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// Chapter one: Strained introductions 
// Story: Survival of the Fittest 
// by Rakdar 
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	Darkness, like war seems to be too short for what it means to a lot of people. To many it represents fear, as some believe that the beings in the shadows mean them harm or are ugly and horrific. Others view it as despair, for there must be light for there to be hope as it is often represented as a shining beacon pushing against the darkness. Fewer believe that darkness represents oblivion, as eternal darkness will cover the entirety of existence. And finally fewer still believe that darkness is love and friendship, for what is always there when you look in the corners the shadows, darkness is always there supporting and when death finally takes you, it is there to greet you. 

It was these thoughts the awoke the boy who lived, Rakdarian.  He looked about first noticing the thin blanket covering his body. then came the beep, beep of a nearby machine, he then noticed the the cot he was sleeping in, old, tattered and obviously used quite a bit. Then came the room around him. The machine appeared to be a heart monitor which had wires threaded to various sensors on his body.  Nearby there was a window that led out to a beautiful countryside. The window seemed to be lined with crystal. On closer inspection the entire room seemed to be made of crystal including the bedframe. 

"Where am I?" Rakdarian wondered aloud as he looked around. There didn't seem to be any light fixtures despite the place appearing well lit. 

Rakdarian sat up, and immediately felt woozy. He was dressed in a long thin robe that reminded him of a hospital gown only this was a light purple. He swore colorfully as the blackness slowly receded from his vision. Wiping his face he then noticed a small tube leading into his arm, coming from a small intravenous pouch hung up on a shiny metal pole. Reaching for the pole the small sensors fell off his body with a few light pops and a high beep sound started coming from the machine. Using the pole for support he pulled himself to his feet. Groaning in effort he slowly pulled himself from the bed to the cool, smooth, crystalline floor. . sighing as he congratulated himself for the achievement.

"Ahh..." Using the IV rack, Rakdarian slowly moved to the end of the room, towards the door.

Suddenly a purple horse with about nine inches of death on her face burst though the door with a large machine floating along with her. She appeared to be about 5 feet tall, around a foot shorter then Rakdarian, panic was clearly evident on her face as she looked into the room, only to sigh in relief as she saw the pale form brandishing the IV rack like a spear.

Rakdarian looked at the purple horse thing with a nine inch horn adorning its forehead. To the large wings adorning her back that missed his first viewing. He was panting lightly and it was a small miracle that the IV needle hadn't fallen out. So there they were, standing, One silently levitating a defibrillator looking at shock at the now upright being which not a few hours ago was in critical condition. And the other staring defensively, but dumbfounded at the creature before him. Between them was the tall IV rack, still slowly draining the mysterious fluid into the boy's veins. 

"What, for fuck's sake, are you?" Rakdarian said as he stared at the alicorn before him.

Twilight was taken aback by the profanity but retained composure as she processed the question. "My name is Twilight Sparkle" She said, expecting for that to suffice.

Instead Rakdarian just looked at her, confused. Unsure of what to do he let the end of the rack dip a little bit. "Okay, well umm, my name is Rakdarian."

"Well, Rakdarian. Why don't you set that down and we can have a nice chat, okay?" Twilight said diffusingly

"Okay, I can do that. If i do are you going to gore me with that?"

Twilight just looked at him confused and looked to the machine she was carrying. "How can I....?" she trailed off trying to figure out how you could do that with a rectangular box "I mean I guess I could with the-"

Sensing her confusion he clarified "The glowing spike on your forehead. Not the machine." 

"Wait..." She thought for a moment, then looked cross-eyed at her horn, then laughed, " You think i'm going to... With my... Wow that would be painful."

"Yeah, it would. Which is why I wanted you to promise me not to attack me with it" He replied half sarcastically

"No, For me not for you, well for you too, but much more for me."

"Okay, you could be lying just to get me to put this down so you could gore me with that."

"This conversation has gotten a little morbid... Though if i was a liar i would probably promise that and do it anyways."

"True enough, but that doesn't make me all to keen on putting down my makeshift weapon. Speaking of, where's the rest of my stuff"

"Oh not too far, I do wonder what your- Wait... Oh no mister, you won't fool me into that."

"Damn, well we seem to be at an impasse."

"It seems we are."

"How do you think we should resolve this?"

"Maybe you promise you don't gore me with that spike, I put down the IV rack, and then we sit down and talk about it like civilized people"

"Okay, that seems fair. I promise i wont... Bleh.... Gore you with my horn if you put the rack down."

"Pinkie promise." Rakdarian let go of the rack with one of his hands and held out his pinkie"

"Arghh FINE! Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye"

Accepting this Rakdarian slowly sat down, setting the IV rack on its wheels, so that the bags would hang over him.
"Alright then, Lets talk this over."