~5,000 B.D. Trotters' inn~
As I recounted my tale I failed to notice the guards began listening in. When I looked up I noticed everyone was looking at me with sympathy realizing how truly troubled my life was. Solaris and Lunaris looked to be lost in thought.
"I cannot understand how somepony can handle such sights and still be as happy as you act." Lunaris said.
I look at him with a small smile, "The past may be filled with sorrow but it is what drives us onward to make the world a better place. I take this to heart now and take in what small pleasures i can.
"Then you wouldn't mind joining us at the celebration tonight?" Solaris offered.
"Celebration? Why is a celebration being held?" I asked confused.
"Well for the clearing out of the Iron-Oak forest of course. But now, I believe we should add the welcoming of a goddess to the celebration." said Solaris now much happier.
"Oh please there's no need for that. I don't want everyone to start bowing down to me and such." I ask him kindly.
"Oh don't worry Miss Vinetion, we'll introduce you to them as a commoner first and than tell them who you are. That way you can enjoy the festival and have them come to know you not for simply your title. I understand that in the next thousand years you probally won't remember this but live for the now and enjoy it." And with that Lunaris and Solaris left to help prepare for the festival.
As I watched them leave I got up and headed for the balcony. I looked over the edge to find the town bustling with activity, getting ready for a night a joy and merriment. From the looks on everyponies faces you could tell such a thing hasn't been known for quite some time. From the amount of ponies out and about work and school must have been let out. I smiled seeing the harmony of all fours Equ races living together. Earth ponies carrying supplies around while pegasi and unicorns decorated the town. Young fillies and colts playing games like jump-rope and hopscotch. I recognized Sunny and Darkened playing with a green unicorn colt sporting an overly pink poofy mane and a beige looking earth pony filly with a short snow white mane. The little filly even had her cutiemark already, it looked to be one of those fancy sand-dials the time keepers in Solluna owned.
I eventually decided to go help the town with preparations. As i was exiting the inn Sunny and her friends came up to me.
"Hey Miss Vine! I wanted you to meet my friends Daze Cake," she pointed at the colt, "and Winter Tick but we just call her Doctor Tick since she wants to be one of those dockaterate timekeeper in Solluna when she grows. OH! Tick do that little entrance thing you've been working on." Tick nodded and went around the corner. She ran back around and slid with her back towards us and quickly twisted her body so she stood on her back legs and raised her front hooves to the sky and yelled. "i am......THE DOCTOR!" As sunny and her friends fell over laughing I couldn't help but smile at the sight of the young ones antics.
"That's very clever of you Tick, I bet you would make a long line of doctors with that attitude, but now I feel I should go help the rest of the town prepare for the festival." I made my way off as sunny and the rest went back to the hill they were playing on.
The rest of the day up until the festival was simply nice and relaxing after all my years of death and destruction. Such simple lives these ponies live, not a care in the world but to live long and care for their families. No need to fly around the world twice in a single day, no need to guide the mourning souls of the dead to the abyss. How I had wished I could live like they do. But that would be lying to myself as I know I have a job to do. A job no other pony can do, and even though it can be hard I still take pride in doing it.
Once the preparations were done we had about an hour before the festival started so i went for a look around town. There were various stalls set up here and there. Some were selling trinkets from faraway lands, some of the owners themselves were from faraway lands. There was a griffon setting up shop for special phoenix feather quills, a Diamond dog selling 'Jewelry for that special somepony', there was even a dwarf dragon selling liquid magyks. In the center of town there was a performing stage where several court performers called in by Solaris were practicing alongside various townsfolk. I noticed a lone grape colored pegasus with a flaming note-sheet for a cutiemark sitting off to the side tuning a Sitar.
"That's odd I thought only the Simians used sitars. Where did you manage to get one?" I asked casually sitting down in front of him.
"That they do ma'am. Not many ponies know what this is on sight. Mine is an antique from my father. He said it was gift from the simians when an ancestor saved their chief from a dragon attack. If I may ask what's your name miss?" the musician asked.
"You may call me Vine," I answered.
"And I am Flame Burst." Flame answered.
"So tell me, are you one of the town's musician's or one of the king's?" I began.
"I am the kings' personal bard and have been since he saw me play on the side of a road 25 years ago. They offered me the job and personal quarters at the castle. I have grown very close to the king brothers in my time working for them and do my job proudly." He finishes.
"Sounds like an exciting job to have. It certainly beats mine." I smiled at the prospect.
"Oh what exactly do you do?" Flame asks.
"I....repair stuff" I answer stupidly.
"I get it, it's not something you can talk about, don't worry. Whatever it may be take pride in it. Now if you don't mind I'm going to practice my song for tonight." With that he trotted off.
During my conversation with Flame the festival had started and was in full swing. I went and got a flyer for the what performances we would be having tonight and one stood out. A magic show by the 'Great Isis Sparks', a ghastly white mare with a flaming red mane, and the 'Powerful Hades Whetstone', a contrastingly black stallion with a deep blue mane. I continued to look through the flyer and noticed the music was at the end of the performance list. The magic show was first so i made my way over to the stage.
"Welcome mares and stallions alike to the magical oddities and fantasies of the The Great and Powerful Deity Twins. I am the Great Isis Sparks and this is my husband the Powerful Hades Whetstone. We are here to show you a world of magic never before seen by mortal eyes." Isis starts off.
Hades came forward with his horn glowing an ominous swirl of black and red as everything around us disappeared into a black void. After a minute of darkness various shapes began to appear and dance before us. A fight between two smoky dragons started above our heads while a the ground beneath us flowed like lava. The scene shifted to that of the seaside beach with a calm wind blowing over the sand. The sounds of relaxed sighs could be heard throughout the scene. Various scenes played throughout for the next ten minutes. At the end and the darkness was lifted and Isis approached the audience.
"So tell me have you all enjoyed our performance so far?" a loud applause was given. "Well for those of you who may have scene our shows before know that as a finisher we allow one pony, magical or not, to face off against us as a to have fun. And if the audience member wins they get this, a prized topaz necklace, handed down from century to century said to possess untold magical powers." The necklace she held aloft i could tell was brimming with an unknown magic that felt attracted to.
"Now who dares challenge the Great and Powerful Deity Twins?" Hades asks the audience
Nopony dared raise the hooves so I simply walked onto the stage.
"I dare take up your challenge, show-ponies!" I announce.
"Oh? Than tell miss what is your name what shall you use challenge us with?" said Hades
"You may call me Miss Vine and I shall be using magic. I challenge you to a fight." I said to them both.
"Very well, we will take you up on that offer. You shall see it here The Great and Powerful Deity Twins v.s. The Challenger Miss Vine! We will need to move out to the clearing so if everyone will follow us." With that we all moved to the nearby clearing with me and the 'Twins' in the center.
"To make it fair, we shall allow the challenger to take the first hit. This is a no holds bar match. First side to be knocked out completely loses. Does this seem fair to you Miss Vine?" Hades asked.
"That seems completely fair. May we start?" I taunted.
"Ladies first" He retorted.
I started off by launching myself into the air and dropping energy orbs on top of them. Hades countered by deflecting them back at me while Isis began launching bolts of lightning. I pulled my wings in and landed beside Hades causing a small quake that knocked him and Isis over. As I went over to go for a quick blast to the back of the head to knock out Isis I get blasted off into a tree breaking it in half. I got up to see a black ethereal ram's head made of smoke connected to Hades horn. He had a look of satisfaction at catching me off guard. I got up and ground my hooves into the ground and spikes began shooting out of the ground towards Hades. He began dodging them back and forth but was losing ground.
By now Isis had gotten up and was charging up for a big spell. She launched it at the ground and frosted over everything leaving a slippery path. As I slipped on the ice Hades jumped over and smashed me with the smoke ram again. I was getting tired of this and came up with something else. I summoned up a thundercloud and flew over the ice on top of it. Splitting my cloud in two I rushed Hades and slammed both halves together with his head in the middle shocking his lights out. Isis began levitating my rock spires and throwing them at me. I grabbed one and threw it back which she blocked with a shield but the force was so strong she slipped back and knocked herself out on the ice.
The crowd went wild at the challengers win as we carried Isis and Hades over to a pair of benches to lay on. When they came to the three of headed back to the stage.
"You all have seen it here ponies. We the Great and Powerful Deity Twins have been defeated by the challenger Miss Vine and thus give unto her the prized necklace." With that I was given a long applause as Hades placed the necklace around my neck. I could feel the power flowing from the gem and knew that it would play a bigger role sometime later, for now however I shall enjoy my night and my new prize.
A/N Internet muffins for anyone who can point out the references. Also if we're in the past that would mean that these ponies i'm meeting could be some ponies ancestors. If you can connect who goes to who (because they all go to someone specific) a truckload of muffins for ya.