Soren the Alicorn Part 3: A True Hero?

by KingNyroc15

A Green Light

The night sky was beautiful tonight. The sky was clear enough for a pony to see the full moon and every star imaginable. Soren had to agree that he favored the night, not simply because he dated the princess that represented it, but because the night was just more calm and beautiful than the day in his opinion. Soren continued to gaze upon the night as he sat on a bridge that connected two towers. He simply stared into the sky, lost in thought for many minutes before wing beats were added to the peaceful silence. Those particular wing beats were graceful enough to where Soren wasn't bothered by the sound. The 'pegasus' landed on the bridge next to him. Soren didn't turn around as the mare spoke to him.

"How art thou, Soren?" Princess Luna asked as she sat next to him.

"Just enjoying the night sky," he replied. "It's very beautiful tonight, Luna."

"Thank you. We made it as beautiful as possible for the Gala. We were actually planning on having an eclipse tonight, but my sister and I agreed to set it for another day."

"What kind of eclipse is it going to be?"

"A solar eclipse."

"Ahh, yes, when the moon appears to have a ring of fire around it." Luna laughed a little.

"'Tis not how some ponies would describe it. They say 'it is when the center of the sun turns black.' Now we art curious of how thou describes the lunar eclipse." Soren stopped looking at the sky and decided to look at the ground. He sighed before answering.

"What is there to say about it? It's when the moon turns red, almost like it's bathed in..." He decided to stop mid-sentence.

"Blood?" Luna offered. "Thou is haunted by that day. The Battle of the Nyrs."

"It'll haunt me for the rest of my life." Luna decided to take a softer approach to this particular topic.

"Is that when it started? When you refused to allow harm to your friends?" Soren nodded. "Soren...as you know, I knew the Doctor very well. He has helped my sister and I on more than one occasion and has helped Equestria even more. He was a kind and caring pony. He helped whomever needed it, saved whomever he cared for, and protected everypony he could. Why do you suppose you're so different?"

"He had hundreds of years to cope with what he did and what he saw. I only had weeks. It's overwhelming to know the harm I can cause just by being around other ponies. I just...don't know what to do." Luna draped a wing around Soren and brought him close.

"Do not fret, dear Soren. There is always light within the sea of darkness. Perhaps we should find my sister. It is time I trade places with her anyway." Soren agreed and flew with Luna towards the castle entrance.

They arrived in the foyer within the minute. The two saw Princess Celestia still welcoming a line of ponies to the Gala, but it seemed as though the line was much shorter. 'The most patient pony on the planet,' Soren thought to himself. The two alicorns walked up to Celestia, who smiled upon seeing them. Princess Luna was the first to speak.

"Sister, we have come to relieve you of your duty. I shall take your place for the remainder of the night."

"Thank you, Luna," Celestia said. "Soren, I'm glad you're here as well. I would still like to talk with you, if that's alright." Soren nodded to her. Once Luna replaced her sister in welcoming ponies to the Gala, Celestia and Soren began walking through the castle while talking.

"If I still may ask, Soren, why did you choose to leave Ponyville? Why leave your friends and your home?"

"I left to protect them, if that makes any sense to you. Trouble is always with me, and I don't want to risk everypony's lives because of it."

"I completely understand. The Doctor has told me something similar to this before. Right before he...changed. I heard you allowed Rainbow Dash to accompany you. I know you care for her very much, but I thought you didn't want to be around anypony."

"Why would I leave Rainbow Dash behind? The very mare that I care for the most. The mare that if she died, I wouldn't know what to do with myself. Can you understand now? Because I can't. I want her to be around me, to comfort me, yet I don't want to be around anyone in case danger arises." Soren hung his head. Celestia stepped in front of Soren and put a hoof on his shoulder.

"It's going to be ok, Soren," she said motherly. "I know you have been through a lot, but you must persevere. The Doctor carried this burden as well, but he always found something or someone to fight for. I know you still have many ponies to fight for." Soren gave a small smile and looked up at the princess.

"Thank you, princess. I'll try."

"That's all we ask of you, Soren. I believe that is all I was curious about. I will let you enjoy the rest of your night. Farewell." With that said, the princess began walking away.

"Goodbye, princess." Soren waved to Celestia until she turned a corner. Once Celestia was gone, Soren sighed once again and decided to walk around the castle before meeting up with his friends again.

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The inside of the castle was surprisingly quiet, except for the sound of music echoing down the halls. Soren was surprised to find barely anypony wandering about, but most of them were either in the ballroom, in the gardens, or in the halls surrounding these particular places. Soren was alone for now but this was fine for him. He was walking through the white halls of the castle, looking at the various statues, paintings, and furniture that populated the area.

Soren passed yet another hallway intersection when something down the hall to his right caught his eye. It was only a color, yet it was a color Soren had yet to see glowing within the halls of the Royal Castle. Soren saw a glowing light-green light illuminating most of the hallway. Curious, Soren began walking through said hallway to discover the origin of the green light. Soren had to walk around another corner to discover where the green light was actually coming from.

As he turned said corner, Soren noticed the light dimming down. He looked around and discovered something peculiar. The white hallway was completely empty, except for a floating, green, little spirit in the center of the area. Soren saw that the green sphere was hovering there, almost beckoning for him to approach. Becoming curious again, Soren walked towards it. When Soren was within touching distance of the spirit, it began talking, except it was talking in a peculiar way.

Hello, alicorn, the spirit communicated telepathically in a smooth, and slightly feminine, voice. Can you help me? I need a powerful enough unicorn, but no such luck had come my way. Soren was unsure whether to trust this thing or not, but something about its innocence told him to help.

"What do you need and what's in it for me?" Soren replied hesitantly.

Already asking for something in return? I guess I shouldn't blame you for questioning my presence. I simply need strong enough magic and a big room away from all of the commotion. If you help me, I shall tell you a premonition in return. Since Soren wanted to keep an eye on this spirit, he decided to help it anyway.

"I believe I have the room you are looking for," Soren said. "The Royal Library should be more than big enough for you, and it's on the other side of the castle. Follow me." Soren started walking away, and the spirit followed. He didn't know if it was a good idea to trust this thing or not, but he wasn't going to take a chance. His friends would have to wait.

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Meanwhile in the ballroom, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were pouring themselves a glass of punch. After Dash poured her glass, she instantly sampled it to see if it was any good. She swished it in her mouth slightly to get a better taste.

"How is it?" Fluttershy asked.

"It's not bad. Let me refill my cup then we can go back to the table." Fluttershy nodded in response as Rainbow poured more of the drink into her glass. As this was occurring, Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack were conversing at their table. The six mares decided to put six chairs at one table so they would all be together.

"So why didn't Spike tag along?" Rarity asked. "I was so sure the dear wanted to spend time with us."

"He said he did want to come because he felt like something crazy might happen again like last time," Twilight explained.

"Ah just hope he ain't bored out of his mind back home," Applejack commented. It was at this point that Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew up to the table and sat down.

"Has anyone tried to find Soren yet?" Rainbow Dash asked. Everyone shook their heads. Suddenly, Pinkie Pie lit up with a big smile.

"Maybe the princess knows!" she exclaimed as she pointed towards the entrance to the ballroom. All of them noticed Princess Celestia entering the room and looking around. Once the sun goddess saw her star pupil and her friends, she started making her way to their table.

"Hello, everypony," Celestia greeted with a warm smile. "How is your evening so far?"

"No complaints."
"It's fun!"
"Peaceful."

"Peaceful except for the fact that Soren has yet to come back," Twilight added. The princess raised an eyebrow at this information.

"Soren hasn't come to see you all? I wonder where he wandered off to."

"I can answer that," a familiar voice said. Although the mares recognized the voice, they were worried when said voice didn't sound as calm as it usually was. Everypony turned to see none other than Octavia quickly trotting over to the table.

"Octavia dear, is something wrong?" Rarity worriedly asked the cellist.

"Maybe, I don't know. I know where Soren went though." Almost everyone asked 'where', so Octavia continued. "I was wandering through the halls because I...well, I got a little lost to be honest. However, I'm glad I did because I saw Soren talking to a green ball of light."

"Green ball of light?" Twilight inquired.

"It was a floating ball of green light. What more can I say? Anyway, Soren started leading this 'green light' deeper into the castle. They spoke about a big enough room that was far away from the party."

"That would be on the other side of the castle. Princess, do you have any idea what room Soren could have went to? Princess?" Everypony looked at the princess and discovered that her eyes were widened and displayed slight worry. "Princess, do you know what that light is?"

"I believe so, but I pray that I am wrong. If that 'spirit' is who I think it is, then–" A quick rumble reverberated throughout the castle.

"Ah'm starting to think that Soren might be right about bad guys followin' him everywhere," Applejack commented nervously.