Bright orange rays stretched across the horizon, the sun performing a passionate finale for the day. Emerging from the shaded floor of the Everfree Forest were two ponies, clearly bickering with each other as they ascended the light slope to a small gathering at the edge of cliff. “Surprise, hurry UP! We’re going to miss it!”
“Maybe if you hadn’t insisted we race through so many detours we would have gotten here half an hour ago!”
“Well maybe if YOU weren’t so slow and actually sped up sometime this century!”
“Please, Surprise, Firefly, there is no rush! Luna is still preparing!” Discord called, breaking the two ponies’ dispute as they approached the wide ledge where five other figures were waiting.
“Cool! Told you we weren’t going to be late, didn’t I Surprise?” boasted Firefly, ignoring the white pegasus as she rolled her eyes.
“Of course we aren’t late, the moon isn’t up yet is it, silly?” she countered, putting a quick stop to another potential argument.
“Oh. You’re right…!” The pink speedster surveyed the cliff top to see who was there ahead of them. Discord of course, who was waving and gesturing for them to come closer; the bookkeeper Penwell, who was lying on a plain linen cloth while passing his gaze back and forth between the fiery sky and some kind of chart; Celestia, who was also lying by herself, happily observing the final two who stood closet to the sheer drop, and Aumean and Luna. The young filly was listening nervously to her mother, nodding occasionally as the mare calmly explained something inaudible to her. It was most certainly last minute instruction and encouragement for the momentous undertaking she would soon attempt.
“Wonderful, isn’t it? It seemed only yesterday she had difficulty saying our names, and now? Little Luna’s going to raise the moon. How the years have flown by!” the draconequus mused as he snapped his talons and caused three stripy deckchairs to appear in a flash of light.
“They sure have! I can’t wait to see her lift the moon all by herself! You think she’ll get her cutie mark like Celestia did?” The two ponies followed Discord and took places in the deckchairs.
“I can very well see it happening. It would certainly make sense; talents can run in families, can’t they?” he quizzed the two ponies.
“Yeah! My dad says grandpa was super fast as well! I bet I get these pegasus-beating legs from him!”
“Alright everypony, she’s ready!” a clear voice rang on the cool wind, halting all talk and turning all eyes to Luna, who smiled back anxiously.
“Mother, are you sure I’m-”
“Yes, I’ve taught you all I can. Don’t worry sweetie, we all believe in you,” Aumean interrupted her daughter, refusing to let doubt get the better of her. The ivory mare left Luna standing at the cliff edge to go join the others, Celestia and Penwell getting up to walk alongside her.
“Aumean, are you sure she’s ready? She’s even younger than Celestia was when-” the ageing stallion began before he was similarly interrupted.
“Penwell, old friend, it isn’t just my daughters that have grown. I too have been learning, learning how to teach. I’m fully confident she will succeed.” Penwell tried to frown yet could not help but grin instead at the alicorn. Wise and humble as always.
As the three approached the seated audience, Discord spawned more chairs for their benefit and they reclined and lay in them. Celestia however, opted to morph hers into a neatly patterned cushion instead.
“Whenever you want sweetie!”
“Go Luna! You can do it!”
“Good luck!”
“We’re rooting for you!”
“T-thank you, all…” Luna meekly called back to her cheering friends and family. The blush from her cheeks faded as she stood and turned to face the cliff and the horizon in the distance. The sun had now all but been set by her mother’s magic. Only the tiniest rays of light scrabbled over the sky in a desperate bid to prolong the day for a few seconds more. Without the sun or the moon, the sky was left as an odd sort of void, deprived of both the light of day and the true darkness of night. Luna had to remedy that. Sinking her hooves firmly into the damp earth, closing her eyes, and taking a long, deep breath, Luna concentrated solely on focusing the ancient magic that controlled the passage of day and night into her spiralled horn. The crowd behind her didn’t just fall silent, they fell from her mind, everything did: the chilly wind, the rustling trees, the distant calling of birds and howling of animals. Everything left her consciousness except one purpose: to bring the moon from its slumber.
“…go Luna…go,” Celestia barely breathed under her breath. Each and every one of them continued to mouth and whisper their support automatically, not caring that their words would be lost in the breeze.
A deep blue spark. Then another. And another. Soon Luna’s horn was wrapped in midnight-light and throwing embers cascading through the air, swirling and sizzling with power. ‘There!’ she could feel it. The great white eye of twilight sat just beyond sight, begging to be set on its way, free, so it could fulfil its duty as beacon in the dark. Luna pushed harder, egging her magic on, encouraging it to form a guiding hoof for her namesake. ‘It’s…so…heavy!’ It was heavier than anything Luna had even dreamt of lifting, the very thought of a pony being able to carry such a thing almost made her laugh out loud, but it had to be lifted. She couldn’t bear to leave the depressing gloom of the sphere-less sky in existence. She was going to get rid of it, replace it with something that could give even the most lost pony hope. Luna poured her very being into her horn; every ounce of will she could muster was turned to pushing that eternal orb into its rightful place. ‘Come…on! Almost…!’
Within Luna’s mind, everything went black.
____________________________________________________________
“Mother, I did it! I did it!”
“Oh, Celestia, words cannot describe how proud I am of you!”
“Woaaah, that was awesome!”
“I had no idea you could so something so amazing, Tia!”
“Celestia, look, look! You got your cutie mark! Congratulations!”
“I did!? Wow, I did!”
“Astounding. Truly astounding. I don’t know how you did it Aumean, but you must surely be an amazing teacher. Well done Celestia!”
“Yay! Again sis! Again!”
“She can’t do it again, Luna. We’ll have to wait until dawn. But she can start practicing for tonight!”
“Wha-… You’re going to let me raise the moon as well!?”
“I don’t see why not. It’s easier than raising the sun. In fact, I would have had you raising the moon instead if you hadn’t insisted on learning to master the sun first.”
“Wow, thank you so much mother! Oh, do you think when its Luna’s turn I can help teach her?”
“Of course! It will be much simpler for me and for her with some help. Actually, I know he’s almost finished his training, but you can assist Discord as well!”
“Oh…yes…I-I will. A-anyway, I’m going to go do some last minute study for tonight! Bye!”
“So Luna’s also going to…?”
“Of course, Discord. Celestia has done it and like I said, you’ve almost finished your training. I love you all equally, and I’m going to treat you all equally.”
“Dissy’s going to do that as well!? Your family is so cool!”
“We should celebrate!”
“That’s an excellent idea, Surprise.”
“Don’t worry, leave it to me! If anyone knows how to throw a celebration, it’s Surprise! Come on Firefly, I’ll need help carrying stuff.”
“Race ya!”
“I’m going to have to write something about all this, I truly am. It won’t be original, I know, but It still boggles me to think that the sun and moon must be controlled like that. And that even one so young can do so!”
“Just be sure not to mention any specific names, old friend.”
“Of course, of course, Aumean! I look forward to tonight’s show as well! Until then!”
“Goodbye Mr. Penwell!”
“Bye-bye!”
“So, Discord. Has seeing Celestia do it given you some more confidence? It’s just magic, very powerful magic certainly, but magic nonetheless. With enough practise, anypony capable of magic can theoretically do it.”
“I’ll do my very best!”
“I want to do it to!”
“D’aww, in time dear, in time. But you’re a little young at the moment.”
“But mother, I’m not a baby anymore!”
“I know you aren’t sweetie and I promise you, one day you too will move the sky.”
____________________________________________________________
It was there. Gazing at her head-on in all its elegant glory. A great, round candle in the dark, cradling everything in its soft light. Queen of the night, surrounded by thousands of tiny subjects mapping the sky with countless constellations.
“Luna, are you going to lie there all night or would like to come join the party?” Luna blinked and tore her gaze away from the glowing sphere in the black sky. Her mother stood over her, smiling with overflowing pride for the young alicorn.
The dark-coated foal dizzily got to her hooves, putting one to her head as she tried to steady her senses. Her stomach was damp and she realised that she must have slid from her hooves onto her chest. Slowly, she turned her head around and saw the rest of the group cheering and talking excitedly amongst each other; Surprise was even firing party poppers and showering everyone with confetti. ‘I did… this isn’t a dream, I really did it!’ Luna leapt in the air with joy and began a hasty trot over to the crowd.
“Luna, aren’t you going to take a look?” the alicorn stopped in her tracks at her mother’s voice and turned to look at her in confusion. The ivory-mare replied only with a nod at Luna’s flank. The filly followed her mother’s eyes and bulged her own at her rear. Where normally her midnight coat would continue uninterrupted, there was now an image: a crescent moon within a black cloud-like shape. Her cutie mark. “Congratulations, Luna.”
The blue maned alicorn said nothing, but leapt again and again and again. She ran to her mother and nuzzled her tightly before bounding to the waiting group shouting in excitement “I got it! I got my cutie mark!”
The applause echoed across the still forest for miles around but was cut short by the clearing of a voice. “Please, everypony listen.” The cliff top fell silent as they all stared up at the red-maned mare with surprise. “Today is a great day. Luna has not only achieved something amazing, but has also found her calling. However, today is also the day I hope something will begin, something I have been planning for some time. Please, come home with me and continue celebrating, Luna definitely deserves it! But you’ll have to excuse me while I prepare.” The six looked at her a little dumb-founded. It was a normal speech except for the ‘something’ which had sparked the cognitive gears of all those assembled into motion.
‘…A tad odd, but it makes complete sense. It must be something to do with the Elements,’ a certain draconequus concluded. It had begun several months prior; Aumean had been silently reading in the library when she had suddenly jumped with inspiration. Everyday since then she had, at some point during the day, locked herself within the Element’s chamber for several hours at least. After a few weeks signs started to show, black bags became a constant addition to her appearance and her mane was rarely combed or treated. All three of the house’s children had initially worried but soon accepted it once they realised her mood was no less cheery because of it and were told their mother was working on a ‘secret project.’ They had to be related.
“C’mon Discord, you just gonna stand there or what!?” Discord broke his silent self-debate and blinked down at Firefly who was tapping her hoof impatiently waiting for him. Every other pony was making their way back towards home to carry on the party.
“Oh, yes, yes. I was just thinking about what mother said…” The deck chairs disappeared with a snap of Discord’s talons and the draconequus and blue-maned pony began the short trip back to the chapel.
“Yeah, wonder what she meant. Maybe she’s planning an even bigger party, you know, since all three of you can do the moon and sun thing?” quizzed Firefly, clearly as curious as Discord.
That was another possibility. Even if Luna hadn’t raised the sun, the magic required for it was similar to that of the moon. With a little practise, she would surely be able to command the day as well. The mix-match creature nodded and gazed up at the new moon, stroking the small tuft of white hair that had recently began spurting from his chin.
“I knew you could do it, Discord! Congratulations!”
“Brother, that was amazing!”
“Celestia, don’t you have anything to say?”
“O-of course! Well done…Discord.”
“Hey! Are you even listening to me!?” The flow of memories was suddenly cut by Firefly’s voice. The two were standing just outside the chapel’s entrance, far further than Discord remembered covering.
“…Yes?” Firefly’s scowl made it evident his reply was not the correct one. Discord couldn’t help but chuckle. “I’m sorry Fire, but mother has gotten me all distracted. What were you saying?”
The speedster waved a hoof dismissively. “Nah, its fine. I was just telling you how awesome I am for beating Swiftwind in a race, wings allowed. Twice!”
“Awesome indeed!” Discord chuckled again before pushing open the large wooden door. “Let’s not keep everypony waiting though, shall we?”
The scene that greeted them in the main hall was another to be cherished. The large, round table at its centre was covered in all manner of party food from salads of pansies and bluebells to toffee coated apples. In the middle of it all was a cake coloured and shaped like the moon.
“You two, hurry up! Your mom told us to start without her, and the way Tia’s going, there won’t be anything left!” A cry, muffled by food, tried to disagree with the group’s party specialist.
“Don’t need to tell me again, c’mon Dis!” Firefly was already at the table stacking food onto a plate before her words reached Discord’s ears.
‘…I think this is a worthy occasion.’ The draconequus walked past the table of munching ponies in the direction of the kitchen. “I’ll be with you in a minute, carry on if you will!” Even Penwell was not afraid to do so, almost choking himself on a cupcake.
The kitchen was predictably, given the feast in the main hall, a mess. In that household however, mess was simply another opportunity to practise magic, and was in some cases encouraged. The yellow aura shining around Discord’s talons was not focused on the mess, but rather on carefully lifting an old, iron teapot from the highest cupboard. With a snap of his paw, the stove burst into life, the tap began running and a box of herbal leaves appeared then disappeared once Disord had taken a few of the dry plants from it. Discord did not need the pot or any of the other tools and ingredients, he could have simply used his magic to create a cup of the lush liquid, but he always preferred to do it manually. The draconequus gently stroked the pot fondly and sighed happily as he stuffed a bunch of the leaves in it and set it to work. His life had certainly taken an interesting turn since then. It was not perfect, he wished his and Celestia’s relationship wasn’t quite so…formal, yet he was nonetheless extremely happy with his existence.
“Discord! Discord?” a tender voice called from the main hall. “Could you come here, please? I have something to show you all!”
“Just a moment, mother!” he called back, deciding to give his brewing tea a little magical push so as to not keep Aumean waiting.
As Discord returned to the hall with a steaming cup, he was not entirely surprised to see his adopted mother sitting in front of the table waiting with eleven glowing gemstone-shaped objects orbiting around her.
“Discord, there you are! Please, everypony follow me. I’ll try to keep it short, I want some of that cake too!” Aumean smiled as she got to her hooves and began leading the way back outside the chapel. She was either oblivious or ignoring the intense mix of confusion and wonder that filled her family and friends. All of them had at some point seen the Elements and been given at least a brief explanation of them; after Discord’s arrival and as Surprise, Firefly and Penwell got closer and more comfortable with the family, each had been granted a viewing of the mystical artefacts, on the condition they swore never to tell any other pony about them without Aumean’s approval. Penwell was the only one of three friends to show any real interest in the Elements, but the pegasus and earth pony were just as amazed as he and the ivory mare’s family were to see the Elements so casually taken from their secure chamber. After a moment of blinking and head shaking, they all cautiously followed Aumean into the chilly twilight.
“Aumean…what are you…?”
“It occurred to me some months ago that even though it may be years from now, eventually I won’t be here to keep protecting the Elements from anything that might misuse them,” calmly explained the alicorn, walking slowly into the clearing outside the chapel. “So I came up with an idea.”
“An…idea?”
“Yes, an idea. Should my children want to continue my work, then they will have to be ready. It takes more than just a magic door to properly guard the Elements and use them in times of crisis. I’ve been waiting for the time when not just Celestia, Discord and Luna are prepared, but their friends as well. With Luna raising the moon today, I think that time has come.”
“Ready…? Aumean, ready for what?” Penwell spoke for all those gathered behind him as well.
“A lesson, Penwell. A lesson that only hardship and experience can teach. A lesson that will show them the one thing more powerful than the Elements themselves and what they truly embody.” Aumean unfurled her wings and slowly started to rise in the air as she spoke, the gemstones still orbiting her.
“Mother, what are yo-” Celestia tried to shout but was cut off by a blinding light radiating from her mother. The Elements shone with a rainbow visage and swirled around the alicorn at increasing speeds, becoming a colourful blur with the magic that poured forth from her horn and burning-white eyes. Despite the gleaming light and near-hurricane strength wind emanating from the wise alicorn, none of the struggling spectators could resist casting an eye at the sight from under a shielding hoof. The pure power captivated them as it only grew and grew until eventually, when it seemed reality itself could take no more…
BOOM!!!
Everypony shut their eyes tightly as an explosion of warm, soft light engulfed them, filling them with a feeling none of them could quite name but which all of them never wanted to let go. As the light faded, each whipped their heads to the skies as the night time silence was shattered by a tremendous howl. The stars, with all their beauty, were for a brief few moments shunned and ignored as their splendour was obscured by streaks of every colour tearing across the sky like comets, each in a different direction and each beyond the visible horizon. With an inaudible thud, Aumean returned to the ground, breathing deeply and drenched in sweat. So powerful had her spell been that after-sparks still popped from her horn.
“A-aumean! Are you alright, dear? What did you do!?” The ageing stallion who ran to his friend’s side to help support her was quickly joined by the others once they had recovered from their shock.
“Haha… I hid them, of course! For the…phew…for the little ones to find…” Penwell’s eyes turned to saucers.
“You…you did what!?”
“Penwell…old friend…let’s…let’s go back inside…I’ll explain once I’ve had some cake…”
____________________________________________________________
Star Swirl the Bearded, as he had come to be known, did not like tardiness. It was a disruptive thing which could have disastrous effects when it came to so many scientific practises. Add an ingredient a few seconds too late? Potentially an entire batch of elixir ruined. Fail to think about your destination in time? Possibly teleported miles out of your way. Don’t raise the moon on time? More painful minutes an old unicorn had to suffer because of his tired old bones as he waited for the chance at some celestial observation. He seemed to recall Aumean mentioning that she was starting to teach another of her children how to raise the moon, no doubt it was that which was causing this delay. Star Swirl sighed and simply continued to stare at the ugly nothingness from his window. The creaking door to the study allowed the old wizard some relief from his frustrations.
“Uncle, did you find anything interesting?” The wizard turned and smiled at his delightful niece, but could not keep the annoyance from his voice.
“I’m afraid there’s been a slight hindrance, my dear… Ah, not to worry, it’s here, finally,” huffed the elderly stallion as he noticed the lunar body creep into view. He magically drew his chair forward so that his eye perfectly met up with the room’s powerful telescope. “There we go…much better…Hmm, it’s late but not too bad for a novice…”
“Novice, Uncle?”
“Oh, yes, hmm, I suspect that the aforementioned delay was Aumean’s doing. Likely teaching one of her girls the whole moon-raising malarkey,” explained Star Swirl to a giggling Victory Dawn. “…and what’s so funny?”
“You! Honestly Uncle, getting into such a twist over a few minutes delay. And you speak about it so casually! You know how serious Ms. Aumean is about keeping it a secret,” chortled Dawn as she carried a pile of fresh parchments and scrolls over to the telescope so they could continue their mapping.
“Secret!? Pah, I don’t see the point! So somepony raises the moon! Somepony has always raised the moon and the sun; it’s old, boring magic. If everypony just picked up a history book, they would know that somepony was doing it and they wouldn’t bat an eyelid! I don’t know what terrible consequences Aumean thinks will come from the public knowing she’s the one who does it. Pah!” the unicorn snorted, taking his eye away from the telescope and making a few notes on one of the scrolls.
“Not everypony thinks like you, Uncle,” the earth pony spoke soothingly, trying to calm the moody sorcerer. “Shall I get you some tea? Oh, 30° to the left, I think we need that one.”
“That would be wonderful, dear. And are you sure? It looks awful similar to the constellation we mapped last winter.”
“It does, but see those four stars there? I think it’s different, note it down at least.” The wizard chuckled as his niece’s young, sharp eyes once again set him right. “I’ll be back in a minute. Crème?”
“If we have some, just don’t get it confused with my mane froth, as good as it is for the old hairs, the stuff is foul on the tongu-Oh, my!” Star Swirl abruptly swirled the telescope in chase of some red light that shot across from the east and over the growing spires of New Manesterdam.
“What was that!? A meteor?” The earth pony pressed herself against the window, having been startled by her Uncle’s exclamation and tried to follow the bright object across the sky and beyond the telescopes reach. “Oh, another one! 80° to the right! And another!” She almost punched out the glass as she tried to point in the direction of yet more sparkling mysteries that shone with the colours of a vivid rainbow.
“Curses, they’re too fast…! I don’t think I’ll be able…gah! Missed that one as well!” the wizard grumbled and banged a hoof on the small table next to him. Whatever the objects had been, he had only gotten to see their fading trails. “Hmm…” the drawn out sound told Dawn that hundreds of hypotheses were now passing through her Uncle’s mind.
“What do you think, Uncle? They couldn’t have been meteors, could they? Not with that colour or altitude.”
It took some time for the unicorn to respond, time spent with intense beard-stroking and hmming. “Yes, I think you’re right, but what then? No pegasus, or any other creature for that matter, could achieve such speed…”
“They all seemed to come from the same direction as well.” For all the years spent being taught the sciences and the theory of magic by her knowledgeable Uncle, Dawn had no idea what the lights could have been. Such moments occurred rarely, and all she could do was help her ageing Uncle to get all the facts straight.
“Indeed…you know Dawn, I cannot help but think this is also somehow Aumean’s doing,” concluded Star Swirl, leaning back in his cushioned chair and folding his front legs.
“You do? I suppose they did come from Ponyville’s direction, but…” From the few times Dawn had met the alicorn she knew that she was very powerful, but could the unusual occurrence really be Aumean’s influence?
“I don’t know what those lights were exactly, dear, but I’ll bet my alchemy set that they were magical in nature. Powerful magic at that.” The wizard furrowed his brow at this. He didn’t like it when something magic-related happened and he couldn’t find a decent, backed up explanation, but he had so few pieces of hard-fact to work with. “And anything involving strong magic coming from over those mountains instantly places Aumean as the prime suspect, at least in my book. It’s only a hunch, and I hate hunches, but it’s the only possible explanation we can guess from what we know.”
“I suppose you’re right…” Dawn could do nothing but agree with her Uncle. Those objects were like nothing she had ever seen, and a spell with such a wide area of effect would take tremendous magical disposition. “What are you going to do? I know you aren’t going to just leave this.”
“I most certainly am not! No, I’ll write to her and see if she knows anything. Either she does and we’ll get it sorted nice and quickly, or she doesn’t and we’ll likely end up collaborating on finding out.” Dawn instinctively handed her Uncle a clean scroll and inked quill so he could do just that. “Thank you, dear. As interesting as it no doubt will be, it’s really quite disruptive when something like this happens, messes up my schedule worse than an ursa major does anypony’s day.”
Dawn smiled. “You’ll figure it out Uncle, you always do! Now, how about that tea?”
____________________________________________________________
For once, the air was perfectly still amongst the mountains west of Ponyville. So still, in fact, that the splintering crack of wood echoed unchallenged through the winding crags and valleys of the notorious mountain range. As did a pony’s cursing. The azure-unicorn stared with a twitching eyebrow at the wheel of his stagecoach. This was the fourth time one of them had broken and he was at his wit’s end about having to stop and repair it again. Naturally, it wasn’t a particularly difficult task for one of his talent, but this made it no less annoying. After all, it forced him to divert his attention away from the important things, like thinking of new and exciting performances. Still, at the very least it had happened on a wide ledge that afforded plenty of space to move around and was surrounded by a wall of natural stone barriers that allowed even the most cross-eyed of ponies to safely approach the edge. Thoroughly better than one of the dreadful and precarious narrow paths that made up so much of the route to New Manesterdam from Canterlot Valley.
The silver-maned pony hmpfed at the sheer ineptitude of the wagon’s maker and turned his gaze towards the oddly empty sky. Though the sun had set only a few minutes ago, it would be quite bothersome to keep a track of the time, and by extension his progress, without any form of celestial body with which to estimate it. The unicorn hmpfed once more; this unusual sky was probably another hurdle these mountains had stored for any hopeful travellers. Regardless, he would have had to buckle down for the night in an hour or two anyway; he could afford to waste it by simply stopping here.
With a bright burst of magic from his horn, the travelling stallion lifted the entire coach and gently moved it to the side of the dirt path. With a quick check to ensure nothing within the wagon had fallen off its shelves, the azure pony gave a satisfied nod and set to work on the cracked wheel.
“Grr…”
“Stupid wheel, I may as well just make a new one…reinforced…with iron…!”
“Grr…”
It was only at that point that the unicorn heard the faint growling behind him. He raised a hoof behind him as if to tell whatever creature was there to wait while he put the finishing touches to the wheel. The silver-maned pony stared at the small stone he was levitating oh, so carefully towards the last crack. With a simple transmutation spell and a dab of precise telekinesis, the wheel would be good as new.
“Grr!”
The growling did not cease, and the added ferocity caused the pony to lose his concentration and drop the stone. Without a sound, he raised his head and turned to the offenders. Only meters from the coach stood a pack of manticores. Six or so strong and each was advancing closer to where the unicorn stood. Blood lust poured from their eyes.
The traveller calmly surveyed the pack, counting their number and noting their position. The only two escape routes had been cut off already, not that he had ever planned on using them. He sighed before speaking. “Clearly, you overgrown stuffed toys don’t know who I am.”
The nearest of the manticore, seemingly enraged by the pony’s taunting, howled and leapt, claws unsheathed and ready to shear anything they came into contact with. Less than a second before the great beast crushed the azure unicorn, the pony was gone in a poof of smoke. The manticore landed on its paws and twisted its head back and forth, searching for its prey in the thick fog. The prey in question however, quickly became the hunter. The chimera was sent sprawling onto its back unconscious as it received two bucking hooves directly to the face. As the smoke cleared, the other manticore saw the pony standing triumphantly on the stomach of their dazed comrade. They hesitated momentarily, but soon followed suit and pounced at the unicorn. The resulting flailing tangle of frothing beasts was stopped only by an amused snort from where the manticores had attacked. Each beast gazed at the travelling pony, who only moments before had been face to face with the snarling animals. The pack stared at him with primal hatred. It took them a moment to notice his horn shining brightly, the hidden grimace of effort on his face and the shadow they were standing in. In turn, each manticore turned their attention from the pony to the air above them, where countless small boulders were held by a thinning aura of magic.
“Run, little kitties.” The manticores did as the pony commanded and tried to simultaneously bolt from the knot of limbs they had tied themselves in. Only three made it back into the clearing conscious or unpinned by one of the cascading rocks, but they did not let their reduced number deter them. The pony was quickly surrounded on all sides by the manticores who were more determined then ever to devour this individual. Unfortunately for them, the unicorn had no intention of letting that happen.
“Enough playing around.” in an instant, the manticore in front of the pony was left knocked out with singed fur by a large blast of magical energy. The remaining two ended up crunching their faces together as they both attempted to attack the pony, who disappeared in a flash of violet light. Each received a further blow as the unicorn elegantly landed on their skulls hooves first. The two were finally left just like their kin with a mid-flip buck to their muzzles. With a soft clop, the pony landed neatly on his hooves and glanced around the battlefield. “And let that be a warning to you all! No beast; manticore, cockatrice or even ursa major challenges this unicorn!”
“Mewww…”
The manticores whimpered as they gradually came to and froze as soon as their dazed eyes caught the sight of the unicorn. Breaking from their trance of fear, the bruised beasts quickly helped their companions still pinned under the boulders and turned tail.
With a proud hmpf, the pony returned to his stagecoach, which had miraculously remained untouched throughout the conflict. He only just noticed that the moon and stars had finally come about, yet his attention was snatched away and his eyes made wide by many streaks of colour burning through the sky, lighting it up more vividly than any firework could ever hope to achieve. They lasted for only a brief moment, but that was all it took for inspiration to explode into the unicorn’s mind like a bomb of creativity. Fantastic ideas for new displays of magic blossomed in his mind faster than flowers in spring and he had no choice but to scratch then into the ground before they and their brilliance slipped away, like the rarest and most beautiful of butterflies.
Minutes later, the stallion was lying on a cushion in his coach, recovering from the excitement. He swore that his next show would be the best, everypony of Manesterdam, neigh everypony of the land would want to see it, everypony would fight for the chance to merely glimpse at one of his spectacles! Everypony would know and love the name The Grand & Mightful Viator!
____________________________________________________________
“Kromi! Kromi! It is time to come in, child!”
“Just a minute more, mama!”
“Now, Kromi! The elders say this sky is unnatural, that the moon may be displeased!”
“Yes, mama…” the young zebra called back, defeated. She stole one last glance at the endless expanse of water before slowly making her way to the gathering of huts that was her home of Oromo village.
“Come child, quickly! Or do you desire one of them talon folk to snatch you from where you stand?” Her mother’s threat was a hollow one. The Taloned hadn’t been seen in the area for nearly a year now. They were far more interested in the huge boats that could sometimes be seen crossing the Great Sea to the north. Her mother insisted that there was still a danger, but Kromi played on the beach and gazed across the eternal stretch regularly. Unlike the older folk, she paid attention to what was actually happening far out on the calm waters. She occasionally saw the boats sailing peacefully and then getting swarmed by large groups of shadows, what could only be the Taloned. Often smoke would start billowing from the boats, but they always drove off the Taloned in the end.
“Alright mama- wait, look! The moon! It’s rising, everything is okay!” Sure enough the heavenly white sphere had begun lazily ascending into the sky, bringing the stars with it. Kromi jumped in happy circles, her ringlets jingling with appropriate cheer. Hopefully she would be allowed to stay out a little longer; looking across the Great Sea in the moonlight was among the best fuels for the young zebra’s imagination. Everyday she dreamed of one day boarding one of the big boats and travelling across the Great Sea to new lands where she could have all sorts of amazing adventures and meet so many kinds of interesting creatures.
“Kromi! I said in!” her mother’s voice rang out, filling Kromi with disappointment. With a heavy sigh she resigned herself to what would no doubt be another night of boring lessons on the importance of tradition and staying true to the tribe. Pushing through the bead doors of her family’s clay and straw hut confirmed it; one of the village elders lay by the fire mumbling some incantation or another.
“Here Kromi, eat your food now,” ordered her mother as she placed a bowl of nuts in front of the zebra. She sighed and began eating on the nuts one by one. The same dry, bland flavour she was used to. Rarely did they have the luxury of anything with actual taste but young Kromi had heard amazing tales from passing travellers of huge towns of glistening stone where the people ate fresh, juicy plants all the time! What she wouldn’t give to be able to visit such places, even for just a day! Her fantasies, however, were interrupted by a clip to the head.
“Ow!”
“Listen when the elders are speaking to you girl!” Kromi looked around the room and noticed her mother, father and the tribal elder glaring at her as if she had stolen something.
“I’ll say it again for the little rude one. Have you planned yet how you are going to help the tribe?” The elder continued to glare at her. Kromi knew the look well, she received it often. It was a look that tried to fill her with shame. Much to the disapproval of her parents, she had a reputation in the village of being a dreamer, which in their minds meant being lazy and disrespectful. “You’re almost of adult age, girl. Soon you’ll have a responsibility and duty to uphold.”
Kromi hated being glared at like that. She was a dreamer, but she could be just as hard working as every other zebra. Just because she didn’t want to spend her entire life devoted to this tiny little village didn’t mean she deserved scorn! “I…I don’t know-”
“You don’t know!? What do you know, child? Anything? Or is it all just fantasy in there?” The elder brought her face uncomfortably close to Kromi’s. She could smell the rancid breath and almost feel her leathery wrinkles.
“I…I know I hate it here-” once again Kromi was cut off, but not by the elder this time. Through the smoke hole in the top of the hut she saw a trail of pink light rip across the sky, leaving a sparkling path through the nether.
“Hate what, child!? Answer me!” Despite her fierce tone, the elder’s demand was not met as Kromi jumped to her hooves and stormed out of the hut. The group sat stunned, so rare was an act of disregard such as that.
“Wooow! They’re so…so pretty…!” gasped the zebra as she stood in the parched, brown fields outside her village. They came from across the Great Sea, beams of colour swept through the sky free and unhindered by anything. Kromi could not believe such a magical sight even existed.
She made her mind up then and there. One day, one day soon, she would leave this awfully dreary place and she would see the rest of the world. She didn’t care about the looks and the whispers that would come from it; she didn’t care about upholding the village’s decrepit traditions and practises. She would go where ever she wanted to go, say what she wanted to say, be free to do what she wanted!
___________________________________________________________
“Yhh knhh, Penwhh, I thhhk chk hhs hhhlhhng prhhpties.”
“What?”
“Healing properties,” Aumean tried again after swallowing her mouthful of cake. “I was completely drained after all that, but I feel so much better now.”
“Please, mother, you’ve had three slices. It was meant mostly for Luna…”
“It’s okay sis, I’ve had enough anyway.”
“But-”
“As fascinating as cake may be…can we please talk about the Elements and…well…what you did with them!?” cut in Penwell, his muzzle scrunched up with confused worry.
“Yeah! What was that awesome display all about! You said you had hidden them!”
“Oh, yes, I suppose we should, shouldn’t we?” calmly suggested the ivory mare much to the apparent frustration of the book collector. “It’s quite simple, really. Like Firefly says, the spell I cast hid the Elements all around the land. If any of you wish to one day take over my duties as their guardian, then it is vital you understand them. That is something neither me nor anypony can teach, in full.” Aumean momentarily stopped herself to take another small bite of cake. The tension only rose as she chewed it down. “…yes. Now, I am not going to force any of you to do such a thing. The decision is purely yours. If you want to take this class, then I must warn you that the journey you’ll undertake will be fraught with difficulties and hardships, but also discovery and adventure!” she continued, waving her hooves in the air dramatically and throwing cake crumbs over everypony present. “If none of you do, if you want to lead your own lives free of any such responsibility, then that is also fine. The Elements will remain hidden and should I ever need them, I can gather them once more,” she finished to a quiet room.
The silence was eventually broken by a quiet chuckle that grew until it was hysterical. Frowns assaulted the draconequus who was struggling to stay in his seat. “That’s brilliant! Brilliant!” though at first Discord was alone in his laughter, giggles and snorts began to titter out of Firefly, Surprise and even Luna.
“H-he’s right! That sounds awesome! Don’t know about you slow pokes, but I’m in!”
“Yeah! Think of all the ponies we’ll meet!”
“You…you really think we’re ready for something like that mother?”
Aumean smiled. “Yes, Luna. You’re all still young, I know, but you all show such promise. Sweetie, you raised the moon today and I’ve seen how good you are with magic in other situations. If you go together, then I truly believe you have nothing to fear.”
“Aumean…”
“Penwell, you have not seen these children as I have. Together, there is little that could stop them. And it won’t just be them; I have a feeling they’ll make even more allies on their trip.”
“I…” the talk and cheer stopped as the room turned expectantly to Celestia. She looked around at each pony sat at the table, uncertainty clouding her eyes.
“Celestia.” The attention then shifted to Discord “You heard what mother said. You don’t have to, you can do what you want and we shall think no less of you. Besides, we all know how much you hate getting…dirty.” The draconequus’ last word was spoken with a distinct smirk, bait the pastel-maned alicorn could simply not resist.
“Are you…are you challenging me?” Celestia gazed at Discord and with all her might she tried to suppress the grin raging to be released. Her muzzle failed her and just a tiny portion of a confident smile was leaked to all those gathered.
“Challenging you? Why would I ever do such a thing?” The same smirk played across Discord’s face and there was only one thing Celestia could do to ensure she would be able live with herself thereafter, despite knowing she was playing right into Discord’s paw.
“A-alright…I’m in.” Celestia’s words were met with yet more cheer and an approving smile from her mother. The celebration and excitement grew and fell with the moon which shone brighter than it had in many years. As if to signify how with that white alicorn’s one decision, the fate of everypony was changed.