//------------------------------// // Ancestral Recall // Story: Andalusian's Creed : Bloodlines // by ac3 //------------------------------// "This won't hurt, will it?" Fluttershy asked in a pleading tone. "Relax, everything will be just fine." reassured Twilight. The new alicorn felt a bit guilty about not telling the whole truth. In reality, the magic spell she was about to perform was one of her own creations. She was sure with the help of her new alicorn powers, she could cast it without any problems. She thought to herself that this was not the time for doubt. Besides, she could break the spell anytime without any harm done. Yet, she couldn't be one hundred percent sure. That feeling of uncertainty clung to her like a burr on her purple fur. Fluttershy was lying on a couch with crossed forelegs in front of her chest. The other ponies were beside her in a semi-circle giving words of encouragement or just waiting to see what will happen next. Spike came into the room after being asked by Twilight to bring in a special item from the upstairs bedroom. The tiny dragon opened the box he was holding. Once opened, Twilight levitated a small gem from inside the box. Seeing the gem, Spike smacked his lips, longing to have a taste of the bite sized jewel. Twilight looked at him then with a stern look. She wordlessly reminded him that the gem was enchanted with strong magics and a very bad stomach ache was the least he should worry about if he ate it. "Everypony except Fluttersy, put on your blinders." Twilight said. The three ponies surrounding Twilight and Fluttershy, as well as Spike, put the special goggles that they wore on their heads over their eyes. The glass had been blackened so no light could enter. Twilight started concentrating on the jewel. The precious stone began glowing an eerie blue light. It commenced to pulse in a slow rhythmic manner. The pulsing light had a hypnotic effect. Fluttershy felt herself being drawn to it. She stared mesmerized. Her mouth was open as if to speak, but nothing came out between her lips except deep breaths. Twilight knew it was time. The spell worked by suppressing the thoughts of the pony it affects. Without the pony's consciousness in control, any memories that could have been passed down could be brought forth fairly easily. However, the problem lie in picking out the memory that they wanted. In truth, there were many lifetimes worth that was mashed together inside Fluttershy. The way Twilight thought she could extract the right one was to coax it out it with something like a name, a place or maybe giving the time period where the ancestor lived. "i am calling for a pony from Andalon. A knight of the kingdom." She intentionally did not mention the war. Nothing. Twilight repeated her words, looking for any response from the yellow pegasus. She thought for a moment. Maybe it needed something more specific. The only other thing she could try is to reference the dream. Mentioning it stood a good chance at success; but, she dreaded to use it as much as mentioning the war. The result could bring out a very violent memory. But without any other options, she decided to take the risk. With that in mind, she prepared herself to stop the spell if anything went wrong. "i'm calling the one who watched the townspeople atop the bell tower. The one who wielded a crossbow on a hot summer day, waited for somepony to pass by." After a pause, she added "the one who was intending to take a life." There was a deep inhalation that came from Fluttershy. Her lips quivered and then she spoke, but not in the tone and manner of the shy pony. The voice sounded strong and assured, and it quickly became apparent it was in a different language. Twilight was ready in case this happened. She concentrated on putting a dweomer on Fluttershy that allowed foreign words to be understood by both speaker and listener. "Who are you?" Twilight asked. After a pause, the voice answered. "My name is Silver, Silver Aletear, a sword-mare of Andalon." Twilight was beside herself with joy. The spell worked! She turned to the others around her and even with their goggles hiding their eyes, the look of surprise was clearly evident on their faces. She then turned her attention to the source of the blue glow, the pulsing gem. The magic jewel was no longer needed since the right memory was called forth so she decided to place it back in the box. After closing the lid which removed the blue aura in the room, she told everyone to take off their blinders. After they did so, all crowded closer to the still immobile Fluttershy. "Is she okay? " asked Applejack. "Her real self is in a sleep-like trance. The voice and memories are that of a pony called Silver Aletear." Twilight explained. "We can ask her anything she had experienced when she was alive." "Do you like parties, Silver?" Pinkie queried. Everyone looked at Pinkie. "You said we can ask her anything!" she pointed out. "I think I do, I'm having trouble remembering any." was the reply. Twilight explained that this were the memories of a pony long ago. Not everything is recalled immediately though. Experiences that leave the strongest impression were easily remembered while the rest was forgotten or harder to bring forth, maybe because of something the pony wanted to forget. Twilight then asked what she actually remembered. The memory of Silver began to talk again. "I remember I was ordered to kill the visiting monarch of Equestria, Princess Celestia." It came as a surprise to everyone except Twilight who, aside from Fluttershy, knew of the dream's details more than anyone in the room.. She assured everyone that this all happened in the distant past and clearly the assassination never took place since Princess Celestia was still around. She added that probably her mentor even forgot about it. "What about Princess Luna?" Spike asked. "She was Nightmare Moon during this time and was still banished from Equestria." Twilight reminded them. That calmed the rest down. They were now even more eager to know what happened hundred of years in the past. Twilight asked Silver to continue her tale.