//------------------------------// // Interlude - Prophecies Predicted // Story: The Guardian (K)Night // by InfiniteBrony //------------------------------// Hushed voices and fervent whispers abounded as ponies quietly murmured and conferred with their neighbors at the great stone table at which they were all seated, the council chamber’s curved stone walls amplifying the voices to an unintelligible babble that filled the room. Blue flames of a magical nature burned ceaselessly in the many braziers inset along the curving walls, casting the whole assemblage in an ominous glow and tint as the fire danced and flickered agitatedly, as if sharing the gathered ponies’ excitement. Rumors and hearsay had been abundant as of late, some of it elating, some of it horrifying, but all of it incredible in its own way, and now, in the dead of the night a Congress of the High Council had been called, and they all knew that at least some of the whispers they had heard from the mouths of their brothers had to be true: something had happened, and whatever it was, it was big. All that remained to be seen was just which rumors about what that big something were true. Slowly, the lights began to fade away, darkening the room, and the murmur of voices began to fade with it once the many ponies in attendance noticed. The enormous insignia wrought in fine gold and silver upon the grand meeting table, a depiction of sun blocked out by a pyramid capped by a large eye, began to emit its own faint magical glow in the fading light. At the head of the table was a strange absence of light, a void of darkness that seemed to carry an almost physical presence, as intangible as a shadow and solid as a mountain, and filling anyone who made the mistake of looking upon it for too long with a strange sense of awe and dread. Slowly, the dark blot on space began to contract, collapsing in on itself, gaining definition and shape, and fading around the edges. After a brief moment the process was complete, and at the head of the High Council now sat a pony, larger than average stallion and complete enshrouded in a cloak and hood darker than the void between stars, almost giving him the appearance of a living three dimensional silhouette. The mage flames in their braziers regained their brightness and the glowing of the grand table’s insignia faded as the pony appeared, and each of the ponies already seated rose to their hooves and fell respectfully silent. The pony gazed around the table, taking the sight of them all in, the action only visible because of the movement of his hood. With a nod, he acknowledged them, and they were all seated once again. The pony to the immediate right of the head of the table stood again, and threw back his hood, revealing a well-aged but still handsome muzzle, with a chiseled jaw line and short-cropped silver mane contrasting against a powder blue coat and horn, and spoke, “Now calling to order this Congress of the High Council of the Will of the Eclipse.” Another pony further down the table stood and threw back his own hood, revealing yet another well-aged yet handsome face, with a deep maroon colored coat and a short, militantly styled manecut of faded chestnut-brown. “My Lord Umbrean, I do not see the Lord Magus, nor the Lady Celeste. Have they refused the summons? Even High Lord Regisolius is present; have they abandoned their duties? Shall I find them and—“ The first pony began to ask, his brazen voice filling the otherwise still and quiet chamber before being silenced by an upraised hoof from the Umbrean. “They have been excused from this Congress due to most pressing matters and several assignments given to them by the High Lord himself. They will be informed of the results of this Congress at a later date, and I shall speak in their stead this night,” The Umbrean announced, trying to placating the Archon. The Archon merely nodded, sinking further back into his chair as he was satisfied with the answer. Seeing the Archon was satisfied, the Umbrean spoke, “If there are no other objections to be voiced then we shall continue with the Congress.” Looking around he saw that everypony was sitting complacently, waiting for everything to start. Taking note, he continued, “Very well, we shall proceed. We shall begin with Lord Artificer. Tell us, how comes the project we all discussed during the last scheduled Congress?” Another pony at the far end of the table stood up and threw back his own hood, revealing the youngest pony of the group, looking barely out of the university. His coat was a pale tan and his face and physique might have been less than impressive but the inquisitive lights in his eyes were challenging and belied a deep, fierce, almost predatory intelligence that nearly seemed to gleam from beneath his unkempt mop of shaggy black mane and spiraling horn. “It goes well, sir. The new assistants you’ve assigned to me are considerably more competent than the old ones. We’ve almost completely finished work in the theoretical stage. All that’s left to do now is solve the problem of crippling Thaumatic storage back-lash and we can begin with real-world testing and construction. If my calculations are correct – and they always are – then the Construct should be completed and fully functional within a month’s time,” he announced, a confident smile splitting his face, a vaguely manic gleam in his eyes. Nervous and excited muttering filled the room at the finally words of the Artificer’s proclamation. Such skill was virtually unheard of. Everypony sitting at the table had fully expected the project the young pony had been assigned the better part of a year to complete, but to it from the horse’s mouth that it would be finished within the month? It was practically inconceivable. Many of the more senior members of the High Council turned to the pony they largely considered a young upstart in their midst with looks of surprise and more than one bore a grimace of begrudging awe and respect for the talented pony. The noise and murmuring continued on for several moments before the Umbrean brought the room to silence with a few gavel-like bangs of his hoof upon the table. Once everyone had settled down again, he cleared his throat and spoke, “Thank you, Lord Artificer, we are all quite pleased to hear this. Please, see to it that the plan proceeds according to schedule. It is imperative that it is finished as soon as possible.” The Artificer just held his hoof to his chest and bowed his head in salute, before taking his seat again. “Good. Now, moving on: Lady Illuminate, what can you tell us about the latest group of initiates?” the Umbrean asked, turning towards one of the three mares seated around the large table. The Lady Illuminate stood and threw back her own hood, revealing a creamy golden coat and windswept mane the blue of a summer’s sky. “Unfortunately, I don’t have anything exceedingly pleasant to report. Not much has improved since the last Congress. The influx of newbloods this cycle is horribly small, and the ones that we do have are being rather reluctant to embrace our philosophies. I’ve had multiple incidents of instigation thus far and more than once I’ve been forced to resort forceful re-integration and honestly it’s becoming more and more difficult just to avert existential panic among the more feeble minded of the newbloods let alone orientate the entire group.” Lady Illuminate looked aside briefly and gave a sad and weary sigh before continuing. “I’m scared, to be honest. Every day it looks more and more like the old ways just aren’t enough anymore. I’m still holding out hope that when Lord Vicar returns from the Griffin Aeries with news from our foreign contacts that the news will be good, but I’m not expecting much. Maybe when our plan comes to fruition things will start to look up, but that doesn’t solve our immediate problems. I’m afraid that soon, we may need to step a little further out of the shadows and work harder at spreading the word or else we might just end up with no more newbloods at all.” Again the entire room was filled with quiet murmuring as they took in the news, though for entirely different reasons this time. Recalcitrant newbloods were nothing new, but what they had been experiencing lately was something else altogether. The amount of ponies they’d been able to find and covert to their beliefs was the lowest it had ever been since organization was founded. But what The Illuminate was suggesting? Surely there was no way the situation was that bad. To step out of the shadows now, when their plans were finally beginning to bear fruit? Such talk was madness. The old ways had served them well for many years, there was no reason to so carelessly abandon them now. But then again, if the current trend continued they may not exactly have a choice. The room once again returned to silence with a few stomps of The Umbrean’s hoof upon the stone table. “This is distressing news indeed Lady Illuminate. However, I believe if anypony can make the best of the situation it is you. I do not believe remain a problem for much longer, for once our immediate plans come to fruition we should have ponies joining us in droves.” His words caused a brief ripple of excitement to across everypony present, their interest piqued by his words. The Umbrean ignored their perked ears and piercing stares and continued speaking, “Now for what is next on the agenda: Lord Archon, what can you tell us about the state of our militant affairs?” The maroon coated Archon stood once again, this time with a crisp salute towards The Umbrean and the shadowed pony at the head of the table, and began to address the gathered ponies. “As per your request I have completely reviewed our entire fighting force. As always, the strength of their backs is matched only by the strength of their faith. Their resolve is unshakeable, their wills unbowed. They shall be ready for what is to come.” His voice carried well in the stone room, the pride unmistakable in his brazen tones. “I have also heard back from our search teams. We are closing in, slowly but surely. Our query is elusive, as they must be, but they have become sloppy as of late. It is only a matter of time before we catch them.” They reaction to this was much more subdued than previous, The Archon’s fervent and zealous attitude and pride in his soldiers having long since come to be expected. However, his announcement of the search parties’ progress was well received indeed, a small smirk grin spreading across more than one face present. After a moment, The Umbrean once again called everyone’s attention, this time with a soft clearing of his throat rather than a stamping of his hoof. “Very good, Lord Archon, I expected nothing less from you and your troops. Stay vigilant, for I fear their mettle shall be tested soon. Now, for the next item to address: Lady Archive, how goes your search?” The Lady Archive stood and lowered her hood, showing a petite muzzle upon which perched a small pair of spectacles and emerald green coat, its luster lost over the years yet still well kempt and attractive, along with a length of flowing faded brown mane interspersed with shocks of pure white, her bangs parted in two by a spiraled horn. Softly clearing her throat, she spoke to those present, “Unfortunately, my lord Umbrean, information about almost anything at all from so far into the past is almost impossible to locate, even from the old legends. Even with the recent acquisition of the Griffonian documents, information remains scarce, nearly to the point of non-existence. Even then what little I have managed to find is of little relevance, detailing false myths, and old stories. The further I dig, the more I realize just how effective the Sun Tyrant was at censoring our history. I fear that it may simply be lost to us, forgotten to history, lost amidst the chaos of discord and stamped out beneath the iron hoof of the Sun Tyrant through the ages. As far as I can discover, all that remains is what she herself recalls and what is already known to us.” Snorts of derision and unpleasant grimaces met the Lady Archives words as she finished speaking. Although everypony present had long since come to terms with the many grave sins of the Keeper of the Solar Throne, every time they received new information about just how far her transgressions went they couldn’t help but feel disgusted and enraged, and their hate for her grow just that much more. This latest discovery just steadied their resolve even further, adding fuel to the fire that burned deep in their hearts and drove them to do all they could to topple the Celestial Scourge from her stolen throne. The Lord Umbrean once more called attention to himself, using a gentle few words, “As disappointing as it is, I suppose it is hardly surprising. We have all known for a long time now that Celestia is willing to go to almost any length to stifle the truth. It is little wonder that all records of the true past have been destroyed.” For a moment, the Lord Umbrean was silent, his face pensive as he was lost in thought before speaking up again, “Still, no matter. We know enough to undo all that she has wrought, and that will have to be enough, as limited as our knowledge is. That said, it is time to move on. Lady Oculus, what news do you have for us?” The Lady Oculus stood and drew back her own hood, revealing a face hardly any older then the Lord Artificer. Her coat was a dark and shadowy gray, and her wild and unkempt mane a pale violet interspersed with dark streaks of ebony, all of it coming together to make her seem like she could simply fade away if she stood still too long in a dark room. “It seems the world’s been a bit busy the last couple of days. Normally, I could go an entire month or two without hearing a word of note from anypony, but the last couple of days I’ve got reports coming in from all over the place. Strange reports. Mysterious markings carved into buildings in Fillydelphia, inexplicable fires in Hoofington, children disappearing in Ponyville, ponies just dropping dead on the streets in Manehatten. I’ve even lost communication with my Everfree contact. And that’s not even the biggest news of all. What I’ve heard from my ponies stationed in Canterlot vexes me to no end. Terrified screams heard echoing throughout the castle in the dead of the night. Guards suddenly changing their patrol routes and standing guard outside supposedly empty rooms. Celestia secretly meeting in private with a mysterious stallion. A new high priority guest that the captain of the guard himself seems to have taken a personal interest in guarding that none of my ponies have managed to discover anything about yet. Celestia behaving erratically. And Princess Luna been nowhere to be seen for over twenty-four hours,” the Lady Oculus said, exasperatedly and tiredly running her hooves through her mane, wearily scanning the room as the dark circles under her eyes became all the more apparent. After a moment she let out a deep sigh and said, “Something’s happening, something big. I have no idea what it is, but it’s bad enough to have the Sun Tyrant herself all but running scared.” Once again everything was almost utterly silent, everyone stunned into silence by the news and more than one jaw hanging loosely hinged, before the entire chamber erupted into noise as everyone attempted to talk over one another, enraged outcries and demands for explanations filling the air. Understandably unused to being the sole focus of so much direct attention, the Lady Oculus began wilt a little under the verbal barrage. This continued for several moments until a single noise, like a peal of thunder, resounded through the room, loud enough to cut through the many voices and make everypony lay their ears against their skull. Everyone turned towards the source of the noise at the far end of the table. The dark red hoof, its color faded with age, lifted from the table’s stone surface and reached up to pull back the hood of the final pony seated at the conference, revealing a face that seemed just as ancient as wise and venerated. His mane had long since faded to a silvery white, and from the bottom of his muzzle hung a similarly colored beard. When the stallion was sure he had everyone’s attention he spoke, his voice soft but firm, weighted with age and experience. “That is enough! You are all squabbling like foals, and in front of the High Lord Regisolius himself no less!” He said, gesturing towards the shadowy figure at the head of the table as he admonished his peers. “There are more important things we could be doing with our time than simply braying and screaming at shadows. It’s no use plying Lady Oculus so forcefully for answers, if she had them she would have given them. That aside, this news, as disturbing as it is, is not our only, or even our primary concern. We must think of our goals before all else,” he explained, looking around with a stern gaze. Seeing he had gotten his point across, he gave a sharp nod and sat back, satisfied. Seeing that the older stallion was finished speaking, the Lord Umbrean gave an appreciative nod towards him and spoke, “Thank you, Lord Sage, that was well said indeed. Your counsel is highly appreciated as always. And Lady Oculus, your report is much appreciated as well. As strange as it is, it is not entirely unexpected, and is in fact very well-met, very well-met indeed.” The room was once again thrown into stunned silence, though instead of simply bursting into a fit they simply waited for an explanation, many of them wearing confused frowns. Content that everyone was keeping their heads, the Lord Umbrean went on, “With that said, it is time to move onto the primary purpose of this Congress. As you have all noticed, in addition to the Lord Vicar, who is currently away on assignment in the Gryphon Aeries, neither the Lord Magus nor the Lady Celeste are present tonight. The reason for this, as I mentioned earlier, is because they have both been given new assignments by the High Lord Regisolius himself. What I did not mention however, was that these assignments came in the wake of a very recent success of great magnitude on their part. In their studies they managed to uncover some rather useful information, information detailing a ritual devised long before anypony can recall, before even the Sun Tyrant came to power. It wasn’t until after it was deciphered that it was realized just how important this information was.” The Lord Umbrean paused for a brief moment, looking around the stone table at the ponies gathered there. Each and every one of them was gazing at him intently, hanging on his every word. He smirked slightly and continued, “As you all know, over the years we have done many things in pursuit of our goals, including experimenting with ponies and monsters and spirits and even looking towards realms and worlds beyond our own. For the most part it was all terrible failures. However… it seems we were looking in the wrong places. As of a few nights ago a small group of carefully selected disciples was sent into the heart of the Everfree Forest, into the Ancient Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters to complete the ritual. They succeeded. A portal was opened, but not to any place that we know, rather to a place we didn’t know. A portal was opened… to the Beyond. To The End. The Blind Eternities. Purgatory. The All-Realm.” By now the Lord Umbrean’s smirk had grown into a full blown maniac grin, and only grew wider as he continued. “We have managed created a portal to the space between spaces, or as it is best known… The Land of the Dead.” There were immediately several sharp intakes of breath at his announcement. Once again everyone was silent, though this time it was due most in part to the simple fact that nopony quite knew how to react to such a claim. The Land of the Dead? How was such a thing even possible? What could this mean? Had they finally found what they were looking for? The Lord Umbrean chose to ignore the perplexed expressions those around him wore and simply said, “Take heart, for this is a great accomplishment! We have learned much from this endeavor, and soon our goal shall be within our grasp. The heavens shall fall!” “The heavens shall fall!” The phrase was repeated back at him from everypony else gathered. The Lord Umbrean smiled at their enthusiasm. “Very good. And with that, this Congress of the High Council of the Will of the Eclipse is adj--“ He began, before he was interrupted by a subtle movement at the head of the stone table. Slowly, the High Lord Regisolius was rising to his hooves, his movements utterly silent. Suddenly, the entire chamber was utterly quiet yet again, totally and absolutely so. Nopony dared to so much as even breathe loudly and even the mage flames in their braziers seemed to burn noiselessly as everyone came to a single, startling, awe-inspiring conclusion. He was going to speak. The Dark Lord, The Light’s Shadow, The King of the Hidden Throne himself was going to speak. And he did. “Listen.” The single word rang out like a clarion bell, resounding in the silence, and carrying with it an unfathomable sense of weight, of presence, of power. There was an unbelievable depth to his voice, like there was more to it than simple noise or words, as if it were simply the mouthpiece to something greater, something far greater, something beyond them all. With a single word he floored them all, quite literally as their legs gave out beneath them and they fell roughly into their seats. In his voice they all heard something different, something more, and it made them each recall both their most treasured memories and most horrid nightmares at once. It sent chills up their spines, and caused ice to settle in their chests. Yet it was more than that. For just as much as it was cold, and intimidating, it was also warm, and comforting. It caressed their ears, and sent pleasant tremors up their spines in equal amount to the chills. The normally commanding Lord Archon and Lord Sage felt themselves subconsciously deferring to him and even the straight-laced Lady Archive felt her heart flutter and knees shake as his voice titillated her ear like a lover’s caress. While the High Lord Regisolius’s voice was many things, everyone agreed that it was one thing above all: something to be heard, and obeyed. So they did. “Far beyond the light of the Moon and Sun, Shall he be freed, and at last made as one, Ascend beyond the mortal coil, As skies burn, and seas boil, Lord and Master of this earth, Given praise, and glorious rebirth, By ancient lost rites, and master plans, The time of reckoning is soon to be at hand, Ancient secrets and dreaded lies, All laid bare as ages passed by, Dark and whispered temptations, Shall seed hidden machinations, By fabled rites, And tragic strife, Shall they unseen before, Wander the world evermore, The greatest strike, at the very seat of power, Shall be cast by the martyr in the eleventh hour, By the eclipse’s will once again, Shall the world know naught but pain, And the herd’s will to fight, Burn’s through the dark night, But be warned, for all is doomed to fail, Should the Blooded One find hope, and prevail.” The chamber remained silent as the heavy words of prophecy settled upon them like the weight of the world. With a simple wave of his hoof, the High Lord Regisolius dismissed them, and the chamber was filled with the rush of magic as blue mage flames engulfed them all and whisked them away, leaving him alone in the grand meeting chamber. After a moment, he seated himself, and leaned back into his chair. Softly, he spoke the prophecy’s last words to none but himself. “By fates that are set in stone, And what has yet been shown, In empty night, is suffering grown, Horror reaped, and misery sown, Places lost and forgotten, wild worlds unknown, All come together, beneath the shadow of a hidden throne, Fates intertwined, and pacts sealed in blood and bone, In the Guarded Night, the requiem’s bells shall tone.” Ever so slowly, he began to smile… revealing two gleaming white fangs protruding from beneath his lip. “I can’t wait.”