• Published 17th May 2012
  • 6,163 Views, 311 Comments

Lost Legacies - AkibaWhite



Derpy's search for personal fulfillment leads her into the lives of the Elements of Harmony and the forbidden pages of Equestria's Lost History.

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Amethyst 4A: Invitation

Edited by Cynewulf

[Night of Day 32]
A quill pen danced across the parchment on Twilight's oaken desk, guided by her magic in the flickering candlelight as it jotted down letter after perfectly-formed letter. Twilight Sparkle gazed at the results with a furrowed brow and terse frown.

Knock, knock.

Twilight flinched, then breathed a little sigh of relief—she'd lifted the pen before her sudden movement. "Who is it?" she asked as she turned to face the door.

Spike stood at the threshold to her bedroom, silhouetted by the lanterns of the main library. "Just me. Can I come in?"

"Sure," Twilight replied. She set the pen back in its inkwell and relaxed her stiff posture. "I thought you were Derpy at first."

Spike offered a smile as he stepped inside. "Nah, she's asleep."

Twilight looked to the moon outside her eye-shaped window; it had barely risen above the treeline on the horizon. "This early?"

"She hit the sack pretty quick last night too," said Spike. He glanced over the parchment. "Maybe she just needs some rest after the last couple of days."

"Hmm," mused Twilight. "Odd, considering how chipper she's been since the fight with the Amalgam."

Spike's eyes widened. "Hey, are you done with the translation?"

Twilight's frown returned. "Yep."

"Did you get anything about Screw Loose from it?"

Twilight tried to smile—the first step in a planned sarcastic retort, but only partially succeeded.

Spike shuffled his feet. "Um, why do you look like you're gonna eat my face?"

Twilight's horn shone once more, lifting the parchment off the desk and bringing it in front of her. "How about I just read it to you—second opinion and all that?"

Spike nodded up and down. "Go for it. I'd wanna hear it anyway."

Twilight Sparkle cleared her throat and obliged the young dragon's curiosity, albeit with the driest, most unenthusiastic reading she'd ever done in her life.

"You who wish for blood most true,
To regain the smile you knew,
Listen close, for you will see,
Tearily, your enemy.

Vanquish it? Indeed I can,
But I am a shackled man.
Bound am I by lock and key,
Not by cage of royalty.

Capture both within your hooves;
Tearily, it then shall move.

Seek the key where, much like you,
It's inside of blood most true.
Golden glow of corpse of life,
Is the key that is the knife.

Tearily, it will defy,
With the doll that cannot die.
Do whatever must be done,
For the rest are six, not one.

Fly them off, as would a hawk,
Pieces of the broken lock,
Five at least about the neck,
'Tis the seventh they bedeck.

On the road the witch destroyed;
Tearily, you must avoid.
Key in lock you must not turn;
At the seventh it must burn.

If all's foe should pass you by,
Unseen by your careful eye,
Four names, four thirds, three a lie,
Lead the way when you must cry.

When at last from sun they're shorn,
Turn to face the jumbled thorn.
Spurn them all, those misnamed trees,
Find the place called Everfree.

Towers plunge into the ground,
Many colors all around.
Keep to shadow, watch your back,
Lest the stones you do attract.

Up the stairs that run you down,
To the treasure trove in brown,
High atop the place you dread,
Take the road they fear to tread.

Look to heaven from the grave,
Of the many happy slaves.
See the fountain that does rise,
From the rock to sunless skies.

At the forge of blackest stone,
There the witch you must dethrone.
Bid farewell to what you've known,
Empty arms thereby disown.

Thus the truth you do unfold.
Who would dare?
None but the bold."

Twilight lowered the parchment enough to give her awestruck companion a knowing look. "So, did you attain enlightenment? Divine any cosmic truths about our favorite madpony?"

Spike pointed a solitary claw at the paper. "Dude, that's creepy."

"Creepy? Try 'frustrating,'" declared Twilight. She tossed the scroll back onto the desk and snorted disdainfully. "Almost two weeks of translation work on top of everything else I have to take care of just to find a riddle?" She growled. "Why can't anything about this situation be simple? You know, easy to figure out?"

Spike watched her fume in silence for a moment, then folded his arms. "How long has it been since you've had a good night's sleep?"

Twilight blinked. "What? Why?"

Spike counted off the answers on his claws. "Two nights ago you were out in the woods looking for Screw Loose. Last night you were still tearing up the library for Ancient Equestrian books when I went to bed." His expression softened. "Screw Loose burned up, remember? Maybe you should relax a bit."

Twilight turned to the mirror at her bedside with the full intention of lecturing her companion on the importance of her task. The sight of her bloodshot eyes reduced her to silence.

Spike walked forward to face her. "Besides, the Princess is looking for answers too. You're not all alone in this."

Twilight looked at the floor. "Is there still no word from her?"

Spike shook his head, but smiled and let out a puff of green fire. "We could always ask for an update, I guess."

The mere mention of the idea brought a great sense of comfort to Twilight. However, this only served to shame her. She blushed and stamped a hoof. "No, she'll just think that I can't handle this myself. Princess Celestia is pretty busy after all; she must not have the time to deal with this problem like I can." Despite her self-reassurance, Twilight ended up slumping her shoulders. "I wish I had something helpful to show One Liner at least."

Spike sucked in air through his teeth. "Oh, right." He pointed a thumb toward the entryway. "Liner's at the front door, actually."

Twilight's mouth fell open. "That's why you came up here?!"

"Yeah," Spike barely had time to mumble before his panicked companion galloped out the door. "Kinda skipped my mind?" he said to the empty room. As the noise of Twilight tripping over herself on her way to the front door echoed from the main library, Spike's eyes drifted toward the candlelit desk and, overcome by curiosity, he decided to give the riddle another look. However, in shifting the parchment closer to the light, he revealed the cover of a book underneath.

"The Good Stallion," Spike read aloud. "How to Tell the Difference Between Mister Right and Mister Right Now." His left eye twitched. "Seriously?"

~

At the southeastern tip of Ponyville—some distance into the woods, in fact—stood a shuttered farmhouse. Clad in pale white paint for the purpose of resale, it appeared ghostly and ethereal under the light of the full moon. Two more lights of faint orange flickered in the night—one from inside the house's boarded-up windows, the other from a lantern at the edge of a dilapidated barn several yards away.

"Liner," whispered Twilight Sparkle.

The trenchcoated stallion seemed not to hear and maintained his vigil, a lantern that she'd insisted he get rid of still held in his teeth. They stood in the shadow of the barn opposite the farmhouse, with One Liner leaning around the corner, looking for all the world as if he expected unicorn snipers to have their sights on him. All except for the giveaway lantern, that is.

Twilight summoned her magic, created a pair of small planar auras on either side of the candle flame, and pushed them together. The light went out, causing One Liner to hold up the snuffed lantern and look for the cause. His expression turned positively baffled when a glowing arrow appeared above the wick, pointing directly behind him.

"Liner," Twilight whispered louder.

At last the earth pony stallion turned about, sheepish grin showing beneath the brim of his fedora. "Sorry, old habit," he mumbled before lowering the useless lantern to the ground.

Twilight pawed at the dirt. "Um, why did you bring me out to the old Carrot farm?"

Liner coughed and straightened his jaw. "My apologies, Miss Twilight. I should have explained myself a bit better on the way." He took a quick peek around the corner. "Do you remember the pony cages in the Storm Hollow? Did anything about their presence seem terribly unusual to you?"

Is this a trick question? was the first thing Twilight thought to say. However, she decided to trust that Liner wouldn't waste her time. "Well, that they were from Ponyville Memorial certainly qualifies." She sighed. "Still, if Screw Loose could get the Ventium out of there, then I guess it's not all that surprising."

Liner turned back around to meet her gaze. "Those two items have more in common than their place of origin. A question occurred to me as I thought on it last night: how would Screw Loose know where to find either of them?"

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "She was in the N.T. ward for a few months, right?"

Liner shook his head. "Patients aren't shown where the drugs are; I double-checked that with Director Redheart earlier today. Furthermore, outdated equipment like those cages are stored in a basement that doesn't even have a conventional entrance. How would any patient, much less a patient like Screw Loose, know to lift the tile in a first-story storage closet to uncover the trap door leading down there?"

Twilight shrugged. "It's not exactly the first thing she's done that we can't properly explain."

One Liner grimaced. "If we chalk it up to her magic, we're left with a picture of her walking through walls, diving through the floor, invisible to all, with no mistakes made at any time." His frown grew tighter. "It's possible, of course, but that line of reasoning zig-zags all over the place." The corner of his mouth turned up. "Now, suppose that it was a matter of convenience instead."

"Convenience?"

Liner pointed a hoof at her. "How would you normally take the Ventium bottles out of the building?"

Twilight had to think on that for a moment. "You'd . . . have to use that tool from the director's office to remove the repulsion spell first."

"You'd use the tool from the director's office," Liner paraphrased. "And the director would certainly know the locations of both the medicine and the basement."

Twilight's eyes widened. "You're suspecting Director Redheart?"

Liner shook his head once more. "She wasn't the director when the thefts occurred. Remember the sloppy labeling on the Ventium?" He tipped up the brim of his fedora. "The line of reasoning that connects the items in the Hollow back to their point of origin straightens out if you include the previous director, Mister Fever Dream, as an accomplice."

Twilight's mouth fell open. "Why? Why would anypony help her like that?"

Liner turned back to the corner of the barn. "That's the missing piece we're here to fill in."

Twilight Sparkle joined him this time, leaning around his cologne-scented form to gaze at the flickering orange glow emanating from the farmhouse. "You think Fever Dream ended up here of all places?"

"I spent all morning canvassing low-income residents," Liner replied. "He has no registered address with the post office, and there's no record of him crossing the Shining Circle at any time since its activation."

Twilight winced. "The Shining Circle? I thought they'd never turn that thing back on after the Harmony Storm."

Liner gave a soft chuckle. "The knights can be abrasive at times, but they'd never risk exposing Ponyville to changelings any longer than necessary. To answer your question, though, a pair of eyewitnesses recognized Fever Dream from a photograph as a drifter they've seen moving in and out of this location." He smiled. "They said they hadn't seen him in a while, but it looks like we're in luck."

A tiny smile appeared on Twilight's face as well. "Actually, you didn't answer my question."

Liner turned to face her with the wide-eyed expression of a valedictorian receiving a failing grade.

Twilight tapped a hoof on the ground. "I asked you why you brought me out to the old Carrot farm. After what happened in the Everfree Forest, I can't imagine Canterlot refusing to send you magic support." She tilted her head to the side. "And then there's the knights. I know they don't take orders from the police, but there have got to be more than a few skilled unicorns among them who'd be happy to help out."

One Liner coughed and looked away. "Can I be frank with you, Miss Twilight?"

Twilight gave a swish of her tail. "Why wouldn't you be?"

Liner frowned in discomfort. "I'm not what you'd call . . . well-liked. The Canterlot V.C.U. is a small department, and cases are infrequent at best. My colleagues revel in the downtime, but I try to keep myself busy by helping out other departments. I think it's the right thing to do as an officer of the law. Even so, I've gained a reputation as something of an annoying busybody. The fact that I don't usually socialize well hasn't helped matters." He returned his blue-eyed gaze to Twilight. "You're right, of course. Under these circumstances, no department in Canterlot could legitimately table any request I make. Even so . . ."

One Liner shuffled his front hooves. "In a case with so many unknowns, I'd rather work with somepony I trust and respect, somepony who wants to do the right thing, not a begrudgingly tolerant office worker here to collect a bonus." He turned back to the farmhouse. "But it seems I've made myself an annoyance here as well."

Twilight walked out in front of him and offered a playful smile. "No, you made the right choice."

It was One Liner's turn to tilt his head to the side. "I did?"

"I was trying to figure this mess out before you even got here, remember? If you'd left me behind on this one, you'd have been due for an earful in the morning."

Liner tipped the brim of his fedora low and smiled. "Glad to hear it, Miss Twilight."

As they ascended the hill toward the farmhouse together, Twilight asked, "So, ready to get to the bottom of this?"

Liner slipped on his shades. "As I recall, we've already been there. Let's take it from the top this time."

NEXT
Episode 08: Falling Water

Comments ( 19 )

a nice puzzle for them to work out.

Ooooh, riddles! Everybody likes riddles.

Only thing that bothers me -- Either Twi spent way too long figuring out how to make the translation rhyme rather than how to read it in plain old English, or for some reason that poem magically rhymes in every language. Bah, whatever.

2314261
Remember, Ancient Equestrian is a system of writing, not a different language. Whether written down in Ancient or Modern, the rhymes would remain the same. :twistnerd:

2314273
Oh, really? Odd. After all, Old English is a significantly different language from modern English. I guess this is more like traditional and simplified Mandarin than that, though.

What bothers me is that the grammar is different, too. Unless modern Equestrian still has so many nouns that to write it down you have to have a dictionary at the beginning, these are clearly two different languges. Oh gosh darn it, I'm even more confused.

2314419

As an example, here's my previous comment rearranged into an exordium and main body:

(Exordium) Regarding your memory1, Ancient Equestrian2, a system3, writing4, a different language5, Modern Equestrian6, rhymes7, I have this to say:

(Main Body) Grab it1, it2 is a thing3 of this4, not that5. Whether this4 beforehand in this thing2 or that thing6, this7 would remain the same.

While in English this seems convoluted, recall that Ancient Equestrian uses complex pictograms for nouns and simple shapes for words that relate those nouns. The separation between the exordium and the main body is done for the sole purpose of sparing the writer the task of making the pictograms over and over again, allowing him to write the main body with quickness and ease. When put together, there is no difference in grammar with Modern Equestrian.

Well, I've figured out most of the riddle.

Much of it pertains to the Mane 6 and Derpy.

Then there is the matter of the enthroned creature. Chrysalis doesn't quite fit at the moment, but perhaps this incarnation of her will be darker. And yet, she still doesn't fit the bill of the implied importance of this figure in the riddle.

Sunless skies, though. Shall Celestia die?

Hmm... a seventh Element of Harmony...

Comment posted by AkibaWhite deleted Mar 25th, 2013

I finally got around to reading this. You sir, are awesome. My one gripe is that there hasn't been anything new for seven months.

3428079
Yes, I'm actually a fan . . . of the new movies, anyway. There's quite a story behind my viewing of the series (long story short, I destroyed the box set with an axe after watching the infamous finale). As for instrumentality, I can go ahead and tell you that's not what's going on here. I don't even like orange juice. :rainbowkiss:

3437974
Thank you for the compliment! I apologize for the long wait, but new updates began on 10/31. A prequel called Lost Legacies Zero (found here) will run through November and December. Episode 08 of Lost Legacies will likely debut on New Year's Day 2014.

3438358 Tell of a prequel is welcome news, though I fear to learn why there have yet to be any updates in the four months between now and New Years...

4444048 Intelligent Devices, like Raising Heart and Bardiche from the anime Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha and sequels.

Magitek artifacts with semi-sentient AIs that turn into powerful weapons?

...

Are you saying that you came up with that by yourself? And it's not a reference? Because that's just... wow. Awesome.

4444269
Alright, so it's one of those anime that I've never seen. As a matter of fact, I didn't even know the full name of that anime; I kept hearing people mention a 'Nanoha' as being an anime they liked, but never anything more.
Forgive me, I don't have much time to pursue anime lately; classes and what-not.

Also, whatever I did was indeed come-up with by myself; frankly, I have no idea what it is you're talking about. Referencing what?

4445095 Okay, I'll explain.

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha is a magical girl anime/manga, and also a kind of reconstruction of the magical girl genre - taking the typical cliches and tropes, examining them and reworking them to make more sense.

On the show, Nanoha - the heroine - owns Raising Heart, a pendant that allows her to transform and becomes her weapon. Of course, rather than being some fancy magic doohickey, it's actually an advanced piece of technology from another universe where magic and science are the same thing. Raising Heart is basically an advanced weapon with on-board AI that speaks english for some reason. AKA an Intelligent Device. As the story progresses, more characters who show up have their own Devices.

Hence why I thought it was a reference. The way the Elements of Harmony acted in your story, they're pretty much just like Intelligent Devices.

4445426
Sorry I'm late, but... my story? What?
I haven't posted any stories yet.

4473762 Sorry, my mistake. I was under the impression that I was talking to the author of this story.

4474708
Makes me embarrassed. :twilightblush:

I must say that this is one of the best epic-length (or at least it looks like it'll turn out that way) ponyfics I have ever had the pleasure of reading. The writing is absolutely masterful and the story is phenomenal, not to mention, well, Derpy as a main character does hold a special place in my heart. I suppose I'm not immune to bias.
In truth, though, by far my favorite part, though short, was the translation of the ancient Equestrian. I'm the first to admit that I'm a great fan of prophecies and whatnot in stories, and this one is done almost better than the rest of the story. It has that special property that imparts almost an eerie feeling after you read it.
Lastly, the character development is amazingly done, especially on One Liner (I especially like the name's double meaning) and the way you've incorporated the Elements Of Harmony is simply breathtaking. All in all, a firm masterwork that is no doubt on my favorites.

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