The sound of thunder in the distance and the pounding of raindrops against the side of the old castle walls echoed throughout the abandoned citadel. What was once known as the ‘Castle of the Two Sisters’ was now an overgrown garrison of the past, becoming one with the Everfree Forest and part of the wilderness that was home to all sorts of creatures. However, over the last few months, the once beautiful bastion now had been the home of two… beings that had not been seen by ponykind before, despite them looking similar in nature.

The first one was a middle aged man, while the second was his young son. They had found themselves ripped away from everything they once knew and now, they have been surviving on their own over the course of a few weeks. Using this former castle as a shelter from the roaring weather… as well as their home. The father wore a suit of battle regalia from the shoulders down, his sword leaning on a log he was using as a bench as he was adding more wood to the fire that he was tending to. His son though, only had a small jacket, shirt and jeans. The only clothes that he had.

“Daddy, I’m c-cold.” The young son said, his arms shivering a little as he walked over to where his father was. Trying to lean against him and have his dad provide warmth. However, his father could only provide minimal comfort for him as the armor he wore did not have any heat for him to warm himself too. The one next to the son though tried adding another log to the fire that was burning. It helped a little bit originally, but the cold air that lingered with the storm did little to help with making him warm.

Sighing a little, the man turned to his son, looking down at him for a brief moment. “How about you go down to the cellar and prepare yourself for bed, son? It’s too late for someone like you to be staying up.” The boy, even though he wanted to stay with his father, complied with what he asked for him to do as he proceeded to the stairwell that lead underneath the hall. Only before mentioning something to his father.

“Daddy… I miss Mommy… Why wasn’t she able to come with us?” The question caused the older one to stop what he was doing. Pausing as the stick he had once used to tend to the fire now fell in with it. He knew the answers, but his son was too young to understand the truth. All he could do was say the same answer that he had told him a few times before.

The same lie that he had told him a few times before. “I don’t know, son.” To be fair, there was some truth to the matter. But there were many things right now that still could not be so easily explained. His answer was all the boy needed to hear though as the child soon went into the cellar to lie down and drift into a deep slumber. The man looked at the remains of the castle all around him, looking at painting and pictures of what this castle had used to be before it had went to ruin. Struggling to understand as to why… of all the people in the world… why were they chosen to be here?

For the boy though, he was more focused on trying to stay warm. He tossed and turned in the makeshift bed he rested on, struggling to stay warm as the night went on. Even with his father not far from him, the boy was still cold as ice. Even when the storm outside died down and the rain subsided, the boy was still struggling to sleep peacefully as he tried to rest on his makeshift bed.

But it was later into the evening that he woke up to something rather… unexpected. There was a shimmer of light that he felt along his face. A faint one, but just enough to wake him up. As he opened his eyes, he noticed his father sleeping now far from where he was at, along with what looked to be a small shimmer of light coming from underneath a nearby crate. This light made the boy curious. Was there something hiding underneath there? Someone? Where could it be coming from?

Part of him wanted him to wake up his dad and have them come see what it was together. But upon moving closer to it, he felt… warmer. The child had been cold throughout the entire night and only now was when he actually felt the warmth he was trying to get while he was sleeping. His curiosity soon had him slowly approach what was the crate that was blocking a secret panel on the floor, trying to push it out of the way as much as he could in his half awake and tired state.

The boy did not move the box entirely out of the way. He was only able to get a few feet until a brick in the uneven stone floor caused the crate to fall over and for the child to trip. A collection of books and other items soon spilled out from the crate itself, but what the young boy was more worried about was if the noise woke up his father. All the commotion though just caused the asleep figure to turn over on his side, unfazed by the noise or what just happened.

The boy sighed, personally relieved that he did not wake up his father… proceeding to slowly open the door to the cellar where the light was coming from and beginning to go down the stairs quietly. The light he was seeing got brighter in size along with making the young child feel warmer the closer he got to where the glow was coming from. What he found once he got closer though… surprised him.

It was a tree. A glowing crystalline tree that was shimmering the same glow he had been following. The boy honestly could not believe what he was seeing. The crystalline tree was what caught his full attention, making him feel warmer with each step he took as he moved closer to it. He wanted to touch it. Feel the warmth for himself. Like something was calling to him and encouraging him to touch the tree. He couldn’t even form the words to describe how spellbound he was from looking at the majestic tree before him. Or more importantly, what was inside it.

Yet, it was because of this that not only was he unaware of the sounds of someone coming down the same stairwell he went down… but also unaware of the sheer pain he was about to feel once his left hand made contact with the tree itself. The feeling of raw magic burning into his hand was more painful than anything that he had felt before, reacting to him just as the boy’s father had noticed what was going on and had called out to him in a panic. However, the boy was unable to hear him as the light from the tree began to fade.

The father tried to calm him down. Ask him if he was alright. But the boy was more focused on the burning feeling in his left arm as the light from only a few moments ago now was reacting to his arm as he was crying in pain. “D-daddy, m-my arm… it hurts… P-please… H-help me…” However, upon seeing it for himself… all the father did was look at him in disbelief. Not for what had happened to his son, but for what this had meant.

All he could do was just get up, take in a deep breath and look back at him as he sighed deeply. “I’m sorry son… there isn’t anything I can do to help you now…” With that being said, the grown man soon began to walk away. Leaving his young son in agonizing discomfort. The young boy himself could not believe it. Why would his father just… leave him?

“D-daddy? Dad, p-please don’t go… Dad? Dad! DAD!!!”

Days had passed since being left alone and no matter what the boy had tried to make the pain go away, he was always unsuccessful. Trying to soak it in water only made it sting more. Wrapping it in a cloth helped for a small bit, but it was extremely difficult to keep it in place. Plus, anytime he had to use his left hand for anything, the boy would feel a shot of pain through his hand as it traveled up his arm. It was something that he had no control over… no matter how hard he tried.

Since the day that his father had left him, the boy had hoped for the day in which he would come back. Anytime that he had left before, he had always come back. But now… the boy was beginning to think that he would not return at all. Leaving him all on his own in an empty castle with no one to help him at all.

For the first couple of days, he was lucky to find some water he could drink from a nearby stream that would last him some time… however, not all the water everywhere could help him stay alive. He needed to eat. He needed food. But the boy could not be able to find any food… let alone hunt for any in the current condition that he was in right now. Not only was the condition of his arm an important factor, but there was also the fact that he did not know how to defend himself in case the creatures of the forest attacked him. They weren’t like the enemies he thought of when he played with his parents in his backyard with a toy sword. These were real monsters that could harm him. Which made the boy feel scared.

However, as he felt these feelings of sorrow and fear, he felt something else take hold. A small bit of warmth as he turned to see something… strange. It was a crystal. Yet, inside that crystal was what looked to be not a person, but a pony. Light blue fur and mane with a horn on it’s head.

“You wish for the pain to go away, young one?” He heard a female voice call out to him, shocked at first because it came unexpectedly. “Don’t worry, your arm will be just fine… just touch the crystal I hold.” The boy couldn’t understand her. Was she trying… to help him? Could she make the pain stop?

“Huh-?” The boy himself was still a little bit scared and nervous. Unsure of whether or not he should listen to the strange girl that was encased in the crystal in front of him. Only to hear the same voice talk to him.

“Do you trust me, Rain?” This girl… knew his name? How? Have they met sometime before? What could be the reason for this? The boy did think though that whoever this person was, that she knew more about what was going on more than he would ever know. So, walking over to where she was, he raised up his left hand and spoke two words.

“… I do.”

Once his hand had touched the crystal, the pain that he had unsuccessfully tried to relieve himself over the last few days was gone in a matter of moments. He was shocked by this… and honestly, could not process how this was possible. But also… he was personally relieved that he did not have to feel the pain anymore. He honestly thought that the light from before would be gone. That it would not bother him anymore. “It’s… disappearing…”

“Not quite…” He heard the girl speak. “It’s hasn’t really disappeared… more like… stored away for right now… It may be too much for you to handle right now, but just… try not to fear the unknown.” The crystal began to shimmer a small bit, glowing a little as she slowly began to disappear. “After all… the light is a part of you.”

All the boy could think about while the crystal was glowing and the light was shining throughout the ruins was one thing… who was she?

Elsewhere in the world, The Alicorn Princess of the Sun was stirred awake by the sheer amount of magic that she had felt just moments ago. Over the course of the last few days, there was a strange feeling of magic that was hard for her in order to not only understand, but figure out where it was coming from. Now, that feeling had simmered down, yet not before she briefly felt another source. This one though, she had felt before and knew who it was from.

Yet, how this was happening seemed… impossible. The last time she had felt it was almost a century ago. The century when conflict and turmoil had swept through Equestria and the world like a violent storm. But now… she only could think of one thing as she looked up to the sky and saw the glowing moon amidst the blanket of stars.

Three months later…

For most young colts, they were many things that they had to learn and handle on their own as they were growing up. However, some things for some ponies were harder to deal with for some ponies than others. One example being that of getting a cutie mark. Many young colts would see it as two things. One, they found out what their special talent was in and what they could do. Two, some would also see it as a way to mock those that have not gotten theirs yet.

Such was the case for one young colt trying to mind his own business during a school field trip to the town of Ponyville. “Hey look, it’s Shiny Whiny!!” Shiny… or perhaps better known as Shining Armor, was the young son of the Captain of the Royal Guard named Night Light. He really wanted to grow up and become a member of the guard like his father was, but doubt lingered in his mind with the amount of times that fellow members of his class were picking on him for not having a cutie mark like they did.

“I betcha if he went into the Everfree Forest, he’ll be running out with his tail in between his legs like the mare that he is!” Another one laughed. Even though Shining Armor tried his best to ignore them, he had to admit that they were right on some things. For one, he lacked the same kind of courage that his father had, along with the confidence for that matter.

“All of you knock it off this instant!” The teacher of the class snapped at them. “If you keep this up, I’m going to have all of you write an essay on your experience once you get back to Canterlot. And no magic either. All of you will be writing it by hand!” That caused the ones that were picking on him to shut up really quickly. But the blue maned colt knew that they were going to try it again when the teacher had her back turned. But… one of the ideas that those bullies had said did cause him to think a little. If he did just go out into the… Everfree forest, he thought it was called, and bring proof that he slayed a monster, it would be more than enough to get some respect.

Of course, this sounded alright in theory… in execution, things don’t always go according to plan. For one thing, he did not know why his teacher, Ms. Rosemary, kept on telling them to not go into the forest this time of year. Everything seemed fine at first glance. Even when he began to walk on in, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

However, when he reached a clearing part of the way into the forest… that’s where he got a bit nervous. He heard various howling noises all around him and a lot of commotion within nearby bushes. Picking up a stick that was just as long as his forearm, he gripped it like if it were a sword and nervously spoke up. “W-who’s there?”

Sweat began to drip down his face and body as Shining’s eyes began to wander around. From the shadows, he saw what originally looked like two green orbs of light… before those orbs narrowed in appearance and more soon began to appear afterwards. As they got closer, it was then that the young colt realized something.

Those weren’t orbs of light… they were eyes. And as they got closer and stepped into the clearing, Shining’s own eyes widened in fear. “T-t-timberwolves…” He had read about these dangerous creatures in class… but have not ever seen one in person before. The young colt backed up in fear, only to feel his back hit a tree that he stumbled upon and fell to the ground. Dropping his stick in the process. He looked back in fear, closing his eyes for a moment and thinking that a miracle would save him from what was going to happen.

Oddly enough though, a miracle was what he got. It first started when the normal growls he heard from one of the timberwolves was diminished… and soon replaced with a howl of pain. Follower by the sound of what seemed to be a sword. For a moment, Shining thought it was a member of the royal guard that was patrolling around the border of the forest at the time. But, when he opened one of his eyes… what he saw was the complete opposite.

“Chew on this!!” It was a bipedal creature with a blond mane. Carrying an old fashioned short sword as he used it to cut into one of the legs of the timberwolf that was closest to them. It wore a grey shirt that had the sleeves torn off along with some shorts as it turned to face Shining Armor. Offering a hand to help him up off the ground. “Hey, you okay?”

Shining Armor only was able to nod a brief moment, before looking back at the beast behind his savior. Several of them had fled for their own safety, but it seemed the leader of the pack chose to stay and deal with them personally. “Look out-!”

His warning didn’t come in time, but the kid who helped him was able to block it for a short amount of time with his blade before being pinned to the ground. He held the sword with a reverse grip now, holding an open palm against the base of the blade as he said a few words to himself… before having a fireball appear in front of him and exploding in the timberwolves face.

“What in-? How in Celestia’s mane were you able to do that?!” Shining Armor asked, personally shocked… and a little bit surprised at what this kid just did.

“I read books…” He replied simply, before looking back at the Unicorn. “Hey, can you help me out for a moment?”

“Uhh… help you how?” Shining then asked. “My parents tell me never to try and help out somepony I don’t know.”

“Well, let’s change that part then,” The kid replied. “I’m Rain. What’s your name?”

“Shining Armor-.” Just as he said that though, the roar of the alpha wolf immediately caught their attention. It was back, with a severe burn on his face… and it looked pretty angry at what Rain had did only a few minutes earlier.

“Oh boy…” Rain said to himself, biting his lower lip. “That’s gonna be a problem…”

“Wait wha-?” Before the unicorn could process what was going on, the alpha timberwolf lunged at both of them, causing Rain to leap out of the way in one direction and for him to leap in the complete opposite. And the monster in question looked to be more focused on the young one who had dropped his weapon rather than him.

For a moment, Shining felt something deep within him come up to the surface. Like he wanted… no needed to help this kid. Even though they had just met, it felt… right to him somehow. So when he reached out with one of his hands to him, the unicorn did not expect for his magic to surge around his open palms. Matter of fact, create a barrier that was able to protect Rain and have the timberwolf stagger. Providing enough time for the young one to pick up his weapon and slash at the beast’s face before it ran away with the rest of it’s pack in fright.

“Woah… That was… something…” The young boy said before turning to the unicorn. “Hey, thanks for… well, helping me out. I honestly did not think that I would get attacked like that.” That just made Shining Armor raise an eyebrow as he looked back at the kid.

“You… honestly did not think you would get attacked by them, yet you attacked anyways?” He asked, looking at him. “What exactly would make you think that?”

“Normally, if I run into a timberwolf, they would be by themselves. I’ve never encounter a pack of them like that before.” Rain replied, before looking at something. “Hey, what’s with the mark on your leg?” That question caught Shining Armor’s attention immediately. He looked at his flank, only to see that instead of the blank flank it was before… it now had a shield with a six pointed star in the middle.

He had gotten his cutie mark… all from saving this boy’s life? How? “Uhh… it’s a Cutie Mark.” He explained, looking back at him before noticing something by his feet. A few of the fangs that belonged to the timberwolf were on the ground as he picked them up and looked back at the blond kid that he just met.

“What’s a cutie mark?” That question surprised Shining as the unicorn looked back at him. Did this kid live under a rock or something? How did he not know what the heck a cutie mark was… matter of fact, what the heck was he anyways?

However, the sounds of other creatures echoing through the forest was brought to their attention first. Not to mention that it was only now that he noticed the stars in the night sky and the moon’s light shining down on them. “Maybe we should get out of the forest first and then I can explain it to you-.” Shining suggested, before being interrupted a few seconds later.

“I know a place where we can go,” Rain told him before turning around. “Follow me.” With not that many options right now, all the unicorn could do was sigh and take up the kid on his offer as they made their way through the forest. When he first heard that Rain knew a place where they could be for the night, he thought it would be a cave or a camp of some kind.

What he did not expect however, was that they were going to be staying in an abandoned castle. One where the walls only fell partially and some bits of what was suppose to cover the castle were now where there were big holes in the roof. “Y-you… live here?”

“Well, it’s the only place where I can be safe and not spotted by any of the creatures in the forest,” The boy told him, setting his weapon down on a nearby table before turning to him. “Plus, all the books I could find here have helped teach me how to defend myself.” Around now was when Shining had actually noticed some of the books that were out on the table. A few of them looked like stacked pieces of paper tied together with rope, but some other were hardcover books like he would see in the library.

It was also now that he noticed Rain looking through that same pile to try and find something. “Now where did that blasted… I knew I had that book out here only a few moments ago, now where did I put it?” Taking a step forward, Shining then cleared his throat and then looked back at the boy as he spoke up.

“Umm… what’s wrong?” Rain then looked up for a moment before sighing, giving up for a moment on what he was trying to find so he could acknowledge what Shining asked him.

“I thought I had one of the books I was looking at here somewhere. Must’ve misplaced it when I left the castle earlier,” Rain sighed, before focusing once more and looking back at him. “So… now that we are unlikely to have timberwolves coming after us… What was that one thing you said you were going to tell me about?”

“You mean what a cutie mark is?” He asked, before hearing Rain snicker a little as he raised an eyebrow. “What’s so funny?”

“S-sorry, it’s just,” He said, before having to laugh a small bit. “When you s-said that, I th-thought I heard you say cootie mark.” Shining chuckled for a bit, partially understanding what he was talking about before Rain finally was able to refocus. “Sorry… as you were saying?”

“Oh right,” The unicorn replied as he looked back at the boy, thinking of what to say before he actually spoke. “Well, for ponykind, a cutie mark shows what you’re talented at and also demonstrates what you’re destined for. Though… I’m not quite so sure what mine is suppose to represent.” He looked back at the symbol that appeared on his flank for a moment before looking back at Rain, who seemed to try to think of something on his own end.

“Well, what does it look like?” He then asked, raising an eyebrow. That was when Shining realized that since he was still wearing his clothes, Rain could not tell or see his cutie mark. Thinking for a moment, he then asked the boy a question as he noticed a quill and ink vial on a separate desk nearby.

“Do you have some paper I can use? I was thinking maybe I can… well… draw it out for you.” Rain himself nodded, getting up as he got the ink and quill that was on the other desk along with some paper as the unicorn picked it up with his hands. “Hunh… where did you happen to find this?”

“Well, a couple of months ago, there were some old boxes I found with some of these things in them. For the ink, it was actually unopened, so it wasn’t dried up when I tried writing with it.” What Rain told him had surprised the unicorn for a moment, before focusing on doing a rough sketch of his cutie mark. Even though it was with a quill, he tried his best so he could still show Rain what he was talking about.

When he was done and showed it to him though, Rain looked back at him and cracked a bit of a grin. “Hey… aren’t shields suppose to be for… well, protection right? Sort of like armor?”

Shining thought it oven for a moment before nodding his head. “Yeah, but how does that relate to right now?”

“Well, apparently if your mark is a shield with a symbol on it, then my first guess would be that you would be talented at protecting others,” the young one hypothesized. “I mean, you did save me in the forest against that timberwolf.”

That was true… then again, that was only one time. He couldn’t recall any other possible times that he used his magic or himself to protect others. Heck, with his father being in the guard, he was normally the one that would be shielded by him instead of the other way around. “I see what you mean… though, I don’t know how I’m suppose to follow through with that… I mean, before I came out here and met you, I would be scared out of my mind to try and encounter a monster… I would be teased for being a coward.” It was then that he noticed that Rain had actually gotten up from the table and actually walked over to a nearby wall, where he noticed some things hanging up on the wall.

“Well, my only thought would be that if you had the courage to save me, then you can do so for many others… Heck, you’re the first person… or pony for that matter that I have seen here in… well ever.” He said, which made Shining even more confused on something else now.

“Wait… how long have you actually been here for?” Shining said, now a little bit confused as he noticed Rain put away the small sword he was using earlier in the forest.

“Well…” While he was processing it, Shining had now noticed a series of lines along a nearby wall. Almost as if he was keeping track of something. Every four lines would have a fifth line scratched through it and from what Shining saw, there were a little over fifty of those lines. “Let’s see… each line is a week… there’s 52 lines… so around fifty two weeks maybe?”

Wait… fifty two… weeks…

No matter than a few seconds later did Shining realize what that meant. And that caused him to stare at Rain in disbelief. If what he said was true… Rain has been living out here for over a year! Something that he was even surprised about. “Anyways… catch.”

Shining himself snapped out of his train of thought for a moment once he saw something being thrown towards him. Catching it, he soon realized that what he was holding onto was… actually a wooden sword. Same length as the one that Rain had used earlier, but with a taped handle and the guard of the blade tied down by rope. “What’s this for?”

“Well, I would think that if you want to follow through with what your cutie mark says, you’re going to need to have some courage… and also learn how to defend yourself.” Shining’s eyes soon glanced at Rain, thinking that he was going to use a metal sword like the one he had earlier to face him, only to see that he too also had a wooden replica of a broadsword as well. “Normally, I would think that one of the books that I have can help with these kinds of things, but I thought it would be a bit easier for me to show you instead of telling you.”

Shining gulped a bit as he looked back at Rain, nervous beyond belief as he looked back at him. “Uh… are you sure about this?”

“Positive.” Rain smiled, looking back at Shining Armor as he helped him with trying to teach him how to wield a weapon. For Shining though, something told him that he wasn’t going to get much rest tonight when they were done.

As the sun rose in the distance, the captain of the royal guard felt like something wasn’t right. The unicorn stallion, who was known by his fellow guard ponies as Night Light, wasn’t sure why he felt this way if he had to be honest with himself. But part of it had to do with his son, Shining Armor, being on his first field trip by himself. Normally, his wife, Twilight Velvet, would accompany him on field trips such as these. However, she believed that it was time for Shining to go by himself. Saying that they would not always be there to hold his hand through everything in life.

Even if she was right, it didn’t make him feel any less worried though. Springtime in Ponyville meant Zap Apple Season… which also meant timberwolves. Since Shining Armor and his class were going to visit Sweet Apple Acres to learn about the Zap Apple Harvest, his concern was the possibility of timberwolves coming from the Everfree.

To his surprise though, it seemed that his distraught happened to attract the attention of the most unlikely of individuals. “Is everything alright this morning, Captain?” The stallion turned around, only to find Celestia, princess of equestria and diarch of the sun herself standing behind him. “You seem to be rather… troubled this morning.”

“P-princess, I…” He said, only for him to realize that he wasn’t in trouble at all. In fact, Celestia was just wanting to talk and try to help him. “Sorry, I just… I’m just a bit concerned about my son.”

“Your son? Shining Armor?” The princess asked him. She remembered Night Light mentioning his young son in a previous conversation between them that also included Twilight Velvet. Despite high hopes for her son, Ms. Velvet happened to mention that he had been often teased by some of his other classmates for not having a cutie mark… that and his lack of confidence made her worried for him.

“Yes… He’s suppose to be on a field trip with some members of his class and his teacher to Ponyville, but I’m concerned for his safety given that it’s now Zap Apple Season.” He explained to her. “My wife thinks that I shouldn’t worry that much about him, but… I’m just concerned that he’ll do something stupid if he’s on his own.”

It was then that he turned to see the princess give him an assuring smile as she looked back at him. “Don’t worry, captain. I’m sure he’ll be just fine-.”

Before the Princess could finish, one of the guards came bursting into the room, gasping as he tried to take deep breaths. “Y-your… Your Majesty… I-i have… u-urgent n-n-news from p-ponyville.”

Night Light knew the guard himself as he addressed him by name and rank. “Colonel Steadfast, ease yourself… Catch your breath first…” The pegasus guard listened, taking a few deep breaths.

“I-I have news from Ponyville… About a missing colt from Mrs. Rosemary’s class…” He spoke before looking back at both of them. The Princess and the Captain of the Guard were a bit troubled by his words, but waited for him to continue explaining. “He disappeared a few hours ago somewhere near the Everfree Forest, but…”

Night Light was already beginning to worry at this point as he looked back at the guard that was informing them of this information. But it was Celestia that beat him to it with asking the next question. “Colonel, I believe we would like to know more about who was the pony that went missing rather than when. Can you please tell us the name of the pony that had gone missing?”

“It’s… It’s your boy, Captain… It’s Shining Armor.” He answered, before bowing his head in respect. “I’ve already alerted some of the guard to begin searching the forest.”

Night Light was at a loss for words. Unsure of how exactly to respond in that moment as he still tried to wrap his head around what exactly he heard from Colonel Steadfast. Looking back at Celestia though… lead to the princess speaking up instead. “We appreciate you thinking ahead, but I believe it would be best for us to look for him in the forest. This is the captain’s son after all… and many ponies looking for him at once, especially ponies that he doesn’t know would only just make him scared.”

“Of course, your highness, but I do suggest that you bring an escort immediately.” The pegasus insisted, causing the princess to sigh for a moment as she looked back at him.

“Right now, it is best that we try to keep this under wraps as much as possible until we know all the details. A colt can’t just randomly run into a dangerous forest like the Everfree with no good reason to do son. Captain Night Light and I shall look into it for ourselves. In the meantime though, until we’re back, we’ll need someone in charge,” She explained, looking back at Night Light now as she then asked a question. “Do you have any suggestions?”

“I would personally ask for Major Highwind to keep an eye on things here,” Night Light then responded, looking back at the pegasus in front of them. “Colonel, inform Major Highwind of what is going on right now and tell him that he’ll be in charge until we return. Do I make myself clear?”

“Sir, yes sir!” He replied, saluting to Night Light, before making a dash out the door.

“Don’t worry Captain… We’ll find your son… I have a feeling deep down that he’s safe.” Celestia said, resting a hand on his shoulder to try and calm him.

“Hopefully… Why Shining would do this though… that’s something I’m still trying to wrap my head around.” Night Light told her as Celestia began to channel some magic to send them to the Everfree Forest.

Upon arriving though, both of them felt something that was rather… odd. For one thing, they didn’t feel the presence of any timberwolves in the area, even though they’re suppose to be highly active during this time of year. It was unsettling because they did not know if they were just lying in wait… or if they had left to return to their dens. Nevertheless, both of them remained cautious, Night Light with his sword at the ready as he began to proceed through the woods.

It wasn’t though until they were farther in though that they actually began to hear something. But it wasn’t the sound of a timberwolf at all… In fact, it reminded Night Light more of when he would train new recruits by letting them fight each other with wooden weapons so they did not hurt themselves. When they got closer to the source, what the noise was… actually surprised both him and Celestia.

It was his son… but he wasn’t cowering in fear like Night thought he would be. He was standing his ground, holding a wooden sword with one hand as he was actually sparring in a match against a creature that… he did not recognize. It had a blond mane, but no tail; wore clothes, was the same height as his son and stood on two legs as it also held a weapon similar to that of Shining’s as they were blocking and parrying each others attacks.

For Shining however, it was a complete reversal of the behavior that he was used to seeing from him. Normally, when left alone with a bunch of fake weapons, Shining would normally not even think about touching one. Now… this was completely different.

He wanted to say something though, just to catch their attention. But he was refrained from doing so by Celestia as she looked at him. “Let us watch them for a moment… perhaps their interactions with one another can answer some of the questions we may have.” Night Light originally questioned what Celestia was suggesting, but then went along with it. After all, if the princess was suggesting for him to do this, then she must have a good reason why.

“Good round, Shining…” The blond maned creature complimented his son as he set the wooden weapon aside. “You’re handling this quite well even though we only started a couple of hours ago.”

“Thanks…” His son replied, before thinking for a moment as he then looked back at the young one that was with him. “Hey Rain, can I ask you a question?”

“You just did.” They heard the other one speak. Based on what Shining had just said, both the princess and the guard captain now believed that this being was called Rain.

“Very funny…” Shining chuckled for a brief bit, before beginning to rephrase what he just said a few moments ago. “But there’s been something that I wanted to ask you which only came to my mind right now.”

“Okay, what is it?” Rain replied back, looking a bit curious as to what he meant.

“Yesterday… when you saved me from those timberwolves… I happened to see you control magic…” Shining’s question caught both his father and the princess by surprise. How was it that this being… who seemed to be only a child… know how to use magic? “How exactly were you able to do that?”

The boy himself sighed a bit before looking back at Shining Armor as he extended a hand and had some fire magic form in the center of it. “You mean this?” He asked, which in turn had Shining Armor nod his head as he dismissed the flame a few seconds later. “To be honest… I’m not so sure myself. It started after I read one of the books back in the castle that was on the subject and after a bit, I thought I would give it a try… yet it seems that there are only a few particular elements that I can actually do. Not to mention that the spells are not the same as the levitation one or your shield from earlier.”

That had Night Light look back at Celestia in confusion as he had a question for her. “Elements? What is he talking about?”

“That… I’m not sure about…” She honestly told him. “The last I heard of the subject, it was just research done by-.”

“So who is the author of the book?”

“I think it was Clover… something. All I know is that the second half of the name rhymes with the first,” They heard Rain reply to Shining Armor as he continued to talk. “That and the title of the book was called Magic 101 for Morons.” Shining himself laughed a little at that as he continued to listen to the boy speak. “Anyways, part of the book goes into detail that normal magic is broken down into eight different elemental types. Fire, Ice, Thunder, Water, Stone, Air, Light and Darkness. Different types are used for different purposes and such.”

“So you can use all of them?” Shining then asked, in which it was now Rain’s turn to laugh this time as he shook his head.

“I wish… it says that there are some individuals that can, but I tried that a while back and there were only two types that actually worked while the rest of them backfired.” He sighed, looking back at Shining. But as he continued explaining, that was when Celestia discovered something.

“No way…” she said, shocked upon realizing it herself.

“Is something the matter, princess?” Night Light then asked, a little bit confused as to who she was so stunned by what the boy was talking about.

“That boy… he’s talking about some of the work of Clover the Clever!” She told him, shocked as the princess looked back at Night Light.

“Wait a minute, I thought that her notes and everything were lost when the castle of the twin sisters was abandoned ages ago…” He then asked, partially confused by what she was saying as he watched both his son and the boy talk about it some more.

“That’s what I thought too…” She told him, looking back at both Shining and Rain. It was then that a new question was formed inside of his head… how was it that this… ‘Rain’ was able to find a piece of forgotten history where numerous other famous archaeologists have tried before and failed?

“And you used this magic you learned to help survive for… almost a year?” Shining then asked, redirecting the attention of both the princess and his father back at both of them the moment they heard that.

“Well, more or less… Originally, I was just stuck in that old castle for the first week or so…” He admitted, looking back at Shining Armor since he didn’t really have much to say.

“Okay then… one more question,” Shining then stated before turning around to face him. “Back there… when I was being cornered by the timberwolves yesterday… why did you help me?” The question itself seemed… important, but it took a while for Rain to come up with an answer. For a moment, it seemed as if he had nothing to say… but after some time, the young one did come up with something.

“Because you remind me of myself,” the statement surprised not just Shining, but also Celestia and his father. Before the colt could ask why, he began to explain. “When I first came here, I did not come here alone. I was once with my father… but when something happened and I really needed his help… all he did was turn around and walk away. It was some time after that though that I decided that I wanted to be better than him… to not turn away when someone really needed help.”

Shining didn’t know what to say… but before he could say anything to Rain though, he then heard him ask something. “Shining… you never told me why exactly you came to the Everfree when I found you… Can you tell me why?”

He seemed nervous, but the colt then decided to speak. “Well… there were a few other ponies in my class named Seifer, Sparky Storm and this one filly named Breezy Winds that would always pick on me… not just for not having a cutie mark, but because I didn’t have any form of courage. Yesterday… I just felt like I’ve had enough of it and wanted to prove them wrong. Summon up any courage I had and prove that I can be brave.”

“Well, you did more than that,” Rain chuckled, patting him on the back. “You also got your cutie mark yesterday for helping me when I needed it against that timberwolf. Standing up for yourself takes courage… and so does standing up for others.”

Around now though… was when Princess Celestia turned to Night Light and then said something to him. “I believe that it might be the right time to make our presence known.”

Night Light looked back at Celestia for a moment, before posing a question for her as he looked back at his son and the young child for a brief moment. “Are you sure about this?”

“They need to know, besides I’d like to speak with the child on my own accord. Let’s try an be subtle about it.” Night Light nodded his head, getting up for a moment from behind the bush and moving past a tree, directly where Shining Armor and Rain could see them.

“Shining-?”

“D-dad!” The colt gasped, sounding like he was caught doing something that would be against his father’s rules. “I-i can explain!! Please, just-.”

“Son, calm yourself…” He said, even though it didn’t have Shining ease up on how he was feeling. “You’re not in trouble… in fact, we’re glad to see that you are okay.”

The last statement though had Rain more confused than Shining in this instance. For the young colt, he thought that his mother would be with his father since Shining would think that both of them would be worried sick about them. However, for Rain, that didn’t seem like the case.

Especially when the pony that was with Night had stepped out… and caused Shining’s eyes to widen immensely. “P-princess C-c-celestia?! W-why are you here?”

“Who?” Rain then asked Shining, looking more confused than startled.

“I’m here because of you, Shining… You had us worried, which is one of the reasons I came searching for you personally with your father.” She replied, before turning her gaze towards Rain with curiosity. “And who are you if you don’t mind me asking?”

The young boy was… rather shy to put it lightly. Looking back at the princess as he swallowed what was in his throat for a moment before asking something. “Uh…… am I in trouble?”

“No you are not, but you have nothing to fear little one. We are not going to hurt you, but it’d be nice to know who you are?” She asked. The young child looked at the stallion next to her, before looking at Shining. The colt himself nodded his head, assuring him that the princess was indeed a nice pony… and that there was nothing that he needed to fear of her.

“Rain.” He simply said, not adding anything to it.

“That’s a lovely name… I am Princess Celestia it’s very nice to meet you Rain. Are your parents around? I’d like to let them know how you looked after the Captain’s son.” She asked, smiling at the human child, but what she saw was sorrow from him when she asked that.

He originally shook his head, looking back at her with a bit of sorrow in his eyes. But was still able to speak. “No…… My mom didn’t come… I still don’t know why… My dad and I were once here… but… one day he left and never came back. It’s just been me for a long time… until I met Shining…”

Celestia looked back at Shining, who nodded before looking back at Rain with envy. “I’m sorry to hear that, Rain… It must have been hard to be out here all alone… If you want you could stay at the castle with me?”

Rain looked back at Shining for a moment before looking back at Celestia. However, instead of seeing an expression of joy on his face, the princess noticed that his facial expression remained unchanged. “But…… this has been m-my home… I-i don’t… don’t want to leave my home behind…” He said, now a little bit more scared than before.

“Nopony is forcing you Rain… The choice is yours and I’m more than happy to take you in if you change your mind.” She replied, earning a sigh of relief from the child. Rain looked at Shining before turning back towards Celestia.

“C-can I… well… at least say goodbye? There are s-some things I need to get that are inside and…”

“It’s alright… go ahead,” both of them heard from Shining’s father, Night Light as he nodded his head back at the young child.

“Um… Princess can I speak with you for a moment?” Night Light asked, as the princess nodded in response. When both of them were by themselves, that was when the guard captain said something. “Princess… I was wanting to ask you something. My son… He seems rather… comfortable around him… which is different than that of most ponies he meets… Plus, Rain himself needs somepony to raise him…”

“That is why I’m taking responsibility for him… He needs a mother and I’m more than capable of raising a child. You don’t need to worry Captain.”

“I understand that… but from what we’ve seen, it seems that Rain and my son see each other as more than just friends… almost like brothers in a sense,” He pointed out, looking back at the princess. “Perhaps we both can find a way to help him. After all, he knows magic… but with him being so young, he may still need to learn how to control it.”

“I have already thought of that… Since Rain and Shining Armor get along I believe that they should both attend the same school, as for magic training I’m putting him under your tutelage. I can see a bright future for these two… Don’t you agree Captain?” She explained, as the pair looked at the two children talking with each other, and getting along.

“I agree… Though, I think the only kind of guidance I can assist with is how he wields his sword… perhaps with a bit more practice and some training, he can be rather skilled. Besides, with what you said in regards to magic and what you said earlier, maybe you can assist with that… if you have the time of course. You did say he knows the research from Clover the Clever after all.” He pointed out to the princess.

“Of course… I’ll be raising him after all… These two will face hardship, but that’ll make them stronger and no matter what happens, I’ll love Rain as if he was my own.” She said, heading back towards where the boys were. “Are you ready to go, Rain?”

When she turned to the boy, she noticed that he had multiple different bags with books, clothes and other items he took from what was once his home. Yet, it seemed like his business wasn’t exactly done in the forest as he heard a loud slam and a massive howl. “Oh wow… I can’t believe that cage actually worked!” He said, dropping everything for a moment and going in the direction that the sound came from.

That though, caused Night Light to look at Celestia with a raised eyebrow. “A Cage?”

All the princess could do for a moment was just chuckle lightly as she looked back at the stallion and his son. “Perhaps it was just a small one to keep the animals from stealing anything he had-.”

Yet, when they found out where Rain ran off too… what they found was anything but small. In fact… the cage itself, to Shining’s surprise, had captured the same Timberwolf that attacked them the other day. “Sorry about that!” Rain apologized from up on top of the cage. “I originally had this here when a Chimera kept on stealing food I had been saving. I can let this guy out-.”

It was then though that Celestia happened to think of something. “Actually… I believe I have a better idea…”

Back in the town of Ponyville, two colts and one filly were talking amongst themselves while the rest of their class were held behind back at the town’s train station. Ever since the class had realized that one of their students had gone missing, they had to remain behind until the guards found out where he was. For a moment, the students thought that he had gotten himself lost while they were walking through the town and also Sweet Apple Acres… but as the search dragged on, some rumors were beginning to circulate amongst the students while these three were separated and by themselves.

“Hey Sei… do you think that Shiny whiny… well… actually went into the Everfree?” One of the colts asked, before the other one shook his head immediately after hearing that.

“Pfft, ha! With how he normally acts, I bet he’s just stalling for time.” The other colt, the more confident one that was addressed as ‘Sei’ retorted. “You’ve seen how he acts in class whenever teach decides to pick on him to answer a question and how scared he is.”

“Seifer,” The filly addressed the second colt, looking back at him with a glare. “I know it seems unlikely… but what if he actually did go into the Everfree?”

“Do you two even realize why I said that dare on the Everfree in the first place?” He asked both of them as the colt looked back at them. “Normally, nopony would want to go in there under any circumstances. When it’s timberwolf season, they stay the hay away from it like it’s the gates of Tartarus… I said that because I know for a fact that he wouldn’t even want to go in there because the thought of that would make him pee his pants.” Both of the others looked back at the same colt and smiled, liking what he was thinking.

That was… until they heard another filly in their class speak up. “Hey, Ms. Rosemary! I think I found him!!”

The moment when they heard that, all of their heads shot up and looked in the direction of the voice as the mare that was the teacher looked back at her. “Sunset Shimmer, how can you possibly tell where he is? None of the guards have found him or-.”

“He’s right over there, look!” She interjected, pointing to the edge of town as everypony looked to see what she was talking about. What they saw… made their jaws drop. Not only was Princess Celestia there with the captain of the guard… but Shining Armor was there too along with one other bipedal creature they had not seen before… and both of them were dragging behind them the cage of a captured timberwolf while also projecting what was his cutie mark with his magic.

“Hey, SEIFY!!!” Shining shouted out, having everypony’s eyes look at him. “You and your friends wanted proof that I had courage, isn’t that right?! Well, here’s your proof!!”

Now all eyes were directly facing the three of them… including the burning and demonic stare of their own teacher. “You three are in SO much trouble once we get back to Canterlot…”

At that moment, Seifer and his two friends were all beginning to immediately regret what it was that they had just said. Shining Armor had taken on an impossible task… and he succeeded. There was just only one thing for him to say in that moment.

“Oh buck…”

Author's Notes:

Hello Everypony. Thank you for checking this out and giving a series of prologue chapters to release before the beginning of the story, which will cover the chapters that take place during Rain's childhood. When the story really begins, Rain will be much older then.

In addition, there will also be references to characters and elements in the Final Fantasy series. One example here is that the pony Seifer is a reference to the character of the same name in Final Fantasy VIII.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter I have and look forward to what else I have in store for you. Stay tuned!
-Frost