Dawn's rosy fingers reached into the sky, the sunlight beginning to pour over the tranquil land of Equestria. From the controlled chaos of Neigh York, Manehatten and other such cities, to the calm rural communities of Ponyville and Appleloosa, to the untouched wilderness of the Equestrian Badlands and the forsaken Everfree Forest, the light brought with it warmth. Darq glared out the barred window of the castle, knowing full well that he was trapped here for the day. His scowl grew as he watched the moon sink below the horizon, his hope of returning to his dark cave crushed. For now, he was as trapped as a fox in a hole. He stepped back from the window, taking his place in the shadows of Canterlot Palace. He stalked away from the window as though he was never there.

Luna sighed, drudging through the stacks of paperwork that had piled up in her chambers. Most of them were letters applying for a hearing in her Night Court, ranging from simple issues like suing a con artist, to accusations of capital offenses like murder. As she shrunk one of the hundred stacks of paper, her thoughts turned away from the words on each page and more towards the strange armored unicorn who was now her Guard Captain. Her mind raced to explain each and every scratch in the armor he wore, what he looked like beneath it, and other such details.

Her mind snapped back to attention with the suddenness of waking up to a splash of water to the face. An anonymous letter had floated before her, not written, but arranged. Each of the cut-out letters were pasted to the page in a similar manner to the stereotypical homicidal psychopath. She read over the note, which was a death-threat as she had assumed by the letter's format. She set it in a separate pile to be put on file with all of the others. She brushed the threat from her mind, and continued the usual grind of work before her.

*

A white pegasus guard in bronze armor traversed the gardens in a rather suspicious manner. Had there been other guards around, one might be curious as to why the guard was in the gardens, and not standing next to the gate or patrolling the wall for his shift. However, there was a distinct lack of other Celestial Guards around. The pegasus guard stopped behind a hedge, peering through it at a pair of guards that were patrolling the wall's perimeter. The pair consisted of another white pegasus in bronze armor, and a gray unicorn in similar armor. The guard in the bush grinned, seeing an opportunity before him. He paused, waiting for the pair to pass before him. Just as the pair passed by, he reached from the bushes, pulling the other pegasus into the well-kept shrubbery. He knocked the other guard out with a swift bash of his hoof, and he jumped out and took the place once occupied by the other pegasus. He retained a casual demeanor, imitating the original guard as though he was the original guard. The two continued on, making a few laps around the castle before turning off their route, heading back into the palace. As they entered the castle itself, the pegasus guard grinned, breaking away from his companion. He meandered down a long hallway, noting the crescent moons chiseled into the stone walls. He walked onwards, confident he was not being followed. However, he failed to notice a shadow on the ground with no owner. As he turned to the left down a different hall, a full-armored pony rose from the ownerless shadow. The armored figure teleported with a quick spell, appearing before the pegasus guard, mere inches from his face. Startled, he fell back on his haunches, jaw agape in surprise.

"Oh. Good morning, youngling," Darq growled lightly. The stunned pegasus did not answer, still staring at Darq in bewilderment.

"I don't have all of my facts down, but judging by your armor, you're a Celestial Guard, right?" Darq inquired.

The pegasus nodded, rising to his hooves again.

"Well. This is the Lunar Wing of the castle, if you couldn't tell by the crescent moons etched into the walls. You Solars aren't supposed to venture to this side without company and a reason," the armored unicorn stated. Beneath the helm of his armor, the faint glimmer of his golden fang shone past the metallic blockade as he smirked.

The white pegasus' eyes widened, realizing his mistake. He turned to run, but saw more of the armor encased unicorns out of the corners of his eyes. Fear froze his hooves to the carpeted floor with its frigid grip.

"I saw what you did," the armored one's voice whispered directly into the pegasus' ear as though he was right behind him. "As Captain of the Lunar Guard, I hereby place thee under arrest for impersonation and assault of a Celestial Guard."

A dark purple aura that could easily be mistaken for black generated around the two ponies. Both were lifted from the ground, a feeling of weightlessness filling the two. With a quick flash of blinding darkness, the pair of ponies were gone.

*

A full armored unicorn stood braced for a tsunami in a barren stone ravine. Before him stood a colossus the size of an Ursa Minor. Its lips were curled back in a snarl, revealing a set of yellowed teeth, each the size of his skull, and sharper than his horn. The long fur upon the beast's face was green with decades of moss growth, mixed with various browns of mud and dirt and dust. Stones stuck to the monster's legs and back as though they grew upon its hide. Upon its back, at the beast's waist level, was a large boulder that looked much like a balcony. It was smooth on the side that faced the sky as the colossus stood upon its two legs. Upon its back was a swollen green sore, a sickening green haze spouting forth from it.

A deafening roar exploded from the colossus' maw, bouncing off the stone walls of the ravine. Darq stood his ground, his stance wide, and his armor fresh. The colossus raised a massive hand, clods of dirt and rocks the size of hooves falling out of its dingy fur. Darq sidestepped swiftly, dodging most of the falling hazards. One glanced off his backplate, leaving a small scrape. The hand paused at a vertical position before swiftly accelerating back towards the ground. Darq galloped forwards between the slow monster's legs. The hand struck the ground, sending forth a powerful shockwave. It rolled from the origin of the strike, tripping Darq as he passed beneath the beast, scraping his chestplate against a rock. He got up and continued running. The beast lifted its hand from the dirt, a two-foot deep crater now embedded into the earth where its hand once was. Darq grinned beneath his armor, seeing a path up the beast's back to the sore. He levitated a stone from the ground, carefully focusing upon where the stone would fly. With minimal effort, the skull sized stone hurdled through the air. The rough projectile made contact with the back of the colossus' head with significant force. The ponderous beast fell forward, landing on its chest. Darq leapt upon the beast's leg, swiftly sprinting forth as it pushed itself back up again. He jumped as the incline became too great to run upon, grasping the balcony-boulder with his forehooves. He dangled for a moment as the colossus regained its balance, before pulling himself up.

"Luna..."

Darq cast a quick spell upon his boots, the glow only lasting a moment. He steadied himself as the beast took a heavy step forward. He inhaled deeply, jumping with all of his might to grip a pair of inset stones in the beast's hide. The enchanted boots gripped them like hands, allowing Darq to climb up the beast's back. As he made his way up, the beast realized that its adversary was now upon its back. It shook itself violently, its fur flailing around like whips. Darq held still, stabilizing himself between four rocks. When the beast stopped, Darq flung himself upwards to another set of stones just below the green sore.

"Luna."

Darq climbed up just a bit more, now within attacking range. He pulled his head back, his horn pointed at the sore. Without hesitation, he lunged forth, his sharp horn piercing the green sore with virtually no resistance. He pulled back as the beast's muscles tensed and locked with a mighty roar. He thrust his horn forward once more, the sore now draining a sickly purple fluid at a gush. Darq pushed himself from the colossus's back. As he fell through the air, he watched as the colossus fell back with him. With an inaudible curse, he teleported to the ground, sprinting to get out from under the beast lest he be crushed.

The beast landed with a thunderous thump. Rocks and debris flew forth from its landing site, a rather small rock striking Darq's back left boot as he ran. He skidded to a halt, turning to inspect his handiwork. The colossus lay face up on the ground in the shallow ravine, dead or extremely close to it. Darq grinned, removing the gore from his horn with a quick levitation spell. Using the same spell, he slowly began to remove his helm—

"Luna!"

Author's Note

This one took a while to find the inspiration for. I recently rediscovered some music from a video game my friend Deaux showed me called 'Shadow of the Colossus' for the PS2. The song from the game is called 'The Opened Way' if you want to go find it. Anyway, this marks the beginning of the romance side of the plot arc, as well as the adventure side of the plot arc. There is no turning back now. Everything is now primed. All I have to do now is let the story flow forth.

I very much hope you all enjoy my story. :3

PS: Head over to the URL below to give me your opinion on an idea that hath recently resurfaced.
http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/138938/readers-of-mine-i-need-thine-opinions