(A little background song to go with this)
The Road to Dawn
As I walk down this path surrounded by nothing but open field, I am left to nothing but my thoughts as I walk in this loneliness. There have been chances for companions but I always turn them away. Why do I walk alone? I ask myself that sometimes but the answer always comes soon after: I walk a path that no one can follow but me. My mind wonders back to how this path was started. I was young, and life was good. I had friends and a loving family, though their faces remain cloudy to me. I had a great home and I do remember that I never wanted to leave. So what happened? Every time I try to remember, only bits and pieces are all that I receive.
I remember the screams of fallen friends and family running in panic and Darkness surrounding me as I find myself unable to move and only watch as all this happens in front of me. I try to remember what happens next but the memories soon fade. The clearest one I have is me waking up in the charred and damaged remains of a small town surronded by a thick forest and everypony gone.
As I continued walking, I looked up at the night sky above me thinking back at what can remember most.
I looked around trying to find somepony, anypony alive who could help me. Nothing but the wind answered my calls for help and not even a body or trace of evidence was left for me to figure what had happened aside from the destruction that surrounded me. Stepping into one of the few buildings still standing, I looked around for anything that could help me, but all I found was a dark brown cloak sticking out from under some debris. Shivering from the cold as night was starting fall, I quickly wrapped it around me. A small wind blew through my red and black mane as I exited the blackened house.
All of a sudden I realized that I was not only alive but unharmed. I looked down at my hooves expecting to see scrapes or bruises but instead I appeared completely untouched. Wind whistled again as a shiver went through my black fur. I pulled the cloak tighter around myself trying to stay warm. I decided it would be best that I start a fire. Scavenging through the buildings and debris, I managed to gather enough wood for the fire. I then looked for the most least damaged house; which I found at the far side of the small town. Finding it had a chimney I carried the wood in and using a lighter I found near the fire place, started the fire.
Soon I found myself wrapped in warmth as the fire illuminated what was left of the living room. The ceiling had partially caved in leaving just barley enough room for me to sit in front of it without having to sit on any of the debris. As I lay on the floor watching the fire, I felt a small sense of safety but I could not understand why. This place that surrounded me felt so familiar but I don’t understand why. I tried to bring back any memories that I could and, although I remembered I had friends and family, I could not see them clearly. I tried so hard. I was lonely and I felt this big hole in my chest that needed to be filled but nothing came.
I am all alone with no love to cling to and no memories to help fill the void. I wanted to cry but instead I felt only anger. I got up and raised my hoof as I slammed it as hard as I could against the bricks surrounding the fire place. Pain shot through my hoof as dust and loose debris was shaken from the fire place. Then something above me gave way and landed on my head. I clutched my head with my non-wounded hoof, rubbing at the bump that was starting to form. I was about to get angry again, but then I look down at what had bounced of my now sore scull.
It was a long looking sword sitting inside a black and brown sheath. I used my teeth and jaw to grip the blade and removed it from the sheath. It was a thin sword with a dull end on one side but a very sharp end on the other. It ended with a sharp pointy end that yet again was sharp on one side but dull on the other. I then carefully slid it back into the sheath. Looking closer I noticed some writing on it. Bringing it closer to the fire I notice a name written on it: Lock Breaker. That name…It sounded so familiar. Whether or not it was my name or someone that I knew I had no idea, but I felt like it fit. So I decided that shall be my name then.
As I curled up against the fire while holding the sword close, I low howl of the wind blew through the broken window. I shivered once again. The howling of the wind seemed to be getting louder. The flames flickered against the wind as it flew around the room.
Then the wind stopped, but the howling continued.
Confused, I got up and looked out the window. Everything had suddenly gone quiet. I stuck my head out a little farther through the window and saw a tree move silently. But wait, there was no wind. How could the tree move? Then a howling came from that direction as green eyes pierced the darkness below the tree. From the tree fell several branches. The branches then started to gather in a furl of magic. The wind kicked up again as it blew harder and harder as the magic surrounding the branches started to form. As the wind picked up even more I found myself falling out of the window. I bent down as low the ground as I could as the magic and wind continue swirl faster and faster.
I looked up at the eye of the storm as the branches came together to make what appeared to be some kind wolf like creature. The green eyes pierced through the magic again but this time as it did, the wind and magic stopped. Now standing in front of me was something of legend that I would later learn was called a Timber Wolf. A being of the forest made of death. The branches that fell from dead trees and the fear that sometimes can grip a forest come together to form this other worldly beast. They say they only show up near woods when something immensely tragic has happened or when fear was the only emotion that could be felt.
Recently both had just accured.
Now a thing of terror and legend stood before me. Its entire body made of wood and a green aura, and those horrible green glowing eyes all turned to face me. It reared its head back and howled that sounded like a hurricane of anger and terror beyond anything I had ever heard before. The terror was not coming from him though, it came from me.
Then it attacked.
It brought its claws down on me, grazing the house and just barely missing me as I rolled out of the way. I quickly got up and drew my blade with my teeth tightly clenched around the grip. Even though I was scared I knew I had to fight. Even as fear gripped me, I felt a small sense of courage as I charged with my blade. The wolf brought his right claw and swung at a diagonal level. I managed to roll at the last second but his sharp claws still left a deep wound in my back as he tore through my cloak. Though he had still nicked me I at least had an opening as I quickly got up twisting my neck as I slashed at the wolf’s face with my blade. I made contact with its nose. The creature hardly seemed to notice as the blade hardly left a cut in thick branches that made up the nose portion.
I stared at it for only a second before I charged yet again. This time as it tried to swipe me I immediately fell to the ground and rolled. This again allowed me an opening. Bracing the back of my legs, I lunged at the best's head and plunged my sword deep into its eye. The green aura that made up the eye twisted around my blade. But the Timber Wolf showed no signs of damage. If anything it seem annoyed to have something stuck in his eye though it reacted to it as though it were a piece of dust. I quickly dislodged my sword from the eye socket.
The Timber Wolf's eye returned to its natural form as I exited my blade. The Timber Wolf regarded me with some of what appeared to be curiosity, though it was hard to tell due to lack of facial expressions. The same and only one being that of rage.
Then it attacked me once again bringing his claw down upon where I was standing. I barley managed to dodge it but it did graze my side just a bit. I winced but then saw another opening as I saw his claw had become stuck in the ground. Apparently bringing down a sharp object at full force can sometimes be a bad thing. I then decided to try something that I would really regret doing later.
I jumped onto the Timber Wolf's back and brought my sword down as hard as I could.
By doing this I thought I might finally do some damage. But the wolf didn't even flinch as he continued to try to free his claw. I then tried to dislodge my own sword only to find it stuck as well. As I gripped my blade with my jaw trying desperately to bring it out, I saw that the wolf's claw was starting to come free. With one last big pull, the sword came free and I fell off of the horrible creature.
I got up and looked up only to see that the wolf wasn't even slowing down, nor was he hurt by anything I had down to him. He hardly seemed to have noticed that I had my sword in his back a few seconds ago.
I stared at where I had left a good gash in his back. How am I supposed to beat this thing? I didn’t have much time to think about it as I soon found myself back pawed by the wolf, knocking most of the air from my lungs and sending me flying a few feet in the air before landing hard on the ground. Unfortunately, when the Timber Wolf hit me I had lost my grip on my blade, it flew farther than I did and was now standing wedged in the ground well out of reach. The wolf then started to slowly advance on me taking its time.
It knew that it had won.
I lay there on the cold ground bleeding and a gasping for air. My mind raced. This can’t be it. My life can’t be over already. I am going to die out here alone with hardly any memories or loved ones to even think about. My life had just seemingly began again only for it to end. There is so much I need to know and so much that I feel I have to do. No, I refuse to die. I want to live!
“No!” I said out load. “I won’t let it end this way! You horrible creature, I won’t let you do this to me. I may not remember who I am, but I do know that I have the right to live my life. I will find out what happened and will find my destiny!”
Just then something inside me broke loose. I felt a sense of power flow through me. A black aura wrapped around me. It flowed around me and spread out. My mane stood up on end as I felt the power of Darkness flow through my veins. Then I yelled out as that power was set free.
The black aura exploded.
It ripped the Timber Wolf to shreds and burned anything that was left behind. The ground shook beneath my feet. I cried out again, just as everything around me went black.
I awoke just in time to see the sun rise. The sun felt warm as I slowly got to my feet. I looked at my back and was surprised to see that the deep cuts on my back had already healed. The cloak, though torn and blooded, was still intact and could possibly be fixed. The sword remained strait up in the ground at the same spot where it had landed last night. I walked over to it and sheathed it. Looking at my back again I noticed a sigil at the lower end.
It was two skeleton keys criss-crossing over a keyhole. So perhaps this may be my destiny. Finding secretes and unlocking them. Not sure where that thought came from but it felt like it fit. With a smile on my face, I took one last look at the town and started to walk down the road. I figured anything left there wouldn’t be much help anyway. As I walked away from the town I could still feel faint power still lingering within me. It seems that I had somehow gained the power of Darkness. But how? I am not a unicorn, I am just a simple Earth pony. Does that mean that I was evil or something before all this happened? Am I the one who destroyed this place? What do I do?
I looked down at my sword strapped against me and then lifting up my cloak. I looked at the sigil on my lower back. Whatever I was, I don’t think I am anymore. I know I have a long road ahead of me but in order to find out who I am, I must walk this path. Though my destiny lies in front of me I choose to walk my own path. And who knows maybe starting a new journey may not be so hard, or perhaps it has already begun. I smiled as I continued to walk away from the town with a feeling of determination as I walked.
I was soon awoken from my thoughts as I realized I had come to a cross roads: one leading off to the left toward a clear sky, the one on the right leading to a dark powerful looking storm. And the one in the middle. I stared down that path as the sun slowly rose at the end of it. I decided to take the middle road. Not the one leading to twilight between dark and light. No, this was the Road to Dawn.
This is the Road I choose to follow.
The End
(No...only the beginning)
Author's Note
This is my first attempt at a one shot and a presequal to The Black Stallion Chronicles:Chaos Rising.
Don't forget to coment and tell me what you thought of it so that I can improve.