateful... " "The purest night lover. But- Skyseeker? Could you please let us alone?" Light turned toward the door. In fact, Skyseekers head looked through a crack in the door. "Yes, Daddy ..." It was suspiciously quiet if you think how loud Skyseeker usually is. The door closed and both were again only with each other. "Light," his voice dropped greatly, "take care of yourself in the vicinity of this guy. When I started, he was always the topic, and not just because of his ambitious nature which promoted him to captain. There where rumors that he is a follower of Moon Nightmare. Or now, that he wants to have her back." He almost talks out of my mind. Is it possible that he has the same concerns as me? And apart from that. The return of Nightmare Moon. Is that his motive? Does he somehow wants to wake up Nightmare Moon from Luna with this storm? This is ridiculous, but something else won't fit. "So it's really something ... suspicious. That was really all I wanted to know. Thank you." "No problem. You are always welcome." Light went back on his hooves "I wish you a safe journey this evening. Skyseeker had mentioned something." "I'll certainly have. It goes to Cloudsdale, in my old home. I'll go visit a old friend of mine. One, sometimes, needs to give a break to yourself from the work." The two passed each other and Light left the office. In the angle he just could see a wide grin on the face of Cloudbearer. - Skyseeker already waited eagerly. "What have you two spoken about?" His curiosity couldn't bemissed. Light was stretching a bit. "Nothing interesting." "It had to do with Skystorm. That was the bad guy from this morning!" "Really Skyseeker. Nothing interesting." Light yawned. "I think I'm going to sleep for now." "That soon?" Skyseeker pointed to a large clock that hung above the main entrance. Afternoon. Light hasn't noticed the clock as he waited in the hall. "You've seen it this morning. I'm a bit finished, I need urgently sleep." Skyseeker thought for a moment while his hysteria slowly died. "Okay ...." - The way home was unusually short in contrast to the big marches that Light had already behind him. In front of his own house there was waiting a litle surprise. Two guards stopped him before he could disappear into his apartment. The left of the two guards stepped forward. "Light? Am I right with that? " Damn! "Yes. Can I be of any help to you both? " The two looked at each other briefly. "I'm pretty sure you've already heard of the Incident at the palace?" When I say something wrong now it's over with me. There's no denying. Now everypony has probably heard about it. Though, I haven't heard somepony talking about it today. Does that mean they were not giving information to the outside? No, that can't be. Perhaps they have just found no introduction to the topic. The guard ponies were a little impatient. "Yes, I've noticed quite a bit." "Well, we just rattle off every house near the palace. We wanted to know whether you have seen something in the night. Every little detail would be helpful in identifying the perpetrator." Whew, more luck than brain. If I would've said that I don't know about it, I probably would be more suspicious to them. "I'm sorry. I've only heard about the incident. But I was sleeping as it happened. In the morning I noticed nothing else." The both stood brooding in front of Light. He thought for a moment. Like lightning it flashed through his head as he looked towards the two. Damn, damn, damn! The house is not even close to the palace! They are just at my door because anypony has seen me this morning reeling in the vicinity of the palace! I'm done... "Well, that's all what we wanted. We wish you a good night." "Likewise." What the ...they let me? Or do they just don't have enough evidence? Anyway, I should use the gift of time to make something useful. - He opened the front door, looking for the shortest way to the bedroom and just felt into bed. If I rest now the chances are not so bad that I can use magic again tomorrow. But not just that. Tomorrow is also the last day before the great storm starts. I just hope that the guards do not think to pick me up tomorrow. He covered himself. Even if he usually abhorred this lonely bed, just now it felt very pleasant. His gaze went back to the window where the tower of Celestia could be seen. The sky was cloudy but Celestia stood guard on her balcony, watching the city. When she looked in the direction of Lights house her gaze froze. Minutes passed in which the both stared each other. The fatigue finally got Light and let him fall asleep. Chapter 4 - DarknessDarkness ------------- Chapter 4 It was hard to differ between night and day. No light found its way through the thick clouds of the storm. Even though they had a bad reputation, they did a professional job. Light was watching them. The clouds, that consumed all the light in the sky, so that no sunbeam was to be seen. There was only darkness. Through it loomed the balcony of a certain tower, and Light´s sight fell on the princesses. They spoke to each other. He could not understand them, but it was clear to him, what they were talking about. They gazed upon the whole city of Canterlot, but in the end their sight always fell on Lights house. Seems like they know. But even if they do, I won´t let Skystorm get away with his doings. The unicorn turned over in his bed, the alicorns gazes in his back. It is time. The last thing to blow his cover, even if it means I would have to go to some exile of their choosing. - He rose from bed and hid behind the wall, where the observing eyes couldn't track him. “So, off we go.“ His horn lighted up. It took some time, but then two scrolls rose from the nearby shelf. Carefully they floated to a table and opened up in the light of his magic. So I can use magic again. It was odd getting along without it. He took a seat at the table, armed with a quill, analyzing the paper. He took a short glance outside the window, to Luna and Celestia, before his concentration was fully on the letter. It´s not hard to tell the end of this, I just hope it´ll pay out in the end... It took almost an hour to fill the scrolls with content. Carefully he sealed the first scroll, put it into the second one, and sealed it as well. After that he put them away on the desk. There will be different laws for me, after tomorrow. - Out on the streets of Canterlot Light thought about his next step. His eyes were fixed on the dark ocean of clouds atop the city. He´s planning something, I'm sure of it. I need something concrete. I can not confront him with what I've got now, he could just deny all the charges, and I would just end up in exile. On that thought he quickly looked for guards. He could not find any. He then made sure nopony was following him and continued on his way. I've got to ask the ponies that are close to him. The only ones in reach are the Stormguards, but I doubt they´d help me. Should I use Force? No. That´s the last thing I need. As long as the City-Guard remains passive, I should do the same. So I got to trick them into giving me the information. A Pony stepped into Lights way. He gazed towards the stranger. Dammit, a guard!? No, wait. A Stormguard! Lights body stiffened a little. “A red Unicorn. Light, am I right?“ “Yes, that is correct.“ What does a Stormguard want from me? I hope Skystorm hasn't took notice of anything, that would just complicate things. The Stormguard came closer. The missing distance was uncomfortable for Light. “Thunderbolt Cloudbearer sends me. I am supposed to show you something.“ Light perked up his ears. “When he went to Cloudsdale yesterday he noticed something conspicuous on the storm. He delayed his journey just to inform me.“ The whole story sounds implausible, especially his Stormguard-suit bothers me. But he´s right at one point. I slept deeply the whole morning, even if Cloudbearer would have come personally, I would not have noticed it. But why is he wearing a Stormguard-Suit? The pegasus pushed himself under Lights body. “Whoa! What are you doing!?“, cried the unicorn, as the wings of the pegasus spread out. “Oh no, you won´t!“ “You better hold on to me.“, and they flew off at that exact moment, directly into the mist of black clouds above them. Light nearly lost his grip, but managed to cling to the body of the pegasus. Bolts of lightning struck through the air, uninvolved should stay away from the storm for a reason, after all. - A few seconds later they broke through the bank of clouds, the sunlight lit up their entire surrounding. It looked like another world, one that was withhold from Earth Ponies and Unicorns alike. But Light hadn't had the time to admire this parallel world. He still lay on the pegasus´ back, gasping and clunching his hooves around the neck of it. “There´s a reason the Stormguard is wearing lightning-proof suits, my friend. But you do know, that I am not wearing one, do you?“ Light did not dare to look at anything else then the pegasus “And, well...I...I am really scared of heights, and right now I am floating like 3 miles ABOVE THE GROUND!“ The pegasus sighed “My suit would have prevailed lightning bolts from discharging on you, but being afraid of heights? That´s nonsense. I've heard so much about limitless unicorn magic, why don´t you learn some spell to cast away your stupid fears.“ Well I often say some of this kind myself, and to be honest, he´s right. But I do not remember any unicorns using this kind of sentence, at least not in my presence. Have I met him before? “If you let go of me, we can get to what I wanted to show you, take a look around.“ The grip around the pegasus´ neck loosened a little. The first thing Light noticed was the low altitude of the sun. From this direction...is it getting night already? Not really my thing to be isolated from the sky. His second look made him gulp. All around him mountains of thunderclouds were building them selfs up, they expanded around the whole area of the storm. This concentrated mass of thunderclouds could easily devastate the whole town of Canterlot. The Unicorn remained silent for a moment, but then burst out in joy. “HA! THIS IS IT! The proof, I've been looking for! Hard evidence that does not leave any back doors for Skystorm. He´s screwed.“ The Pegasus remained silent. “So his plan really is to destroy Canterlot, after all. Celestia and Luna would never allow that, but there is no way for them to stop him before he´s done some serious damage. I have got to stop him before that happens. I owe it some ponies.“ His thoughts came to Senity and Paperpen. Not to forget the Princesses, as well as Cloudbearer and Skyseeker and all the inhabitants of Canterlot itself. “I´ll take us down again. Hold on tight, Light.“ - Back on the ground a small crowd of ponies had already gathered. His fast flight into the storm had drawn more attention to Light then he would have guessed. As he landed he instantly got surrounded by this very crowd. “What are you doing, Light? Flying into thunderclouds without proper protection, that´s dangerous!“ “Yes, I know.“ What I don´t know is who that pony is. “It wasn't my idea to begin with. But what I wanted to ask is why are you wearing that Stormguard-Su...“ As he turned around it knocked him for a loop, the pegasus he flew up with was gone. At his place now only was the crowd, drawing ever nearer to him. Where did he go? - The situation escalated. More and more ponies joined the crowd, all of them wanted to know what was going on. Light only saw one possible solution to dissolve this situation. “I do understand your worries, my dear ponies“, he shouted, but barely reached the whole crowd “But I fear, that I do not have the time to explain. I got to be back on my way, right away.“ His horn began to glow and with a yellow flash of light he was gone, and popped up again a few meters outside the crowd. A bit wobbly, but still fast, he left that place. - Now that I have everything together, I just have to find Skystorm and force him to clear away the storm. That won't be fun... The crowd behind him dissolved, going back to their daily business. My first lead would be Asper. I just hope he knows where the Stormguard is located. Fully recovered from his teleportation he went to the office of the clearing-crew. The office was empty, the crew was probably working to not delay the storm. “May I help you?“ A mare behind the reception looked at Light with a friendly smile. “Yes, I am looking for Asper White, is he here? I really got to talk to him.“ “Asper, Asper...“ She got a bit lost in thought before she answered “Ah, yes! Asper White is in a meeting with our Captain.“ “Thats quite alright.“ The mare hurried to stop Light, as he already made his way to the office. “Please be patient. The meeting should not be disturbed.“ “I took notice of that and will take full responsibility.“ “You still cannot just simply walk into the meeting! Wait!“ Light sighed. “I would, if I had time to do so.“ “What could be so urgent that...“ Light opened the office door. The two ponies inside interrupted their conference and looked at him a bit angrily. “Hadn't I ordered to not be disturbed?“, he addressed the mare. “I beg your pardon“, she talked fast and in awe “but he just wouldn't-“ “I could not wait , if you excuse me, sir.“ Light looked at the white unicorn “Asper I quickly got to talk to you.“ Asper rolled his eyes and came towards Light. “What could be so important, my dear colleague?“ “Do you have any idea where the Stormguard is located, I've got to talk to their Captain.“ Asper laughed. “But of course I do, and you should, too. It was in the appendix of our assignment. I´m quite sure that you got those, too.“ I know I had them in my hooves. But where did I put them... “Just tell me where. We shouldn't delay this any longer.“ Asper sighed again.“So unthoughtful. Can´t believe they call you the best of us.“ He laid his front hooves on his forehead. “They´re at an hotel nearby, which is called...cloud...something with cloud, dunno, it´s near the city gate. You shouldn't be able to miss it.“ “The Sleeping Cloud, I know that one. Thank you.“ “It´s the last day, and you don´t seem to have done any kind of planing with Skystorm. I sure hope for you that everything will go fine.“ Asper didn't even try to hide his sarcasm. He wanted to see Light fail for a long time. “I do hope so as well. More than you know“ - A few minutes later Light reached the hotel. It grew noticeably darker. Possibly it was already night, the storm made it hard to guess the time of day. I hope the Stormguard does not know of his plan. The incident with the unknown pegasus today clearly speaks against their knowledge. I should not gain to much attention when asking for Skystorm. A stallion was standing behind the reception. “Greetings, I am Light, and I am in charge of the organization of the storm. May I ask where I can find the Stormguard? They should reside here, as far as I know.“ The stallion sighed. “Light. Never heard that name. You can ask these strange pegasi for yourself. They´re in the dining room“ “Thank you.“ “It´s right ´round the corner, just follow the signs“ Loud yelling could be heard from that direction “Well, I guess it shouldn't be too hard even without the signs.“ - They were sitting around one big table as a giant group. It was a big commotion, everyone was talking. Even if it hadn't look like it to the outside, there was a strong companionship amongst them. I hate these moments. Light entered the room. The dinner was interrupted, everyone was starring at him. These moments in the “spotlight“. “My dear Stormguards, I have a question.“ The pegasi remained silent at their seats, looking at the unicorn. “Does any of you know where I could find your Captain?“ If he told them, I´m done for. The fact that he built so much without anyone noticing speaks clearly against me. If all fails I may have to face them all. Wouldn't be my first time facing so many. One of the pegasi stood up. “He´s outside the city gates. At night he´s always examining the storm. Sometimes he continues working. He´s very ambitious.“ “And lonesome!“ another pegasus yelled, that instantly found great affirmation. Then everyone continued their dinner. So he is alone. Perfect. “Thank you for the information, I´ll be going now. Enjoy your meal!“ The returned festiveness had risen the noise level again, so probably none had even heard him. - On the outside it was still the same darkness. It clearly was night. At least I am already at the city gates. Light sighed again, looking at the gate. Will he interrupt everything if I confront him? I doubt it. Skyseeker already tested Skystorms strength, I´m not itching for his hooves in my face. He thought of some of the ponies he knew. Almost ironic, that I sacrifice everything so that the others can live normally. Maybe my old job wasn't so bad after all. But after the wild dispute of the princesses I doubt that I´ll ever do that again. He plucked up his courage and walked through the gate. - The further he went, the darker it got. The lights of Canterlot behind him grew ever dimmer. His horn was glowing. “I should be able to see like this.“ So, where are you Skystorm? He took a good look at his surroundings, but in the black emptiness it was hard to find something. The field around him was completely dark. A dull wind was blowing. “SKYSTORM!“ His shout sounded over the field, followed by silence. The wind grew stronger and with a bang Skystorm landed in front of Light. “Who called?“ His physical abilities are astounding. “Skystorm, we have to talk. About the Storm.“ Skystorms face darkened, he looked angry. “It´s on. There is nothing to talk about.“ “It is way bigger than it should be... What are you planning?“ Skystorm closed his eyes and laughed silently. “So you found out. And there I thought we were getting along just fine. You can not stop me. If you want to live, stay close and don´t move. I can´t risk to let any information go to Celestia.“ Light squinted his eyes. “Just give up, Skystorm. I will not simply tolerate that you destroy Canterlot.“ Skystorm burst out laughing “You? You threaten me? How adorable. You know, I don´t want to destroy Canterlot, I have a much bigger goal.“ Light listened up. “I will darken the sky. Then, Nightmare Moon will rise again and bring us the Eternal Night!“ Light laughed. “What kind of plan is that? Do you really think Nightmare Moon will rise that easy? Don´t make me laugh.“ - “Silence!“ A hoof hit Lights breast. It wasn't a hard punch, but it did hurt badly. “You still think you can stop me?“ His plan is idiotic but I just can´t do anything. If he does any mistakes, Canterlot will most definitely suffer, it´s still all above Canterlot after all. Light build a magic shield around himself. “Well that´s a start. Just keep sitting inside your barrier and watch the rise of Nightmare Moon.“ Skystorm turned away from Light. Then with a sudden boom, the shield exploded. The pressure threw the pegasus soaring through the air. With a little luck it still managed to land on his hooves. “Alright then.“, Skystorm shook off the dirt, “My turn now!“ With his naivety he will turn this into a catastrophe. - Skystorm spread his wings. “Right. You´re a pegasus. This´ll be fun.“ And off in the sky he went. He was way faster than the Stormguard from earlier today. Lights horn was glowing, he built 3 barrier shields around him. That ought to stop him. The roaring sound of Skystorms wings beating could be heard, and the first barrier broke. He had done a terrible dive, and pushed all of his body weight against the shields. The second barrier broke but Skystorms dive got weaker. “That´s not enough, Skystorm! Just give up!“ The last barrier began to glow, exploded and catapulted Skystorm right in the air again. “Nice defensive. But let me show you what a difference physical fitness does.“ Skystorm looked around, stopped at the clouds and flew right into them. Light built up his shields again. What is he planning? Just disappearing in clouds...? Big parts of the thunderclouds just broke out of the mass and just fell down on the field. These clouds...they are part of your plan, Skystorm. What are you doing? Skystorm was standing on one of the remaining clouds, and looked down on the unicorn. He flapped his wings, flew off and landed on his cloud again. A thunderbolt struck out and hit the shield. It bounced off and hit the ground near Light. This was just a test, what is he planning? Skystorm spread his mighty wings. He prepared for another dive. He did not do this for nothing, I have to watch out. He hit the shields like before. The first two broke the last exploded and threw him back in the air. But then Skystorm quickly flew into one of the clouds and a thunderbolt struck out of it into Lights direction. WHAT?! - “Ha! Seems you weren't prepared for that, unicorn.“ Light felt down. The thunderbolt had hit a joint of his right foreleg. Dammit...This hurts. It was too fast. I just could not react, and this will definitely hinder my movement. “You did quite good until now, unicorn. You fight better then most unicorns I know.“ Everything he lacks in brains he invested in muscles. The field lightened up. The gaps and fractures in the clouds let the moonlight shine through. “Take a look at my cutiemark, Skystorm. You think you get this for planing and organizing?“ I've got to admit that thunderbolt took me by surprise. - Skystorm landed in front of Light. He looked at his cutiemark: A shield with a symbol. Light turned aside before Skystorm could make out more of it. “No shields this time? You can´t be done yet.“ He´s right. I ain't. Skystorm waited for a while. He struck a pose in which he could fly off at any time. “Heh. You can´t really think that we´re even nearly finished, Skystorm.“ Lights horn glowed again and with a “Zap!“ he disappeared. “What?“ Skystorm turned around. Light was behind him. It flashed bright between the two and Skystorm got thrown away. His body left a path of destruction in the field, on which he then raised with lots of scratches. Light collapsed. The pain. I was never good with teleportation, but I can not give up. “Not now!“ He got back on his legs. “What was that?“ asked Skystorm, while he held his head with one of his hooves. Shields are created in two ways. The first is to define a central point of creation around which the shield builds up. The other way is to choose a point from which the shield spreads out. You can´t change the circular body, but I did let the shield explode before it was finished. As he got no answer Skystorm flew off back into his precious storm. In its time of existence it offers protection and gives me a quick counter, because the smaller size takes less time to be brought to explosion. It does tire me as much as a fully functional shield, though. - Big chunks of clouds gathered around the field now. Light built up his three shields around him again. That is the maximum I can do. His injury left him no room for dodging attacks. “Going turtle again, he? You look rather exhausted. My thunderbolt did quite the damage, I reckon.“ Just then Light realized how heavy he was breathing, the whole situation was only worsened by Skystorms wide grin. The excessive use of magic had really worn him out. Skystorm landed on a cloud, looking down on his enemy he said “Light! Better get ready. For I´m only just starting.“ What a difficult character. With spread-out wings Skystorm began to fly circles in the air, starting slowly but getting faster and faster. I've read about something like this. If he keeps flying in such tight curves he´ll create a tornado. The air began to flow around Skystorm, and the faster he got, the more the wind began to shape a tornado. Thats bad. I can´t do anything with my wound. The nearby clouds gathered around Skystorm. He can´t be serious... The thunderclouds merged with the tornado, and it turned black and thunderbolts began to struck out of it. - The tornado began to crawl slowly into the direction of Lights shields. Damn. I can´t do anything. The storm´s not fast, but with the wound running away is not even an option. A thunderbolt hit the shield, it got reflected but the raw power of the impact did let the shield quake. The barriers won´t hold. If that tornado gets me directly, I´m done for. I can only hope to survive this. The tornado devastated his whole surrounding, the thunderbolts burnt deep scars into the grass. I can forget teleportation, too, I´m still too tired from before. Light lay down. Think...Wait! The tornado is slow for a reason. Skystorm has to be careful with all the thunderbolts in there. A small disturbance could clear that thing up, or fry me alive. I've got no choice. It has to hit me directly. The closer Skystorm came, the more thunderbolts did hit the shield. Only a few meters where left, when the first shield broke. More and more thunderbolts came out of the tornado. The moment the storm touched the second one it broke, too. It´s critical now. I can´t make any new shields, I´m unprotected when the last shield breaks. As the storm touched the last shield, it shook chaotically, but it reached a few centimeters into the eye of the storm. That should do it! - The explosion disordered the tornado. You could hear a few sounds from Skystorm, mainly curses, but the storm imploded at last. As it faded the last thunderbolts unloaded into the near surroundings. Luckily Light only took minor injuries, but Skystorm got hit in his right wing. - The Pegasus fell down to the ground and remained lying there. Is that it? Light watched him for a moment. What an ending. To get finished by his own attack... “Not.....now!“ The pegasus rose up again in great pain. Tough one. Is it really worth it risking his life for this stupid plan? Skystorm spread his wings. The thunderbolt had burned the wing and he had lost some feathers, that we´re now spreading on the ground. Light checked his breathing. Faster than before. I have to put everything on my next attack, or I´m done for. Skystorm took off. He can still fly with his injury...okay then. Light built up his three shields again, while Skystorm was preparing his last assault. “I´m going to give everything in this attack, Light. You hear me? Everything!“ No answer. “It will be over with your arrogance. Victory is the only thing that´ll count now.“ Skystorm began to dive on the shields. He is slower than before. That is- All his three shields broke in one strike. Skystorm used the remaining impact to push Light to the ground. “Heh. I...I have won, Light.“ Skystorm was full of energy again. “Is it time already?“ Lights horn began to glow. A single shield built up around the two of them. This one was different, he glimmered in the sunlight. “The suns up, Skystorm.“ With a renewing glow of his horn the shield too began to glow stronger. “And? It´s over. I won. I´m inside your stupid shield.“ “Here´s the summary: With my magic I use the power of the tides .“ That´s the reason why Luna could disperse the moonlight-drenched shield in the archives. “To put it differently: I can use sun or moonlight to strengthen my magic. The effect differs from spell and daytime, and the more I use them during one time of day, the weaker it gets. Everything stays balanced. My next spell using the other power source gets unusually strong.“ Skystorm leaned back a bit “You used magic the whole night. That means this shield...“ “Yes but not only that. Sunlight allows just a single shield, but a specially strong one, that is.“ Skystorm gulped. “And of course I changed it´s polarity. It will explode....inwards.“ The shield turned into a flash and disbanded roaring into the red morning. - Head to head they lay next to each other, their faces turned towards the sky. “I can´t move no more. Can you, Skystorm?“ The pegasus sighed „...No.“ “Your plan would not have worked anyways. Will you listen to me?“ They looked at the sky, at the slow clearing of the storm, with the sun in its background. “It´s not like I had a choice.“ “ Your cutiemark fits you and your destructive abilities quite well. A black tornado filled with thunderbolts. Exactly what you used against me.“ “I just combined. It appealed to me with all the thunderclouds up there.“ “Not bad. But what I wanted to say. My cutiemark. The symbol on it is a combination of sun and moon. A symbol of balance. The shield means that I want to protect this balance. The balance of the world flows into the peace Celestia and Luna bring upon this world, and with it the Elements of Harmony. That is why I protect them. I had lost my goal, but you reminded me of it. I thank you for that.“ Skystorm remained silent. - “I don´t know why you wanted to wake Nightmare Moon in Luna and threaten all the worlds balance by doing so, but I think we´re not so different after all. I think...you lost your goal, too. Try to remember why you became Captain of the Stormguard.“ Skystorm closed his eyes. “Back then in the past. I...I was looking for my special talent. I did not had my cutiemark, even after school. Everyone made fun of me and looked down on me. Without a cutiemark you just don´t know what you can do as a job, and even if you apply for something it is hard to be accepted, because you´re just so blank. My fate did lead me to the Stormguard. They were looking for Ponies, because they seriously lacked members. Of course I then found my special talent with them, and earned my cutiemark in their midst. I... felt special in a way. I had something I wanted to share with the world, moreover something I could share.“ “Not to know what you can do. You mentioned it. I can´t really feel the pain you had to live through, when everypony was looking down on you, but I felt similarly when I began to doubt my cutiemark. Having a talent that's bound with a way of living, is hard if you can´t trust that way no more. But when you spoke about it. We both have talents we want to share. Skill not to change the world but to shape it. I hope you catch my meaning.“ Skystorm gazed into the sky, as if he was thinking about Lights words. The only thing I had to do, was waking him up from his dream. He´s not a bad pony. A smile appeared on Lights lips. He does remind me of Skyseeker. They entirely different but share so much at the same time. - Skystorm interrupted the silence. “There´s so much I never thought about and now it's too late. The idea alone. How could I possibly wake Nightmare Moon with nothing more than a storm above Canterlot. And now my own stupidity has brought me here. I doubt I can be a Stormguard any longer.“ Light gave a quick laugh. “True, true. But that´s what shaping is about, isn't it? Look for a different job to give something to the world with your skills. It does not look to different on my part. It´s the fault of both of us that there is no storm.“ Light reached with his hoof towards Skystorm, who hesitated, but then lifted his hoof still shaking. Light slided a bit closer, so that the hooves hit each other, and his smile became a bride grin and Skystorms face began to relax a little, too. “I've got one more job for. I do count you as one of my friends, so don´t disappoint me. In my house, on my desk, there is a scroll. Could you bring it to Celestia? Just ask Paperpen or Senity if you don´t know where I live. The key´s under the mat in front of the door. I put it there for tonight.“ Skystorm thought about it for a moment “Alright. I´ll bring her the scroll, but why-“ Light stood up. “Excuse me, Skystorm, but I don´t have any time to lose.“ “Where are you going?“ “Who knows. Away from Canterlot, I guess.“ Skystorm looked at Lights Cutiemark, next to the shield and the symbol there were a few stars. “These Stars, do they have any meaning, too?“ Light turned away from Skystorm “I´ll tell you next time we meet.“ And with this words he went off into the woods before Canterlot. Skystorm watched him until he faded into the thicket. “Friends, hmm? What a beginning for my first friendship.“
Chapter 1 - LightThe Shallow Light ---------- Chapter 1 The bright sunlight already stretched over the beautiful Equestria while Light made up his way through the busy Canterlot. With him was Paperpen, the head of the organizational unit that Light belongs to. "Thereby one thinks that Canterlot is so large. Not only that, the streets are crowded every day, familiar faces are also to be found anywhere." Light moaned. "Now, now." said his companion, "This is probably due to your coat color. A unicorn with dark red fur and an chocolate brown mane is probably unique in whole Canterlot. You just stab out from the crowd Light." Light lowered his head as they turned left at an crossover. His eyes often went on the brownish mare. "And your popularity is simply caused by your excellent skills in the organization. By now you haven't committed any error in your calculations for the organization." "I've already made more then enough mistakes. At some point it's just enough..." whispered Light, still with his head lowered. "Did you just say something?" "Are there any new orders? " Light asked. Paperpen thought for a moment. "Just a small one. A brunch for a small club in the city." Light lifted his head again. "So once again a couple of ponies with the money to be lazy." Paperpen threw an angry look on Light. "Never discriminate customers!" Light looked in another direction. "Yes, yes, I get it." The two stopped in front of a large tower. "There we are already. Seems like nopony else is here." smiled Paperpen. The tower was still completely darkened. Light and Paperpen where the first ones that appeared at their workplace this day. "Miss Chief, our team consists only of you, me and two other ponies. We are always the first, anyway." "Yes, that's true." A fresh wind blew through Paperpens mane. "The days are so beautiful, aren't they Light?" "Hmm ... what-? " Light got interrupted by the loud voice of a foal. "Light!" shouted the kid. "Your fan is here light. 5 minutes. Then we have to get to work." Light rolled his eyes. "You just talk as it would be a pleasure." "Light! Light!" "Yes, yes ..." "Light" "Yes, I can hear you damned." "Have you got some great jobs today? ", The Pegasus colt looked at him with wide eyes. "No, not really, Skyseeker." "Ohhh .... " Light sighed loudly in the round. His eyes wandered through the crowd and stopped at the grinning Paperpen. Her eyes betrayed her thoughts completely. Light turned back to Skyseeker. His lips were directed far down. "If something major is pending I try to direct you to be there." Light cheered him on. The filly jumped in circles for joy. "Thank you, Light!" A smile appeared in Light's face. "Now I really need to get to work, kid." In the same moment Skyseeker jumped around wildly before he slowly walked away from Light. "See you later Light!" he yelled to him. Light pursued him briefly with a gaze. At an crossroad, only a few meters away, a rock crumbled from the house. A large piece of rock broke out of the texture and sprang on Skyseeker. With a yellow glow on Lights horn a shield bubble appeared around Skyseeker. The boulder crashed just off the shield and slammed to the ground. As Skyseeker realized what just happened, a wide grin spread across his face. "Thank you Light!" The second time. Shortly after that, he romped down the road again and disappeared from Lights sight field. "Hard to believe that these deficiencies haven't been resolved yet. Who knows how long this piece was hanging there loose. That could have injure him seriously." Paperpen went back to Lights side. "Good to foals, an outstanding talent in the guardian magic and you don't look so bad. No wonder all the mares run after you." Lights view sharpened. "Right. All the mares out of my imagination. I'm just the lackey. Nothing more." "Don't be so grumpy." Paperpen nudged into Lights side. "I've heard that a certain pony in our team has an eye on you." "I don't want to know." Paperpen rummaged a key out of her saddle bag. She took the key between her teeth and opened the lock to the still darkened tower. "Unicorns have it far easier then Earthponies in such things." She made the first step into the building. "This certainly will make her sad." A short silence layed between the two as they walked through the dark entrance hall. "Tell me, how did you even met Skyseeker? Sometimes you act like a father." Paperpen asked curiously. "Skyseeker? He is the son of some high horse here in Canterlot. I had to prepare a larger exhibition for him and just saved him when he fell from a ladder. Since then he clings to me like glue. Bad enough that he enjoyes the organization industry and that he is falling from ladders without flying, as a pegasus. What a stubborn pony." "I remember the contract. What was his name again?" "If I would remember all the names of the ponies which I had met in a job, I wouldn't do anything else in life. I only know that he has almost never left Canterlot." Paperpens view changed in a mocking tone. "As if you've ever left Canterlot. I know that a year is a rather shorter time with us, but since you joined us you have not set a hoof out of Canterlot." "Yes ... it's already a year ago …." "And I think his name was Thunderbolt Cloudbearer. I'll better check that in my papers." With every floor they climbed up the tower, Light opened all the curtains in each floor. At the top there was the office of the chief, Paperpen. Light followed her into the office and sat down to the desk. Once arrived at her usual workplace Paperpen already began to rummage around. She browsed through countless folders in a frightening speed. Her Cutiemark, a feather in an ink pot with an big pile of paper next to it, she really deserved it. "Here are the documents for the brunch." She put two sheets of Paper on the table. "As expected. Nothing major." Paperpen wasn't listening to him anymore. The search for the documents obviously messed up her order. She just took one folder after the other in her hooves and replaced them correctly back into the cupboards. He put the papers back on the table. "I'll be back at lunch time. That wont take me long." Completely away from the world Paperpen gave no answer. Right now she was completely buried in her own world of paper. Several hours already had passed when Light was back on his way to the office. The sun now reached the lunch time, while the door to Paperpens office opened cautiously. "Light! The customer has already given me notice. As always, good work." She presented a letter which probably included the commendation. Light just sighed without an answer, and slowly sought his way towards the desk. An awkward silence stretched between the two. Paperpen got up from her comfortable chair, stood close to Light and put her hoof on his forehead. Unimpressed, he just looked into another direction. "You don't look so good, Light. But you have no fever." Slowly, he sank into another world, his very own world. It is very difficult to masquerade as your true self. Especially if other ponies think that they really know you. "Maybe you should allow yourself a break. But not too long! I've got a big job and I need the best of the best for it. You!" Paperpen almost flounced as she said this. From sunny days she spoke. Without assessing what was before and what will come next. You can't blame her for that, because youself chose to be against the truth. "Can you hear me at all?" The mare looked at him with wide eyes. "Light?" His trance dissolved. "Yes, a break would be good." Without looking back again, he went on his way home. Paperpen just shook her head and let him go. At home the emptiness if silence already waited for him. He had never been in love, and therefore no mare could wait there for him. Only the dark and cold walls. He lived on the corner of his salary while it was enough for a far better live. It's a shame that somepony with his skills represses himself. At least some of his organization team think so. But Light feels the silence very relaxing. If everything goes to pieces, in the silence he can forget the world around him for a moment. From a window in the bedroom he had a good view of the royal palace. There sticked out a tower, Celestia's private chambers. Light just watched him quietly from his window, with the setting sun in the background. What are you just doing? The world is, as always, going in the right direction. The days here are beautiful. Even the with self stress filled Paperpen thinks so. Light sighed. Sometimes I just wish- There was a knock at Light's door. At this time? I hope it's important. He cautiously opened the door. In front of him stood Senity Heartshine. She is part of the organizing team and his colleague. Her voice, her style. She seems to be so shy. A bitter disappointment, in truth she is full of confidence and Light can not stand this kind at all. He even regretted that he responded to the knock. "I heard you didn't felt so well today. I was worried and thought I'd come over to drop by." You have to be careful in what you say and how you say it. One wrong step and she takes you to the horns. At which horn is probably the wrong word. Because she is a Pegasus. "Yes, the job today, I probably was more exhausted than I thought." Her special talent is in the understanding of other ponies. And anyopony who tries to understand me ... "Paperpen said that everything went great at the brunch. And besides, this didn't seemed so hard now. Especially for your caliber." Just one wrong step … "It was just the combination. For a long time I came again to the use of a barrier and my rusty I was probably not quite clear on it." "To me you seem like something occupies you." Damn, there it goes again. "May I come in for short?" Light thought for a moment, but there was just one answers. "Just go ahead." Try your luck. The white pony sat on a sofa in the guest room, in which the guest room, the living room and the kitchen where one room. The three-room apartment wasn't offering much space. Carefully she watched Light trotting behind her. Light sat on a chair, a little further away. His eyes fixed on her slight grin. He could already imagine what awaits him. "Is there something that depresses you, Light?" This honest look. It's not her fault but somehow this is bugging me. "No, no. I'm fine. I already told you. I was just not prepared to conjure up a barrier today." Her eyes wandered around the room like there was something to see. The kitchen was only equipped with the absolute necessary things, and the white color on the wall wasn't worth seeing at all. "Why do you never want to say anything to me? You always bury yourself." The mare turned something on the couch and showed her Cutie Mark. Two hearts that give the appearance to be consistent with each other. The exact opposite of the situation. And that's a good thing. "Listen ... This is not something I don't want to speak about, but it's something nopony can help me with." "At least you admit that there is something wrong, but to bury it in yourself won't make it any better." "To strain others with it, won't help either." "I just want to help you Light." Light sighed. "This constant sighing literally expresses your inner pain." Oh ye gods make it stop." Can I offer you something to drink, Heartshine?" "I already told you enough times. Just call me Senity. Almost nopony calls me Heartshine" "I am sorry, Senity?" She leaned back on the sofa. She seemed somewhat satisfied. At least she draws away from the conversation. "Yes, please. Do you have apple juice in the house?" With a levitating bottle and two glasses Light went back into the room. Senity was already waiting impatiently for him. When she speaks with a customer you can't recognize her. To others, she is always so ... quiet. But to me she reminds me of a bloodthirsty manticore that wants to protect its children. Light poured the glasses and handed one to Senity. "Light, you only hurt yourself with that." "Senity. I'm slowly getting headaches from this conversation." The White Pony pondered about Lights words, she just watched her surroundings and drank the juice completely. "It's getting dark." remarked Senity. "I'll get on my way home. I dare you to not come to work tomorrow. And don't even come to the idea to go out of my way." She grinned at Light. Unimpressed Light led Senity to the door. "Come home safely." This is something you must let Canterlot. It is completely safe through the streets at night, but her words. Tomorrow will be a damn long day. Light layed down on his bed shortly after the visit. With an eye on Celestia's tower countless thoughts about Canterlot and Celestia self flew through his mind. After some time he finally suffocated his thoughts and was able to sleep in peace.
Chapter 2 - TwilightTwilight ---------- Chapter 2 Light rushed through the streets of Canterlot. Countless eyes caught the unicorn. How could I just oversleep? For how long was I still awake yesterday? Confound it! Completely out of breath, he finally reached the tower. Unlike usual, all lights were already turned on and a wild ado was going on inside the tower. Obviously, everypony had already found its work. In the fast trot, he thundered up the stairs to Paperpens office. The crash on the stairs drew the attention of everypony in the team to Light, although he did not want that. Without further ado, it became quiet. - Quietly, the door to the office opened. Other than usual Paperpen wasn't buried behind a mountain of paperwork. In front to her sat another pony. A yellow Pegasus. "There he is! I already worried about you." Paperpen beckoned Light to her. With a hanging head he approached to the table. The Pegasus threw a condescending look at him ."Light, if I may introduce to you. This is Skystorm, captain of the Stormguards. I told you of a big order yesterday. Although I did not expect him to arrive already today, but the sooner the better, don't you think?" Light observed Skystorm critically. There was something he didn't like. "Yes ... the sooner the better." repeated Light dull. His eyes fixed on the yellow Pegasus. "Let's come to the business part." Paperpen flapped with her hooves. One could recognize her anticipation from far distance. "Our dear Skystorm and his Stormguards are ordered to let a storm ravage. And this right here in Canterlot. This is where your role comes in Light. It is absolutely important to avoid any damage to the city itself and I just needed the best. Almost everypony in town would probably recommend you to it." Lights look changed regularly. First Paperpen, then Skystorm. Skystorms eyes had fixed on Paperpen, but he was absent. Just as the whole meeting here wouldn't interest him in any way. - Paperpen rolled out a plan with the surrounding lands of Canterlot. "The storm should include all the fields that surround Canterlot. The mountain ranges are less important." With increasing duration Light distanced himself from the conversation. Skystorm was a mystery for him. Either he knew already how it works, it does not interest him how it ends ... or something completely different. "Just as it should work then. I would say, Light, lead him to your office there you can argue the details. This will require a lot of teamwork." Skystorm held his hoof in Lights direction. "On a good working relationship ..." he paused, "What was your name again?" He hasn't even listened a single second to the conversation. Something does not fit. - The door snapped in the lock. Skystorm strolled to the desk with tired eyes fixed on the timber. Light sat down to his opposite. "So Skystorm. We should discuss the situation of the storm over the city. I can not let a single flash strike into the city that maybe causes a fire. Countless ponies could be violated. "Skystorm left his hoof on the table. "Listen ..." he thought for a second, "Light, why don't you just let me and my Stormguards do all the work. We have enough experience and will not damage your estimated city." A spark flashed in Lights eyes. "Yes, maybe we should do that. I might come over occasionally and check it. If I have to note something you will get to know it first." A slight smile pulled on both faces. "Looks like we both know how it goes." Skystorm seemed very satisfied. He rose from his chair and looked briefly to Light. "We'll start work tomorrow. I guess the storm is available in 3 days." Light checked a piece of paper lying on his table. "So, perfect on the proposed date. I make sure that all clearing operations are done by the Earthponies and Unicorns until then." Light waited for Skystorms respond. The silence swelled in the office. Without a word Skystorm moved slowly towards the door. "Then everything is settled." Whispered light. - Minutes passed. The door to Lights office opened again. This time Senity cautiously came in. "Uhm. Am I disturbing you right now?" Her voice was so timid. Quite different then Light was used to, but the same applied to him. He crouched on his chair and looked towards the door with an empty look. His thoughts wandered far from the reality. Senity cautiously approached the desk, pushed his chair to the side and looked directly into the eyes of Light. They flickered briefly and met Senity's eyes then. "Can I help you, Heartshine?" The atmosphere was uncomfortable. She hesitated, her gaze jumped wildly. "You ... you seem so different Light. Are you all right?" Light gave no word any attention. "What do you think of the world?" The question surprised Senity. "Uhm ... I think there is nothing that is in need of a greater improvement." Her eyes were large and were waiting eagerly for answer Lights. He was standing still and wandered towards the door. A Deja Vu played in Lights head. As Skystorm, he was leaving the room, only with his documents in his luggage. "I understand, Senity." Our world is standing still. Then the door shut and Senity was left alone in the office. - A group of Stormguards marched through the streets. Light watched them from the main entrance of the tower. Presumably, they went straight towards the nearest hotel. Skystorm wasn't seen among them. The unusual sight caught many ponies as they walked through the richly-filled streets. Light looked after them until they disappeared behind the next corner and the usual daily grind of the bright Canterlot came back. I must be sure. He continued his way through the streets. What is the plan of the Captain of the Stormguards? Was the entire group inaugurated? What is the goal he wants to achieve? He briefly flew back into reality. He almost was on the other side of the town. The time flew by quickly in his thoughts and just dragged him on through the city. Maybe he's just strange. Annoyed by the world and avoids any cooperation. As Captain, he probably has enough experience to establish the storm by himself, even in Canterlot, maybe he just didn't want a fussy Unicorn around him. - He found himself in front of the palace. Maybe I just should get sure about it. Guards secured the building. The sinking sun wrapped the whole place in red light. After some time he walked to the guards. One of them suddenly stared at Light and walked towards him. With a broad grin, he held out his hoof. "Hey Starglare. Haven't heard something for a long time from you. I thought you'd abandoned your job and already left the town." Light replied the gesture. "Not yet about your second guess. And please call me Light. The old days are over." I don't want to think back on it ... "Okay ... Light. How can I help you then?" The other guard was holding his position and looked empty at the square. "Can you let me into the archives? I imperatively have to look up somepony." The face of the guard darkened. Silently he turned and went back on his post. He waited a moment and then began to talk again. "Excuse me ... Light, but as you've given up your job you also lost any right to the archives. You know I can't let you in. It would also endanger my job." "Yes ... I understand. Maybe we'll meet again someday." Dead end. The sun has already gone down. - Light started his way home. Starglare ... I hope I don't have to hear that name again. He forgot the past and focused on the present again. The streets were dark, but there was no danger to expect. Ultimately Canterlot behaves like a quiet and peaceful community. Even the whole world behaves to this ideal. We live our lives to give life and counter problems. Everything is tuned to a peaceful time, a future led by the timeless existence we call Celestia. Changelings, creatures, and who knows what else is out there that we haven't discovered yet. They all make our lives difficult, but finally they are also organs that are part of our perfect world. - Light reached his home. His thoughts literally had eaten him and he was just happy to return to the silence of his lonely home. The door opened with a slight creak. It's not locked. I've probably forgotten it in the hurry this morning. He looked carefully into the hallway. After a few steps, he put his caution away. There won't be a burglar. With a pounding his ears pricked up again. The knock repeated in a constant cycle. Light noticed that the noise was coming from the living room. Carefully he sneaked to the door and peeked into the room. In fact, the light was turned on and a annoyed Paperpen sat on the sofa with her hoof knocking a beat on the floor. Her view of waiting already revealed the whole situation. Light walked into the room, his gaze on Paperpen. "There you are!" Light lowered his head. The conversation only could go out “cordial”. "Listen, we need to talk …" Her voice dropped greatly to Lights surprise. "Something seems to bother you, right? That you forget to lock your house, the thing with Senity this afternoon ... it does not suit you at all. She couldn't recognize you. And then you haven't even took care of loose branches or other dangers. Could it be that it comes from the order? Is such a big one, connected with so much responsibility, too much for you?" Another one tried to understand me ... And the thing with Senity got around really quick. But it also could be that Senity and Paperpen are friends. "I've been thinking about replacing you with Aspire White." "What!?" The sudden exclamation frightened Paperpen. "Not for the life of me! I'll finish the job. And above all ... replaced by this ... I'm much better suited for that!" "Stop Light. It's nothing personal. I'm just worried about you." "Just like Senity, but I don't need your care!" Paperpen looked away and stared at the floor. Light did after her and tried to collect his thoughts. "Paperpen ... Please." She remained silent. The silence stood in front of Light. She was uncomfortable and almost crushed him. After some time Light looked up again. Paperpen sat motionless on the sofa. Stains adorned the floor in front of her. Only now Light realized the silent tears that flew down of her cheeks and shattered on the ground. In a fast pace she left the house. The door closed loudly. - Still shocked, Light was standing in the living room. His inner tension made him say things which he regretted now. Even if he never wanted to open himself to Paperpen or Senity, hurting their feelings was the last thing he would imagine. Light grabbed himself again and his view tightened. I'll have to explain something later, but first ... I hope for you that you're not planing anything Skystorm! With a new goal in mind, he left his house and entered the path to which he has run before, towards the palace. - Inside the Building Light still could see some lights when he arrived at the great square. Hidden behind a wall, he watched the palace shortly. Some guards patrolled inside the building. Luna kept her guard on the balcony of Celestia. Lights Horn glowed briefly. Sparks flew in all directions, and dried again. The lights grew fainter and fainter, and at the end Light was again in complete darkness. Just what I thought. Shielded from the outside. You can't teleport directly into the archive. Cover was thin and the moonlight lit the room enough to locate a pony. Light was waiting for the perfect moment. A Moment wasn't moving her eyes over and over again, and no guard was to see. After several minutes of observation he sneaked on. A gallop would have only drawn Luna's attention on him. Black shadows wandered behind the windows. There are always guards passing windows, but now he could minimize the risk to get caught if he monitors the windows. Would just one of them come to the idea to watch out of the window Light would be caught. He reached the cold wall. With luck he might even tell that nopony noticed him. - Direct at the wall sneaking became a lot easier. Unlike before, where he had to monitor the whole building Light now just hast to flit past each window. On the backside, he reached a garden. The garden of the bazaar. Light knew the "Royal Palace" only too well. So he knew that at the bazaar is a window which can be opened from the outside. In his past he often mentioned gaps in the security, the only one that never got fixed was this window. Light looked up in the bazaar, just a few empty tables, the garden, also empty. With some magic he lifted the window out of his holder. The lock opened and the window was in the air. Light got in and carefully put the window back to its position. - From inside the room seemed much brighter than from outside in the moon light. Countless windows and doors to the garden. Only one led to the castle. A large double door made of wood. The grain was very gorgeous and gave the bazaar the last cut. It's been a while since he could admire the room. His admiration was interrupted by steps that approached in his direction. Light crawled under the nearest table. Shortly thereafter, two Guardponies came into the bazaar. The footsteps echoed softly through the large room. When it was a bit quieter Light blinked out of the tablecloth for a moment. The Guardponies positioned in the middle of the room and chatted with each other, the passage from which they came was free so far. I better wait until they're gone. I don't want to pull off a scene here. Light went back on his look-out and lurked the two Guardponies. "Every night the same thing. Luckily we work in shifts." If they feel alone, they are very well able to speak. The other one touched the speaking one on."Tell me, don't you celebrate your birthday here soon?" He laughed aloud. "Yeah, I was given the approval. I'm just waiting for the adoption of this organization office in the city. They are organizing a lot of things and their reputation is very good." Aspire White should feel free to take care of it. "Over there are still brooms." The guard pointed toward the door. In fact, 2 brooms stood at the door. Light wasn't even noticed by them. "I bet that they swept the whole mess here just under the tables." Who knows what kind of dirt. "Let me take a quick look. Maybe I can complain to the cleaning crew again!" He laughed hearty. Damn! - The two split up and went to the external tables. Damn it, damn it! Light analyzed the environment. He was in the second table from the window. 6 table were dragging the room. When the guard is finished with the first table, he will find Light. Nervousness overcame him. What do I do now? Think about it! He disappeared in his thoughts for a moment. Magic! No, teleportation is too loud. Barriers! No, it won't help me. I might try to knock both of them out, but then new guards will appear in no time. No matter what I do, I'll be detected! Light tried to grasp himself again. "Nothing to see down here." said the one from the other side of the room. If they already have to know that somepony else is here... how do I get the best out of here! "Here too." The steps grew louder. From his angle of view Light could see the brooms at the door. But of course! The Brooms! One guard reached the table that Light was under. When the guard heighened the tablecloth for a bit a bright light flashed into his eyes. Before he knew what happened, it disappeared. Light appeared at the brooms. Short confused he recovered quickly again. Teleportation really isn't my specialty. "Hey, here is somepony!" The shadow figures galloped toward Light. Light quickly grabbed the broom and the large double door closed behind him. He blocked each handle of the door with the broom. Had there been no handles, they would've got me now. The first guard banged on the door. "Intruder," he screamed. His roar certainly could be heard in the whole castle. Light went on quickly. That won't stop them for long. Guardponies are trained very well. This corridor was relatively free until he reached the entrance hall. The entrance hall was simply partitioned. Two corridors, left and right, the main entrance, stairs to the second floor and to the left of the stairs other stairs that led to the basement, where the archives are. In the hall, the roar of the two Guardponies still was heard. Even very loud. As he crossed the hall steps were heard from the hallway. Light quickly leaned against the wall to the archives. Three more Guardponies stormed out of the hallway Light came from just a second ago. Again more luck than mind. If they just would've came a second sooner... Light scurried quickly down into the archives as long as the guards were distracted by the din of the bazaar. - Down in the Archives Light faced his next challenge. Two permanently stationed guards kept the archive. Damn it! Clock is ticking. How do I get them away there? Light was in a short spacer. A few shelves of books and scrolls decorated the walls. The guards themselves were in a bare anteroom. The anteroom was extra separated by a door, that seemed to be open always, from the spacer. The stamping of countless hooves was heard in the castle. They searched very well through everything to find the "intruder". Light summed up his thoughts again. I've got it! He grabbed a couple of books and scrolls, and threw them on the floor, in view of the guards. It did not take long until he could hear the steps. Slowly the both moved towards the door. Light waited. When they reached the door ... a bright light flashed up and Light appeared behind the two at the door to the archive. At the same time a shield wall appeared in front of the two guards. It trembled and blazed, and in the end it exploded. The recoil threw the Guardponies against the wall of the archive where they then sat motionless, confused by the sudden impact. If you vibrate the inner magic of a shield it becomes unstable. This can go so far that the shield explodes creates a pressure wave, but a shield shouldn't have enough power to hurt somepony. But the worst is that probably everypony in the castle knows now where I am. - Light entered the archive. For safety, he built another shield which blocked the entrance. The archive itself is like a gigantic library. Countless shelves which are seperated into a strict order from A to Z. This was used to be Light's favorite place. Here he was able to hide in case of a lot of stress, but he also could prepare for all situations, because each of these books and scrolls contained informations about all ponies from Equestria which have managed to get a high rank or are attracted negative attention in public. There certainly also was a comment about Light.But Light came here for another goal. His path took him to the shelves which are marked with "S". The sounds were loud in front of the shield wall. Meanwhile, probably half the castle gathered in the hall. Again separated from the real world Light found the folder with “Skystorm” on it. He held out the folder and began reading. His childhood, connection to the Stormguards, his rise ... everything is not relevant! A picture stood out in Lights eyes. A picture with a group photo from elapsed Stormguards. From the time when Skystorm had his rise. One of the Pegasi looked familiar to him. The situation calmed down in front of the shield wall. A voice of a mare was to be heard. Luna! That's its end. The shield dome has no chance against her. He quickly read the list of names from the photo. The shield wall fell and lud surprise was to hear. Thunderbolt Cloudbearer. Skyseekers father! Countless hooves trampled in the archive. Light dropped the folder. His horn began to glow. The chance that this will work is below a minimum. And even if ... I will hate me for doing it. The steps were approaching to him louder and louder. The bright light of his horn attracted the guards like moths. When the first blinked around the corner ... a blinding light and everything was quiet. Light did not know where he was. Everything went black for him, he staggered. The only thing he could realize was a cool breeze. Then he fainted.
Chapter 3 - SolsticeSolstice ---------- Chapter 3 Cool air touched Lights fur. The sun rays of the dawn tortured his closed eyes as his buzzing head. It took a few minutes, but finally he decided to stand up. His eyes opened slowly, his head empty of the memories from yesterday evening. Looking around he saw himself lying in a side alley of Canterlot. Damn ... What happened yesterday? Light rubbed his forehead with his hoof. Everything was spinning. Completely weakened he searched his way out of the alley. - There where only a few ponies on the streets, mainly guards. The castle was very close and good to see. Celestia was on her balcony. Her mane and her tail danced in the same wind with a wonderful sparkle caused by the light. The sight was simply majestic, how she raised the sun slowly and how the country increasingly looked like her radiant presence. With every minute the streets became crowded more and more. As the sun appeared completely over the horizon Celestia turned and went back into her private chambers. Light returned to reality. Ah, the evacuation teams! They are still not organized. I gotta go now. The next moments were to be horrible. Light could hardly stand on his legs, but he had to travel a huge distance from the castle to the outer walls of Canterlot. - The tortured walk of Light attracted countless glances at him. They just watched him plod along the road, but then quickly walked away. Light paid no attention for them, their eyes followed him street by street. At the halfway point, about 10 minutes later, Skyseeker ran on his way. "Light! You look terrible!" The concern was to hear formally, as if Light were just dying. Well, maybe he really was. "Skyseeker ... I need to get to the offices of the evacuation teams." "From here, it's still a huge piece!"The Pegasus thought for a moment. "I really have no time to explain it. I must finish my work. Time is running out." The standing did not benefit him. A gradual pain crept up his legs and Lights bearing was getting weaker. When he threatened to fall Skyseeker assisted Light to walk. He just could call this gesture welcome. "Thank you, Skyseeker." A wide grin stretched across the face of Skyseeker as they continued their way to the offices. The upcoming pain from before was disappearing again. - With hard efforts the two finally reached the coveted office. The evacuation team couldn't look for a better place than the last house of the road at the outer wall. As they entered the office, there was already a surprise waiting for them. A white unicorn pranced out of the office of the evacuation team captain. The snooty walk formally screamed for provocation. When the white unicorn striped his gaze through the room his eyes directly sticked on Light. In the same walk as before, he pranced up to him. "Light, my dear, you look terrible. Is all this rising over your head?" "Aspire White." He competes with me since I work in the organization team. Previously he was the best, but then I suddenly appeared without doing any mistake. For all I care he can have the title, I do not care, but he just does too many mistakes. "Miss Paperpen already introduced me to the job. Why don't you just lie down? Take a little vacation. It looks like all the stress is getting you." Some day I'll finish him off, just for his arrogant kind. "Then we'll work together now. How is it going with the evacuation work?" "Everything in the works. Just what you haven't done." "Fine!" I despise him. "And the storm?" "Haven't you looked to the sky yet? Apart from the sunrise or the sunset, we will see nothing from it. The sky is blackening as it was planned." Aspire shaked his head. As if he would think about what bothers Light all day. "Then we split up now." stated Light "You take care of the evacuation team. It has to stand until morning. Meanwhile, I'll see after the storm." Asper White turned slightly away from Light. "Fine. Don't screw it up. After all also the reputation of our team is depending on that. Otherwise I have to cut it out again." Light did not react on it. Together with his walk assistant Skyseeker he left the office. Quiet laughter could be heard behind them. Asper probably found a lot of joy in Lights crippling. - The fortune gave Light no rest. Outside the office, the yellow Pegasus already walked down the street. Skystorm seemed to want to relax after finished work. "Skystorm!" said Light. Skyseeker seemed a bit irritated while Skystorms ears fluttered briefly. At that moment he probably wondered if somepony really called his name. After a few seconds, he decided to look for the sound. The red unicorn was hard to miss. His expression changed significantly as he was coming to Light with heavy steps. "What is it ...?" Skystorm thought for a moment. "Light. I wanted to ask what the storm is doing, Captain." "Light, exactly. I should remember that name. It's just going ahead as anypony in Canterlot can see. I think you should devote yourself to more important tasks." Skyseeker intervened in the conversation. "Are you really the captain of the Stormguards?" Skyseeker grew more excited. His assistance was weakening and leaving Light on more wobbly legs. "Skystorm, captain of the Stormguards!" Until now Skystorm probably hasn't noticed Skyseekers presence at all. His face twisted in anger. "Listen, kid. Don't get on my nerves!" "Are you really the captain of the Stormguards? Is it hard work? Does it make fun?" He tolerated the question bombardment just for some moments. He cut into Skyseekers hysteria. "That's it!" He roared. Skystorm lifted one of his front hooves and overturned Skyseeker. The good physical training of the Weathererponies made it look easy. The sudden loss of his mate brought Light out of balance. He fell to the ground unprepared and his entire body was covered with horrible pain. "Ouch ..." whined the little one. "I really can't stand annoying little ponies like you! Just stay away from me!" Skystorm didn't cared for the two and just left them. - No matter what Skyseeker was going through, it was nothing compared to the pain that burned Light at this moment. Out of sheer pain, he lost all sense of reality. Everything was spinning, getting darker. Light was losing control ... - As the unicorn awoke the pain was gone. Skyseeker stood by him and watched him with wide eyes. "Are... are you all right, Light?" "Yes, I feel much better now." He stood on his legs. His attitude was much more stable. "You were lying motionless on the floor for almost an hour now..." I remember yesterday. Couldn't expect another thing that I am in such a bad condition. Long range teleportations aren't my specialism anyway, and then I try to do it through a magical shield. This could have been much worse... Light checked his horn. Some sparks sprayed wildly into the environment, but no magic was shown. "Seems like I can't use my magic at the moment." He moved around in a circle to look how his body generally is doing. The small Pegasus critically observed Light. "Skyseeker, your father is Thunderbolt Cloudbearer. Am I right?" Skyseeker nodded. "Very good. I need to speak with him." "My dad wanted to fly to Cloudsdale today. I don't know if he's still there." "Then bring me quickly to your house. It is extremely important!" If I couldn't catch him all my efforts would be in vain. Must be fortune that he leaves Canterlot just now after one year. "Are you sure that you can walk again?" "Yes, yes. Everything is fine. We now need to go quickly." Skyseeker ran ahead. With his regained strength it was an easy for Light to keep up with him. He just wondered if he ever had seen Skyseeker using his wings. Even when he fell off the ladder he hadn't used them... - The path towards Skyseekers house was relatively quiet. Light just watched the increasing deployment of guards who scoured the streets looking for suspicious persons. Nothing of what happened yesterday is allowed to come to light. Light thought about the time, when Thunderbolt wanted to fly away today. The sky was darkened completely, so he had no chance to guess the time. "We're here!" Skyseeker became slower and slower until they stopped in front of the big house. Oh yes. Thunderbolt is a nobleman. His house is therefore also very showy. The two entered the house. Even the entrance hall was so big that it overtrumped Light's house. In the hall stood a few benches, seats, for the guests to wait. "Could you please arrange a short interview, Skyseeker? As I said earlier, it is very important." Skyseeker silently saluted and ran up the stairs that leads up to the second floor. Light sat down on a bench. I think I had forgotten to give back Skystorms file. Therefore, I am already in sight. After all, there is currently nopony else working with him. Asper White also joined later. And if the father of Skyseeker belongs to the nobleness I can't allow myself any wrong questions. "Light!" It really sounded through the hall. Skyseeker was louder then ever. Without much delay Light was on his way up the stairs. Thoughts captivated his mind again. Almost absent, he reached Thunderbolts office. "Welcome, Light!" The welcome was much more pleasant than the unicorn had expected it. The office was also very nice. Countless books which adorned the wall in shelves and a decorative wooden desk in the middle of the room. From the desk you only had to turn and you could enjoy all the glory of Canterlot through the window. "With the party you've done me a great favor, Light. Of course you can stop by at any time if you need something." Light brooded over the past time. Apart from the ladder he couldn't remember anything accurate. "Thank you. I have a few questions." Thunderbolt waved Light to the desk. There were two chairs ready, and the both sat down together. "It's about Skystorm." Thunderbolts face darkened slightly. "The storm outside. I'm tasked to plan it together with Skystorm. But I find his ... kind very curious and would like to find out more about him in order to evaluate him. I heard you had worked together with him?" The old Pegasus leaned back in his chair. "Certainly, I once worked with him. I lost my job and was temporarily employed by the Stormguards. Back then when Skystorm became captain." He didn't asked how I knew about that. Either I'm busted or he trusts me. But I rather guess the former. "Is there anything specific you want to know?" Don't rush now. "I'd like to know something about his kind. Was he always used to be so hateful... " "The purest night lover. But- Skyseeker? Could you please let us alone?" Light turned toward the door. In fact, Skyseekers head looked through a crack in the door. "Yes, Daddy ..." It was suspiciously quiet if you think how loud Skyseeker usually is. The door closed and both were again only with each other. "Light," his voice dropped greatly, "take care of yourself in the vicinity of this guy. When I started, he was always the topic, and not just because of his ambitious nature which promoted him to captain. There where rumors that he is a follower of Moon Nightmare. Or now, that he wants to have her back." He almost talks out of my mind. Is it possible that he has the same concerns as me? And apart from that. The return of Nightmare Moon. Is that his motive? Does he somehow wants to wake up Nightmare Moon from Luna with this storm? This is ridiculous, but something else won't fit. "So it's really something ... suspicious. That was really all I wanted to know. Thank you." "No problem. You are always welcome." Light went back on his hooves "I wish you a safe journey this evening. Skyseeker had mentioned something." "I'll certainly have. It goes to Cloudsdale, in my old home. I'll go visit a old friend of mine. One, sometimes, needs to give a break to yourself from the work." The two passed each other and Light left the office. In the angle he just could see a wide grin on the face of Cloudbearer. - Skyseeker already waited eagerly. "What have you two spoken about?" His curiosity couldn't bemissed. Light was stretching a bit. "Nothing interesting." "It had to do with Skystorm. That was the bad guy from this morning!" "Really Skyseeker. Nothing interesting." Light yawned. "I think I'm going to sleep for now." "That soon?" Skyseeker pointed to a large clock that hung above the main entrance. Afternoon. Light hasn't noticed the clock as he waited in the hall. "You've seen it this morning. I'm a bit finished, I need urgently sleep." Skyseeker thought for a moment while his hysteria slowly died. "Okay ...." - The way home was unusually short in contrast to the big marches that Light had already behind him. In front of his own house there was waiting a litle surprise. Two guards stopped him before he could disappear into his apartment. The left of the two guards stepped forward. "Light? Am I right with that? " Damn! "Yes. Can I be of any help to you both? " The two looked at each other briefly. "I'm pretty sure you've already heard of the Incident at the palace?" When I say something wrong now it's over with me. There's no denying. Now everypony has probably heard about it. Though, I haven't heard somepony talking about it today. Does that mean they were not giving information to the outside? No, that can't be. Perhaps they have just found no introduction to the topic. The guard ponies were a little impatient. "Yes, I've noticed quite a bit." "Well, we just rattle off every house near the palace. We wanted to know whether you have seen something in the night. Every little detail would be helpful in identifying the perpetrator." Whew, more luck than brain. If I would've said that I don't know about it, I probably would be more suspicious to them. "I'm sorry. I've only heard about the incident. But I was sleeping as it happened. In the morning I noticed nothing else." The both stood brooding in front of Light. He thought for a moment. Like lightning it flashed through his head as he looked towards the two. Damn, damn, damn! The house is not even close to the palace! They are just at my door because anypony has seen me this morning reeling in the vicinity of the palace! I'm done... "Well, that's all what we wanted. We wish you a good night." "Likewise." What the ...they let me? Or do they just don't have enough evidence? Anyway, I should use the gift of time to make something useful. - He opened the front door, looking for the shortest way to the bedroom and just felt into bed. If I rest now the chances are not so bad that I can use magic again tomorrow. But not just that. Tomorrow is also the last day before the great storm starts. I just hope that the guards do not think to pick me up tomorrow. He covered himself. Even if he usually abhorred this lonely bed, just now it felt very pleasant. His gaze went back to the window where the tower of Celestia could be seen. The sky was cloudy but Celestia stood guard on her balcony, watching the city. When she looked in the direction of Lights house her gaze froze. Minutes passed in which the both stared each other. The fatigue finally got Light and let him fall asleep.
Chapter 4 - DarknessDarkness ------------- Chapter 4 It was hard to differ between night and day. No light found its way through the thick clouds of the storm. Even though they had a bad reputation, they did a professional job. Light was watching them. The clouds, that consumed all the light in the sky, so that no sunbeam was to be seen. There was only darkness. Through it loomed the balcony of a certain tower, and Light´s sight fell on the princesses. They spoke to each other. He could not understand them, but it was clear to him, what they were talking about. They gazed upon the whole city of Canterlot, but in the end their sight always fell on Lights house. Seems like they know. But even if they do, I won´t let Skystorm get away with his doings. The unicorn turned over in his bed, the alicorns gazes in his back. It is time. The last thing to blow his cover, even if it means I would have to go to some exile of their choosing. - He rose from bed and hid behind the wall, where the observing eyes couldn't track him. “So, off we go.“ His horn lighted up. It took some time, but then two scrolls rose from the nearby shelf. Carefully they floated to a table and opened up in the light of his magic. So I can use magic again. It was odd getting along without it. He took a seat at the table, armed with a quill, analyzing the paper. He took a short glance outside the window, to Luna and Celestia, before his concentration was fully on the letter. It´s not hard to tell the end of this, I just hope it´ll pay out in the end... It took almost an hour to fill the scrolls with content. Carefully he sealed the first scroll, put it into the second one, and sealed it as well. After that he put them away on the desk. There will be different laws for me, after tomorrow. - Out on the streets of Canterlot Light thought about his next step. His eyes were fixed on the dark ocean of clouds atop the city. He´s planning something, I'm sure of it. I need something concrete. I can not confront him with what I've got now, he could just deny all the charges, and I would just end up in exile. On that thought he quickly looked for guards. He could not find any. He then made sure nopony was following him and continued on his way. I've got to ask the ponies that are close to him. The only ones in reach are the Stormguards, but I doubt they´d help me. Should I use Force? No. That´s the last thing I need. As long as the City-Guard remains passive, I should do the same. So I got to trick them into giving me the information. A Pony stepped into Lights way. He gazed towards the stranger. Dammit, a guard!? No, wait. A Stormguard! Lights body stiffened a little. “A red Unicorn. Light, am I right?“ “Yes, that is correct.“ What does a Stormguard want from me? I hope Skystorm hasn't took notice of anything, that would just complicate things. The Stormguard came closer. The missing distance was uncomfortable for Light. “Thunderbolt Cloudbearer sends me. I am supposed to show you something.“ Light perked up his ears. “When he went to Cloudsdale yesterday he noticed something conspicuous on the storm. He delayed his journey just to inform me.“ The whole story sounds implausible, especially his Stormguard-suit bothers me. But he´s right at one point. I slept deeply the whole morning, even if Cloudbearer would have come personally, I would not have noticed it. But why is he wearing a Stormguard-Suit? The pegasus pushed himself under Lights body. “Whoa! What are you doing!?“, cried the unicorn, as the wings of the pegasus spread out. “Oh no, you won´t!“ “You better hold on to me.“, and they flew off at that exact moment, directly into the mist of black clouds above them. Light nearly lost his grip, but managed to cling to the body of the pegasus. Bolts of lightning struck through the air, uninvolved should stay away from the storm for a reason, after all. - A few seconds later they broke through the bank of clouds, the sunlight lit up their entire surrounding. It looked like another world, one that was withhold from Earth Ponies and Unicorns alike. But Light hadn't had the time to admire this parallel world. He still lay on the pegasus´ back, gasping and clunching his hooves around the neck of it. “There´s a reason the Stormguard is wearing lightning-proof suits, my friend. But you do know, that I am not wearing one, do you?“ Light did not dare to look at anything else then the pegasus “And, well...I...I am really scared of heights, and right now I am floating like 3 miles ABOVE THE GROUND!“ The pegasus sighed “My suit would have prevailed lightning bolts from discharging on you, but being afraid of heights? That´s nonsense. I've heard so much about limitless unicorn magic, why don´t you learn some spell to cast away your stupid fears.“ Well I often say some of this kind myself, and to be honest, he´s right. But I do not remember any unicorns using this kind of sentence, at least not in my presence. Have I met him before? “If you let go of me, we can get to what I wanted to show you, take a look around.“ The grip around the pegasus´ neck loosened a little. The first thing Light noticed was the low altitude of the sun. From this direction...is it getting night already? Not really my thing to be isolated from the sky. His second look made him gulp. All around him mountains of thunderclouds were building them selfs up, they expanded around the whole area of the storm. This concentrated mass of thunderclouds could easily devastate the whole town of Canterlot. The Unicorn remained silent for a moment, but then burst out in joy. “HA! THIS IS IT! The proof, I've been looking for! Hard evidence that does not leave any back doors for Skystorm. He´s screwed.“ The Pegasus remained silent. “So his plan really is to destroy Canterlot, after all. Celestia and Luna would never allow that, but there is no way for them to stop him before he´s done some serious damage. I have got to stop him before that happens. I owe it some ponies.“ His thoughts came to Senity and Paperpen. Not to forget the Princesses, as well as Cloudbearer and Skyseeker and all the inhabitants of Canterlot itself. “I´ll take us down again. Hold on tight, Light.“ - Back on the ground a small crowd of ponies had already gathered. His fast flight into the storm had drawn more attention to Light then he would have guessed. As he landed he instantly got surrounded by this very crowd. “What are you doing, Light? Flying into thunderclouds without proper protection, that´s dangerous!“ “Yes, I know.“ What I don´t know is who that pony is. “It wasn't my idea to begin with. But what I wanted to ask is why are you wearing that Stormguard-Su...“ As he turned around it knocked him for a loop, the pegasus he flew up with was gone. At his place now only was the crowd, drawing ever nearer to him. Where did he go? - The situation escalated. More and more ponies joined the crowd, all of them wanted to know what was going on. Light only saw one possible solution to dissolve this situation. “I do understand your worries, my dear ponies“, he shouted, but barely reached the whole crowd “But I fear, that I do not have the time to explain. I got to be back on my way, right away.“ His horn began to glow and with a yellow flash of light he was gone, and popped up again a few meters outside the crowd. A bit wobbly, but still fast, he left that place. - Now that I have everything together, I just have to find Skystorm and force him to clear away the storm. That won't be fun... The crowd behind him dissolved, going back to their daily business. My first lead would be Asper. I just hope he knows where the Stormguard is located. Fully recovered from his teleportation he went to the office of the clearing-crew. The office was empty, the crew was probably working to not delay the storm. “May I help you?“ A mare behind the reception looked at Light with a friendly smile. “Yes, I am looking for Asper White, is he here? I really got to talk to him.“ “Asper, Asper...“ She got a bit lost in thought before she answered “Ah, yes! Asper White is in a meeting with our Captain.“ “Thats quite alright.“ The mare hurried to stop Light, as he already made his way to the office. “Please be patient. The meeting should not be disturbed.“ “I took notice of that and will take full responsibility.“ “You still cannot just simply walk into the meeting! Wait!“ Light sighed. “I would, if I had time to do so.“ “What could be so urgent that...“ Light opened the office door. The two ponies inside interrupted their conference and looked at him a bit angrily. “Hadn't I ordered to not be disturbed?“, he addressed the mare. “I beg your pardon“, she talked fast and in awe “but he just wouldn't-“ “I could not wait , if you excuse me, sir.“ Light looked at the white unicorn “Asper I quickly got to talk to you.“ Asper rolled his eyes and came towards Light. “What could be so important, my dear colleague?“ “Do you have any idea where the Stormguard is located, I've got to talk to their Captain.“ Asper laughed. “But of course I do, and you should, too. It was in the appendix of our assignment. I´m quite sure that you got those, too.“ I know I had them in my hooves. But where did I put them... “Just tell me where. We shouldn't delay this any longer.“ Asper sighed again.“So unthoughtful. Can´t believe they call you the best of us.“ He laid his front hooves on his forehead. “They´re at an hotel nearby, which is called...cloud...something with cloud, dunno, it´s near the city gate. You shouldn't be able to miss it.“ “The Sleeping Cloud, I know that one. Thank you.“ “It´s the last day, and you don´t seem to have done any kind of planing with Skystorm. I sure hope for you that everything will go fine.“ Asper didn't even try to hide his sarcasm. He wanted to see Light fail for a long time. “I do hope so as well. More than you know“ - A few minutes later Light reached the hotel. It grew noticeably darker. Possibly it was already night, the storm made it hard to guess the time of day. I hope the Stormguard does not know of his plan. The incident with the unknown pegasus today clearly speaks against their knowledge. I should not gain to much attention when asking for Skystorm. A stallion was standing behind the reception. “Greetings, I am Light, and I am in charge of the organization of the storm. May I ask where I can find the Stormguard? They should reside here, as far as I know.“ The stallion sighed. “Light. Never heard that name. You can ask these strange pegasi for yourself. They´re in the dining room“ “Thank you.“ “It´s right ´round the corner, just follow the signs“ Loud yelling could be heard from that direction “Well, I guess it shouldn't be too hard even without the signs.“ - They were sitting around one big table as a giant group. It was a big commotion, everyone was talking. Even if it hadn't look like it to the outside, there was a strong companionship amongst them. I hate these moments. Light entered the room. The dinner was interrupted, everyone was starring at him. These moments in the “spotlight“. “My dear Stormguards, I have a question.“ The pegasi remained silent at their seats, looking at the unicorn. “Does any of you know where I could find your Captain?“ If he told them, I´m done for. The fact that he built so much without anyone noticing speaks clearly against me. If all fails I may have to face them all. Wouldn't be my first time facing so many. One of the pegasi stood up. “He´s outside the city gates. At night he´s always examining the storm. Sometimes he continues working. He´s very ambitious.“ “And lonesome!“ another pegasus yelled, that instantly found great affirmation. Then everyone continued their dinner. So he is alone. Perfect. “Thank you for the information, I´ll be going now. Enjoy your meal!“ The returned festiveness had risen the noise level again, so probably none had even heard him. - On the outside it was still the same darkness. It clearly was night. At least I am already at the city gates. Light sighed again, looking at the gate. Will he interrupt everything if I confront him? I doubt it. Skyseeker already tested Skystorms strength, I´m not itching for his hooves in my face. He thought of some of the ponies he knew. Almost ironic, that I sacrifice everything so that the others can live normally. Maybe my old job wasn't so bad after all. But after the wild dispute of the princesses I doubt that I´ll ever do that again. He plucked up his courage and walked through the gate. - The further he went, the darker it got. The lights of Canterlot behind him grew ever dimmer. His horn was glowing. “I should be able to see like this.“ So, where are you Skystorm? He took a good look at his surroundings, but in the black emptiness it was hard to find something. The field around him was completely dark. A dull wind was blowing. “SKYSTORM!“ His shout sounded over the field, followed by silence. The wind grew stronger and with a bang Skystorm landed in front of Light. “Who called?“ His physical abilities are astounding. “Skystorm, we have to talk. About the Storm.“ Skystorms face darkened, he looked angry. “It´s on. There is nothing to talk about.“ “It is way bigger than it should be... What are you planning?“ Skystorm closed his eyes and laughed silently. “So you found out. And there I thought we were getting along just fine. You can not stop me. If you want to live, stay close and don´t move. I can´t risk to let any information go to Celestia.“ Light squinted his eyes. “Just give up, Skystorm. I will not simply tolerate that you destroy Canterlot.“ Skystorm burst out laughing “You? You threaten me? How adorable. You know, I don´t want to destroy Canterlot, I have a much bigger goal.“ Light listened up. “I will darken the sky. Then, Nightmare Moon will rise again and bring us the Eternal Night!“ Light laughed. “What kind of plan is that? Do you really think Nightmare Moon will rise that easy? Don´t make me laugh.“ - “Silence!“ A hoof hit Lights breast. It wasn't a hard punch, but it did hurt badly. “You still think you can stop me?“ His plan is idiotic but I just can´t do anything. If he does any mistakes, Canterlot will most definitely suffer, it´s still all above Canterlot after all. Light build a magic shield around himself. “Well that´s a start. Just keep sitting inside your barrier and watch the rise of Nightmare Moon.“ Skystorm turned away from Light. Then with a sudden boom, the shield exploded. The pressure threw the pegasus soaring through the air. With a little luck it still managed to land on his hooves. “Alright then.“, Skystorm shook off the dirt, “My turn now!“ With his naivety he will turn this into a catastrophe. - Skystorm spread his wings. “Right. You´re a pegasus. This´ll be fun.“ And off in the sky he went. He was way faster than the Stormguard from earlier today. Lights horn was glowing, he built 3 barrier shields around him. That ought to stop him. The roaring sound of Skystorms wings beating could be heard, and the first barrier broke. He had done a terrible dive, and pushed all of his body weight against the shields. The second barrier broke but Skystorms dive got weaker. “That´s not enough, Skystorm! Just give up!“ The last barrier began to glow, exploded and catapulted Skystorm right in the air again. “Nice defensive. But let me show you what a difference physical fitness does.“ Skystorm looked around, stopped at the clouds and flew right into them. Light built up his shields again. What is he planning? Just disappearing in clouds...? Big parts of the thunderclouds just broke out of the mass and just fell down on the field. These clouds...they are part of your plan, Skystorm. What are you doing? Skystorm was standing on one of the remaining clouds, and looked down on the unicorn. He flapped his wings, flew off and landed on his cloud again. A thunderbolt struck out and hit the shield. It bounced off and hit the ground near Light. This was just a test, what is he planning? Skystorm spread his mighty wings. He prepared for another dive. He did not do this for nothing, I have to watch out. He hit the shields like before. The first two broke the last exploded and threw him back in the air. But then Skystorm quickly flew into one of the clouds and a thunderbolt struck out of it into Lights direction. WHAT?! - “Ha! Seems you weren't prepared for that, unicorn.“ Light felt down. The thunderbolt had hit a joint of his right foreleg. Dammit...This hurts. It was too fast. I just could not react, and this will definitely hinder my movement. “You did quite good until now, unicorn. You fight better then most unicorns I know.“ Everything he lacks in brains he invested in muscles. The field lightened up. The gaps and fractures in the clouds let the moonlight shine through. “Take a look at my cutiemark, Skystorm. You think you get this for planing and organizing?“ I've got to admit that thunderbolt took me by surprise. - Skystorm landed in front of Light. He looked at his cutiemark: A shield with a symbol. Light turned aside before Skystorm could make out more of it. “No shields this time? You can´t be done yet.“ He´s right. I ain't. Skystorm waited for a while. He struck a pose in which he could fly off at any time. “Heh. You can´t really think that we´re even nearly finished, Skystorm.“ Lights horn glowed again and with a “Zap!“ he disappeared. “What?“ Skystorm turned around. Light was behind him. It flashed bright between the two and Skystorm got thrown away. His body left a path of destruction in the field, on which he then raised with lots of scratches. Light collapsed. The pain. I was never good with teleportation, but I can not give up. “Not now!“ He got back on his legs. “What was that?“ asked Skystorm, while he held his head with one of his hooves. Shields are created in two ways. The first is to define a central point of creation around which the shield builds up. The other way is to choose a point from which the shield spreads out. You can´t change the circular body, but I did let the shield explode before it was finished. As he got no answer Skystorm flew off back into his precious storm. In its time of existence it offers protection and gives me a quick counter, because the smaller size takes less time to be brought to explosion. It does tire me as much as a fully functional shield, though. - Big chunks of clouds gathered around the field now. Light built up his three shields around him again. That is the maximum I can do. His injury left him no room for dodging attacks. “Going turtle again, he? You look rather exhausted. My thunderbolt did quite the damage, I reckon.“ Just then Light realized how heavy he was breathing, the whole situation was only worsened by Skystorms wide grin. The excessive use of magic had really worn him out. Skystorm landed on a cloud, looking down on his enemy he said “Light! Better get ready. For I´m only just starting.“ What a difficult character. With spread-out wings Skystorm began to fly circles in the air, starting slowly but getting faster and faster. I've read about something like this. If he keeps flying in such tight curves he´ll create a tornado. The air began to flow around Skystorm, and the faster he got, the more the wind began to shape a tornado. Thats bad. I can´t do anything with my wound. The nearby clouds gathered around Skystorm. He can´t be serious... The thunderclouds merged with the tornado, and it turned black and thunderbolts began to struck out of it. - The tornado began to crawl slowly into the direction of Lights shields. Damn. I can´t do anything. The storm´s not fast, but with the wound running away is not even an option. A thunderbolt hit the shield, it got reflected but the raw power of the impact did let the shield quake. The barriers won´t hold. If that tornado gets me directly, I´m done for. I can only hope to survive this. The tornado devastated his whole surrounding, the thunderbolts burnt deep scars into the grass. I can forget teleportation, too, I´m still too tired from before. Light lay down. Think...Wait! The tornado is slow for a reason. Skystorm has to be careful with all the thunderbolts in there. A small disturbance could clear that thing up, or fry me alive. I've got no choice. It has to hit me directly. The closer Skystorm came, the more thunderbolts did hit the shield. Only a few meters where left, when the first shield broke. More and more thunderbolts came out of the tornado. The moment the storm touched the second one it broke, too. It´s critical now. I can´t make any new shields, I´m unprotected when the last shield breaks. As the storm touched the last shield, it shook chaotically, but it reached a few centimeters into the eye of the storm. That should do it! - The explosion disordered the tornado. You could hear a few sounds from Skystorm, mainly curses, but the storm imploded at last. As it faded the last thunderbolts unloaded into the near surroundings. Luckily Light only took minor injuries, but Skystorm got hit in his right wing. - The Pegasus fell down to the ground and remained lying there. Is that it? Light watched him for a moment. What an ending. To get finished by his own attack... “Not.....now!“ The pegasus rose up again in great pain. Tough one. Is it really worth it risking his life for this stupid plan? Skystorm spread his wings. The thunderbolt had burned the wing and he had lost some feathers, that we´re now spreading on the ground. Light checked his breathing. Faster than before. I have to put everything on my next attack, or I´m done for. Skystorm took off. He can still fly with his injury...okay then. Light built up his three shields again, while Skystorm was preparing his last assault. “I´m going to give everything in this attack, Light. You hear me? Everything!“ No answer. “It will be over with your arrogance. Victory is the only thing that´ll count now.“ Skystorm began to dive on the shields. He is slower than before. That is- All his three shields broke in one strike. Skystorm used the remaining impact to push Light to the ground. “Heh. I...I have won, Light.“ Skystorm was full of energy again. “Is it time already?“ Lights horn began to glow. A single shield built up around the two of them. This one was different, he glimmered in the sunlight. “The suns up, Skystorm.“ With a renewing glow of his horn the shield too began to glow stronger. “And? It´s over. I won. I´m inside your stupid shield.“ “Here´s the summary: With my magic I use the power of the tides .“ That´s the reason why Luna could disperse the moonlight-drenched shield in the archives. “To put it differently: I can use sun or moonlight to strengthen my magic. The effect differs from spell and daytime, and the more I use them during one time of day, the weaker it gets. Everything stays balanced. My next spell using the other power source gets unusually strong.“ Skystorm leaned back a bit “You used magic the whole night. That means this shield...“ “Yes but not only that. Sunlight allows just a single shield, but a specially strong one, that is.“ Skystorm gulped. “And of course I changed it´s polarity. It will explode....inwards.“ The shield turned into a flash and disbanded roaring into the red morning. - Head to head they lay next to each other, their faces turned towards the sky. “I can´t move no more. Can you, Skystorm?“ The pegasus sighed „...No.“ “Your plan would not have worked anyways. Will you listen to me?“ They looked at the sky, at the slow clearing of the storm, with the sun in its background. “It´s not like I had a choice.“ “ Your cutiemark fits you and your destructive abilities quite well. A black tornado filled with thunderbolts. Exactly what you used against me.“ “I just combined. It appealed to me with all the thunderclouds up there.“ “Not bad. But what I wanted to say. My cutiemark. The symbol on it is a combination of sun and moon. A symbol of balance. The shield means that I want to protect this balance. The balance of the world flows into the peace Celestia and Luna bring upon this world, and with it the Elements of Harmony. That is why I protect them. I had lost my goal, but you reminded me of it. I thank you for that.“ Skystorm remained silent. - “I don´t know why you wanted to wake Nightmare Moon in Luna and threaten all the worlds balance by doing so, but I think we´re not so different after all. I think...you lost your goal, too. Try to remember why you became Captain of the Stormguard.“ Skystorm closed his eyes. “Back then in the past. I...I was looking for my special talent. I did not had my cutiemark, even after school. Everyone made fun of me and looked down on me. Without a cutiemark you just don´t know what you can do as a job, and even if you apply for something it is hard to be accepted, because you´re just so blank. My fate did lead me to the Stormguard. They were looking for Ponies, because they seriously lacked members. Of course I then found my special talent with them, and earned my cutiemark in their midst. I... felt special in a way. I had something I wanted to share with the world, moreover something I could share.“ “Not to know what you can do. You mentioned it. I can´t really feel the pain you had to live through, when everypony was looking down on you, but I felt similarly when I began to doubt my cutiemark. Having a talent that's bound with a way of living, is hard if you can´t trust that way no more. But when you spoke about it. We both have talents we want to share. Skill not to change the world but to shape it. I hope you catch my meaning.“ Skystorm gazed into the sky, as if he was thinking about Lights words. The only thing I had to do, was waking him up from his dream. He´s not a bad pony. A smile appeared on Lights lips. He does remind me of Skyseeker. They entirely different but share so much at the same time. - Skystorm interrupted the silence. “There´s so much I never thought about and now it's too late. The idea alone. How could I possibly wake Nightmare Moon with nothing more than a storm above Canterlot. And now my own stupidity has brought me here. I doubt I can be a Stormguard any longer.“ Light gave a quick laugh. “True, true. But that´s what shaping is about, isn't it? Look for a different job to give something to the world with your skills. It does not look to different on my part. It´s the fault of both of us that there is no storm.“ Light reached with his hoof towards Skystorm, who hesitated, but then lifted his hoof still shaking. Light slided a bit closer, so that the hooves hit each other, and his smile became a bride grin and Skystorms face began to relax a little, too. “I've got one more job for. I do count you as one of my friends, so don´t disappoint me. In my house, on my desk, there is a scroll. Could you bring it to Celestia? Just ask Paperpen or Senity if you don´t know where I live. The key´s under the mat in front of the door. I put it there for tonight.“ Skystorm thought about it for a moment “Alright. I´ll bring her the scroll, but why-“ Light stood up. “Excuse me, Skystorm, but I don´t have any time to lose.“ “Where are you going?“ “Who knows. Away from Canterlot, I guess.“ Skystorm looked at Lights Cutiemark, next to the shield and the symbol there were a few stars. “These Stars, do they have any meaning, too?“ Light turned away from Skystorm “I´ll tell you next time we meet.“ And with this words he went off into the woods before Canterlot. Skystorm watched him until he faded into the thicket. “Friends, hmm? What a beginning for my first friendship.“
