Echoes of the Ancient

by Wandering Axioms


Act 2.5

2.5

"Your Ascension shall come again..."

The mountain breeze blew a soft gust through the feathers of a middle aged griffon lieutenant, whom eyed the ruins of Taotras with a look of anger, as his scout returned, signaled by a flapping of wings to his left.

“How is it?” The lieutenant asked the scout as he landed beside him.

“The ruins are relatively empty, sir,” the scout replied. “Those two ponies and the third creature we saw earlier must’ve cleared out any dangers, as we’ve discovered a scene that depicts fighting to have occurred rather recently.” The scout saluted with his left talon as he finished his report with another “sir.”

The lieutenant replied after a few moments of contemplation. “Very well,” he answered as he turned to his scout. “Get the platoon ready, we’re going in.”

The scout saluted one last time before flying down into one of the valleys where a platoon of about thirty griffon troops waited for their orders to be given. The lieutenant turned his attention back to the ruins, with a look half curious, and the other half determined. He was a patriot. He loved his country and his people more than anything else, just like many of the other young griffons that have joined Gryphonia’s military. And whatever secrets Taotras held, he was intent on seeing that they would stay out of Celestia’s grasp.

---

One more minute,” a green unicorn filly thought as she anxiously eyed the clock by the door. “Only one more minute of this class left...” To Lyra, History of Magic and Equestrian Politics, the last class of her day, was one of the most boring subjects in her curriculum. The middle aged professor had gone on and on for what felt like hours (at least to Lyra) from one topic to another. And the clock was certainly taking its sweet time with the last thirty or so seconds. The fact that it was a Friday didn’t help either...

“And that concludes our lesson for today,” the unicorn professor said in a monotone voice. “On Monday we will begin discussion on--”

Come on...” Lyra thought.

“For Monday, please read pages--”

Almost...

“And with that, the lesson for today is over. Do have a good weekend, everypony.” The professor finished as the afternoon bell rang. Lyra was one of the first ponies out of the classroom. With the books she would need for the weekend’s assignments; most of which she would finish tonight; she darted down the stairs to the main floor and eventually out into the North courtyard. This afternoon was the typical chilly November day that predated the approach of each Winter. Lyra sat herself on one of the many park benches, admiring the seasonal colors of the leaves, both on the trees and the ground. Opening her saddlebag, she pulled out one of her favorite books titled, The World Before Equestria and resumed where she left off the previous evening.

But before we judge them too harshly, can we really say the Forerunners are so different from us, in the fact that they took such intense pleasure in the exertion of their dominance over other species, when nearly every other intelligent species within the World today does the exact same over other lesser species?

“Forerunners...” Lyra whispered to herself. She had first heard that word before, in an ancient book she had read a few years ago, back in the Canterlot Library, when her dad, Septimo was teaching her and Octavia about music. After he would occasionally leave the two to study in peace, she would immediately sneak into the section on old mare’s tales and myths surrounding the earliest centuries of recorded history. It was in one of those books that she also heard the word Abitrath, which was the name of some ancient city.

Lyra broke out of her little trance and continued reading into the next few paragraphs:

From what I’ve learned about the Forerunners (which is very little) is that they are excessively reclusive from showing themselves in this World. I was on the verge of giving up on the subject and moving on to something more productive, when a close colleague of mine reported that he himself had spoken to one of these Forerunners. When I asked him to go into further detail, he was hesitant. He confided to me that he had unearthed stone tablets that told of a device the humans had constructed while keeping it from the watchful eyes of their masters. The tablets called this device the ‘Praemian Thorn’ being built in the human city of Praema. It was small enough to be wielded by a single human soldier, yet drew enormous amounts of power from the magically charged minerals around it. With this device, the humans overthrew the Forerunners and took their place as masters of this World (at least that’s what the tablets illustrate.)

My colleague also confessed that shortly after uncovering the tablets, he started having vivid dreams and hallucinations. Occasionally he would hear ‘voices’ or see things that he believed couldn’t possibly be real. One evening, while gazing at his reflection in a river while on a stroll, an abnormal amount of fog rolled in unnaturally quickly. He had been experiencing vivid hallucinations and dreams over the past month since he had recovered the tablets, and this experience was not the first.

He claims to have seen a figure appear next to his reflection in the water, yet when he looked to both of his sides, he found nothing. The figure that was next to his reflection was constantly changing shape and size, and was what he described as ‘indistinguishable.’ Within moments, he began to hear the same voices as in previous encounters. This ‘entity’ (for lack of a better term) spoke to my colleague. It spoke of how my colleague had the power to ‘bring their lost sibling back to them.’ Whatever it was that this entity was speaking of, my colleague could not fully understand it. The entity then shaped itself into something that my colleague could only describe as severely grotesque; something out of a nightmare, and looked as though it was trying to claw its way out of the water towards him, before disappearing from the river’s reflection.

This experience, which he claimed happened little more than a week before our conversation on the subject, left him severely distraught, and he said that this would be the last time he discussed the topic. And with that said, he left. I have not seen or heard from him since. The Canterlot Guard have listed him as missing when he did not return to his family at their estate."

“Whoa, creepy...” Lyra whispered to herself as a chill ran down her spine. A glow of her horn turned the page.

“Hey, Lyra!” The mint green unicorn jumped slightly, but immediately relaxed when she recognized the voice. She craned her head to her right to see a familiar blue unicorn filly whom she had become acquainted with during the first week she had attended Celestia’s School.

“Hello, Colgate,” Lyra said with a smile. “What’s up?”

“Nothing much,” Lyra’s blue friend said as she jumped up onto the bench next to her. “What about you? Whatcha reading?”

Lyra shifted nervously at her friends inquiry as she closed the book with another glow from her horn. “Oh, nothing too important,” she said with her best fake smile. Colgate tilted her head slightly, but shrugged it off almost instantly. “Did you need something?” Lyra asked her friend.

“Lemon Hearts invited us for a picnic in about a half an hour, in the West castle courtyard; I thought you might be interested!”

“That sounds great!” Lyra exclaimed, relishing in the thought of spending some time with a few friends. “Sure, just let me get my things together.” She levitated the book she was reading. Looking overhead, towards the Royal Palace, she couldn’t help but think of Aiden. She wondered what he was up to. “Eh, he’s probably bored out of his mind, cooped up in there all day long,” Lyra thought with a scrunchy face.

---

“Oh no, no, no, no, no!” Tempest Runner frantically paced about the chamber as Night Step continued to inspect the door. “What’s going on in there!?” He yelled, earning an irritated look from the unicorn mage.

“Could you please keep it down with the panicking?” The unicorn asked with an annoyed tone. “I’m trying to figure out how to open this damned door!” He sighed as he turned his head back to the door. “What about that...that thing that he touched up on that alcove? That’s what made the door open!”

“I tried that already...” Tempest said with a defeated huff. “The thing is in the shape of a human hand; only he can activate it...” the pegasus sighed as he sat on his haunches and tried to calm himself down.

“And we already know that it doesn’t react to magic...” Night Step said with a hint of curiosity in his voice. “Hmm, I can’t help but wonder what material this lock mechanism is made out of that enables it to repel magic.” He leaned in to examine it further, letting out the occasional “hmm” as he studied the glyphs that dotted its surface.

Tempest Runner groaned at his companion’s poorly prioritized objectives. “I can’t believe you...” he muttered, just softly enough for the entranced unicorn not to hear. It had been seven minutes since the door mysteriously shut. They had no idea what had happened to Aiden, or what was going on inside. Tempest stood up, hoping that an idea would come to him, only to begin frantically pacing once again.

His ears perked up however, as the sound of talking reached his ears. Within a few seconds, he realized that it was coming from the hallway that they had entered the chamber from. “Uh, Night Step?” Tempest desperately called for the mage’s attention.

“Yeah, yeah,” Night Step waved a hoof back at Tempest without taking his eyes off the glyphs. “In a moment, I just know I recognize this glyph from my notes...”

“Night Step!” Tempest hissed, getting the unicorn’s attention.

“Ugh, what!?”

Tempest nodded his head in the direction of the chamber’s entrance. “Company!” Night Step looked beyond his companion to see several figures emerge from the shadows of the hallway. Their features were unmistakable: feathers, the tail, wings, yellow eyes. There were about seven of them from what they could see, but there seemed to be more behind them.

“Griffins?” Night Step whispered as he trotted up to Tempest’s side. “What in Equestria’s name are they doing here?”

“We’re literally right on the border with Gryphonia,” Tempest whispered back. “Not too surprising to see them come here to defend their territorial claims; they’re like mother bears when it comes to this sort of thing!” The griffins continued to file into the chamber, until there were approximately thirty of them; each one staring at the two of them spitefully. One of them stood at the head of their formation and appeared slightly older; his yellow eyes seemed to lack the similar ominous glow that the younger griffins had. And the griffins simply stared at the two ponies whom were trying their best to not shake with fear for what felt like hours, but in reality was only thirty or so seconds.

The officer suddenly cleared his throat, which caused the two ponies to flinch and he spoke to them in a commanding voice. “Equestrians! You are trespassing within territory that is under the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Gryphonia! However, if you both surrender yourselves peacefully, and surrender the creature that you brought with you, then you have my word that harm will not come to either of you!”

Tempest Runner stood, defiant, despite that the griffins clearly had them outnumbered. The young pegasus was stopped when Night Step extended his hoof and whispered: “Let me handle the diplomacy.” Tempest rolled his eyes and exhaled through his nostrils loud enough that the griffins could probably hear him from the other side of the chamber.

Night Step stepped forward with his best friendly grin. The griffins, especially the lieutenant, had some of the best poker faces he had ever seen in his life. “Good heavens,” Night Step thought. “They even rival Her Majesty’s poker face...” The unicorn mage shook off the feeling of anxiety that had just started coming over him. All the griffin soldiers clenched their talons into the floor as their eyes narrowed. Night Step was rather terrified by their piercing stares, but the lieutenant however, gave him a look that was of curiosity. He cleared his throat, and spoke.

“Good day to you,” Night Step greeted, hiding the fear in his voice. The lieutenant raised an eyebrow. The unicorn mage could hear his pegasus companion face hoof behind him. A few moments of silence passed. “Not the best start,” Night Step thought as he nervously cleared his throat again. “We, unfortunately, are unable to surrender the human to your custody, as he is trapped behind this door.” Night Step paused as he pointed a hoof to the circular door. The griffins did not react.

Night Step glanced back at Tempest, whom gave him a look to continue. “The door is impervious to magic, and all attempts to open it have been in vain.”

“Did you try blasting it open?” The lieutenant asked.

Night Step was startled by the gruff officer’s sudden interruption, but quickly answered. “Blasted? As in with explosives?” The griffin officer nodded. “N-no...we’ve tried nothing to that extent...”

The officer smiled, maliciously. “Typical. But do not worry, we’ll collect this...“human,” with the aid of about ten pounds of TNT!” He then turned back to the entrance of the chamber. “Bring them in!” He shouted with a beckoning talon. Two more griffins entered the chamber, their wings lifting them over their comrades. In their talons, they held the red colored explosives that their commanding officer called for.

Night Step meanwhile looked back towards Tempest Runner. “Collect?” The unicorn inquired. Tempest shrugged. The two griffin soldiers wasted no time in obeying their lieutenant’s orders, lacing the circular metal door with the TNT charges.

“Stand back, pony!” One of them shouted as he shoved Tempest to the side.

“Uncalled for...” Tempest mumbled as he trotted over to Night Step. The two of them warily observed the griffins do their deed. “What do they what with Aiden?” Tempest whispered into Night Step’s ear.

“I’m thinking the same question,” the unicorn replied. “Perhaps they want to excavate into human ruins as well?” He then immediately started shaking his head. “No, no, no; humans are only a myth to most cultures and species. Only Celestia, the Solar Guard, and the Council of Mages are aware of their existence...”

Night Step was gone. He began mumbling different theories and hypotheses to himself, on the topic of what they hoped to do with Aiden if they captured him. Tempest sighed once again as he turned his gaze over to the door, trying in vain to visualize what could be happening behind it. He hoped that the griffins wouldn’t succeed with whatever it was they were planning. He also hoped that they would get out of this situation alive. Most of all, however, what he truly hoped for was Aiden’s safety.

---

The throbbing in his temples had calmed down slightly. Aiden’s eyes opened as he stood up; his vision was extremely hazy and he had trouble standing up straight. “Shit...” he mumbled as he brought a hand to his face. Through the haze in his vision, he could make out a few features of the chamber he was in. The chamber was circular; a dome to be precise. Those same red glowing glyphs ran all across the walls, the ceiling ceased once they hit the floor. A pillar of light could be seen at the center, shining down from the apex of the ceiling, most likely from an opening to the outside.


“How are you feeling, Brother?” That same voice he had heard just before he lost consciousness asked him. Aiden was abashed, to say the least.

I’ve heard this voice before...” Aiden thought to himself. “It’s so familiar...I’ve heard it so many other times...but it feels so close now.” The voice said nothing else in the span of time it took Aiden to gather his bearings and reply to its question.

“I feel...alright, I suppose,” Aiden answered very slowly. “A little groggy, but that’s it.”

“Confused as well?” The voice inquired.

Aiden looked down at the floor with a frown as his vision finally began to clear.

“Well?” The voice pushed further, yet with no increase in tone.

“Y-yes...” Aiden answered as he looked up with clear vision. Those damn pulsating glyphs were making it hard to focus on for too long. The apex of the ceiling at the center was approximately thirty feet high. At the center of the circular chamber, there stood an escalated platform with a staircase leading up to it. About twenty feet above the top of that was what appeared to be a circular opening which allowed light to pour in a cylindrical shape. At the top of that platform, was a man.

He was on his knees, with his head pointed up towards the opening, staring into the light. His arms were outstretched as though he was basking in the affectionate gaze of a loving god. Aiden could make out no facial features, however, and no other details than his hair, which was pitch black and rather long, and his clothing; black robes with crimson red lining along the cuffs and lapels.

Aiden was curious, along with a multitude of other emotions, unease among them. This was the first other human he had seen since he came to Equestria; this is what made him curious. What unsettled him however, was this unshakable feeling that was telling him that what he was looking at was not really human; that it was just something taking the appearance of his own species to try and keep him calm.

Aiden took a few steps closer to look at the entity that was bathing itself in the light. “It...he certainly looks human...” he mentally assured himself. “My instincts must be playing tricks on me...

“Since when did you start doubting your instincts, Intervention?” The man asked with a light chuckle at the end of his inquiry. His laugh seemed to reverberate around the chamber repeatedly. The man’s voice had an odd sound to it, that Aiden simply couldn’t really describe as anything aside from unnatural. Aiden felt a shiver run up his spine at the sound of it. Aiden exhaled quickly as he looked down, trying to focus on the floor, rather than that continuous pulse that the glyphs were emitting.

Come on, focus!” Aiden chided himself. “God, it’s hard to concentrate with that annoying throb...” The man on the platform laughed again for a brief moment. Aiden looked up to see that the man was looking at him now.

The man was blind. Aiden could tell even in the distance that was between the two of them. His pupils were clouded and his irises were a pale yellow. Yet despite this, the man seemed to smile directly at him with an almost unbearably piercing gaze. Aiden fought the urge to take a step back.

The man stood up, his stare not breaking from Aiden’s face. He then began to step out of the pillar of light that enveloped him. The second he exited the light’s glow, his pupils slowly lost the fog that had clouded his vision. A smile filled his face. It was a smile that emulated joy; it was not an evil grin. It was the kind of smile one would have when he or she was reunited with a beloved family member. The man in fact looked as though he was on the verge of tears.

The man continued his descent down the staircase until he was halfway to the ground floor. Aiden stood perfectly still at the base of the stairs, looking at the odd man approaching him with a look that was curious, wary, and even a little bit fearful.

The two of them simply stared at each other for what could have been countless millennia. One was immersed in his own joy. The other was a contested no man’s land of emotions. As confused as he was, the latter was the first to speak.

“Why did you bring me to this place?” Aiden asked with a small scowl.

The once blind man frowned, but did not answer at first.

Aiden began to grow impatient. “Well?”

The man exhaled. “You brought yourself here...” he replied simply as his eyes closed.

“Yeah, right,” Aiden scoffed. “I just happened to start journeying into the ruins of my own species, and in the first one, I encounter a perfectly healthy fellow member of the human race? Bullshit!”

The man did not appear phased. He simply hummed to himself for a brief moment. “Perhaps your connection with us has not been completely severed after all...” He held his hands together so that they were hidden within the sleeves of his robe. “Then your purpose will not end here, it seems as initially planned.”

Aiden shook his head as he placed one hand on the sheath of his longsword, ready for anything and everything. “What purpose?” Aiden angrily hissed. “Why am I here!?”

“Your purpose was simple, Brother.” He paused for a moment. “You were to unleash the powers of your own blood from this ancient place. Then I would take command; reclaiming this World in the name of our Mother. This is the point where you were supposed to end your role in the grand scheme of things...” He paused. “Yet I can see that your memories from a time countless ages ago have been...scattered.” He smiled again, his eyes still closed. “But don’t worry,” the man laughed as his eyes opened, this time revealing a sinister glow. “I believe that he will remind you in your sleep in the years to come.”

Aiden stepped away from this man who called him brother. “No,” Aiden thought to himself. “This is not a human I’m looking at. My eyes are being deceived!”

The entity smiled again, this time with malice.

Oh shit,” Aiden thought as his heart skipped a beat. The man proceeded to make his way down the stairs toward him, that horrible grin never leaving his face. Aiden’s hand clenched on his blade desperately trying to pull it and ready himself for a battle, but he was fixated on the entity as it seemed to unnaturally glide down the steps.

The entity was less than twenty steps from the bottom. Aiden’s mind began racing. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!” Panic stricken, he forced his hand up, pulling the blade out of its sheath about a third of the way. Now the entity was only ten steps from the bottom.

God damn you, Aiden! Draw, you idiot! DRAW!!!” Aiden growled and closed his eyes as he forced his hand the rest of the way, despite his mind being frozen in a state of fear.

Nothing impacted his outstretched sword. Cautiously opening one eye, Aiden looked to see the entity had stopped his blade mid swing. With its index finger. Aiden was again astonished. The entity that called him brother simply stood there, no more than seven feet from his face, holding the tip of the blade back with one finger. The entity smiled again as it grasped the tip of the longsword with its middle finger and thumb.

At this point, Aiden felt an incredible force pulling the sword away from him. He brought his other hand to the hilt, trying to hold onto it with all of his might. The entity laughed again as it added the remaining fingers on its left hand to the grasp it had on Aiden’s sword.

Aiden couldn’t hold on any longer, or he was certain his arms would be ripped off, with all the stress he was putting on them. Aiden released his grip. The heavy sword was now being held by the man with his fingers. He smiled at it, twirling it around effortlessly; making Aiden tense up in fear that he would be hit by it; before he tossed it carelessly to the side, landing it all the way on the far side of the chamber with a loud, echoing clang.

Aiden placed his hands on the smaller sheaths holding his daggers, not willing to give up so easily. He dual wielded the blades as he stepped back from the staircase several feet, still eyeing the entity for any movements. It remained still for a moment, staring back at Aiden as it tilted its head. It began to hum to itself as its eyes glowed that ominous yellow again. It frowned for a brief second; then it extended its hand.

Aiden was suddenly blown off his feet and into the air by some unseen force, his daggers flinging out of his hands and into adjacent sides of the chamber. Aiden was flung all the way to the entrance door, impacting on his left side with the wall. Instant pain shot throughout that entire region of his body. He had to be thankful, however, for his bulletproof vest absorbing the majority of the impact, or his ribs would most likely have been broken. Still, it hurt like hell, and as embarrassing as it would have been to admit it, Aiden did shed a few tears.

As Aiden slumped to the floor, still holding his side while he winced in agony. He forced his eyes open, only to come face to face with the entity, crouching down to his height. The entity stared directly into the young man’s soul, with Aiden fearfully looking back. The entity spoke again.

“My Brother, you had often said that there is a great joy that comes from power, and in deciding who can and can’t have power. You had said that the feeling you get when you strip kings of their authority is the most invigorating thing in this World.” The entity chuckled again as it lifted a hand and wrapped its fingers around Aiden’s throat. Aiden gagged and gasped for breath as he felt his trachea and larynx being forced shut.

“And my Brother,” the entity said as he lifted Aiden up effortlessly with one hand, forcing him against the circular door. “That is exactly what I am about to do.” The entity then began to slam Aiden’s head into the metal door repeatedly. Aiden struggled to keep himself conscious amongst the pain that was rampaging through the back of his skull as he heard a sickening “crack!

He saw blackness swim over his eyes as the pain in the back of his head began to fade away. Suddenly, he felt the door behind him give way.

---

The scene that had played out within the next few seconds was something unlike anything the griffin lieutenant had ever seen in his entire career. True, he had seen his fair share of violence and bloodshed, but this...was simply unlike anything he had ever seen or even heard of amongst other officers.

The two soldiers planted the explosives on the circular door as ordered, while the other soldiers kept the two Equestrians back. He would’ve interrogated them (especially the loquacious unicorn), had it not been for the events that had transpired. The door suddenly opened by itself while being primed for breach, revealing not one, but two of those “humans” the unicorn had mentioned.

None of the griffins had ever seen such foreign looking creatures before and they all eyed them with amazement. However, the amazement was replaced with suspicion when they saw one was at the mercy of the other, being held in the air by one of its appendages. The human that held the other in its hand looked over in the direction of the griffins; the lieutenant to be exact. The intimidating yellow glow of its eyes rivaled that of the griffin soldiers. Several of them couldn’t help but step back in fear.

The two Equestrians gazed at the human being strangled with extreme worry and disbelief. “A-Aiden?” The pegasus choked.

Aiden?” The lieutenant thought. “What an odd name...” The officer then stepped forward and cleared his throat to speak to the creature. “Human!” He shouted with as much force as he could muster. “You are hereby ordered by the Royal Military of Gryphonia to surrender yourself! Do so, and you have my word that you and your fellow human will not come to har-” the lieutenant’s sentence was interrupted by a sickening crunch followed by the hollow gasp of one of his own soldiers.

To his left, the lieutenant saw, to his utter disbelief and horror, one of his soldiers was on the ground with his right wing lying several feet away from him and blood poured freely from the wound it had left behind. The expression on the young griffin’s face was one of complete shock. The human stood over this griffin, with blood covering his left appendage, and the other human still being held up in his other.

The lieutenant could do nothing but look on in horror as he watched the human move swiftly from one of his soldiers to the next. Within seconds, they were all on the ground, bleeding to death from severed wings or other limb dismemberments. All of their faces showcased pure shock. Many of them were hit so quickly, they couldn’t even let out a single scream. Before the lieutenant could completely process what had just happened; his entire platoon incapacitated by one human within a matter of seconds; the human suddenly stood before him, less than a foot from his face. He was still holding the one the pegasus called Aiden in his right appendage. With his free limb, which was soaked with griffin blood, the unknown human clasped his fingers around the lieutenant’s throat.

The officer tried to struggle; his wings flailed, he clawed at the human with his razor sharp talons, he kicked his rear legs as he was lifted into the air; all was to no avail. The last thing the lieutenant ever heard was the sound of his throat collapsing under the increasing pressure.

---

Both Night Step and Tempest Runner were speechless. Every single griffin that had interrupted their expedition was now on the floor, either dead or dying. Night Step began to panic, for he had never seen such violence before.

“Dawn’s mercy!” He cried out as he pressed himself up against the wall along with his pegasus companion.

“What is that thing!?” Tempest Runner hissed. Night Step did not answer, he was instead whispering a prayer to Queen Rising Dawn.

“May her light wash upon me forever and ever,” the traumatized unicorn whispered, certain that this would be his and Tempest’s last moments in this world.

“Night Step!” Tempest desperately shook the blue unicorn out of his daze. “We have to do something! That...thing is going to kill Aiden!”

Night Step quickly shook his head and turned to the pegasus in disbelief. “Are you insane!? We’d end up the same as those griffins!”

“We have to do something!” The pegasus retorted.

“I know, Tempest! I want to do something too, believe me!” Night Step pointed a hoof at the entity that held their friend. “But what can we do?”

“I don’t know...” Tempest replied as he pressed his fore hoofs against his ears, growling in frustration of the ever present pulsating noise coming from the glyphs on the walls. “For the Sun’s sake, if that annoying pulse would just stop!” As if on cue, the pulse ceased. Tempest looked up towards the ceiling with his eyes closed and whispered “thank you.”

Night Step suddenly yelped in surprise, making Tempest jump. The entity now stood before them, still holding an unconscious Aiden in his one hand by the throat. With the two of them sitting on their haunches, the entity stood about three feet taller than either of them. It looked down at them with a look that lacked emotion. Although it had the appearance of a human, they couldn’t shake the feeling that it had an aura of unnaturalness to it.

For a few moments, it simply stared down at the two of them, with blood coating its free hand. The two stallions huddled together like frightened foals, staring back up at it. Tempest finally asked a simple request of the entity. “Please, don’t hurt him...” the pegasus whispered in a barely audible tone. The entity’s head jerked back slightly in surprise. Then it smiled.

“You have my word,” its voice echoed within their minds as it reverberated through the chamber. “He will not die.” It laughed as its eyes glowed an evil yellow. “So long as you fulfill a request for me as well.” The two stallions looked up at the entity, not knowing what its request might be. Without waiting for an answer, the entity gave them its task. “Return to your city; your ‘Canterlot,’ and tell your Princess what she can expect within the coming years of her reign. Tell her that I am simply a presage; the Vanguard of what was,” he paused for a brief moment. “And of what will be.” The entity that called itself the vanguard then proceeded to drag Aiden’s unconscious body back into the chamber it originally emerged from.

Tempest Runner and Night Step could do nothing but watch.

---

Aiden’s eyelids felt heavier than ever when he opened his eyes. He felt a bone chilling wind pressing against him, coupled with the feeling that the creature that called him brother still had its fingers around his throat. His eyes opened slowly, only to be met with his supposed “brother” grinning back at him.

“I shouldn’t be surprised, Intervention,” he sighed with a slight tone of disappointment. “It is just like you to befriend such filthy little animals.” He laughed. “You always did have Father’s tendencies; that is, after all why Mother wanted you both dealt with in the first place. I suppose the time you spent in that other world didn’t help; in fact I would go as far to say that it only made things worse.” He shook his head as a sincere frown replaced his grin.

It was at this point Aiden realized where they were: in the sky. Aiden had no idea how, but looking down, he saw the entire Kingdom of Equestria far below him. He could make out distinct features, such as the Everfree forest, or the city of Canterlot. Aiden honestly felt too tired to even panic, like he would’ve normally done if he found himself in a situation so bizarre and life threatening at the same time.

Aiden felt the entity’s grip loosen. He knew that there would be no surviving this. At the very least it would be quick. Just the fall, the impact, and then relief.

“It’s a shame,” the entity continued on. “None of this would’ve had to happen if you would’ve been a nice, obedient son to Mother, like me.” The grip loosened even further. Aiden didn’t even bother to try and lift his hands up to hold onto the entity’s arm. “But remember, my Brother, we are both on the same path of ascension; and that path takes very strange turns.”

Aiden was falling at a rather slow pace, or at least it seemed slow to him. The pain in the back of his skull and in his ribs made it too difficult for him to feel much of anything else. All he really did as he began the long descent to Equestrian soil, was replay his favorite song in his mind.

---

The cream colored Earth filly trotted about happily on her way home from school, anxious as ever to return home. It was a pleasant Fall, Friday afternoon, just like any other in Ponyville. This filly was quite determined to get her weekend assignments finished as quickly as possible, so she would have the rest of the time to play with friends.

She had just finished the rehearsal for the school’s play, which went very well, and she believed that everypony was ready for the show on Wednesday.

When she was about halfway to her house, however, something odd caught her eye. Something appeared to be crawling out of the bushes that were just outside of the Everfree forest. This filly was well aware of the strange creatures that inhabited those unnatural woods, and likely would’ve gone about her business without giving the strange creature a second thought had it not been for the fact that it suddenly spoke.

“Help me...”

Its voice was weak. “On the edge of life” kind of weak. The filly turned back towards the creature to see that it was now looking up at her with teal eyes. It was bleeding rather heavily from the face, and it was a creature unlike anything she had ever seen before. She was tempted to turn and run, screaming all the way back to her parents.

“Please, help me...” the creature whispered in an even weaker tone. The filly shifted her weight around nervously. Against her better judgement, she approached the creature. She was unsure of what to do or say, so she decided to start simple, as the creature looked up at her with pleading eyes.

“Don’t worry,” the filly nervously replied. “I-I’ll go get you some help right away...”

End of Act 2

Author's Note

Well, well, well, this certainly does not bode well for our heroes. Who is this mysterious entity? What are his plans for Equestria and the world? What is the Praemian Thorn? Find out all of this and more, next time on Dragon Ba- Forerunner of the Equinox.