Created and writen by: Agent Brony
Proofred and edited by: ANGRY_RainbowDash
Prolouge: In Days Gone By
It was a warm summer’s day; Celestia’s great sun shone over New Canterlot, gently warming it with its unobstructed light. The wind was soft, carrying the scent of the trees and their flowers; their pollen covered Equestria in a hazy fog. The birds chirped their songs; all these natural elements added to the beauty of the great city, Canterlot, once made of towers of stone. And now, with the return of the Crystal Ponies, Canterlot was restored to its once great glory, as it was recorded in the scriptures of the past: the towers of crystal and shimmering steel made New Canterlot shine like the brightest star in the night sky, floating over the great mountain that lay at the heart of Equestria.
One place that was particularly stunning at this time of year was the Royal Gardens: it was in this garden that a young Alicorn mare was sitting in front of a group of even younger colts and fillies. Though the mare seemed to be only in the early adulthood of 25, her deep blue eyes revealed her hidden age, the age of a pony who had seen eons pass and possessed the stance and wisdom of one who had known the mountains when they were just mere hills. Her fur was a light blue and was well groomed, like her mane and tail, which was a curious color scheme: mainly pure white with a streak of black, like the darkest of Luna’s nights. The unnamed mare looked out on the small sea of faces gazing upon her; she cleared her throat to catch their full attention.
“Now,” she addressed, “Can anypony tell me where we are?” One colt that bore a distinctive Stetson hat, who was all too familiar to the Alicorn, raised his hoof and she nodded at him.
“Yes, Zap Apple?” acknowledged the Alicorn.
“We're in the statue garden ma’am,” replied the Stetson-wearing colt; the Alicornian mare smiled, “Indeed we are Zap, and can anypony tell me what's the name of the statue that is behind me?” she asked the gathered ponies.
They all looked past her at the statue of an Alicorn stallion with a broken horn, whose mane and tail were an indeterminate color. The statue was caught in a soft, but striking breeze, and the inanimate stallion looked to the east where the Sun had risen not 10 hours ago; a content smile was drawn on his face, and if somepony was to look closely enough, a stone tear could be seen half way down his cheek. The foals continued to look at the statue as if it was the greatest enigma they have ever seen in the history of everything; however, the mare didn’t turn to look at it: she had memorized every detail of its chiseled surface. She was there when it was made. Her history was bound to it. The foals reached a consensus, turned to the mare and shook their heads; the mare smiled.
“This statue, like all in this garden, represents something. In this case two things,” she remarked, and swiveled her head to scan each individual filly and colt, “This statue represents redemption and sacrifice, and like anot…” the mare ceased her speech; her audience wasn't ready to know about the statue's secret history. Her eyes drifted to the statue, where a recognizable and reformed, God of Chaos used to stand.
“Like all statues in the garden, this one is based on a pony, and the pony in question fought during the Nightmare Wars.” Before she could say anything else, a deep purple hoof shot up into the air.
“Yes, Aurora Sparkle?” acknowledged the Alicorn.
Aurora pushed herself to the front of the class. Up front, where everypony could see her, it became quickly apparent that Aurora was an Alicorn; she looked at the mare. “How do you know that?” asked Aurora. The filly Alicorn expressed a countenance which cried out for new knowledge. The matured Alicorn chuckled.
“Well I know because I was there,” affirmed the nameless Alicorn. Aurora looked upon her teacher with awe.
“But that means," Aurora paused, contemplating the possible age of the obviously older Alicornian mare, "You must be thousands and thousands of years old.” the young Alicorn registered, unbelieving.
The mare's face went dead pan at the unintended jab at her age. “No; not thousands and thousands. I’m only 1580 years old, and as I recall, your mother was there too, and she is older than I am.” stated the mare, to the young princess.
“Wait? That means you’re her? You’re Commander Moon Gazer! Commander of the Equestrian Army!” Aurora almost screamed with glee; the other foals began to get as giddy as the young princess, Aurora. Moon Gazer was well known throughout the Empire; she knew this, but she still hoped that not every pony would recognize her. Moon Gazer was about to try to contain the inevitable barrage of question from her young subjects when a voice cut through the crowd of murmuring foals and grabbed their attention.
“Now Aurora, what has your mother told you about how to treat others?” questioned Princess Celestia, as she casually trotted towards her niece.
Aurora gulped and turned to face her aunt. “Do unto others, as you’d have done unto you.” she replied.
Celestia looked gazed at the foal, her soft pink eyes temporarily quelling the shame the young Alicorn displayed. “So do you think it was right for you to drag Moon Gazer, who is a dear friend of our family, into the limelight? Would you like it if somepony did it to you?”
Aurora hung her head, and her ears flattened back on her neck in shame. “No,” she answered. Celestia placed her hoof on Aurora's chin, and pulled the young Alicorn's face up so they were eye to eye.
Celestia smiled at her niece. “So what should you say to Moon Gazer?” Celestia asked in a loving tone. Aurora turned from Celestia to Moon Gazer and apologized, “I’m sorry.”
Moon Gazer smiled at the young princess. “You’re forgiven... your Highness.” said Moon Gazer, followed by a bow.
“Wonderful,” remarked Celestia, who then turned to the group of foals. “Now who would like to see the Armory before lunch?” One-by-one, each member of the group screamed in excitement and stampeded from the room; amazingly, they happened to depart in the right direction towards the Armory. Moon Gazer trotted beside Celestia, both equal in height and horn length.
Moon Gazer turned to her mentor and friend. “Thank you... my Princess.” acknowledged the Alicorn Commander.
Celestia matched the Commander's gaze, and smiled. “Don’t mention it,” her countenance drooped, as if weighed down by her heavy heart, “I know today is a particularly tough day for you.” Celestia turned to look at the statue; Moon Gazer followed.
“Go on, talk to him. It will do you good, and you know he likes to listen.” assured the Princess.
Moon Gazer's eyes started to water: “But what if he can’t hear me anymore?” she asked, on the verge of tears.
Celestia draped her wing around the sniffling Alicorn. “Your voice found him in darkness once; it will again.” settled the Princess. With a smile, she gave a nuzzled the younger mare and began to search for the missing foals. But, before Celestia completely departed her friend, she momentarily turned back to Moon Gazer, and assured her despondent friend, “It was as much his victory as it was ours.”
Outside of the chamber, Moon Gazer heard the Royal Alicorn happily address the found foals, “Come, my little ponies. If we’re lucky, we’ll catch a guard sleeping on the job, and give him a good old scare!”
Moon Gazer disposed herself before the statue, contemplating what to say. After minutes of futile thought, Moon Gazer decided to wing it. “Hi.” she greeted; she mentally bucked herself. She imagined the living statue now, with a raised eyebrow and smiling at the nervousness of his female companion. Suddenly, Moon Gazer's thoughts clicked together like cogs in a clock; she knew what to say. “It's been a while since I’ve visited you, and I’m sorry about that. Running the entire Armed Forces is difficult and time consuming. I remember when I used to wonder how you ever managed to even run a single branch. It was always like clockwork with you, but then again you were always better at it than I was. I've been in this position for 1555 years; you’d think I’d have it down like Twilight and her teleporting; regrettably, I still make the odd mistake.”
Moon Gazer paused for a moment, chuckling slightly. “I have a new filing pony now... did I ever tell you that? He worked for 5 years to land the promotion! You should've seen his face when he walked into his new office for the first time: all that paperwork ready for him. You should've been there, we could've had a good laugh."
Again, Moon Gazer stifled a chuckle, which quickly disappeared: how could she laugh before the living statue, tempting her imprisoned friend with laughter, an action he may never experience again. “I can't get you out of my head; that’s why I’m here, for a little catch up session.” Moon Gazer stared at the statue, and hoped that a merciful deity could return the inanimate stone to the Land of the Living; she only wanted to speak to her friend again. But she knew he would never be free of his impenetrable prison; her friend would be forever forced to stare out onto the eastern horizon.
Moon Gazer sighed, saddened, and scanned the area: she needed somepony to talk to who could also talk back. To her disappointed realization, Moon Gazer found it was just her and the statue. Hopeless, the Alicorn fluttered up on the statue's plinth, and laid down, nestled between the two front hoofs of the inanimate stallion. “Why? I always had to ask myself: why us!” She screamed. Tears began to flow from her eyes; for 1555 years she had maintained her composure, no longer.
“Why did we have to be at the bucking epicenter of it?” Moon Gazer bawled to the stone, “Why not somepony else? Why us? We lost everything we cared about; I lost everything I cared about.”
Moon Gazer lifted her head towards the heavens; conveniently placed there, was the statue's head. “Why did I have to lose you?” asked the Alicorn, her question a whisper. Of course, it was all futile: she knew why her companion had been cruelly taken from her. Moon Gazer's memories drifted to that night; that Faust-forsaken night; that night where it was all set into motion.