It Is Always Best Forgotten

***Reworked and Remastered***

What Starts Never Ends

My father always told me to never mourn for what has been lost. That it is always best forgotten. I never understood the weight of his words. They were hollow to me. I never knew my mother, and all I ever had was my family and my home. Now however, I understand them completely, and I'd be a fool to not heed them. But... I am fool. He is right. It would be and is best forgotten. Call me a fool, because I'd rather be one than stand idly by after I watched my world be ruthfully stripped from me. Not just mine, but from the two who made up my world. Even if my days grow lonely and my nights restless, I won't rest until she is brought back to me, and I've done my father justice.

~~~~~~

Sunset illuminated the sky in an orange-gold glow, enveloping everything in calm soothing warmth. The stallion’s slow yet peaceful sound of every hoof beat harmonized with the gentle breeze that winced its way through the grassy green leaves. The woodland creatures would stop by to imitate a hello to the two Earth Ponies that were making their way back home from a long and arduous day of tending to the still undisturbed natural rocks that lay between them and a good year's crop. It was a hefty amount of work for two ponies to do it alone, but they only needed enough for themselves and one other pony.

"Why am I not surprised that you tired out so soon? I would have thought that by now you would have grown a bit of muscle and held out as long as I," The large dark brown stallion said over his shoulder towards the dragging white colt with a light blue mane.

The colt stiffened up his poise and took stride along beside him, grinning at him with a warm smile.

The stallion chuckled to himself as he glanced his way to the colt, satisfied with the display of affection towards him. "That's what I want to see. Ha! I'm partially kidding. You shouldn't worry about it too much." The stallion answered the colt's curious eyes.

"I'm not. I want to be like you. So, I might as well start early." He yawned, dozing off as he said it.

"No. Don't be like me." He stopped and looked at him, a serious expression on his face. "Be much more than I ever was." The colt's inspired eyes almost instantly shut from sleep few moments after he said that. The stallion chuckled once more and placed him over his back, carrying him back home. "But for now, take it slow. A lot will change, and I need you to be as strong as you possibly can."

"I promise dad."

"Don't promise me. Be." A waste of breath there. The colt was fast asleep. He chuckled his way back through the familiar dirt trail.

As he a woke, a small but humble wooden house came into view. Enclosed between the shades of tall trees, the house sat as an oddly misplaced silhouette in the many shadows of the trees that made up the forest they lived in. As far as he knew, they were the only ones living here. He had grown accustomed to labor, as he had busy days to tend to in reaping as much as they could of the crops they grew before winter. And for reasons unknown, it has stayed this way all through their childhood, though he wouldn't have it any other way. He helped his father build the last of the house and it sat ever so proudly in the peace of the forest.

These woods were quiet and calm. His father told him that somewhere in the land of Equestria lay a forest of mystery called the Everfree forest. He said that ancient lore, secrets, and even monsters rest somewhere deep within it's unwinding wild growth. This forest however was one of peace. It was lonely at times, on rare occasion a small animal or two would pass on by, but other than that it remained calm and gracious. He loved them, loved everything about them, it was his life.

Although it was lonely in some ways, the colt took great comfort in his family and did his best in tending to the needs of his father and sister. On the occasional free time, he'd help his younger sister Rosemary gather roses and other things to aid in her love of flowers and gardening. There was always one thing to do, and in ways, it almost seemed as if there was too little time to do them all.

The colt disembarked from the stallion's back as they approached the house. Near the front entrance to the side sat a small looking white pony with a reddened mane. She was hunched over a small patch of dirt now lined up with carefully carved stones.

"Hi there your majesty, princess of the forest." The Stallion bowed to the young mare as she spun around to greet them.

"Hiya dad. Look!" The young mare spoke as she pointed to the much larger patch next to the one she was tending.

The flowers were in full bloom, gleaming in the shades of their bright color and all neatly organized with a few well-placed slabs of stone. Aside from their beauty, they spelled out words and shapes. Around the trim it imaged out a pattern, similar to that of a heart. Inside, the flowers spelled out "Daddy" and "Illy" and in the center of the two words, a small defined purple flower stood out portraying all the others.

The young mare walked up in between them looking over her garden, a smile of pride and joy slathered across her expression. "So, Illy, I'm not so useless now huh? Come to think of it, I might be even more useful than you."

"Not bad... not bad... but it is clear that I am more useful around here."

"You did doze off on the job." The stallion said smugly, grinning in content.

"Touche. She was the one that didn't let me sleep last night!"

Rosemary puffed her cheeks in playful frustration. "Yeah well, I was thinking of what dad said... oh and Illuminous is too long, I rather call you Illy."

"Alrighty then... Rosy." He said smugly. "We can play that game all day long, sister." They shot daggers at each other with their eyes, laughing mildly afterwards.

The stallion stood silent as he looked over the small garden Rosemary had made. Finally, after a while of back and forth arguments from the two siblings, he spoke up. "I want to tell you both something... the reason as to why we are moving soon." the Stallion's voice trailed off and they sat in silence for a bit, both siblings looking at him intently. "Princess Celestia has asked me to join as a royal guard once again. I really don't want to force my decision on both of you, so now I ask you... do you want to move?"

"I'd think it'd be nice. We can meet all different types of ponies right? It'd be great!"

"The thing is, that means leaving all of this behind..." The stallion said nothing more and he lowered his head as he walked over to the large golden oak tree in the back of the small house. The oak tree itself was oddly out of place with the forest's trees and their natural summer green shade. It has stood beside them for as long as Illuminous could remember and it carried a huge significance to his father... Seeing his father this way... The origin of this tree...

"It’s okay dad. My life is where you both are, so if you decide to move or stay, I will follow." Broke the silence.

"Yeah. What Illuminous said. We're with ya daddy." Rosemary spoke up

The stallion looked up resentful, still unsure of his decision, he looked over to the tree, and then into the ground, and lowered his head as to show appreciation.

"Mom loved to go to Canterlot. I think she would have wanted us to go." He added to his words.

The two young ponies walked over to the stallion and hugged him.

"Alright then, I've made up my mind. I can't keep you both here forever. We'll head out tomorrow morning," The stallion smiled warmly at them as he stood up again. A hint of excitement ran through the two young pony's eyes. "For now you two get some rest, I still have some things left to do." The stallion said, waving them off as they walked back into the house, the sun now setting over the horizon.

The two young ponies lay nuzzled together, attempting their hardest to get some night's rest. It was difficult to be sure of what to feel. He felt excited, but on the other hand, he felt fear, sorrow, and it scared him. He was finally going to be able to see the world. Living alone in the woods wasn't bad, in fact, it was great, but in his heart he wished for something more. His life was with his sister and father, and he wouldn't want it any other way even if it meant living in solitude. His mind filled with sorrow in thinking of leaving it all behind. The pain that it would cost his father... but, maybe it all was just a small price to pay. A fear of the world. He had never known anyone else, and it scared him to think just how different it could all become.

Their father had told them tales and stories about the grand city of Canterlot and much about everything else in Equestria. The stallion would tell them bed time stories before they slept. He would tell them about the beauty and magnificence of a giant castle, outlined in gold and all sorts of bright colors, and how a beautiful and majestic pony ruled from the throne, Princess Celestia.

He would speak of how the Princess would raise both the sun and the moon with her powers. He also explained to them that there were other types of ponies. Unicorns that used magic with their horns, which sounded more like a fairy tell than anything else, Pegasi that could fly with their wings, which it too sounded like a tall tale, and Alicorns who had both, but the only ones known to be Alicorns were Princess Celestia and Princess Luna who ruled over the land, which was hard to believe too but he didn't doubt his father. The two young ponies dreamed of the possibilities that the stallion infused in their innocent minds of what the world outside their haven could be like.

As for Illuminous, what part intrigued him the most was that of Princess Luna, he would always rise up more curious than ever to hear any tale that his father had of the Moon Princess. He said that she once turned into the Evil Nightmare Moon as she was resentful for all the ponies who played and laughed by day and took shelter and slept through the night she forged. Nightmare Moon vowed to bring eternal night to all of Equestria forever and only recently had she returned from her imprisonment in the moon through the aid of the stars, and something called the Elements of Harmony were able to rid Nightmare Moon and bring Luna back.

His father always told him that she turned evil because of her own thoughts and actions, but every night he would walk outside into the small balcony of his home and stargaze, viewing the moon and at awe with the beauty of the moonlight. Deep within him he believed that she was innocent. That she couldn't have been the reason to her own demise. How could someone that have made something so beautiful ever harbor such thoughts? Wasn't there at least one pony back then who stayed awake just to see the night? Like... himself...?

Illuminous always hoped to meet Luna, he had so many questions, and he wanted to thank her, thank her for the gift of night.

His father had also told the two ponies about their mother on rare occasions, and the two of them new very well not to bring it up, it seemed to be a painful memory for the strong stallion. Their mother had died after giving birth to Rosemary. His father told them they had to move to the forest because it was a dangerous time back then. Their mother lived several years with his father in this house. One day, she grew weak and fragile from a disease, and eventually she succumbed to it, leaving the stallion broken inside, only held up by the two that made up his life to that day. Illuminous still too young to remember, didn't affect him as much, but he could feel the pain his father would go through, his voice and his eyes spoke a language stronger than his words when he would bring it up.

Just then, his father walked in. The stallion laid down beside them two and hugged them in a warm embrace. He would have wanted to stay awake to have been able to see the night, but they had a large day ahead and he couldn't afford staying up late. He fell asleep with wonders now feeling the blanks in his head.

Illuminous awoke to a few hard nudges to the side of his stomach; he opened his eyes to see his father. His expression was coldly solemn, and it scared him.

"Whats going on?" Illuminous asked holding back signs of his drowsiness.

"Keep your voice low, wake your sister up. I don't need you to ask questions, just take your sister and go out the window and run, run as fast as you can eastward into the Everfree Forest, I need you to disregard everything I told you about the forest. From there, get across the forest, it’s only a short way. Protect her. Now go!" the stallion said whispering urgently and rapidly, nudging him harder and harder.

Without asking questions he woke his confused and drowsy sister up and placed her onto his back. He turned to glance back only to see his father bolt out of the bedroom. He walked out through the window and began to pace himself, running a bit. Still unsure, he looked back to see what was going on. A small glint of white light caught his eye before disappearing and his father's figure came into view. He stood in a ready position, a dark outline came into view. As dark as the night itself was, the shade was pitch black... almost like seeing through an abyss. What was going on?

A loud sharp noise rang through the air and he covered his ears. The noise itself hadn't awoken Rosemary yet. A strange panic began to settle in him. He looked back to see his father only to see him sprawled on the floor, at the hoof of a very large pony-like figure, darker than night itself.

Without second thought, Illuminous ran his heart beating heavily and painfully in his chest, beads of sweat running down his forehead, and trailing off into his mane. He galloped as fast as he could, avoiding the sharp pains that now filled his legs. He was strong, yes, but he wasn't built for running, especially with his little sister on his back half asleep and now waking up, thankfully she didn't witness what he did. His thoughts raced with panic and terror. Had his father...? No... Tears began to swell up in his eyes.

The brave little mare didn't even dare ask questions. She could sense the deep struggle that her brother was in. She stood quiet as she stared at him... whatever it might have been, she could feel the pain and sadness in his expression. As they ran, the trees began to take a different shade of color. A much darker color. Strange plants and over-growth began to fill the gaps between trees, vines hanged from the dark trees brushed against him as he ran.

Illuminous began to feel exhaustion, he couldn't keep going forever... His lungs began to ache as he took deep cold breathes. He faltered and collapsed onto a nearby tree as he stumbled upon a massive root that stuck out of the ground.

"Illy... what happened?" She was quick to ask as she got off and watched him stand back up.

His panting was already too hard to properly respond her. "We... have to... keep... moving..."

"What about father? What happened to him?!" Her voice was loud and filled with panic. Before he had time to even speak, a glimpse of shadowy smoke winced its way through the tree line. He hurried over to Rosemary, standing protectively and looking around.

"You cannot stop this. Darkness incarnate must not prevail! The girl is mine!" The voice was composed of many other voices, all very low, dark, and almost ethereal. Horrifying and almost sickening. A horrible shrill scream filled the air and he could do nothing but shroud his ears in hopes to stop it.

"Brother!!" Rosemary's scream pierced through the scream. He opened his eyes to see Rosemary being dragged into the darkness. His eyes widened in fright... The dark figure of a shadow red eyes turned from his sister to him, and almost suddenly, it took Rosemary and began to swim away through the trees and out of sight.

"Rosemary!" He charged after it, completely avoiding his fear. Whatever this thing wanted, it was taking Rosemary, and he couldn't afford to lose her too... "I won’t let you take her too!" The black smoke swam through the air and off a cliff, floating off into the night. Without second thought, he jumped after it.

Like fog, his grip went right through and he felt himself falling. He hit the edge of the inclining hill. The hard rocks of the cliff battered him as he tumbled violently down. He felt a sharp pain, a pointed rock had cut his side. He hit the ground hard, leaving him out of breath. A warm sensation began to cover his chest.

He rolled over to his back, a mixture of blood and tears covering his face. His vision fogged and the moonlight was all he could see. The Everfree forest, a place of mystery and danger, with monsters that could kill him as easily as the fall will. Rosemary is gone... his father... mother... He couldn't stop it... He couldn't do anything... Maybe this was for the best...

"I'm sorry... Rosy..."