//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: The Last Stand of the Alicorns // by ihaveofficiallyretired //------------------------------// Dear Princess Celestia, Earlier I was reorganizing the library when I came across a book detailing all known species of Equestria. I began to read it and noticed something peculiar. There is no mention of alicorns anywhere in the book. It is as if they do not exist. I thought to myself "That's odd. The princesses are alicorns, so why are they not in this book?" So that is why I am writing. Why are the alicorns not mentioned in this book and what happened to them? Are you and Princess Luna the only two? Were there more? Are there more? I have so many questions. I would come to Canterlot but now I have to re-reorganize the library…I made a mess trying to find any mention of alicorns. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle The majestic ruler of Equestria read the letter with a slight sadness about her. "Guards, please leave me." The guards nodded to the princess and left the room, closing the door behind them. "Oh, my faithful student, if only you knew…" The princess reminisced, thinking of her family, of playing in the castle with her sister when they were fillies, and of the battle that destroyed all but a few alicorns. "Careful, careful…and there! Perfect…I suppose," the midnight stallion commented. "Thank you." He said to his fellow alicorns, who had helped him move the statue. "Any time, your majesty." The two alicorns took to the sky and disappeared from view. The king of Equestria gazed upon the magnificent marble statue in the garden of Canterlot Castle. Sure, the statue was bizarre, but so was Archaeus. Archaeus was King Galaxius' best friend and an archeologist. "Well, Archaeus, you always do give the strangest gifts," Galaxius muttered to no one in particular. "A draconequus. So many died by my hoof, and now I have a statue of one in my garden. Ironic I suppose." The king wandered off to see his family for lunch. His back turned to the statue; King Galaxius never noticed that the eyes of the statue almost seemed to glow. The royal family had gathered in a small room near the kitchen, used for meals when it was only the four of them. Otherwise the Grand Hall would be used. But this was a private lunch, just the king, queen and their daughters. There were guards at the doors, of course, but they were always there. Always standing there with a blank expression. It was already hard enough to figure out an alicorn, and that was especially true for the royal guards. The meal, consisting of a small salad and some vegetable soup, was strangely quiet. One of the king's daughters was the first to speak, almost halfway through the meal. "Hey dad, what was that thing those stallions brought over earlier?" asked the young white filly. "It was a gift from Archaeus. Why exactly he sent it to me, I shall forever wonder. One can never guess what that eccentric colt may do next," replied the king. "Daaaaaad, that was obvious. What is it a statue of?" asked the king's other daughter, the same dark color as her father. "Oh, that is a draconequus. The draconequus is a strange creature, possessing a body of mixed animals. They once ruled over Equestria, but that was many years ago. We alicorns led a revolution against their emperor to free the ponies from the terrible rule of the draconequui. Then one day, all of them disappeared. We have ruled and protected Equestria ever since." The wise and just king had a hint of melancholy in his voice, remembering his lost brothers and friends. "Oh…well it looks pretty weird," said the oldest sister. "They were quite strange looking, I suppose," started Queen Solara, her fiery mane draped across her slender, pale body. "They were also very dangerous. Even all the combined power of the alicorns was barely enough to stop the draconequus army. They possess strange powers. They can turn normality into complete chaos." "Could. They could. The draconequui are gone, and haven't been seen for over two hundred years. They are never coming back." If there was any doubt in Galaxius' voice, no one would have noticed. "Still, no one knows what happened to them." The king sighed deeply. "My queen, should the draconequui return, there is no reason to fret. That is the exact reason I order the Elements of Harmony be forged. The power of harmony will cancel out the power of chaos. It would render the powers of a draconequus near useless, and weak ones will be killed outright." Trying to change the subject from something so morbid, the youngest sister spoke. "Hey dad, today I was able to fly a whole forty-two feet!" The young filly beamed in her excitement. "Luna, that's fantastic! Soon you'll be able to fly all around Equestria!" Galaxius seemed to have forgotten the previous subject matter, if for just a moment. "Forty-two feet? That's pathetic. When I was your age, I could fly across the castle grounds with little effort," Luna's older sister remarked smugly. It was uncommon for her to belittle her sister like that, so harsh and cold. "Celestia! You must not say such things. You will never become queen if you can't first learn to act at least like a princess," scolded Solara. The queen could see the pain in Luna's eyes. "Luna, don't listen to your sister. She is exaggerating. Greatly. And Celestia," the queen started, as her voice and demeanor suddenly became very stern. "Apologize to your sister. That was uncalled for and very mean." Celestia was confused with herself. She had no idea what had come over her. "Luna…I…I'm so sorry. I don't know why I said that. It was uncalled for, and perhaps slightly exaggerated. I truly am sorry." She could see her sister's expression lighten slightly. "C'mon, let's go play outside. Whatever you want." That erased all intimations of sadness from Luna's expression and she was suddenly overcome with joy. "REALLY?! YOU MEAN IT?!" Celestia hadn't been interested in playing with Luna since their father started teaching her magic. "Of course I mean it. I didn't mean to say what I did, and I want to make it up to you. Relatively pleased with the course of events, Solara spoke: "Very well then, you both may be dismissed," At that, both of the fillies got up and dashed off toward the garden. "Those two are a handful sometimes, aren't they?" Galaxius mustered a smile. "Of course they are. They wouldn't be ours otherwise." Soon, the two sisters were out playing in the garden. The both of them couldn't help but occasionally stare at the statue. For some reason, neither Celestia nor Luna trusted the statue. They were right not to, they just didn't know it. They would then just resume chasing each other around the garden, or wrestling (usually with Celestia winning). But there was something about the statue that unsettled them. Hahahahahaha…… A deep, rumbling voice laughed ominously, mysteriously, and seemingly everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It was almost like it was a voice in the back of one's mind, quiet enough to go unnoticed if you were preoccupied. Celestia stopped in her tracks. "Luna, did you hear that?" Celestia was worried. Galaxius had taught her much of magic in the last year, but this was something she knew nothing of. "What are you talking about? Let's just get back to doing…whatever. C'mon, we haven't gotten to play together in ages!" Luna was insistent that they continue to play, but she could see the worry in her sister's face. "Okay, okay. It must have just been my imagination. Hey, want me to do some magic for you?" Celestia was still worried, but she did promise her sister. "YAAAAY! "shouted Luna at the top of her lungs. She didn't mean to use the Royal Canterlot Voice, as she didn't know what it was. Unnoticed by both princesses, the volume of Luna's shout put a small crack down the back of the statue.