It had been two and a half weeks since Celestia sent the letters to the other nations to join her at The Great Assembly Hall, and so far only Pharaoh Vesparum from the Changeling Empire and the senators of the Griffon Republic had arrived. Celestia was sure Chief Thunderhooves and President Kiongozi would arrive soon. It hadn’t been easy to pass the time, even with Pinkie Pie’s help. The different nations mostly kept to themselves, with the exception of the changelings when they got bored, some of the guards would disguise themselves as one of the Elements of Harmony and mix things up a bit.
The sky above was overcast; the mountain that the hall was built on was far out of Equestrian territory and therefore, away from pegasus controlled weather. Valor and Guiding Light were sitting on the balcony alone, enjoying each other’s company and watching the clouds gather. The surreal moment being broken by, “So Guiding… wonderful weather we’re having.” Gah why did I say that?! It’s about to rain!
“It’s good I suppose.”
Out with it man! “So um… I've been thinking.” Yes, that’s it.
Guiding Light turned to face him, throwing off his train of thought.
Oh crap, I've never gotten this far into it. Usually Iron’s jumped in at this point. What do I do?!
Suddenly Guiding Light was engulfed in green flame and a changeling was in her place. “Dang it you were so close! What happened?” One of the guards agreed to help him practice gathering up the willpower to ask Guiding out. Iron warned him about spending too much time with the changelings, but Valor refused to judge them. After all, you can't blame a soldier for following orders, he was just giving them the benefit of the doubt.
“I've never gotten passed the ‘I’ve been thinking’ bit. Her cousin always barges in right there.”
The changeling opened his protective outer blue lenses, and rolled his emerald green eyes. “That’s what this practice is for! Now let’s try again.”
But before he could change back into Guiding Light, the mare herself walked in. “Abort mission.” Valor frantically whispered.
The changeling guard stood up and calmly walked inside, nodding to Guiding Light as she passed. “Are you busy?” she asked shyly, “I heard that cloudy days can actually be quite peaceful.”
Valor shook his head, patting the space next to him with his hoof. Hesitantly, she sat next to him. They watched the cloudy sky for maybe about ten minutes when Valor finally spoke up, “So…” but before he could finish the cheesy line, there was a clap of thunder and it started raining, hard. They hurried inside, shook themselves dry and Valor finished the line, “wonderful weather we’re having.” Laughing slightly as he said it.
Guiding Light giggled “yes, it’s quite lovely.”
The green pegasus took a deep breath, “I’ve been thinking…”
Right then, Iron Curtain walked up. “What are you two doing?”
OH COME ON!!
“Iron, you have the worst timing…” Guiding Light said dryly. “Could you go away please?”
Iron Curtain glared at Valor, “No…”
“For the love of Celestia Iron calm down, we were talking about something important. It would be much appreciated if we could continue in private.”
“You’re lucky you’re my cousin Guiding, from anypony else, I would NOT back down so easily.” Iron snorted and walked off, leaving the two alone once more.
“Sorry about that, so where were you?”
Valor cleared his throat, “I’ve been thinking…”
“Guiding Light? Valor? Chief Thunderhooves and President Kiongozi have arrived; it’s time to begin the negations.” Celestia had about as bad a sense of timing as Iron Curtain.
Guiding Light and Valor sighed and silently agreed to continue it later.
***
Because of the storm outside, the meeting was held on the indoor portion of the balcony instead of the gardens; it was a tight fit for Nonulhunnedrog, but he managed. Once all the rulers were present with their respective guests and advisers, Celestia was ready to begin the meeting. “I'm glad you all could make it here on such short notice, this meeting serves two purposes; first and foremost it is to settle any conflicts our nations may have with one another.” She was looking at Pharaoh Vesparum when saying that last part, he simply nodded. “The other is to address the possibility of a worldwide threat to us all.”
“And what could possibly be a threat to ‘the all-powerful Equestria?” Senator Broad Beak asked sarcastically, one could say that the Griffon Republic was envious of Equestira’s power as a nation.
Celestia gave the senator a cold look, “I’m glad you brought that up, Senator. After matters have been settled between our nations, I will inform you of what we may be up against.”
***
After many long hours bickering and arguing, the debating going into the early hours of the morning, the six leaders managed to (mostly) resolve any conflict between each other. The guards and the guests had long since retired to bed, leaving only the leaders and their advisers in the balcony when things finally came to a close. Guiding Light dragged her hooves along the floor, half asleep, towards her room. She wasn’t sure how she managed to pay attention so long without passing out mid-debate. Guiding was halfway to her room when she bumped into Valor, who was just leaving the bathroom.
“So you” *yawn* “finally managed to settle things between the nations?” he asked sleepily.
Guiding Light mumbled something and nodded.
“My room’s closer. Common, I’ll sleep on the couch.” Guiding Light didn’t have the mental or physical energy to refuse Valor’s offer, as soon as she plopped down on his bed, Guiding Light was out cold. Valor chuckled and trudged over to the couch and fell asleep as well.
***
The next morning, Guiding Light and Valor awoke to the sound of heavy knocking at the door. “VALOR I KNOW YOU’RE IN THERE!” roared Iron Curtain from the other side. “Otkrytʹ dverʹ!” Iron had a tendency to speak in his native Stalliongrad when he got extremely angry.
“By Luna Iron calm down, I'm coming.” Valor moaned as he got off the couch. He motioned for Guiding Light to perform an invisibility spell on herself so she could avoid being seen by her cousin and endangering Valor. Once she was out of sight, Valor opened the door. “What do you want? It’s too early.” Valor ducked as an expected hoof swung where his head was not but half a second ago and shattered the stone frame of the door. “Oh, I should have guessed. Can’t find Guiding eh?”
“Let me in Valor, I know Guiding is here with you.” Iron angrily said, rubbing his hoof.
“She isn't here, but feel free to check.” Valor stepped aside to let the red giant in.
Iron Curtain practically turned the room upside down looking for her. During his search, Lissfokulaan walked by the door, whispered three draconic words to himself, and left with a knowing chuckle.
***
Lissfokulaan had just woken up and was on his way to breakfast when he heard the crashing and banging in a room down the hall. When he went to investigate, he found a large earth pony tearing the room apart looking for something… or somepony he thought to himself. “Laas Yah Nir” the teenage dragon whispered, before his eyes the aura of the ponies flickered around them like a bright red flame. There was one aura however, that had no body. By the shape of the aura, it was a unicorn mare, no doubt the one the earth pony was looking for. Instead of pointing her out, Lissfokulaan decided to spare Valor’s life and keep quiet.
***
After Iron Curtain left Valor’s room, convinced Guiding Light wasn’t there, the green pegasi let out a sigh of relief. “Thank Celestia…”
Guiding Light dropped her spell and sighed as well, “that was too close. We need to be more careful.”
“Yeah I know, but I think I can handle it.” Valor smirked, “I’ve known him so long that I can predict his every move, he doesn’t scare me.”
“And if you couldn’t predict his every move?”
Valor shrugged, “He still wouldn’t scare me, and so long as I stay out of his range I’ll be fine.”
“Nothing scares you does it?” Guiding Light said irritably, with only the smallest about of amusement.
“Nope.” Valor said with a stupid grin plastered to his face, he picked up on the amusement in her voice instantly. “Common, I'm starving.”
Guiding Light gave an exasperated sigh “Typical Valor, always hungry.”
***
The storm had subsided shortly after the debates ended, so breakfast was held outside. When Valor and Guiding reached the outdoor dining area, they were greeted by the sound of a changeling arguing with one of the buffalo warriors. “OF COURSE I EAT FOOD YOU NINNY! WHAT DO YOU THINK THESE FANGS ARE FOR?”
“Bro, did you even hear what that crazy queen of yours said?” the buffalo didn’t even sound like he was arguing; in fact he sounded incredibly laid back. “She was all like ‘I need to find food for my subjects’ and ‘go! Feed!’ Common bro, it’s not that surprising I thought you dudes ate feelings.”
The angry changeling rolled his eyes, “Please, positive emotions are just the source of our magic. Queen Chrysalis was a romanticizing nutcase. NOW QUIT HOGGING THAT MUSHY STUFF!”
Before the argument could go any further, Vesparum and Chief Thunderhooves walked up. “Ci’oa, that’s quite enough.” The Pharaoh spoke calmly. “It was a mistake anyone could make.”
“And you Hang Ten, you’ve had plenty to eat. Why don’t you go talk to Spike? It’s been awhile since you’ve talked to him.” Chief Thunderhooves spoke in an equally calm voice.
Ci’oa grumbled and grabbed his third bowl of the mushy stuff (he had no idea what it was, but it tasted amazing), while Hang Ten shrugged and walked off to find Spike.
Valor walked up to the short tempered changeling, “So what is that stuff anyway?”
“The Dunes if I know, but it’s the best stuff I’ve ever had! The buffalo brought it.” Ci’oa said before he shoved his face into the bowl.
“I know right?!” Pinkie Pie shouted, startling Valor and Ci’oa. She grabbed another bowl and threw dignity to the wind.
Valor shrugged and got two bowls of the mushy stuff, one for him and one for Guiding Light. When he put the bowl down in front of her, she gave him a puzzled look. “Apparently this stuff is really good.” Valor reassured her. “It’s a buffalo dish, thought I’d give it a try.”
“If you say so…” Guiding Light hesitantly lifted her spoon with her magic and dipped it into the bowl. After she ate the contents of the spoon, Guiding spoke up “Wow, this is good.” She turned to Valor to ask him what he thought of the dish, but found him unable to speak with his head in the bowl. “Really Valor?” she asked dryly. “I thought you were a respected knight.”
“Not when food this good is in front of me.” Valor said with a stupid grin, mouth dripping with whatever the food was.
Guiding Light rolled her eyes and continued to eat her food, it may have been undoubtedly the best thing she ever had, but she had a reputation to keep up. It wasn’t long before the others awoke and took a seat at a dining table; the griffons stuck mainly to their own food, they had a very apparent presence of xenophobia. When Valor suggested the buffalo dish to one of the griffon skylords, he got an earful about the “impurity” of buffalo food. The zebra’s, however, were very open to other cultures; one of the zebra rangers even asked for the recipe to bring back to his hometown.
***
After a very satisfying breakfast, Celestia gathered everyone to the garden courtyard to begin the meeting. “I must again thank you all for coming.” Celestia greeted seriously once everyone had taken a seat. “You have been summoned here to answer a threat to us all, our world stands upon the brink of destruction; none can escape it. You will unite or you will fall, each race is bound to this fate.” The Princess’s voice carried an unnatural tone of serious and urgency, not even the arrogant griffons dared question her words. “The great zebra prophet Nubescu has foretold the return of the greatest evil ever known.”
“So it is true…” President Kiongozi said in awe, Nubescu had a perfect record when it came to predictions.
Celestia nodded “The evil she predicted return has only one name, a name I have not dared speak aloud in over two thousand years.” Her face remained neutral, it was almost frightening. “His name: is Majora.” Hushed murmurs followed, each of the other races had remnants of those dark days hidden away in their history, only Celestia removed all traces of it from Equestrian history and culture. “The Sword of Balance must be reassembled; it is the only weapon that can defeat him.”
“What about the Elements of Harmony?” Twilight Sparkle asked hopefully, “Surely they can stop him.”
“I have no way to know for sure whether or not the Elements will be able to defeat him, they weren’t discovered until after Discord arrived.” Celestia said sadly. “I would rather not take that risk; the Elements of Harmony would only serve as a temporary barrier, if they worked at all.”
“What do you mean by ‘reassembled’?” one of the griffons asked.
“I had the sword separated into its basic components and spread across the lands to prevent it from falling into the wrong hooves. This was proven to be a wise decision once my sister became Nightmare Moon, it would only have been a matter of time until she learned of its existence if it stayed in Equestria.”
“So where are the resting places of the sword’s pieces? Surely you must know where they were hidden.” Nonulhunnedrog asked.
Celestia shook her head sadly, “What if I had gave in to the feelings of greed and power?” She had a very good point, if Celestia had been the one to transform into a power hungry tyrant, she would have had access to the most powerful sword in existence. “I had all knowledge kept from me, but there is one place where clues were left: just in case.”
“Where is that?” asked Chief Thunderhooves
“Far below the surface of the old castle me and my sister inhabited before her banishment resides The Chamber of Equilibrium, it is there that the locations of the pieces can be deciphered.”
“What are we waiting for?” one of the griffon skylords stated, ready for action.
“One does not simply walk into the Everfree Forest.” Fluttershy said in a rather assertive voice. “Behind every tree lurks a predator ready to strike. Timber wolves and manticores stalk the paths, waiting for an unprepared victim to feast on.” She started to tremble as she spoke. “Even the plants are out to get you, flowers that are laced with poison and the simplest of leaves could be hiding a carnivorous jaw.”
Twilight stopped her fear ridden description of the Everfree Forest with a calm hoof on the pegasus’s shoulder.
“This is true, but the danger of the forest is what keeps the castle ruins safe from scavengers and unfriendly eyes.” Celestia countered. “It is here that I present to you, the great warriors of the six nations, the greatest mission you will ever partake in; should you choose to accept it.”
Twilight and her friends looked at each other and silently agreed to accept Celestia’s quest. “We, the Elements of Harmony, accept this quest.”
The griffon from earlier was about to stand, but was pushed back down by Senator Broad Beak. The last thing the senator wanted was his skylords dieing on some stupid pony mission.
Ci’oa saw the potential to field test some of his more advanced offensive and defensive spells. “You have my spells.”
“And you have my horns dudes.” Hang Ten stood.
“And my voice.” Lissfokulaan joined in aggressively.
Celestia nodded sagely, a slight smile of hope gracing her lips. “Nine companions. You shall be the Fellowship of the Sword.”
But before Celestia could open the portal back to Canterlot, the sky darkened, the ambient sounds of nature ceased, and the wind died down to absolutely nothing. It was as if time had come to a standstill; a truly disturbing setting, the peaceful aura of nature being replaced by the aura of death and despair. Even the mighty dragon Nonulhunnedrog was frozen in fear. The pupils of the sun princess were barely visible they were so small, and her ears were pressed firmly against her skull. Oh no….. She thought, her worst fears were about to come true.
“What’s going on?” Valor asked Celestia very quietly.
Celestia slowly looked at Valor, pure fear in her eyes. “He’s here.”