"Catch me if you can!" shouted the smiling bat filly as she flew with great speed.
"You're not gonna get away that easily!" said Shard Vine.
The two young ponies raced from the town square until to the wide plain area. Shard would really suffer exhaustion from running, but he would never give up trying. As they reached their destination, that's where the fun began. Shard summoned a large ice wall just in time for it to be in front of her, however, with fast reflexes, she immediately flew over the wall as the colt continued the pursuit. He then cast a hailstorm at her to slow her boost, but to no avail, she flapped her wings very fast that she couldn't feel the cold temperature. Only the option to win the game, Shard summoned a blizzard whirlwind at her, hoping to get her trapped to make her lose the game. Unfortunately, she somehow reflected the twister with her wings, causing a loud force. The twister, now moving to the colt's direction, formed into an icy shockwave with ice shards. He embraced for impact as he collided with it. The shockwave wasn't able to push him back, but it's ice shards pierced through a part of his left front hoof, causing a sliced mark with blood coming out of it.
Venang saw the wound, so she immediately flew to him and grabbed his wounded hoof. As she touched the slice, Shard gave out a little response that means 'Don't touch it.' She never thought that she could reflect that kind of power by big force. She didn't mind about since she accidentally hurt her friend real badly. The feeling of disappointment similarly like backstabbing your own friend behind his/her back.
"My gosh! Shard, are you okay?! I'm very sorry, I didn't mean that! Honest!" cried Venang as her ears drooped down.
"Yeah, I never expected you to reflect that kind of big. I'll be fine, Venang. Just need to stop the bleeding," the young colt replied with a slight chuckle and a smile on his face.
"I guess that kind of fun was too much pain eh?"
"I guess so."
"Come on, let's go back to my house to get that wound patched up. Dinner will ready soon." Venang said, still sad in disappointment.
Shard placed his wounded hoof around her neck so he wouldn't use it to walk back. Venang placed one part of her wing at his side for support in helping him to walk. The two walked back to town as the sunset began.
MEANWHILE AT CANTERLOT PRISON
Phan Tom sat at his prison bed, thinking about his cousin that became different from him and from them. He wished that he never did of his master's bidding, he believed that he would be better off with his cousin than his fellow tribe. He believed that only one thing that he always wanted to have his cousin back: Forgiveness.
He knew the fact the all he wanted was him. He wanted to be trusted and believed by him. As he blankly stared at the prison door, he recalled the past times with Shard Vine.
Five years ago before Eternum moved to Ponyville
The care
Eternum walked through the gym for his physical education class. Today's activity was dodge ball, an exercise to test one's agility. Their teacher was not yet present, so the students just walked around, playing other things, chatting with one another, some were even escaping to avoid the subject, but for Eternum, it wasn't a good time for him. Some colts threw the balls at him, causing him to prone in embarassment. The other ponies couldn't even defend him since the bullies were too scary and deadly. They continued on until blood came out from his mouth as he collapsed on the floor, causing him being unconscious. It was then, something terrifying came out from his body, a dark shadow appeared and formed as silhoutte hands. They shadows charged at the bullies and grabbed them through painful means. They strangled them, but couldn't kill them as the colt made a groan that made the shadows returned to his body. The other ponies were terrified and shocked by what they saw.
Phan Tom who disguised as a mysterious hooded pony, appeared in front of him and carried him by the use of his telekinesis. As he was about to take him to the school's emergency room, he looked at the bullies with anger in his eyes.
"Don't you ever mess with him. He is something more than you can ever imagine," he said as he summoned a dark blade at his left hoof.
"If any of you ever do this again, it won't be him that you all will be worrying about," he added as he pointed the blade right in front of their faces.
The bullies agreed by a nod, fearing of death. Phan Tom then exited the gym along with his sleepy injured cousin.
The understanding
Phan Tom trained him to use his powers properly and to learn more to be the unstoppable draconequus. When he saw Eternum casting an orb, he knew that it's different and very unusual to him and to his people. He tried to examine further, but it vanished as his cousin fell to his haunches due to exhaustion. Phan Tom believed that his cousin would be the only one to make the tribe as the most dangerous and powerful group to be reckoned with since his master told him that Eternum's mother, Lucra, had been one of the greatest and very skilled. The master also said that she's one of the few to achieve the life of immortality. Her son would be as well.
The Pain
As he was about to kill his cousin by lightning, a yellow earth filly appeared and took the shot. Eternum could not understand why would he believed a loss from his heart. After a few moments to silence, he looked at Phan Tom with fire in his eyes. Lightning appeared in front of him and a power surrounding him that looked like a shield or an initial form. His cousin couldn't believe of what he saw, a power that was known to be ancient to the draconequus tribe. Eternum slashed his way onto him as he unleashed the pain that Phan Tom would never forget in his life.
After recalling those memories, he said softly, "Please forgive me...." before he went to sleep.
BACK AT DARK SHALLOW
Venang wrapped the bandage at Shard's wounded hoof as dinner was almost ready. He was still very amazed that she would ever done such strength in just a single force like a in a push of a button. She went to the kitchen to help her mother setting up the food, leaving him alone for a while. Shard then made an ice flake from his other hoof just to pass the time as he saw a picture frame just beside her bed. He sat on the bed and held the picture to get a good view of it. What he saw was her with another bat pony that is a colt. He saw a message written saying: "I love you not because for being my coltfriend, but also being the greatest friend that I ever had in my life. I will always be with you". He placed back the picture at the frame as he tried to relate the message and his past. The line saying: "I will always be with you." was well related to what his cousin said to him through the letter that said: "I won't leave you hanging." He had a thought that if he could ever forgive Phan Tom after what the crimes he did: The destruction of Ponyville and the life of Apple Bloom. He needed a time to think through of what to do, but he was interrupted by a hoof tapping his shoulder. He turned around to see Venang with the hay fries and spiced herbs. She placed the food at the bed while saying,
"Shard, are you alright. Is something wrong?"
"Uh... Nothing. It's nothing, Venang. I was just looking at your picture," he replied as he scratched the back of his neck.
The bat filly placed the food at the short table just in the other side of the bed. She then sat beside him while pointing the picture.
"He was a good coltfriend. He would be there for me whenever I need him. I even gave him a crystal necklace as my proof to show him how much I loved him. We had a good relationship that was long, but not that kind."
"Why? What happenned?" he asked.
"He was dating with another filly, a non bat pony one. That was on hearts and hooves day, the day of our first year anniversary. He even gave to her that necklace, the one that I gave up for our love. He was either cheating on me or just using me to get that. Either way, I never cared about it anymore after that year. One day, he came to my house saying that he's sorry for not telling me the dark truth. I told him it's okay and he was forgiven, but I wouldn't want to see him anymore. I kept that picture with to remember the feeling of loving somepony that you cared about."
The young colt had nothing to say as he turned his face looking to the window.
"Hey Shard, don't be all saddy, I'm okay if you had another filly to love more than me, I'll still be by your side. Even if the rumor about you had a fillyfriend that you had been living with for a long time was true," she said.
Still the same, silence and nothing more. Venang became worried as she believed to have hurt him possibly of what she said either about the story of her relationship or the rumors.
"Shard, you also experienced somewhat similar to that? Losing your somepony?"
Shard then took a deep breath as he explained with his head facing down at the floor.
"Yeah. There was this pony that had been part of my life. She let me stay at her home like I was part of the family. We had been through the good time that I could not even stop thinking about it. She sacrificed my life on that time when my cousin tried to kill me. I was very lucky that she survived. I loved her from the start of my new journey," he explained with such tears.
"How did your relationship ended?"
"At the life of high school. She fell in love with another colt that looked more like a stallion than me. She walked with him. She worked assignments with him, and she even went on a bucking date with him for like many bucking times!" He shouted, but not that much to avoid a scene.
"Ouch. I guess yours was more like a suffering."
"No kidding," he replied as he placed his hoof at the top of his injured one, ignoring the pain.
"Its okay, it's all in the past now. About your cousin, it's up to your decision, but I suggest you forgive him for the least. He might even learn from his mistakes" she said as she placed her one side wing around his back.
One minute later...
"Venang."
"Yeah?"
"I'm gonna forgive my cousin very soon, even after what he had done to me, but still I had to do it. It's the right thing to do correct?"
"Yes it is," she replied with a smile.
"I'm gonna eat now," he said as he grabbed the plate.
"I'll help you with that, Shard. I don't want you getting marks that are more painful than the slice," she replied.
Shard had nothing else to say, so he just rolled his eyes and shrugged as he let her giving him assistance. After a while, the two then drifted to sleep at the bed while holding each other in a loving embrace.
TO BE CONTINUED