//------------------------------// // To Seek And To Slay // Story: A Son Redeemed // by FirstClassBroconut //------------------------------// <> I changed Vilis Malum's name to Archangel and his colors to white with a cream mane. I know it is confusing and annoying to do it in the middle of a story, but after I finish the final chapter I will go through the whole story again and add details, rewrite contradictions and change Vilis's name completely. My apologies for the inconvenience. All hail Celestia and Luna Snow Flake fell to the dirt floor of the forest, holding her head in her hooves; her coat was covered in sweat and the dust and leaves clung to her. She could feel the pain in her head like it had actually happened to her, like she had just endured all that Lucent had endured…but in reality nopony could ever endure the same thing. She groaned as she tried to stand, but found her body had stiffened up. She tried again and felt Lucent Dawn put his forelegs around her, steadying her as he half carried her to a log and helped her sit down. Snow could hardly see, like she had suddenly been flashed with a thousand bright Hearth Warmth lights. After a couple seconds of blindness she examined her surroundings, apparently she had kept walking for se noticed they were deeper into the woods that before the memory. Snow turned to the cloaked unicorn who sat silently beside to her, holding his head as well like everything was about to fall apart. She nudged him with an elbow, "Is that what you feel? That…pain…when you use magic?" Lucent exhaled slowly and nodded, he turned to her and gave her a sad smile, "A bit toned down, but yes. Now you know how this all began." Snow looked at the stub of his horn and frowned, “I thought that when a unicorn loses its horn it can’t use magic anymore…why can you?” “Well since I am the Element of Magic it goes without saying that I have a little more magic than most unicorns, nothing like my mother did though…” He stood and sighed, “When I use magic, I am not actually using my horn. Instead the magic is channeled through the Element and my horn is just the point it chooses to exit my soul from.” “Your soul? What do you mean?” Snow inquired. Unicorn magic was the greatest mystery of life next to where Celestia and Luna had come from. Lucent threw back his hood so as to let Snow be able to see the horn better, “A unicorn’s magic is not just some…talent we are born with. It’s not like we can tap a well of magic somewhere in some other world. But instead, magic is our very soul turned into a visible and usable form, that is why each unicorn’s magic is a different color. The horn is a physical tie between our souls and our physical bodies much like a door is the median between one room and the next. The Element, on the other hoof, is like a soul itself. It fuses itself with its wielder’s own soul so that there is more magic. The gem in the crest is like my horn, the exit point, the door. But instead of using that, the Element has chosen to exit out of my horn, or what’s left of it anyway, instead. It doesn’t change anything about the magic at all.” Snow grabbed her head again, "As if I didn’t have a big enough headache already!" The stallion chuckled, "I know what you mean, when I was first told that by my mother I just stared at her like she was a freak. Yet she was the wisest pony I ever knew…” Lucent’s eyes seemed to glaze over as he pictured him and his mother playing, learning and experimenting. Snow knew he was distraught over the death of Twilight Sparkle, but even now as he reminisced about her, she could not help but smile. She stared into the bright purple eyes of her only true friend besides Blizzard. Over the last few days Snow had grown so close to Lucent, like he was the brother she never had. She felt naked and vulnerable when she wasn’t by his side. The mare didn’t wonder if Lucent felt the same way, she knew he did. What she did wonder about, though, was what was keeping him away. Snow could sense a chasm between the ponies like no other. Was it still his past? Was he scared he would hurt her? It didn’t matter, she would have his back whenever he needed her whether he wanted it or not. He was all she had now. Lucent Dawn snapped out of the memory and immediately his eyes were locked onto Snow’s. He stared deep into the icy blue eyes; though strong on the outside he knew there was tenderness and compassion beneath. They were like Radiant's...free and unforgiving. She was so much like her, it was unnerving. The pegasus had meant so much to him and he had killed her. Maybe this was time giving him another chance, and he wasn’t about to fail again. He would protect her like nothing else mattered. She was all he had now. Lucent coughed and turned his head away, "I ah...guess we should go find Vilis." Snow sighed, "Yeah...which way?" Although she had lived in the Everfree Forest all her life, the trees here looked exactly the same to her. She had never traveled this deep before. The stallion started off through the dense undergrowth and light fog, "This way." "How do you know?" Snow asked, awed by how he seemed to always know how to get anywhere. "I don't. But hopefully the patrol following us will," Lucent whispered as he started walking, throwing his hood back up. The blue earth pony resisted the urge to look behind her and followed after the stallion as he headed deeper into the dark forest, "How do you know somepony is there?" she whispered back. She could sense a presence near them, but this was the Everfree…who knows what could be in the next bush. He shrugged, "Just a hunch. That and armor isn't very easy to sneak around in. But we'll find out soon enough." Snow Flake perked her ears as they walked. He was right; she could occasionally hear the sound of metal clinking together from a little ways behind them. She smiled and followed her friend who seemed to be leading them in circles. She wondered if he was doing this by accident or if he was trying to annoy the ponies behind them enough to cause them to show their snouts. But whatever the reason, she didn't have to wonder too long, for after about fifteen minutes of walking in circles Lucent stopped, “Theory...proven.” Snow Flake looked around as lightly armored unicorns carrying spears and swords in their magic charged forward out of the bushes and surrounded the travelers. Their armor was as black as night and tarnished down so as not to reflect light. It covered their backs, necks and shins but not their underbelly. Their helmets covered every single inch of their heads except their horns that were all jutting out of holes cut out of the metal. They didn’t even have eye slits which made them look more like unfinished statues than ponies, though it did look a little frightening. One of the masked unicorns spoke up, his voice echoed from within his helmet, “State your business, ponies.” Lucent bowed his head, “Pardon us, sir. But we are ambassadors from the Royal Pony Sisters to the New Bearer Vilis Malum to discuss terms of surrender of Canterlot.” The guards all gasped and looked at each other; Snow wondered how they could see at all. This time a different pony spoke, Lucent noticed it wasn’t from one of the members of the patrol, “Now why would the princesses ever give up their precious castle so easily?” Lucent looked around, searching for the new inquisitor, “They understand that even alicorns are no match for the power of the Elements of Harmony. So they wish to step down silently and save as much bloodshed as possible.” Finally, the stallion came into view. He was a unicorn with a brilliant white coat, least Snow Flake thought he had an orange coat since she could only see small patches through his armor, and cream mane; Lucent wondered at how they hadn’t seen him sooner. The unicorn wore the same black armor except that it seemed to be made out of links that could easily twist and turn together with ease. The armor covered his whole body like a black shell; the only thing that showed was his cutie mark: a half eaten apple. His head was uncovered and his eyes were a liquid green, exploding against his coat. “Understandable. The Greater Vilis could easily wipe life itself from Equestria if he so wished. But all kings need subjects,” the unicorn smiled. Lucent returned the smile, but it was a hollow act, “Will you take us to your master, sir-“ “-Harvest Glow.” the unicorn interjected, “And yes…I believe Vilis would very much enjoy chatting with you two. What were your names again?” Snow Flake stepped forward, “I am Snow Flake and this is Hazy Day.” The unicorn smiled wickedly as he stared into her eyes, she could feel darkness creeping into her mind and a cold shiver ran down her spine. There was only evil in those green eyes, Snow could sense it. “You look very familiar, Flaky. Do you by chance have a sister?” The mare looked over at Lucent who suddenly became interested in a rock next to his hoof, “Yes…but she’s dead now.” Harvest smiled, “Part of our Ponyville Massacre? You can put your weapons down now, stallions.” The soldiers lowered their spears and swords, moving quickly into formation around Lucent and Snow as Harvest Glow started to lead the way through the labyrinth of trees. After a few moments they came to a small stream, Lucent found this creation of nature a little strange. Instead of water running down a self-made trench, the liquid was red and its course had obviously been dug out. Lucent pushed the thought that came to his mind away, but he knew it was the most logical. Harvest stepped forward, bent his head and took a drink of the liquid. He closed his eyes and gave a moan of enjoyment as the liquid entered his mouth and traveled down his throat. After a two gulps he wiped his face clean and turned to Lucent Dawn, “Drink. You cannot enter the camp unless you drink.” Lucent Dawn slowly walked forward and bent his head, he sniffed at the stream and smelled must and decay, alone the smell almost caused him to jump back, but he staid firm. He opened his lips, closed his eyes and took a drink of the strange substance. He had been right. Blood. He nearly puked as his mind registered what was now flowing down into his stomach but he held it down. Unwillingly and suddenly his mind flashed the image of the Legendary Six with their severed head on the pikes in Ponyville. How their tongues hung loosely from their open mouths that crawled with flies. Their eyes bleeding and empty after the eye balls had been plucked out. And their manes, shaved so low it had cut into their skin. Lucent shook his head and tried to think of something different, but the image kept returning, making him relive that terrible moment when he saw his dead mother’s head. The unicorn fought for control over his mind, thinking of Vilis, thinking of what he had to do. He tried everything to remove the memory, suddenly he though of Snow Flake. Lucent’s eyes snapped open and he gasped for breathe; he realized he hadn’t been breathing since he swallowed the blood. He sometime had fallen to the ground and was now covered in sweat. He leapt to his four hooves and looked around at Snow who was on the ground, quaking uncontrollably. He tried to rush to her side but two guards stopped them with crossed spears. Harvest Glow smiled as he watched Snow wither, “That stream surrounds the whole camp, you must drink it to enter, but it makes the drinker relive the most terrible time in their life…I wonder what she is thinking of right now.” Lucent tried to push through the spears but stopped the moment a sword, covered in an orange glow, placed itself on his throat.. He turned to Harvest who was still watching Snow Flake twitching in the dirt with a smile that sickened Lucent. He was enjoying it. The orange unicorn’s horn glowed bright as the sword slowly moved across Lucent’s neck, “It gets so boring out here…that blue coat…that flank.” “Captain!” The stallion’s sword flew away from Lucent Dawn’s throat and embedded itself into the chest of the guard who had just spoke, “What is it, foal?” The guard, whom Lucent couldn’t tell had been with them originally or not because of the their helmets, gave out a cry of pain and began to cry as blood poured out of his chest and onto the ground, creating a pool around him, “Vilis-“ Harvest Glow twisted his sword, jerked it out of the dying pony and, it one quick motion, sliced off the guard’s head. “I hate it when ponies interrupt my play time…It appears the Greater Vilis already knows of your presence, Hazy Daisy.” He pointed to two guards who seemed indifferent to the fact that one of their own had just been killed in front of them, “Carry the mare. The rest of you form up around this guy.” Lucent glared at Harvest Glow, “Her name is Snow Flake and you will call her such.” He had been disgusted by the pony at how he stood and watched Snow shake on the ground and lusted after her. Hatred grew in his heart as the opposing unicorn placed his sword back against Lucent’s neck. “Oh…did I insult your marefriend? You know only one pony is needed to deliver a message…” The sword slowly across his throat and Lucent could feel it bite into his skin but he continued to glare at the stallion. “Stop,” Snow Flake said as she slowly stood, “We don’t want any trouble, Harvest Glow…we are just messenger. Forgive my friend, he is rather protective.” Harvest lowered his sword, “Foalish is more like it…” He turned around and headed for the stream of blood, stepping over it and disappearing the moment his whole body got to the other side. The guards around them drank in some of the blood and surrounded the friends again, forcing them across the line of blood. Immediately as Lucent’s last hoof set down on the other bank, the world around him seemed to implode and he was somewhere entirely new. Lucent had to shield his eyes for a moment from the sudden brightness, even though the sun was still covered by rain clouds. Eventually he removed his hoof and stared out over a large plain that extended for miles, they had teleported out of the Everfree Forest and now Lucent had no clue where he was. The immediate plain before them was covered in neat rows of white tents. About three yards into the rows of tents a hill protruded above the ground. Lucent looked around at the residents of the encampment, all of them doing what you would expect to see in a military camp. Ponies were eating, washing their armor, exercising, sparring and practicing drills, and all of them had the exact same armor either on or in their hooves washing it. Snow flake came up to him, “How did he get so many? Better yet how are we going to deal with them all?” The grey unicorn gawked at the large amount of ponies, "If he can control dragons, then it must be easy to control ponies. Yet they all seem to be acting like regular soldiers." “Guards! Form up! The Greater Vilis Malum wants to meet the messengers ASAP!” barked Harvest Glow as he strutted up to his patrol. The soldiers regrouped around Lucent Dawn and Snow, leading them through the camp towards the hill in the center. Snow Flake could see a large, red canvas tent staked on the hill and guessed it was the war room. As they got closer to the tent, more and more soldiers stopped what they were doing and followed behind the group, interested in the new comers, most of them staring at Snow. Lucent could easily see the pride emanating from Harvest’s face as he led the small parade to the hill. When they reached the peak of the hill, they halted and Harvest stepped up to two very large stallions guarding the tent entrance, they were wearing the same armor as the rest of the soldiers except that they had a ton more on to cover their large bodies. Harvest lazily bowed before them and shouted, saying the words slowly as if speaking to a two year old “I have messengers from Princesses Celestia and Luna!” One of the guards stamped a large hoof, his whole suit of armor moving strikingly smoothly, “We aren’t deaf, you foal! How many times must we tell you this?!” The pony then stepped into the tent for a few moments as Harvest walked back to his group with a smile on his face. Seconds later the pony exited the tent and returned to his position on the right side of the door, “The Greater Vilis Malum! Weilder of the Elements of Harmony!” Immediately all the soldiers fell prostrate before the tent door, out of which stepped a blazing white unicorn with a straight, cream mane wearing a deep blue cloak. His eyes were as blue as his coat and Snow Flake would have found them beautiful had they not belonged to the pony who had murdered her sister. Archangel shook his head, his mane flowing around him, “What a glorious day it is, my friends!” His voice sounded like a thousand nails being dragged across a chalk bored and Snow had to stop herself from covering her ears. The high pitched, innocent voice of the colt Archangel was gone. His teeth had been filed down to sharp points and his horn was a little large. The pure white unicorn flashed his sharp teeth as he slowly walked towards Snow, “And what, pray tell, does dearest Celestia and Luna wish for you to tell me? Offering terms of surrender already? My thirst for blood isn’t quenched quite yet…” Snow Flake shuddered, what could have driven a pony to such madness? “Oh I am not mad...,” the unicorn grinned, “Snow Flake, sister of the great Blizzard Tail, right? Your sister is a well known hero all throughout Equestria! Are you not aware of the tales, my dear?” Lucent Dawn stared at the mare who seemed about to explode, Blizzard Tail?! It was possible, but he had just never thought about it. Archangel turned to his troops who were still all prostrate, “Stallions! Brothers! You all know of the powerful Blizzard Tail, do you not? Ruler of the cold winds and queen of winter? The same mare who slew two dragons endangering Equestria with only her blade, Frost Bite? How abou when she defeated Fire Mane in a…heated battle in Cloudsdale?!” He looked around hopefully at his troops who seemed utterly lost, when he didn’t get the reaction he was expecting Archangel turned back to Snow, “I ask again, what message do the princesses have for me?” Lucent had o stay hidden till the opportune moment, he could only hope Snow would give him one. The blue earth pony raised her head proudly, Lucent knew she was fighting back tears, “Princess Celestia, queen of the morning and goddess of the day, and Princess Luna, queen of dusk and goddess of the night, offer you a final chance. Surrender now and you will all be given a fair trial. Continue this rebellion and you will all die!” The plain was deathly silent as they stared at Snow Flake, eventually Harvest Glow stated to chuckle along with Archangel. They started to laugh harder and the rest of the soldiers started to laugh as well, soon the whole army was busting a gut around Lucent. Snow Flake looked around at all of the stallions, “What is so funny? Tell what you find so hilarious!” The soldiers eventually quieted down and Archangel smiled maliciously, “Why you, miss Snow Flake! I know for a fact that Celestia and Luna would never give up Canterlot! Besides! It’s not the city I want, not even their throne. Cause you see…” Archangel shot forward, suddenly appearing next to Snow, his muzzle brushing her ear, “I. Am. God!!” The unicorn shot backward to his original position, laughing hysterically, “And now! You will die!” A black light that seemed to suck in the light around it encased Snow Flake and lifted her off of the ground. As the mare was lifted into the air, Lucent Dawn saw as the magic began to compress, squeezing Snow. Lucent lit his horn and through his own magic between Archangel’s and Snow’s body, releasing the pressure for the moment. But immediately the magic started to crush harder, so Lucent put more of his magic into trying to push the magic away. He held it still for a moment, but then it grew stronger and his magic started to weaken and Lucent felt himself loosing concentration. If he failed, Snow Flake died. Mother, help her! Suddenly Lucent felt something tingle inside of him as his magic grew exceedingly stronger and force Archangel’s magic back, slowly releasing all pressure on his friend’s body. Lucent threw more magic into it and watched as the black cloud of magic dissolved around Snow and the mare fell back onto the ground unharmed. She shook her head and smiled to Lucent, mouthing the word thank you. The blindingly white unicorn laughed again, and Snow once again had to stop herself from covering her ears, “Well I nearly forget that you were here! I haven’t had such a challenge since facing Twilight Sparkle! Pray tell, what is your name unicorn?” Lucent Dawn used his magic to throw off his cloak and stand defiantly before Archangel, his childhood enemy. “The son of Twilight Sparkle.” Archangel took a step back in surprise, “Y- you’re dead!” Lucent shook his head, “You broke my horn, you made me run from my own self, you drove me away from my family and my friends…but you never stopped my heart.” Lucent turned around to all of the soldiers, “My name is Lucent Dawn, New Bearer of the Element of Magic and son of Princess Celestia’s favorite pupil, Twilight Sparkle! The offer still stands, surrender and receive fair trial, or die fighting!” Archangel laughed viciously, his laughing was starting to get rather annoying, “What power do you have?! You have a blank flank and a broken horn! I have all the power of the Elements of Harmony which gives me a fathomless pit of magic that colts like you could never possibly even begin to understand! I have three hundred soldiers at my disposal, waiting to do whatever I ask! What do you have?!” Lucent grinned and looked at Snow Flake who smiled back at him. For the short time they had been together they had fallen in love; a love that went deeper than just between a stallion and a mare, a mother and her child, or even a ruler and their subjects; a love that could never be undone by even the strongest darkness no matter what it did; a love that could only be described in one word, “Friendship.” The unicorn growled, and screamed out to his stallions, “Kill them! Kill them NOW!!” All of the ponies in black armor raised their weapons and started towards Snow Flake and Lucent Dawn. Lucent just smiled as Snow stepped closer to him, “What are we going to do?” “Do you know how to fight?” Snow nodded, “I may have not been the hero my sister was but she taught me a few things.” Lucent Dawn looked to the sky as the soldiers drew closer, Archangel watched as his troops slowly descended upon his enemies to crush them. “I will beat Archangel, you will stay safe, and the princesses will handle the soldiers.” Snow Flake was confused, “Princesses? What are yo-“ Suddenly a large bolt of lighting shot down from the storm clouds and struck in front of the troops, causing them to jump in fright and look up. Immediately the cloud cover was pierced by a rain of golden armored pegasi streaking through the clouds led by Princess Celestia who apparently was wearing golden armor and her eyes wear shinning with brightness that even a sun would envy. But what really scared the troops was what shot past all of the pegasi and the sun goddess and smashed into the army of Archangel’s soldiers, soon followed by Celestia and the pegasi. A large purple and green dragon emerged where it had crashed into the earth, flailing its claws and tail. Lucent could hear the bloodlust and hatred in his voice as Spike roared, “I will teach you foals what happens when you anger a true dragon!!” Archangel’s soldiers turned and started to fight Celestia’s pegasi. Lucent knew that the pegasi alone were no match for the army, but then there was a large battle cry that seemed to come out of nowhere till suddenly a large army of unicorns and earth ponies appeared out of thin air right where Lucent and Snow appeared from. They then charged the flanks of Archangel’s forces led by Princess Luna. Archangel stared at the battle raging around him, and smiled, he loved war and these ponies meant nothing to him, “Harvest! Rid us of these flies! I have a wasp to swat down.” Harvest Glow gave a bark of laughter as he summoned his sword and charged off into the fray. Lucent Dawn turned to Snow and was about to tell her to find shelter but stopped when Celestia landed next to him. The princess was terrifying with her magical flames and her armor. The princess cast her blade, Impotent, which was a sliver of pure sunlight causing anything to look at it go blind. Next came Luna who wore silver armor and her wings, mane and eyes were shrouded in magical black flames, causing her to look all the more terrifying. Beside her floated her sword, Crescent, a sliver of the moon that seemed to suck you in. The alicorns and Lucent turned to Archangel who yawned and sat down, watching the princesses lazily. Celestia lowered herself and flared her wings, “Let us end this.” Immediately she charged the unicorn who leapt backwards at the last moment and deflected the onslaught of slashes from Impotent with what appeared to be a force field around him. Celestia advanced upon Archangel who smiled as her sword bounced off of his shield, the alicorn swung again at the unicorn but added three times the magic to it, trying to crush him under the sheer force of the blow. But instead of Archangel getting squashed like a pancake under Impotent, the sword suddenly stopped right before his face and Lucent saw four saw blades stacked on each other holding the sword back. So he doesn't have a shield at all, he just moves the blades so fast you can’t see them! Archangel took the moment to start his offensive against Celestia. He moved each of his blades with perfect accuracy and control, shooting them at his opponent from all directions. Celestia could barely block them all when suddenly she choked and missed one of the blades as it went for her side. Inches from her coat the blade stopped, held back by Crescent. Luna sent out a burst of magic which she and Celestia used to throw themselves back to land gently next to Lucent and Snow who had watched the whole battle happen in under a second. Archangel took the magic full on and used it like the princesses to gain distance. He flipped through the air fluidly and landed silently on his four hooves, his blades floating beside him. “Well…that was fun!” Archangel exclaimed as he made his blades disappear into an invisible shield. Celestia lowered herself again, “Lucent! Get Snow and yourself away from here! I have unicorns waiting to protect you both!” Archangel sat down again, looking straight at Lucent, “Running away again, are we? You came all this way and I don’t even to take a swing at you?” Lucent Dawn stepped in front of Celestia, “No, princess. I must face him.” Luna turned to the unicorn, her flaming eyes difficult to look at, “He will kill you. You are the Element of Magic and so we must protect you.” Lucent sighed, “Correct, I am the Element of Magic, and so my place is here…between Equestria and an evil like no other. The Elements chose me, I must do this.” Luna stared at the unicorn, “You are a true stallion, Moonless Night. But you are right.” The moon princess placed a hoof on her sister’s shoulder, “Celestia, we must lead out troops. We do not belong here.” Celestia growled at Archangel who merely yawned again, but the princess stood tall again and turned to Lucent, “You are truly your mother’s son.” The princesses were about to return to the battle when Lucent stopped them, “Luna, will you keep Snow Flake safe?” The moon goddess nodded, “Like she was my own filly, Moonless.” “Luna.” “Yes?” He smiled, “My name is Lucent Dawn.” Princess Luna smiled, “Come Snow! We have a battle to win!” Lucent then turned to Snow Flake who hugged him, “Stay safe, Lucent. You are all I have left.” Lucent Dawn hugged her back, holding her tightly in his forelegs, he very well knew that this could be the last time he saw her, “I will…promise.” He let her go and she kissed him on the cheeck before turning and running after Celestia and Luna towards the battle. Lucent grabbed his batons with his magic and turned to Archangel, “Thank you for letting me finish. The unicorn shrugged, “I’m going to kill you…whether it be now, in five minutes or five hundred years. I will kill you. So I decided I could be courteous just this once...after all…it was you who ran off and left me to grow in my power and take over Ponyville with relative ease. But I was wondering…” The unicorn shot forward with his extreme speed again, his four saw blades shooting in front of him, Lucent beat three away and crossed his batons to hold the fourth one back as Archangel reached him, coming so close their muzzles almost touched, “why didn’t you stay away!?” Lucent shoved them apart, “When I saw Ponyville burning, my mother’s and her friend’s heads severed on the stage and the New Bearers flowing gently in the wind, I just thought I’d find you and ask why.” The blades shot at him again and Lucent blocked one by one as they came. “It’s rather simple, Lucent. I’m surprised even your simple mind couldn’t figure it out.” Archangel threw two blades from the right and two from the left, Lucent answered by knocking one out of the air while dodging one, he then blocked another and used his batons to grab the last blade and in a quick fluid motion he threw it at his opponent who deflected it with another blade and grabbed it with magic again, “Power. I wanted power!” “But you HAD power! You are the Element of Generosity!” Lucent yelled as he blocked a saw going for his legs and swung at Archangel who blocked the attack with a foreleg and flung himself backwards, immediately shooting forward again, his blades melded together and took on the shape of a long, curved sword with wicked serrations along it’s edges. Lucent had to double block it again as their weapons locked together, he grunted under the force of the attack and could feel his legs giving out under him. The extreme use of magic had caused a very large headache that was beginning to take away his concentration. “Generosity isn’t power, foal! You don’t give in order to gain. You just take!” The white unicorn pressed harder with his magic, pushing Lucent lower to the ground, he knew he was about to break, it was almost over. “Besides…why have only one when you can have all six!” Archangel suddenly threw tens times the magic into his newly formed blade, causing Lucent’s magic to shatter under the sheer power. Lucent Dawn cried out as his magic broke and he was thrown to the ground; his batons fell beside him, each one of the hard, black wood sticks broken into two. Archangel’s blade continued forward from inertia and sliced a long gash under Lucent’s right eye. Blood splattered the ground and the white cloaked pony raised his sword at his fallen enemy. “You are no match for my power Lucent Dawn. Look! Look at how quickly I have bested the Element of Magic! And after I kill you, your friends will die as well…you, Celestia and Luna will die quickly for you are worthy opponents. Spike will become my pet once again. Snow Flake, on the other hand, will become my bride. She will quench my thirst for other…pleasures.” Lucent laid his head to the ground which had turned to mud from the light rain that had just begun, the mud stuck to his coat and the gravel ground against his skin. Was this it? All that Archangel said would come true and Equestria would burn under his reign. Everypony would suffer, and nothing would ever be able to stop him. I’m sorry mother… All of the adventure over the past days had been for nothing…no, not for nothing. They brought him back, if only to fall, but they still brought Lucent Dawn back from the grave. But Archangel was just too powerful; he had trained all his life for when he would make his move against Equestria. He had planned for years exactly what to do and when to do it. He had succeeded in retrieving all the Elements, and now he was unstoppable. Lucent felt all of his strength drain out of him, like when he had smashed the Element of Magic. He looked up around him and everything slowly began to fade to black. Giving up already? That’s not like you. Radiant Spectrum’s voice called out. Lucent Dawn looked up at Archangel who was facing the battle and still talking, but no sound came out of his mouth. No noise came from the horrific battle not thirty yards away from them. Not even from the rain as it the same mud the New Bearer now lied in. He’s too strong…how can I beat him when I don’t even have a horn? He heard Radiant giggle, a noise that haunted his dreams for years, but now he welcomed it, weren’t you the one that always told me to keep trying at flying whenever I thought it was too hard? Lucent’s mind flashed back to the memory of the first time Radiant had tried flying. She had failed miserably and had started to cry. Lucent told her to try again and again while he looked for a spell to help her. Eventually he found one, but it was too complex for him so he had asked his mother to do it. Twilight had said no because pegasi are supposed to work hard at flying, that’s why their wings are so strong. Lucent didn’t give up though; he spent days finding a spell that would help and all the while being with his best friend, helping her along. Or how about when I didn’t think I could buck a tree hard enough? You told me to never give up. Apple Crisp. The faithful pony always wanted to be just like her mother. She would stand and back at a tree for hours, not getting a single apple off. But when she finally gave up, Lucent Dawn showed up and told her not to give up yet and he went and bucked with her. The two of them finally bucked hard enough that two apples fell. They shared those two apples in honor of their victory. Even when I thought I could never throw a party for my mom! You made me super-duper happy! Pavlova Pie. Pinkie Pie had gotten really sick for reasons that not even Nurse Redheart could explain. Pav wanted to throw her a party but she didn’t know how to so Lucent traveled to Canterlot with his mother and searched a whole night in the library for a book that explained parties. Eventually he learned that you can’t learn how to throw a Pie party from a book, you have to feel it inside yourself and let it flow out of you into others. Lucent you showed me not to be afraid of the dark when we had that slumber party. Lily Petal. The New Bearers had their first slumber party at the Ponyville Library one night and Lily Petal was terrified of shadows, just like Fluttershy. But Lucent was there for her, whenever she saw something scary he would shine his magic light on it to show her it was nothing but a stack of books or a branch against the window. You even showed Archangel what a true stallion looks like when you carried him all the way back to Ponyville when he broke one of his legs, even though you two hate each other. Radiant’s voice said. You taught each one of us something about ourselves, now you must learn who you are. The world faded in front of him and he was now lying in the same white room he was when he had faced his Moonless Night. With a flash of twinkling lights his four friends appeared in front of him. Lucent watched as they smiled down upon him and one by one stepped forward, Lily Petal leading, “Lucent Dawn is always there for you.” Pavlova did a back flip, “Lucant Dawn never says never.” Apple Crisp tipped her mother’s hat, the sign of a true Apple family mare, “Lucent Dawn is always ready to lend a hoof to anypony.” Radiant Spectrum flicked her tail and winked, “Lucent Dawn will never let you down.” The four ponies stepped together; he looked at his friends who meant the world to him. Even though he had failed them when they most needed him, they would be there when he most needed them. Suddenly Twilight Sparkle stood before him, “Lucent Dawn never gives up!” Archangel was still talking when Lucent forced himself to stand, his legs shaking and blood running out of his snout. His whole body ached but he forced its mouth shut. He was Lucent Dawn. If he died, he died for his friends. If he lived he lived for his friends. The rain had strengthened and begun to pelt his dark grey coat with icy droplets of water. Lucent grunted from the pain shooting through his head, centering around the base of his broken horn, where he noticed had split a little and a trickle of blood flowed from the crack. Lucent placed a hoof against his head and took a deep breathe. Lucent Dawn looked out over the battle field, at the golden and black armor mix. This was a fight for light and darkness, a fight that Archangel and Lucent Dawn started a decade ago. Fate chose him as Equestria’s champion. He would fight for the ponies. For Equestria. No pony should have to suffer for the sins of another. The white and cream unicorn turned around, his eyes downcast expecting to see Lucent still lying in the mud and not on his hooves ready for another fight, calm in his eyes. “How many times do I have to kill you?” growled Archangel. The bleeding unicorn smiled weakly, “I keep going down yet you waste your time talking.” His opponent grabbed his sword and sneered, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” Lucent lowered took his fighting stance, his shoulders and head low while his flanks high, “You won’t be given a third chance.” The rain made it difficult to see the unicorn coming, but Lucent was ready for the lunge, Archangel was so predictable sometimes. Lucent leapt to the side and rolled behind the stallion who slipped on the mud, but caught himself in time to twist around. Lucent slowly started to circle his childhood enemy who flashed his fangs and copied his movements. The rain came down and the battle raged beyond them, but they didn’t hear or feel any of it over the sound of their own heartbeat and deep breathes. Nothing else mattered besides the fight, even when they were colts nothing else mattered. When they fought almost nothing could break them away from each other. Now they would not be interrupted. Now they could finish what they had tried so many times before…to kill each other. Lucent Dawn flung himself forward, charging his sword wielding opponent. Archangel fluidly slid to the side and swung his blade, aiming to rip a gash along Lucent’s right side. But Lucent saw the blade and through himself over it, flipping through the air landing on his hooves again, sliding a little on the wet earth. “Where did you ever learn to fight, Lucent? All of the bars no doubt,” the Element of Generosity sneered. He raised the tip of his blade and pointed it straight at Lucent’s heart, envisioning it slicing through the thick muscles and releasing all of the blood within. How beautiful it would be, indeed… Lucent shook his mane out of his eyes, the magnificent purple slightly glowing in the faint light of the stormy day, “Good guess. I joined the military for a few years but got dishonorably discharged. My captain insulted my mother.” Archangel laughed, “Ooh…did you have an ickle fit and go cwy?” A bolt of lightning arced across the sky and he took the moment of confusion to shoot forward into a blind swing. The sword passed through thin air where the warm flesh of Lucent’s neck should have been. He looked around, begging the light in his eyes to clear. When it did he looked to his left and his jaw was met with a hard punch from Lucent’s right hoof. Archangel staggered backward and looked up just in time to see another hoof coming at his snout. It hit him dead center in the face and an uppercut met his chest, rearing him back. Before he could react, Lucent Dawn’s back hooves rocketed themselves into Archangel’s sternum with enough force to throw the stallion into the large tent where the pony hit the center pole, breaking it and he felt the whole canvas building collapse on him. “Actually I shoved a parasprite down his throat,” Lucent spat blood out of his mouth, the bitter-sweet taste stained his tongue and made his stomach twist, but he pushed the feeling aside. He was ready to finish this. After ten years the time had come. “You slaughtered my family, murdered my friends and burned my home. My trial was ten years ago and Celestia was my judge. Your trial begins now and I am your judge.”