Looming Darkness

by Orthoros

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Alternate Universe, Dark
Length: 15718

Darkness is the friend of those who don't want to be seen. Only Light can show what lies in the shadows, but someone has to point it there first... Before you notice the movements in the dark, it may be too late!

A Darkness appears in the skies over Equestria, and this darkness is host to an unknown being. Trapped in Darkness for eternity, it wants to get out. When it stumbles over Equestria, a plan is set into motion, and the darkness will stop at nothing to escape!

This is a story about losses, new beginnings and fighting for survival. A story about a young colt that needs to grow up fast, about love, and an entire race that might very well be at the brink of destruction.

Will our heroes be able to stop what they cannot see? Will they even notice before it is too late? Or will they be destroyed before even knowing that something is going on?

This story takes place in the distant past, before Nightmare Moon came to be, and there were still more alicorns than the Royal Sisters.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2013-08-26 19:49:44 UTC

Looming Darkness

Darkness

It's all around me. It has been here for....  I wonder for how long. I have lost all sense of time, maybe I don't even exist... What's Life? What's death? I have a feeling that I once knew the answers to those questions... or maybe not. I can’t really remember

Darkness

It's all around me. It has been here for.... I wonder for how long. Is there anything else out there? What am I? I can't remember... or do I? I think I do... was I asleep?  But for how long? What is my purpose? Why have I awoken now? I need to think.

Darkness

The Darkness, it's still here, never-ending. I'm starting to doubt that there was ever something else. But I know there once was. I have regained a lot of my memories, I’ve been gradually remembering for the past... years? Days? Hours? I don't know. Time seems to be irrelevant here. I wonder, can I escape from this Darkness? Maybe there is a way. I need to think about it.

Darkness

Darkness, that’s all there is. I've been thinking … A lot. I've invented a method to try and keep track of time. If I’m correct it has been 15 long years since I’ve awoken from my slumber. I do not have a body. At first I thought I might have one, but that I can't feel anything. But that does not seem to be the case. I'm starting to go insane. There is nothing here. I can't do anything! I need a way to escape this Darkness. This needs more thought...

Darkness

It's still here. Everywhere around me... The Darkness. I can't stand it. I want to destroy it! Shred it to pieces! Was that a flicker of light? No... There is no light here! There has never been! Why am I here? Why do I exist? I just want to kill myself, to end this dreary existence in the dark! But I can't, there is no body to destroy. I hunger for life, a body of my own. I need to find some kind of conscious life forms, it's my only chance to escape this cruel fate! Wait... there was that small flicker of light again?!? This needs further investigation...

Light?

I have found something. The Light source I saw around a month ago was real! It seems to be a Planet surrounded by stars, surrounded by Darkness. There is life on this Planet, maybe this is the chance I’ve been waiting for so long to get. I need to observe it...

Light!

I've learned a lot. This planet is a welcome change from the darkness. It's inhabited by a variety of different Species. From what I’ve learned, there are griffons, zebras, horses, mules and many more! But the most interesting of them all, are the Ponies. There are 3 different kinds; Unicorns, which have power over something they call magic, Pegasi, who have the ability to fly, and earth ponies, which have strong bodies and are connected to nature. But by far the most interesting ones are the three Alicorns. They possess an extraordinary amount of the magic on this planet. Maybe I can use them for my purpose, maybe my journey will finally come to an end. I have to experiment. I need to see if I can manipulate this Planet. I need to get a body....

2 weeks ago

Royal Palace, Canterlot

Luna was gazing at her Stars. It was an eventful night, the nobility of Canterlot had, once again, started a major quarrel about how many taxes they should have to pay. They are loyal to the Palace and would do just about anything, if one of us asked them to, but as soon as it gets to money, everypony is on its own.

"Luna?"

Somewhere behind her, a voice called out for her attention. She decided to ignore it, as she had no intention of discussing the events of the night any further with anyone. She was sick of the topic.

"Luna, there you are."

Shit. So much for avoiding ponies...

"I thought you might be up here. Whenever something bothers you, you come up here to look at your sky."

"You always had a talent for finding me, Terra."

Terra was a big black alicorn, with a green mane, that was, just like Luna’s and Celestia’s, flowing in the mystical winds of the power they all possessed. But while Luna and Celestia’s were controlling the Sun and the Moon respectively, Terra was the one who controlled the Earth itself. He was the one who controlled everything from the seas to the woods and their wildlife at the same. It was a befitting role for him, as he was the most powerful of the three. Calm like the earth itself, and kind like nopony else.

"There is no talent involved in finding you, as you always go to the same spot." Terra said, with a smirk on his face.

"You may be right with that. But tell me, why did you come and find me today? You never do something without a reason."

At this question the smirk on Terra's face vanished. He put on a serious expression. He stared up into the night skies and said:

"The animals are behaving weird, Luna. They feel that something is coming, and so do I. I don't know yet what it is, if it's good or bad, but I know that it's coming"

Luna let this information sink in. This was most likely nothing to worry about, as Terra had feelings  like this pretty often. Sometimes it was just some minor thing, like an earthquake, or something of the sort. She decided to play it off.

"Why do you always come to us and tell us? Most of the time it's nothing that should worry us at all."

Terra finally turned and looked Luna into her eyes.

"I'd rather be safe than sorry. If it would not be too much to ask, I’d like for you to watch the sky, and see if there is something unusual."

Luna frowned at this.

"Why should I watch the skies? All of your predictions have something to do with the earth itself. What's different this time?"

"It's just the feeling that I get, maybe I’m wrong. We will see in due time what exactly is wrong. But look, the sun is already rising, which means Celestia is awake. I will go and tell her too. You go and sleep, after a night like this, you'll need it."

While saying this, Terra stood up, and started walking away, leaving Luna alone to her thoughts.

"We will see in due time..."

Light

It was a bright and sunny day in Manehattan. Birds were singing their songs, providing the almost perfect picture of foals playing in the park with a most fitting background song. It was a perfect day, indeed. Amidst the playing children, there was a young unicorn foal. He had a bright yellow coat that shone like the sun itself, and a mane so green, even the plants and trees were envious of the beautiful color. He was the center of attention; everything seemed to revolve around him. Loved by anypony, and respected even by the elder ponies. Ray Light was his name.

But, as is with all good, there is something bad. It might not be visible at first glimpse, but if you dig deep enough, you'll always find it. Even Ray Light, my son, wasn't spared from this rule. My name is Thunderstrike, and let me tell you the story of my only child.

I will start right at the beginning, the birth. On a rainy Night, combined with a storm the likes of which you've never seen before, was the day he decided to be born. I and my wife, Blue Skies, were huddled in front of the fireplace, seeking shelter from the storm. But our son had different plans, so we needed to get to the hospital, and fast. With the storm raging outside, this was quite the problem. It took me and my wife a lot of energy to get there. Needless to say, as we arrived, we were both pretty exhausted. It was a long night, a very, very, long night.

After what seemed like an eternity, our most precious son was born. The storm outside was beginning to calm down, and everything seemed just perfect. I was the first to hold him, almost lost myself in his beautiful green eyes. But the birth took it's toll. Blue Skies was almost falling unconscious, but needless to say, wanted to hold our son. Outside, the sun was beginning to push through the clouds, announcing the end of the storm. A single ray of light shone through the window and onto my wife and son. With a smile on her face she named our son "Ray Light", a very fitting name, considering the situation. Soon after she finally gave in to the tiredness of giving birth, and finally fell asleep.

A sleep that she never would wake up from.

This was 9 Years ago. Ray Light grew up to be a wonderful child, loved by everypony, respected by even the elders. He was truly perfect. Until one fateful day,  when we found out that he couldn't use magic. This was devastating news for him, me, and everyone we knew. The foal that seemed so perfect, wasn't perfect at all. 'What's the meaning in being a unicorn, if I can't use magic?' he asked me. I told him that nothing was perfect, and even he wasn't an exception to that rule. I may have been a little bit harsh to him, but he got over it eventually. He went back to being his old cheerful self, and everypony was relieved to see their favorite foal happy again.

Since then, we tried everything we could think of to help him get at least some magic power, but it was to no avail. The best doctors, magicians, and scientists couldn't help him. We even asked the zebras in the south, but even they didn't know of a potion that could help. Then there was the problem of his cutie mark. While most of his friends at school already had theirs, Ray was still missing his. And so we lived on, a quiet, ordinary life if you ask me. I wish Blue Skies was here, she would be so happy to see our son grow up.

But enough of our story, it's time to go home. Let me just call my son.

"RAY! It's getting dark! Time to go home!"

"Yes dad! Bye guys, I have to go, see you tomorrow at school"

I'm never getting tired of that view, my happy son, running towards me. It lets me forget all my grief and all the bad times. It just feels right, you know? But I think the hard parts of our life are over, it's going uphill from now on.

“You ready to go? Let’s grab something to eat on our way back"

Bright days are lying ahead !

Day 1

Manehattan

Day 1

It was a bright and sunny day in Manehattan. School had just ended, and there were several fillies racing to escape the boring classroom.  Amidst all of them, one could see Ray Light and his two friends, Sound Wave and Butterscotch.

Sound Wave was a Blue Earth Pony with a white mane, bearing a cutie mark of two musical notes, representing his talent to sing. Butterscotch was a pegasus with a caramel-colored coat and a dark brown mane, and the same as Ray, Butterscotch hadn’t earn his Cutie Mark yet.

As they trotted towards the center of town, they were discussing what they should do, now that they had free time.

“How about we go play in the park?" asked Butterscotch, which earned him almost annoyed looks from both of his friends.

"Nah, we did that yesterday... and the day before yesterday. What about a change of location for once?"

"That's an excellent idea Wave, I vote for the forest, we haven't been there for, like, forever."

As almost always when Ray proposed something, his two friends agreed with him. Sounding their agreement, the activity for the day was agreed on.

About twenty minutes later, the trio found themselves in front of the entrance to the forest. It was a beautiful forest with all kinds of trees, bushes, flowers and animals. But not animals of the hostile sort, no, in this forest harmony was dominant. Thus it was a perfect spot for young adventurers to explore and play, and sometimes, to make a big discovery.

While looking around, trying to decide which way to go, Ray asked:" Last time we were here, we found that awesome Waterfall in the cave west of here, what do you think we will find this time?"

"It's not guaranteed that we find anything" said Sound Wave in his cool and calculating manner.

"Yeah but if we search for a good, long time, we'll surely find something, right?" Butterscotch answered.

"Depends on our luck I guess, I think we should go north this time, we pretty much have the western part covered already..."

Sound Wave responded to Butterscotch’s statement with a small grin on his face.

"North it is, when I can trust something, it's your sense of direction, I guess."

"Oh stop it, you're making me blush, Ray! Perks of being a pegasus, I’d say."

"If you say so. But come on, we're burning daylight, my father expects me home for dinner, so let's go!"

With this final statement they ran off into the woods and started their little adventure.

Four hours later.

"So, we found nothing after all" said Butterscotch while kicking away a pebble.

"Don't let it get to you Butters, sometimes you have luck, sometimes you don't! Next time we'll be sure to find something!"

When Butterscotch heard those words from Ray, he instantly cheered up. "Yeah, I guess you're right"

"Next time for sure, don't worry about it. But I guess I gotta stop here, it's almost time for dinner, and you know how my dad is..." Ray said.

With now lifted spirits, they started trotting towards the exit of the forest.

"Hey, look at me!" Wave suddenly shouted.

As Ray and Butters turned around to look what their friend was up to, Wave was already climbing a big rock. Once he arrived at the top, he struck a hero-like pose and shouted: "I am the King of this Rock! Is there anypony who dares to challenge me, the Great and Powerful Sound Wave?" looking down to his friends with an expectant grin on his face, he waited for a response.

Ray and Butters looked at each other with smiles on their faces "THE KING MUST FALL!" they shouted in unison and started climbing the rock to assault the king and claim the rock as their own.

After a short amount of struggling and wrestling, Ray came out on top (as always), and looked at his defeated "enemies"

"I now claim this rock as my own, any complaints?" he asked. Butters and Wave only shook their heads at that, admitting defeat. Striking a victory pose, Ray shouted “AND ONCE AGAIN SIR RAY LIGHT COMES OUT VICTO-" Ray slipped on the rock and began to fall, which apart from a initial shock didn't worry him or his friends that much, the rock wasn’t that high after all. Ray, now lying in the dirt, spitting out a leaf that got into his mouth, earned a round of laughter from his friend, which he soon joined in.

*Crack*

The laughing stopped abruptly at the pretty loud noise. It just didn't sound natural, and before anyone could say anything, ray was suddenly gone. In his place was a hole, through which Wave and Butters concluded, Ray must have fallen through.

Poking their head over the hole to look down, Wave shouted "Ray? Can you hear me, Ray?!"

But there was no answer; worried something serious might have happened to their friend, they called out to him again and again, but with no response coming out of the hole. "You think we should get help?" Butters asked. "Yes...."

"Hold on Ray! We're going to get help!" Wave shouted down the hole, and with this they ran as fast as they could back into town to get help.

About an hour later

Wave and Butters were running towards the forest with Ray Light's Father and some other ponies who'd volunteered to help with the search. But as they approached the entry to the forest, Ray stumbled outside of it.

The now pretty confused search party ran up to him and as soon as they reached him, Thunderstrike grabbed him in a tight embrace while saying "We thought something happened to you! I couldn't bear the thought of losing you too!" tears of joy streamed down from his eyes.

"I'm okay dad, but I’m not exactly sure what happened... I awoke inside of a hole and couldn't find Wave and Butters anymore, so I decided to walk out."

"You sure you're okay? That hole looked pretty deep." Wave asked with a concerned face. "We couldn't even see the bottom of it!"

"Yeah, I’m alright; I somehow managed to climb out. I may have some cuts and bruises; it wasn't exactly easy to climb out of there. I'd just like to go home and maybe sleep a little, I’m pretty tired." said Ray, with a half-asleep expression that showed he was indeed speaking the truth.

"Let's get you home and patched up son, we can talk some more when we're back." And with that, the search party scattered, glad to know nothing happened.

After Thunderstrike and Ray got home, the father tended to his son’s minor injuries. "Are you really alright? Weren't you scared? Does it hurt anywhere else? Is this too tight?" Thunderstrike practically bombarded ray with questions.

"I'M ALRIGHT OKAY?" Ray suddenly shouted, which silenced Thunderstrike. "I'm just tired and I really, really, really would like to go to sleep now pleeeeaaassee?"

Thunderstrike looked at his son in confusion. This was, after all, the first time Ray shouted at him. "Okay Ray, you just go to your room now and get some rest. Maybe we can talk a little more tomorrow." As soon as the words were spoken, Ray turned around and walked straight into his room, shutting the door behind himself.

'Something is different' Thunderstrike thought. Since he came out of the forest he'd been acting a little weird. Probably just my imagination, tomorrow he'll be back to normal.' And with that, Thunderstrike, too, lazily strode towards his bedroom. Tired after an exciting and frightening day, after all, what would he do if Ray too, was lost?

Lumen

Canterlot

Day 1

Luna, Terra and Celestia were in the dining room. It was a rare occasion to have all three rulers in one place. All the more reason for them to enjoy each others' company. Lighthearted conversations and laughter filled the room, the problems of leading a country and being responsible for the heavens and the earth momentarily forgotten.

Of course it was just then, that one of the royal messengers decided to burst into the room and ruin the mood. The three rulers didn't even so much as flinch, already being used to having their private time cut short. Terra was the one who decided to speak up.

"Pray tell, what is important enough to disturb us while enjoying our meal?" he asked, patiently waiting for an answer.

"Your highness, I'm here to inform you that your presence is required in the infirmary wing! It's about your wife. It appears that she is close to giving birth!" the messenger blurted out, eager to deliver the good news.

Terra, usually calm and reserved, perked up at this. A huge smile plastered across his face, so completely un-Terra like, Luna and Celestia briefly considered checking if he was a changeling.

"Lead the way!" He shouted and immediately took off after the messenger, leaving two confused princesses behind.

As they both rushed through the palace, eager to reach their destination, several ponies tried to start a conversation with their ruler, only to be completely ignored, not even so much as getting a greeting. As they reached the infirmary, the messenger lead his ruler to the room his wife was in. He immediately entered, leaving an exhausted messenger behind, while he himself hadn't even broken a sweat.

He laid eyes upon his wife, who was in his opinion, the most beautiful mare in the world. An azure coat more beautiful than the sky, a navy-blue mane, rivalling even the most beautiful of seas, and a beautiful cutie mark of a crystal heart, decorated with gold, displayed for everypony to see. She had wings and a horn, making her an alicorn. Her mane didn't flow, like Terra's, but was nonetheless beautiful. Her name was Astrum Cadenza.

But she was not alone, in her hooves laid a tightly-wrapped, newborn foal.

With a happy but slightly disappointed face, Terra said "AWWW! I missed it?!? Why didn't you call for me earlier?"

Amused at her husband's childish reaction, Astrum just smiled at him "I couldn't possibly distract the ruler from his oh so important work, just so he could watch me scream. It wouldn't be fitting for someone of my status to be seen like that!" she replied, still grinning at him.

"You know I always have time for you. The fate of the world can wait for me, besides, Celestia and Luna are here too." He said with a serious expression. “Now lemme see, lemme see! Is it a girl? A boy? Is it cute? Ugly? Pegasus? Unicorn? Earth pony? Alicorn? Lemme see! Pleeeaaaaassse?" Dropping the royal act, he started bombarding Astrum with questions, while constantly trying to sneak a peek at the bundle that was his son... or daughter.

Giving in to him, Astrum showed what was previously hidden by her, just to bring out his childish side. It always amused her, how a being that had lived for several millennia was still able to behave like that.

"It's a she, and an alicorn for that matter. Isn't she beautiful?" She asked with a proud smile on her face.

Terra, now seeing his daughter for the first time, took in every little detail. She had a green fur and a yellow mane, sleeping like a rock in the hooves of her mother. "Have you decided on a name for her yet?" He asked, anxious with anticipation what the answer may be.

"Lumen Cadenza. Cadenza, like every mare in my lineage is called, and Lumen, the Latin word for Light."

"It's a beautiful name. Wait just a moment." He said as he turned around and opened the door. "I wish to not be disturbed by anyone for the rest of the day. Postpone all my duties to tomorrow, or when something really important comes up, go to Celestia or Luna." The Royal Guard that was waiting outside only lifted a hoof to his face in confirmation and took off, fulfilling his new duty.

Terra closed the door and returned to the side of his wife and daughter. And there he stayed until the late evening, talking to his wife, enjoying life like nothing else mattered. Celestia and Luna both dropped by during the course of the day, congratulating the happy couple and taking a look at their newborn niece. As Night time approached, Terra finally said his good nights and trotted out of the room, tired after the day.

But as he closed the door, Luna was waiting for him next to the room's entryway. Surprised at the princess just waiting there, he gave her a questioning look.

"I need to talk to you, Terra. I know, it maybe not the best time for this, but it's important. Not here though, please follow me."

Noticing the seriousness in her voice, Terra didn't question any further and followed her. Luna led him to the closest balcony there was, sitting down under the clear Night sky.

"Do you remember what we spoke about, approximately a week ago?"

Terra only nodded at her question. The uneasy feeling was still there; normally it would already be clear what had rustled the animals' jimmies. But still nothing happened, and the feeling was still there.

"I did as you told me and watched my night sky. And today there was something off. Look over there." She said, while pointing at a seemingly random location in the sky. "Can you see Grandia IV?"

Terra looked for the little light in the sky that was Grandia IV, but after a while he gave up, noticing the absence of the planet. "No, no I cannot. What happened to it?" He asked curiously.

"It's still there; I can still feel my connection to it. But still we are not able to see it. I did some researching and found out that something is blocking our view. I don't know what it is; it's not a planet or a black hole. It's just like a patch of darkness hanging in the sky." Luna said with a slightly confused look on her face. "It just came out of nowhere too, it wasn't there yesterday, and I can feel nothing from it."

"That certainly is strange... I guess we have found what I was looking for. Do you think you could maybe put a little more research into this?"

"Of course I will put more research into this. This "thing" is blocking a part of my beautiful night sky! I will find out what it is and the get rid of it!" Luna declared with an annoyed, almost angry voice.

"Well I'm glad you take this seriously, though I think you may be a little overreacting... It's probably only some new space phenomenon that we don't know as of yet. You will find out what it is eventually" Terra said, more to convince himself than Luna. If it would be so easy, the animals wouldn't act this way.

"But I'm tired, please excuse me if I retire for the night, it was an eventful day. I trust you will find a solution soon."

And with that, Terra withdrew himself from the balcony, leaving Luna to her own thoughts. Until he fell asleep, one question lingered on the back of his mind.

"What is going to happen to us?"

Bright Times

Manehattan

It had been one week since the events in Initium forest. Ray was back to his usual self, smart, kind and loved by everyone, even the elders. Ray apologized first thing in the morning after he had talked so harshly to his father, and had, since then, not shown any weird behavior. Today was like any other day since then, everyone was happy. Though there was one little thing that made today special. It was Ray's birthday. Like every year on his birthday, Ray Light and Thunderstrike were eating out at a fancy restaurant called: "The Prancing Pony".

After a satisfying meal, they both sat there and talked for what seemed like hours, occasionally ordering something to drink. Eventually day became night without them even noticing. Only when the waiter came, informing them that they were closing for the day, they finally got up. Like every year, they started to walk, now both silent. There was no talking required for what was to come. They both knew where they were going, and eventually they arrived at their destination.

As today was Ray's birthday, it was also the day Blue Skies died.

So, every year they would spend the day together, appreciating each others' company. When nighttime came, they would go to the grave of the beloved wife and would-be mother, and spend their time thinking. One would think of the times long gone and spent, the other of times that could have been. And so they spent time in front of the grave, not talking, not even looking at each other. Eventually they would get up after some time, accompany each other home, wish each other a good night, and retreat to their own rooms.

It was already a tradition. It had been like this for the past 7 years, and would be like this for years to come. All so that those who aren't anymore, wouldn't be forgotten.

The next day

Ray was the first to wake up. After a while of shuffling around in bed, not really wanting to get up, he decided he wanted to surprise his dad with breakfast. So, he got up and trotted towards the kitchen, already planning out a healthy breakfast. He started gathering ingredients while hoping his dad wouldn't wake up too early.

Thunderstrike had a bad dream. He was back in the night of Ray’s birth. The storm raged outside and he and his wife were huddled together by the fireplace. But instead of Ray deciding he wanted to catch the early worm, nothing happened. They just lay there, reveling in the warmth the fire contributed. The fire was a big bigger than usual, so it could fend off the cold from outside. Thunderstrike just stared into the fire. Fire had always been an interesting thing for him. He could just look at it for hours and it never got boring. So he did just that, he stared at the fire, watching it dance around and changing form every second, never looking the same.

He was quite surprised when the fire looked back at him.

First, he just thought it was his mind playing tricks on him, because he was so tired. But the fire just kept staring right back at him. "Honey, is the fire looking at us? Or am I going crazy'" He asked half joking, and turned to his left where his wife was. But she wasn't there. Confused, he stood up and looked around the room, not finding any trace of where she might have gone. Needless to say, he was really relieved when he heard her behind him.

"Your wife's not here anymore" she said.

Relieved she was still here, but confused at her words, he turned around to ask her what she meant. Only to find he was still alone. "Honey? Where are you?" He asked the empty room.

"Your wife's not here anymore" her voice said again. This time though, he noticed the face in the fire looking at him. He even saw it moving it's "mouth" as it spoke with the voice of his wife.

"Who are you, and what have you done with my wife?" He demanded to know from the fire.

"Your wife's not here anymore. She has been dead for 10 years, and you know this." The fire was still talking with the voice of Blue Skies.

This drove Thunderstrike mad, and now he practically shouted at the fire. "WHERE IS MY WIFE?!"

The fire, unimpressed by the mad shouting, answered calmly. "She's dead. Since 10 years ago. And you know. But who's to blame? Maybe Ray? It was because of him, she died after all."

Thunderstrike was now confused. Who was Ray? Did he kill Blue Skies? If that was true, he had to kill this "Ray" too, to get revenge. But how could she be dead? She was just lying next to him. And what's up with those 10 years the fire kept mentioning? Should he listen to the fire?

"You know Thunderstrike, I normally don't do this, but I’m going to tell you something good." The fire said with a smug look on his face. "Where Black and White meet, a fight will begin. Balanced at first, one side will win. Who won this important debate, you'll only know, when it's too late." The Fire looked one last time at the confused stallion standing in the room, then the face vanished.

Thunderstrike, still standing, there was deep in thought. He couldn't quite understand what all this meant. One minute he was comfortably with his wife. And the other she was gone, and a fire talked to him in riddles. Unnoticed by Thunderstrike, the fire grew in size until eventually other things around the fireplace started catching fire. Thunderstrike only noticed when the whole house was burning, and he was coughing from all the smoke entering his lungs. He was coughing, lying on the floor. Slowly burning to death, unable to do anything. The last thing he remembered was the smell of smoke in his nose.

Thunderstrike awoke with a start. The memories of the dream already fading. What remained were the words "too late" and the smell of smoke in his nose. Only after some time he realized, that the smoke was indeed real, and not an after impression of the dream. He immediately started taking action. Something was burning and he had to extinguish the fire immediately. Or if it was too big already, wake Ray up and evacuate the house. He kicked open the door, and ran into the living room. Searching for the source of the fire, he noticed the smoke coming out of the kitchen. He immediately went to check.

"AWWW COME ON! You ruined the surprise!" Ray shouted, annoyed, as soon as he noticed his father skidding into the room. "I wanted to make you breakfast!"

Now Thunderstrike was confused. After piecing together the information, he concluded neither Ray nor himself were in immediate danger and let out a huge sigh. He looked around the kitchen. As perfect and cute as Ray may be, cooking was the one thing he failed every time. Spotting some burned bread and apple juice, he wasn't really surprised. However the burned plates were new. Thunderstrike always wondered how he was able to burn everything so expertly.

"Ray... I thought you promised me you wouldn't cook again?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, sure... but I just wanted to surprise you..." Ray answered, half apologizing, half pouting that his father ruined the surprise.

"It's okay, son, now let's clean this mess up, and I'll make us something we can actually eat. How does that sound?" Thunderstrike said while winking at his son.

Ray looked at what he had produced again, and decided it was for the best he wouldn't cook anymore. How he could burn the plates was beyond him. And so, he decided to let his father cook from now on. This time for good. “Yeah, why not?"

And with a smile on their faces, they began cleaning up the kitchen, and soon after, having a real breakfast.

Where Light is missing

Darkness

Those Ponies... walking around, sharing smiles like nothing’s wrong in the world. A world called 'Equus' as I came to know. Living everyday in perfect harmony, almost no crimes whatsoever and ruled by Alicorns that were most benevolent to their subjects. Happiness wherever you look.

It disgusts me.

It's not fair that they get to enjoy happiness and I have to spend my days in absolute nothingness. Nobody to talk to, just being able to observe. It would drive me crazy, but as I already am, well, I won't have to worry about that. With nothing better to do, I did the only thing I could over these past few weeks. Observe.

And I learned a lot about them. As for my little problem escaping the nothingness, the alicorns would be my best shot. Incredibly powerful beings, capable of moving even the celestial bodies. The problem here is how to make contact? How to make them do what I want? Is there even a way to tell them that I’m here? And one of the biggest problems would be the fact that they have a strong sense of justice, so they most likely wouldn't comply with my request, even if I asked nicely. So I have to manipulate them into freeing me. But how, if i can't do anything?

As time passes, more and more of my memories return. I still can't make out details though, only hints at what I once was. And apparently I was something powerful. Maybe I still have some of those powers. The only way to find out is to try. But how do I try? I don't have a body or even a form for that matter. Do I have a mind? I think so. Maybe if I concentrate hard enough? Not like I have anything better to do anyways. On to research i guess.

Darkness

Eureka! After a week of concentrating hard, I finally achieved something. It was not much really, I just pushed a glass off a table. But hey! It's something. Right? The cool thing about this is that I remember how I did it, so I can do it again! A small victory for me... whatever I am. Don't you agree? Wait, what? Who am I talking to? I'm the only one here! Oh yeah right, I’m crazy, just remembered that. Sorry... me...

Anyway! So I can move things now. Not far, or not the heavy stuff, but I can move it. The question now is: how do I use this to my advantage? There are not many possibilities with how much I can do. I cannot do something complicated, so I guess I have to find something or... someone who's easy to manipulate. But where to look? How can I manipulate someone with only being able to give soft pushes? It’s a tricky situation I’m in.

But someone once said: "Answers come to those that wait" (Hmmm I guess that was me) And i trust myself! So I’ll wait. I’ll wait and observe. It's what I can do... wait... and observe...

Darkness

"Answers come to those that wait" And so they did! Turns out I’m pretty smart after all. I found someone, a weak mind to control. I even found out how I can use my "powers" to do it. The only thing left to do now is to wait for the perfect opportunity. The wheels on my plan start to turn, only one now, but come time, it will be joined by other wheels setting the plan they support, into motion.

So I wait, wait for my time to come. And...

What is that? There is something here with me? Am I not alone? I can clearly feel a presence! Ohhh this is so exciting! Hello? Anybody there? HELLO? Oh wait, I can't communicate.. HAHA how silly of me! But who or what is this? I feel like it's watching me...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the Darkness of a cave, somewhere on Equus

The silhouette of a pony was moving through the tunnels of the cave. It was pitch black; the pony couldn't see a thing, so the only way to know where it was going was to feel. Feel The Darkness around, the walls of the cave and the soft breeze of wind that occasionally blew through the tunnels. The Pony walked this way many times before, so it was rather easy not to get lost. The Pony moved through the tunnels for hours, deeper and deeper into the cave, to where no one else dared to tread. And finally it arrived; in what it thought was a big room. The Pony never investigated any further than this point, for it didn't want to offend the resident of the cave.

The pony stood there, patiently waiting, for said being to recognize its presence.

"You weren't here for a long time."

A voice was heard. A deep and raspy voice, telling stories of times past, present and future. It was the Voice of a being, older than Ponykind could even remember. The Voice belonged to a very wise being, always there to answer to those who ask. The pony didn't know how it looked like, for it was always dark when it met with the being.

"But it is better that way, for you only come to me, when you don't know what to do anymore."

The Voice resounded within the cave, making it impossible to pinpoint its location.

"I know what brought you here today, and I have the answers you seek."

The Pony felt joy at those words; maybe the being could help it out, like it did so many times before.

"But I will not tell you those answers. This time you are on your own. This will be a time of trial for Ponykind, and I dare not interfere with what will happen over the next years. How you will respond to those times to come, will forever change the future of this world, so choose wisely, and think long and hard before you act."

Disappointment was what the pony felt. This was the first time the being denied it answers. Was there really something that important going to happen? What did it mean by my actions changing the future of this world? The number of questions just kept increasing in the pony’s head, thinking of so many things at once.

The Pony gave a bow that no one could see, turned around and started to leave. It accepted whatever the beings plans were. For the being was always right. As it walked away it could hear the being say something else, the voice slowly fading away till he almost couldn't hear it anymore.

"There is one thing I will tell you though.."

And suddenly the voice was right next to the pony, it could hear the voice crystal clear, just like the being was standing right next to it.

"The answer lies, where light is missing."

10 Years without darkness?

10 Years

10 Years since the dark presence in the sky first appeared. And it is still up there, not moving, not disappearing, it's just there. At first Terra thought it would mean bad news for his subjects, maybe even the whole planet. But after 10 years of the dark blob just existing there and doing nothing, he began to think that maybe, there's nothing going to happen after all. He had Luna look into it, but all she came up with was that there was just nothing. An Area where nothing exists, except for some lingering energies of what existed there before it disappeared. They concluded that it had to be some weird "Space Thingy" that just never happened before.

With his mind at ease, terra was able to concentrate on more pressing matters. His Daughter for example. Lumen Cadenza grew up to be a wonderful child. Trained in proper manners from day 1 of her birth, she was a prime example of a kind and understanding pony. But still... she was only 10. And thus acted like a child should sometimes. Playing around with the servants in the castle, sometimes pulling a prank on her father. Terra could have sworn that her mother even helped her out sometimes, he just lacked the proof.

What was lacking though was her cutie mark. As was the norm for all Alicorns, the appearing of the cutie mark could take more time than it does for a normal pony. Sometimes it wouldn't appear for hundreds of years. He knew for a fact that Celestia didn't get hers until she was 240 years old. As for Terras own cutie mark, he couldn't quite remember. It was so many millennia ago, and even alicorns can forget things, even if they're as important as getting their own cutie marks.

She did show an impressive talent in all forms of magic. Nothing really special, considering she was an Alicorn, but she was even learning faster than most alicorns did. her talents were showing especially in the arena. Maybe his daughter would grow up to be a very powerful battle mage? Sometimes it bothered Terra, thinking that his daughter’s destiny would be fighting for all eternity. But then he remembered that nothing really happens without a reason. Maybe she would save her people from an overpowering foe, that nopony else could defeat? That would be very heroic and a deed fit for a ruler.

And once again, Terra caught himself over thinking things. He did so more often recently, maybe it was because he had so much free time. He tended to let Celestia and Luna do all the hard work, dealing with the citizens of Equestria wasn't really his cup of tea. If someone came up to him and asked for his advice, he would give it to them of course. The well being of his subjects was of most importance. But as is only pony, even immortal Alicorn rulers could grow tired of being on guard all the time for hundreds of years. Since a hundred years he pushed most of his work onto the two alicorns. 100 years might seem like a lot, but for an Alicorn it is really more of a short vacation.

So as he did most of the time nowadays, he was sitting in the royal gardens. Overlooking the whole city of Canterlot and even a lot of Equestria (since Canterlot rested upon a giant mountain) the royal gardens were by far his favorite place to be. Even after hundreds of years he never grew tired of the always changing scenery in front of him. It was truly a sight to behold.

As he was sitting there, philosphing over life. A small shadow was creeping up to him. Unbeknownst to the creeping creature, terra took notice of it a long time ago. He was after all, the Alicorn of the Earth and all life that rested upon it. Thus it was easy for him to sense the presence of anything living near him.

The Shadow finally reached a point behind Terras back and prepared for a lunge. It jumped right at Terra... only to hit the ground. Terra expertly dodged the assault and was now sitting there, laughing at his daughters failed attempt to surprise him.

Slowly the little princess got up from the dirt, still a little dizzy in the head.

"That was totally unfair!" she shouted at Terra. "I hate it when you do that!"

"Dearest daughter never has one of your "surprise attacks" worked on me, and you know exactly why! So why did you think it would work this time?" Terra asked with a smile on his face, betraying his formal tone.

"Mom taught me a concealing spell yesterday, to hide my presence you know? I thought this would definitely work!"

"Oh my little Lumen, you've still so much to learn. A simple spell like this won't trick me. I don't think that anything existing on this planet could hide from me. But come and sit with me for a while. We haven't talked for a week! Tell me what you were up to."

Lumen took a few steps towards her father to sit next to him. Leaning against him she started talking.

"Professor Dusty Books taught me a lot of new things in class. But sometimes I wished I was not the only one in my class. Is it really necessary that I be taught in private? I'd really like to make some real friends sometimes! All I ever get to see are the servants and guards. Sometimes I think they are loosing on purpose so they don't anger me. I'd really like some friends that don't just like me because I am a princess!"

"You know you're getting private classes because you're an Alicorn. Alicorns learn much faster than most Ponies, so this is the only way you can learn as much as possible, without being held back by others. But I promise you, someday you will find some real friends. Friends that will go through good and bad times with you, never letting you go. But you most likely find them in commoner schools. You have to find them amongst our ranks. Someday you will find some servants or guards that are different from the others."

"I know, I know... that's what you tell me anytime I tell you. But I just don't want to wait! It's so boring having just you, mom, Tia and Luna around that I can talk to normally."

"Someday you will find them, real friends. A good ruler has to be able to show patience. Remember this, for it isn't always easy to stay calm."

"Yes father. I will remember this lesson." Lumen said with a serious voice.

As always when it comes to learning, Lumen was very quick on the uptake. Which reminded him...?

"So how are your dueling lessons going?"

Lumen instantly brightened up at the mention of her favorite subject. She began talking so fast that Terra almost couldn't keep up with her.

"OhItIsSoGreat!BlazingFireTaughtMeThisIceSpellAFewDaysAgo..."

Terra just had to interrupt her by shoving a hoof in her mouth.

"Whoa, hold your horses little one! Calm down and tell me in a manner I can understand what you're saying!" Terra said with a stern look on his face.

Lumen only nodded and Terra pulled back his hoof, resting it on the floor once again.

"It's so amazing Dad! There are so many wonderful battle spells to learn! You can even use a lot of them to do different stuff than attacking. Blazing Fire taught me this Ice Spell 2 days ago. After showing me the many uses it had in a fight, he created some really beautiful Ice Sculptures with it! They had so much detail; they almost looked like the real things! I can't wait to be as good as him someday!"

Terra listened to his daughter talking, forgetting all the worries he had before. They kept talking, and before they knew the sun was setting on the horizon. Basking the world in a beautiful red light before finally setting and disappearing completely. The Moon took the suns place in the sky, and with it, millions of stars appeared in the night sky. Creating a beatiful view.

Terra and Lumen were just sitting there, watching the many stars decorating the night sky. After some time Terras sight fell onto the black spot that disrupted the display. Watching it for some time he came to the decision, that there was nothing to worry about after all

10 Years of bright light

10 Years

10 Years since the accident in the forest. 10 Years since Ray had his first argument with his father. And also his last one. Shortly after what had occurred on that day, ray became an orphan.

His father, brutally murdered in broad daylight, leaving Ray all alone in this world. Or at least that was what he thought. If it weren't for his friends, Ray would most likely still be trapped in his world of self-pity and sadness. But even though ray was over his fathers death, he often thought back to the day. Asking himself questions, doubting himself. Could he have prevented it? He still could remember it as clear as day.

Ray and his father were walking down the market, shopping for groceries. Joking and laughing, enjoying the good weather. When they stopped at one of the stands to buy some cherries, it happened. A cloaked pony walked up to them and just stared at the happy father-son duo.

"Ummm... can I help you?" Thunderstrike asked with a raised eyebrow. Patiently waiting for the other pony to speak up.

After about 10 seconds the stranger shifted his weight, looked Thunderstrike straight in the eyes spoke with a deep voice:

"Actually... yes. Please die."

And before anyone could react with anything other than confusion to what was said, the cloaked pony moved with lightning fast precision and slit Thunderstrikes throat wide open. Blood instantly started spilling out like a fountain. Thunderstrike looked down, putting a hoof on his throat. Giving a last confused look at his son, he fell to the side, dead.

Ray just stood there, not able to process what just happened. He sat down on his haunches and just watched the blood spill out form his father. His mind was empty, not a single thought crossed his mind. Right in this moment, the only things that existed in his world were his father and himself. Everything else was but a blur of colors, static noise all he could hear.

Time seemed to slow down. What just happened? Why was his father lying on the ground, not moving? He was just standing next to him, having a good time. There was blood. A lot of it actually. Who did it belong to? Ray tried to look around. The only source of blood he could locate was his father. But it didn't make any sense. Why would his father loose so much blood? Unless... unless... he was dead.

It seemed logical, but he just couldn't believe it. That's when he noticed he was pulled away from his father. But Ray just didn't care anymore, he felt so empty inside. Everything turned to darkness and he blacked out.

Ray spent the next weeks in a catatonic state. But his friends never gave up on him. Every day they would visit, talk to him, try to cheer him up. Until eventually, they succeeded.

Ray gradually started to grow aware of his surroundings again. He sometimes would talk for a few minutes, and generally just seemed to brighten up to the world again. One day, he surprised everypony with his declaration. Ray still remembered the exact words he said on that day.

"My father died because I couldn't protect him. There are more evil ponies out there, killing innocent ponies everyday. I don't want anyone to feel like I do ever again. So I decided, I am going to join the guards."

And so he did. One week after saying those words, he enlisted at the Manehatten Guard Office. Together with his friends, Butterscotch and Sound Wave, who just couldn't let Ray, do this alone. And so the years passed. Ray soon got promoted and outranked his two friends. And eventually, ray got transferred to Las Pegasus.

And he continued to shine, solving case after case, preventing crime where he could. And one day, Ray’s reputation reached even the castle. He was summoned to the castle, to receive a medal. That's why he was here today.

Ray stood in front of the castle. He occasionally had to come here, bringing in reports. But never before had he seen anyone of the royal family. He was nervous, because medals were usually hoofed over by one of the princesses. He trotted up to the Royal guards at the entrance and stated his business.

The guards eyed him suspiciously and one of them said in a neutral tone:

"Please enter, take the stairs to the left and wait in the third room to the right. Someone will come to get you as soon as it is time."

Ray only nodded and walked through the now magically opened doors. Taking the stairs to the left, entering the third room to the right.

The Room didn't actually feel anything like a waiting room, more like a guest room actually. Was he supposed to make himself comfortable? The Room was pretty big. There was a queen-sized bed, a table and a cupboard. All of which looked like they were worth more than his entire flat.

Still pondering over what he should do, he heard the door open behind him. A Bright white Earthpony with a deep blue mane stood in the doorframe and looked at him.

"Ray Light?" Was all he said.

"Yes?"

"The princesses are now ready to see you. Please follow me." And with this he took off, not waiting for a response from Ray.

Ray did as he was told, and started to follow the servant. While he silently followed his guide through the mostly empty hallways, ray started to think about how he should act in front of the princesses. They stopped in front of a double door and his guide turned around looking him straight into the eyes.

"You may now enter."

Not expecting anymore instructions from his guide, Ray gave him an approving nod and opened the door. Suddenly he noticed something strange about what the guide had said.

'Did he just say princesses? As in more than one? No, I must have heard wrong.' He thought to himself while trotting inside.

It was a rather small room, only a long table with gold decorated chairs on both sides, one standing at the top, decorated the room. The Sun shone through the numerous windows leaving no dark spot in the room. At the far side of the table sat the two princesses, Celestia and Luna looking at him expectantly.

Ray did a double take at this. Why would two princesses be present for such a minor occasion? He wasn't really able to process this and just stood at the, now closed, door staring at the princesses.

Celestia noticed that Ray was having trouble, and addressed him in hopes of breaking him out of his tension.

"Greetings Ray Light. We bid you welcome in our palace. Did you have any trouble finding the way?"

Ray didn't really know how to respond. He was thought to always act respectful when around royalty. But Celestia just talked to him so casually. While debating whether or not he should act like normal or respectful he said: "Thank you very much princesses, it is an honor to be here in your presence."

Suddenly he remembered that he was supposed to bow. While bowing his head, he continued: "I did not have any trouble coming here; the guide you provided did an excellent job."

"Good, then all went according to plan. Why don't you come over here and take a seat? We're still waiting for someone and it would be awfully rude to just have you standing over there." While saying this Celestia beckoned to the seat across the table from her and Luna.

While bowing once again Ray thanked her and moved over to the seat that was offered to him. He sat down and almost in the same instance the door opened again. In walked none other than Terra himself. He closed the door behind him and rushed over to Celestia's side, expectantly looking at the other 3 Ponies in the room.

"Did I miss anything?"

"No, we were just waiting for you to arrive, if you'd be so kind as to introduce yourself to our guest? We already did the honors."

Celestia replied calmly, being used to terras constantly not being on time.

"Oh yes of course! I welcome you to our castle. My name is Terra, but I’m sure you already know that."

Terra introduced himself with a smile on his face, now looking at Ray to do the same. But since Terra entered the room, Ray's brain apparently stopped working. He just sat there with an open mouth trying to comprehend what was happening. He came here today expecting to meet a princess, grab his medal and go home again. But he wasn't prepared for this. Just meeting one member of the royal family was an incredible honor, but in front of him sat the three most important ponies of the whole world. To be in the presence of the sun, the moon and even the earth was too much for him.

Terra, slowly getting uncomfortable with the Pony on the other side of the table just staring at him slack jawed, decided to address him once again.

"You must be Ray Light, am I correct?" he asked expectantly.

Being directly talked to for the second time now, ray was finally able to catch himself. He closed his mouth and straightened up.

"Yes, your majesty, my name is Ray Light. I'm terribly sorry for my reaction, but I just didn't expect all of this. Pardon the question, but why is almost every member of the royal family present, just to honor me with a minor medal?"

"Ahh, yes. I should have expected that. Excuse me for not letting you now this in advance, it must be an awful lot to take in, isn't it." Terra, who apparently took command over of this procedure, was the one who answered. "Now. Celestia if you'd do the honor of presenting the colt with his medal? I'd like to go over to the more important matters as fast as possible."

Celestia gave him a nod, and looked at Ray once again.

"Congratulations Ray Light. In the name of the royal celestial court I’ll now present you with the Shieldmedal. This medal is only given to those, who protected their country and its citizens numerous times. For your excellent service as a guard in Manehatten and Las Pegasus, please accept this, as a token of our gratitude."

While Celestia was speaking, she activated her magic and opened a case on the table, which Ray didn't notice before. Out of the case floated a golden medal, bearing the symbol of a shield. The medal itself hung on a necklace which was made out of gold too. As it started flowing towards him, he lowered his head, so Celestia could hang the medal around his neck. He maintained this position until Celestia told him otherwise.

"You may raise now, Ray Light, protector of ponies."

Ray did as he was told. With a smile on his face, he looked at each of the rulers and gave a nod of gratitude.

"Thank you, your highness. It is an incredible honor..."

"Alright, that's enough of the boring stuff! Let's move on to business!"

Terra interrupted Ray right as he wanted to thank them. Celestia and Luna both rolled their eyes at him. He just smiled and looked at Ray, who couldn't believe what just happened. Once again his brain just couldn't handle the current situation, and he just waited for Terra to explain himself.

"I have an offer for you, Ray." Terra started. "To be honest, I’m quite interested in your story. You're a unicorn that can't do any magic; you haven't even earned your cutie mark yet! And none the less, you didn't let all of this get to you. You surpassed every hurdle fate put in your way; you're even getting a medal! You have a great deal of potential and I don't want to see it go to waste. So I’m here today to offer you a position within the royal guards here in Canterlot. Furthermore, we might be able to cure whatever it is that's blocking your magic. You'd be able to have some lessons with private teachers. So what do you say?"

Instead of giving an answer, Ray just looked at him. Dumbfounded, once again. He just couldn't believe all of this! This just had to be some kind of practical joke from his colleagues in Las Pegasus. But then again, he was talking to royalty right now, and Ray seriously doubted they would help out with a practical joke. So this had to be a serious proposal.

"Why don't you give him a little time to think this all over? Just look at the poor colt! This is obviously a little much to handle for a mortal."

For the first time since the meeting started, Luna said something. Terra just looked at her for a moment, then back at Ray. Slowly Terra began to realize that he maybe asked too much by wanting an answer right now.

"Excuse me Ray. Luna seems to be right. You don't have to give an answer right now. Take as much time as you need to think this over, and when you're ready, come back to the palace to inform me of your decision. You're always welcome here, alright?"

"Yes... I will..." Ray answered with an absent mind. Thinking about all the possibilities. A position in the royal guard was extremely prestigious, and he even promised he would try and help out with his magic problem. Over the years he tried over and over again, but with little to no success. From time to time he was able to light up his horn or lift an object for about half a second.

"You may now leave Ray Light, may we hear good news from you soon."

With those final words, terra allowed Ray to leave the room and go home. He was so absent minded, that he even forgot to say goodbye. He just muttered a quiet "Yes..." and walked out of the room.

Outside, the same Pony who brought him here was still waiting for him.

"Are you ready to leave now?"

Ray just nodded and started to follow as his guidepony took off. Thinking about the offer he just received, about the future, what may lie in store for him.

A new threat?

Night in Equestria is a beautiful thing. The Moon covers everything with its soft glow and the night sky is filled with more stars than anyone can count. The Night is a peaceful thing. Most ponies, with few exceptions, are asleep, and silence rules the land.

But the silence of the night was broken, as a single pony slowly trotted through the town of Manehattan. The pony was wearing a cloak and seemed to check his surroundings every so often. It wasn't long before the pony arrived at the border of a forest. The pony checked one last time if anypony was following him, then entered the forest. Only the trotting of the pony and the occasional sound of an animal could be heard. The pony walked for half an hour until it reached a clearing. It trotted to the middle and sat down, waiting for something to happen.

"Good evening, Azazel."

A voice could be heard from in front of the pony named Azazel.

Azazel focused his view in the direction of the voice and soon after another cloaked pony stepped out of the shadows. The new arrival approached Azazel and stopped two feet in front of him.

Azazel got up and instantly bowed to the other pony. He stayed for a whole minute in this position, until the other pony allowed him to rise.

"You may stand comfortably Azazel. I hope no one followed you."

"No, Master. I made sure of that."

Azazel didn't say any more than necessary, he had to learn the hard way that he shouldn't disobey his master. And talking without permission was even worse.

"Good. Very Good. How is the plan coming along? Is there any good news to report?"

"Yes Master. I have just about finished the last preparations, I think we will be able to conduct a first test run in a month."

Azazel was pleased that he could report good news to his master. All that counted for him was the Master's approval, anything else didn't matter. He waited patiently for a response, hoping to get some praise. The Master seemed to be thinking about something while looking at the ground. After a short while he lifted his head and spoke again.

"That's excellent news indeed. You will have to conduct the experiment by yourself, I will only be present at the actual event. Keep working, I will let you know the usual way when we will meet again."

With those words the Master turned around and vanished into the darkness of the shadows. Azazel bowed again until he was sure that his master had left. He immediately turned around and started to trot back to Manehattan. The Master thought his work was excellent! This made Azazel a very happy pony. He wanted to get back to work as soon as possible, so that the master may praise him again at their next meeting.

Canterlot

Ray approached the castle gates once again. This time he had two suitcases with him, that he had to drag behind him, since he couldn't cast any magic at all. The two Guards at the Gates saw him approaching and stood to attention. As he arrived in front of them, the one closer to him asked:

"State your name and business."

"I am Ray Light, and I am here to start my new duties as a royal guard."

The Guard looked at him and seemed to check if what Ray said was true.

"Very well. The barracks are on the left side of the castle, just hug the wall and you should get there. You are to report to Captain Blazing Sword."

While the Guard was talking the other opened the gates. Ray nodded at the guards and trotted past them. He hugged the left wall as he was told to, and after 5 minuted of walking he arrived at the Guard barracks. The Captain's office was fairly easy to spot, as on the door was written in big golden letters: 'Captain's Office'. Ray knocked three times on the door and waited for a response. Shortly after the door was covered in a blue aura of magic and opened.

Ray stepped inside and scanned the office. it was a rather small office, and every spot was covered with bookshelves and pictures. Directly in front of him was a desk, where the Captain of the royal guard sat.

Blazing Sword was a big stallion, he had a white coat and a perfectly trimmed, flaming-red mane. His cutie mark was of a Sword in front of a flame.

"Ah, you must be Ray Light, Terra told me about you, I'm really glad that you decided to join us here at the castle. You should feel lucky, normally recruits have to go through rigorous testing before being accepted into the royal guards. However, when Terra calls, I answer. And he happened to call your name. Please take a seat."

He gestured towards a wooden stool in front of his desk and waited for Ray to sit down.

"So here is how it will go. You are to report to barrack number 7 after this talk is over. You will stay with the other newly assigned guards. For the rest of the day you will have free time so you can settle in, your training starts tomorrow. Breakfast is at 0600, if you've not eaten by 0630 you'll have to skip. After that you will get back to your barracks and line up in front of it. You will get further instructions from the drill sergeant at this time. Any questions?"

"Yes. How do I get to number 7?"

Blazing Sword shot ray a slightly annoyed look.

"It's the one with the big '7' painted on the front." he said. "You are excused."

Ray felt a little bit stupid, but got, up wished the captain a nice day and left the office with his two suitcases. He started looking for number 7. He spotted it almost immediately, the number 7 was after all, pretty big.

He trotted over and entered. The barrack was lined with beds on both sides, in front of every bed was a chest. Most of the beds seemed already taken by someone. Ray was able to tell by the personal belongings on the nightstands next to the beds. Currently nopony was inside, so he couldn't ask. So he started trotting along the beds until he found a free bed at the back. He started unpacking his personal belongings, putting them into the chest and on the nightstand.

After he finished, he wondered what he should do next, since it was only 3 in the afternoon, and he had free time for the rest of the day. He decided to go to the training grounds and watch the guards to try and get an idea of what was to come.

He walked out of the barracks and trotted in the direction of the training grounds. On his way, he saw some guardscolts walking in different directions. He greeted them and continued on. Shortly after he reached the training grounds. On his left side there was a hill, which he climbed on top so he had a better view.

The training grounds looked exactly how an average pony would think they'd look. Several Instructors were shouting at guards. Some were running laps around the grounds, some doing combat training with a sparring partner or a training dummy. An obstacle course was built around the grounds but it was currently not in use by anypony.

Ray just stood there, watching the guards train while trying to memorize as many things as he could so he would be prepared for tomorrow.

As the sun began to set, the guards received permission to return to their barracks and eat something. Ray followed suit so he could maybe talk with somepony that stayed in the same barracks as him. When he reached barrack seven, everypony else was already inside. When he entered two or three ponies looked at him briefly, but as they realized that it was not a high ranking officer they ignored him.

Ray trotted over to his bed at the far back and sat down on it. He started observing the others. Some were playing cards or reading books, others just talked with each other. It was a lot less disciplined than Ray thought it would be.

"Hi there, you new?"

A voice from his right side pulled him out of his focused observing. He looked to his right, where a white Pegasus with a yellow mane was looking back at him. Ray figured that this pony was the one that spoke to him.

"Yeah, I just arrived today and will join your training tomorrow. The Name's Ray Light, who might you be?"

"I'm Lightning Speed, pleased to meet you. You know, it's pretty unusual that somepony joins mid-training. Usually there's a new batch of recruits every 2 years, but I'm sure you know that already. So I'm figuring you must be somepony special! How'd you manage to join midterm?"

Ray was surprised by this question. He contemplated telling him a lie, as he maybe wouldn't believe his story of meeting almost the whole royal family. But he decided that there was nothing to loose, so he chose to tell the truth.

"About two weeks ago, when I came to Canterlot to receive a Shieldmedal, I was surprised Celestia, Luna, and Terra were all present. At first I believed it was some sort of practical joke, but it turned out that Terra had an offer for me. He asked me if i wanted to join the royal guards. You must know that Terra was interested in me because I can't cast any magic. He offered to help me with that too. I believe I'm sort of a science project for him, but I don't really care. So that's how I got here."

Lightning Speed looked like he didn't really believe Ray's story, but he figured that a personal invitation from royalty would be the only way to join mid-training. So he believed it. But there was one more question that interested him greatly.

"Wait, what? You're a unicorn, but can't cast magic? I've never heard of something like that! Can you tell me more about..."

"LIGHTS OUT IN FIVE!"

An instructor was standing in the entrance to the barracks. He waited for the recruits to get a move on so he could switch off the lights.

"Oh horseapples! We'll talk tomorrow, okay?" Lightning Speed said and got ready to go to bed.

Ray, too, tucked himself in and closed his eyes. The instructor turned off the lights and closed the door. Ray lay there for a while, thinking about his first day tomorrow and about his new friend. He was excited to begin his training as a real royal guard, and while thinking about all of this, he was softly carried to sleep.

Training

At around 5:30 Ray woke up. A lot of other ponies were already up and getting ready for the day. Ray figured he probably woke up because of the noise they made. He pushed away his bedsheets and sat up. Looking around the room, he saw that some of the other trainees were already wearing their armor, and looked about ready to go out. A movement to his left caught his attention. It was Lightning Speed struggling with his own armor. After a while of watching the slightly comedic display his new friend put up, Ray decided to help him. He made his presence known by clearing his throat.

"Need any help with that?"

Lightning Speed stopped dead and slowly turned around. He seemed quite surprised by the fact that Ray was awake, also, there was a blush on his cheeks.

"That would be nice, thank you." he said with a forced grin.

After Lightning Speed explained to Ray how exactly he could help him, adjusting the armor was a matter of seconds. As soon as they finished Ray took a step back and they just stared at each other in awkward silence.

"Well.. good morning." It was Lightning Speed who broke the silence between them. "Thanks for helping me out... need any help with your armor?" he asked the question in hope of making the whole situation a little less embarassing for himself. Ray just shook his head.

"I haven't received my armor yet, i suppose i'll get it today." Ray noticed that he in fact didn't receive a lot of information from his talk with Blazing Sword the day before. "Or not..." he added.

Ray started thinking about what he'd do today and spaced out, looking to the ground. Lightning Speed scratched himself on the back of his head and had an idea.

"So how about breakfast? I can show you the way! You don't wanna miss breakfast, or you're not going to survive the morning training!" He said all that a little too fast, so Ray had to do a double take, trying to understand what his new friend had just said.

"Yeah. Breakfast sounds about right. Not much we can do in here anyway. Lead the way." He pointed his hoof towards the exit while he said the last sentence, in order to give Lightning Speed a cue to start walking.

Lightning could of course take a hint, and started walking, Ray beside him. They passed several others, still getting ready and talking with each other. A lot of beds were already empty and neatly made. They stepped outside into the cool morning air. It was already light outside as the sun was almost completely risen. They started making their way to the mess hall, joining a steady stream of guards walking in the same direction. Soon they arrived at a big green barrack that didn't have a number on it and entered. The line was already pretty big, and growing by the second. After ten minutes of standing in line, they both got their breakfast.

Breakfast turned out to be two slices of bread, some jam and a glass of milk. They ate in silence. Still a bit sleepy, neither wanted to talk much. As 6:30 approached, Lightning Speed finally spoke up.

"Well, it's time to go back to our barrack, if you're late for morning assembly they'll have you run around 'til you break apart." He said with a serious look on his face. "Not really my idea of a good morning if you ask me." he added with a smirk.

Ray found he had to agree. They both got up, dropped their plates on a cart for dirty dishes near the exit, and started walking back. As they reached barrack 7 again, most of the others already stood in line in front of it, talking. That was when ray noticed a red line on the dirt in front of them.

"Ok, you just have to stand in line here. Be sure to put both your front hooves on the red line and stand to attention when the instructor appears."

Ray nodded, getting slightly nervous, as his first day as a royal guard trainee approached. They stood in line, Lightning first and Ray to his right. Ray made sure to put both front hooves on the red line, just as he was told before. They were soon joined by more ponies who got in line next of them. Some of them were looking at Ray when they came, wondering why he didn't wear armor, like the rest of them. To his left Lightning Speed tried to get Ray's attention. He apparently had tried to do so for a good five minutes.

"Sorry, I just kinda spaced out. That's a lot of new info to process..." Ray apologised.

Lighnting Speed waved it off. "Nervous?" he asked Ray. Ray nodded slowly. Lightning gave a laugh. “You remind me of myself when it was my first day. Don't worry, it's not so bad as you might think. Especially if you're a unicorn. In the afternoon we get divided by race, to do specialized combat training. Earth ponies do Hoof to Hoof combat, pegasi learn how to fight while flying, and unicorns learn some attack spells." he explained to Ray. "Wait, that reminds me of something! Didn't you say yesterday that you weren't able to..."

A loud gong rang through the morning stillnes, and every pony on the grounds immediately stopped talking and stood to attention. Ray was caught by surprise and wondered what happened, until he saw the instructors walking towards the Barracks. Finally unterstanding, Ray stood to attention.

After a short while an instructor stopped in front of them. He was a brown Earthpony with a grey mane. His mane was neatly trimmed, as was standart for guards. The instructor looked at them for a while, his eyes wandering up and down the line of trainees. His eyes lingered a while longer on Ray than on anypony else. When he decided that everything was in order he spoke up.

"Alright cadets. It's going to be a busy day. You maggots got the obstacle course all to yourselves today, and I expect each and every one of you to finish the whole damn thing in 2 minutes or less by noon. Is that clear?" He half-spoke half-shouted at them. His tone made Ray clear that "no" wasn't an acceptable answer. So he did what everypony else did.

"SIR! YES, SIR!" Everypony in the line gave the instructor the same answer.

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" The intructor shouted back.

"SIR! YES, SIR!" The answer came again, a little bit louder than before.

"I DIDN'T KNOW THEY LET GIRLS INTO THE GUARD! LOUDER!" still not satisfied, the instructor looked at them angrily.

"SIR! YES, SIR!"

By now, Ray was shouting at the top of his lungs. The instructor finally gave an approving nod and returned to his half shouting voice.

"Better! Now follow me, trot in line and in sync. We go!"

With those words he took off, as soon as he reached the end of the line the first ponies started trotting after him in perfect synchronisation, always two ponys next to each other. Ray fell in line with Lightning Speed and followed the instructor to the obstacle course.

The obstacle course was made up of several elements where they had to go under, over, climb and jump to get past them. The instructor stood at the start of the course and blew his whistle once. The first pony took off. As he was about a quarter through the course the instructor let the whistle sound once again. Another one started running. Ray noticed another instructor at the end of the course taking their times.

Ray tried to memorize the course before it was his turn, and watched the other trainees to get an idea on how to overcome some of the more difficult obstacles. Finally it was his turn, he stood next to the instructor who was eyeing him curiosly. In this moment Ray started wondering why he wasn't called out by him at the start, to go get his armor, or something of the sort. The Whistle sounded and Ray took off.

The first obstacle was a simple block of wood which he needed to jump over. Directly after there was a mudpit which he, once again, had to jump over. the problem here was that he wasn't allowed to build up enough speed because of the previous obstacle. So he had to rely on the raw strengh of his legs to get over. After successfully clearing the obstacle, he had to crawl under some low hanging wooden beams. A net was laid underneath, so he couldn't just slide through. At first he had some difficulty with the net. He almost got his legs stuck once but managed to clear the net in a decent time.

Next up was a series of rings some distance away from each other. he ran up and jumped from one ring to the next without touching the ground in between. In front of him now stood a very steep wall. He had to be fast, or he wouldn't have enough momentum to run all the way to the top. After barely making it, he grabbed onto a rope that was hanging there to swing across a pit to another platform. He actually wasn't very fond of the next one, as he needed to drop down from the platform, which was about two meters above the ground.

After a moment of hesitation he jumped, landed on his front hooves, and immediately tucked himself into a roll, so he wouldn't lose all of his momentum and soften the fall. He felt pain shoot up his left forehoof, but managed to mostly ignore it. He half-ran, half-limped to the finish line. The instructor stopped his time.

"Two minutes and twenty-five seconds. Back to the line with you!"

Ray was angry at himself for not making the set time, and limped back to the line. In the 3 minutes he had to wait, he took the opportunity to look at his left foreleg. He couldn't spot anything out of the ordinary, so he just proceeded to stretch and massage it. By the time he stood next to the instructor again, he only felt a slight tingle, the pain was almost gone. The whistle sounded and he started to run.

"One minute and fifty-four seconds. Go rest up over there."

After his fifth run through the course he finally succeeded. His left foreleg was hurting again by now, and he was glad to finally get a break. He trudged over to the designated resting zone, where Lightning Speed was already waiting for him. He cleared the course in one minute and twenty-eight seconds on his first run.

"Hey there. I already thought you would never show up here." he said, a huge grin on his face.

Ray shot him an annoyed glare, and sat down next to him, so he could watch the other trainees that were still running.

"I was starting to believe the same thing. I hurt my leg, so I needed longer than I thought." Ray shook his left leg in the air to get his point across. Lightning Speed looked at it, and had a knowing look on his face.

"Yeah, stuff like that happens a lot. You should get it checked after lunch. You'll have to do it in your free time. So you most likely won't have a lot of time to eat. I'll show you where the medical tent is."

Ray let out a deep sigh. He managed to hurt himself on his first day. Not a very good first impression to make, he told himself.

He talked to Lightning Speed until all of the trainees were gathered at the resting point. The Instructor walked up to them and they formed a line again. He barked out his next orders.

"Good work you maggots! Looks like you're not useless after all. But enough resting for now. We finished earlier than I expected, so you're going to run. Hug the walls around the palace. When you hear the lunch gong you'll finish your lap."

As soon as he spoke the last word he put his whistle into his mouth and blew into it. Everypony instantly started running, hoping they wouldn't be at the start of a lap when lunchtime came.

Ray managed to run three laps around the castle before the gong sounded. He thanked the gods he was almost finished with his round when it did. Lightning Speed, who was running next to him the whole time, started to slow down. Ray did the same and they walked in the direction of the mess hall to get some well earned lunch.

Ray, now positively exhausted, practically inhaled his lunch, not even noticing what it was that he was eating. He started staring into space, not wanting to even think. He remained that way untill Lightning Speed started dragging him off somewhere. It took him a while to realize they were headed to the medical tent. His mind slowly began to shift into focus again, now that he had eaten and rested a bit. He noticed that Lightning Speed was talking to him.

"...And that's why bowling balls are forbidden on the grounds. Hilarious right?" Lightning Speed finished with a lough.

" Yeah... sure..." Ray said, laughing weakly. He had no idea what Lightning was talking about, as he hadn't listened to him.

"But anyway, were here."

They stood in front of a huge white tent, two red crosses painted on the front. Lightning Speed pushed away one of the entrance flaps to let Ray in. There were 32 beds inside the tent, 16 on each side. Curtains hang around them, so you could give the patients some privacy. Except for three beds, they were all empty.

A white mare with a pink mane trotted up to them. She had a cutie mark of the same red cross that was on the tent. Over the cross there was a green snake, climbimg up a silver pole. Ray didn't get it.

"Hey there, how can I help you." The mare addressed them with a voice that was almost childlike. Surprised by her voice, Ray said nothing and just stared at her. Lightning Speed took the word.

"Our new friend here managed to hurt his leg on the first day." He said while pointing at Ray.

"Well that's not good at all!" The mare responded with a slight frown on her face. "Follow me, I'll patch you right up." She led Ray over to one of the beds while Lightning Speed decided to wait outside of the tent.

"Please sit down. Which leg is it?" She asked as soon as they arrived. Ray said nothing and just raised his left foreleg a bit. The Nurse immediately grabbed it and started to look at it from all angles, occasionally touching it softly. After a short while she let go of his leg and took a step back. "Don't worry, it's nothing serious, a bit of ointment and some bandages to patch it up, and you should be alright by tomorrow."

While telling him she took a small pot from one of the shelves next to her and opened it. She took some green ooze out of the pot and started to apply it on his leg. "The name's Redheart by the way, but everyone just calls me "nurse", you can too if you want." As she finished, she took some bandages and started wrapping them around Ray's leg.

"My name is Light. Ray Light. Pleased to meet you Nurse Redheart. But I sure hope we won't see each other too often." Ray replied with a smile. The Nurse looked up at him and shot him a smile herself. "Yes, that's what I always hope too, when a new recruit comes here." They shared a short laugh, while she made sure the bandages would hold up. "Okay, that should be enough. Come by again tomorrow morning and I'll take it off for you, be sure to not use it too much today."

Ray gave her a nod and thanked her. He stepped out of the tent and found Lightning Speed to his right, sitting on his haunches. He looked up as Ray came out and took a look at his leg. "Fixed up up nice and fast, I like it! Do you want my autograph on that?" Lightning Speed looked at him while grinning like an idiot. Ray just rolled with his eyes and started walking toward their barrack.

A short while after they found themself all lined up in front of aforementioned building once again. Waiting for their Instructor to come and divide them into groups for their afternoon training. As soon as the Instructor stood in front of them he started calling out names and telling them where to go, At the end everyone except for Ray had been assigned a group and a place. That's when the instructor looked at him.

"Ray Light! You are to go into the castle! Enter through the front gate and there will be somebody to guide you to your classroom." "Sir! Yes, Sir!" Ray answered immediately.

The instructor dismissed them, and they started walking off to wherever they had to. Ray made his way to the castle gate as fast as he could with his leg. He was excited to find out what exactly they had planned for him, since he couldn't use magic. As soon as he entered, a grey pony walked up to him and told Ray to follow him. The pony led Ray through hallways, up and down some stairs and through some dark and narrow corridors until he didn't know where he was anymore. Finally they stopped in front of an old looking door, and the pony knocked three times.

A voice called from inside "You may enter!" Ray took one last look at his guide and opened the door. A pony with a red coat and a orange mane was inside waiting for him, and next to him sat none other than Terra himself. Ray heard the door close behind him and took a few steps toward the pony and the alicorn, until he stood in front of them.

"Welcome, Ray Light" Terra spoke, "This is Blazing Fire, and he will be your teacher."