Time passes and light begins to die. True radiance does not come from the stars. They die in the end of their run, like torches or candles. True radiance comes from hope. The candle that has ever burning light, only the holder can blow the flame away. For the ponies on earth, this flame was about to be extinguished.

When darkness reigns, only a single candle is needed for view. For Radiant Beam, her light was waning. Trapped in a cage for the public to look at, this is not her true habitat. The smell of dung hit her nose, for she was enslaved for the public, along with a multitude of other creatures from exotic lands. Her schedule was predetermined, at midnight she would escape.

During the wait for that night, she was in an unbearable pain for some reason. Every night she would let out load neighs of pain. This startled the zoo keepers, who in return fired their tranquilizer rifles. With acute accuracy, they hit their mark causing the pony to collapse after thirty minutes. This same cycle continued for two weeks.

Luck was a deciding factor that was not in her favor. One day before the midnight escape there was chatter of “putting her down”. This caused the already broken pony to panic in her mind. She was in a frantic state for the rest of the day; this did not help her cause and only furthered their suspicions.

The clock struck eleven. She was prepared to leave the hell that she was forced to live in for five years. Forty five minutes left, and she was ecstatic getting ready for her return to true home. Thirty minutes left, the dim candle was now a bon fire, raging inside the mind of the happy pony. It was too early to begin celebrating. The zookeeper entered the false habitat with a syringe. She sensed the danger and began to avoid the zookeeper.

Fifteen minutes left, she had been doing a good job at avoiding the zookeeper. She began to feel a pain on her forehead. Along with this her neighing began to sound like English. The pain was almost unbearable, but the thought of leaving gave her the strength to endure the pain. Five minutes remained on her clock. The pain had left her; instead a horn was placed on her forehead. She was ready to leave but the zookeeper hit her. The needle had entered her flank.

The pony did not notice this but the poison was slowly working its way up to her heart. This would be instantly fatal to any normal pony, but not to a true unicorn. The clock hit twelve and she disappeared in a blinding light.

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Equestria, a home to all ponies, Unicorn, Pegasus, or Earth, was here true habitat, her home. The now dizzy Beam began to stumble her way to a shadow, dodging bushes and branches. The shadow resembles an average house. The only difference was that it was in the middle of the forest. Before entering the establishment she was greeted by a Pegasus. The Pegasus had a grey coat and a blonde mane.

“You really don’t wanna go in there. The person who’s in there is sad, he just lost someone.”

“I…I don’t think you… understand my pro…blem.” The unicorn began to lose her breath as she spoke. “Please… let me speak to… the owner of the house.”

“He doesn’t even let me in. He used to, but after seeing the zebra, he doesn’t let anyone in.”

“What zebra… I didn’t know a zebra lived here.”

“Come On, follow me.”

The two began to move forward. The Unicorn was unaware of the poison running through her veins. As they were going forward, the Unicorn was losing her strength, her vision was getting blurred, and she was finding it much more difficult to continue. When the Pegasus realized they had reached their destination she saw her companion fall, Beam was breathing faintly.

“ZECORA! HELP PLEASE!”

“Yes, dear child how may I help,” the zebra then saw the unconscious Unicorn, “OH MY, GET HER INSIDE, FIND THE KELP!”

Once the zebra saw that the pony was inside she found special kelp that has restorative properties. This wasn’t a permanent solution, but it would help circulate the blood throughout the body. The unicorn awoke, unaware of her current state. The exotic animal began to speak.

“Thank goodness child, you are awake. Your potion might take a while to make.”

“Ow… potion, for what? I’m not sick just tired.”

The Pegasus then responded, “There was a needle in your butt when you fell.”

“Wait, wait, wait a needle. THE ZOOKEEPER!” The unicorn was in a state of shock. She then realized that the zookeeper had injected her with the poison. She then realized that the zebra had said she had a cure.

“You, Zebra you can fix this right, please say yes.”

“As I said, I can fix this but it may take a while. So my dear, get some equipment from the pile.”

The Zebra pointed to a pile of random equipment. The items were scavenged form the remains of ponies who entered a house. The owner gave the zebra all of their belongings. The sight of the items was suspicious, but it did not make the Unicorn's view sway.

“Hey Zecora, what did you and Sides talk about. I mean if you can say it.” The Pegasus began a conversation.

“Ditzy my child, do not get involved. If you do, your fate will be dissolved.”

The Pegasus nodded, then flew off.

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The attention of the zebra then switched back to the poisoned Unicorn. She was still in a state of shock. Attempts to remember when she was injected were pointless. When she wasn't able to remember this, the bon fire turned into a torch. It showed on her mane. It had turned into a darker shade.

“Oh dear. Child, your life is yours to claim. If I may ask, what is your name?”

“Radiant Beam. Why?”

“Radiant Beam, a name of beauty. So what brought you here, walking all fruity?”

“You wouldn’t believe me. I can’t even believe it.”

“Beam, my dear, don’t be afraid. I am only here to give you aid.”

With her trust now on the zebra, she began to spin the tale of hell. Her personal hell was relived at every sentence. By the time she had finished, her heart couldn’t take it and she was on the brink of tears. Zecora saw this and helped the pony get regular. She helped the pony to retain her mental status. Even with this a sound rung out. The brew sounded, the potion was done and the pony was cured, but her trip was far from over. Even with the poison out of her body, she still had to pass the forest, one which two ponies couldn’t cross.

“Hey, Zecora, right, do you know the pony that lives in the house down there. At first I tried to go in there but the Pegasus, um Ditzy, told me not to go in. She brought me here before she gave me any names.”

“Sorry my child, but this I cannot do. If I tell you anything, your pain, he will renew.”

The sentence startled the pony, but she began to feel up to par and using her horn got the needed equipment and set off. The question is that, with hope the size of a torch can she pass a truly dark forest.

To Be Continued…

Sorry about the wait i had to do a couple of things (I am in high school for god's sake.) So here is the new chapter, I will give two chapters every week, Also with a lot of revisions in between it might be a better read, so thanks for reading.