With his magical hold on telekinesis gradually passing the unicorn standards his dad talked about, he refocused his efforts on building muscle. Lux may have been running and climbing a lot during his time in the Everfree Forest, but he never felt tired at the end of it, so that prompted him to test his metal at the moment. Lux performed the many exercises he did in the academy and was able to catch wind of the differences with his human form. The stamina, speed and strength was about comparable to when he graduated but paled when he became a Conduit, but that wasn’t a fair comparison to him since he was juiced up on life energy unlike everyone else.
Lux chose to continue his old routines to regain some of his former vigour: a 4 mile run, 200 push ups and bucking trees until he couldn't do it anymore, which was improvised from punching trees. Simple but tiring. A good kind of tiring but still tiring.
He had to wake up with aching muscles for a few days but having dealt with that kind of feeling ten-fold for months in the academy, he didn’t complain completing the various foraging runs Heatwave took him to help with.
He honestly enjoyed Heatwaves company. Humans are social creatures just like ponies and despite what Lux was forced to believe about friendship and parental figures in his old world, the colt could appreciate the presence of a friendly individual.
He waited for Heatwave to buck a nearby tree where several shady green apples with thorny protrusions on the skin, while Darkloud caught them in his magic before the vine-like spikes hit the floor and internally poisoned the fruits. As he concentrated to levitate the apples into Heatwave’s basket with built in wheels, he couldn't help but enjoy the simple nature of the rural lifestyle and pondered to himself.
Is this truly what I want?
-Flashback
Inside the walls of the Alchemic Institute for Direct Education’s academy, or Aide academy for short, Lux sat on a sturdy plastic seat in an auditorium packed with children like himself.
Most chatted to friends from beyond the school walls, a couple of them waited patiently for the ceremony to begin and one, Lux himself, tapped his feet in a rhythmic motion. Excitement was palpable on the boy's face with a grin wide enough to ignite a sense of unease within his seatmates and eyes peeled to the center of the stage where the beginning of his life will unveil itself.
Eventually, the clock struck 9 and the sign of Ianuae sketched on the floor ignited, wisps of energy erupt from the ink to accumulate and expand until it stretched into shape. Then, the mass of alchemic power finally revealed a humanoid shape and disappeared, revealing an old man who greeted the bustling kids with a confident smile. Principle Vir.
He was a sophistical man well in his 80s, yet his face brimmed with the youth of a 30 year old, further encapsulated by his ruby eyes that shone with passion. The only evidence of his age was his hair that gleamed a sleek silver, swept back and well groomed along with a goatee beard that faded as it reached his cheeks. He wore a classic auburn suit adorned with the Aide academy logo and a gold chain that exited his chest pocket and entered the interior of the suit.
“Wow, so that’s the legendary Guardian of Life… thought he’d be taller.” A nearby child commented while scoffing in an annoyed expression. Lux balled his fist at the admittedly low witted insult and was about to get out his seat to shut him up but a frazzled girl beat him to the punch.
THWACK
“Keep it down Zelus! That man has connections with the Bellicus government and mentored the previous Conduits before we were born, have some respect if you don’t wanna get eaten alive in here.”
The grumpy one rubbed the bump on his head while keeping an eye on the girl's fist. “Jeez Ira, take a chill pill will you? I was just messing around.”
Lux relaxed back in his seat while peeking a glance at the two bickering with each other. He had a feeling that they were going to be a blast to hang around with but introductions were too early in his view since Principle Vir was clearing his throat to which Lux deduced was his way of saying ‘Quiet down and pay attention before I make you’. The eager kid bet his enrolment on that conclusion. After all, the Principle and his staff have viewed his progress ever since he could remember, giving him quizzes and assignments under isolated walls and fluorescent lights.
Lux thought of the new friends he would be able to meet during his time here. The idea of him surrounded by happy companions while going through a campy school adventure sounded like some cliche slice of life novel.
Not that he read one, he just understood the patterns in his literature tests.
Still, the thought was enjoyable to Lux.
Zelus and Ira eh? Maybe a quick hello wouldn’t hurt-
“Ahem!” Principal Vir boomed, his voice rang rampant through the auditorium which caught many of the obnoxious chatters by surprise. Lux even saw Zelus and Ira who froze in place at the wrong time as they were grabbing each other's collars mid argument.
The room fell silent in a matter of moments.
“Greetings unpolished gems of the future,” he spoke, sheer authority oozing from every word, “I’am Caligo Vir, your soon to be Principal of the finest academy that graced Bellica's land.” The older gentleman paced toward the edge of the stage to have a better look at the rookies. “I’ve seen thousands come and go, but I can tell that every one of you holds the potential to be the best of your craft.”
He retreated to his original position and fixed his tie before continuing his speech. “Expected that everyone read their entry pamphlets,”- a couple kids behind Lux whispered in worry to which the scruffy haired kid giggled to himself at their obvious error -”expected that MOST have read the pamphlets, you will be aware that we offer a variety of courses. One of them shall be the gateway to your success once you breach these walls in 7 years time.”
The principal drew his hand into his fancy suit pocket, pulling out a remote and with a click, a projector above the room activated, lighting a presentation on the curtain wall.
It showed multiple of the courses Lux was familiar with: Engineering, Health and Social work, the Bellicus Elite Cadets and many more regular jobs people would want to work towards.
“However...” Mr Vir grinned with pride as he turned his glare to Lux. It made the boy return to a straight face, as if feigning ignorance, “we have a special course, only for the brave and determined to take,” his voice grew louder, “a chance for glory and fame that will await the worthy graduate should they not keel over under the 3 year pressure!”
Lux bent his back closer to get a closer look at the next and final slide on the presentation. Whether Lux wished to or not, and he did wish to do so, it was his destiny to partake in the final course.
“The Conduit Training Program!”
-End Flashback
By the time Lux finished reminiscing, the haul of Vineapples were successfully piled into the basket by the rim.
“By the thousand yard stare, I'm gonna takes a guess and say you got something planned.” Heatwave commented, sending a light smirk his way as the colt shook his head frantically.
“Nope, no running into the unknown without your permission this time.” Lux said, which granted him a knowing glare from his father.
“Kid, you can’t hide things from me. As mysterious as you want to make yourself believe, I’ve seen that look enough times to know what it means. So what's up?”
Lux peered at the lowering sun with a blank look on his visage. Well, he’s my dad for a reason. Might as well
“I was just remembering some stuff.”
Heatwave almost snapped his neck to double check on his son. His eyes gleaming with hope.
“Really… so you mean your memories are returning?” he asked cheerfully
“Uhm, yeah you can say that. But enough of that, right now,” Lux pointed to the moon that steadily rose, “suns down and the forest is gonna get dark. You told me we were gonna be moving to that Ponyville place soon so we better get moving before the big guys wake up.”
The stallion gleamed with a grin that Lux hadn’t seen on him since he arrived in Equestria which resulted in the colt mirroring the image for himself.
“Right you are kid, I really should’ve checked the time, now let’s high tail it back and get our stuff ready for transport. Trust me son, you’re gonna love Ponyville!”
And by the time the duo were halfway to their destination, the moon rose above their heads which provided them little light to show their way along the mud path. Since Lux didn’t want to take any chances with a sudden surprise orchestrated by the Everfree critters, he resorted to using his horn like lantern, which proved fruitless as the pathway only grew a tad more visible.
“Sorry dad,” Lux lowered his head in shame, “I haven’t tried stuff past telekinesis yet so this will have to suffice.”
Heatwave closed his eyes with a smile still plastered, as he faced his strangely melancholic son, “Darkloud for the third time this week…”
“It's not your fault.”
“It's not my fault.”
The grown stallion couldn’t help but chuckle at his kid's sarcasm. “As I was saying, if I foresaw the amount of apples currently ripening, I would have brought the lanturn.”
“And if I didn't blank out into memory lane and picked up the pace, we’d probably be back by now.”
Heatwave nodded awkwardly, scruffing the colt's mane to shut him up. “Indeed, but it's a good sign. Your memories are coming back and soon and more will reveal themselves until everything clicks together for you. Once we settle down in Ponyville, I’ll set you up with a psychiatrist to speed up the process, and then we will see how it goes! But first things first, there's something going on there so I want to surprise you. I'll give you a hint, a very important pony will be there.”
Lux mentally shrunk at the idea of a psychiatrist. He wasn’t going to remember anything now matter what they do since… he wasn’t there. All he has is his other world stories that would send him to the mental asylum and this time, he confirmed that such a thing exists in Ponyville.
Speaking of Ponyville, he couldn’t lie to himself that he was particularly intrigued about the humble pony town. The way Heatwave talked about the many colourful landmarks in the area such as the Town Hall, Sweet Apple Acres and Sugar Cube Corner… The little colt REALLY wanted more details on the sugary sweets but he supposed he would experience them later.
While he devilishly grinned to himself, mentally determined to find the famous Cakes after Heatwave completed his rental plan, their home finally came into view under the light of his magic.
But something felt wrong to both of them…
It was a given since the Everfree was a place anypony would feel uneasy, but the foreboding dread that put them on edge was at a higher level than the normal Everfree chill the two were accustomed to.
Silence cut their conversation immediately which was just enough to allow the boys to sense slight rhythmic tremors in the soil.
The final nail in the coffin however, came just as fast as the tremors ceased once the glow of Lux’s horn that covered the grassy field had been invaded by shadows.
A low snarl peered from 3 angles just above them and with a slow tilt upwards, they met the many eyes of a terrible creature.
“HYDRA, RUN!”
Being in the line of danger wasn’t new to Lux. He had been in battles against hundreds of soldiers from competing nations and succeeded more times than not, but those were people using spells he’d seen in his proctor exams millions of times.
Creatures were never used in the battlefronts since they didn’t have the genetic sequence required to use, let alone comprehend alchemy, so a single offensive spell would be all it took to end the poor fuzz balls.
This is why the only non-human things he engaged with were alchemists with the affinity for Antimony alchemy. The last time he faced that kind of practitioner was his cheeky classmate who would paint the symbol on an object and with a few chants, she could turn it into many creatures like a rabbit or a bear, enhanced greatly by the seal of the spell.
But nothing could prepare the colt for a monster that originated from a myth.
The hydra towered over the Everfree canopy, its trio of heads scowling at its next meal with eager jade eyes. But what worried him most lay with the middle one. It had two hoofprints bruised into its cheek
-Flashback
Lux- or Darkloud as he should call himself, watched as his ‘dad’ sent a pitiful glare his way. “Oh blazes, did you hit your head on that cliff?” he paced around Lux’s bed frantically while muttering to himself. Lux had expected to hear white noise but the low pitched whispers were surprisingly picked up. No doubt his pony ears at work. “I-I should’ve known you’d do something so reckless… but walking up to a hydra what in Celestia’s name were you thinking? If I hadn’t bucked the fear of Celestia into that lizard, who knows what it could’ve done!”
-End Flashback
This hydra had to be the one that his dad scared off, and the most likely reason on how the real Darkloud was sent to the pearly gates.
Rage boiled under Lux’s skin but his body moved on its own, galloping into the house to which his father followed, post-haste.
What can I even do! My magic is practically useless, my alchemy skills are void here and I can bet my life that things got a grudge against dad and Darkloud… who's technically me!
The two retreated as far into the homely caverns as they could and the left head followed, burrowing itself inside the crevasse while snapping through the wooden wall.
Heatwave took the initiative and covered his body over the colt, shielding him from the jaws of the beast, only a meter away from certain doom.
“K-kid, please listen to me,” Heatwave anxiously shifted his gaze from the Hydra chomping on the appliances and Lux again, “I know it looks VERY bleak right now but we are gonna get through this alright? It can’t keep trying forever…”
Lux nodded, eyes unnaturally widened. He could still see the damn Hydra under Heatwave’s hindlegs.
Unblinking.
Unmoving.
Snarling.
That thing wasn't going to leave, and he knew it. Its neck barely fit inside the cave and all the shelves latched on the walls were scattered across the ground, anything that sat on them shattered or spoiled itself on impact.
Come on, me Lux murmured, there is no danger that can’t be avoided, now think!
He frantically scanned the liminal space for anything he could use and eventually, a light bulb flashed in his head.
“Idea!”
He focused on the shattered glass littered beside their cowering positions, focusing on it with as much concentration as being watched by a carnivorous lizard could give him. The glass glowed the yellow hue he’s familiar with and tossed it at the hydra's eye.
At last, the monster blinked.
It roared in agony as blood poured from the cornea and trickled to its cheek.
“S-son, what in Celestia did you do?” Heatwave shrieked
“Getting us out of a grim situation dad, now get ready!”
The beast pulled its neck out of the cave, dragging along the crumbled furniture and appliances in its wake until the entrance was open once more.
He wasn’t going to wait for another head to bury itself back in, so he rolled out of his fathers hooves and made a break for freedom.
“It's do or die dad, MOVE!”
To be honest, he didn’t have to make that plea since the fiery stallion had already caught up with him, muttering something in his breath that the colt couldn’t understand.
They successfully passed the monster as its healthy heads attempted to soothe the left one that was barking animalistic profanities to the skies. If he were not running from a destructive beast, he would feel a hint of pity, but their lives were on the line and if the creature still wanted them for supper, Lux was prepared to try anything to halt its advances.
“Looks like I’ll need to bring you to Ponyville faster than I expected, hehehe” Heatwave’s attempt at humour didn’t amuse Lux as they returned to the mud path and mentally prepared for the long period of panic and anxiety.
If they had enough time, they could get out of dodge before the heads stopped bickering amongst themselves.
But that hope was for naught as Lux glanced back at the distracted hydra one more time only to see the middle one slam itself into its siblings to get their attention.
All 3 roared and made a u-turn towards them,
God, where is my luck?
Meanwhile, just a couple miles from the horror show, Ponyville felt more safe than ever. With the Summer Sun Celebration on the rise, the chance that any pony would be asleep was an astounding 0%.
However that probability should be raised to a miniscule 0.1% cause an annoyed unicorn mare felt like it was about time to break it.
Twilight Sparkle lay on her bed, clogging her ears with a fluffy pillow to no avail. Golden Oaks Library was meant to be as silent as a library should, but the cacophony of party noises and chatting ponies blasting through Twilight's bedroom door didn’t help at all.
The tale of The Mare of the Night was prophesied to come true today and she required a stable environment to study about the illusive magical macguffins, the Elements of Harmony.
Something that would be as easy as a foal trying to use a successful age spell.
So she waited for the party to clear up, which she was becoming more and more uncertain about, glancing at the birdhouse clock every couple minutes and got to pondering.
How long would it take before she packed her stuff and ran for Canterlot? Cause at the moment, she was predicting 2 days.
Whilst she shut her eyes, a little purple dragon opened the door, further increasing the volume of the irritation beyond it.
“Hey Twilight! Pinkie Pie’s starting Pin the Tail on the Pony, wanna play?” he asked expectantly, holding a lampshade above his head like a helmet to protect himself from the bombardment of colourful confetti.
“No Spike, all the ponies in this town are CRAZY! Do you know what time it is?”
“It's the eve of the Summer Sun Celebration, every pony has to stay up or they’ll miss the princess raising the sun,” Spike answered clearly, “you should really lighten up Twilight, it’s a party.
“Ugh! Here I thought I’d have time to learn more about the Elements of Harmony, but silly me, all this ridiculous friend making has kept me from it.” she grunted to herself, tossing around her bed, side to side.
That was until she laid her eyes on the moon. It was like any other night, a carving of the devilish mare, Nightmare Moon laced on its surface.
“Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape and she will bring about everlasting night” Twilight monologues, rereading the Mare of the Night tale from memory.
“I hope the princess was right, I hope it really is just an old ponytale-” unfortunately, her frequent monologues always end, and this one was no different as Spike pushed her door open for a second time. A smile blistered on his face.
“Come on Twilight, it’s time to watch the sun rise!” Spike cheered and with a slight groan, Twilight turned to follow spike only to twist back to her window as she heard a concerning sound.
An echoing roar bellowed far, far away as she could see flocks of birds taking refuge into the night and away from the origin of the roaring creature which Twilight immediately recognised was the Everfree Forest.
Maybe there are noises worse than below her. But since Celestia will be arriving soon, she felt confident that the threat would be solved even if it was dangerous.
“Something wrong Twilight?” Spike asked as he peaked through the creak of the door
“Uhm. yeah Spike, I'll be right with you”
So with a nervous gulp, she followed her favourite and only assistant out of her room.
Whatever was out there was not gonna ruin her night.
This is it. That blasted Hydra was gonna ruin their night permanently! The father and son duo had been galloping for the past 20 minutes and the beast was still locked on them.
If the colt didn't know any better, he’d assume the kaiju reptile had heat seeking vision, but instead of tracking body temperature, this creature could track them from pure spite.
They had literally tried everything to halt the progress of the embodiment of vengeance: zig-zagging through trees, jumping over crashing rivers, leading other hostile creatures in its path, you name it.
But the best it did was slow it down and with how his muscles ached from the constant physical trials, he gravely understood that his body was at its limit.
To be fair, the old him would’ve keeled over at the fourth river without the battery pack that was the Philosopher’s Stone, but he expected the daily exercises would provide enough strength to escape the clutches of any Everfree monster.
“Dad, huff I-I don’t think I can keep running!”
“I know kid, I know but huff please keep pace with me. You're strong like that.”
Lux gritted his teeth, attempting to regulate his breathing but it was for nothing. The adrenaline coursing through him was losing its ‘fight or flight’ energy and entering the ‘crash n’ burn’ phase.
Heatwave glanced back at his son as the determined colt gradually lost ground between himself and the jaws of the hydra moving trees in its wake.
“Ugh, last chance.” The stallion murmured, shifting his gallop to a jog until he was parallel to Lux and hoisted the frantic colt onto his back.
“D-dad, what are you-”
“Take some time to catch your breath kid! Trust me, these legs have more steam to burn.”
And Lux had no choice but to listen, gasping for air like he was rescued from drowning.
Okay, there must be something we can do…
Time was wasting and he needed an out fast, holding one hoof on Heatwave’s fur to stay on board and using the other to rummage through his leather pouch for anything useful.
Though he only grew more frustrated at the contents. “Berries, not hungry. A survival knife, too small to do any damage, a father-son bracelet. Ughhhh,” he hastily shoved it back into the pouch, “I-no, WE aren’t kicking the bucket tonight, God gimme a sign here!”
And whether God actually answered or not was up for debate as Lux took one last scrounge through the bag to find something at the bottom…
That glowy sticky note? DAMMIT
With no options left, he took a deep breath and tossed the cursed piece of paper towards the ever spiteful creature. The piece of paper spun around the air and stuck on the beast's leg unharmed, but if it was gonna at least give it a papercut, he’d take it.
When you said I’d have a life that fulfils my wishes, God, I expected a humble slice of life experience, not a horror story with a gruesome end! He thought angrily. I swear to the heavens, if this was all a sick twisted joke, Imma stomp my way up there and blast you with Ignis-
Wait, is that smoke? Lux cut himself off as the tiny piece of paper spewed smoke from the sign.
A fiery glow later and the unstoppable hydra buckled under its leg, cast ablaze…
And at the right moment too, since Heatwave's legs gave out and slumped to the floor panting heavily while glancing at his son who rolled a few centimetres away during the tumble. At last, Lux could see it in full view. The once dangerous creature bound in shadows became a beacon of fire kicking near-by trees to quell the flames on its leg.
He pulled out more of his signed notes from his bag and tried connecting the dots “Ok so alchemy DOES work here but what makes it work?” he asked himself. “The sign aligned with the spell and Ignis activated it so the glowing must be the success of the generation process…”
He swore he could see mathematical equations panning around his face until they swirled into the formation of a familiar mental light bulb “I got it!” Lux concluded. “My magic IS the generation signal”
-Flashback
Finally, Lux opened his eyes to witness his horn glowing in a yellow light. His eyes shone in amazement at the prospect of this new source until he looked at the paper under the same yellow glow. Despite the pencil lead on the note that glowed a golden hue,
It didn’t even hover.
-End Flashback
Lux finally had the pieces together. All those attempts, he believed the first step was already complete the moment his generic makeup interacted with the sign, but he was skipping it all along. No wonder he couldn’t use it!
And like the fire he could now control, a fire in his eyes grew just as hot as he pulled all his sign notes with magic and one by one, the signs shone the same golden colour.
“Who's the coward now huh?” he roared, slowly trotting towards the 3 headed menace while casting the fireballs one at a time.
Heatwave could only watch in both horror and a hint of pride as balls of fire shot out of the drawings and connected with the hydra’s necks, resulting in the beast reeling backwards. Still, the kind of magic his son was showcasing was nothing like the magic the stallion was used to.
Personality upturn, sudden amnesia, unorthodox magic. Nothing made sense with him anymore.
“Holy Celestia, I don’t know how you’re doing that kid but this’ll do nicely!” Heatwave cheered, lifting himself off the floor “Now let’s break for it to Ponyville ASAP-”
But the colt didn’t budge.
“Uh son, you've done enough. W-we should get going now… kid?” Heatwave’s voice cracked under pressure as he awaited for a response but the foal was transfixed. His eyes lighting currents of electricity with how focused he was on the creature that gave them the worst hour of his new life.
The hydra finally got to its senses once the heads took a look at each other's faces who all wore a plethora of nasty burn scars, and turned around to flee, so Heatwave prepared himself to walk up and slap the foal for his reckless abandon but once again, the world had other plans and Heatwave knew it might just be the final straw.
The hydra's tail swished clockwise, which toppled trees, uprooted soil and most importantly.
Was headed directly towards his son’s side.
It may have only been a second in reality.
It may have been a minute in Heatwave’s mind.
But it didn’t matter because he had already made his decision. And tackled him away from the crossfire.
The second Lux awakened from his frenzy, he realised he was buried in soil, dazed, confused and shocked at the same time. The first second, he was finishing the hydra for good and the next, he was sent flying into a nearby bush.
“What the hell happened?” He muttered as he got up and shook the dirt from his fur, glancing back at the carnage. The first and most important thing of note to the colt, was that the hydra was nowhere to be seen, to which he happily sighed in relief. It would have saved him a ton of trouble if he understood the changes in the mechanics of alchemy sooner but what's done is done.
Secondly, the landscape following their path of escape was unrecognisable: trees were uprooted and broken like twigs, the grass was charred from his previous blazing assault and not a single hint of wildlife was present. It almost looked like the aftermath of an artillery strike, which he could state as valid since the kid had escaped 3 of those back in the day, but he didn’t want to continue reminiscing because there was one last piece in his mental checklist that was yet to be ticked.
He called out to the wasted forest. “Dad?”
But he wasn't where he last saw him. The skid marks from his previous tumble were still etched in the mud path. “Maybe he fled to Ponyville? Damn, guess I’ll have a long lecture ahead of me,” he knocked on his horn playfully, “Principle Vir never liked my tunnel vision. For good reason too, glad my teammates were always forgiving… in their own way.”
Nodding to himself from the nostalgia, he walked towards the lit up Ponyville to see what his father has planned to top this-
“Cough cough… Ughhhh”
Lux froze in place. That deathly sound was all too familiar to him as the child soldier could understand all the signs of death, like he met the being himself, so he twisted his neck to see the poor creature that failed to survive their situation.
But his eyes shot open when he noticed the fallen.
There lay his father Heatwave, his body crumbled under a fallen tree crushing his back. The soil around him became saturated in blood, indicating a critical wound on his stomach and a sickly purple bruise that indented his left side, implying to the observant colt that the stallion had fractured his rib cage.
“D-Dad… NO!” Lux screamed, dashing towards his dishevelled form and pushed his forehooves onto the underside of the bark attempting to move it. However, his muscles cried in agony on contact; no matter how much force he put into it, the tree refused to make way.
Finally understanding the fruitlessness of his efforts, the exhausted colt sat on his flank and stared at Heatwave, broken and scarred. Not like it was a new feeling but it still hurt all the same.
“Cough…k-kid?” the stallion called, his voice low and heavy. “I-I'm sorry hehe- cough cough, you know, I thought I’d see you grow up before I kicked the bucket… make friends… start a family and all that. So close too…”
“Dad, p-please don’t talk like that,” Lux placated, “just hold on for a little while.” His horn lit up once more, grasping the tree with a tight hold but the glow flickered into nothing which left the colt panting heavily.
“Don’t strain yourself kid, if you catch mana burn in these woods, then none of us are surviving this,” he whispered, focusing all of his energy into maintaining his basic functions, “now here's what you’re gonna do son, you’re gonna head into Ponyville and get to Town Hall. It’s a tall historic looking building. Go inside and ask for Mayor Mare, she's an old friend of mine, inform her of what's happened and she should take care of the rest.”
Lux closed his eyes. At this point, the emotional backlash had died down, there was nothing he could do and he knew it. But at least the colt could find solace that an afterlife would exist for him to rest, reunited with his wife and son… wait, now that Lux pondered it, he thought it would be best to give him some hope.
“Dad, t-there's something I have to tell you. I-”
“You’re not the Darkloud I know are you?”
“Huh, but… but how?”
“Kid, no kind of amnesia I’ve heard of switches your personality and gives you strange magic, besides there are cases of possession in history so it's not too much of a stretch. I just went along with it because I-I didn’t want to face the truth. Just seeing you alive again was motivating enough for me to continue living my life. I hope you understand. My son was the best gift my dear ever gave me, so even if you aren’t my son in spirit, I can’t help it.”
Lux nodded in sympathy. The mind is a fragile thing and people were willing to accept anything favourable in opposition to the logical one, but it still wasn’t fair to Lux. This stallion who he bonded with for a few months, this stallion who had aspirations for the future with his son, this stallion who radiated kindness and love was dying for him, a kid who couldn’t even reciprocate.
“P-please, may I know your name, little one?”
That last sentence broke Lux’s heart. But why, he thought. It was the first time he was referring to the real him, so why would the change in phrase force his eyes to wander elsewhere?
“It's Lux, Lux Festus. Supposed dead-boy walking and practitioner of the alchemic arts.”
“Heh, Lux huh? What a strange name, just like your vocabulary. I hope you will take this chance and run with it as well as you can Lux. Have fun, be a kid and live your dream or whatever it is… don’t end up like me.”
Lux couldn’t help but choke up at those words, gripping his loose forehoof with his own. “S-sure sir, and thanks for everything you've taught me. And if it makes you feel better, I’ve been to the afterlife before, so take it from me when I say you will see Raindrop and Darkloud again.”
Heatwave gently smiled at him. “Yeah, that’s…that’s…”
And so his fiery eyes glazed over and flickered into embers while his voice lowered itself enough to where only Lux’s pony ears could pick up.
“Honey? Kid? Oh wow, you won’t believe what I’ve been through”
And then, they went blank. The hoof Lux gripped grew cold, and it was over. Heatwave had perished. Lux may not have been his real kid, he may not have grown up with him and he may not understand the bond they shared, but he was a better father than he could’ve hoped for.
And for that, he wept.