//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: Legends of Harmony Season 1 // by AlphaOmega //------------------------------// Legends of Harmony Season 1 Chapter 5 By AlphaOmega "Goodness me that is an interesting way to begin your day." Rarity said. She and the other mane 6 were currently at Canterlot castle. They had each gotten there at different times, but nonetheless, they made it. Twilight explained that there was a great emergency and that they were needed immediately. Gathering them wasn't a pain, but Twilight was willing to endure it so long as it meant she could see her friends again. Now, every pony was talking to each other like they had just met yesterday. Pinkie Pie was trying to convince Applejack to come over and back cupcakes again and help throw a party. Rainbow Dash grabbed AJ's arm and tried to get her to hoof-wrestle her to see who had gotten stronger over the years. Twilight hadn't seen Rarity in a very long time. She rarely had time to go and visit her friends on account that she was now a ruler of Equestria. However, Rarity never lost her generosity, and Twilight made sure she got a good reception when she came to the castle. "I know right? It did seem odd that the princess requested us all here. Strange, however, that she isn't here." Twilight noticed. Rainbow Dash flew over. "Well duh! She's probably busy getting my medal ready for when I save Equestria from a new disaster! Or perhaps it's an award for "Best Pony Athlete of the year!" Typical RD response. "Please, like you would win it," Applejack cut in "We all know who the Iron Pony is." Applejack was usually a modest person but never when it came to Rainbow. They constantly competed to the point that even the Princess herself had to intervene. However, it was out of care for the one another. "Well look at you Ms. Golden Apples. You really haven't changed since you became one of the richest ponies in Equestria. I would have thought you were too rich now to do the dirty work." Rainbow jabbed. "Look here now-" Rarity began before Fluttershy and Pinkie walked over. "Girls, come on now. We have not seen each other in a while. Let us not spend it fighting but-" "LET'S PARTY!" Pinkie declared as she fired the party cannon. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Applejack was the first one there. She was on a trip to Canterlot to check the stocks at the exchange. The train ride was rather boring and annoying, mostly because little fillies were running around. Applejack didn't mind it at all. After all, she helped raise Applebloom and was pretty much a big sister to the rest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Truth be told, she almost missed it. She couldn't remember her childhood well. But she knew one thing. She never wanted to ruin a filly’s joy while they were young. All she knew most of her life was hard work. To see others happy even when she wasn't was enough joy for her. As she sat there reading the papers and checking the news, another pony came up and sat next to her. "Do you mind if I take this spot? I prefer isle seats." The new pony said. Applejack looked up from her paper and almost did a double-take. He was definitely a sight to see. His skin was fairly dark. His eyes were blood red. His legs looked pretty regular except for one leg. It wasn't deformed or had a weird mark. The strange thing was that it had NO cutie mark. Most adult ponies had one. Yet here was a colt without a single mark. She stared dazed at the opposite pony. "I'll take that as a yes?" the strange pony spoke up. Applejack tried to look away but was too tantalized by his sight. "Ye-yeah sure." She said as she tried to wave away her dazed look. As she looked for something else to focus on, she noticed his only luggage was a very large cake. Unable to control herself, she began to ask a question but was interrupted by the pony she was about to question. "Find something strange?" He asked. Applejack just blushed. "I'm really sorry for staring sir. I have just never met a pony like you." He laughed well heartedly. "Oh give it time my dear. Soon there will be so many of me I'll be just another regular old pony." The two didn't speak so much on the ride. From what she could tell (she was good with body language) he seemed to be a little agitated sitting next to her. She felt the same way. Just something wasn't right. His horn did not glow like a unicorn when used but rather it was lopsided and when he did use it his magic was weak. It was almost as if- "Looks like we're here. Thank you for the company." He gestured to Applejack before leaving the train. Applejack was still in shock such a pony species existed. As she unloaded her luggage, she realized that the pony had left behind a box. She resisted the urge to open it. It was an invasion of privacy. It was also dishonest. She was snooping into other people's business! This was beneath her and she knew better. As she opened the box, she noticed a small letter on the back. It read, "For my one and only Celestia. Happy Birthday. Signed...." She couldn't make out the words. They were odd and didn’t seem like a language that existed. She shrugged it off. It was probably just another one of Celestia's admirers. However, it seemed odd that it was addressed to her. After all, Twilight was the one in charge now. She regained her composure and put the small box in her bag. She would deliver it to the princess herself. It was the right thing to do. As she was walking out of the train, she noticed that there was a long line running nearly from her train to the front of office the office. At the front, a pony dressed in elegant fashion was arguing with the office man. "How dare you treat me like this? I am a lady, sir, and I will not tolerate such vulgar language. I merely asked if you would be willing to give me a train ride back for free! I paid for 2-way but some pony stole my ticket!" The ruckus she was creating was gathering the attention of multiple ponies. A pink haired pony came over to try and solve the problem. In the meantime, a pony with a butterfly cutie mark was speaking to some cops to try and ask them to help calm down the pony. "Well I'll be." Applejack walked over to the crowd. "FREE BITS OVER HERE!" She yelled. As they turned around, Applejack threw her purse full of bits in the opposite direction. Naturally, the crowd dispersed and attempted to grab the sack of gold. The cops went over to the growing pile of ponies to get them off each other. Applejack trotted over to the only ponies to not run after money. The purple mane pony was now hugging the pink pony with pink hair as the light yellow pony with them circled excitedly nearby. "Hello every pony. Miss me?" Applejack said. Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy gasped...then proceeded to nearly run her over in a stampede. "Omigosh Applejack! How are you darling! It has simply been to long sing I last saw you!" Rarity greeted. "Hey Applejack! How's the farm?" Pinkie inquired. Fluttershy was so excited she forgot what to say and just gave her a hug. The group decided to grab some snacks over by a Starbucks (heh, no need for pontification there eh?). As they drank some coffee and tea, they tried to piece together why they had come to Canterlot. Pinkie Pie seemed the most excited. "I was just planning on visiting Twi. I know she's really busy but that’s no excuse right?" She was currently enjoying some muffins. The baker on duty at the small stand had just finished a new batch and this one tasted just like the mail mare’s special muffins she gave out to everyone. Rarity had a completely different reason. "I wanted to come into town today to see Fancy. We had a date a little while back and this was the follow up. However, when one is surrounded by friends, one should not pass up the chance to talk." "I came because I need to speak to Twilight about the current...happenings near the forest. Strange happenings." Fluttershy explained. Applejack's ears perked up. "Wait, what's wrong with-" "OMIGOSHOMIGOSHOMIGOSHOMIGOSH!" Came a sudden voice from behind Applejack. The group of four looked at the approaching party of 2. Twilight and Rainbow Dash were in town too! Naturally, they all talked to each other and caught up to date with the latest happenings. Twilight then invited to the Canterlot castle. She told them it was important. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "I'm afraid we cannot party right now. Actually, not for a while." Came a voice from behind the mane 6. The main doors to the throne room had opened and Luna strode in flanked by guards. She turned to the guards. "I will only be a moment. Please check on my sister and make sure she is okay." Twilight was the first to respond. "What is wrong with Celestia?" Luna only shook her head. "Nothing is. Just a minor faint. Probably due to the heat in her room. Nothing big." She was clearly putting something off, but the ponies there, even Princess Twilight, knew better than to question her. Night was already cold; didn't need to be freezing. Rainbow Dash, however, asked for more. "Why would she call for us but suddenly you're the pony in charge? Sounds fishy to me..." Of course, Rainbow Dash's famed loyalty to Celestia had once again spurred her to a hasty response. "You know not what you say. Rainbow Dash. I am here to deliver her message." She pulled out a scroll. "My dear friends. You have known me most of your lives. I have always tried to be a good ruler and learn from my mistakes and that of warring nations. I have tried to keep stability and peace. But now I fear all of it may be undone. My past was never to be known. I admit to doing things no pony should ever think of doing. But it was done. And now my past has come back to haunt me. Soon, an old enemy will rise and I will be unable to stop him. I am tasking you, the bearer of the Elements of Harmony, to seek out a very important artifact. In fact, there are 6. One for each of you. Luna will explain the rest. Good luck, my dearest friends." The room fell silent. The ponies all looked at each other and different emotions popped up. Pinkie pie was frowning a little. Fluttershy seemed to be breaking down a bit and getting wobbly. Rainbow Dash kept a straight face while she comforted Fluttershy. Rarity and Applejack began to converse. Twilight was the only one to respond. "And so what is it that you can provide us with Luna?" Luna fell silent. "Allow me to explain." Came a voice from behind Luna. Wheeling in the Bringer of the Sun, the guards rolled her near the others before taking a smart leave. "I believe it is my duty." Everyone simple hushed down and prepared for a story. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She ruled Equestria. After years of work, all the land was at peace. The three tribes were now one, living together in piece. But she was not content. Having just sent her only sister to the moon, she longed for company. Oh sure, she could have picked any stallion. But no. It had to be him. He really wasn't much of stallion. He was one of the many unicorns who had come to the palace to learn magic straight from Celestia. The two of them were more intimate, however. Although it was rather...controversial...to have this relationship, the two were happy. They spent mornings practicing and evenings cuddling and talking about a future. Then it all changed. Things got out of hand. He was attempting monsterous experiments without Celestia's consent. Ponies bones were found in his laboratory. He said he wanted to become something more. To be more than just a unicorn. He wanted to become an Alicorn. Celestia explained it was something she was born with and was a curse, but he would have none of it. He refused to believe what he was told. Celestia decided that he could not be stopped. She then took the elements of harmony and began working on a binding spell. Once it was finished, she used it to seal him away forever. However, spells do not work that way. There are limits. While the spell was strong, he was a genius taught by Celestia herself. He vowed to return and destroy her for her betrayal. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "He is going to break free soon. I have been having....dreams and visions of his return. I want us to be prepared." Celestia continued. "We cannot let him return. I have seen his power growing for some time. When he returns, there is nothing we can do." Celestia's voice was anything but comforting. She was shaky in speech and her eyes seemed bloodshot from stress (or lack of coffee). Rainbow Dash spoke up. "Your highness, I, Rainbow Dash, will take this mission. I-" "Rainbow Dash!" The group just stared at the pony who spoke. Luna had used her Canterlot Voice to catch their attention. "This is no simple task, Element of Loyalty. What is at stake is so impossibly high that-" Her voice got louder "-You have no possible idea how great the risk you will take! My sister and I will not watch you fail. You will need training, and armor, and-" Celestia magically clamped her sisters mouth shut. "We will prepare you for this journey. Do not worry my friends, I know-" "Stop." The group once again looked at another pony who had decided to interrupt. However, this time it was a determined Fluttershy. "Your majesty, I understand the urgency. However, None of us have agreed. I believe we should take a vote or at least have a night to think it over. Don't you all agree?" The rest of the Mane 6 just stared and thought. They did not know much about the quest, true, but it was for the queen, so it should have been fine. However, they each began to grow seeds of doubt. It was indeed a rather dangerous mission. "Princess," Twilight asked "I would like to request that we stay the night and think on it. Just to be safe." Luna spoke up first. "You must do this. We are too old. No one is brave enough. You must-" "Sister." Celestia spoke in with commanding authority. "Yes. Let us allow them to sleep the night. Let them think on it. We will decide on a course of action then." As she finished her decision, the royal caterers brought in a very nice cake. The pony merely bowed and explained "Someone knew it was your birthday, your majesty. They sent this cake-" "Oh and this ring I think too." Applejack gave her a small box. Celestia frowned. Very few people knew her birthday. And yet... "Shall I slice the cake?" Celestia was about to say yes until she opened the box. She read the note and let out a gasp. She quickly pieced it together. "WATCH OUT!" The cake erupted, throwing flames and icing all over the walls. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In deep dark dungeons a few miles away, the smoke coming from the bomb was visible. A lone pony walked down the paths, opening the doors one by one using the magic he had acquired from his master. He finally got to the last chamber and did a ritual to call forth his lord. "My lord. The present has been given." A strange black pony said. A voice from the pit responded. "Good, good. Soon I will rise and we can begin the final stage of plan. And the ring?" "She accepted it naturally. However, the explosion probably did not help, my lord." "Leave it be. We must show power when we can. Go then. I will wait here for the moment to arise. Go off and awaken the guardians. Stir evil in their hearts." The pony simply smiled.