“Okay then!” he said, newfound interest glinting in his eyes “First question, what do you mean by ‘fading’?”
“Fading is a natural phenomenon among many immortal beings,” Amaryllis explained “We all had a beginning, and so we all must have an end. Gods do not exist in the sense that one could grasp. They are mere manifestations of mortal ideals and beliefs. Have you heard the saying: ‘If you believe in something hard enough, it’ll become real?’”
Doctor and Ditzy nodded
“In some cases, this is true. Only if a large number of ponies believe with all their hearts and minds in one thing, it will come to pass,”
The magical light screen came into being yet again, providing visual material for her explanation.
“Long ago, even before my birth, the land was wild and dangerous. Ponies struggled to survive, while beasts fought for the right to live all around them. Desperate for help, the dwindling population created tales of powerful beings who watched over them, lending their beaten souls hope. Years afterward, the first god came into being, Chronos, God of Time. More appeared soon after, Zeus, Poseidon, Hades and more. These Gods are manifestations of pony’s beliefs, gaining power from their thoughts and prayers. Most made up the fundamental forces of nature, controlling it for the pony’s needs. Others were more concept based, such as war and love, teaching pony’s how to best achieve them,”
She paused, letting her face settle into a frown as she continued
“The Gods were not perfect. They shared the same faults as the pony’s whose heads they sprung from. They grew proud, spiteful and greedy. Conflict frequently raged between them, as each sought for dominance. Power corrupts, as the Gods forgot their duty to the pony’s below, and bickered amongst each other. Destruction and war ravaged the land as the Gods fought, intent on ending one another, and taking the land with it. The ponies, desperate for a solution, turned to one of their own for a leader. To her, they poured their hopes, dreams and wishes for an end to this turmoil. That, was when the Matriarch was born.
“The ponies worshipped and revered her. She in turn, healed the land, and sowed peace and prosperity to all the great kingdoms, throughout the world. As ponies turned away from their Gods, these immortal beings begun to fade. As Immortals, they cannot die, but as manifestations of thoughts and dreams, they can. These great symbols of nature and emotion soon became a mere passing thought. As their fame died out, so too did they, leaving no trace as they left this world.
One God remained. He is the incarnation of death, something all ponies know and fear. He embodies the unknown truth, and tips the scales of fate in his hooves. He is Hades, the last God, and the one true Immortal,”
Amaryllis allowed ample time for her explanation to be fully comprehended.
“Anything else?” she asked, a somewhat cheeky grin playing across her lips
“I think that’s enough for today,” said the Doctor, it was a lot to take in after all. Even his adventures earliest adventures did not go that far back.
“Wait, your forgetting something” exclaimed Ditzy “Ms Amaryllis, would you happen to know where Sunshine Smiles is? He was sent back in time by a Weeping Angel named Anna,”
Amaryllis smiled a little wider. Her horn glowed a vivid gold, a flash of light revealed a skeletal lantern, with an odd green gem at its centre. It hung suspended in the air before the gold alicorn, rotating slowly by some invisible force. Ditzy didn’t really know what to do, until Amaryllis motioned for her to take it.
“This is called, the Warden’s Light. It was a Lantern used by one of Hades’ reapers to light the way to the Underworld. It was locked in an armoury below the mountains near Canterlot. How this came into Mr Smile’s possession is beyond my knowledge, but not for long. It was taken by one Weeping Angel, then handed to Astral for examination, which he then passed to me, and now to you,”
“Um, thanks,” said Ditzy, cradling the odd lantern in her hooves “But how is it supposed to help us?”
“Take it to Verity Honora,” she instructed “Tell her to use her ‘intuition’ on it. She will tell you where and when Sunshine Smiles is,”
“How do we get back?”
“All you need to do is ask,” she smiled
“Can you send us back?” Doctor asked
“Say please,” Amaryllis sang cheekily
“Can you send us back, please?” he sighed, laying emphasis on the ‘please’
“Manners can go a long way, Time Charger,”
As she said so, a blinding light emanated from her body, gaining steadily in intensity and warmth. Soon, it became almost unbearable.
“We will meet again, son of Gallifrey,”
With one final surge of light, the tranquil landscape, and the figure before them, shimmered like in a haze of heat. The landscape lost its colour, fading to shades of grey one streak at a time. The sky darkened as each star winked out of existence.
“In Time,”
Then everything faded to black.
Thousands of Years ago…
‘It could be worse’ Sunshine mused ‘but not by much’
Many things have happened in the weeks since his unorthodox arrival into ancient Equestria. Iron Clad laughed off his explanation of his arrival, but his disbelief was put to the test when Sunshine showed and told him some things about the future. Iron decided to reserve judgement for now. In return, Iron put him through several physically demanding tests to establish his rank among other guards. Sunshine passed with flying colours, proving to be the best guard ever to arrive. To the chagrin of his fellow guards, Sunshine rose through the ranks, almost becoming Iron’s equal in strength and skill. When subtlety and stealth were involved, Sunshine was far superior.
It was now exactly two weeks from his arrival, and Sunshine was the happiest he’s been since then. The barracks were essentially his home now. It was well furnished, with a velvet arm chair and luxurious four-poster single bed. An oak wood writing desk, dresser, book shelf and chest were positioned against the wall. All of it was courtesy to a generous salary payed by Iron Clad, and the hundreds of bits he brought, which seemed to be worth a lot more here than in the future. Homesickness wasn’t too big of an issue, since he was in the same place he’s already been, but in a different time. This was also not the longest time he’s spent away from familiar surroundings. In fact, this was luxury to him.
Here he sat contently, watching the world go by out his room’s window. Thoughts swirled before him, mainly about his family, his friends, and how he was supposed to get back. Most of his time spent off guard duty was done in the castle library. The old castle where Everfree would be in the future was being steadily migrated into the new castle in Canterlot. The inner Citadel of the old castle remained untouched, as Celestia sealed herself inside.
A thought occurred to him, the only pony that could possibly know how to get him back would be Princess Celestia. If what Iron Clad said is true, no one has seen or heard from her in two months. That didn’t stop Sunshine from maintaining that small shred of hope. Having decided what to do, he quickly penned a letter to Iron Clad, to be forwarded to the Castle Citadel. It read:
Dearest Princess Celestia,
My name is Sunshine Smiles, Co-Captain of the Night Guard and personal guard to Princess Luna. I know that you greave for her, and I understand your pain, but I write to tell you that all will be okay, in time. I do not belong here, I am from the future. I was sent back in time by a creature called a ‘Weeping Angel’.
I do not know what to say to convince you, but I offer more than consolonce. Luna is alive and well in my future, she rules beside you once again. You will be the happiest you’ve ever been in your life, I promise you. As a Night Guard, I swear on everything that I stand for is true. If I would please have an audience with you, I would reveal to you the future. All I ask, is that you find a way to bring me back.
I patiently await your response,
Regards, Sunshine Smiles
Satisfied, Sunshine rolled up the parchment and sealed it in wax, baring the emblem of the Lunar Guard. A short time later, a non-descript Royal Guard arrived at his room to collect it. If the royal mail was anything like it was in the future, it would take weeks to get a response, if any from the princess.
“I patiently await your response,” he murmured to the sun above.
Astral’s Estate (The Present)
The Doctor opened bleary eyes to find himself in one of the Mansion’s spare rooms. It was a mediocre room that one might find in the average hotel. He was lying in a single bed, with mattresses that were just too soft and a blanket that was too thick. Beside him, a couple feet away, Ditzy slept peacefully in an identical bed. Taking a minute to appreciate how adorable Ditzy looked asleep, the old Time Charger shook himself awake and exited the bed.
As he did so, a dull clang resounded as an object tumbled off the bed and hit the floor. The skeletal lantern sat dejectedly on the floor between his bed and Ditzy’s. Its green gem glowed sickly green and emitted subtle pulses. The thing’s mere presence unnerved him, as Matriarch Amaryllis’ words echoed through his mind.
“Used to light the way to the Underworld,” she had said.
It sounded like the lantern was a one way trip to death. Good thing he didn’t know how to operate it. A knock on the door and the sudden entrance of a certain charcoal unicorn stopped further thought.
“Ah, you’re awake!” Charlene said, sounding genuinely relieved “You’ve been out for almost half an hour. How’re you feeling,”
“Peachy,” Doctor replied “But Ditzy’s still out like a light,”
“Leave her be, she could use the rest. Come now, Astral wants to see you,”
She then turned and trotted right out the door, Doctor following soon afterward.
Upon arrival back in Astral Star’s study, the Doctor spun him a summary of what happened when the Angel knocked him out. Astral did not seem surprised at all, in fact, he completely expected it all to happen.
“We could’ve let you talk to her ourselves,” pointed Astral “But, we figured since Anna was the one that sent him back, she would introduce you to the Matriarch,”
“Well, tanks for the trip down memory lane, I guess,” said the Doctor “The only time I ever saw her was when she was a filly,”
“I take it she gave you something to keep?”
Doctor held up the strange skeletal lantern and held it at arm’s length, weary of its aura.
“Yeah, this,”
Astral took it from him, and studied it under his own magical grip. He observed it for several minutes before handing it back to the Doctor.
“That is an ancient artefact from the Underworld,” Astral explained “I’ve only ever been their once. That Lantern was used by Charon the boatman to guide us to the gates of Hades. When we concluded our business there, Hades gave us this lantern, among other things as a parting gift. I then gave this to my mother, before the Crystal Empire disappeared,”
“I am truly sorry,”
“Don’t be,” he smiled “Every cloud has a silver lining, and my parents are still alive and well. I suppose I have Sombra to thank for that, if I didn’t want to blast that sorry excuse of a king to the Underworld, that is,”
“I just realised something. Ditzy and I arrived here for answers, and all I got was more questions,”
“The Universe is a big and confusing place, young one,”
“Young one?” Doctor spluttered “I’ll have you know I’m almost a thousand years old!”
“Then how old do you think I am?”
Astral savoured the look of Doctor’s dumbfounded face as the truth dawned on him.
“Right,” he conceded “You win. I’ve got a question though. How exactly does that ‘Astral Archive’ work?”
“I would say ‘it’s simple’ but I would be lying. You see, every living thing in this mansion is connected telepathically to this Mansion. Every living thing. As soon as you cross that wall, mental information is plucked from your mind and stored in the Archive,”
“Isn’t that an invasion of privacy?”
“Well, no, since the only pony that could access all of the stored information is Matriarch Amaryllis. Even I could only access data concerning myself, common knowledge, and that of my family and closest friends,”
“That brings me to my next question. Why and how is Amaryllis in the Archive?”
“Despite all her strength and character, Amaryllis was more afraid of Death than any other. The rebirth she was entitled to only gave her soul another chance at life. There was no guarantee that her mind could make the journey as well. I offered her a chance, a slim one at best, to preserve her consciousness until the time came for her to claim a new body,”
“Wouldn’t that be possession?” asked the Doctor, concern worrying his features.
“No, after this long, her spirit doesn’t have the strength, plus, I’ve never known another pony with a higher sense of morality. Hades is gone now anyway, so she can’t be born naturally,”
Astral opened up to an excited smile as he continued
“Verity and Honour are actually attempting to create another body using magic. Their using how she looked like before ascension as a scaffold,”
“Right, well, if Verity isn’t too busy, can she come up here so she can take a look at this?” he asked, gesturing to the lantern, which now hung dejectedly on the hatstand next to the door.
“I’ll give her a call,”
Mansion Subterranean Laboratory
The Lab, as it is affectionately called, is a huge cavern, hollowed out by years of magic and machinery. It was much larger than a hoof ball stadium, and carried several floors as well. The main work space was at the immediate entrance, where materials, tools and workbenches galore resided. Below it were several floors of more specialised equipment and test chambers. On the other side of the cavern, lay the great magical battery that powered everything within the Estate. It consisted of a large mechanical receiver on the roof of the cavern, wires and thick cables jutted out from all sides, leading energy away from the receiver. The cables dispensed magic at various focus points throughout the Estate, making sure that every inch was powered and maintained at its capacity.
A huge column of yellow-white light streamed from the bottom of the cavern. A huge, circular pit lay there, so deep that the whole column could not be seen from the edge. Magic was being funnelled from deep beneath the earth, being brought to the lab at its purest from. Dozens pf multi-coloured crystals orbited the column, lending its own shade of colour as it passed. These crystals harmonised that pure, untamed magic into a more stable and safe form. The column of light was directed at the receiver, which collected the magic and spread it into the very soil of the Estate.
The greater portion of this power was dedicated to a large stasis sphere, filled with nutrient rich green fluid. A large cable connected to the receiver tunnelled through the rock and into the centre of the working space. There, suspended in this sphere, lay a body. It, along with the sphere that contained it, hung suspended in the air, with no physical support. A complex circle of runes below it made sure that it remained still and unbroken.
Inside the sphere was the body of a pony. It had a creamy white coat, and a three-toned pink, green and a darker pink mane. Right now, it was only a foal. It held no cutie mark, and its mane and tail were only centimetres long. It looked like it slept peacefully, but in reality, it was not even alive. Honour Bound and Verity Honora stood at either side of the sphere, pouring all their magic into its surface, gritting their teeth at the force and concentration required. Into it, they poured their hopes and desires, what they wished the body to be. As seconds wore on, the foal only grew to the equivalent of 5 years onward. It was now the same age as the Cutie Mark Crusaders. The cutie mark of a beautiful pink orchid appeared on its flank.
The flood of pink magical energy finally subsided as the pony and changeling collapsed in exhaustion.
“How’s she doing?” gasped Honour Bound, still panting after several minutes of rest
“Looks like she’s progressed,” replied Verity, equally tired “Maybe, 5 years or so,”
Honour Bound wiped the sweat off his brow with a hoof.
“What’s the target age again?” he asked
“About 20 years,”
“Not too far off then,” he joked
“How about her aesthetic?”
Honour Bound levitated over a clip board. On it, a picture of the filly’s adult form was taped. Next to her stood another gold Alicorn. Honour
critically examined and compared the picture and the filly in the sphere.
“Looks fine to me,” he concluded “We’re pretty close now,”
There brief analysis was interrupted when the sliding of metals and the clop of hooves on the stone alerted them to the new arrivals. Astral and Doctor walked down the spiral staircase to greet them. The former was looking excitedly at Amaryllis’ new body. The latter had his head swinging around and his mouth wide open in awe.
“Great job you too!” congratulated Astral “Verity, can you tend to the Doctor’s request? I’d like to have another jab at the sphere,”
“You sure?” Verity asked with arched eyebrows “Your magic isn’t really compatible,”
“Oh, it will be,” he grinned
A blue flash erupted from his horn and a small sandwich bag levitated before him. Inside, was a single strand of aquamarine hair, about the length of a pony’s foreleg.
Honour whistled appreciatively
“How did you manage to get that?” he wondered
“Simple, when Celestia visited here, I had one of the Weeping Angels cut a strand,”
“Forgive me for the interruption,” Doctor confided to Verity “But what is that?”
“That, is a strand of Celestia’s hair,”
“And what are they going to do with said hair?”
“Just watch,” she grinned
Astral opened the sandwich bag and took out the hair. It glistened in the laboratory lights, like fishing line. Astral closed his eyes, and held it before him. When he opened them again, his pupils were gone, only a white light could be seen in his eyes. The hair began to exude faint wisps of pink vapour, crackling slightly like electricity. The vapour thickened into smoke, which began to wrap themselves around Astral, swirling faster and faster, shielding him from view. Seconds later, the swirling cocoon began to slow, its colour fading from bright pink to dirty green. Then it stopped altogether, sending dull cracks through the air as the new substance hardened.
“Astral?” said the Doctor, worried and confused for the blue unicorn “Are you in there?”
“I’d step away if I were you,” Verity
Upon her words, the makeshift prison glowed an iridescent green, brightening and brightening. Dark cracks crawled across its surface, spilling forth beams of white light. As the cracks covered every inch of the cocoon, it exploded outward, showering the observers in harmless green shards. As the light subsided, a new form stood where Astral should have been. She was a tall, slender alicorn, with a three toned pastel blue, green and pink mane and tail. Both rippled and flowed, despite the absence of moving air. Her cutie mark was of a stylised sun. She turned her magenta eyes to the assembled crowd and gave them a wink.
“Surprised yet?” she said, grinning at the Doctor’s dumbfounded expression
“I guess so,” he breathed, in awe of the view before him.