//------------------------------// // Progress // Story: Awakening // by Little_Draco //------------------------------// Awakening: Progress What does it take, for many of us to prepare for a fight? A fight where you lose the ones you love, relive pain of wounds and the whole fate of Equestria and beyond on their hooves? It takes the courage of a Goddess, the might of an Alicorn and the heart of a true pony to endure it all… Twilight’s heart was hammering heavily with joy as she walked through the same castle as she did when she was a little pony. The old, but recently repainted, walls still looked the same. The arts of famous ponies kept clean, the statues properly cared for, and the place still smelled like new fresh rugs. Not much… had seemed to change however. The only thing was… that Princess Luna was more public now and Princess Celestia was nowhere to be in sight. Of course, Luna told her to hold her questions in until they arrived at the throne room. An answer that could only mean that something was wrong… very wrong Luna did not carry herself with much high regard back then. Nevertheless, here, almost everypony looked at her much as they did with Princess Celestia. But then again, she did have thirteen years, so maybe in that expanse, she allowed herself to be more public. Thirteen years prior, she and Luna were great with each other and her friends. They often spoke to one another, and the following six months prior to the Chrystal Empire, and the many incidents after, she around more often. They both arrived at the throne room, where Twilight was hoping to meet her long time mentor, friend, and beloved teacher, Princess Celestia, but much to her dismay, the chair sat empty. Luna approached the chair… as if it was her own. Twilight’s heart seemed to sink as Luna turned around to face her and sit on the chair. Her face before carried a smile much like Princess Celestia but now… now it was a face of great sadness. Other features crossed her that showed, hidden anger, fear and much worse, she held a sad smile. “I know that you have many questions…Twilight.” She spoke in a very sad but straightforward manner. “I know what your heart aches to hear and I know that everything I am about to tell you is the truth. I want you to return to Equestria with knowledge of truth, not false information. However, the price is that you will know the truth… that whatever you may ask and whatever information I give you… it may very well harm you.” Now fear crept along the spine of her neck. Luna spoke on. “I want you to only ask questions that you feel comfortable asking or what you are comfortable hearing. If you believe that you can handle everything that has been transpired in the events of the last decade or so, please beware of how much you can take.” She let that sentence hang in the air for a bit. Twilight really was not much of a pony to hear bad news especially if it can mess with her. Others could take it but she was still a filly at heart. She tried to stay innocent throughout her whole life. Always learning things every day, spending time with her friends, avoiding crushes and even sexual activity with anypony, including herself. Yes, she did mature past the ages of many foals, but she still was a filly at heart. Now… now she was well into being a full-grown mare. She was the Leader of the Elements of Harmony, she defeated many villains in her life, and she stopped the fate of Equestria from falling and saved Empires from crumbling. Was she ready to face all this now? No, she was not… but she felt like she would have to deal with this sooner than later. Better, now, so she can face the troubles in a better situation. With a hearty, clear throat, and a bitter taste that slowly crawling into her mouth she nodded. “Tell me everything.” Luna nodded. “Where do you wish to begin?” Twilight sighed. “Um… well from what Zecora told me, after my… death, Discord broke out and ruled Equestria for two years… is that right?” Luna nodded. “Yes, it is correct. When you Element of Magic detected your life’s existence, all magical wards keeping Discord’s prison up, had disappeared. In his vengeance, he easily defeated Celestia and me. However, he didn’t kill us… merely kept us imprisoned like we did to him for the past few millenniums…” She paused as she recalled the events. “To say the imprisonment was horrible is not close enough.” Another paused followed before she continued. “Discord ruled all of Equestria for two years. Many died through the rule and many suffered.” A lump once again formed in Twilight’s throat. “However, it didn’t last longer than we feared. Though the Elements of Harmony were not fully joined or ‘connected’ because of you, they however somewhat remained… active.” Twilight’s ear somewhat twitched at this. “What do you mean, Princess?” “Because of your death,” began Luna. “The Elements were… how I should say… replaced. The ones that were currently existed ceased to be and took on new forms.” Twilight was now intrigued and somewhat confused by this. However, she remained quiet and let Luna continue. “These new Bearers of Harmony acquired the Elements and fought against Discord. They fought and defeated him through the Magic of Friendship… but not without a cost.” Suddenly Luna’s attitude changed, as did Twilight’s as well. “Though the Elements were meant to be a peaceful way to restore balance to the world, they… were changed. Discord tried to fight back but lost. However, because the new wielders were angered at Discord for the harm he has done, they instead used the Elements to harm back. Though their hearts were pure in the beginning when they received the Elements, when they confronted Discord, it soon turned to revenge. In an act of anger and haste, the used the Elements on Discord and… ended him.” It really didn’t affect Twilight as much as she thought it would. Taking a life was one thing but taking the life of a god of Chaos, was basically beyond any measure. “Since the Elements were corrupted by the Bear’s sudden anger towards Discord, it also back fired on them. The Elements took the anger within them, as well as the Bearer’s life force and were gone. The Bearers were deceased and Discord was dead.” A long, uncomfortable silence fell upon them. Twilight never… really understood how the Elements of Harmony worked. They were to be used to restore peace and order to the world. To make sure that evil or corruption would cease and were to never use as a weapon. It turns out… that did not seem to be the case. However, this also might explain one thing. Is that what would have happened had she used the elements? If something, had caused her to become angry or fearful, is that, what the future Sweetie Belle had warned them about? It almost seemed like hours had past but only mere minutes had skipped them. “Twilight?” spoke the Princess of the Night. Twilight slowly met Luna’s eyes. Luna met hers. “Do you wish for me to continue?” Twilight nodded. “Yes, please.” She paused and then spoke. “What happened to you and Celestia?” Luna cleared her throat and continued her tale. “Not long after Discord was… defeated, the magic that held me and Celestia broke and we returned to Equestria. We were… shocked at the damage that was done, the amount of lived lost and ruined. Discord had not only affected ponies with his rule but everyone else as well. The gryphons had all but lost their entire Empire and their number loses were the same as ponies but they lost most of their Emperors and leaders. They have lost all trust in Equestria, especially us, and no longer see us as allies. The minotaur clan have… suffered less than most of the other races. Because of our close connections with them and their skills as workers, they stayed with us and helped rebuild a lot of Equestria. The dragons… are somewhat the same. Discord had no real colorations with them since most of the dragon species care little for ponies afar or were resistant to much of Discord’s magic. However, the ones we do have contact with and are small allies of us, did suffer for their approaches against Discord. Other species have either went to hiding or are going extinct. The only good thing about this is that Queen Chrysalis had somewhat lost control of her hive. Most of the Changelings went defective and tried to join us. Hundreds are now considered as Equestrian citizens and more. This somewhat strengthened our bond with foreign species but that is about it. And so, for the next five years, Equestria began rebuilding itself. Memorials were held all over the world, lives were trying to recoup and… me and Celestia tried to restore hope.” Twilight blinked. “Tried?” asked Twilight, somewhat confusingly. Luna sighed and shook her head. “So many ponies had lost faith in us because of how long we let Discord roam. Many, especially the nobles wanted to remove us from ruling.” This caused Twilight to frown. Of course, there were many extremist in Equestria, many think that is wrong for only two rulers to control an entire country, especially one as big as Equestria. Many wanted ponies controlling the government, not goddesses. Others think that only Celestia should be ruling only, having her control both night and day and not her sister. Few thought the same of Luna. “Their faith in us,” continued Luna. “Has been shaken Twilight. So many ponies, hated us. So many wanted us gone.” A sudden flash of anger passed over her. A few steps back from Twilight however, caused it to quickly drop. With a soft voice, she continued. “Many tried to rid of us, even making threats. One went as far as trying to hurl a spear at Tia.” This caused Twilight to gasp in surprise. Never, not in any books or any news or history, has she ever heard that Somepony… tried to kill a princess. It was almost enough to bring Twilight to tears. The princes continued to speak, even if her words trembled. “I know we are immortal and that would mean nothing to me and Tia if we got struck, but just the act… the action… I—I couldn’t deal with it. The spear had missed Tia by a flock of her mane. It angered me to no end. I immediately struck the pony down almost instantly. He was gone before he hit the floor. No pony moved nor did anypony breathe. ‘I was also shocked by this but… in my anger, I really didn’t care. Almost instantly, everypony dropped to the floor in fear. They all were scarred... Scarred that I would strike them all next.” “Did you?” asked Twilight. Luna shook her head. “Nay, I merely… spoke to them. I only told them that we are just like them; ponies. We are gifted, we are powerful, we are gods, but we are still ponies. We make mistakes, we can get hurt, and yes, we can even be killed but that would destroy the sun and the moon in the process. Normally anypony would take that as an invitation to come and kill us but… after the death of the pony who threw the spear, that would cease. From there on out, everypony seemed to… accept us; either fear or respect. I told them we tried and that not even alicorn goddesses could prevent everything horrible from going wrong. I spent the next couple of months trying to get everypony and Equestria back on it’s hooves. ‘Celestia however…” She paused, no not paused… hesitated. She tried to speak but seemed to not be able to. Twilight didn’t want to expose or relive bad memories but now that she saw it… Celestia was nowhere to be found. She has been here for almost… a couple of hours and her longtime mentor and friend was nowhere to be found. Not to mention, most of the guards were now wearing Lunar armor rather than the traditional Solar armor. Luna caught her words but not before noticing Twilight’s face. She was scanning, almost checking every detail around her. Yes, she was starting to see the differences. Without a second thought or warning, Twilight spoke. “Where… where is Princess Celestia?” Luna undoubtedly knew that Twilight would see her sister’s absence. “Celestia… is no longer here. She has left us.” The statement hung in the air for a moment. Not a sound heard except the ever-growing beating of Twilight’s heart. A slow dread started to fill her. “Is she…” she could not bring herself to say it, as a lump on her throat formed. Luna quickly caught this and shook her head. “Nay, Twilight! My sister is alive!” A calm feeling passed over Twilight but that did not really explain where she was. Luna saw relieve but only saw more conflict. “Twilight, what I meant was that… my sister is no longer here… in Equestria. She has… left somewhere to regain something she has lost.” “Lost?” Luna nodded. “Though I am not sure what it really is. After the incident with the ponies, she became withdrawn from everything. As the years passed, I more alone handled everything in Equestria. I handled the courts, the shifts and everything else but raising and lowering the sun. My sister still does that.” She paused and her eyes went to the window. The sun was slowly setting. “Even now… she is lowering the sun.” Twilight’s eyes looked out as well. They both watched, slowly as the sun was hitting the edge of the horizon, casting a beautiful rainbow of colors over the valley and Ponyville. Twilight forgot hot beautiful that scenery was. Luna turned to her. “I know that we have much to discuss Twilight, but for now, I must return to my duties. I will ask one of the house cleaners to bring you to a guest room and bring you a meal. You must be tired.” Twilight did not look at her but nodded. She slowly turned around and followed the Princess. Tomorrow though, she would have many questions. Nevertheless, for now, she must rest. The trip back down the hallways, it did begin to bring a lot of memories. A lot of them… made her just want to cry. (*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*) Several hours later… A lone mare walked down the hallway where the Princess room was located. Two of the Lunar guards were placed there. Both of them saw who she was and with a nod, let her pass through. The doors opened and then closed just as she slipped in. Inside, a flash of green fire washed over the mare and appeared into a Changeling. Unlike normal changelings, this was one was a bit taller, bulkier and her wings and horns were more edged. She approached Princess Luna who was watching a few monitors on her bedroom wall. Thanks to today’s advancing technology, stuff or projection TVs and radios were a thing of the past. Luna heard the changeling and sighed. “What do you have for me now, Mirage?” The changeling shook her head. “No much my queen. Twilight Sparkle seems to be resting peacefully and there are no ponies are wanting or seeking her for now.” Luna nodded. “That’s good.” Her eyes continued to focus the many of the screen before her. Each one held a different video for at least twelve different characters. With a curious glance, Mirage looked up at them. She saw at least a few she recognized but the rest were a mystery. One was a video of Mirage in combat. With a small glance to her, she spoke to Luna. “What is this, Princess?” Luna remained quiet, slowly observing the videos. She saw each of them with a steady gaze. Without taking her eyes, she spoke to her. “Each of these… videos represent a few characters that I am interested in. Including you, I wish to recruit them and bring them all together, now that Twilight is here. Her arrival may speed up the process.” “What process is that, my Princess?” Luna gave a small smile. “Something to help us defeat evil and stop King from coming back.” Her gaze then turned to Mirage. “You once served us for a time in combat fighting the Changeling second invasion and Tartarus creatures awhile back.” Mirage nodded. She was the first changeling to defect from Chrysalis and came to join the ponies. Right after, she joined the military and helped fight back either rogue Changelings or those who wanted to fight back. Not soon after joining the guards, Tartarus literally broke lose. Hellish creatures escaped. After that, she became Luna’s servant and bodyguard. “Well, now that we now that King Sombra is alive and well, not to mention has gained more powerful. I need to assemble a team to stop him and the rest of Tartarus from taking over Equestria.” Mirage looked at the first screen. There was one of a dragon, almost as tall as a building covered in purple and green scales. Another screen showed another dragon, this time a female with black and red scales. Next to her, was a unicorn that was sky blue with a wand and dust for a cutie mark. She also seemed to be a very… boastful kind of mare. A gryphon and a rainbow mane pegasus were in the same screen, instantly recognizing them as Luna’s Shadowbolts. Another screen shows an orange Earth pony with a cowpony hat and apples for cutie marks. However, the video was showing her causing tremors with just the stomp of her hoof. The screen below was a picture of a diamond dog. He seemed like any other normal diamond dog but… he held a gem in his paw. Instantly, he threw it and the gem exploded upon contact. The screen next to that was of a… yellow pegasus. However, she seemed a bit… aggressive and strange. Her body was covered in green vines and she was standing right next to a pack of Timberwolves. Horrible creatures if caught by one. The last two screens showed of a white coated unicorn mare, who was controlling machinery and other forms of technology with her magic. She had a music sort of cutie mark and was dancing to that weird D and Jaying music or whatever its called. Last screen showed the Zebra-shaman, Zecora, using magic and potions in some form of exercise. The other two were of earlier videos of Twilight Sparkle fighting at the Canterlot wedding and of Mirage. Mirage could not comprehend what this would mean but Luna answered for her. “We need a team, Mirage. I know its on short notice but with Twilight Sparkle here now, I know that we have a chance to end all this… madness.” Mirage blinked. “And you believe that…. All of them would be able to help us?” Luna nodded. Mirage looked back at the screen. “I hope you realize that some of them are enemies to each other… right?” Luna nodded. “Yes but we are going to need them to at least help us.” She sighed. “The fate of the world hangs in the balance on them.” The screens then flickered off.