//------------------------------// // Act 3.5 // Story: Echoes of the Ancient // by Wandering Axioms //------------------------------// 3.5 “I’m thinking about you...” Waking up this early was something different for him. Aiden was so accustomed to sleeping later into the morning, and waking up around 9:30 to 10:00. With a deep groan, Aiden stretched all four of his limbs, like he did every other morning. His eyes slowly opened soon after, and his gaze met the pure white ceiling. He turned his head over towards the window, to notice that it was still quite dark outside, but the sound of hoof steps outside his room suggested that the Palace was just about to return to life for the course of the day, as the rest of the city below would soon follow. Aiden sighed as he pulled the white sheets of the bed over himself into a protective cocoon. He heaved a heavy yawn as he felt himself slide onto the threshold of sleep once again. “Come on...” he thought to himself as he forced his eyelids open. “Get up!” He sat himself up, the sheets still wrapped around his legs. After giving the room a brief scan, he threw the covers to the side and planted his feet on the floor at the side of his bed. The darkness outside told him it was most likely still around six in the morning. Yet, despite having an extreme desire to return to his welcoming bed, Aiden pushed himself out past his bedroom door and into the hallway. The stain glass windows on Aiden’s right side of the hallway were illuminated by the still glowing moon as it slowly descended below the horizon, both chasing and running away from its older celestial cousin, like it did for as long as the two existed. Aiden breathed in the still early morning air of the Palace halls, occasionally passing a guard pony, many of whom gave him a simple nod to acknowledge his presence. He recognized none of them; but of course, he was the only human that resided within the walls of the Royal Palace, which served to only further blend the guards together. Aiden’s thoughts moved forward to the subjects he and Celestia would be discussing with this Archmage Distant Nebula; the head of the Council of Mages. Aiden expected them to discuss the Forerunners, the Praemian Thorn, and Aiden’s role in all of this. In actuality, those three things didn’t even make up a fraction of the subjects Aiden wished to touch upon in their upcoming meeting later today. Yet that would not happen for several hours, and as far as he was concerned, he was free to enjoy his day. The Princess was, not surprisingly, not present in the throne room, which Aiden found understandable at this hour. Aiden wandered the outer halls that ran adjacent to the throne room. The Palace itself was a rectangular layout, with the throne room at the very front, with various hallways, smaller chambers and stairwells branching off from the entrance right before the throne room itself. There were two small atriums on each side of the Palace; one in the East, and one West. Both of these branched off into other smaller chambers that were used for various recreational purposes. Aiden approached the well polished wooden doors that led into the Eastern atrium. The guards on both sides paid him no mind as he pushed the doors open. The circular atrium had two floors to it, with four doors on the bottom floor and four on the top. His boots made a resounding echo as they repeatedly hit upon the black and white marble floor. He chose the door immediately on the Southern end of the atrium and made his way towards it. He placed his hand upon the handle and pushed the door open. The room before him had a completely red carpet and wooden walls. An entire row of windows adorned the other side of the room, decorated with bold red curtains. The room itself appeared to be a music room. Various instruments were scattered throughout the room, including various percussion, brass, woodwind, and string instruments, each situated on various wooden stands, to keep them all upright and ready for anyone to grab hold of one and start playing it. All of these instruments, however, looked rather difficult for a pony aside from a unicorn to work with. A single piano in the center of the back row of instruments caught his attention. With a curious smile on his face, he walked up to the stationary instrument and gave it a quick examination. It seemed to be in good condition; fairly new. He opened the lid and pressed down on Middle C, the familiar neutral key echoing through the room. With a flex of his wrists, Aiden sat down at the bench and placed his hands in what he believed to be their appropriate positions. The music rack had no sheets for him to refer to, so he attempted to play the opening to We’ll Meet Again. He started slowly, humming the tune to himself, trying his hardest to hit the right notes from memory alone. He did well...for about six seconds; he then hit stream of sour notes that threw off his entire train of thought. He lazily brought his right hand all the way down from the high end of the keyboard to the low end, creating a river of progressively lower notes. Aiden sighed as he dropped his elbows upon the keys, creating a loud droning, unintelligible fusion of notes. As the sound from the piano began to die down, Aiden allowed his arms to return to their sides as he spoke a single word to himself. “Rusty,” he whispered as he looked straight ahead, out the window towards the garden of stone statues that rested below the Palace itself. He blew another gust of air upwards, once again blowing a few errant strands of hair out of his vision. “It’s been so long since I even looked at one of these things,” he thought to himself with a small frown. He stood up and left the piano after closing the lid, and turned his attention to the window. He gently leaned his forehead into the crook of his arm as he propped the latter up against the glass horizontally, staring down into the garden full of stone figures. Aiden guessed them to be the carvings of Equestria’s most famous citizens, or maybe famous legends from before the nation’s founding. The next object to catch his attention was the setting moon, just a slight crescent as it continued to sink its way down the horizon, just like the sun did the previous evening, and so many other evenings before. With one final glance at the moon, Aiden returned to his spot at the piano bench, opening the lid once again. With the crescent moon finally sinking below the crest of the horizon, Aiden began playing the opening to Moonlight Sonata. His efforts were returned with more sour notes about seven seconds into the piece. Aiden sighed once again as his hands fell from the keyboard to grip the end of the bench. “Damn it,” Aiden softly voiced his frustration. He quickly shook his head before giving it another attempt. “Practice makes perfect,” he whispered to himself as the moon disappeared below the horizon. --- The sound that she heard was the sound of music playing. It was faint, but she could just barely hear it over her own thoughts. The former princess, Nightmare Moon, looked up from her permanent spot in this black void, at the blue world that was her home. The music itself sounded like it was coming from a piano; it was slow and labored, as though the musician had not practiced in a long time, and was straining to remember what keys to hit. Occasionally, the wrong note would be hit, and the player would start over at the beginning of the song. She might have been unable to recognize the tune itself, but she could pinpoint the exact location from which the music was coming from. “Sister...” The word of sorrow escaped from the weary alicorn mare’s lips as she thought of the Royal Palace in Canterlot. She would’ve reached a hoof out to try and reach her world had it not been for the fact that she was frozen in place. It was, however, not her sister making the music; it was the Forerunner. She sensed it the day it emerged into Equestria, but it wasn’t until Discord had somehow communicated with her from his stone prison in the Royal Gardens that she truly noticed it. She had most of her attention directed at building up her hatred towards Celestia, trying to forget the moments they had shared growing up as a family. “A family...” the alicorn managed to solemnly hang her head as the young Princess of the Moon had emerged from the shadows once again. Her coat turned from a pitch black, to a deep blue color, and her pupils went from narrowed slits to rounded. The armor she was clad in the evening she was banished still fit snug on her form. “This being,” Luna thought to herself. “This...Forerunner; why do I not feel the need to fear it? Why does Sister not fear it?” It has been there for many weeks since the first Forerunner returned; since the middle of Autumn, and now she believed it to be almost Winter. She had felt another presence on Equestria’s border, and a second Forerunner had revealed itself no more than a week ago. The young Princess closed her eyes. Luna frowned deeply, tears escaping from her deep blue eyes, as she felt the corruption overtaking her mind once again. “Mother and Father,” she silently prayed to her parents. “If you really are still with us; please watch over us...watch over Tia...” She resisted against the corruption no longer. Nightmare Moon opened her eyes, venomous hatred glaring back up at the world that had denied her almost a thousand years ago. -- Aiden simply sat there, lazily playing a simple tune now, one key at a time. He had given up on trying to remember how to play his favorite pieces without the music sheets to guide him. After a few moments passed, even the aimless notes ceased to sing, and Aiden once again left the instrument the way he found it, closing the lid and turning towards the music room’s open door. “It sounded quite beautiful for a second or two...” Aiden whispered to himself with a small hint of frustration in his voice. “You could use some practice though,” a familiar voice said with a small chuckle. Aiden stepped into the door’s threshold, only to see none other than Celestia standing to his left. Aiden smiled at the sight of his friend. “So,” he said as he crossed his arms. “You’ve been eavesdropping on my little performance for how long?” “Eavesdrop?” The Princess playfully pointed a hoof at herself. “Me? Never!” She gladly returned the smile before gesturing her hoof towards the atrium’s entrance. “Come, there is somepony in the Entrance Hall that wishes to see you.” “Oh?” Aiden asked as he followed the alicorn out of the threshold and into the atrium. “And who might that be?” “A certain unicorn foal you’ve become quite acquainted with,” Celestia answered for him, knowing that no further explanation would be needed. Aiden smiled widely and continued following the Princess through the Palace’s hallways, the thought of seeing Lyra again for the first time in what felt like years dominating his mind the entire trip towards the Entrance Hall. “How have things been going for her at your school?” Aiden asked as he picked up his pace to walk beside the Princess. “I haven’t spoken with her teachers,” Celestia replied as she frowned slightly. “To be perfectly honest, my friend, I’ve been more absorbed into the studies of my own student, than of the others...” Aiden nodded in understanding and hummed briefly as the Princess opened the next set of doors with a glow of her horn. “ATTACK!” A young feminine voice suddenly called out in a playful manner. Aiden yelped in surprise as he was suddenly beset with a pair of mint green fore hoofs wrapped around his torso, and a filly’s face affectionately nuzzling into the point where his chest and stomach met. “Hello to you too, Lyra!” Aiden replied as Celestia laughed. The unicorn foal returned back to standing at her regular height at Aiden’s waist. “Nearly gave me a heart attack,” he playfully thought while returning the joyous smile that Lyra was showing. “Everything’s going well at home, I hope?” The filly nodded with her eyes closed, that smile never leaving her face. “And how about school?” “I’ve just gotten report cards this past Friday!” She happily exclaims, opening a saddlebag with her magic and pulling out a piece of parchment with various ink markings on it, showing how she was doing in her classes. “A’s and B’s...” she said, lifting it up to Aiden’s eye’s for him to see. “And leaving all the other foals in the dust! Oh yeah!” Aiden reached a hand down and patted the filly on the head. “Nice work, kiddo!” Aiden congratulated as he ruffled her mane. “I’m sure your parents must be proud!” The foal gladly nodded to affirm his suspicions. “You should’ve seen the looks on their faces when they were told I would be going into the Princess’s own School for Gifted Unicorns!” She said with a light hearted chuckle. Celestia soon stepped into the conversation herself. “Well, Aiden, I have some business that must be attended to within the Council of Mages concerning our meeting later this evening; but as for now, I only ask that you and Lyra enjoy your day together!” “Thank you, your Highness,” Aiden bowed his head to show his gratitude. The alicorn then proceeded towards the doors on the other side of the Entrance Hall that led into the Western Atrium. Aiden turned his attention to Lyra, who was looking back up at him. “So, kiddo,” Aiden said. “What would you like to do first?” --- Vanguard stood on the very tip of the mountain’s narrow peak, looking over the city of Canterlot. Specifically the Royal Palace. Even more specific still, at his brother, still in the fleshy form of a human, not unlike the form that he himself had taken. Vanguard knew that nothing he said could assuage his brother from the path he had chosen. The ancient entity smiled softly at the thought of the countless days spent under Mother’s loving gaze with his Siblings. Earlier that same Autumn morning, Vanguard stared up into the deepest depths of the moon above, his eyes falling upon the corrupted mare known as Nightmare Moon. The two of them had at least one thing in common: they were feeling great remorse for their siblings; she for her sister, Celestia, and he for his brother, Intervention. Watching the Alicorn and Forerunner grow so close together only tore Vanguard’s spirits asunder even further. He wondered if maybe he and the Mare in the Moon were thinking the same thing? Vanguard shook his head before he proceeded to make his way down the slope, away from Canterlot, his thoughts shifting to the task at hand. After all, he had a family reunite... --- The late hours of this particular evening were just like any other for Logan. For the most part, he simply sat in the bathroom, right next to the toilet, recovering from the regurgitation of his last meal. With a cough, he cursed the scientists who had worked on Project Reincarnation for treating him like a lab rat. He cursed the entire world for letting this happen to him. He cursed his former team leader, Aiden Marsh for leaving him behind in that godforsaken village in Kurdistan. But most of all, he cursed himself for allowing that fool to lead him into what could’ve been his death. Struggling, Logan shakily stood up and gazed at himself in the bathroom’s smudgy mirror. He gently tugged at a few strands of his short, black hair, which had just started to grow back again, after these past three years. His worn grey T-shirt and faded jeans were heavily stained, and were the only two articles of clothing he wore. Lifting a hand up, he closely examined the metal and wires that could just barely be seen below the artificial skin. He placed his hand right on the mirror, his reflection doing the same. He snarled as he reeled a fist back and let it fly forward, shattering the mirror. The broken image of himself snarled back at him as his face turned into a frown. Logan then turned to the bathroom’s door and made his way for the apartment’s kitchen. He sat at the kitchen table, looking out the window at the illuminated city of Washington D.C. He reached for the packet of cigarettes on the table and lazily pulled one out while grabbing the lighter next to it with his hand. Logan tilted his head back as he allowed the nicotine to work its magic, allowing him to calm down somewhat. He held his breath, with the poisonous cloud of smoke still sitting in his throat before letting it out, creating a large screen of pale white in front of his eyes. “I must make a pathetic sight...” he weakly said to himself while shaking his head. He stood up and turned towards the kitchen sink with his cigarette fixated in between his left index and middle fingers. He gazed down into the small pool of water at the sink’s base with several filthy dishes from days ago. “You’ve wasted no time in making this place feel homely,” a voice from behind him said. Logan immediately turned where he stood, ready to fend off the intruder. No one was there. Logan shook his head, turning back towards the sink. “Come now, Recollection,” the voice said as Logan took in another puff of smoke before exhaling it. “You must remember something about your own brother?” “Fuck off...” Logan simply stated with his eyes closed. The effects of Project Reincarnation had scarred his mind, as well as his body. In the three years since, he had experienced a wide variety of both visual and auditory hallucinations, the most notable of which being a visual trick on his mind about four months ago. While sitting in this same apartment, he looked up from where he sat to see what looked like a small banner for a local high school being held up by...Yogi Bear. The hallucination barely lasted for two or three seconds, but he recognized the banner as belonging to St. Joseph’s Westminster High School. He had in fact visited that same high school earlier that same day to question one of the faculty who was once a government scientist about Project Reincarnation. Where Yogi Bear came from...he hadn’t the slightest clue. This new auditory hallucination went on for several seconds, which Logan found odd. When even covering his ears in annoyance failed to stop the voice’s constant talk, Logan turned around and responded, as though there was someone actually in the room with him. “What!?” Logan yelled loud enough to probably wake up everyone in the apartment building. The voice took a moment to reply again, as though it were surprised by his sudden outburst. “You remember where you are from, do you not, Recollection?” Logan scoffed at what the voice had called him. “I can barely remember the date, man,” Logan said, laughing more at himself than the voice. “I think I was born down in Richmond, but I spent most of my childhood moving from various foster homes before finally settling down in...” he paused as he looked up at the ceiling. “Well...here.” “So you say, whilst trapped within your current form,” the voice replied with laughter of its own. “Do you remember the names of your parents?” Logan frowned deeply at this question, while he turned back to stare into the sink water. “I would think that a hallucination produced by my own mind would know that I never knew my real parents...” Logan threw a hand up into the air while using the other to take another puff of smoke in. “But hey, this is coming from the guy that’s resorted to talking with his own hallucinations, now; so what do I know?” “More than you might think,” the voice replied with a stern tone. “You know of the young Aiden Marsh, do you not?” Logan nodded, a spiteful frown filling his face at the mention of that name. “I should know, for I have spoken to him myself.” Logan didn’t bother listening to the voice anymore, knowing that it was just his own brain trying to find something to do aside from taking in all the nicotine he was consuming on a daily basis. He sat back down in the same chair at the kitchen table, as the horizon started turning the first shade of bright orange and blue, signalling the approaching sun. The voice continued on, but Logan paid it no more mind, instead opting to pay more attention to the sun slowly rising from the Atlantic Coast, ever so slowly painting the sky a shade of pale blue. --- Aiden had Lyra meet Twilight Sparkle and her foal sitter, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. “Please, call me Cadence,” the young pink alicorn smiled when she met them both. The two young unicorn fillies seemed to get along quite well, as they both enjoyed reading and learning quite a bit, although Twilight was much more enthusiastic about it than her green counterpart. As the two foals played a game of hide and seek in the Palace’s courtyard, the man and the alicorn chatted with each other while sitting on a small picnic blanket with a red and white checkerboard pattern. Aiden sat in his usual position with his legs crossed, while Cadence lied on the blanket much like how a dog would. Aiden found it a little odd, but simply brushed it off and continued to watch the two foals go from playing, to talking about school, classes they liked, and teachers they didn’t like. “Aren’t they just adorable?” Cadence asked happily. Aiden nodded as he turned his head toward her. “You certainly like working with kids don’t you?” “Oh, I just love it!” The mare answered as she stood up. “You should’ve seen Twily as a newborn! She was just soooo cute!” Aiden smiled as he stood up with her. “Her brother and parents must be very proud of her,” he complimented. “You bet they are,” Cadence confirmed. “Especially Shining! He was so happy to see his little sis for the first time in the hospital!” “Speaking of the great Captain Shining Armor,” Aiden playfully teased as he gestured over to the courtyard’s entrance. Cadence turned her head to where he was pointing to see the young unicorn stallion standing there, a goofy smile plastered on his pure white face, which Aiden couldn’t help but laugh at. Cadence blushed and turned away slightly at the sight of the happy captain’s absolutely embarrassingly ridiculous smile. A smile soon found its way onto her own face. “Hey, Cadence!” The lovebird happily sang as he trotted over to where his crush and guest sat. He sat down with barely a foot of space between them. “How has your morning been?” The stallion asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. “I’ve had to put up with some of Blueblood’s ranting early this morning,” Cadence said while rolling her eyes. “Oh,” Shining winced at the thought. “Sorry to hear that, Cadence.” “Don’t worry about it,” the mare said as the smile returned to her face. “I’ve lived with the spoiled colt for much of my life. I can put up with him.” “Sounds like this Blueblood fellow fits his name,” Aiden commented. The two ponies turned to him and tilted their heads. He noted their confusion. “Back where I come from, we call rich humans who were born into their wealth and expect everything handed to them bluebloods.” “Ah,” Cadence mused as she turned her attention back to the two foals as they approached the picnic blanket. Twilight immediately dove into her brother for a quick hug. Aiden’s heart glowed at the short scene. “Hey, Lyra,” Twilight began as she pointed a hoof to her brother. “This is Shining Armor, my brother, and Captain of the Royal Guard!” The green unicorn looked at the stallion with respect in her eyes. The stallion smiled as he stood up. “Shining, this is Lyra Heartstrings!” “Pleasure to meet you, Miss Heartstrings!” He graciously bowed as though she were a full grown mare. “Pleasure to meet you, too!” Lyra replied, returning the bow. Shining stood up and turned to his sister. “Everything’s going well in school, right, Twily?” The filly nodded. “Of course, Shining! I wouldn’t be the Princess’s personal student if it wasn’t!” Aiden smiled again at the heartwarming family moment as he stood up. “I don’t know about you guys,” he stretched his arms, looking up at the high noon sun as a primal growl came from his stomach. “But I’m about ready to head back inside; I haven’t had anything to eat today, and I’m starving!” The two grown ups smiled and stood up with him, just barely reaching his shoulders in height. “I could go for a quick bite to eat myself,” Shining Armor added while turning to the foals. “How do you guys feel about a quick lunch break?” Twilight and Lyra both voiced their approval of the notion. The four ponies gladly made their way back towards the courtyard’s doors, with Aiden following not far behind. Before following Shining and the others through the door’s threshold, Aiden turned his head towards the sky, at a distant mountain peak beyond Canterlot’s walls. He could’ve sworn he saw something at the mountain’s peak for a brief second. Cadence called for him from inside. Aiden followed her voice, with his head still turned towards the mountain that loomed over the city. He felt this uncontrollable feeling rubbing off on him. He thought of Vanguard, of all things... But what he was feeling wasn’t anger or fear. It was a feeling of intense loss and sadness... --- Vanguard fell to his knees when he left the mountain’s peak, a few tears falling down his cheeks. With his arms crossed, he looked back to the Palace that his brother called home. He returned his gaze towards the gravel and stones at his knees. How would Mother forgive him for allowing her son to slip from his grasp? --- Looking above towards her world, tears freely flowed down Luna’s cheeks, her thoughts completely fixated on her sister. The world’s bright blue glow shined down on her, reflecting its image in her eyes. Would her sister still love her, even after everything that she has done? --- The two deities unknowingly shared their thoughts and feelings. Tears were shed for a brother and a sister, from a brother and a sister. The four words were whispered by the both of them as they both gazed at the ancient city. “I’m thinking about you...” End of Act 3