The Drakians
Deep within the Emerald Forest, Golden Lace and Misty Brightdawn looked down a newly made hole in the ground, horrified and helpless. Deep within the hole, Starlight Glimmer sat there, waiting patiently. Her eyes were somehow glued to a nearby corner.
“Are you alright down there?” Misty yelled.
“I’m fine,” Starlight replied. “But you guys need to come down here.”
“I’m not going down there,” Golden Lace said. “In fact, you need to come up here.”
“But guys,” Starlight yelled. “I discovered something down here that is so amazing.”
“Starlight, are you going to be that stubborn?” Golden Lace shouted.
“I’m not kidding,” Starlight yelled. “I see something on the wall that looks like some kind of lizard people.”
“Lizard people?” Misty yelled. “What do you mean by that?”
“I can barely tell,” Starlight yelled. “But there is some kind of text down here that even I can’t seem to read.”
Golden Lace paced back and forth frantically as Misty kept her eyes down the hole. The shifting of Golden Lace’s hooves were enough to catch Misty’s attention.
“Lace, are you alright?” Misty asked.
“No,” Golden Lace said. “I’m concerned about Starlight. But at the same time, if what she says is true, then this might be a discovery of a lifetime.”
Suddenly, the sound of someone shouting “HEY GUYS! HELP IS ON THE WAY” caught the ears of Golden Lace and Misty Brightdawn. The duo turned towards the north where Cozy Glow and Wanda Young flew through the woods and landed nearby. Once Wanda’s wings disappeared, she and Cozy Glow ran up to Misty and Lace.
“Wanda, are you alright?” Golden Lace asked.
“I was, until I heard Starlight scream,” Wanda explained.
“She fell down this hole,” Misty said. “Any chance you can get her out of there?”
Wanda looked down into the hole, where Starlight Glimmer got herself up and began to walk away.
“Starlight,” Wanda yelled. “Where are you going?”
Immediately, Starlight came to a stop and said “Wanda. Is that you?”
“It’s me, alright,” Wanda yelled. “Hang on. I’ll try to get you out of there.”
“Take your time,” Starlight said. “I found something that caught my eyes.”
Wanda pulled her head up and turned towards Golden Lace and Misty Brightdawn, shaking her head left and right in disbelief.
“So she’s that stubborn?” Golden Lace asked.
“I’m afraid so,” Wanda said. “What is it that caught her eye?”
“She said something about a wall consisting of lizard people, and some text she doesn’t understand,” Misty said. “But I can’t put my hoof to what that means.”
“Neither can I,” Wanda said. “Guess I’ll have to wait for my Evevanyian mommy to come back and convince her otherwise.”
“It shouldn’t take long,” Cozy Glow said. “After all, she was right behind me.”
But as Cozy Glow finished speaking, Misty and Lace heard the sound of leaves rustling. They looked north to see Eleanor Young walk on in, holding Abigail to her chest.
“Eleanor, was it?” Golden Lace said. “Any chance you could help us get Starlight out of there?”
“Is she hurt down there?” Eleanor asked.
“She’s not,” Golden Lace said. “But she mentioned something about a wall consisting of lizard people, alongside some text she doesn’t understand.”
Eleanor paused for a bit and said “Wait. Lizard people, right?”
“That’s what I said,” Golden Lace replied.
“I think what you mean is the Drakians,” Eleanor replied.
“The Drakians?” Wanda asked. “What are the Drakians?”
“That’s a question we’ll discover if we go down the hole that Starlight fell in,” Eleanor explained.
“Wait,” Golden Lace said. “We’re going down there?”
“Starlight did state that she found a wall consisting of those lizard people and text she can’t understand,” Misty said.
“Wanda,” Eleanor said. “Tell Starlight we’re coming down.”
Wanda nodded to Eleanor before directing her face towards the hole.
“Starlight,” Wanda shouted. “Hang on. We’re coming down there.”
“I was wondering when you would say that,” Starlight shouted from the hole. “I’m waiting.”
Abigail leaped onto Eleanor’s back as the adult Evevanyian picked up Misty Brightdawn. Misty closed her eyes as Eleanor jumped down into the hole, going through without any trouble. Golden Lace looked down and gulped loudly.
“I don’t know,” Golden Lace said. “I don’t want to get myself hurt from that.”
“It’ll be okay,” Wanda said as her wings formed once more. “I won’t let you go. I promise.”
Reluctantly, Golden Lace got on her hind legs and said “I hope so. The last thing I need is to be stuck down there for the rest of my life.”
Wanda held Golden Lace as close to her as possible. With a flap of her wings, Wanda flew up into the air before she slowly descended into the hold, gripping Golden Lace as tight as possible. Cozy Glow watched as Wanda and Lace disappeared.
“I don’t want to go down there, I don’t want to go down there, I don’t want to go down there,” Cozy Glow chanted.
But Cozy Glow’s head began to sweat nervously. Her legs shook. She looked down at the hole that Wanda and Lace went down and her teeth began to chatter.
“Ahhhhh heck with it,” Cozy Glow shouted. “I’m going after them.”
Flapping her wings as fast as she could, Cozy Glow leaped into the air before she flew down into the hole, pursuing after Wanda Young and Golden Lace.
Under the hole, a bright underground area showed its way for Wanda Young and Golden Lace, the former who descended slowly while keeping her hold onto the latter. Golden Lace looked around and was amazed by her surroundings.
“Wow,” Golden Lace said. “I heard the underground can be scary. But at the same time, I’m bedazzled by it.”
“So am I,” Wanda said as she descended slowly.
When Wanda’s two feet touched the ground, the man’s cub released her hold on Golden Lace, who dropped down to her four hooves. The two turned to their right, where Eleanor Young, Abigail Albright, Misty Brightdawn and Starlight Glimmer awaited them. As the two stepped forward, Cozy Glow flew down from the ceiling and landed next to them. Starlight looked at Wanda and her face beamed with excitement.
“Wanda,” Starlight cried as she ran up and hugged Wanda. “I was worried about you.”
“I was worried about you as well when I heard your scream,” Wanda said as she held Starlight tight. “I’m just glad nothing bad happened to you.”
But as Wanda and Starlight hugged each other tightly, Cozy Glow flew up behind Wanda and tickled her on the back. Wanda’s eyes popped out and she started to laugh loudly.
“COZY GLOW!” Wanda chuckled. “YOU JUST RUINED MY MOMENT!”
“Well I had to,” Cozy Glow smiled as she backed off a bit from Wanda. “Starlight mentioned that wall decoration involving the Dracians, or Drakians, or whatever those lizard people are.”
Starlight released her hold on Wanda before getting back down on her four hooves. She walked towards a nearby wall and pointed directed at the carvings embedded within the stone, where it showcased groups of lizard-like humanoids alongside a variety of dinosaurs.
“That’s what you found?” Golden Lace said. “Interesting.”
“For the more than a thousand years I’ve spent on this planet,” Misty Brightdawn said, “Even I never imagined something like this.”
“I have,” Eleanor said, walking up to the wall mural. “I’ve seen this kind of design back in Evevanya. The creatures that you see are called Drakians.”
“What are Drakians?” Wanda asked.
“They’re said to be the ancestral race of all three planets, back when it was one superplanet,” Eleanor explained.
“Don’t they look a bit like dragons?” Golden Lace asked.
“They do,” Eleanor said. “But they’re not even their ancestors. In fact, the Drakians are said to have had a hand in creating the races of today.”
“They did?” Cozy Glow asked.
“They actually did,” Eleanor said, pointing to a carving on the wall consisting of a pair of Drakians with orbs that consisted of various species. “Some say it was the Drakians that created the modern races across the three worlds, like the humans of Earth, the Evevanyians of Evevanyia and the ponies of Equestria. Though some say the ponies came from Evevanya.”
“So we were made by these Drakians?” Misty asked.
“It appears so,” Starlight replied. “Even I don’t seem to believe it.”
“Not just humans, Evevanyians and ponies,” Eleanor explained. “There were other species made by the Drakians like the yaks, griffins, hippogriffs, abyssians, dragons, kirin, changelings, centaurs, moochicks, bushwoolies, raptorians, glosects, satyrs, and many more that we may not know of.”
Cozy Glow, Golden Lace, Misty Brightdawn, Abigail and Wanda all approached the stone mural and reached out to it in awe.
“Amazing,” Golden Lace said. “To think, we were created by these Drakians. Though I wonder why they had dinosaurs by their side.”
“Because the dinosaurs were companions of the Drakians,” Eleanor explained. “They stood by their human-like counterparts as allies, protecting the planet and its creations from outsiders. Once the Drakians disappeared from existence, so did the dinosaurs.”
“Do you think they may have gone extinct?” Starlight asked.
“Even I don’t know the fate of the Drakians and the dinosaurs,” Eleanor said.
But as Starlight Glimmer, Cozy Glow, Golden Lace, Misty Brightdawn and Abigail Albright continued to observe the images on the mural, Wanda’s eyes were fixated on the writing beneath it, observing it curiously.
“Wanda,” Eleanor said, noticing Wanda’s gaze was fixated on the text. “I’m surprised that you’ve taken notice of the wording of the Drakians.”
“I do, Evevanyian mommy,” Wanda said. “Because for some reason, I can understand what this all means.”
“You do?” Starlight asked.
“Yeah,” Wanda said, pointing to a text below an image of a group of Drakians bowing to a human-like figure. “According to what I see, they mentioned about worshiping a goddess named Lily Hikari.”
“That’s absolutely right,” Eleanor said. “We’ve studied the text of the Drakians for centuries, and I’m surprised you’re quick to understand it.”
“I dunno what,” Wanda said. “And yet, according to the text, they see Lily Hikari as the creator of this universe, and the Drakians see themselves as her servant.”
“Right you are, my daughter,” Eleanor replied. “The Drakians saw themselves carrying out Lily Hikari’s will, and chose the planet Ancient Terra to forge what is called the center of the universe. Some say it was also her who created the cosmic cores as a means of creating life across the universe, but sent the most amount of these orbs to the planet. It was there that the Drakians were able to create life using the cosmic cores and the organic materials of this planet.”
“Maybe that’s why we were all created,” Cozy Glow said. “This Lily Hikari, whoever she was, saw this planet as where we would all come from.”
But Wanda’s gaze shifted to another wall mural that showed the Drakians defending the number of creatures from a dragon-like monster above. She looked down at the text and placed her finger on it.
“But there is more,” Wanda said. “It was said that the Drakians had to protect their own creations from a powerful dark dragon named Oblivion.”
“A dark dragon?” Misty said. “I thought the Drakians created the dragons.”
“They did,” Eleanor said. “But this is the first time that I’ve heard of a dark dragon named Oblivion.”
“There is more,” Wanda said, pointing to the text. “The Drakians saw Oblivion as everything that goes against the will of Lily Hikari. Dark Dragon Oblivion wanted nothing more than to wipe out all life across the universe, and consume every cosmic core in existence. The Drakians saw Oblivion as the hated foe of Lily Hikari.”
“I don’t like this Oblivion monster,” Starlight cried. “He sounds mean.”
“But whatever happened to Oblivion?” Misty asked.
Wanda turned her gaze towards another set of text that was directed below the human goddess and the dark dragon fighting each other.
“It was said that Lily Hikari fought the Dark Dragon Oblivion in an attempt to protect planet Terra from the dragon’s vicious appetite for all existence,” Wanda read. “The conflict lasted for a short while that placed the existence of her new universe in grave danger. In the end, Oblivion was defeated and his original form was destroyed….but at a horrible cost.”
“A horrible cost?” Starlight replied. “What happened?”
Wanda turned her gaze towards another mural, where it looked like the goddess disappeared with a crystal set in the center, and a number of Drakians appeared to be in mourning. Her eyes directed towards the text beneath the stone mural.
“Lily Hikari used up all of her magic to destroy Oblivion,” Wanda read. “The goddess passed on following her victory against the Dark Dragon. The Drakians mourned the loss of their goddess and chose to finish the task of creating the species of this planet. But in her death, the Heart of the Universe was created: A powerful crystal that contains the powers of the goddess. This crystal landed on Planet Terra, where it would remain so that she may be reincarnated.”
“So in the end,” Cozy Glow said. “This Heart of the Universe was Lily Hikari.”
“It appears so,” Eleanor said. “No one has ever seen the Heart of the Universe before. Especially not in this era.”
Wanda’s eyes quickly shifted to one more mural, which showed the Drakians disappearing, and another dragon-like creature standing above the Heart of the Universe. She looked down at the text and placed her finger on it.
“This last piece told us that the Drakians would one day depart this world, and this universe,” Wanda explained. “That they, along with the dinosaurs, would not see the true results of their work, and that their creations would have to run the planet without them. They also foresaw the future reincarnation of Oblivion journeying back to the past to acquire the Heart of the Universe.”
Eleanor approached the mural and said “I believe there is a saying that goes ‘Though evil can be diminished, it can never be vanquished.’ What that means is that evil will always find a way to come back and strike fear into the hearts of good folks.”
“Like with my mother Gold Banks,” Golden Lace said.
But Starlight Glimmer noticed a figure right next to the second dragon-like creature that looked familiar. She walked up and placed her hoof on it.
“Wanda,” Starlight said. “Notice something about what I’m pointing at?”
Wanda looked at the figure and said “That looks almost like…me. But…what am I doing in there?”
“I don’t know,” Starlight replied. “I find it surprising that you would even be in this mural.”
“This is a rather curious predicament,” Eleanor said. “Everything that we’ve discovered in this secret cavern tells more of the tales of the Drakians, but it also brings in more questions than answers. What happened to the Heart of the Universe? Did this reincarnation of Oblivion acquire it? And why would a figure that resembles Wanda appear opposite to this incarnation of Oblivion?”
Suddenly, they heard the sound of someone shouting “Smallfry? Are you down here?”
Wanda looked up at the hole and shouted “Is that you, Aunt Novo?”
Queen Novo looked down from the hole in the ceiling and said “We’ve been worried about you and Queen Eleanor since you ran off into this forest.”
“She’s fine,” Eleanor yelled. “But by accident, Starlight Glimmer made a discovery that lines up with the ruins from Evevanya, connecting our races together.”
“She did that?” Queen Novo replied. “That sounds amazing. But that’s not why I came here. Princess Celesita wanted to see you.”
“Alicorn mommy wanted to?” Wanda asked.
“It’s to apologize for her tone early on,” Queen Novo said. “And to let you know about what’s going to happen at this point.”
Wanda turned to Eleanor and her friends and said “Sorry guys. Looks like we have to leave.”
“It’s okay, Wanda,” Eleanor said. “We’ll talk more about this another time. Right now, it’s time we made our way back to the Golden Palace.”
Eleanor picked up Golden Lace as Abigail hopped on her shoulder. In a flash of light, a large pair of insect wings formed on Eleanor Young’s back.
“Wow,” Golden Lace said. “You can fly like Wanda can?”
“It’s a trait of the Evevanyian Dawns,” Eleanor said. “Now come. Princess Celestia awaits.”
Eleanor held Golden Lace tight as she flapped her wings. Jumping into the air, Eleanor flew upwards towards the hole in the ceiling, flying through with Golden Lace in her arms and Abigail on her shoulder. As Eleanor, Golden Lace and Abigail disappeared, Cozy Glow picked up Misty Brightdawn while Wanda held Starlight Glimmer tight.
“Meet ya at the top, Wanda,” Cozy Glow said as she flapped her wings.
Misty held onto Cozy Glow as tight as possible as the alicorn filly flew upwards towards the hole before going through it. Once Cozy Glow and Misty were gone, Wanda and Starlight held each other tight.
“So what do you think Celestia wants with you, Wanda?” Starlight asked.
“I still feel upset about some of the words I mentioned towards my Evevanyian mommy,” Wanda said. “About how I had no mommies.”
“That’s horrible,” Starlight said.
“And I want to make sure my alicorn mommy is alright,” Wanda said as her wings formed once more and Starlight held onto her.
With a flap of her insect wings, Wanda Young flew upwards towards the hole with Starlight clinging on for dear life. They flew upwards until they went out of the hole.
Back above ground, Wanda Young landed next to Eleanor with Starlight still holding on. Once Wanda touched the ground, Starlight released her grip from Wanda. Next to Eleanor, Golden Lace, Cozy Glow, Abigail Albright and Misty Brightdawn were gathered around Queen Novo.
“So that must be some adventure to discover something like that,” Queen Novo said.
“It was, Aunt Novo,” Wanda replied.
Starlight raised her hoof and said “Actually, I was the one who discovered the secret of the Drakians.”
“It was you who discovered it?” Novo asked.
“It was,” Eleanor explained. “If it weren’t for Starlight’s scream, we wouldn’t have known about this place.”
“Well with that being said, we must get you all to the palace,” Queen Novo explained. “Princess Celestia wishes to apologize for her harsh tone early ago.”
Wanda nodded to Queen Novo as she flapped her wings again and hovered into the air. She flew up and landed on top of Queen Novo’s back before her wings disappeared. Queen Novo raised herself into the air before riding off with Wanda atop her back.
“Come on,” Eleanor Young said. “Let’s head back to the palace this instant.”
With that, Eleanor flew up into the air and took off after Queen Novo and Wanda Young. Behind her, Starlight Glimmer, Golden Lace, Cozy Glow, Misty Brightdawn and Abigail Albright followed after Eleanor.
But nearby in the bushes, Princess Chrysalis II, Inferno, Quickstrike and Waspinator emerged from their hiding place, watching as Wanda and her friends disappeared from plain sight before directing their gaze towards the hole.
“Did you hear that?” Quickstrike asked. “A secret mural about the Drakians and this Oblivion guy.”
“Waspinator rather curious,” Waspinator said. “Waspinator wants to see this mural.”
“I’m not sure of this,” Princess Chrysalis II said. “Queen Chrysalis ordered us to spy on Princess Celestia and her entitled brats.”
“It can wait for now,” Inferno explained. “What we heard about this Oblivion dragon catches our interest, and we must see for ourselves.”
Inferno, Quickstrike and Waspinator flapped their wings as fast as possible before they leaped into the air and flew down the hole, leaving an annoyed Princess Chrysalis II behind.
“Why do I even bother?” Princess Chrysalis II said.
Princess Chrysalis II ran towards the hole before she leaped into the air and flew into it, pursuing after the Predacon brothers.
Back underground, Princess Chrysalis II flew downwards through the underground cavern as Inferno, Quickstrike and Waspinator observed the murals that surrounded them. Princess Chrysalis II landed next to the Predacons before looking up at the carvings on the wall.
“I don’t see anything interesting about these,” Princess Chrysalis II said. “Are you sure about this hogwash?”
“It’s more than hogwash,” Quickstrike said. “We overheard those softskins explain about the Drakians and that the changelings were created by them.”
“That’s something I don’t completely buy,” Princess Chrysalis II said. “WHy would we consider the ponies along with the other creatures of Equestria creations of a group of ancient reptiles?”
“There’s a lot we don’t know about our origins, Princess,” Inferno explained. “The Queen will be fascinated by this discovery.”
But as Waspinator turned to his right, his eyes caught the glimpse of the mural with the figure of the girl resembling Wanda and the dragon-like creature that wanted the Heart of the Universe.
“Something about that painting brings back odd memories for Waspinator,” Waspinator said as he walked towards the mural on his right.
“Hey Waspinator,” Quickstrike yelled. “You alright?”
“No,” Waspinator said as he stopped in front of the mural. “The more Waspinator looks at this, the more Waspinator seems to remember.”
Inferno and Quickstrike got a good look at the mural before walking up to Waspinator.
“You’re right on that,” Inferno said, pointing to the dragon-like creature. “That so-called incarnation of Oblivion reminds me of someone I feel like I knew.”
“Yeah,” Quickstrike said. “But how come we can remember being with him when we’re changelings?”
“That’s something even I don’t buy,” Princess Chrysalis II said. “I don’t see what’s so great about this Oblivion guy to begin with. It’s not like you once served him in a previous life.”
“It may be possible,” Inferno said. “And yet, for some reason, I felt like we knew who his name was.”
“And what that might be?” Princess Chrysalis II asked.
Inferno, Quickstrike and Waspinator turned towards Princess Chrysalis II and said “Megatron.”
To Be Continued in…
Celestia’s Remorseful Embrace