• Published 10th Aug 2012
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The Tears of Gaia - Redback Spino



Twilight and co. journey to find the legendary Tears of Gaia. Little do they know what awaits them

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2. From the ashes of time

As the late morning sun streamed through the windows of the Canterlot Royal Archives, old Scrollstacker readied himself for another quiet day. The Archives themselves were more of a storehouse of old books and artefacts than an actual library, so except for some big-shot researchers or historians wanting to study something, his days were mostly spent filing some new journals into their shelves, or doing his best to keep things tidy. The ever-present dust served as a constant reminder that he was fighting a losing battle on that front.

That said, he enjoyed the quiet time this job gave him. It gave him a chance to pursue some personal reading, listen to some music on the gramophone in the back room, or simply sleep the day away!
Blowing across his steaming mug of morning coffee, his ears pricked up as he heard the creak of the huge wooden doors swinging open. So much for a quiet day.

“I’ll be right out!” he called from the back room, taking another bracing sip of coffee.

“Don’t worry, take your time,” called back a gentle, serene voice from the main hall. Moments later, he emerged from the back room, a stack of books levitating before him. Plopping them down on his desk, he sat down and took another sip of coffee. “Good morning, and welcome to the Canterlot Royal Archives, how can I help…?” But as he looked up he froze.

“Good morning to you too, Mr Scrollstacker,” said Princess Celestia as she stood before him, a smile that could light up the night gracing her lips.

The old unicorn coughed and spluttered as he hastily swallowed his scalding mouthful of coffee. Not only to speak, but to avoid a most undignified spit-take. “Y-Your Majesty! I…I apologise, I should have come right out! If I’d known it was you…”

The princess raised a hoof to stop Scrollstacker before he could start prostrating himself before her. “But you didn’t know it was me, so it’s quite alright. In fact, I should apologise to you, I should have said I was coming.”

“No, no, it’s quite alright!” Scrollstacker shook his head frantically. “It’s an honour, in fact! To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit? I heard you were busy with those foreign emissaries.”

“They actually left just an hour ago. Sadly neither of them left in a particularly good mood.” Celestia’s smile fell for a moment. “Luna and I were up talking with them ever since the night before last, and unfortunately no agreement could be reached… Come to think of it, if you don’t mind, I could do with a cup of coffee myself. Would you be so kind?”

He nearly toppled a nearby stack of parchment in his haste to get up. “Of course, Your Majesty! Right away!” He hurried into the back room to prepare Celestia’s drink. “Do you take cream and sugar with your coffee?”

“Just cream please,” Celestia said, hiding a grin. As much as she disliked how everypony would go out of their way to please her, she could not deny that it was a little amusing sometimes.

Scrollstacker returned with the fresh mug levitating before him. He passed it to the princess and she gripped it in the golden aura of her own magical grip. Taking a dainty sip, she closed her eyes and sighed as she felt the warmth of the drink coursing through her whole body. “Ahh, that’s better.”

“So if I may, Your Majesty, what exactly were the emissaries asking for? The newspapers didn’t really give any reason.”

Celestia put the mug down on a scrap piece of parchment. “Oh, it was nothing to worry about. There was some trouble going on in Cervidas and they were requesting military aid from us and the Griffon Kingdom. Of course I could only refuse and… well, let’s just say that the griffons and the deerfolk don’t exactly see eye to eye.”

“Ah, I see… so why have you come here then?”

“Well,” Celestia took up her mug of coffee again. “I was actually hoping to see my student, Twilight Sparkle. I was told she was doing some research here, so I came by to visit.”

“Ah, well then you’re a tad late, Your Highness. She left yesterday evening, without clearing away might I add!” the old unicorn huffed.

“They left already? That’s a shame; I would have loved to see her again. So what was she doing here anyway?”

Scrollstacker rolled his eyes. “Oh, she was looking for evidence about the Tears of Gaia. Honestly, you’d think a pony as smart as her would be able to tell the difference between history and fantasy!”

Chuckling at his own joke, Scrollstacker failed to see the shadow that passed over Celestia’s face for the briefest of moments. “Oh, but I did hear her and her friends talking about the Crystal Mountains, and travelling up that way earlier today… Your Highness, are you alright?”

The princess blinked and shook her head, as if dispelling a headache. “Hmm? Oh, no it’s alright…I’m fine. Thank you for your help, Mr Scrollstacker.”

Without another word she turned on the spot and hurried back down the hallway and out the door, shutting it behind her with a little more force than necessary. The old archivist stared blankly in the direction she had left. “Was it something I said?”


That night Princess Luna was wandering the corridors of Canterlot Castle, basking in the pools of moonlight that streamed through the windows, when she heard the echo of hoofsteps emanating from upstairs. Fluttering up to the top landing, she followed the steady clip-clop sound until she stood before the doorway to her sister’s royal chambers. She tapped on the door gently. “Sister, why are you awake still? Is all well?”

She received no response. But she could just make out Celestia muttering something, “How could I be so blind? It all makes sense now… ”

“I am coming in!” Luna called out as she twisted the doorknob and opened the door to Celestia’s chambers. The source of the sound became obvious as she saw Celestia, pacing back and forth across the room, her face stern and anxious. Every little ornate detail in the princess’ bedroom was in its rightful place except for the bedspread which had been carelessly tossed aside “Sister? 'Tis almost midnight, what are you doing awake? Is something the matter?”

Celestia stopped her pacing, standing silent in the middle of the room. She looked up, as if only just noticing Luna’s presence “Oh, hello Luna… Yes, there is indeed something the matter. I-I’m worried about my faithful student…”

“Twilight Sparkle?” Luna asked. “What has she done now, enchanted another of her belongings with a want-it-need-it spell?” she added with a chuckle.

“This is serious, Luna! Twilight may be in serious danger!”

The chuckle died in Luna’s throat as she saw the look on Celestia’s face. It read nothing but anxiety. “I’ve been informed that she and her friends have gone on a hunt for the Tears of Gaia.”

The lunar princess felt a heavy twinge in her heart as she heard that name. Even after all she had been through, the name of her fallen sister still tugged at her heartstrings. “The Tears of Gaia? You are certain of this?”

“Beyond any doubt,” Celestia replied. “Scrollstacker at the Archives told me that she came in yesterday to do research on the Tears, and left later that day with her friends, talking about travelling to the Crystal Mountains.”

“But how is that possible? Indeed, the Crystal Mountains are the starting point for seeking the Tears, but how could she know? The location of the Tears has passed from common knowledge for over a millennium now.”

Celestia sat on the floor and shrugged. “I’m not sure. But I asked around a bit more, and she and her friends set out early this morning. Who knows where they’ve reached by now?!”

Luna sat down beside her sister. “What eludes me is why you are so worried. This is not the first time your protégée and her friends have gone on adventures before. And perhaps rediscovering the Tears now could be a boon for Equestria. Imagine what could be done with that amount of raw magical power!”

“At any other time I would agree with you, little sister. But I fear that something may be awakening in the South. Remember what the deer emissary said about the conflicts in Cervidas? What was his description of the foe they were fighting?”

Luna tapped her chin with a hoof as she recollected the stag’s words. “Hmm… If I recall correctly, he called them ‘twisted, monstrous mockeries of creatures’.”

“Indeed he did,” Celestia replied. “And he went on to describe a strange infection that seemed to come from these creatures, taking over the bodies of any creature that came close to them and…changing them. And how did he describe this infection?”

“Well, he said it resembled a great black…cloud.” Luna trailed off as the realisation hit her like a freight train. “You aren’t suspecting…?”

“That’s exactly what I am suspecting. It’s back. The Blight has returned.”

Silence reigned in the bedroom as both princesses digested this discovery. The terrible truth hung in the air like a lead weight. Memories flooded back to them of their struggle against the Blight and its control. Faces of its victims, twisted in fear as the corruption took over their bodies. Their own brothers mutilated into ruined and terrible abominations.

“But where could the Blight have come from after so long?” Luna asked, finally finding her voice again.

“Well, when we fought against Discord the first time, we imprisoned him in stone. At the time, the Blight was using his body as a host, and so it must have been imprisoned along with him.”

“And when he escaped, so did the Blight?”

Celestia nodded. “And it must have fled when they were freed. And now, it must be gathering strength again… It could already have reached Equestria and we haven’t even realised…”

Luna wrapped a comforting foreleg around Celestia’s withers. “So what do you plan to do?”

“Well, somepony needs to warn Twilight and her friends. The Tears of Gaia hold more magical energy than all of Equestria combined. If the Blight gets to them, it could spell doom for us all!”

“But whom would you send?” Luna got up and stood by the window, gazing out onto the city below. “If I may express a personal opinion, the less of our subjects who know about this, the better.”

Celestia nodded. “Agreed. We don’t want to start a panic. Besides, nopony alive apart from us is aware of the existence of the Tears or the Blight.”

The clock chimed midnight as Luna embraced her sister, and the two sat in silence again. Minutes passed with no word from either sister. Luna felt her sister’s warmth through her foreleg, and for a moment, she suspected that her sister may have final fallen asleep. The navy-blue princess smiled, 'Tis not often that she should fall asleep in my forelegs, and not vice-versa.

That was until Celestia spoke up again.

“That’s it.”

Luna turned to see her sister’s face turn grim with determination. “Tia?”

“Nopony alive other than us knows. I know exactly who must go after them,” Celestia said, her voice now strong with conviction. As she got up and headed for the door, she found her way blocked by Luna.

“Step aside, Luna.”

“I will not, sister of mine. Surely you see the wrongs in your action.”

“Oh come now, Luna…”

The younger sister stomped her hoof, “No, you will listen! This is wrong and you know it! Your duty is the protection of all ponykind, not just your student!”

“Please Luna, just let me…wait, what?” Celestia paused.

“You heard me. As the rulers of Equestria, our duty is to protect all our subjects. Pardon how callous this may sound, but you cannot throw that aside just for the sake of protecting Twilight Sparkle!”

A smile slowly grew on Celestia’s face as she deciphered her sister’s words. “You really think I would do that? Let my love for Twilight take priority over all of Equestria?”

Luna relaxed her stance a bit. “So…you do not plan…to go after her yourself?”

“Luna, I love Twilight Sparkle as if she were my own daughter,” Celestia replied, gently moving her sister aside, “but even I think that’s ridiculous. I wouldn’t put her above the safety of the rest of my subjects!”

“So whom do you plan to send?” Luna asked, her curiosity growing by the minute.

Celestia said nothing, but strode down the dark corridors of the palace, Luna at her side. Down the stairs they went, out the back entrance and onto the grounds. Apart from the two sisters, there wasn’t a single creature about. Even the beasts and birds of the night seemed shut away at this late hour. Not a word passed between the two as they crossed the grounds and passed through the streets of Canterlot. Once again the solar princess found herself before the massive building of the Archives. Her horn glowed with a gentle golden light that spread to envelope her whole body. Encased by her magical aura, Celestia strode up to, and through, the locked wooden doors.

Luna hesitated, though. She was still completely in the dark concerning her sister’s idea. What could help them in the Archives?

Before she could muse any further, Celestia’s head poked back through the door “Come on, Luna. If I’m going to do this, I’ll need your help.”

“This is illegal, sister! This is breaking and entering, as well as trespassing!”

Celestia replied with a confident smirk, “How so? Technically all of Canterlot is our own land, so we can’t trespass on it. And we’re not breaking in, per se, are we? Now come!”

Her head disappeared through the wall, leaving Luna alone again. Looking around quickly, Luna sighed and cast her own spell, rendering herself immaterial and phasing through the wall.

The two sisters strode through the endless shelves of the Archives, the only light provided by their own horns.

“Are you ever going to tell me exactly what you plan to do?” Luna said, now getting thoroughly annoyed.

“Ah, here we are,” Celestia said, ignoring Luna’s question. Passing through a locked door on their right, they found themselves in a small room bedecked with shelves and desks. A dais rose up from the centre of the room, topped by a massive hourglass suspended between two brass posts.

“And what, pray tell, do you expect to find in here?” Luna asked, now beyond annoyed and starting to feel bored with her sister’s antics.

In answer, the white princess placed a hoof on the bottom of the hourglass and tipped it over. As it reached an upside-down position and began to pour its sands the other way, there was a gentle click somewhere below the dais. Turning it over to its original stance, Celestia smiled as she felt the dais give before her. With a gentle telekinetic push, the massive stone slid along a groove in the floor.

Luna gasped as the dais gave way to reveal a large, round hole in the floor, stone steps twisting down into the darkness below.

“We have to hurry. I have to get this all done so I can get back in time to raise the Sun,” said Celestia, before hurrying down the stairs, “Come along, Luna!”

Seeing no alternative, and now truly desperate to find out her sister’s plan, Luna shrugged before following her down into the dark.

After what seemed like endless steps, they found themselves in a small room. It was completely empty, save for a large block of blue-grey stone, dotted with white jewels that seemed to shimmer and light up the darkness.
Celestia stood before it. “It’s been a long time, friend. Time to wake up.”


Fluttershy’s eyes fluttered and slowly opened, just as the first streams of daylight peeked over the horizon. Pushing her blanket aside, she raised her head and smiled, finally getting a good look at their campsite. She and her friends had been walking long after sunset the night before, and so when they finally set up camp there was not enough light to see much of their surroundings. But now as the rosey fingers of dawn illuminated the world below, she could see that they had slept in a broad clearing, a thicket of trees to their right, and a small stream meandering by their left.

“Morning, sleepyhead!”

Rolling over onto her side, she could see Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle, both seated by a small campfire. Twilight was busy poring over a large scroll, a detailed map of Equestria drawn intricately onto it, and marking routes and paths with a pencil.

Pinkie waved to Fluttershy with a cheerful smile. “C’mon Fluttershy, it’s time for breakfast!”

The pegasus then finally realised what it was that had awoken her: The heavenly scent of fresh toast. Pinkie had set up a grille over the top of a small campfire, on which she was toasting slices of brown bread. Fluttershy noticed with some curiosity that the campfire in question, burned a strange purple colour.

“Isn’t this great? Twilight agreed to conjure up a fire for us! Nothing like fresh toast and jam to start your day!” Pinkie said as she deftly flipped a slice of toast over with the tip of her snout. “Ooh, feels like they’re almost done!”

“Well, it just seemed safer than trying to start a real fire,” said Twilight. “Besides, we’re not really in any hurry. We can afford to take things slowly.”

And true to her word, they did indeed take the morning slowly. It was another fifteen minutes before Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash awoke (some needing more encouragement than others), and they took breakfast at a leisurely pace, filling themselves up for the day’s hike. After all, they had been walking non-stop across country since they left Canterlot the previous morning, and they had been too tired to make a proper supper.

“Mmm, delicious…” Rainbow mumbled through a mouthful of toast and jam. “So Twilight, what’s the plan for today?”

Putting her slice of toast aside, Twilight unrolled the map and levitated it in front of them. “Well, we’re about here, inbetween this river…” she pointed to a long winding line on the map, “...and these mountains here, the Foal Mountains. It’s a pretty simple trek, straight up north along the river. If we keep a good pace, we can make up through the woods and to the base of Neighagra Falls…”

“Neighagra Falls?!” Rarity squealed, “Oh, we simply must stop there! I’ve always wanted to see them, but never had the chance myself! It’s supposed to be simply gorgeous!”

Twilight grinned. “Well then good news, Rarity. By my calculations, we’ll probably be camping there tonight.”

The white unicorn promptly toppled over backwards, a giddy smile plastered on her face.

One quick dunking in the river, and one awake and thoroughly drenched unicorn later, and the six of them were busy packing away their supplies. It was due to only be a journey of about a week, so few supplies were needed.

Each of them carried their own blanket (which could double as a cloak if need be) and a small pillow, a canteen of apple juice, along with a variety of food, ranging from apples and pears to small loaves of bread to sweets and miniature cakes, as well as plenty of fresh vegetables and flowers. Along with this, each pony had packed their own supplies- things they knew would prove useful: Applejack’s coils of rope, Twilight’s maps and scrolls, Fluttershy’s first-aid kit, Rainbow Dash’s lucky Wonderbolts scarf, Rarity’s newly purchased hat, and Pinkie Pie’s cooking equipment, which included- of all things- a jar of sprinkles.

“I tell you, girls, you never know when sprinkles can come in handy until you need them and don’t have them!” she insisted as she rolled up her blanket and strapped it to the top of her saddlebags.

“Right… So girls, we ready to go then?” Rainbow asked as she slipped her own saddlebags around her shoulders. All five mares nodded.

“Alright then, let’s move!” Twilight proudly called, leading the way. Her horn glowed magenta, and the purple fire died down before sparking out completely with a small pop. Turning to face north, the ponies set out along the riverside at a leisurely pace.

As they hiked across the landscape, the ponies chatted idly, their minds wandering to just about anything. They would talk about what they could see, interesting landmarks they passed, what they expected to run into, anything that crossed their minds.

“As lovely as this hike is,” Rarity spoke up, “I see no reason we couldn’t have gotten a train at least some of the way. I’m sure we could have cut the journey time in half!”

But Applejack shook her head. “Nothin’ doin’, Rarity. The trains don’t go this far north. Northbound lines all head east from here, over to Manehattan and Hollow Shades. Darn shame that Hollow Shades ain’t on our route, my Auntie Honeycrisp lives up in those parts.”

“Besides, Rarity, if we took the train, we couldn’t stop and have sights like this all to ourselves.”

“Sights like what?” Rarity looked up ahead to where Twilight was standing at the top of a low ridge. She and the others trotted up to the top of the ridge to join her. Each and every one of them stared with wide eyes, Rarity’s eyes wider than any others. “Oh my.”

It was like an endless sea of green, rolling and shimmering as the gentle summer breeze blew through it. It stretched for miles, uninterrupted by any settlement or building, broken only by the river which snaked and twisted through the plains into the distance, and the occasional copse of trees or rocky outcrop. The sunlight streamed through gaps in the clouds above, forming vast, mile-wide spotlights on the ground. And there on the far horizon, were the dim purple-grey silhouettes of the Crystal Mountains.

“I take back what I said,” Rarity whispered, awestruck, “This was worth the long hike.”

The group stood and stared for a good five minutes before they could finally collect themselves and continue the trek into the rolling plains of grass. Not a word passed between the ponies as they looked around in awe, silent except for the occasional gasp or sigh of wonder. So entranced was Twilight especially, that it took her a while to realise that Pinkie had begun whistling and humming odd little melodies and bars of music to herself. She turned to look back at the group and caught the eye of her bubbly pink friend.

“Oops, sorry!” Pinkie said, suddenly stopping her humming, “Was I ruining the moment?!”

“No, no, go ahead.” Twilight shook her head, smiling. “It just sounded nice. What was that?”

Pinkie gazed around for a moment before answering, “Oh, just a little song I was putting together in my head. Because really, when somepony’s hiking through huge epic landscapes like this, what that pony needs is a song to sing about it!”

The six friends chuckled at this thought. Rarity picked up the pace slightly until she was walking alongside Pinkie. “Well by all means darling, if you feel like singing go right ahead!”

“Yeah, a good walkin’ song could help to keep us trottin’ at a smart pace,” Applejack commented from behind.

Pinkie needed no second bidding. Puffing up her chest with a deep intake of air, she burst into song, strolling along in time:

“There’s a road, calling me astray,
Step by step, pulling me away,
Under Moon and Sun and star,
We’ll take that road, no matter how far!

Where it goes to, nopony knows,
Who really cares? Just follow where it goes!
To strange new lands beyond the Sun,
Take that road, wherever it ruuuuuuuns!

The road goes on, forever ever on,
Over hills and plains and dales.
Mile by mile, free and wild,
To surprise me, the wo-orld never fails!

Few more miles, then some lunch;
Those flowers look yummy, would you like a bunch?
Rest our rumps on the grassy floor,
Then take that road a hundred miles more!

Pluck some fruit from the branches of a tree,
Juicy and plump, and sweet as can be!
Rambling on from place to place,
With a big happy smile on everypony’s faaaaace!

The road goes on, forever ever on,
Over hills and plains and dales.
Mile by mile, free and wild,
To surprise me, the wo-orld never fails!

Stop when the Sun falls for the day,
Down in a flowery bed we lay.
Sleep through the quiet night, safe and sound,
Dreaming of wherever you’re bound.

Wake up in time to watch the sun rise,
Wipe the sleep-sand from your eyes,
Then head out into the world again
To seek adventure with all my very best friiieeends!”

As she broke into the final chorus of her song, Pinkie suddenly heard her voice mingled with the voices of five other ponies, all singing in a joyous harmony. Looking to her left and right, she found all her friends trotting beside her, singing their little pony hearts out:

“The road goes on, forever ever on,
Over hills and plains and dales
Mile by mile, free and wild,
To surprise meeeeeee, the woooo-orld neeeeveeeer faaaaiiiiils!”

The six ponies trotted on in high spirits, laughing and cheering at their own impromptu performance. They leapt and bounded and tumbled through the tall grass, some of the braver and more carefree splashing through the shallow river that they were following. It was a delight to be out in the wild countryside like this. Sure, Ponyville was no metropolis with its neighbouring forests and farmlands, but this…this was true wilderness. No civilisation or settlements for miles around. Even Rarity had to agree that thi remoteness was definitely preferable to any town.

Unbeknownst to the young mares, they were not truly alone on these plains. A few hundred yards away, a solitary creature stood among the grass, chewing contently on the juicy green blades as the wind whistled through his broad, palmate antlers.

Old Alcesco’s ears had pricked up at the rare sound of voices carrying on the breeze. He watched the young ponies hiking through his country side and a warm smile creased his wrinkled face as he heard the bright pink one singing at the top of her lungs. “Now that was nice,” Alcesco said aloud to nobeast in particular when the song ended, “It does an old fellow good to hear young ‘uns singing.”

Sound carried far on these grassy plains, however, and it seemed that Alcesco may have spoken a little louder than he thought. The white pony in the midst of the group turned and waved straight at him.

“Oh, look! A moose!”