A Light in the Grim Darkness

The morning sun blazed over Canterlot. News of Princess Cadence going

into labor had been released and spread like wild fire throughout the huge

capital city. At the Fortress of the Royal Sisters just outside of the palace

grounds, twenty five breach loading cannons had been loaded with blank

shells and the Equestrian guard artillery awaited the gender of the foal.

One hundred and one rounds would announce the birth of a prince;

while one hundred rounds would announce the birth of princess. The

crowd eagerly awaited the opening roars of the howitzers; the

anticipation was so thick it could be cut with a knife.

Then, just as the massive clock tower in Harmony square struck nine

a.m., the mock barrage began. The loud cracks from the field guns

sounded as one in four massive blasts. Then silence: silence filled the

air until one more final blast announced the birth of a prince. The

crowd roared in approval; while in the Crystal Empire, the Crystal

Ponies received the news over the wireless with enthusiastic

cheering and fireworks over their capital city. It was indeed a

proud day for both Equestria and the Crystal Empire.

*****************************************************************************

Inside of the palace hospital, Celestia, Luna, and Shining Armor, stood

in the hospital room with Cadence who held her tiny foal in her hooves.

The little prince was fast asleep. The door opened and closed quietly

as Ian walked in with a tray upon which sat four cups of Imperial coffee.

Luna, Celestia, and Shining Armor each took a cup while Ian grabbed

the last one.

“So, have you picked a name yet?” asked Celestia.

“Yes, we decided on one of the names Ian suggested.” replied Cadence with a smile.

“You named him Dante?” asked Ian with a kind smile.

“Yes.” said Shining Armor; the stallion practically radiated happiness.

“A good name indeed. Congratulations you two; May the Emperor bless and watch

over the three of you.” said Ian with a smile. The little blue Alicorn foal stirred and

yawned: Ian had to admit to himself; the kid was adorable. The young inquisitor

thought back to his beloved Mina. The two of them had wanted children and a

nice life together on a small farm on Laureus: but all of those hopes had been

literally turned to ash.  The inquisitor felt suddenly exhausted and took his leave.

He had stayed with Shining Armor all night to give his friend support as it had

not been an easy labor for Cadence, and Shining had been worried sick

about his wife and unborn child. Ian had prayed aloud to the Emperor for the

three of them: for Cadence and the foal to get through the birth safely and for

relief for Shining’s worries. Within seconds; the white unicorn told Ian that he

felt as if a peace had come over him; as if a divine force had put a hand on

his shoulder told him that everything was going to be fine: Ian knew that such

a peace in times of distress only came from the Emperor.

Ian got to his suite and into his bedroom; it was the same suite he had shared

with Applejack. As Ian got ready for a long and needed nap, he reflected on

the time he had spent with the apple farmer and how she had come up to

Canterlot to visit with him the past three months when he had been doing his

research; and how of all of the ponies, she had been the one who had been

the one who had accepted him the quickest. He also thought of how she had

been acting around him as that time had progressed. He had caught her on

more than one occasion looking at him when she thought he was not looking,

and occasionally blushing; but he had not brought it up as he had not wanted

to embarrass her after the hospitality she had shown him. It was not a look of

admiration or awe, but something entirely different: was it some form of fear?

While he was able to read minds, he could only do so if the will of his target

was weakened or they allowed him to do so voluntarily; and the little orange

Earth Pony had a will stronger than adamantium, thus making her

impossible to stealthily read.

“That mare can be such an enigma sometimes, I will have to ask her why.”

he said to himself as he prepared to catch some sleep.

*****************************************************************************

Meanwhile, two hours west of where a rather clueless inquisitor was

catching some sleep; Applejack had received a visit from a certain

rainbow maned Pegasus.

“So Rainbow, what do you and Soarin’ got planned fer Hearts and

Hooves?” asked Applejack.

“He’s coming to Ponyville and we’re going to go to dinner.” said

Rainbow Dash with a rare dreamy look in her eyes.

“Rainbow, Ah gotta ask: did Soarin ask you out or did you ask

him out on yer first date?” asked the farmer seriously.

“I asked him out.” replied Rainbow tilting her head slightly

out of curiosity.

“How did ya ask him?” questioned Applejack.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hang on AJ: are you into a new

stallion or something?” asked the rainbow maned Pegasus

with some mischief in her voice and cocking an eyebrow.

Applejack’s face blushed beet red.

“Uhhh… Kinda…” said Applejack so quietly that it gave

Fluttershy a run for her money.

“Oh my gosh! Who is it!? No wait! I wanna guess! Is it

Thunderlane!?” before Applejack could say no, Dash

continued on an excited tirade that was more common

of Pinkie Pie; throwing out the names of every eligible

stallion in Ponyville before she finally noticed the blank

stare her friend was giving her.

“Wrong on every one of ‘em aren’t I?” asked Dash

sheepishly.

“Eeyup.” answered Applejack with a small smile.

“Sorry I got carried away, that was totally uncool.”

replied Dash with some embarrassment.

“It’s alright RD.” replied the farmer.

“So, what can you tell me about your new guy huh?”

asked Dash.

“Well; he’s tall: really tall. He has a real dark mane

and eyes that are green lahk mine. He also wears

a stetson lahk Ah do every now and again, and

he has good manners.” said Applejack.

“Wow, he sounds like a good one.” said Rainbow

Dash quite impressed.

“Ah know; Ah’m just hoping he feels the same way.”

said Applejack with some worry in her voice.

“Why wouldn’t he AJ? Half the stallions in this town

would give their left eyeball to have a chance with

you!”

“Well… about that… he aint exactly a pony.” replied

Applejack nervously while drawing circles in the dirt

with her hoof. Rainbow Dash had a confused look

on her face; and Applejack could have sworn she

heard cogs and wheels spinning as her cyan friend

was trying to piece together what she was getting at.

It did not take too long for realization to dawn upon

Rainbow as to whom her friend was referring.

“Sweet juicy bacon! You’re after Ian!? Dash nearly

yelled as her face formed a Cheshire Cat-like grin.

Applejack, despite beginning to worry about her

friend’s addiction to the divine food known as

bacon, she was more worried that someone

may hear them.

“RD, could ya keep it down!? Ah’m really nervous

about this! Ah don’t know how much you know about

the laws where he comes from, but from what he told

me, he and Ah together would be deemed a really

bad thing!” she said nervously. She did not want to

say too much for fear that someone may be listening.

“AJ, come on. I’m sure that you two could have a secret

relationship, just give it a shot, what’s the worst that

could happen?” replied Dash placing a hoof on her

friend’s shoulder.

“A lot of worse could happen.” she said more to herself

than her friend as she remembered  what Ian had told

her those three months ago.

“What do you mean?” asked Rainbow.

“Nothing, never mind: everything is perfectly fine.” Applejack

felt sick as she lied through her teeth: she hated lying, but on

the same token she did not want her friend to be worried

about her.

“Come on AJ, everything will be fine! Being a bit nervous is

normal.” said the cyan Pegasus patting her friend on the back.

“Ah hope yer right about that.” said Applejack with a ghost of a

smile.

“Uh, well, I mean; I wasn’t nervous about asking Soarin’ out: I’m

too cool to get nervous.” replied Dash puffing out her chest and

making Applejack laugh. “Just tell him how you feel; Soarin’

and I were friends for a while before we started actually seeing

each other, and that’s how we ended up dating is I told him how

I really felt.”

“Do ya think it’ll work?” asked Applejack.

“Hey, what’s the worst he could do? At worst he’ll say he isn’t into

you like that; and after an awkward moment you’ll still be pals. He

is a pretty level headed guy so I wouldn’t be too worried.” replied

Rainbow with a smile.

“Well, Ah guess Ah’ll give it a shot.” said Applejack with some

confidence.

“That’s the spirit AJ!”

***************************************************************************

Ian’s sleep was restless. He was alone in a very dark dream world:

and there was nothing around: no trees, no buildings no nothing; in

fact that was where he was standing: in absolute nothing. Everything

around him was pitch black, but then he saw something ahead of

him. He walked onwards until he came to a large, marble fountain;

which had water that was clear and clean, so clear in fact he could

see the bottom. It was a very familiar fountain. Ian was distracted from

staring at his reflection by a familiar feminine voice across from him.

“Hello Ian; it’s been a long time my love.”

The inquisitor’s heart skipped a beat as he looked up at the source of the

voice. On the other side of the fountain was a woman with sapphire eyes

and golden hair, and a face that took his breath away: a face he knew

very well.

“Mina.” said Ian eyes wide with amazement. The graceful form of Mina

strode around the fountain and stood before him and took his hand I hers.

Ian looked around him and saw the darkness had been replaced by

beautiful flowers and exotic plants; yes he now knew where he was.

This was the Petrohoff Botanical Gardens in the capital city of

Petrohoff on Laureus IX: the very place he had proposed to Mina

eight years ago.

“I have missed you greatly Ian and would love to stay here with you

forever, but the time that the Emperor has given me here is short, so

please listen to what have to tell you.” she said lovingly.

“Of course Mina.” said Ian calmly choking back emotions.

“You have to let go Ian. You have to let go of the past: you did not fail

us; you did not fail the God-Emperor. You freed us; if you had not

done what you did, then you would have failed; but you gave us the

Emperor’s mercy. I am not asking you to forget, I am asking you to

forgive yourself and let go.”  she said with an angelic voice and a

concerned face.

“But Mina, you were my world! You were everything to me, and I

couldn’t even save you! How can I-.” Ian was cut off by Mina’s

finger pressing against his lip.

“Shhhh. Ian, only by letting go can you move on. I want to see you

happy: I don’t want to see you like this! It has been breaking my

heart for the past five years seeing you like this: It has been breaking

all of our hearts, including your mother and father.” she said sadly.

“I also want you to move on and find someone who will love you as

I once did Ian.”

“Why? You were the only woman I have ever loved and ever will

love.” said Ian shakily.

“Ian, my death means that we were not meant to be; as much as

it hurts for me to say it and for you to hear it; we both know that it

is true.” said Mina softly. Ian felt something placed in his hand as

his fiancé let go of his hand: looking down, he saw it was her

engagement ring. The priceless heirloom had been lost to the

flames when Laureus was burned, still on her body behind the

lines of the enemy, but now, here it was.

“Remember Ian, we are always watching over you and will

always be with you; and know that none of the Emperor’s faithful

who died that day blame you for what had to be done, and

remember  Ian, there is someone special out there for you, and

she is closer than you think.” finished Mina. As she and the

gardens began to fade, Mina shared one final kiss with the

man who had loved her in life.

“I love you Ian: live well.”

“And I love you Mina, rest in Peace.”

***************************************************************************

Ian sat bolt upright after the dream was over and looked around.

He was in his bed in a cold sweat in the suite in Canterlot Palace.

“Wow, what a dream that was.” said Ian. As he brought up his

hands to rub his eyes, he felt something small and metallic in his

right hand. He quickly grabbed his glasses from the night stand

and blinked a few times as he put them on. As Ian opened his

hand, he could not believe his eyes at what was resting in his palm.

There, as real as real could be sat the ring he had given Mina: the

ring that a member of his family had given to his loved ones since

the time of Roderick Ludones thousands of years ago. This was the

ring that had been burned to ash on Laureus IX: and yet there it

was. Ian could only stare in awe. He remembered Mina’s words

and swiftly dressed himself and put on his leg before making his

way to the throne room, where Princess Celestia would just be

going on her mid day break.

********************************************************************

It had been another long morning for Princess Celestia. Since the

sun had come up she had received her fair share of concerned citizens

and nobles with questions and concerns about the arrival of the Imperial

Guard and most had simple questions that were easily answered.

“Who is next Scrivener?” asked Celestia of her Earth Pony secretary.

“That is all for today your majesty; no more appointments.” replied

the parchment colored stallion adjusting his spectacles.

“Care to join me for some cake and tea?” she asked the secretary.

“I thank you for your kind offer princess, but with the diet my wife has

me on, I would prefer not to.” replied the earth pony with kind smile.

Celestia laughed lightheartedly, but before she could reply, a knock

came at the door.

“Please, come in.” said Celestia. The door opened revealing Ian

dressed in the uniform that Rarity had crafted him. He bowed his head

politely, but his face was pale as paper.

“Ian, are you alright? You look as if you have seen a ghost.” asked

Celestia.

“You could say that your majesty, do you have a few minutes?”

asked Ian.

“Of course Ian.” she said kindly.

****************************************************************************

The next day.

Ian also awoke early after having the most peaceful sleep he’d had in

five long years. His dreams had been pleasant for once as opposed to

the usual night terrors he had; and so he began his day with a prayer

to the Emperor before he got himself dressed and ready to go to Ponyville.

Talking to Princess Celestia had eased some of the pain of his past, but it

was still there; at least he had slept well as a result. As Ian boarded the

Valkyrie he thought more on the dream he’d had during his rest the previous

day and wondered what Mina had meant when she said that there was

someone for him closer than he thought; he pushed the thought to the

back of his head as the Valkyrie took to the sky.

Meanwhile, in Ponyville; Applejack awoke extra early to help Big Macintosh

complete the chores before she got ready for the day ahead. Despite her

excitement, Applejack could not stifle a feeling of dread that seemed to come

entirely out of nowhere. The chores were dealt with very quickly, as both

Macintosh and Applejack had things going that day. Macintosh had an

invitation to the palace to spend the day with his very special somepony,

and that would probably mean that Applejack would have to do the

evening chores on her own. This didn’t bother her as her brother rarely

took a day off, and in her opinion, he could use one. What she worried about

was how she was going to go about telling Ian how she felt. Dash had made it

sound so easy, but if it was so easy, then why did she find it so frustratingly

difficult?

The high pitched whine of engines in the distance told Applejack that Ian was

at most a minute away and that did not make her feel too much better either.

Then she remembered something that Ian had given her; she walked quickly

over to the nightstand and opened the drawer, and there sitting alone in the

drawer was the amulet that he had given her.

“Well, can’t hurt ta ask fer help.” she said to herself. Holding onto the amulet,

she whispered a quick prayer to Ian’s Emperor for courage before putting it

back and walking out on the porch. She looked at her reflection in the window

to make sure she looked normal. Ponytail: check. Hat: check. She was ready

for whatever the day may bring and watched as the Valkyrie gently touched

down in front of the farm house and opened the rear ramp. Stepping out in

jeans and a bomber pilot jacket was Ian. As soon as he was out of the gunship,

the large metal flying machine took back to the sky and went back to Canterlot.

“Hello AJ, happy Hearts and Hooves.” he said with a smile.

“Uh, hey there Ian; Happy Hearts and hooves!” she said with a smile.

“Everything alright AJ, you seem a bit nervous?” asked Ian.

“Nah, everything’s fine!” she chuckled nervously.

“AJ; you are a terrible liar you know?” said Ian with a smile.

“Is it that obvious?” she asked nervously.

“In the words of a certain stallion I know: “Eeyup!”” answered Ian with

a chuckle that made the orange mare blush with embarrassment.

“However if you do not wish to talk about it; that is perfectly alright, you

do have a right to your privacy.” Applejack sighed with relief; she wanted

to tell Ian what she felt but not right now.

“Wanna go fer a walk Ian?” she asked.

“I’d love to.” replied Ian with a smile.

****************************************************************************

The first place Ian and Applejack arrived at was the Golden Oak Library

for Ian to return some books he had borrowed from Princess Twilight where

he met Spike for the first time. Not in the three months he had been on Equis

Prime had he met the small dragon. After a short chat with Twilight and Spike,

Ian and Applejack resumed their walk. By noon they had been all over

Ponyville and decided that lunch back on the farm was a good idea. The

day was going as well as could be hoped for, but Applejack knew that soon it

may take a turn for the worst. Much to Applejack’s shock, it was Ian actually

broke the ice.

“So AJ, why have you been acting so nervous around me the past few weeks?”

asked Ian cocking an eyebrow. The color drained from the orange farm pony’s face.

“Uh…Uh… what do ya mean Ian?” she asked sheepishly.

“Well, you have been blushing quite a bit; and I have also caught you staring at me

when you think I am not looking but I have not brought this up because you have treated

me with a kindness that I have seldom experienced from others. While I am thankful to

you, I hope you are not showing me this kindness out of fear AJ: you are a very good

friend; one of the best I have had the pleasure of meeting: and friends should not fear

friends.” said Ian with a small hint of worry. The secrecy was cracked: Ian knew that

something was up. Applejack mentally kicked herself; she should have known that

Ian would have noticed something was off:  the man was from a profession that

employed people of an inquisitive nature and pay close attention to what went on

around them.

“Well, Ah suppose it’s time I come clean Ian.” she said removing her hat. Time

seemed to stand still as Ian sat with a questioning look on his face.

“Ian, there aint no other way ta put this: Ah care about ya…a lot: and when Ah say

care ah mean ah would probably give mah tail to be yer very special somepony.”

Applejack felt as though a massive weight had lifted off of her, but at the same time

she was also absolutely terrified as a dead silence filled the room. She looked towards

the ground and closed her eyes expecting to hear Ian rise from his seat and leave the

house. Her fears were partially confirmed when she heard the chair push away from

the table and heavy foot falls of Ian’s boots: her heart was beating like a jackhammer.

She got the shock of her life when she felt a kiss on her forehead and a hand under

her chin lift her face up. Applejack opened her eyes to see Ian staring back at her

through his glasses with a mixture of concern and sadness in his eyes.

“AJ: I care deeply about you: and I would be honored to be with someone as kind

and honest as you; but unfortunately, as I mentioned when I first arrived on this world,

it just cannot be. The day that the Imperium would tolerate such a relationship is the

day I become a unicorn; and I think we both know that will never happen. I will always

be a friend though.” Ian pulled Applejack into a hug as she let out a sigh of relief.

“Ah was so nervous you would never want ta see me again if ah told ya how ah felt.”

she said with some relief.

“Hey, I would never do that to a good friend. It takes a lot of guts to say to me what you

just did knowing what you know about the Imperium, and that is something I respect

greatly. You are a wonderful mare AJ, and you deserve so much better than me.” he

said kindly. Applejack was about to reply when the sounds of the screams of terrified

children pierced through the air.

“Applebloom!” Applejack shouted bolting from her seat and out the door. Ian

instinctively drew his pistol from its holster and ran out after her.

“AJ wait!” he yelled. Applejack was quickly fading into the distance; he needed to

move quickly.

***************************************************************************

Applebloom, Sweetie Bell, and Scootaloo fled in sheer terror, barely keeping ahead

of the huge monstrosity that was chasing them. They had no idea where the manticore

had come from as they had not even been playing anywhere near the Everfree forest.

Now the beast was within striking distance and raised one of its huge paws, razor

sharp claws extending to full length: but before it could strike, two powerful orange

hooves smashed into the side of the manticore’s face, momentarily stunning it. When

the creature shook off the hit it noticed a rather angry looking orange pony with green

eyes standing in front of it pawing the ground.

**************************************************************************

“Applejack!” yelled Applebloom in concern.

“Keep runnin’ and get help! You don’t turn around no matter what ya hear lil’ sis!” yelled

Applejack.

“But sis!”

“GO!” yelled Applejack; her little sister and the other fillies knew better than to disobey

and kept running. No sooner had the three fillies gotten over the hill than the huge and

now very angry manticore had come out of its momentary stupor. Applejack pawed the

ground and charged; as she neared the huge creature, she spun on her front feet and

kicked out with her back legs to deliver a second bone shattering kick; unfortunately;

the manticore was waiting just for this to happen. As Applejack was inches from hitting

her target, a massive paw slammed into her side, sending the mare airborne and

towards the trunk of one of her apple trees. She hit with a sickening crunch and knew

from the excruciating pain that she had multiple broken bones.

The huge cat cast an ominous shadow over her as it approached and raised its paw

with claws extended to finish the job. Applejack’s whole life flashed before her eyes in

moments, and closed them in anticipation for the impact of the killing blow: it never landed.

A loud crack, like the roar of a cannon exploded over the orchard, followed by a secondary

explosion and a shower of red, sticky, liquid and slimy giblets splattering onto her orange

coat. The manticore roared in absolute agony, causing Applejack to open an eye. Where

once had been the manticore’s paw was a bloodied stump with pieces of bone sticking out.

The cow pony made out a faint red dot on the manticore’s head and painfully looked to

where the explosion had come from: running toward the manticore, bolt pistol raised and

yelling at the beast was Ian. That was the last thing she saw before passing out.

**************************************************************************

Another eight explosive bolts turned the manticore’s head and upper torso into nothing

but bloody giblets on the ground as the huge body of the animal toppled backwards twitching

in the grass. Ian ran over with worry painted on his face and checked the mare’s vitals. She

was still alive thank the Emperor, and Ian whispered a prayer of thanks for that. Up behind

the young inquisitor ran the three fillies who had told him frantically what was going on and

led him to where Applejack had found them; all three were crying quietly: Applebloom

especially. She had already lost her parents; she was terrified of losing her sister and role

model. Ian swiftly activated the vox bead in his ear.

“Aurora, Aurora: this is Inquisitor Ludones; I need a medevac on my location immediately.

I have an injured civvie that needs immediate medical attention!” he said loudly into the vox.

“Inquisitor Ludones this is Aurora, Valkyrie is on the way and will airlift you to the nearest

hospital; ETA, five minutes over.” replied a comms officer.

“Roger that, ten four.”

“Ten four Inquisitor.”

Ian hugged the crying fillies and calmed them down and then turned to Applejack’s

unconscious form.

“Hang in there AJ: help is coming.” he said with worry holding her hoof in his hand. A

few minutes later, the Valkyrie gunship landed just outside the pasture and the medics

arrived with a stretcher. They loaded Applejack onto the stretcher and together with Ian

and the three fillies boarded the gunship which took to the air and moments later landed

at Ponyville General Hospital, where Applejack was taken into the E.R. for treatment. Ian

sent Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo to tell the other elements and Applejack's family about

what was going on while he and Applebloom sat in the waiting room. Now came the worst

part: the wait. All that Ian could do at this point was wait; and pray.