Manehattan

It had been one week since the events in Initium forest. Ray was back to his usual self, smart, kind and loved by everyone, even the elders. Ray apologized first thing in the morning after he had talked so harshly to his father, and had, since then, not shown any weird behavior. Today was like any other day since then, everyone was happy. Though there was one little thing that made today special. It was Ray's birthday. Like every year on his birthday, Ray Light and Thunderstrike were eating out at a fancy restaurant called: "The Prancing Pony".

After a satisfying meal, they both sat there and talked for what seemed like hours, occasionally ordering something to drink. Eventually day became night without them even noticing. Only when the waiter came, informing them that they were closing for the day, they finally got up. Like every year, they started to walk, now both silent. There was no talking required for what was to come. They both knew where they were going, and eventually they arrived at their destination.

As today was Ray's birthday, it was also the day Blue Skies died.

So, every year they would spend the day together, appreciating each others' company. When nighttime came, they would go to the grave of the beloved wife and would-be mother, and spend their time thinking. One would think of the times long gone and spent, the other of times that could have been. And so they spent time in front of the grave, not talking, not even looking at each other. Eventually they would get up after some time, accompany each other home, wish each other a good night, and retreat to their own rooms.

It was already a tradition. It had been like this for the past 7 years, and would be like this for years to come. All so that those who aren't anymore, wouldn't be forgotten.

The next day

Ray was the first to wake up. After a while of shuffling around in bed, not really wanting to get up, he decided he wanted to surprise his dad with breakfast. So, he got up and trotted towards the kitchen, already planning out a healthy breakfast. He started gathering ingredients while hoping his dad wouldn't wake up too early.

Thunderstrike had a bad dream. He was back in the night of Ray’s birth. The storm raged outside and he and his wife were huddled together by the fireplace. But instead of Ray deciding he wanted to catch the early worm, nothing happened. They just lay there, reveling in the warmth the fire contributed. The fire was a big bigger than usual, so it could fend off the cold from outside. Thunderstrike just stared into the fire. Fire had always been an interesting thing for him. He could just look at it for hours and it never got boring. So he did just that, he stared at the fire, watching it dance around and changing form every second, never looking the same.

He was quite surprised when the fire looked back at him.

First, he just thought it was his mind playing tricks on him, because he was so tired. But the fire just kept staring right back at him. "Honey, is the fire looking at us? Or am I going crazy'" He asked half joking, and turned to his left where his wife was. But she wasn't there. Confused, he stood up and looked around the room, not finding any trace of where she might have gone. Needless to say, he was really relieved when he heard her behind him.

"Your wife's not here anymore" she said.

Relieved she was still here, but confused at her words, he turned around to ask her what she meant. Only to find he was still alone. "Honey? Where are you?" He asked the empty room.

"Your wife's not here anymore" her voice said again. This time though, he noticed the face in the fire looking at him. He even saw it moving it's "mouth" as it spoke with the voice of his wife.

"Who are you, and what have you done with my wife?" He demanded to know from the fire.

"Your wife's not here anymore. She has been dead for 10 years, and you know this." The fire was still talking with the voice of Blue Skies.

This drove Thunderstrike mad, and now he practically shouted at the fire. "WHERE IS MY WIFE?!"

The fire, unimpressed by the mad shouting, answered calmly. "She's dead. Since 10 years ago. And you know. But who's to blame? Maybe Ray? It was because of him, she died after all."

Thunderstrike was now confused. Who was Ray? Did he kill Blue Skies? If that was true, he had to kill this "Ray" too, to get revenge. But how could she be dead? She was just lying next to him. And what's up with those 10 years the fire kept mentioning? Should he listen to the fire?

"You know Thunderstrike, I normally don't do this, but I’m going to tell you something good." The fire said with a smug look on his face. "Where Black and White meet, a fight will begin. Balanced at first, one side will win. Who won this important debate, you'll only know, when it's too late." The Fire looked one last time at the confused stallion standing in the room, then the face vanished.

Thunderstrike, still standing, there was deep in thought. He couldn't quite understand what all this meant. One minute he was comfortably with his wife. And the other she was gone, and a fire talked to him in riddles. Unnoticed by Thunderstrike, the fire grew in size until eventually other things around the fireplace started catching fire. Thunderstrike only noticed when the whole house was burning, and he was coughing from all the smoke entering his lungs. He was coughing, lying on the floor. Slowly burning to death, unable to do anything. The last thing he remembered was the smell of smoke in his nose.

Thunderstrike awoke with a start. The memories of the dream already fading. What remained were the words "too late" and the smell of smoke in his nose. Only after some time he realized, that the smoke was indeed real, and not an after impression of the dream. He immediately started taking action. Something was burning and he had to extinguish the fire immediately. Or if it was too big already, wake Ray up and evacuate the house. He kicked open the door, and ran into the living room. Searching for the source of the fire, he noticed the smoke coming out of the kitchen. He immediately went to check.

"AWWW COME ON! You ruined the surprise!" Ray shouted, annoyed, as soon as he noticed his father skidding into the room. "I wanted to make you breakfast!"

Now Thunderstrike was confused. After piecing together the information, he concluded neither Ray nor himself were in immediate danger and let out a huge sigh. He looked around the kitchen. As perfect and cute as Ray may be, cooking was the one thing he failed every time. Spotting some burned bread and apple juice, he wasn't really surprised. However the burned plates were new. Thunderstrike always wondered how he was able to burn everything so expertly.

"Ray... I thought you promised me you wouldn't cook again?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, sure... but I just wanted to surprise you..." Ray answered, half apologizing, half pouting that his father ruined the surprise.

"It's okay, son, now let's clean this mess up, and I'll make us something we can actually eat. How does that sound?" Thunderstrike said while winking at his son.

Ray looked at what he had produced again, and decided it was for the best he wouldn't cook anymore. How he could burn the plates was beyond him. And so, he decided to let his father cook from now on. This time for good. “Yeah, why not?"

And with a smile on their faces, they began cleaning up the kitchen, and soon after, having a real breakfast.