Twilight was alone in the dark. The area felt somehow familiar, but there was no light to see it by, only the hard ground beneath her hooves.
If only I had my magic, she thought. Then I could at least see where I am.
But alas, she only had touch and sound to deal with the surrounding area. Even then, sound was constantly trying to trick her. She could hear water dripping all around her, echoing off some distant surface. It was almost like drowning all over again.
After hours of wandering this strange, dark world, she saw a light. It was very dim, and it seemed to flicker in and out, but it was light!
Twilight felt herself speed up the closer she got. She felt compelled towards the light, by some strange ethereal force. That journey stopped, however, when she hit the large crystal in front of her.
The gem was magnificent, like nothing she had ever seen. A great purple jewel stood before her, emitting light from a dozen different places within it. Four lights, however, were far brighter.
In the bottom, a yellow light pierced through, spreading a strange shade of sunrise throughout the chamber. Opposite to that was a deep blue. It was so dark it was almost black, yet, the light it emitted was somehow just as intense.
On the right, there was a green light that peeked through the surrounding gem, barely piercing the surface. It looked so delicate, but gave the feel of a sturdy boulder. Opposite of that was a red beam.
This one was different. It had no fixed brightness. It fluctuated and faded, only to come back twice as strong, and then fade away once more. Even at its dimmest, however, it seemed to overpower the green light. When it grew brighter, Twilight could feel a great tension in the air around her.
"Do you like it?" someone said.
Twilight jumped, quickly turning around to face this new foe. But when she turned, the light faded away.
"W-who are you?" she stuttered.
"I've had many names over the years," the voice droned, almost like it was reading a script. "Some called me Orion, some called me Doctor, and even more still called me God." Twilight heard a sigh. "If you ask me, they were all fools. They seemed to believe I could change things, rather than merely watch it happen. It's rare I get to interfere even this much."
"But what do you call yourself?" asked Twilight, her rational mind beginning to return.
"Isn't that a tricky question?” the voice responded, suddenly coming from the opposite direction. "I suppose that if you must have a name for me, it could be Omega," he said, as hornlight revealed his features.
Cleon sat in the mess, sipping at his tea. He had never really cared for the brew, as it was much too bitter, but it helped him think. He needed to do that a lot lately.
Steam rose off the clay mug, bringing with it the herbal aroma of its source. The little clouds constantly shifted through the near-empty room. Cleon felt himself being drawn in. He couldn’t stop staring at the dark brew.
He remembered a night, long ago, when he hadn’t felt quite so wicked. It had been a gloomy day, much like this one.
Cleon slinked around the corner, keeping his thin body tight against the wall. This was one of the few times that starving helped you, he had come to realize. He could feel spittle coming off of his tiny beak, the aroma of fresh bread and herbs filling his nostrils.
Sticking to the shadows, he slowly stalked over to the window. The inside was a kitchen, by the looks of things. At the very least it was where they left the bread to cool for those who worked through the night.
The gryphon slipped through the window, landing with hardly a noise. He could hardly resist the sweet smell of the fresh bread, so he stopped trying to. He tore into the first loaf that he could find, eating it with a ferocity only the starving can have. Soon the whole loaf was gone, and he moved on to another.
“You don’t need to sneak around, you know,” an old voice wheezed from behind him. “We would have given it to you, had you only asked.”
Cleon ignored the voice, continuing to focus on the bread.
“If you want, you could stay here the night. We have plenty of extra room.”
That got his attention. The young gryphon looked up from his feast, slowly turning about. It had been so long since somepony had trusted him. He had to see the face of whoever this fool was.
What he saw, however, surprised him. A very old, but no less regal, gryphon stood before him. His wizened face held only trust, not the condescension of those who he’d seen in the past.
“I,” Cleon began, trying to find his voice. “I’d like that.”
“My name is Archelaus,” the monk said. “But what is yours, boy? It’s not like I can call you ‘boy’ all the time.”
For the first time in ages, Cleon grinned.
His grin didn’t last for long however. He soon snapped back to the harsh reality around him. His tea had long stopped steaming, rendering the brew undrinkable. He scowled at the mug, sliding it across the table, only to be stopped by the monk who now sat there.
“Master, the Cloistered Council requests your presence.”
"I'm afraid I'll have to refuse. I have a very time sensitive project of moment," Cleon stated, the half-truth spilling from his beak. After all, that sleep spell won't last forever, even if I did overdo it.
"I understand, Master, but I was told to bring you no matter the circumstance. I'm afraid you must come with me."
"Fine. Take me to them," Cleon replied, so I can finally put them back in their place, just as Master Archelaus did before me.
"Dashie!" the pink blur yelled, astonished at her friend's outburst. "You've never even met Melody before. How could you know if she's a monster or not?"
Meanwhile, Empty Sound stood silently, absorbing her newest denouncement. She looked as if her heart had been shattered—and not for the first time, either.
"I must say, Rainbow, that is quite rude of you," put in the unicorn.
Empty Sound felt her flank hit the ground.
“Now hold on a minute,” the earth pony exclaimed. “Ah don’t know what’s going on, but maybe we should hear 'er out.” Then she turned towards Rainbow Dash, worry overtaking her now-usual sternness. “I want ya to consider this before ya say anything. Ya might have the wrong pony. This is a serious accusation, Rainbow. Ya can’t just make it willy-nilly.”
Rainbow Dash trotted right up to Empty Sound and snarled, barely raising her voice, “You think I don’t know who you are? You think I haven’t seen your picture? You disgust me.” A look of pure hatred filled the blue mare’s eyes as she turned away. “Did you know she used to sleep with a picture of you every night, so she’d dream of you coming home? I had to wake her up from her nightmares almost every night. Her nightmares about you,” she said, turning back, “they all came true. You never came home, and you did something horrible enough to not deserve to.”
Then they all saw the tear tracks running down Empty Sound’s eyes. Rarity decided to speak up. “Rainbow, my dear, maybe we should go a little easy on her. I’m sure whatever it is—”
“No!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “Do you really not get it? That’s The Beast. That’s her mother. What else could she have meant by ‘The Beast is out’?”
“Well, like Ah said, Ah don’t know much about this,” the orange pony said, trotting over. “Ah did just find out about it, after all, but Ah do know this: ponies come here for a fresh start, another chance.” She put her hoof around Empty Sound. “And that’s exactly what we’re gonna give ‘er.”
Archelaus stood on the balcony, a large storm darkening the monk's silhouette. He almost seemed to blend into the dark clouds of this rare, naturally-occurring storm. His apprentice stood next to him, no longer a cub, or even a wildling, but a graceful Brother himself. A silence went between them, deeper than any conversation, and only broken by the rain in the distance.
"A storm approaches, from the east," Archelaus stated.
Cleon stared at him, once more questioning the old monk's sanity. "But Master, the storm is in the west."
Archelaus turned to him, suddenly dead serious. His face looked more like stone than feathers. "Storms take many forms, Cleon. To rule, you must see them, navigate their treacherous winds. So far you have served this House well, and you will continue to do so, I'm sure, but this must be learned. Now, what is the storm in the east? That is what you should be asking."
Cleon was baffled. Nothing had been happening lately, not anything important, anyhow. The solstice was approaching, but that was all he could think of.
"What could it be, Master? You've finally gotten the Council under control, people are rejoicing across the land for the solstice, and we celebrate our 793rd year of peace with Celestia. What could be turbulent in a time like this?"
His master turned aside, gazing at the storm once more. "Just an old bird's gut. Mark my words, something will happen soon, and it will be in the east. I just know it. Now go have some fun for once. Not even the heir to House Cleos can be serious all the time, even if Cleon Cleos sounds like fate at work."
Strangely enough, that was the same year that the Elements were reactivated. He never did let that go, Cleon reflected. Every night it was, "remember that lucky guess, Cleon? Always trust your gut."
Still, he was right about one thing: storms take many forms. What kind of storm is this?
Cleon shook his head in attempt to remove these rattling thoughts. He needed his full attention for the task ahead. Even as the large, oaken doors creaked open, he felt a tension grow in his stomach and wings.
Cleon pawed at the green pendant, which had replaced his usual silver chain. The last time I was here...
He shook his head once more, before gazing ahead through the doors.
The interior was very sparse, but it still held all you might expect. In the center of the room, there was a large dias. Surrounding it were five raised seats, with a simple barrier between the seats and the dias. Like the walls, it was circular.
Cleon stepped in, hearing the doors snap shut behind him. That's strange. Was there a change in power? he thought as he noticed their new seating arrangement.
In the central seat, which was pained pure white, was a small unicorn. His green coat and strange, white mane gave him a much older appearance than he actually was. His name is Nexus, Cleon recalled. Didn't he focus on conversion spells? Or was it transport?
To the right of Nexus was an earth pony. His brown coat blended quite well with the green chair he occupied, but he was also the oldest of the group. He has a very strong support of tradition. That could be problem, later on.
On the far right, in the blue chair, was a gryphon. She had a wicked temper, as Cleon recalled, but never acted outside her jurisdiction. If she thought something was out of her control, it immediately became that way. What was her name? Alta?
On the far left, a pegasus sat the black chair. Aero Blitz. I wonder how he made it here, Cleon thought. At least the fool only holds the dark seat. There was never much power there, only an empty title.
Between Aero Blitz and Nexus, however, was what interested him most. The red seat was unoccupied, leaving a gap in their precious council. Either Cleon was early, or someone was late.
Empty Sound walked into the dimly lit room, allowing her eyes to adjust to the quaint interior. Before her was a bed. A thick, green quilt, with a red apple at the center, covered it. Two feather pillows sat at its head.
"Well, what're 'ya waitin' for, an invitation?" asked Applejack.
Actually, yes, she thought, before saying, "I'm just not sure about this. Your friend seemed pretty angry."
Applejack sighed. "There never was any contollin' RD, but Ah suppose Ah can understand. But look here: as long as yer on Sweet Apple Acres, yer under my protection." Empty Sound felt herself relax a little, before she heard, "But this isn't a free ride. Ya still hurt my friend, and even if ya paid yer time for it, Ah still can't trust ya completely. As long as ya listen to me, though, you'll be fine. Just don't leave the farm."
Is this how she treats all her guests? I suppose I deserve it, but still, I've never even met her! "Okay," she meekly responded.
Applejack walked through out the door, once more, calling, "And don't forget, yer helpin' with the farm tomorrow. We get up nice and early. Hope ya like pancakes."
Twilight Sparkle stared at the strange figure before her. She'd never expected to see another one, not after all the damage it had caused. But, regardless of her expectations, there it was: a draconequus.