//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: The North Star // by Frostjack //------------------------------// Prologue- Once upon a time the Ice covered kingdom of Acrady was in a panic over a child who had yet even been born. Every birth is one of celebration but this one had the kingdom on edge for it was not just any birthing but the birthing of royalty. The Queen was having a child, her second child and her first born was not at all happy about it. "But mother!" The little princess of four whined, "I wanted a baby sister! Boys are icky and are messy." The mother who was sitting across the room knitting a small hat for the unborn child smiled and gazed at her daughter for a short time. "Sententia Acrady Aurora Sky, that will be quite enough of that!" Her mother scolded, "What if he was the first born? Would you want your older brother saying such things?" The little girl thought long and hard on this before replying, a trait that her mother was very proud of. Some rulers speak without thinking and cause strife to there kingdoms. She was glad to know that her daughter would not be one of them, though she did wish that she would hurry with her answer. "Then I wouldn't want him as a big brother." She said with a down cast look upon her face. Her mother being kind of heart couldn't stand to see her daughter upset at the thought that she wouldn't be wanted as an older sister. "So then what must you do?" the queen asked. Once again the four year old thought long and hard. "I will teach him to not be so messy!" The mother laughed as she saw the grin on her daughters face as she answered. "Mother," she asked softly, climbing on to her mothers lap. "Do you think that father would think me a good sister?" Her mother put down her knitting needles and brushed a hand across her daughters head. "Of course he does silly, and I am sure that wherever he is he is smiling down on his shining stars." The queen then thought of a name for her soon to be son. "Alruccabah." She said. The star her late husband the king promised to jump from had she said 'no' to her marrying him. "That will be his name. Prince Alruccabah of Acrady." //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Nine years later the princess of Acrady now having become 13 had begun her studies into the duty of ruling a kingdom. All of this was new to her and it was overbearing to say the least. Her mother having died in childbirth could not be there and tell her daughter how to rule a kingdom, nor to tell her how proud she was of her daughter for taking up this task by herself. She was thinking more and more thoughts like this lately. In fact it was always around this time of year that she would remember her mother and the sadness would reset itself in her heart. There was one consolation though. She was not allowed to be sad long for her little brother would always do his best to cheer her up and cheer her up he did! A young Alruccabah came barging into his sisters study where she was busy signing decrees and the like. "Sen! Sen!" the young boy cried. "I found a wild puppy just lying in the street all cold and shivering! What do I do?" he said holding the pup with both hands. His sister who had now scattered papers all over her study sighed, knowing she could not clean this mess till her brother was dealt with. "Is it lost or stray?" she asked in an annoyed tone. "Well I found it near the woods all curled up so I gave him some of my lunch. Then he rubbed up against my leg and oh Sen he was so cold!" The boy finished as he cuddled with the pup. He was one of the 'speak before thinking' types her mother told her about when she was young. But she had to admit the pup was cute and it didn't seem like any one would go looking for him. She might as well give him an early birthday present anyhow. "Well we cant let him go back to the cold forest now can we? But where will we keep him I wonder? I am far too busy to take care of him so who would? Hmm..." She waited for her brother to take the bate. "Ooh ooh! Sen me me ill take care of him!" He shouted. "Are you sure? Taking care of animals is a big boys job, cant let just anyone do it you know!" She decided to make him suffer a bit for ruining her concentration. "I promise I will! Ill do everything that I should and you wont have to get me a present for my birthday! And... and.. and ill clean your room for a week!" The young prince said running out of breath. Sen, acting like she got the short end of the deal, let him keep the pup. for the years following they were inseparable. The wolf now named 'Lance' grew to an enormous size. Large enough to be rode by his master. Tame as a house cat in the prescience of of Alruccabah and eventually Sententia as well. The young boys first friendship had blossomed into an unbreakable brotherhood one the young boy thought could not be stopped even by death. Something that was sure to be tested in the years to come. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// In the years before 'The North Star Incident' as it has been known to be called by the ponies in the Acrady, invaders from the east started a full on war with Acrady for her vast riches under the icy seas. The princess now at the age of 22 could masterfully assume a facade of calm and strength. Though her true face was one of sadness and a deepen depression. During the years before the embers of war had been lit, her foolish younger brother had tried to prove himself by challenging a messenger from the east. The messenger brought news of the neighboring kingdom and its wishes for domination. Alruccabah was outraged and attacked the messenger as a way to protect his people and his land. An action that was done without though. A foolish action. The attack was used to slander his good name and and to turn the Acradans against him spreading rumors that he was 'power mad' and 'cared not for his people but only acted for himself'. His sister could do little to quiet these lies. And so the people of Alruccabah turned against their prince. She did the only thing she though was right, to have her brother leave for diplomatic missions with the kingdoms of the west so that he might not only learn his lesson on acting without thinking, but so that he might regain some of the trust from his people. It was over a seven years since she sent her brother away. 'The Bastard Prince' as he was now being called, was due to return to a kingdom that he would not recognize. One that was bloodied and beaten, war torn and on the brink of depression. The princess, now Queen regent had hope that he would assist her in a revitalization plan for her kingdom now that the war was over. She hoped the shame her brother felt as he left his kingdom had subsided some, and that he would be accepted back into the lives of the kingdom. She had hoped for so many things back then. The carriage that her brother road in on was unlike the one he had left with. No longer white and blue the vehicle was an assaulting array of purples and blacks. The guards assigned to him were also new. Sententia had hoped nothing bad had happened to him to cause for a change of guard. The thought was broken as a stallion with broad shoulders stepped out from the carriage into the snow. Adorned with a dark blue mantel with fur trim and black arm and leg guards. He brushed flecks of snow off of his black tunic, only the symbol of the tunic wasn't a crystal with four lines around it, the symbol for the nation of Acrady, but rather a large star with smaller stars accompanying it. His face soured. "I always hated the cold." He grimaced. Stepping towards the Queen who had a hand rested on the great wolf Lance stopped to look at the great beast. The wolf barred his fangs at this strange man and snarled. "Tell me sister, have I changed so much you do not recognize me as well?" "I see the west has been good to you." she said trying to sound optimistic. Only to be met with a coy smile. "I see the east has not been as kind." He slowly turned around to look at the castle gazing over it as if to look upon it for a final time. "Ahem, I am sure you are weary from your travels. I have had your old room prepared for you. Or would you rather meet your people first?' She didn't want to push him too fast. He had been gone for almost a decade and she could sense something was off with him. "Meet my people aye?" He said as he began to chuckle to himself. His sister was showing signs of worry, but Alruccabah was too entertained at thought of the people who shunned him, who HATED him were HIS people. "No, they are NOT my people." He turned to face his sister again. Eyes glowing in a deep purple. "They will NEVER be MY people!" His shouting alerted the guards and made Lance prone ready to attack. "My people will never question me! MY people will never toss me aside!" He stepped closer towards his sister. "My people will not have such a disgraceful ruler like you as there leader." Arching his hoof a bolt of blue lighting was shot at the princess only to be intercepted by Lance. Always a loyal member of the family it was second nature to shield the queen from the attack. The wolf was frozen solid. Encased in a block of ice. Before he could ready another wave of ice Sententia used her magic to spirit herself away from her her brother. Leaving her men and her castle behind. Her brother, who was now drunk on whatever power he had gained from his travels, was in the process of turning all of the kingdom to ice. Over 40% of the royal city was frozen over citizens running for their lives some being frozen in place. A flash freeze came over houses and stores and streets, and farms. Till nothing but a tundra of ice and death remained. Queen Sententia, seeing her brothers' insanity commanded her brother to put a stop to this. She commanded that she and him have a duel to decide the fate of their kingdom. One that she never intended to have. She with the help of a group of neighboring kingdoms warriors trapped him inside a sarcophagus. Knowing it would only hold his rage and fury for a few seconds she had to think. She thought of sending the box to the moon like the Nightmare Moon tale she had heard as a filly. But she knew that if it were true Equestria`s ruler would have made it impossible for anything else to reach it. So she did the next best thing. She sent her brother in a box to the far reaches of the sky as close to the moon as she could so that he would be trapped with its orbit forever being the star that was to burn brightest in its rage and be locked until his spirit and mind were calmed. Looking upon the remains of her kingdom devastated her. But what truly broke her heart was that now she properly alone. First her father, then her mother, and now. The queen decided to rebuild her kingdom, salvage what she could, and await the day when her brother would come back to his senses and rule beside her as family. She decided to wait. "So came to be the story of The North Star and the prince locked in a box. The end." Said Twilight Sparkle with a sigh as she closed her book. "Read us another one Please read us another!" Cried a whole class of fillies. "Now now children the princess needs to be on her way." The teacher told them. "Now say thank you and goodbye class." As the head mare to the one and only Friendship School, Twilight was finishing up a 'Give the schools a hoof' program and her duty was to go around the neighboring cities and read to the young ones. She didn't find it too bad until the children stopped paying attention. A book read to others is a book ought to be heard she thought walking down the street to her hotel. As twilight headed back to her hotel she heard something in the distance a loud booming noise and smoke rising from the south. Where it came from she couldn't tell but it sounded big. She gathered her things from her room and asked the pony behind the counter if her traveling companion had already checked out. The pony behind the counter answered that she checked out this morning and gave Twilight the message he had been given. "Dear Twilight," the note began, "Hope you dont mind but I decided to take a tour of the town. Ill see you back in Ponyvile! Don`t wait up! Starlight." "That Starlight I swear she acts like a filly when ever we visit Fillydelphia" she exclaimed to herself as she left to board the train. There was nothing she could do but trust her pupil and get some rest on the train she had a lot to do when she got back.