//------------------------------//
// The past. 
// Story: My little Sirens 
// by CaioCoia 
//------------------------------//

Equestria Dark Era, year 133.

Over the darkest night, surrounded by shadows over a red forest, creatures feared by ponies lurk around to approach and destroy the last barricades made by the ponies who fought for years. Wood and Stone smashed to ash, magic replicating the destruction to rebuild the same protection. The three camps didn't do the only thing they could to protect themselves and ignore the other camps. 

That was the view of the three tribes, all of them having to deal with their own personal problem instead to be together and resolving such problems. Each tribe has its own leader to report to the only being who is using all her power to protect the three tribes. A beautiful alicorn with a scarlet mane and white fur.

"Queen, the bugbears are attacking from the east, and the lavengers are creating a colony again to make another wave. We are barely managing to rebuild our forces."

"Pff, that's what you are dealing with? We are having three leviathan serpents over the sky and they are producing more to launch poison over the pegasus tribe. If we inhale the gas it will kill countless pegasus in a few days."

"That's not all my queen. The earth ponies tribe is almost losing supplies from the constant attack of shadow moles who approaches underground, it's been difficult to try to find them and they are almost taking everything we prepared as food. Sooner or later we will have nothing to eat."

The constant report from each tribe around the singular tent in the middle of the forest, a tent with a princess sitting on a wooden throne, with her eyes closed, listening to all the problems around the three tribes. As she opened her eyes, a glow of white appeared on her own pupils, as she made the trio of ponies in silence. As her horn sparkled, she then gave a tired breath and suddenly she took a blank scroll and started writing it. 

"I saw the future, each of the tribes has its own unique solution to deal with each problem. Moon Stone, I want you to go to find a representation of the six nature elements, water, fire, earth, wind, light, and shadows. And taking them to each barrier of the tribe, and then cast a spell using 10 unicorns for each element. The name of the spell is Element of Nature, and you must use all the magic, this way you will be able to create a barrier protecting the unicorn tribe."

"Wind Breeze, I want you all your quickest pegasus, to fly at an extreme speed of 150 kilometers in a constant circle, all of them must be in synchrony, that way you will be able to create a hurricane not just enough to take off the poison gas, but using the hurricanes to intimidate the Snake Leviathans because they fear the wind."

"Hoof Wood, there is one artifact being made from one of your fellow earth ponies, he is doing his best to manage in time, so I need you to take all material possible for him to develop his artifact which will be revolutionary into food supplies. That way you all will be able to get a sigh of relief and not be worried about being starved."

Queen Faust instructed every single representative and using her magic, she managed to create copies and pass them to each of them. And smiling motherly as each single of them shred a tear and bowed in gratitude before leaving the tent. With an exhaustive sigh, she then noticed a cup of tea beside her, with flowers to recover her stamina, a little book of single tales, and eyepatches to make her eyes not sore after using her magic. 

Smiling she turned her head to see a group of four stallions looking at her with absolute devotion and respect over her. Two are unicorns while the others are a unicorn and a pegasus. Three of them wear armor while the other wears a simple cape.

"Thank you, my knights." The kind Queen, smiled as she used her magic to drink the tea, and used her hooves to start reading the little book to ease her mind.

"My queen." The cape pony walked at her with a deep worry on her face. "The future vision magic is draining and it's affecting you every time you use it. I beg you to stop using it." 

"As much, as I hate to say your majesty, Starswirl is right, dealing with this magic is risky and it can potentially destroy your vision and your magic, so we advise you to not uses it." The unicorn wearing armor, his cyan mane and fur, like an elegant pony who would use all kinds of magic to trick his opponents, showed the same concern as his comrade.

"There is nothing else she can do Loolamoon. The brigades around the tribes are pathetic, and each single of us is doing our best to make them protect for years." The pegasus stallion wearing armor approached his deep red fur and brown eyes. His narrowing eyes showed nothing more than frustration to be unable to protect the tribes forever.

"But it must be something we can do." A caramel fur and white mane stallion approached the trio, as he was looking at the Queen with hope, as he felt his mustache twitch on his face. The sadness in his voice was enough to make the trio stop their talk and look at him. 

And as the silence reigned over the tent, suddenly a voice came.

"And there is." The queen spoke, making the four ponies stare at her in surprise. "I already used that magic before, and I was waiting for this exact moment. My little ponies, now it's time to stop the dark era once and for all. But this will be the hardest journey of your whole life..."

The group of stallions stared at the queen with their mouths agape. And hope being ignited in every single one of them.

"For your journey, you must cross the darkest path of the forest, surrounded by the monsters you already defeated before. But be not too cocky, they are in colonies, and dealing with their own territory is far more dangerous than killing them in the waves. And crossing the other side of the river under the darkest hole. There is a single flower. A flower with scarlet leaves and black petals, that flower must be used as the caster material to ignite and that way destroy all the darkness around the tribes. This way we will have more chance since most of the creatures would take thousands of years to reproduce the next generations of monsters. So this would be the end of the Dark Era." The queen instructed as every single pony remained quiet, and by nodding to her the trio of armored stallions left the tent to prepare themselves for their journey.

The caped stallion using his hat, remained quiet as he seemed to be unfazed by the quest the trio must do. But the queen has other plans.

"You must go with them Starswirll." The voice of the queen was enough to make the sorcerer pony turn his head to her and look at her in disbelief.

"What? No." The stallion refused, he shook his head and stubbornly stomped his floor. "I won't leave your side."

"But you must do Starswirll, because magic is essential for the flower to ignite, and you are the strongest magic caster of the unicorn tribe, even as in foalhood you swore to never leave my side, for the sake of all the tribes, you must go with them." The queen smiled sadly at the stubborn unicorn who suddenly felt so conflicted. 

"But what about you? The shadowborgs, the leviathan serpents, and oh sard help me if an Ursa attacks you." The sorcerer looked at his queen in despair and in such worried, that all his points of proving to be on her side were the only reason to protect her from all the dangers. 

"Starswirl." Then the Queen said his name, making him stop. "Don't you have faith in me?"

The unicorn, remained quiet, as he looked at the goodness in front of him, the motherly mare who took care of all the tribes, even though most of them hates each other, she was there to make them believe in themselves and even try to work together as a whole.

"I would rather die than lose my faith in you, my Queen." Starswirl bowed as he closed his eyes, and even if he hated so much to follow this order, it was a must. "I will prepare myself, but if I don't manage to come back... I...I..I."

Starswirl remained with his head looking at the floor, unable to say such words that he've always wanted to say, but then he felt a hoove over his head, which made him raise his head to her, the motherly smile, as she looked deep in his own eyes.

"I know, just go with them, your journey will save their own lives, and you all will learn a valuable lesson through this journey." Faust, the queen smiled as she used her own magic and opened the tent for the unicorn who seemed so conflicted about leaving, but after hearing the voice of his queen again, he got up and went outside to prepare himself for the journey.  Leaving the smiling alicorn shredding tears on her face. "And I'm sorry, for the future I won't be there for you."