> The Lust for Power
>  by All of the Above
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> Chapter 1
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	When I awoke, the only thing I could here was yelling.  This was no surprise to me because it happened everyday. The only difference was that it was a little louder than the days before.  

It was my father, yelling in my ear and shaking me awake.  His yelling was incoherent babbling.  He possibly had something in his mouth.  “Get... stupid piece of...”  

He finally stopped shaking me when I starting shouting.  I opened my eyes and saw this broken stallion hovering over me like a snake waiting to strike the helpless mouse caught in its coil.  I stared into his lifeless, bloodshot eyes.  His navy blue coat was becoming terribly overgrown, as well as his black mane.  Which was caught in my mouth.  It was so far in my mouth that it was starting to make me gag.  With that lovely surprise, I was finally awake.  

He left as quick as he arrived.  He just came in and shouted at me for a little bit, just because some pony needed to be shouted at today, and just left the next second.  Sometimes I wonder It did not look like it was even light out.  Falling out of my bed and landing on my hooves, which were hurting for some odd reason, I peeked outside the window.  

One of the perks of living outside of Canterlot is the view.  My house is positioned in a way so that I can always see the sun come over the colossal mountain that always casts its shadow over us in the morning, until the time comes when the sun climbs to the top of the mountain, and peeks its head just to say hello.  And that is what I just saw.

My father only woke me up on those days.  One thing is always inevitable when this happens.  I have to walk to school today.  Even when it's winter, he still makes me walk.  I'm lucky I have snow boots for those occasions.  

Waking up this early means I have to get ready quickly, and run towards Celestia's palace.  

"Did you not hear me?  Get up!"  my dad barked.  "And make your bed, Arkane."  He slammed the door shut.  

I lived about a mile away from Canterlot.  I had a father, a mother, and an older brother.  

Unlike most foals, I go to Celestia's School for "gifted unicorns."  Let me tell you one thing.  I'm not gifted.  At least, wasn't gifted.  My parents bribed my way into the school.  They somehow manage to pay a lot of money for me to go there everyday.  Don't ask me how they got the money,  because I don't know.  They knew full well that the school day lasted until six o' clock at night, so they just enrolled me without a second thought.  It was there way of telling me that they didn't want to see my face for an entire day.  

I live with abusive parents and a brother who just hates me.  He keeps telling me that I take away the attention from him.  What attention I took away from him, I don't know, and still don't.  He doesn't do anything to hurt me, he just puts me down on a regular basis.  His name is Gild.  

After I finished making my bed, and I walked out of my room. The hallway was illuminated by dozens of candles.  Shadows of their flame danced on the walls, making it look like a shadow dance party.  I shook my head.  'Arkane, you get distracted too easily.  You have to get to breakfast then get to school.  It'll all be okay once I'm there.' I thought to myself.

I can see my mother in the kitchen, making some breakfast.  "Hurry up."  I don't know how she knew I was coming down the hallway or how she knew that I was in the hallway, but somehow she did.  I always imagined her having very good hearing, even for a mare of her age.  

My mother has a dandelion-colored coat and a dark brown mane.  She never bothered to comb it, because she hardly left the house.  She just bums around until dad got home from his job that he never talks about.  The tips of my mothers hair was singed.  She smoked a lot.  The smell didn't bother me all that much.  It was just the natural smell of the house.  

After taking the first few steps into the kitchen, the scent of cigarette smoke hit me in the face.  There my mother was in all of her cruel, decrepit glory, smoking a cigarette and glaring at me like she was a little girl and I tattled on her for doing something bad.

My father sat at the table, drinking something, probably hard cider.  I don't think I've ever seen him drink something that won't make you drunk.  

On the table, there was my scarf that they never bother to put away.  I just throw it on the table without a second thought and they don't seem to get angry at me.  Maybe that's because they don't put their junk away.

"Your legs aren't broken, so get it without using your stupid magic, otherwise they will be broken,"  he tells me.  "Put it back on the table."

The scarf was already wrapped around me, so it was pointless to do it.  I was about to take a step towards the door, but he stood up, spilling his drink.  He examined the spill and turned his head to me.  "You made me... spill my milk,"  He's actually drinking milk.  What is this?  I was answered by a mug to my head.  It wasn't a very hard hit, but it hurt nonetheless.  I'll have a terrible headache for the rest of the day.  "Put it back on the rack.  Now!" 

I took the scarf off of me.  My father directed his attention back to his drink.  I attempted just to fake it, but I remembered that my mother was looking at me.  At that point, I didn't really feel like arguing with them.  If I wanted to get out of the door without any further damage, I would have had to do as they commanded.

I saw him crack a small smile as I put it back on the rack.  I heard him say something underneath his breath in a mocking tone, "Dreck."

I put the scarf back on the table, and then I picked it up.  This is a waste of time.

You'd think I could get used to this, this torture, this constant voice telling me that I'm the plague to this world. I mean, I'd certainly heard it enough from my father, and of course my mother took his side.  Gild wasn't any better.  They made me feel like my existence here was a mistake, and that I didn't matter at all.  And for the longest time, I believed them.  That morning was a day I believed it the most.  But it didn't hurt me like it used to.  Now it's just a daily reminder.  Like the reminder that you're going to die one day.  We just don't care, because we know that as a fact and it doesn't affect us.  We don't care.  We don't even give it a second thought.  That's because we think that the day we die won't be for some time.  No matter what we do, we will die in the end.  So what's the point of doing something about it?  

If there was anything enjoyable about waking up this early was that there were still stars under the sky.  Walking under them made me feel safe, like they were watching out for me.  Sometimes, I felt like i was the only one who had a greater appreciation for the things in life that we take for granted.  Everything we know of could be taken away from us at a moments notice, but we just don't care.

Though it may sound silly, I still liked to wish on stars.  If any pony I knew heard about this, I would never hear the end of it.  Bullying wasn't a problem for me at Celestia's school, but ponies my age still like to tease.  Which is why I stayed quiet and tried to make myself go unnoticed.  

I looked up to the night sky, and tried to locate a bright star.  I sit on my haunches, quietly saying my wish out loud "I wish... for power.  Power that will make me strong enough to crush all of those in my way.  Power that beats that of Celestias.  I deserve the power.  I deserve it, damn it!"  

A smile creeps along my face. "I can't wait to watch that house burn to the ground.  I can't wait until the day I step on the ashes of that house.  Hay, I'll even spit on the burnt corpses of my parents. I will destory that place."  

I get up, brushing off the dirt. I know that the wish will never happen, but it felt nice to say it.  And who knows, maybe it will happen.  Maybe they'll see what they've done to me.

I regretted making that wish.  
> Chapter 2 
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	Even though it wasn't my idea to join this school, it was still a blast.  I loved going there day after day and learning new spells.

I originally thought Celestia was a stuck up celebrity who couldn't give a flying feather about anypony.  I also thought this school wasn't even her idea.  Somepony just had the idea for a magic school and put Celestia's name on it.  But those thoughts blew away when I first entered the school.  Celestia welcomed every pony that walked in through the doors.  First thing she did was congratulate people for passing their entrance exams.  

I remember mine.  I just had to hatch a dragon egg.  I don't know what everypony else had to do.  Maybe they had to do some other magical task, or maybe they did the same as mine  Anyways, hatching the egg was simple enough, although it did take a toll on my magic after.  They gave me the option to keep the dragon I hatched or let it go live in a far away place with its own kind.  I ended up letting mine go.  My parents wouldn't have let me keep it anyway.  They more than likely didn't want an extra mouth to feed.

I also remember them letting me name it.  It was a girl, so I decided to name it Glisten Vial.  After my sister.	

Anyways, after hanging out for some time, we were all gathered into an assembly hall.  Celestia welcomed us to the school, she explained what was going to happen in the next few months.  It was going to be like regular school, but it runs through summer and on.  But instead of it being annoying, you can go at your own pace.  You don’t have to wait to advance to the next “grade”, you’re not vigorously tested on random subjects, and there are no high expectations.  If you feel that you can only get to a certain point in your skills, then you pay a fee and you can go on with your life.  

I joined the school at the age of nine.  Some foals joined at an earlier age because some unicorns are naturally talented in magic, even if they're four.  

For the first few years I learned basic self-defense magic techniques and offensive magic techniques.  I had the sneaking suspicion that my father was going to come at me swinging a bat at my head intent on murdering me.

I stood before the large gates of Canterlot Castle where the school takes place in.  The castle itself was fairly tall and expansive with many halls and doorways.  I wouldn’t have been surprised to find a wandering pony trying to find his way out of the labyrinth if I ever find myself going in.  Learning teleportation would be a necessity if you wanted to go in there.

I heard some pony tell a story about a royal guard who went inside the halls looking for somepony to deliver a message.   He never came out.  Rumors began to spread that a ghostly figure wandered the halls, opening doors and calling out every now and again.  

A few minutes after I entered the castle, I was greeted by student after student and teacher after teacher.  There was a girl whose skin was dark blue and hair that was crimson and dark red who smiled and said a quiet hi.  After her, there was a teacher named Black Marble.  It was said that he could teach unicorns to use their telekinesis on themselves and make themselves fly.  He also taught the basic spells, like levitation, teleportation, regular things a unicorn does everyday (if he could teach that, then what was he doing at the school?).  A boy, whose name was Vlaud, with lighter blue skin compared to the filly's, and orange hair.  Other faces stared at me in the small crowd that I chose not to acknowledge.  

The rest ignored me as I passed them by.  I did the same.  I wasn't that popular at the school, nor was really noteworthy.  I was another face in the crowd to them.  I was trying not to get noticed, trying not to make any friends.  I do have some friends though.  Actually, I wouldn’t really consider them friends, they're just... acquaintances.  I preferred to be alone.  Still do.

The point I’m getting at here is that friends just aren’t as important as becoming powerful.  

It hadn’t occurred to me until I was heading to my first class, but I had plenty of time left before my first class. I didn’t realize just how early it was until I looked up at a wall clock.  7:14 was what the clock read.  The classes didn’t start until eight, and my first class isn’t until 8:20.  I had time to kill, so I went to the mess hall to go get myself a full breakfast.  They served breakfast early in the morning for the kids who came early or those who had overnight classes.  

While walking towards the mess hall, I decided to make a quick pitstop at the library to pick up a book about history.  I don't know why a history book, though.  Fiction was and still is my cup of tea.  History never struck a chord with me.  I guess all of this talk about gaining great power had gotten me curious if there is such a thing.

I walked into the library, greeted by the scent of candles.  The burning wax combined with the smoke penetrated my nose like pickaxes to rock.  Unlike the candles back at the house, these provide a strange sort of comfort to me.  Like they’ll protect me from the dangers that will try to attack me while I read.  Like the stars.  Only, the candles... didn't hold a candle to the stars...

The library was fairly small.  For a building that large, I would've imagined a much larger library.  The ponies who built this place should have paid a little more attention to the library.  I liked to think that they made it purposefully small so when a foal somehow finishes all the books here, they’ll go find more to read to satisfy themselves of their literate hunger.

The library was quiet, like it was supposed to be.  There were about five other kids in here, not including the librarian, whose name was Packard.  He was a kind old stallion who loved reading and really loved kids.  He practically lived at this library.  I was convinced I saw him with a pillow and a blanket over by the young adult section when I was doing some late night studying for a certain spell.  

I don’t know too much about him, but I think he’s a widower.  I didn’t want to question him about it because I was afraid I would awaken memories within him that he doesn’t want to be uncovered. 

I walked over to the reference isle, taking notice that the students who were in there were either reading spell books or fictional novels.  

Scanning the books, I came across a rather big book with the title of “The complete History of the Morer War.”  

On the back of the book were reviews by famous authors and larger companies.  There was a quote by a stallion by the name of Stein that read “If you want to put us down, you must expect resistance."

I opened up the book to the beginning, scanning the table of contents.


Beginning years of the war..................................................10
Weapons........................................................................20
The Eddleston Hill Massacre................................................40
The Dance in the Flames......................................................70



Although there looked like there was some interesting chapters in there, I was just curious to see how we won the war.  I know little about what happened during the war, but I do know that the we were losing the battle.  But then the tide turned somehow and they defeated the enemy known as "Humans."

Towards the end of the table contents there was a section simply titled “Red and Black.”  An odd chapter name for sure.  It also stuck out in a way.  I could easily predict what the other chapters were going to be about, but this... this had a bit of mystery to it, and it was only the chapter name.  

Since it was getting near the end of the book, I decided to take a look at it to see if this could give me any answers.  I opened up the book, but remember my original goal when my stomach started to growl.  I’ll read it on the way. I thought to myself

I place the book on Packards desk.  He looks at it strangely as if he’s never seen it before.  He looks up at me.  “Are you sure you want this book?”  he asks.  He notices the strange look I’m giving him.  “I just wanted to make sure that... you want this book.  Some kids-"

“Yes, this is the book I want.”  I took out a few bits from my pocket and placed them on the desk to pay the fee of checking out a book.  

“No need for that... this one is on me.”  he said. 

“Thank you.”  I said, not bothering to look behind me when I left.

But as I left, I couldn’t help but notice this strange feeling in my gut.  Like I was about to make some kind of mistake.  I thought that it was just because I was hungry, but there I knew that I was doing something wrong.  

The lunch hall was a ways away from the library, so I decided to get some reading in before I get there.  I picked up the book using my levitation magic and start reading the chapter entitled Red and Black.

We watched them die.  We watched them as their world slowly burned from the inside out.  I should've been happy.  We were winning the war after losing for the longest time.  I'm supposed to be happy, right?  Even they were relentless in the battlefield, even though they killed so many of us, I couldn’t help but feel sympathy for them.  What they were going through is something which no species should go through.  The worst part about this was thinking about the children down there.  All dying in the fires that we’ve started.  

Is this what the price of victory is?  Knowing that an entire species was brought down to it’s knees, awaiting the execution, and we were the ones to pull the trigger.  How could we be so heartless?  Have we not learned enough to know that this is wrong? We cannot simply let ourselves get away with this atrocious act.  We’re better than this!

I can see the look in her eye.  I’m the only one that can see it.  There was a certain glow in her eye, a twinkle if you will.  I can tell that she is... enjoying this.  I’m the only one that can tell that she is, I don’t even think she knows.  Is there something else inside of her?  Could it be the Didec-

Before I could read any further, I suddenly bumped into somepony.  I drop the book to the ground, noticing some papers floating around.  I backed up a bit to get a good look at whoever I bumped into.  “Ah, jeez, I’m sor-”

My jaw inexplicably became as heavy as iron.  When my jaw dropped, I thought it would have detached itself and I would've been left there with blood everywhere and my jaw on the floor.  That would make for the most awkward first impression ever.

The spectacle before me was a filly.  A filly with vivid crimson hair and brilliant yellow stripes complimenting it.  Her fur was a light amber.  And before you ask, I was not beholding her beauty. That would be stupid.  No, I was beholding the large, light green hurricane of aura swirling around her.

The smartest thing would have been to run away, but instead I just stood there awaiting her to strike me down and cast me aside like a ragdoll.  But instead the green hurricane slowly made its way over to me.  The filly in the eye of the hurricane put her face up against me.  She looked up at me and I looked down at her.  The horn on her head wasn’t sharp enough to penetrate my skin, but I felt like she was going to force it into my neck and leave me on the floor to bleed out.

“Watch where you’re going!”  

I took a moment to look at her.  With the theatrics that I saw, I expected her to cut me down without a second thought.  But she just stared at me with a stare that wasn’t all that threatening.  She didn’t do anything else nor say anything else.  Just tried to stare me down with her attempt at a librarian stare.  

I must have made a strange face while looking at her, because she raised an eyebrow at me.  “What’s that look for?”

“...That’s it?”  

“What do you mean by that?” she asked, continuing to stare me down.  

“It’s just that... when you pull off an act like that, I would have expected you to-”

“Just shut up!  I’ve got places to be!”

With that, she sprinted down the hall, not looking back nor showing any sign of stopping anytime soon.  

I stood in the hallway with the book on the ground next to my hooves.  I just stared down the hallway she ran down.  I swore that I saw trails of fire following her as she ran.  Not long after she left, I ran after her.  

I don't quite know what it was about her that made me follow her.  Perhaps I was curious as to where she was going and why she was in such a rush.  What I do know was that it was a mistake to follow her.





By the time I reached her, I was almost out of breath.  Running was not my special talent, and I wasn't that athletic to begin with.  She had ran quicker than I originally expected.  I nearly lost her a few times down these hallways and all of these flights of stairs.  But when I did catch up to her, she was just about to jump out of a window.

The filly opened a window and stuck her head out.  Her head went from one way to the other, probably to see if anypony was around to see her jump.  

I was confused to say the least.  She obviously wasn’t about to kill herself.  She would’ve been crying or shown signs of tears on her face.  Without realizing it, I said what I was thinking.

“What are you doing?”

The filly turned around.  There was a brief look confusion, until it turned into one of anger.  Her horn glowed, and suddenly I wasn’t on the ground anymore.  I was floating off the ground, kicking and thrashing to try and get myself free, but to no avail.  She pulled me closer and closer to her and slammed me on the ground.  I tried getting up, but she kept me there with her telekinesis.  

"Why did you follow me, you stalker? What do you want?"

"Did you expect me not to follow after what just happened?"

"I figured you wouldn't if I made myself look threatening."  

"Unless you hindered me, hurt me, even if you killed me I wouldn't have followed you.  But you didn't and now I'm here, questioning you.”

The filly growled a little.  “Get up.”  I could feel the magic aura disappear from my body.  I had control of my body again.  I did as she told me.  I did it slowly, but I still did as she said.  I was still expecting her to kill me.  Though, there was the part of me that doubted that she would.  

“So, what are you doing?”

“Trying to leave this place.  I have the opportunity, and now I’m taking it.  And now you’re stopping me from doing that, so if you’ll excuse me,” She turned herself around. “I’ve got somewhere to be.” Placing her head out the window, she just about jumped out.  But she stuck her head back inside and turned to me. “I didn't catch your name.”

“...Arkane.  Arkane Vander.”

“Sunset Shimmer, but I prefer that you call me Shimmer.  I hope that I never see you again.” And with that, she leapt out the window.  I ran up to it to see if I could see where she was going.  But I didn’t see her.  She wasn’t dead on the pavement, nor was she grappling onto a wall.  She just disappeared.  Teleported herself to some unknown destination.  





Long-distance teleportation?  That was a very difficult spell to cast, even for experts.  This filly looked like she was my age, maybe a year younger, and she pulled off long-distance teleportation without a sweat.  If I wanted to go more than ten feet in front of me then that would require a serious amount of concentration and power.  How could she pull it off like it was nothing?  

I thought about Sunset all throughout the day.  By the time the day was over and I had to go back home, I was still thinking about her.  Thought after thought entered my mind as I walked home.  I don’t remember seeing her around at the school.  And why would she want to leave the school?  It meant a lot to me, because I could escape my parents, and it was a good place in general.  Why would anypony want to leave?  

While deep in thought, I ran into the front door of my house.  The world around me started to spin as I was trying to get a grasp on reality.  I nearly fell over, but I managed to regain my balance and sorted myself out.

I raised my hoof to the door-knob.  But I stopped just when I was about to push the door open. I looked around me, taking in every detail about the sad little wooden cabin.  I've lived there since I was born, and I haven't left.  I've contemplated running away several times but the thought always died when I got the guts to attempt it.  I didn't know where I would go if I left, or how I would even survive.  I didn't have any relatives that I knew of, and finding food without paying for it would be a challenge.  And yet, I always asked myself the same damn question at the end of the day.

Why haven't you left yet?

I wondered where Sunset Shimmer planned to go.  She was just a kid who probably didn't have a perception of how just big the world around her was.  Did she have a plan, or does she plan to go with the flow of life?  

Why couldn't I be like her?  Why couldn't I be brave enough to leave?  Why couldn't I have just lit a match and watch that decrepit log cabin to burn to the ground and leave my past behind me?

Questions like that were pointless.  I could never answer them, and I'm sure as hay that nopony else can, either.  They're not going to come to me on a silver platter.  If I wanted answers to my questions, I had to go out and find them on my own.  

But I couldn't find the questions then.  If I had the courage to do that, then I would have turned around and left right at that second. I couldn't do it because my fears of going out and accomplishing something held me back.  They chained me to a rock and bound me there.  If I wanted to leave, I would've needed to find some courage first.  

Little did I know, I would find courage outside my window that night.
> Chapter 3
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        As I walked into the house, I immediately wanted to walk right back out.  My brother sat at the table, staring up at me.  He had a crooked smile on his face and he looked like he'd been waiting for me for a very long time.

Gild is... Not right in the head.  He's not dumb in any way (he's actually quite cunning), he's just... A little... Mad.  When I was younger, I believed him to be a serial killer intent on murdering everypony in my life.  No, he's not a murderer.  He's crazy, but not ax-wielding murderer crazy.  He's actually a toned down version of said murderer.  

Gild was a tall, tough guy.  At the time he was seventeen.  Five years older than I was.  His skin was sickly yellow, and his hair was brown with streaks of regular yellow.  His hair was nothing too special.  Just comb it and it will be good for the rest of the day.

"Hi there, little brother," Gild said with a bit of a chuckle.  "How was school?"

"Fine..." Sometimes if I just spoke like he wasn't an animal, he would leave me alone and I could go do what I wanted without having to deal with him or my parents.  If I was lucky. 

"So... Mom and Dad went to go do some things at a place... So it's just you and me for a little while." He got up from his chair.  

I clutched the book in my hooves, prepared to swing it at him at a moments notice.  "Okay.  Do you know when they'll be back?"

Gild stepped forward slightly, making it look like he was coming in for a hug.  "Nope.  But why are you so eager for Mom and Dad to come home?"

"No reason.  Just, uh... Curious.  Normally they'd be yelling at me right now-" Gild thrusted his hoof into my gut with resounding force.  I shouted in pain.  He shoved me to the ground.  

He loomed over me and circled around my body like vultures circling a dead animal.  "You don't talk bad about Mom and Dad!  They've done so much for you!  They've fed you, clothed you, gave you a place to sleep, and yet you don't appreciate it!" He just about kicked me in the ribs, but I managed to stop his leg before it made contact by using telekinesis on him.

"I appreciate what they do for me, it's just that I don't like how they treat me."  I pulled his leg out from under him and rolled out of the way so his hooves wouldn't land on top of me.  

I could hear his head make impact with the wood floor.  It sounded like it hurt a lot.  I thought I heard him start to cry.  I leaned in closer to see if he really was.  Big mistake on my part.  He turned himself over in a flash.  He jumped up and grabbed my shirt.  Pulling me down, he placed his hoof on my back and forced me down onto the ground.

I could see some blood on the ground where Gild made a friend with on the floor.  I was making him bleed.  That meant I was hurting him.

He pinned me down on the floor and chuckled to himself.  I felt his hoof leave my body.  I thought that he was raising it to strike my back.  I took a chance and turned myself over.  I used this spell that created a bright light.  I closed my eyes.  The light was really bright, but it didn't affect me.  Gild shielded his eyes and fell backwards.  As he was on the ground, I used my telekinesis to force him onto the floor.  He kicked and screamed trying to free himself.  

As he squirmed on the floor, I decided to try this spell I learned on him.  It was a spell that I could implant images into his head and they would stick until I stopped casting it.  I closed my eyes, thinking of something that I could use.  After deciding to implant an image of a bloody murder scene (there was just something about those things...) into his head, he started to stand up.  

"A real stallion doesn't let magic fight for him!"  Before he came at me, I performed the spell.  He stopped himself and made a confused look.  "What the actual hay is wrong with you?!"  

I pulled one of his legs out from under him and made him fall.  I chuckled to myself.  

Behind me, I heard a door open.  My parents were bantering about something as they walked inside the kitchen.  Gild was on the 
ground, saying something incomprehensible, and my horn was glowing.   

Mom just stared at me while Dad stepped closer to me.  I stepped back slightly and was suddenly turned around. Gild pushed his ugly, toothy smile into my face.  He raised his hoof and punched me straight in my nose.  I stumbled backwards and my father shoved me to the ground as hard as he could.  

They all stood above me and laughed at me.  Gild even kicked me in the ribs a couple times.  They were taunting me like they were twelve years old.  My father was even calling me names.  “Dreck.”  That damn word.  The word that he’s been calling me ever since I was born!

I felt so angry. I could have ended if right then and there.  I could have made them beg for mercy.  But something was stopping me.   It wasn't that I couldn't do it, I was more than capable of performing a spell to make them all stop.  But I froze.  Until some time ago, I didn't know what it was that was stopping me.  It was fear.  The fear that I would screw up the spell and make them taunt me even more.  

The fear that I couldn't do anything right.  

I crawled away to my bedroom.  They were still laughing, but they left me alone.  





The last few drops of blood dripped from my nose and into the sink.  I stuffed part of a tissue into my nose to help stop the bleeding.  Softly I wept while washing the blood out of the sink.  

I dreaded seeing myself in the mirror like this.  There was something about the look of my face when I cry.  I felt like I was seeing an awful beast as my reflection.  And yet, I felt that I had to confront it.  I looked up and stared at the monster.

My face was as red as a tomato.  It didn't clash well with my white skin, considering that my face was the only part of me that was red.  My black and brown hair drooped down the side of my face.  My horn remained where it was supposed to be, though it felt like it had been kicked off and reattached several times.  

I stared at myself for a good long while before wiping away my tears and blood off of my face.  I felt my sadness disappear as I cleansed my face.  

Normally I would go straight to sleep right about now, but I didn't feel tired in the least bit.  I felt like I had to do something about my parents.  I just had to find a way to make myself stronger.  I had to read the book.

I left the bathroom, making quiet steps back to the kitchen.  The book was still in the kitchen, hopefully still laying around and not in the hands of my parents or Gild.  

Luckily for me, nopony was in the kitchen.  The house was quiet.  It was usually a sign the either everypony was asleep or they were all gone.  The latter seemed more likely, seeing that it was probably around seven at the time, and they never go to sleep until the alcohol had taken its toll on them.  

The book was on the table.  Undamaged by the rugged hooves of my family, nor disturbed by the earlier skirmish.  It was as peaceful as it was when I discovered it on the shelves.

Picking up the book, sounds of laughter filled the air with its joyful noise.  It was a thing that was rarely heard in this house.  Outside the window, there they were.  Mom, Dad, and Gild, all having a good time like they decided to ignore that fact that Gild attempted to kill me not ten minutes ago. 

They sat out on the porch, taunting me with their laughs.  Their raspy, ugly laughs.  As much as I hate to admit it, I was jealous of Gild.  He had parents that actually loved him, despite the flaws that he clearly had.  He was going crazy and they still loved him.  What was wrong with me?  For years I have tried to gain their attention by doing something amazing.  I always did what they told me to without a fuss, I was excelling at my magic skills.  What else could I do?!  I did everything that I could think of to make them be proud of me.  To show any emotion towards me that wasn't hate or anger.  Why did they hate me?  Why didn't they hate Gild?  Why did he get their love?  Why didn't they hate my sister?  They never hit her, scolded her, they never did anything to her!  What did Glisten Vial and Gild do that I didn't?  

Why did they hate me?

Questions like those drove the nail in my head deeper and deeper into my brain.  I had to kill them, I just had to.  I had to make them burn for what they've to me.  What was I doing, staring out the window like I was waiting for them to turn around and apologize for everything?  I had to find something, and I had to find something soon.  I yanked the book off of the table and ran towards my room.  





I continued from I where I last left off in Red and Black.  

Could it be the Didec?  That has to be it!  Nopony can just slaughter and entire race and not bat an eye, not even Celestia.

She tried to make everypony happy.  I knew that I wasn't the only one who felt sorrow for the poor creatures down there.  We almost through a party when the last of them started to drop like flies.  What kind of a pony would do that?

The Didec was changing Celestia.  It still is, I know it.  I just know it!  No one else believed me, though, and I didn't know how to prove it to them.  I thought about several different methods, all over the top, all flawed in some way, all completely stupid.  It wasn't until I remembered something.  The Creators.  If they managed to take her powers away from her before, it could be done again.  But I didn't know how to strip her of her powers.  How did they do it?

It wasn't until we finally went back down to Earth that I found out.  While everypony returned to their business, rebuilding the world in their own image.  They rebuilt Earth, or according to me and me alone, they defiled it.  

I found out where Celestia was born, and I went to the ruins of that old, decrepit science center.  Untouched by the ponies it lied.  Like a human in a coffin, it slept.  I entered the science center.

I walked passed a pillar and felt a breeze coming from underneath the wall.  After feeling around the wall for something, something clicked and I found myself in a room with a man in it.  A human man.  

He sat in a chair, cradling a box in his arms.  As soon as he saw me, he stood up and gave me the box and told me that I could use what was inside to take it away from her.  

I asked him what he was doing in there and all he said was that he knew what he had to do now.

I opened the box and inside was a knife.  A sharp, new looking knife with a wooden handle and a small red jewel on the bottom.  The human told me that I had to shove the knife into her neck and press the jewel, and the Didec would escape into the jewel-

A sudden noise from outside jarred me from my thoughts.  It sounded like it was somepony or something breaking a branch off of a tree.  I think I also heard a muffled scream after it.  And it sounded lke it was just outside of my window.

I hesitated to get up from my bed at first, thinking it was some prank that Gild was playing.  He once screamed so loud when he was outside of my window, when I opened it up he grabbed me by the shoulder and pulled me outside.  We live next to a forest, so after dragging me out he threw me into the forest and left me there.  That was some two years ago, and back then I always thought that something lived there.  Something tall, white, and had tendrils coming out of its back.  Needless to say, I was terrified out of my mind and never voluntarily went back in there.  And I resolved never to fall for that trick.

And yet, I felt something... different.  I could hear a faint conversation coming from the front door.  I heard a mare and a stallion.  Then two stallion's.  If Gild was with my parents, then who was outside of my window?

Carefully, I parted my curtains.  The window was shut, so all I would get was a jump scare if this was some kind of trick.  I braced myself and waited for a little while.  Nothing happened.  I opened up the window and looked outside.  There was nothing.  There was just our overgrown lawn on my right and the forest to my left.  I looked down, seeing what caused the noise.

Sunset Shimmer was lying on the grass clutching her leg while she silently sobbed.

She rocked back and forth, saying some... choice words to herself.  She looked up, and our silence spoke volumes. 

I kind of wanted to chuckle, seeing that the last thing she said to me was that she hoped to never see again.  And now she's outside of my house, and she'll probably need my help.  Judging by the look on her face right there, she probably wanted to inch away into the forest to hide herself forever.  I nearly laughed.  Then her horn started to glow.  

"Stop!  Don't!" I pleaded.  

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I should be asking you that question."

"Don't tell me you live here."

"If that'll make you feel better, then I won't."

Sunset smacked her forehead.  She stared at me, again with a librarian stare.  I almost said out loud that I thought it was cute, but something stopped me.  I was forever grateful that I didn't to this day.  

"Do you need any help?"

"No, I'm only in great pain." she said sarcastically over her grunts of pain.

"You don't need to get sarcastic with me, I'm trying to help you."

"Fine.  Could you *ugh* get me into your room?"

"Okay.  I'll just try to levitate you... into my room.  Then you'll be in my room.  The both of us... alone."

"Just do it!" she said angrily, a slight blush forming on her cheeks. 

At the time, my telekinesis was... not the best.  I could lift my bed, which isn't all that heavy to begin with.  Lifting another pony was another story entirely.  Their weight varies, ponies are often uncooperative most of the time by not staying still, and sometimes they judge me for my magic ability.  I don't work well while under pressure.  

Sunset waited as I gripped her with my magic.  As careful as I could possibly be, I lifted her off the ground.  She was a bit heavier than I originally predicted, but I still managed to lift her.  It was a strain, but I wouldn't allow myself to look like this was a struggle.  Especially since this was a girl.

I hope that you're not getting an idea.  

I managed to get her on my bed. (Okay, that sounded a little dirty.  And to make it even worse, we were twelve at the time.) She made a small grunt of pain as set her down. 

"I think I know a healing spell to-"

"You guys really don't learn anything, do you?"

"...Apparently not."

She rolled her eyes.  "Listen, I'm going to heal myself.  It's just that... It's gonna make me fall asleep when I cast it.  So unless your parents have something with a filly sleeping in your bed, then we're gonna have a problem."

That was more than a problem.  I didn't even know what they would to do if they found out about this.  Or what Gild would do.  

"...My parents might have a bit of a problem with that, yeah."

Sunset sighed.  She didn't seem like she was in much pain anymore.  "Then... I'll make myself invisible.  Then when they come into the room all they'll see is you."

"If they come in."

"Well that makes thing easy.  I'll go ahead and turn myself invisible, then you hop into bed and we'll get all snuggly."  

"It's a little too early for me.  I'll, uh... Get in when it gets darker."

She nodded, and in an instant she disappeared like she was just teleported away.  Then she started to chant.  "Sleep.  Sleep." she said in a whisper.

Each time she said it she became progressively more silent until she didn't say it anymore.  She must have been asleep already.  
I continued to stare at the empty spot on my bed.  My parents and Gild came back into the house.  They still sounded as happy as they did a little while ago.  But they didn't come to my room.  Sometimes they come into my room just to tell me to shut up and go to bed or to scold me for doing something "bad."  

"This is getting awkward."  she said with a yawn.  "You're not going to ask what I was doing in the forest?"

"I was going to ask when you woke up.  And I thought that the spell would send into sleep when you cast it."

"There's a delay when I cast it.  Once I become more skilled, then the spell will send me straight to sleep instead of me waiting for a while.  I think I have a little while before I black out, so ask me whatever pops into your head."

"What were you doing in the forest?"

She hesitated before she answered.  "Trying to run."

"Run?"

"Yep.  I've finally become brave enough to run away from the life I've been given."

"Must be a tough life."

"Not really.  It's just... Not the one I want."

"Why not?"

"...I could have so much more, you know.  And yet... I have to put up with what I have and never have that change until I'm older."

I knew how she felt. 

"You're not gonna tell me that I should be happy with what I have, be lucky to have what I have when so many others don't have it?"

I thought long and hard about that question.  It was the most important question that I've ever been asked. "No,"  I told her. "If you're not happy with what you have, then I think you should get more.  Get more and more and more until you finally have everything you want."

She replied with snores.  She fell asleep on me.  





She actually had the bravery to run away?  I struggled to even talk to my parents, I couldn't even consider running away.  But hearing that Sunset Shimmer not only had the guts to jump out a window, but can even run away from home because she didn't like it there baffled me.  

I had to find out how she did it.  How could she be so calm about something like that?  I'd probably bail out in the first thirty seconds.  

For four hours I thought about what I was going to do.  And when I finally decided to go to bed, I made my decision.  When Sunset left in the morning, I decided that I was going to leave with her. 

For the first time in my life, I was going to fulfill one of my desires.  No matter how afraid I felt, I was going to follow her.  No matter if she didn't want me following her, I would do it anyway.  Even if my parents catch me and try and take me back, I'll spit in their faces and never look back.  

I slipped into my bed, being careful not to wake up Sunset.  This was the beginning of a beautiful, forced, and long friendship.
> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	She woke up two hours after I did.

I can usually sleep for hours upon hours until somebody shakes me awake.  But today I woke with a start.  I looked to my right, seeing a large indentation on the left side my bed.  I held my breath and stayed as silent as I could.  I heard the quiet, steady breaths of Shimmer as she slept peacefully.

For the two hours that I was awake I walked around my room.  On a school day, my parents or Gild would wake me up.  Luckily for me, no school for me.  On these days, my parents would leave to go pick up groceries.  Gild would often went with them, but sometimes he would leave early in the morning to go hang out with his friends.  Luckily for me, that was one of those days. 

For an entire hour, I just stared at her.  I thought about what I was going to say to her when she woke up, and how I was going to get her to let me join her in the journey.  

Hour two, I started reading the book a little more.

	-and the Didec would escape into the jewel.  

He put the knife in my hooves.  I left without uttering another word.   

Saying that I didn't have a plan after that was an understatement.  An old human, possibly the last one alive, just handed me the key to getting Celestia back to normal, and told me to stick it in the back of her head.  I was confused.  I didn't even know where to step next.  

But I did know one thing.  I couldn't do this alone.

Ellis wasn't the most enthusiastic about this plan.  Ellis loved Celestia.  She was her mother after all.  Mine as well.

El-

Several times I stopped reading because I swore I heard a noise somewhere in the house.  I thought I heard the door opening, some voices outside, and even the sound of an explosion at one point.  I thought that the world was coming to an end for a second.  I dashed out of my room and ran out the front door.  What I saw next was the greatest thing I have ever seen.  

It's sheer beauty had me awestruck.  I stared at it for a good two minutes until it subsided.  As much as I wanted it stay in the sky for the rest of eternity, it eventually did the world an awful favor and disappeared, never to be seen again.  I thought that those were a myth.  I couldn't have been happier to be proven wrong.  

I reluctantly went back into my room.  I found everything as it once was.  But there was something wrong.  My book was gone.

My head shot to the bed.  The indentation that once occupied almost the entire left side of my bed was gone.  The covers were thrown off the bed and the window was wide open.  I almost screamed when I saw that.  I quickly ran to the window, hoping that I could maybe see where she went.  

My head darted around faster than a hummingbird's wings.  In the forest, I saw a flash of yellow and red running into the forest.  Getting my shoes on and grabbing my jacket, I prepped myself to jump out of the window and chase after her.

I hesitated.  If I jumped out the window right then and right there, then I would be leaving this life behind.  Leave the awful life where I at least had a roof over my head and a bed to sleep on, for a life without the harmful gaze of Gild and my parents, without a good place to sleep or a roof over my head.  Just an open sky and future where anything could happen. It was then that I felt that same feeling in my that I had back in the library when I picked up that book.  The feeling that I was making a big mistake.  

"Dreck!" I stiffened up when I heard that.  The word swirled around in my head, banging against my cranium, setting fire to my positive thoughts. 

I didn't even need to turn around to see who said that.  My dad could be heard in a crowd of screaming, protesting Cromiz citizens.  "Just what do you think you're doing!?"

I watched as Shimmer ran into the forest.  I swore I saw her turn around for a second.  And I swore I heard her calling my name, begging that I come with her.  

The decision was made for me.  

I jumped.  

The taste of the air was sweeter than it ever was.  The sounds of nature were like sweet honey.  The colors were more vibrant and beautiful.  Life was worth living again.  

I found the urge to laugh.  I laughed and laughed and laughed.  I laughed as I dashed off into the forest, I laughed as my father shouted curses and commanded me to come back, I laughed as they soon became echoes of a bad dream the farther I got from that Godforsaken house, I laughed as I dodged branch after branch, I laughed as I realized that I was finally free.  Free of those who hated me, free of the beatings, free of the malking voices and shadows of the executioners who were my family.  

I ran for what seemed like hours.  Even though my body was beginning to collapse from exhaustion, I continued to run.  I didn't want to stop.  I didn't even care if I found Sunset Shimmer.  If I could keep running and never stop, then I would be happier than if I got the book back.  

Eventually, I had to stop myself.  My legs couldn't take much more, and they decided to stop me by going completely limp.  I skidded to a stop, and nearly flipped over.  I fell onto my back and stared up into the sky.  I continued to laugh, despite the fact that I could hardly breathe at all.  

Sunset Shimmer and my book came to my mind.  But I told myself that I would get up and go look for her in five minutes.  

"Are you going to just lie there forever?" A voice said.  

To the left of me, I saw her.  Sunset Shimmer was clutching my book with her magical grip and looking down on me.  

"Hey, if I could get my book back..."

"Come now?  You didn't think it was going to be that easy to get your stupid book back?"  

"No."  my stupid smile was still on my face.  I continued to look up into the sky.  

“So, what’s your story?”

I almost didn't hear the question.  I was too busy thinking about my freedom.  “I was in a place I didn't want to be.  And in a split second, I decided to follow you.”

“Come on, there has to be more than that.”

“You don’t you want to hear the boring details.”

“Nobody has a boring life.  There has to be something interesting about it.”

“Not really.”  I lied.  Actually, I wouldn't really consider it a lie.  Twelve years of living with abusive parents and a brother who hates you does get boring eventually.  “I’m actually more interested in your story.”

Sunset scoffed.  “You don’t get to ask me what my life has been like.  We barely even know each other.”

"Fine."  I stood up.  I was taller than her, and yet she somehow stood taller than I did.  "I'll tell you my story while we find a place to sleep before it gets dark."

"That won't be too hard.  I just so happen to know a place."
> Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"-And that’s how I managed to stop the downfall of Equestria with a leaf and a spatula.”

Shimmer jumped out of her thoughts to look at me.  “That can’t be true.”

“It’s not.  I just wanted to make sure you were paying attention.”

Shimmer snickered.  "I didn't think you were being serious when you said you have a boring life."

"I’m pretty sure I warned you about that," I said.

We walked in silence from then on.  She stared blankly into space as the crinkle of leaves under our feet rang out through the forest.   I just stared at her like she was the object of my affection.  It was like I was back at school and had a stupid crush on some filly who probably didn't even know my name.  Every day, I watched her from my desk as she did her work silently and carefully.  I listened to her when she spoke, noticed her when she made sudden movements, my head automatically turning away whenever I thought she was looking in my direction.  

Then my eyes drifted to my book that she carried in the small saddlebag that I just noticed her wearing.  

Why did she take it, I found myself asking.  I thought it best to not beg the question.  If there was anything I've learned while living with Gild, it's to never ask for anything you want, otherwise you will never get it.  You had to be patient and just ignore the fact that he stole something of yours.  Sometimes you'd get it in a day, other times you'd get it sometime next month.  

But this wasn’t Gild.  This was somepony I didn’t know.

"...So tell me more about this place you're taking us to," I asked of Shimmer.

"It's this place that I grew up in.  I left when I got a scholarship to the school."

"How far is it from here?"

"You know, questions like that make the trip last longer," she said with a tinge of annoyance in her voice.  

"That's the first time I've ask-" I hoof hit something metal.  I looked down, seeing train tracks leading the way to a large city. 

"Here we are!  Fillydelphia!"



"I've never actually been in Fillydelphia," I said.

"I figured, since you live quite a boring life," Shimmer commented.  

"No argument there."

I marveled at the city.  I barely left the confides of my home, and I didn't see a building besides my own and Celestia's castle.  

Before Shimmer would to take us where she wanted to stay, she wanted to bring me to a couple tourist attractions around the city to show me around and get me acquainted with the new area.  At least, that's what she told me.  

It was about six that I started to get pretty tired.   We walked through the whole city, and we're walking around it for the umpteenth time.  I had the feeling that she was stalling the fourth time we traversed the city, but I became more and more sure of this the more we walked.  

When I asked, she said, "Be a little patient.  We have an entire day.  We might as well enjoy it."

"You know, I'm beginning to think-"

"Oh, now that's dangerous."

"...I'm beginning to think-"

"I heard you the first time.  You gotta stop that, it's not good for your health."

The joke ran its course and I decided to tell her that by staring at her disapprovingly.  

I decided to assert myself after a while.  "I'm beginning to think that you don't have a place for us can stay."

"Look, I haven't been in this city for a while and there's a lot of things that I haven't seen in that time.  I want to get back the good memories I had here before we get to my uncle's place."

"Uncle's place?"  

Another tour of the city, more silence, and more confirmation that she was stalling.  It was her uncle's place that she planned on staying at.  But I had the feeling her uncle didn't even know she was going to be here.   Or that she was bringing somepony with her.  That was a colt.  I began feeling a little nervous the more I thought about what was going to happen.  

That when I made my next mistake.  "Can I get my book back?"

She didn't even bother to look at me.  She just adjusted her sattle bag, and started walking a little faster.

I didn't say anything else.  I thought that I might as well humor her and go along with her on her procrastination ride.  I expected some more fun to be honest.  We saw the same restaurants, spent a lot of time at the Liberty Bell, and specific amount of time at a fountain.  She sat on the edge of the fountain, just staring at her own reflection.  She pulled out a single bit each time and threw it in every time we came.  It was more than obvious that she had a personal connection to the fountain, but she refused to tell me about it.  

"I'm starting to wonder if we really if we have no place to sleep," I said finally.  

"We do!" she snapped suddenly.  "It's just that we don't have to go there right away."  

"We've been wandering around the city for too long.  We've been to the same places more than five times.  I think we've done everything that there is to do in this city besides get mugged."

"Oh come on, there's plenty to do here.  There are just things that I prefer to do here, and I find them quite enjoyable, actually."

"You know what, I think you're stalling," I accused.

"Oh please."

"If you're not stalling, then let's go to your Uncle's place."

"...F-fine!  Let's go.  It's a couple blocks from here." 

"Then let's go!"

"Alright!  Come on!"  She turned around on her heels and started walking away.  Slowly.  A bit too slowly.  Was something begging her not to go?  Was there something she was hiding from me?  Probably not that last one.  I knew from the start that she was hiding things from me.  I just didn't know what they were.  And by that point, I didn't really care.  I was tired beyond all belief, and a nap sounded like a great idea.  



"How about we go a little faster?" I said impatiently.

"How about you shut your mouth?" she talked back.

"I think I could run back to the fountain and back, and you wouldn't have gone ten feet."

"The more you complain, the longer it'll take."

"I'm glad you're able to act like an older sibling after all of this."

"I'm more than happy to.  It makes me realize that I would be an awesome sister!"

I scoffed.  As much of an annoyance she's proven herself to be, I was enjoying her company.  Despite everything she's done so far.  .

"Well... we're here," she said dejectedly.  

I looked up at the two story building.  It looked a lot like an ordinary house that you would find in a small town or the suburbs.  It was a square building with many windows allowing you to look inside.  It was painted freshly red.  It seemed almost perfectly clean.  I even felt clean just standing near it.  

"Wow.  I expected an abandoned warehouse, not a five star hotel," I said, suddenly filled with a lot of excitement.

Shimmer looked into the windows.  Inside was several tables and chairs, neatly organized into specific patterns.  On the right, there was food on a counter that was protected by a glass shield.  The eyes were allowed to see, but the hooves were restricted to longing for the feel of the food.  Mouths could drool and lick their lips, but the food would remain there.  But if the tiny hooves held the correct amount of money, then the food could be bribed to go into their mouths.  

Shimmer put her hoof on the door.  Instead of pushing it open, she instead pawed at the wooden door like she was a dog wishing to gain entrance into its master's room.  And then run away as soon as the master opened the door.  Though her silence hid her true intentions, her face spoke volumes about her secrets.  

I assumed that something awful or something painful happened here.  Did her parents die in there?  Did she have to leave this place behind in order to go to the school?  It was killing me not knowing what she was hiding.  I couldn't hold my voice back.  It had to ask her.  

"Sunset... What is this place?"

"I told you.  It's where I lived before I went to the school."

"How about you tell me something I don't know.  Is this where you grew up, or is there something more about this place?"

"There's nothing that you need to know right now."

"Then why are we just standing out here?  It's getting dark, my legs are about to give in, and I am just exhausted.  So just open the door and let's go inside."

"We can't."

"Why not?"

"Because... Because-"

"Oh for the love of-" I smacked my hoof against my forehead. "-if you won't do it, then I will." I pushed Sunset out of the way and shoved the door open.  

"No, don't!"

A bell rang above me.  It echoed through the dark room like a scream echoing across a canyon.  

"Arkane, I think we need to get going.  Right now," Sunset said.

"Why?"

"Who's there?" somepony asked.  I heard hoofsteps coming from upstairs.  There was a step then a dragging sound.  He moved fast.  So fast in fact, that I didn't realize that he was already coming out of the darkness to face me.  

"The sign says closed!  Can't you read?  Thought I locked that." he growled.  

His light brown hair and beard were almost overcome with gray hairs.  His skin was a faded, golden color, which also looked like it was being taken over by the force of time.  He wore a red robe and a silver cap that looked very soft.  His cutie-mark was hidden away in the darkness, but I swore the cutie-mark was a plate of some kind of fancy food.  And the most notable thing about him was his wooden leg.  It looked like a regular leg, only there were gears on the side of his hoof and more gears going up his leg.  

"Um..." I turned to Sunset.  She sadly gazed at the stallion.  The stallion didn't see her, but he definitely saw me.  

I considered hightailing it out of there, but the stallion suddenly stopped himself.  His scowl morphed into an odd look.  Sunset stepped forward.  She came out of the shadows and into the slightly less dark room.   The two walked closer and closer to each other, awkwardly trying to smile. 

If you could hear the same slence that I could, then you would have screamed as loud as I wanted to.  I don't know exactly how long it lasted, but it went on for an eternity.  

"It's been a while," the stallion finally said.  "You've grown up."

"... I guess."

The stallion knelt down, gaining the correct eye contact he needed for this.  "How've you been?"

"... Good.  I've been... I've... been missing you.  A lot." she struggled to get those last few words out over the disturbing lack of sadness in her voice.  There was only a distinct emotion that I can't describe.  To this day, I'm still baffled as to what it is.  Call it shock, emptiness, or whatever, there was something going on in her head that I didn't want to see.

"Same here, kid."

"...Uncle... Are you still... mad at me?"

I felt awkward standing there.  She was having a touching moment with her uncle, and I was standing there in the darkness just waiting to have a place to sleep for the night.  

"...I was never mad.  Sunny, I was... I was just afraid of losing you.  I was scared you weren't going to come back to your uncle.  Truth be told, ever since your aunt left I... feel terribly alone."

Sunset smiled.  "Well... I'm home now.  And I don't think I ever want to leave again."

Sunset's uncle was the first to take that dive for Sunset.  The two enjoyed each other's sweet embrace.  I could feel the heat from where I stood.  

Oh, I was jealous. To feel a hug like that from somepony who loved you was foreign territory to me.  I thought that crap like that only existed in fictional stories.  It warmed my heart to see it. 

The two didn't stop their hug for a good long while.  I stood in the moonlight of the store for an awkward amount of time.  By the time the hug was finally broken, the stallion directed his gaze towards me.  I could feel the stare of a stallion who has seen too much dig into my eyes.

"Who's this kid?"

I almost took it as an insult.  At the time, I was too hurt to be called a kid anymore.  Nowadays, a lot of ponies call me a child.  But back then, the hate inside of me was that of a soldier.  I used to think my father was a soldier.  It would explain a lot.  

"That's some kid who ran away from home so that he could come with me."

Well, when she put it like that, it made me sound like I was in love with her or something.  I just wanted my book back.  And I was finalyl away from home for the first time.  

"You two in love or something?" the stallion teased. 

Sunset let out the inevitable, "Ew, no," that every twelve year old filly caught with a colt would say.  I said nothing, only shaking my head.  

"So, what's your name kid?" he asked me.

I hesitated.  I knew the laughter would come flowing out of his mouth the moment I said Arkane.  

"Arkane Vander."

He stared.  A tiny smile cracking across his lips.  

"Arkane Vander?" he said, standing up and walking towards me.

"Yeah.  My parents were more than likely drunk when I showed up."

"Sounds like a nice couple."

"...sure.  Nice."

"I'd really hate to ask this, but... He needs a place to stay." Sunset looked directly at me.  For a couple seconds, I thought she was just going to abandon me on the front doorstep.  

"You know what?  That guest room has been fairly dusty lately.  I guess there's nothing wrong with having an extra mouth to feed."

I let out a breath of fresh air.  There was something inside of me.  I can't quite explain it, but there was something  letting me know that there was something coming for me.  I didn't know what, and I don't think even it knew what it was.  But the feeling made me feel warm and excited on the inside.

I didn't realize it then, but I understand what it was now.  It was my fresh start.  



Sunset's uncle name was Golden Light.  Though, he preferred Goldy.  It was too close to Gild.  As he promised, he gave me the guest room.  It was slightly bigger than my old room.  It was on the second floor and it gave me a better view of the night sky.  My other room was blocked by trees.  While there was a big building next to Goldy's diner, it knew better than to interrupt a colt's imagination to run rampant in the night.

Before I went to bed, I wanted to look around my new living quarters.  There was a closet and a proper bed meant for a visitor.  I wasn't sure if I was going to stay for long.  Sunset had her uncle and probably wasn't going to leave any time son.  I didn't belong there.  I was exactly how my room described me.  A guest.  My purpose lied somewhere else in Equestria.  Perhaps even beyond.  

While I was looking around in the closet, I found some old armor, a sword, and a book.  The sword had some pretty major battle damage.  Scratches like they were drawn on there by an expert artist.   Aside from the layers of dust, it looked like it was made to be a wall decoration.  The armor on the other hand was in a heavier, critical condition than the sword.  Chinks, dents, and three inch wide gashes populated about seventy percent of the armor.  But the thing that worried most of all was the seismic hole directly where the horn should have been.  Either that armor belonged to somepony else, or Goldy was a guard back in his day.  I guess his clockwork leg got in the way of that.  

As I examined the armor as closely as I could in that light, I put the armor and sword back in their places, but I brought the book back to my bed.  I wasn't used to the softness of the bed, so when I started sinking into the softness, I thought I was being devoured.  I jumped out of it as fast as I could.  I felt silly when I realized what was happening.  I sat back down and opened up the book.  

The book was blank. Front to back.  The only thing it had was blank lines on each page for you to fill out for yourself.

"You through nosing around?"  I heard Goldy say from behind me.  

I looked behind me.  Goldy stood in the doorway.  His silhouette seemed like a hole in the fabric of time.  It made the name "Golden Light" seem kind of ridiculous.  

He saw the book in my hooves.  "I assume you found the armor?"

"Was I not supposed to look in there?" I asked innocently.

"No, I don't care what you do with the armor.  I half expected you to be swinging the sword around while pretending to be a guard.  But instead you took the book with you."

I looked down at the book.  For a few years, I never realized what that meant for me.  For years I wanted to fight against my parents.  I wanted to burn that house to the ground and dance around in the ashes.  Then I was offered a sword, but I took the pen instead.  

"With my years of experience, almost every kid who got a hold of their parents or uncles armor, they always played with it, unaware of the real price to pay if they wanted to wear that armor. 

“Now, I ain't a smart pony,” he seemed to say ‘ain’t’ in a way to emphasize his point.  “I am, however, a wise pony, if that makes sense.  But every kid who saw armor, wore it.  They shoved away the wisdom to partake in some good ‘ol fashion fun.  But you... I’m not saying you’re different.   Some of the kids were more interested in the history.  They didn’t want a part in the violence.”

I looked back to the book.  I flipped to the beginning of the book.  And from then on, it all made sense.  

“Do you have a quill and some ink?” That sealed the deal.  

There was a quill on the shelf and some ink next to it.  I got to work as fast as I could.  

It wasn’t anything special.  It was mistake ridden and I can’t bear to look at it now.  But there was something in my head that wanted to keep going.  And I did.  For four hours I slaved over that page.  Just stabbing that paper with that feather.  

It was late in the evening when I told myself to stop.  I finished twenty pages.  My first piece.

For so long I wanted to destroy those that I hated.  Those thoughts, for a little while, were silenced by my imagination. 

My head was swirling.  I nearly tripped over myself trying to put the journal away.  Kids by age got theirs two years ago.  I was the late bloomer.  

I looked down to my flank to behold my cutie-mark.  It was a quill over-lapping a ink parchment.  My smile nearly ripped apart my face.  



The morning was hours away.  I didn’t sleep a wink.  I was too busy smiling and silently making that noise that Glisten made when something exciting happened.  

That was when Sunset walked in.  She wore a white dress and some little white socks on her feet.  I got up and stared at her.

She sat on my bed next to me.  For a time we stared outside and looked at the night sky.  

I decided to do something that she would have slit my throat for if I asked earlier.  

"You know, even though we've spent... almost a day together, I still don't know much about you."  It was bold of me to ask that.  I could barely speak when my parents were around, and here I was asking her, a filly that created a hurricane just so that I could get out of her way, if she could open up and tell me about herself.  

Sunset turned to me, her smile slightly breaking into a look of almost euphoric happiness.

"No.  I guess... I don't really know you, either."

"Well... why don't we start?"

I think that was the first time I actually saw Sunset smile at me with no strings attached to it in any way.  

"That sounds like a good idea."