//------------------------------// // Epilogues: Glimpses of the Future // Story: Realm of the Lost // by Orsuros //------------------------------// Sandbar sat to the side as Starlight gave a full report of all that had happened. Twilight, Celestia, and Luna all listened and gave the report their complete attention. Twilight seemed excited. Many old things from books and legends had become much clearer now. Celestia looked worried, though. Luna shared her sister’s concern. “Do you have anything to add to this, Sandbar?” Luna asked. “I’ve mostly tried to not think about it all too much. I didn’t like all the fighting or danger, so I’m glad to be back in Equestria. But I did find it strange. I thought that Nightmare Moon was part of you, and the Pony of Shadows was also part of Stygian. Could ponies somehow invite more of these dark spirits into our world? I’ve been worrying about that.” “A sensible worry,” Celestia said. “For that reason, I try to keep Equestria peaceful. I strive to encourage its citizens to be happy and helpful. Pony magic depends on emotion as well as skill. If a powerful pony gives in to their darker side and negative emotions, then they can bring such spirits over to our world.” “But it’s very rare,” Twilight added. “There’s only two times that we know of. I suppose the windigos happen for similar reasons. They feed off of the powerful negative energy created when ponies argue and fight.” Sandbar nodded. “Well, I’ll do my best to keep Equestria chill and happy. I have a few semesters left at the School of Friendship, so I’m sure I still have a lot to learn.” Twilight put a wing on his shoulder. “You have a bright future, whatever you decide to do. Treat your friends well, and you’ll help do your part in Equestria.” Luna put a wing on his other shoulder. “But Equestria also has need of ponies willing to fight against darkness. You’ve seen a lot more of it than most. If you ever wish to help, you can apply to be one of my special knights.” “I don’t know if I’m any good at fighting, but I’ll think about it. Thank you, princesses. It’s good to know you watch over us all.” Starlight tapped a hoof on the floor. “I don’t think we should keep you. Go join your friends and have fun in Canterlot. I still have a lot to discuss with the princesses.” “Cool. I’ll see you back at school!” Sandbar walked quickly out of the throne room. The meeting had him all nervous and sweaty. He sighed in relief as he walked out to the palace gardens where his friends were waiting. It was a bright, sunny day, and it was the perfect time to enjoy the city and have fun. A few weeks after returning home, Smolder scheduled a special appointment with Twilight. She had been telling Spike about the runic magic used by Scriptus. He was excited about it. If dragons could do a little magic, it would be awesome! Now she just had to convince Twilight. Spike cracked the door to the main office open a few minutes before the scheduled time. “Hey, Smolder! You can come in. Twilight’s taking a break for a few minutes, but she’ll be back.” Smolder took a seat and looked around. It wouldn’t be Twilight’s office without tons of books both on and off the bookshelves. A few other instruments both magical and mundane were on shelves and side tables. Twilight’s desk was filled with all sorts of notes and papers.  She looked over at Spike. She could never decide how to feel about him. He was cute, even if he didn’t act like a dragon should most the time. She could never decide if he was like a little brother or something else. With all the gems he ate, he had a bit of pudge, but she was sure that would melt off as he grew into a more mature dragon. It might not be bad to have him and Ocellus, but maybe that was being greedy. Spike gave her a questioning look as she stared at him. He blushed and stammered. “So… besides convincing Twilight about dragon magic, do you have other plans this afternoon? I could use a good player two at the arcade if you’re open.” “Sure! I bet we can beat the highscore this time!” “And maybe we could-” The pop of Twilight teleporting into the room interrupted him. She pulled out her chair and took a seat. She opened a drawer and took out a paper and a few very old books. “I’ve read your petition. I know how badly you want to learn the runes and magic that Scriptus used, but Starlight’s report on the matter has me hesitant. Most magic here in Equestria is bounded by the user’s skill, emotions, and intent. Runic magic has very different rules, dangers, and limits than the types of magic we understand well." She could tell from the look on Twilight's face that the answer was going to be no, but she had to ask anyway. "So you aren't going to teach it? You aren’t going to let us learn it because you're scared of it?" She hoped that last bit wasn't too much, especially with how she had said it with a fierce growl afterward. Twilight had her ears back. That was usually a sign of a scared pony. “No! It’s not that at all. I mean, I’m not going to teach it. But that’s because we don’t have anyone qualified to teach it. But I’ve already have a solution. With the right magic, I could set up a correspondence course with Scriptus. He’ll oversee what you learn, and he should be able to send you copies of books or notes that he has. Starlight will oversee the course to make sure you are progressing well and to make sure you don’t try anything too dangerous. It will take up one of your elective classes next semester, and it’s going to be a tough course.” Smolder grinned. “I accept your challenge. I’m ready for anything.” “Can I join, too?” Spike asked. “I suppose, but only if you can keep up. Magic, especially this type, isn’t something to be taken lightly. I’ll let you know more once I have things figured out. Contacting Scriptus is going to be the most difficult part, but that circlet that Sandbar brought back should help. Any other questions?” Smolder shook her head. Spike gave her a thumbs up as he started to gather up a pouch full of bits. “You’ve been a great student, so I’m looking forward to seeing you do even more great things. Now, go have some fun at the arcade. It’s good for Spike to spend time with a fellow dragon, but be back in time for dinner.” “Actually, I was hoping to take Smolder to one of my favorite places in Ponyville for dinner.” “Hmm.” Twilight thought for a moment then smiled. “That’s fine. Be back no later than eight. It’s a school night, after all.” As they walked out, Smolder whispered to Spike. “How’d she know where we were going?” He shrugged. “She knows me too well, but the bag of bits was probably what gave it away.” “Do you mind if I invite Ocellus to the arcade? I don’t want to make you pay for an extra dinner, but I’d like to spend time with both of you.” “Honestly, I haven’t spent much time with her. Feel invite her for the games.” She smiled. It was going to be a great night with some of her best friends. The two hippogriff guards pulled up their spears and let Silverstream pass. It was always great to visit her aunt. She was elegant and energetic, and she always knew what to do. Queen Novo combed a few feathers back into place on her wings and motioned for Silverstream to approach. Novo jumped up and gave Silverstream a big hug as soon as she got close to the throne. “Silverstream! I hardly get to see you anymore! Have you grown taller? Your eyes look a little baggy. Are they keeping you up too late studying at that new school?” “No. School is going great! I have tons of fun new friends, and there are so many new things to see! But I often stay up late with my friends.” “Any cute boys you have an eye on? You can trust Auntie Novo to keep a secret.” Silverstream’s mind immediately strayed to Gallus. She blushed and her feathers fluffed up involuntarily. Novo laughed. “I can definitely tell there’s someone you like.” Silverstream leaned close and whispered. “I’ll tell, but you have to keep it a secret. My friend, Gallus, he’s a griffon. He’s brave and strong. He tries to be tough instead of cute, but he is cute, especially when he purrs. Or when he relaxes and smiles for real.” “He sounds very special. Maybe you can introduce him when you bring him home.” “Bring him home? Oh! I hadn’t even thought about that. What would Mom and Dad think? Would they like him?” “I bet they will. But I shouldn’t be getting you worked up over that. It’s not something you need to rush. You had other important questions about Storm Surge. That’s a name I haven’t heard in ages, and one I had hoped would remain forgotten.” “So you knew him?” “Yes. He used to be a regular hippogriff and had another name, but he changed that as he became corrupted by chaos magic. He tried to corrupt the Pearl of Transformation, but I stopped that. He was a fanatical follower of Discord back when Discord was still attacking Equestria. He drew away a few hippogriffs to follow him, but I banished them all with Celestia’s help. I wish I could have saved them somehow, but they were too far gone. They sacrificed their names, memories, and identities to gain power from beings of chaos.” “So there’s no way to rescue them?” Queen Novo was silent for a minute. “There might be, but it would be very dangerous. They are where they can’t hurt us or our world. Until we have a way to safely visit them and contain the power of the creatures that control them, we would only be putting ourselves and our kingdom in danger.” Silverstream’s ears drooped. It would be awful to be stuck like that, but if Queen Novo didn’t think there was a good way to help them, then there probably wasn’t one. At least not yet. Maybe she could find something that would do what the queen said. A hoof lifted her chin. “Don’t you worry about that too much. You should be focusing on school, and maybe on that cute griffon you like.” Queen Novo gave her another big hug. “If you have any ideas on how to help those hippogriffs, bring them to me. I’ll do what I can. But now I have some other court business to deal with. Maybe if I get it all done, we can have a nice little family dinner tonight.” “Thank you auntie.” When Silverstream returned to school after her visit home, she found a hidden gift in her luggage. The little card on the outside said it was from Novo. She quickly opened it. Inside was an issue of Ponypolitan magazine with a handsome griffon on the cover.  10 Tips to Win Your Lovebird’s Heart (and some extra tips for after you do) Auntie Novo loved to laugh at all the silly advice in magazines like this. But how had she found one with that cover article? Silverstream blushed. If Gallus posed like the griffon on the cover, she bet he’d be even more handsome. She heard the stomping of hooves in the outside hall and had to quickly hide the magazine. She slipped it under her pillow and stuffed the wrapping paper in the trash can.  Yona probably wouldn’t notice anything. Or if she did, she wasn’t really the type of roommate to ask too many questions. Summer break began. Ocellus was worried about her friends all going off and forgetting about her, but they had come up with a much better plan. Each of them would host whichever friends could come and show off their homes. They had started in Ponyville with Sandbar’s family, which hadn’t been much different from weekends off of classes, and now they were all at the hive. She quietly slipped out of Smolder’s loose embrace. The love she shared with the dragon seemed to be changing lately in a way that made her feel both excited and flustered. She gave the sleeping dragon a quick little nuzzle before getting out of bed.  Her other friends were in the hive’s guest rooms, but she had wanted to share her room with Smolder. Unlike their school dorms, there was only one bed, but Smolder had been fine with sharing it. She tucked the blanket over her special friend before heading to visit King Thorax. Thorax said that important things should be dealt with early, so he left time on many mornings for changelings to come talk to him about issues that might affect the entire hive. He looked bright and ready as he sat on the throne. Pharynx sat to the side of the throne and sipped a mug of dark coffee. He looked tired and grumpy, but she could feel that he enjoyed the bitter pony drink. “Pharynx, you can’t have coffee without donuts,” Thorax said. He levitated a donut toward his brother. “I can, and I will. They’re too sweet.” Thorax sighed and took a bite of the donut before noticing Ocellus. He motioned her forward. “Ocellus! It’s good that you came to visit this morning. Are your friends happy with their food and rooms here? Feel free to have some donuts.” She took a chocolate donut. It was a little more dense than a donut normally would be, but it was good. The changelings were getting pretty good at imitating pony foods. “I think they’re getting used to everything, but they liked their rooms just fine. But that’s not what I’m here to talk about today. I was wondering if you, or maybe Pharynx, knew more about Queen Cordys.” “No.” Pharynx set his mug down. “I heard a little, just once. Chrysalis mentioned her as an example of how not to run a hive. She said that Cordys wouldn’t have been caught if she had focused more on disguises and infiltration instead of control and sustained love harvesting. That’s all I ever heard of her. I think your earlier report told us all we needed to know about her. Is there something we missed?” “Well, it’s just an idea. We changed into something new when we changed how we get energy from love. Cordys and her hive were similar. They weren’t quite the same as how we were when Chrysalis was in charge. What if there are other forms that we haven’t discovered yet? And what if we could use what Cordys was trying to do, but for good?” “We’re still rediscovering who we are,” Thorax said. “I don’t think we need to try to go down other paths yet, and the magic that Cordys used is the sort that might make the other creatures afraid of us again.” She frowned. “We wouldn’t use it to control ponies, like she did. But if magic combined with those special mushrooms could induce love, contentment, and obedience, maybe we could use that for something good. I’ve seen depressed ponies, and it was hard to even be around them. The emotional energy was so negative, it felt like it was draining me. But maybe we could learn from Queen Cordys and use her magic to help ponies who are depressed or suffering.” “A good idea,” Pharynx said. “It would help build good will with the ponies and other species. But you’ve overlooked something important. We’d need the mushrooms, at the very least. And getting anything to or from the Realm of the Lost isn’t easy. Maybe if we work with the ponies on this, it might be possible.” Thorax got up and patted her shoulder. “You have a great heart, and you’re in a much better position to look into this. Work with Twilight or Starlight. They might be able to cross the boundaries between worlds. Once you’ve made progress, report back to me.” “And your time with ponies is making you sloppy,” Pharynx added. “I can taste the normal friendship love all over you, and I can also taste a love for one of them is something more.” Thorax gave his brother a sharp look. “We don’t need to tightly control our emotions, like in the past. Ocellus, if you want to explore the many types of love with your friends, you have my blessing. But I’m curious. Which friend do you feel this love for?” She blushed. Her wings buzzed as thoughts of Smolder bubbled up. “It’s… Smolder.” Pharynx sighed. “At this rate, all the best changelings are going to fall in love with dragons.” Thorax chuckled nervously. Pharynx pointed a hoof at him. “Don’t think I can’t sense the love on you after your ‘special’ diplomatic sessions with Dragon Lord Ember.” Thorax stood tall and glared at his brother. “I do what I must to create strong diplomatic ties with our allies. You shouldn’t say something that might start rumors. Ocellus, you may go. Don’t mention that last part to anyone.” Ocellus was blushing even more as she trotted out of the throne room. She tried to fight off her imagination as images of King Thorax and Dragon Lord Ember suddenly filled it. When she got back to her room, Smolder was stretching and slowly waking up. “Smolder, you have to keep this a secret, but do you think there’s anything going on between King Thorax and Ember?” She yawned and pulled Ocellus back into bed. “Do the changelings not know? Everydragon knows that King Thorax is her consort, even if she’ll bite your head off if you mention it. We could try out their style of diplomacy. We have 30 minutes until breakfast is ready, right?” Smolder’s kiss surprised Ocellus a moment later. But Smolder was right. They didn’t have anything else to do at the moment, and the love Ocellus was sharing now was some of the sweetest she had ever tasted. As soon as they graduated, Yona asked Sandbar to come with him to visit her family in Yakyakistan. Once they were there, she had bigger plans for both of them, but there were certain ceremonies and times that were lucky for a young couple. For now, they were both stopping off in the Crystal Empire for a brief rest before continuing on. Princess Cadence had insisted they come to visit, but she didn’t know why. Sandbar didn’t know either, but that was pretty normal for her cute but often clueless coltfriend. A royal porter took their luggage as soon as they stopped at the train platform. A guard greeted them and led them directly to the castle. He offered them snacks and water while he checked on the princess’s schedule. Either there was an opening or a meeting got canceled because they were in the throne room about ten minutes later. Princess Cadence and Shining Armor were both there. They had the look of ponies trying to appear calm. Yona could always tell when ponies were nervous about something, and ponies were nervous very often. The guards stepped outside, which left the four of them alone. Cadence smiled and stepped forward to give them quick hugs. “Yona, Sandbar! Congratulations on finishing your degrees at Twilight’s school. Even if she’s not directly in charge of it anymore, she still follows all of you closely. She recommended I talk to you both. She said you’d be able to tell me more about Hedron.” Yona’s eyes went wide. That was a name she had barely heard since they returned to Equestria. “I’m asking,” Cadence continued, “because I remembered something about that name in one of Twilight’s reports, from that time you went to that other place. Flurry Heart… she says she has a friend who lives in the crystals. His name is also Hedron.” “He hasn’t told her to do anything wrong or dangerous,” Shining Armor said. “But we wanted to know who he is and what he might want.” Sandbar smiled. “Oh, Hedron! I used to have the circlet thing he gave me, but Starlight kept that for study. And I think she said she sent it up to Sunburst because he lived up here.” Shining Armor rubbed his chin. “I do recall him handing over a crystal circlet before he moved to Ponyville to help Starlight with the school. Is it important?” “Yeah, it’s one way I communicated with him and used his magic to help us.” “So if we find it, we might be able to do something?” “I’m not sure. I could only get it to work once or twice after we brought it back home.” “Okay. Why don’t we go look for it? I think it should be in the magical artifact safe.” Shining Armor left with Sandbar, which left Yona alone with Cadence. “Hmm, I can see you like him. Young love is always so cute. Don’t let others say it won’t work out. But enough about love. Even if I’m the princess of it, I’d rather know more about Hedron. I can give advice about love later.” Yona’s ears perked up. “Yona can tell you a lot about Hedron. He is an ancient magical spirit. He helped yaks against ice spirits like the windigos. He is very powerful, but his power can also curse yaks unless they have the proper runestones and totems in place. When we met him, he could be a magical floating crystal thing or appear as a yak spirit stuck in the crystal. He is a spirit of order and balance.” “He doesn’t sound too bad, but I’m still worried. Flurry Heart enjoys talking to him, but we got a little scare when she suddenly was using special crystal magic we didn’t know about. She says that she has to fix the castle for her friend.” “Hedron said that he lived here in the past, but Sombra corrupted what he had built to power his evil magic.” “So if Flurry Heart fixes it, will Hedron be able to use the magic of the crystal heart?” Yona shrugged. She had learned a little more about magic in some of the classes that covered the basics. Part of friendship was understanding others, including their magic. But Hedron’s magic went far beyond that. They silently thought about things until the door was shoved open by magic. Shining Armor cantered to his wife’s side. “Honey, we found it! And it might work!” Sandbar walked over to Yona’s side. He had the circlet around his front leg and was tapping at some of the crystals. They went from dark to a dim glow. A familiar voice came out of the circlet. “Sandbar! Yona! I knew I sensed some familiar presences. My power is limited with such a divide between us, so I can only speak for a short time.” Shining Armor leaned toward the circlet. “This is Shining Armor, father to Flurry Heart.” “And Princess Cadence, her mother. What do you intend to do with my daughter and my castle?” “I hope to reestablish some connection with Equestria. The crystal heart would be able to power brief interchanges of magical connection and physical teleportation. I have been instructing Flurry Heart in how to repair the matrices and conduits on your side. We could both benefit from such an exchange, especially since Harmony has become dormant.” “But is what you’re doing safe? My daughter is far too young for any dangerous or advanced magic.” “It is merely the work a magical technician would do. It is simple and safe with my instructions. Keep the circlet, should you wish to communicate with me more. It’s running low. That is all for now.” The last syllable faded almost to silence as the magic ran out. Sandbar handed the circlet over to Cadence. “He said to keep it, and it seems like you guys need it here.” “This is a lot to take in,” she said. “We’ll need to talk to Flurry Heart about all this. Of course, I don’t want to show you any less hospitality either. I have more advice for you, as a pony and yak couple. But we’ll discuss that over lunch. Why don’t you go enjoy the Crystal Empire for a few hours?” Yona gave Sandbar a hug and smiled. All the ponies always worked themselves up until they were nervous and scared. He sighed and relaxed as she held him tight. A few ponies gave them questioning looks. “If we’re going to be hugging, we probably should do it somewhere besides the castle’s waiting rooms.” “Yona not care. Yona think ponies who do care should rethink attitudes.” “That’s one thing I love about you.” He took her hoof and led her outside. She smiled fiercely at the ponies who gave them strange looks. Pony and yak couples were very rare but not unheard of, and she was determined to show them all how happy she was with Sandbar. “So do you have everything we need?” Silverstream asked. Gallus gave her a thumbs up before settling in on the couch beside her. “Yep, everything’s packed and ready.” She preened a few of his feathers back in place. “It feels like we haven’t been together with all our friends since we fought off that monster.” “It’s mostly been peaceful. That’s why I’m retiring from being Twilight’s guard captain if this works out. And I’m happy to do it all for my lovely wife.” He nuzzled Silverstream and put an arm around her. “I keep telling you that you don’t have to do anything special. I’m only a cousin to the royal family, it’s not like I’m directly in line for the throne.” “You are special! And you’ve been better than any princess to me. And if we find the Idol of Boreas, you’ll be my queen.” “And you think we have a good chance of finding it? Haven’t a lot of griffons gone missing or got hurt while searching for it? Maybe we should just be happy with what we have.” He looked around at their little home. It was a nice cottage in Ponyville, with a few modifications to the second floor to suit landings or takeoffs. Above the fireplace were pictures of them and their friends. Looking at them always made him feel warm inside. They were all gathered together during the important events, such as Equestria’s triumph over the evil three. A few medals for their bravery and service were also there. And at the center was a picture from their wedding. It was a perfect little life, especially considering how he had come to Ponyville with next to nothing. But now he had a chance to do so much more. To help so much more. He wanted to bring the happiness and prosperity he had found to Griffonstone. “Those other griffons didn’t have friends like I have. And they didn’t have a wealthy, powerful benefactor like Grandeur helping with their expeditions. He’s letting us borrow a lot of powerful magical items for free.” Silverstream smiled and tapped the tip of his beak. “Not entirely for free. He made you sign those agreements for his business and trading terms. Of course, those only go into effect once you’re the ruler of Griffonstone, but I know my politics. He’s going to make a lot more money by having somewhere to do business that isn’t as heavily monitored as Equestria. Princess Twilight checks his wares carefully whenever he sends anything to be sold here, and you should do the same in Griffonstone. Remember that necromancer?” “Yeah, I do. I’ll make sure stuff like that doesn’t happen.” “You’ll do great!” Gallus rubbed beaks with her and purred. He had never been relaxed enough to purr around anyone until he met her. She was his shining star and had always been there during their years at school to lift him out of any self-doubt or depression. He often felt amazed to have someone like her as his partner in life. He sighed as someone knocked on the door. “That’s our friends. But I’d gladly pause our adventure a few minutes to appreciate my lovely wife.” She laughed and pushed his talons away. “Get the door. That can wait for a better time.” “Adventure never calls at a convenient time. I’m excited to begin.”