Castle of the Ancients
Castle of the Ancients
In the days and weeks that followed the Battle of Origin, the Unicorns were successful in their deadly assault on the Pegasopolis colony. With the majority of the Pegasus fleet unable to return in time, their defenses were overwhelmed, and the colony was destroyed from orbit.
Just as the Pegasi had committed their forces to the liberation of the homeworld, so too had the Unicorn fleet been committed in their retaliation for the death of their monarch.
It was not until the Unicorns had ensured no Pegasus remained alive on the planet, that they received word of their own colony, Unicornia. When Commander Hirkain learned of the devastating attack on his colony, rather than attempting to bring the attack to an end before it was too late, he made the decision to incite the same devastation the Unicorns had caused them. Unicornia colony was lost.
With all colonies destroyed, and their home planet dying, the remaining ships of each pony race searched out into the stars for a new home. Every encounter was a battle, with no open diplomacy remaining.
The only contact between them that remained, lay between the three assistants: Clover, Sunbeam, and Harmon Pimsey. Together they coordinated efforts to limit the encounters of ships that would result in fighting. Each continued to recruit members of their own races into forgoing their prejudices and joining the rebel cause; to bring everypony back together in peace.
While Clover remained the leader of the rebel group, contact with the secret rebel base was limited to the moments when rebel ships would leave the sanctuary of the Barthmorda nebula and establish contact. Ideas were few and far between how to bring what few ponies remained back together.
On the rogue world, where the rebels had established their secret base of operations, a mini oasis of peace had sprung up from the minds of the ponies protected there. The prejudices of old were abandoned, and they all worked together for the benefit of everypony.
Star Swirl, like many of the Unicorns, found his magical abilities had been greatly strengthened by the nebula. He regained consciousness only a few hours after entering the nebula and felt as energetic as a colt.
Even the rebel Earth ponies and Pegasi experienced a euphoria of energy from the nebula, which made them able to work harder and faster than would normally have been capable. Most almost felt happy as they hid in their secret world. ‘Most’, however, did not include Celestia and Luna.
“Girls, it’s time for your lessons,” Mint Julep called when she found the ponies drooping on a supply crate. “Come girls, some schooling will take your mind of things for awhile.”
Despite several weeks passing, the Alicorn fillies were still living under a dark, sad cloud; Luna a great deal more so. Luna would cry every night and mope every day. She almost always had to be force fed at every meal. Celestia held her grief inside better, but that was more to protect her sister, than less heavy a heart.
Mint collected the girls as best she could and nudged them until they conceded to joining the rest of the class. With the temporary peace found on the base, Mint felt she could help the most by trying her best at teaching the colts and fillies that had been brought with their families.
Her special talent lay more in floral tea making, but she found the job rewarding. She chose to create a curriculum that included community culture. The principles of a society built on love and tolerance of everyone. The parents who had joined the rebel cause were thrilled with the idea and encouraged it.
The school was nothing more than a supply tent that was no longer needed. Mint converted it into a makeshift classroom. Luna and Celestia took their seats at the back of the class. They still remembered the bullying they endured, and it was instinct for them to sit behind those that might do things to them behind their backs.
But these ponies were different. Many said hello and welcomed them from day one of the class. Celestia was the oldest of the class, but she found herself able to be more cordial and interact with the other children. On occasion, she even cracked a smile.
Luna would not. Her pain was too great. She would follow her sister wherever she went, but that was the extent of her social skills.
Mint began the class with some math drills. Some of them groaned as they pulled out their screenpads and began working out the problems.
After several hours of what seemed like torture to a few of the students, Mint finally dismissed them. “As a reminder, everypony is free to wander around the base where permitted, but no pony should wander away from the base.”
The ponies packed up their things and hastily made their way out of the tent. As usual, it was completely dark outside. Celestia found it disconcerting, but for some reason, Luna felt more at ease. It was the only time she would look up. Above her lay an endless ocean of stars, twinkling back at them. Never in all her life had Luna seen so many stars. Its beauty was able to give her a small island of serenity amongst a sea of sorrow.
After a moment of staring, Luna brought her head back down as she continued to mope back to their living quarters. Bake had set up a tent large enough for all of them together. Even Mint stayed with them so as not to be by herself.
One of the few buildings they had erected, rather hastily, was a room large enough for everypony to eat together. The rest of the time, the room was used for meetings and strategy sessions amongst the rebel leaders. After resting for a bit in the tent, the girls, along with Bake and Mint, headed for the building for dinner.
Star was waiting inside, waving them over. They joined him at the table and broke out their ration packs. Not exactly fine dining, but a hot meal none the less. Celestia had made an effort to get the seat next to Star and succeeded. Her childish crush had somewhat faded after her mother’s death, but she still felt admiration for him and a warmth that she wanted to be near.
Star had been fully integrated into the rebel military since they arrived and quickly became known as their ‘Magic as Weapons’ expert. Star was uncomfortable with the title, however, he found he could finally recreate some of the miraculous spells he had performed, and even started to teach some of the rebel Unicorns. Earlier that day he was instructing some of them in creating and using the amniomorphic spell:
“I want you to picture your loved ones in your mind,” he instructed. “Picture your spouses, your children, your closest friends… Now imagine a terrible danger has occurred. A missile has been sent to kill every single pony you love–”
Many of the ponies’ horns had already begun to glow.
“You have the power to defend them. Imagine a bowl; a bowl capable of twisting the missile around and giving it back to its sender. Shape the bowl to match the missile…”
At least two ponies were able to create small bowls in front of them. Not exactly powerful enough to stop a full sized MEM missile, but without real danger, this was exceptional.
“Well done!” he congratulated.
Several others tried until they turned purple, before giving up.
“Not to worry,” Star quickly said to them. “The first time I did this was an accident; one which I was unable to repeat. “It was not until the Battle of Origin that I realized what I was missing. It was the necessity to protect those I love that brought forth these spells. These spells are not really weapons. They are your desire to save those you love.”
Looking around, Star could see those that had created the bowl stood a little taller with pride. Those that had not, looked unsure that they would be able to protect their families at this rate.
Star added, “This magic is well beyond normal levels. With the high concentration of monoceros particles in the nebula, some Unicorns have been able to do some magic beyond their old capabilities, but this is a significantly more difficult spell. You will all fight to protect your family and friends in your own ways.”
Star wasn’t quite sure where such encouraging words came from in his mind, but he was glad he thought of them. They seemed to cheer some of them up more, but the classes rapidly shrank to the five or six that could perform at the magical level required for the spells Star was teaching, which was ironic for Star, considering he failed at almost every magical level as a kid.
That night, which was just as ‘night’ as the morning, Celestia struggled to fall asleep. A soft voice kept calling out to her. It was so soft and subtle, such that she couldn’t make any the words. But its persistence caused Celestia to sit up and open her eyes. The voice was quiet, but felt warm and friendly to her. She carefully climbed around the sleeping bodies of her father, Luna, Mint, and Star.
Poking her nose through the tent, she sniffed the air gingerly. The air was cold and stiff, like any other part of the day, but she did not sense anything unusual. She pushed her head out of the tent and looked around. The grounds were quiet. Most of the ponies had gone to sleep except for the few night watch ponies. The voice seemed to be more distant. She looked out until she saw a twinkle in the forest. The voice was coming from that star in the middle of the forest. It had six points and appeared to be hovering deep within the woods. She was about to step out until Luna had grabbed her by her tail.
“Where’re you going, Tia?” she whispered.
“Oh! Um…nowhere. I just thought I saw something.” She answered turning back into the tent. “Let’s get back to bed.”
Celestia climbed back over to her sleeping bag and started to zip up. Luna stared at her, with sad, wanting puppy dog eyes until she took the hint.
“Sigh. Alright, come on,” she answered her sister’s plea, opening up the bag more. Luna snuggled in and curled into a ball. Celestia zipped up the bag and cradled her little sister. The voice had ceased without her even realizing. Together they drifted off back to sleep.
Celestia woke up early the next morning; at least she thought she did. It was hard to know what time it was, since it was still just as dark as midnight outside. She had mostly forgotten about the voice she heard during the night and got dressed for the cold weather.
It was shaping up to be a fairly dull day. Luna was still depressed and continued to aimlessly follow her sister around. Some of the children were playing catch after breakfast. Celestia thought it might be a good idea to try to get Luna to start to open up a little bit more.
“Luna, why don’t we join them for a bit?” she asked, looking down at her little sister.
Luna looked up at her for a moment before shaking her head and resting it against Celetia’s side.
Feeling the need to give her a bit of a push, Celestia said “Well, I’m going to join them for a bit. You can join us if you like.” She walked off, leaving Luna with a face of abandonment. It didn’t take long before the little Alicorn gave in and joined the game.
“Over here!” Celestia called out to the Earth pony colt, holding her hooves out. Within moments a large blue ball flew across the camp straight at her. She caught it with ease.
“Here Luna, catch!” she threw the ball very lightly the six feet to Luna, who simply let the ball bounce off her, landing in the grass.
“You need to try, Luna. You need to start smiling again, if only for a short while.” She picked up the ball and made the motion with the ball, suggesting she was going to throw it again.
Luna sighed and held out her hooves. She caught it and promptly placed it on the floor.
“Now throw it to Hopscotch. And make it count! If you don’t try, I’ll make you do it over again!” Celestia said, knowing full well what the Alicorn was about to do.
“Over here, Luna!” the Earth pony jumped up and down, waiting for the throw.
Sighing again, Luna put as much energy as she could muster and launched the ball much further than she had expected. It soared high in the air, sending the colt running after it. Diving, he was just able to catch it. He hopped up laughing and continued to toss the ball around.
Luna cracked the tiniest of smiles at her accomplishment, which was not lost on Celestia, who smiled as well. “Come! Let’s have some fun for a bit!” she said, running in to get closer to the game.
Luna tried to second-guess herself, but let it go and joined in the game. Pretty soon she was smiling and having a good time.
“Woah-woah-waah!!!” A Unicorn filly slipped while trying to catch the ball and landed flat on her chin, with her hind legs dangling in the air. Luna snorted. She tried to hold it in, but failed.
“Pfft, Pffa ha ha!” she started laughing so loudly, she had to hold her stomach. Pretty soon everypony was laughing, including the Unicorn filly who slipped. Celestia joined in the laughter, gazing at Luna. She felt so relieved to finally see her laugh again.
All of the sudden, Celestia’s ears perked up. She could have sworn she heard a high pitched bell of sorts far off in the woods. She looked around but saw nothing. She started to remember the voice she had heard during the night, but didn’t want to make anything of it. She probably just had a ringing in her ear.
There were no lessons that day, so the children were encouraged to find things to do to keep themselves occupied. In the afternoon, one of the Pegasus colts tried to climb a tree in an effort to jumpstart his flying abilities. He failed.
“Heeeeelp!!!”
The grownups were busy with their own responsibilities. Celestia, as the oldest in the group, went to help him.
“I’m coming; stay right there,” she called out to him. He simply had to pick the tallest tree in the camp. Celestia looked up at the scared Pegasus. His wings were nowhere near big enough yet to fly. It was probably for the best he gave up on his plan.
As Celestia climbed upward, she reached out for a branch and tried to swing herself around onto it. She slipped, swinging around upside down, her mane dangling down in her eyes. The other pony children watched Celestia as she righted herself and continued to climb upward toward the trapped pony.
“Almost there. Stay calm,” she said. The colt was shaking with fear. For a Pegasus so desperate to fly, he had suddenly developed a strong fear of heights. Celestia reached out her hoof. “Grab onto my hoof.”
He reached out a hoof a little bit, before gripping the trunk more tightly. He shook his head, scared. “I c-can’t!” he cried.
“It’s okay,” she tried to reassure him. She tried to grab the branch he was standing on. It wasn’t strong enough, snapping under the weight.
“Ahhhhhh!!!!” he screamed as he plummeted to the ground. When he didn’t feel the squish of him splattering into the grass, he opened his eyes. He found himself staring wide-eyed at the ground only a foot below him. But they hadn’t met. Celestia had used her magic to stop him at the last second. Her magic wasn’t strong enough to lift him, but just enough to stop him for a moment. Once he was safe, she released him, dropping him face first into the grass. Not the softest landings, but safe nonetheless. Celestia slowly climbed back down the trees as Mint scrambled over to find out what caused the scream.
“What’s going on? Is everyone all right?”
The children opened a hole for her to approach the scene. The Pegasus was already up and brushing himself off.
“Are you all right?” Mint asked.
“I’m okay,” he replied, wiping some of the grass off his face. “She saved me!” He smiled and waved to Celestia, who was now about halfway down the tree.
“Celestia, what are you doing in the tree?”
“It’s okay,” she said, hopping down off the last branch. We just had a Pegasus attempt to break the Pegasus flight speed record a couple of years too early.” The Pegasus colt blushed in response.
“Well, you’ve shown great bravery and kindness with what you did Celestia, but next time, come and get one of us first!” Mint reprimanded. “You could have made a dangerous situation worse!”
Celestia looked down at the floor guiltily, but raised her head only a moment later. Again, far and deep within the forest, was that high pitched bell she had heard earlier. No pony else seemed to notice. Whatever that sound was, it seemed to be meant for her and her alone.
Later that evening, Celestia was awoken by Luna’s crying. The adults had gone to sleep and were snoring peacefully unaware. It was a chance idea that occurred to her, as she suddenly started to quietly rummage through her things. She started to dig into each and every pocket of her bag; finally pulling out a crumpled piece of paper.
“Luna, come here,” she whispered softly to her little sister.
Luna stopped weeping long enough to look up at Celestia waving her over. She wiped her eyes and gave a sniff to clear her nose, before she crawled onto her sister’s sleeping bag.
“I have something you might like to see,” she said, cupping her hoof around Luna and pulling her onto her lap. “Look.”
She held up the wrinkled paper, and tried to straighten it out more so she could see. It was dark though, and too difficult to make out.
“What is it, Tia?” Luna asked trying to focus.
Celestia let her horn glow slightly, illuminating the photograph. The paper photo showed a family barbeque from two summers prior; before all the tragic events had happened around them. Celestia and Luna were waving at the camera. Their father was smiling and laughing, up on his hind legs grasping a warm and enthused Ruby. Their mother never looked so young and happy in their memory.
Luna’s pupils spread wide as she stared at her mother, drinking in what little solace it had. It wasn’t enough to bring her mother back to Luna, but it was enough to stop her tears.
“You can keep it,” Celestia smiled, seeing the joy it had brought her.
Luna looked up almost in tears again. “I-I can’t,” she started, trying to push the picture away. “It’s yours. You should keep it.”
“It is precious to us both, but I know you will keep it safe.”
Luna took back the photo staring at it again. Her sister was the most generous pony she ever knew.
The high pitched tone of the forest bell rang once more through Celestia’s ears. She looked towards the door to the tent. That small light had appeared again.
“Stay here,” she said to Luna, without turning from the light. She crept out of her sleeping bag and over toward the door. Opening it just slightly, she peered out into the woods. The star had reappeared, twinkling behind the trees.
A soft voice called out to her. Again, there were no words, but something about this voice made Celestia feel it was safe. She had to go there. She closed the door and went digging into her bag to find some clothes. Luna watched her confused.
“Tia, where are you going?” she asked.
“There’s something I need to see. Stay here and I’ll be back soon.”
“No!” Luna whispered a little too loudly. Star’s snored abruptly stopped in a snort, before slowly returning to normal.
“Shh!” Celestia tried to keep her quiet. “It may not be safe, Luna. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“If you don’t let me come, I’ll wake up Daddy!”
Celestia felt trapped. The voice continued to call out for her longingly. “Sigh. Fine, but stay right by me every second; and you have to do what I say no matter what! Understood?”
Luna nodded enthusiastically, but Celestia was not convinced.
“Do you swear it?”
“I swear, Tia,” she replied almost immediately.
“Put something warm on,” Celestia instructed. “It’s very cold out there.”
The girls quietly slipped their warm coats on and crept out of the tent, without rousing any of the adults.
“So where are we going?” Luna asked curiously.
“Do you see that twinkle, deep in those trees?”
Luna looked back and forth. She was determined to see whatever her sister was seeing, but saw nothing but darkness within the trees. She shook her head in disappointment.
“Well I see something in those woods, and it’s calling to me. You don’t hear anything either, do you?”
Luna strained against the silence of the woods. She could here trees, a few animal and insect calls, but nothing calling out. She shook her head again.
“Well something is trying to get my attention, and I intend to find out what,” Celestia whispered.
With a small hesitation, she placed the first hoof outside the border of the camp. There was a small hum of the protective magical barrier surrounding the camp as she stepped through it. Once completely through, she looked back at her sister, who quickly followed. They were now no longer under the protection of the camp. With the dark woods looming before them, they pressed forward.
Every leaf blowing, every animal calling, every twig breaking set Luna’s fur on edge. She nervously twitched from left to right every half second, waiting for something to appear.
Celestia’s mind had blocked them all out. She was focused on nothing but her goal; the twinkling starlight ahead of her, and the voice drawing her in. Both she and Luna failed to notice the glowing eyes watching them from the shadows as they made their way deeper into the forest.
After they walked for nearly thirty minutes, Celestia could finally see where the light was coming from. An old castle stood up on a cliff, across from a rickety bridge. Whatever was calling out for her was inside that castle. She took one step towards it before the shaking ground snapped her out of her trance.
Tremors were spreading outward from the mountain volcano in the distance. The sound of a tired beast within the mountain snarled for the interruption in his sleep. It turned over and smacked down onto the cavern floor and back to sleep.
“Aaaaaaaaah!!!” Luna screeched as the ground gave way where she stood. She grabbed onto a root, but the hole in the ground fell hundreds of feet deep into a bright red pit. “HELP ME!!!!”
“HOLD ON LUNA!!!” Celestia screamed, racing over to grab her sister. She looked out below her sister’s hooves and saw the lava churning below. “Whatever you do, don’t look down!”
Luna’s sudden extreme urge to look down was luckily stemmed by her inability to turn her neck while holding on for dear life. This did not make her any less scared. “Help!” she cried.
Celestia tried to reach her hoof out and stretch it as far as it would go. She was only a few inches short, but that was enough. If she reached any further, they’d both be crispy critters. She pulled her hoof back and stood up.
“What are you doing?” Luna shrieked. “Help me!”
“Luna, I’m going to find something to get you out. Hold on tight. I’ll be right back.”
“Don’t leave me!” she cried. Her eyes welled up with tears.
“Luna, I promise you I will be back. I will save you, but you need to hang on!” Celestia tried to reassure her. Luna sniffed and nodded. Celestia disappeared from Luna’s sight. When Celestia was gone from view, the glowing eyes crept out from the shadows towards their easy prey.
Celestia had raced off to find a branch strong enough and easy enough to grab onto. Of all the twigs and branches littered across the forest floor, none were long and strong enough. She finally saw a branch low enough and just the right size. She began tugging and tugging until an owl suddenly sat down on the very branch she was trying to break off.
“Shoo!” Celestia waved her hoof to get the owl to stop bothering her.
The owl’s response was to blink and say, “Who.”
“Please! Go away I need this to save my sister please!” Celestia had no idea why she was talking to an animal, but at this point it didn’t matter. Only Luna mattered to her.
The owl took off from the branch. Celestia kept tugging and trying to rip it off, but it was taking too long. Suddenly, dozens of small woodland animals appeared and were helping her get the branch off. The rabbits pulled, the birds pecked. The beavers gnawed. Within seconds, the branch was free.
Celestia had no clue how the owl understood her and then communicated the message to the other animals, but she was grateful. She was hurrying back when the renewed screams of her sister rang out into the forest.
“Tia!!! Aaaaah!!! Help!!!”
She raced back to the scene, where a massive wolf made of wood was swiping at the dangling pony.
Like Celestia, the wolf was unable to grab Luna from the root, but that didn’t stop him from trying. Celestia ran up to the creature and smacked the branch down onto its head.
The wolf growled, turning its attention to the other pony. He snapped his jaws and lunged at her. Celestia fell onto her back, holding the wolf back with her branch. Its sharp wooden teeth where snapping open and shut mere inches from her nose. Celestia jabbed the wolf in the eye with her horn. The wolf recoiled, allowing her to jump back up from under him.
Out of the corner of her eye Celestia saw it. “Luna! You have to let go!” she screamed out to her sister.
“WHAT!!?” Luna screamed in confusion. “I’ll fall!”
“You have to trust me! You will be safe. I’m being completely honest with you. Let go!”
Celestia continued to thrust the branch back and forth like a sword. She was up on her hind legs and struggling to keep the wolf away from her sister without being killed herself.
Luna was still hesitating. She was too scared to let go. She gripped even more tightly onto the root, which began to slip from the rock.
“Ah! HELP ME!!!” Luna screamed again. The root would break at any moment.
“You have to let go, Luna!” Celestia yelled. The wolf lunged at Celestia biting the branch as she swung. She fell back to the ground. She was trapped.
Luna closed her eyes. One last tear fell just before she herself did. Letting go of the root, she awaited the embrace of death. It was so peaceful, she hadn’t fell a thing, other than strange beating sounds; dozens of them. She opened her eyes and could see the lava pit below. She looked around to see dozens of birds of all different shapes and sizes carrying her to safety.
Celestia saw Luna rise up from the hole being carried by the birds. The wolf was a second from sinking its teeth into Celestia’s neck. Her horn glowed brightly suddenly as the wolf’s stomach ignited in flame.
It wailed in pain as the fire spread from branch to branch within him. He jumped off Celestia and ran off into the forest to look for water, quickly.
The birds lowered Luna safely onto the ground. She ran up and hugged her big sister.
“I’m so sorry Luna,” she apologized. “We should not have come. This is too dangerous.”
“I thought you might not come back,” Luna said nuzzling her sister as she hugged.
“I will always be loyal to you, Luna,” she replied. “You are my family.”
Two more high pitched bells rang out from the castle. Being so close now, they were almost deafening. Celestia was done playing adventure, however. She pulled apart from Luna and said, “We need to go back.”
Luna had no disagreements to offer. They turned back toward the path they took to get there. Two more timber wolves stood in their way. They did not look happy at what happened to their brother. They sprinted toward the pair of them, mouths open, teeth glaring.
Without even thinking, Celestia ducked her nose under Luna between her legs and scooped her up onto her back. She galloped away from the wolves as fast as she could. The bridge was her only chance. She raced out onto the bridge, but the wood was old. It creaked loudly with each step. She couldn’t simply run across, but neither could the wolves.
She carefully stepped one hoof at a time feeling for weak rungs. The wolves were less concerned and gaining. She was nearing the other side, when one of the wolves had caught up. It bit her tail, causing Celestia to shriek. The wolf grabbed and pulled, but the weaker rung he was standing on gave way, causing him to slip and become entangled in the ropes.
Celestia leaped past the last few steps of the bridge and raced toward the castle. The second wolf used his companion to do the same and chased them straight to the castle doors. As soon as she was inside, Celestia sealed the doors just in time. The wolf growled and banged on the doors furiously, but unable to break in. They were safe for a little while.
As the creatures scratched and clawed at the door, Celestia and Luna found themselves trapped inside an ancient castle, built by who knows and for who knows why. The walls were decaying, and parts of the ceiling were completely gone to father time, but it was enough to keep the timber wolves from reaching them.
Leaving them to fight with the door, Celestia was being called once again by the mysterious voice. It was so loud in her mind now that she hadn’t even heard the pleas of her little sister, begging her not to keep going.
Celestia followed the voice through the corridor, with Luna in her shadow. Her horn glowed brightly, illuminating the path the voice wanted her to follow. The castle was vast. Old carpets had frayed and decayed for centuries or more, leaving merely shreds of colored fibers behind. The air was musky from the mold that had long since found its home here. To Luna, it was something out of her worst nightmares.
Celestia followed the voice down a second passage, which opened up into a large chamber. Painted on the walls, were the stories of generations of the people that once lived here. Out of the corner of her eye, Celestia caught the starlight twinkling over one of the depictions near the far end.
She walked up to it, gazing at the crude, but vivid images. Luna looked at it as well. Suddenly the images sprang to life! Luna jumped back in shock, but Celestia actually shushed her.
“Luna, shh! This place is trying to tell us something important!”
Luna looked incredulously at her sister. “Tia, this place is haunted! We need to get out of here!” she begged, but to no avail. She tried tugging on her tail, but Celestia simply shook her off.
“Luna! Listen for a moment. Try to hear what I hear!” Celestia gestured toward the wall again.
Luna was petrified now. She would give anything to be anywhere but these horrible woods right now. Finally she looked at the moving figures on the wall and listened. After a moment, Luna forgot she was scared.
“I can hear it!” she proclaimed. The voice was talking as though there was a person standing right in the room with them, explaining the depictions before them.
“Our world was once a peaceful haven of magical cooperation. We celebrated life and worked diligently to keep our people happy.”
The figures of two-legged beings were joined by their arms dancing in a circle around a bonfire. Celestia and Luna could even hear the music and the laughter of the scene.
“One day something terrible happened; a disaster that came from the sky.”
The dancing figures started to scream and run away from a bright flashing light.
“No one could explain what happened, other than to blame each other. As war broke out across our lands, all that we strived to accomplish was being wiped away in blood.”
The figures grabbed spears and arrows and launched them at each other. Bodies began piling up in a heap.
“It was too late that we realized who was truly to blame for the tragedy. A dangerous race from across the stars had attacked us. They drove us apart so we would easily fall. Those few of us who could see the truth, banded together to fight the invaders. We constructed the ultimate defense; a magic unlike anything ever seen.
A group of figures gathered around a table with sparks flying out as they worked.
“It combined the most powerful principles of magic: Laughter, Honesty, Kindness, Generosity and Loyalty. Together they made up the Elements of Harmony.”
From the sparking tables arose fives spheres circling in the air around them.
“But it was too late. We completed our last hope for survival, but no one could wield it. One of us managed to activate the five spheres, but was unable to complete the process. Something hadn't worked”
The five spheres glowed as they circled around one of the figures, before falling to the ground in failure.
“With our only hope gone, the worst happened. The invaders made our air toxic, raped our lands of its resources, and finally stole the energy of our sun until it completely disappeared from the sky. All went dark. Our world was lost.”
The glowing drawing of the sun on the wall faded away and blackness spread across.
“Our people had concluded at the final hour, that the five elements we created can be joined together, to reveal a sixth element. We do not know what this final element is. If you are hearing this, then you are in desperate need of help, and you possess the traits of all five elements. If you find you also possess this last unknown trait, then you should be able to fully activate the Elements of Harmony and use it to save your kind. You will find the five elements in the adjacent chamber. I wish you all the luck my people never had.”
The figures on the wall returned to their original still drawings. Only the light from Celestia’s glowing horn remained. The sisters turned from the wall toward each other. Both had the shock of what they had just witnessed. After a moment, Celestia made for the next room.
Luna grabbed her tail again. “Tia, no!” she insisted. “This is another trap. Please don’t go in there!”
Celestia looked from Luna to the room and back again. Her mind had been made up. “I’m sorry little sister. I do not believe this is a trap, but I do feel that this may be the answer to the prayers of all ponies. I’m going in.”
She yanked her tail away from Luna’s hooves and proceeded on to the next room. Inside was a massive stone sculpture. Five arms spread out from the center; each containing a marble sphere. On top of the structure was a large white dome. On closer inspection of the stones, Celestia could make out different shapes, etched into them. They resembled different cuts of gems: three sided, four, five…up to an eight-sided gem shape.
She walked up to one of the spheres and reached out for it. Luna cowered, afraid what to see what might happen. Celestia pressed her hoof to the sphere and pushed her magic into it.
A flash shot through her mind; the memory of giving her sister her last photo of their mother: generosity. She pulled her hoof back and saw the sphere remained glowing.
She reached out for another. The memory of her saving the Pegasus colt from the tree: kindness. Another showed Luna finally laughing after weeks of sorrow: Laughter; the memory of Luna desperately holding on for her life, waiting for her sister to fulfill her promise to return: Loyalty; Convincing Luna she was telling the truth that she would be safe if she let go: Honesty…
The five spheres wrapped around her. They began spinning, preparing to activate. All that was left was for the sixth element to be revealed…but what was it?
Different thoughts started to flood Celestia’s mind: memories of her father, Luna, Mint, Star, the kids from the school. Memories of her friends and family flashed back and forth through her mind as a thought suddenly dawned on her.
“Magic is useless without friends and family to love…Friendship is Magic!”
Suddenly the castle started to shake as the spheres whirled faster and faster around the Alicorn. They created a wind tunnel that caused Luna to duck behind a broken up wall.
“TIA NOOOOOOO!!!!! PLEEEAAASSSE!!!!! DON’T LEAVE ME TOO!!!!! PLEASE!!! I BEG YOU!!!!! TIA, PLEASE!!!!!”
Suddenly, a burst of light shined in all directions, shooting high up into the sky. A sixth sphere with a six-point star etching appeared directly over Celestia’s head, before turning into a magnificent golden tiara. The six-point star was the center piece, with the five other gems for each element lined across the band. The crown rested on Celestia’s head and she landed softly on the ground. The light faded around here. The castle was soaked in darkness once more.
“Tia?" Luna timidly asked the darkness. “Are you there?”
The light of Celestia horn grew brightly, illuminating the entire room as though somepony had suddenly discovered a light switch for the castle.
“TIA!!!!” she cried, running up to her big sister. Rather than hugging her, she punched her hard.
“Ow!!! What was that for?”
“I said not to go! I begged you! YOU IGNORED ME!!!!!” she screamed, echoing against the walls.
Celestia scooped the angry pony into a hug anyway. “I’m sorry little sis, but this was too important. I understand now what these people were trying to do. They were trying to save themselves from disaster. Thanks to their efforts, we can now save ours!”
Luna cocked one eyebrow in confusion, but before she could say another word, another light shined down from the sky.
“Are you girls alright?” a familiar voice spoke out from the light.
“Daddy!?” The girls called out in unison. Celestia quickly hid her tiara inside her jacket. “Daddy! We’re trapped. There are wolves out there!”
“Hold on! I’m coming to get you!” Bake said as he maneuvered the small craft around looking for the easiest spot to land.
Celestia quickly grabbed Luna and stared straight into her eyes. “Luna, please do not tell Dad about the elements. We need to keep this a secret okay?”
“But–”
“No buts, Luna. Please! Do not mention them!” Celestia begged.
Luna looked around deciding noncommittally until she final sighed. “Okay.”
“Thank you,” Celestia said kissing her sister on her forehead. “Thank you.”
It took a lot of imagination to come up with a story for what they were doing there in the middle of the night. And Celestia’s punishment for endangering not only herself, but Luna as well, was the worst she ever had in her entire life; a month of chores for five hours a day, every single day. From scrubbing, to lifting, to helping with building construction, her hooves quickly became raw from overwork.
She accepted her punishment and did everything she was told. But her secret remained safe. And the Elements of Harmony remained safe with her.
Stats
Page generated in 0.017 seconds
Total duration
656 users online
765,159 hits today, 2,244,100 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Little longer chapter than usual. It was almost split into two chapters, but I managed to finish in time!
Looks like its down to three more chapters (unless I need to split!
)
So how do you think Hirkain, Puttinghoof, and Platinum became the horrible ponies that they are?
For the answer to that, tune in next week friends for the exciting new chapter, "Darkened Pasts"
How long until Celestia turns the sun on? :(
2251683
*Flick!*
I wonder why she would need the Elements of Harmony!?
How exactly does Luna see the stars through the giant pink cloud of magic again? Or is it one of those one-way nebulas?
In any case, I can't help but wonder what the maximum range is for the Elements. Interstellar Prismatic Missile?
Looking forward to more. Especially since next time, we're getting some nice, juicy backstory.
I wonder if anyone of the leaders will live in Equestria? I am certain that they will bring their war to the new planet. Also, I wonder who the creators of the EoH were...
2255138
I'm gonna go with they're on a side of the planet not facing the nebula. Eventually, both sides of the planet would have the beautiful view.
(mini-not-really-a-spoiler)
'Celestia switches the power setting on the side of the crown. The needle moves from growing flower to sun-splosion...'
)
(something like that maybe!
2255523
Probably some no good bi-pedal species who always thinks of themselves as full of innocence and hope, but really were just warmongering hairless apes...you know...Middle-Earth Elves!
the soundtrack from Dune 1984 would be a good OST for this. =3
2276373
Nice!
It's all about the spice! Cupcake Spice! 
fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/306/5/3/the_spice_must_flow_by_dune_cat-d3211n7.jpg
“It’s okay,” she said, hopping down off the last branch. We just had a Pegasus
Star’s snored abruptly stopped in a snort
She could here trees, a few animal and
1. Forgot your opening quotation mark.
2. Snoring.
3. Hear.
With the bell I thought Grogar