After the return trip from their debacle in the town of Ponyville where the Rygolith scorpion was captured, the crew members on board the Harmony vessel did a quick check on the princesses, Shining Armor and his guards, and Twilight and her friends. Aside from the shock and awe from witnessing a firefight before their eyes between two feudal extraterrestrial groups, there were no outstanding injuries—save for a minor bruise on Celestia’s mid-waist after Asura plowed into her just seconds before the scorpion was able to blow them all into oblivion.
Now that the scorpion was in the defense corps’ custody, everyone was able to get a sigh of relief. That moment would not last, though, as they knew the enemy was finally at the edge of the atmosphere. Time grew slim for the defense force, and Asura carried the greatest amount of weight on his shoulders. The survival of his own kind and of the Equestrians depended on him—there would be no time left for any more deviations.
He had to find a way to bring Cosmos back from his eternal slumber.
The only obstacle in the way was that Asura wasn’t entirely sure on how to do that. He knew where to start, but he did not know whether the Path of Ascension was still usable. If he could use it, how would it help him re-awaken Cosmos? It was a gamble that he wasn’t sure he was willing to play around with.
On one hand, doing nothing would’ve meant the end of not only himself, his kind, and the Equestrians, but the entirety of the civilization and the known Universe as a whole. The strength of the Dimensional Divide was clearly demonstrated when Cosmos first let it crack apart. If he was able to keep its destructive powers from spreading further, who else would be able to keep that from happening this time? The Rygoliths were playing a dangerous game, and they would be playing out all of their winning cards for naught if they succeeded with their end result.
On the other hand, accomplishing his task would possibly mean suicide. Would he be ready to sacrifice his own life if it was the only thing he could do to bring Cosmos back to life? Could there be another way to deliver the seed of existence while still retaining his own life force? He certainly did not want to leave this serene beauty and everything else behind him.
It was a conflicting moment of thought. He had a serious amount of self-doubt that would not wander away from him. His whole life had been searing with doubts since he first sworn his oath to becoming the protector of his people. Now that he was thrown into the middle of an impossible choice, faced with an eventual and upcoming cataclysmic doomsday, he had nowhere else to turn to.
There was something that he had—his closest friends and allies were reunited with him, and he made a new alliance with a race that could potentially save his skin and the lives of countless others. If all the cards played out in his favor, perhaps this could undo all the damage done and unfold the Rygolith’s plans.
At least he had something to think about besides the searing doubts that invaded his mind. It soon dawned on him that Luna was quick to pick up on his pain. For as long as he was awake in Equestria, she wanted to mend his suffering and clear his thoughts so that he could think straight. So far, she has been partially successful, but she knew that tender love and care would not be enough. She still felt pain and suffering in his heart and she knew full well that it would not go away. He was burdened with both a privilege and a curse—a curse that would slowly eat away at his own dignity.
She had to get to the source—she needed to look past his mind and peer into his own spirit. If the lives of her and her sister’s subjects depended entirely on him, she needed to make certain that he needed to be put on the right track. Any mistakes between now and the foreseeable future would surely be met with their own downfall.
Would she regret mating her soul with his? It was possible, but the outcome would hopefully prove otherwise. She would only need him to cooperate without any flaws. She needed to figure out what it was that was causing him so much distress. It was beginning to confuse and frustrate him, and she knew that it would only get worse unless somebody was to guide him.
Now would not be the time for her to act, but soon she would get her chance.
Twilight Sparkle trotted up next to Celestia, hugging her closely with her wing as she did moments ago before the vessel landed back on Canterlot grounds. They were both in slight shock from the ordeal, but the medical officers were nice enough to lend a helping hand and some words of advice. It wasn’t an instant cure, but at least they had someone to turn to if their anxiety worsened. They were thankful that these people protected them from the creature that threatened to inflict harm.
“Princess?” Twilight spoke, after a few minutes of uninterrupted silence between them.
“Yes, Twilight?”
Twilight turned to face the crew on board the Harmony vessel. Her brother and Cadence were the last to step off of the ramp. She shifted her attention towards Asura who was speaking to a few of his crew as well as her friends, eagerly listening to what he was saying. At this distance, Twilight couldn’t make out what he was saying.
“Are we sure that we can trust him?” This caught Celestia off-guard.
"What makes you say that? Is there something on your mind?”
“Well, we don’t really know why he came here, do we?”
“He’s here because he needed to get away from whatever it was that was attacking his home. That thing that he fought earlier must’ve been one of them.”
Twilight’s eyes gleamed in the sunlight. “He told you about this?”
“Not exactly. It was from one of his closest mentors.”
Twilight gave a puzzled look. "How—?" Before she could finish, Luna cheerfully pranced up to the two, shedding an aura of questionable delight. Celestia didn’t know if she was being seriously happy or if she was just trying to keep herself from mentally breaking down from anxiety. Either way, it was mildly amusing for her to see.
“Pray tell, what must you two be discussing about away from our young hero over yonder?”
Celestia chortled when Luna perceived Asura as a hero. “I’m fairly certain that he hasn’t done anything ‘heroic’ as of yet, sister—at least, not anything significantly life-changing.”
“He did save thee from the jaws of that… ‘thing’ that assaulted us earlier. Thou should at least give him credit for that.”
Celestia shrugged. “Of course, there’s that. What’s gotten in to you?”
“The doctors say that keeping thyself cheerful is a good way to overcome anxiety attacks. Would thou not agree, Twilight?”
Twilight managed to shrug hesitantly. “I suppose so…”
Luna heard Cadence’s call from across the courtyard. “Oh, I must depart. Cadence and I are going to attend to some ‘private’ business in the kitchen.”
“Private?” Without another word, Luna was quick to flee from the two in a flaunting gait. Celestia was dumbfounded by her sister’s departure. “And to think that I’ve known her for this long and yet she still surprises me.” Twilight chuckled at Celestia’s remark.
Isara paced around the command console of the bridge, pondering to herself in silence. The metal of her boots clanked in precise rhythms. It was beginning to bore her that Kor and his battalion had not arrived yet. It was testing her patience, which she already had little of to begin with.
She held both hands behind her back, continually pacing back and forth—thinking of her next battle plan. Her first strategy of sending the best heavy infantry down below proved to be futile. The notably feared Scorpion had become no match to the boy’s ever-strengthening presence. It bothered her that he’d retain all of his strength on an isolated, alien planet. Something had to be done, and quickly.
At last, the monitor in front of the bay window flickered to life. The picture revealed a similar looking figure of her stature and build. It was Saekar Kor, the battle lord. She bowed to him with one arm across her chest. Something was off with the picture, though. Instead of him bowing in response, he stood there, glaring angrily through the screen.
“Captain Isara,” he spoke, his voice mechanically augmented by the console relays. “I am displeased with your efforts to apprehend the boy. As I was told by my insurgents aboard your ship, you sent down one of our best warrior patrols.” She knew now that it was only a message. “You should have realized that his strength and integrity would prevail, and now they have one of our best units in their hands! It was your duty to handle this quietly!”
He inhaled sharply. “I should not have let you jump so early. This would not have happened had I given you the order to stay behind the flagship. Do you realize what you have done? You have jeopardized the entirety of our efforts, and now we have the potential of another enemy to face amongst their ranks!”
He briskly turned away from the screen for a mere moment, exhaling with a menacing growl. He turned back and raised his clenched fist, pointing a single finger towards the top of the screen. “If we lose this war, I will have your head! All that we have worked towards would all be done for naught, and it will have been because of your chain of command that will have ruined our opportunity to rebuild our society! I want him alive—do you understand me?? Do not fail me again!” He lowered his hand and turned away from the screen. “End message.”
The screen faded, and the bridge was silent once again. Isara hung her head down, frustrated from the message that Kor left for her. It was clear that she made a huge mistake by pulling the trigger too soon, but she had done it to attempt to disable much of his armed acquaintances. Unfortunately, they were better prepared than she had anticipated, and this new alliance with the native populace could also pose a credible threat to her and Kor’s forces.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw two small dropships flash out from hyperjump. She immediately knew they were both from Kor’s flagship.
“Going for the silent strike force this time, my lord? Let’s hope this plan doesn’t flop.”
After a few hours of consulting and debriefing with the Atlas and Harmony crews regarding the events that played out earlier, he finally retired to his room. It was already dark outside, and the moon was beginning its slow ascension into the starlit sky. He found it awe-striking that Luna could accomplish such a feat without breaking a sweat. A feat like that would easily cripple him head over heels, even with the full spectrum of the elemental forces at his fingertips.
He found it equally surprising that the elemental guardians would force the elemental barrier beyond the civilization’s limits. The overall influence was still weak, but it was enough that he didn’t need to rely on the stone—not that he needed it in any case.
Something deep inside was bothering him. It felt like a tiny fireball had lit up and was continually burning him from the inside. Ever since he left his home, he felt that same ember in the middle of his chest. It felt like pieces of his soul were missing. A lot of it had to do with the loss of his fellow friends and mentors when the Rygoliths invaded his home, but there was another, more obscure reason to the solitary flame. It did not spread, nor did it intensify.
It was going to take much of his brainpower to figure out the underlying source of the internal ember inside him.
‘Perhaps Luna could help…?’ he pondered for a brief moment. ‘Nah, I don’t think she could possibly understand…’
~~~~~~
Princess Luna and Cadence walked through a red curtain, covering a secluded portion of the rear of the castle’s largest kitchen. There was a clear crystal teapot filled with a muddy brown brew on a brass tray with two small crystalline green cups—one of which had a small blue vial, with a radiating clear liquid inside, sitting next to it.
Luna focused her attention on the blue vial, curious as to what it may be.
“Curious about the vial, Luna?”
“Why of course. What is it for?”
“It’s for Asura. He’s been feeling a little under the weather lately, since we’ve been around him.” Cadence looked up. “If it’s all true about what’s out there, I think that he’ll need all the focus that he can get. I don’t want to get tied up in this conflict, and I’m sure none of us want to either. The potion should help us narrow down any clues as to how we’re gonna get ourselves out of this mess.”
Luna scratched her chin. She raised the vial in the air, closely examining the content inside. It almost looked like it came from Celestia's private collection. “I believe I follow what you’re saying. This would help focus our ability to look deep inside his mind to any untouched memories that he may have?”
“Sounds about right. It shouldn’t do anything to him while he’s awake, but once he falls asleep, your magic should slip right through his mind.”
Luna nodded. Something grazed the edge of her mind at that moment. “I think I’ve overheard earlier about Twilight questioning his true intent. It seems like she doesn’t trust his word.”
“Perhaps we could take a look at how he came here as well. After all, you said yourself that memories never lie,” she winked.
Luna blushed at that phrase. “Of course.” This was going to be her chance to guide him. She hoped that she would be able to control his pain and help him focus on his thoughts without the obstacles of doubt and frustration. She poured the contents of the vial into the cup, followed by the tea supported by Cadence. Within minutes, the glowing liquid mixed completely into the tea, leaving behind no trace. She didn’t like the idea of manipulating somepony with a simple, unassuming potion, but it was necessary given the present predicament they were placed in.
~~~~~~
Asura laid himself flat against the sheets on the bed. The moon’s rays illuminated much of the sheets, giving them a soft glow that bounced off of his cheeks. It reminded him of the glowing bronze citadels back at home. He ran his hands through his hair, sighing heavily amidst the running thoughts that scoured his mind. It was yet another anxiety attack, and it had slowly intensified since the last attack. He was already faced with a battle for survival, but now he had to face a battle against his own sanity.
Equestria’s magic was somehow instigating a reaction from his own powers. It wanted to saturate his spirit with more power, but that came at a greater risk of instability. He knew that an oversaturated soul could harm himself or others around him. He did not want that to happen here—especially not amongst those of royalty. It was fortunate that his body was mostly resilient to preventing rogue magic from overflowing his own powers, but this magic was becoming more persistent and relentless as the days went by. Sooner or later, his spirit would reach the breaking point and allow the magic to flow within him like a broken dam.
He didn’t want to think of the complications that’d arise from that. The princesses assured him that everything would be alright, but he started to believe that they did not think this completely through. Could he trust them? Could they do something about it if his powers did manage to break loose?
He rolled onto his back and moaned in frustration. ‘I really don’t want to think about this.’
“Is there something wrong?”
Luna’s soothing voice filled the room, and reached his ears. He uncovered his face and turned around on his bed to confront her as she closed the door. Cadence poked her head through the door for a brief moment before the door clicked quietly. Luna had a brass tray with an exquisitely crafted crystalline teapot and emerald teacups filled with a dark, minty tea. Asura sat up and crossed his legs, taking in the relaxing scent of the tea.
“Are you ill?” she asked, lowering the tray onto the table next to the bed’s headrest.
“If you mean ill as in a heavy migraine, I suppose so." He shook his head slightly, combating against the swirling madness that toyed with his mind. "I just can’t help it with these thoughts blasting through my mind. It feels as if someone cranked a faucet all the way to full power.”
“And you’re having trouble focusing because of these ill-gotten thoughts?”
“Yeah, I just…” he sat still for a moment, trying to ease himself through his internal chaos. “I just can’t find time to relax with everything that’s happened in such a short time. The war, the divide… it just doesn’t add up for some reason. Normally, I’d be able to recall memories on a dime, but since I came here, I’ve just been so scrambled.”
Luna blinked. She recognized that issue all too well, as she had been put in the same spotlight 1,000 years ago. She raised the teacup with the dissolved pill up in the air and in front of him. He grabbed the cup with one hand, allowing the heat of the cup to pierce through his skin. Some of his racing thoughts receded.
“I don’t think I’ve ever said this,” he spoke softly, “but I’m glad that I have you all as friends.”
Luna gleamed. “Really?”
Asura nodded. He took a sip of the warm tea. “I’m certain things would be entirely different if they made it here first before my team did.”
“They?” Luna cocked her head sideways. “Oh, you mean your adversary? Of course, if that’s how they act towards thee.”
Luna poured herself some of the tea in the empty glass. Asura took note that the glass wasn’t full when she first came in, but dismissed that thought soon after. It only took him a couple of minutes to finish the tea before he got his second helping. After placing the pot back on the tray, he noticed that the pressure pushing against his soul was receding.
“Strange,” he said.
“What’s wrong?” ‘Does he know about the potion…?’
“I feel… somewhat better. Just now, it felt like the world’s magic was just trying to crush my spirit into a crumpled wad, but now my head feels lighter than air.”
“That’s… wonderful. We’ve always believed tea would help relieve us of our daily struggles of our busy lives.”
“You know, that’s not bad. Even if it’s just for a day or two, that’s something for me to think about.” Asura raised his cup, and Luna raised hers. Both cups clinked softly together, and they both enjoyed their last sip. Both cups hovered back onto the tray, and the room darkened as the lit candle next to the tray was blown out. Luna was somewhat caught by surprise.
"Did you do that, Asura?"
Asura shook his head.
“Huh, must’ve been one of our night guards outside.” She passed off the thought and let Asura slide into the sheets.
“Time for me to get a good night’s rest for once,” he said.
Luna smiled. “Let us hope.”
Asura laid an arm above Luna’s lower waist, rotating himself to a comfortable posture. Luna did the same with a front leg, letting the diamond slip-on slide off of her hoof as she brushed it back against the sheets. Asura closed his eyes and was immersed into a deep slumber within a few minutes. Luna’s horn lit up and attempted to sneak her way inside his mind.
Candence was right. To her surprise, she found it relatively easy to slip straight into his memories. Almost immediately, she came up to one that looked like it’d answer Twilight’s question. It was a personal memory, and it didn't occur that long ago—in fact, it was only a recent event.
'I'm gonna need everypony to see this...'
~~~~~~
Cassandra rushed around the corner of the hallway, heading towards Asura’s room. “Asura?” she beckoned, sharing an aura of potential excitement. The night guards that stood next to the doorway gave her a quick glare. One of them put up a hoof next to her mouth and hissed, urging Cassandra to tone down her voice.
She quickly froze in place and covered her mouth. “Sorry… I didn’t know he was already asleep…”
The night guard lowered her hoof and grinned slightly. “Is there something you need to discuss with him?”
Cassandra shook her head. “Nah, I’ll wait till the morning.”
The night guard nodded. Within the next few seconds, all of the candles in the hallway blew out at once. Cassandra’s heart skipped a beat, while the night guards looked over towards the royal guards standing next to Celestia’s quarters. They all exchanged looks of uncertainty amongst each other, wondering why all of the lights went out.
“Does this usually happen at this time of night?” Cassandra asked.
“No, this is not normally practiced at this time,” one of the royal guards answered. Cassandra soon became worried. This kind of tactic was commonly practiced in certain warzones to hide a person’s presence when hiding in a dark place. Opponents would use the light to their advantage to discern the occupancy of a shelter with ample supplies. Cassandra stood by, waiting for what the guards were going to do next.
Cassandra’s watch crackled. “This is Skyhawk Two. It looks like much of Canterlot Tower has gone dark. Can anyone give us any updates?”
Cassandra spoke into the watch. “Skyhawk Two, this is Cassandra. I’m a bit uncertain as to the current circumstances myself. Give me a few minutes to discern what’s happening.”
“Copy that.”
~~~~~~
Rarity and Fluttershy slept soundly in their roll-up sacks, made for them by Discord, who was also fast asleep after having a short stroll around the castle grounds earlier. He'd taken the opportunity to go on a short trip around the castle grounds to relieve himself of his nervousness, and to catch up on old memories. It’d been a long time since he had touched the castle’s walls, and while he almost turned some of the walls into granite pudding for his own amusement, he found it quite relaxing that just about everything was the same as they'd been before his imprisonment.
Twilight held up a long piece of parchment and a quill next to a shaded candle, writing down what looked to be a list of plans for the following morning. Spike snored soundly next to Twilight, which gave her a sense of security and enlightenment. At least he was safe and sound.
Rainbow Dash paced back and forth above Twilight. “What should we do when we go on our ‘tour’ of Canterlot with Asura? Is there something in that book that tells us of any hints—perhaps of some monument or doorway that we should look for?”
Twilight lowered the parchment to gaze upon the leather-bound book on the floor. “I’ve taken a good look through much of the book already, but there seems to be no indication of any special artifacts or symbols to show any sort of ‘hidden room’ within the castle walls,” Twilight replied. “If anything, most of this book is just about all of Starswirl’s observations and of the alliances between the ponies and Precursors.”
Rainbow Dash planted both hooves in her face, sighing in dismay. “Well then how are we supposed to find what we’re looking for if he never left us any clue on how to retrace his footsteps? I mean, wouldn’t it have made it easier to just leave a map that says, ‘hey, I was here and this is how you get here’ in his personal studies?”
"If only everything was that easy, sugarcube," Applejack interjected.
“That’s just it. Maybe the Precursors don’t want anypony to stumble onto their sacred sites, so it was better to let everypony believe that these ancient artifacts didn’t even exist, maybe until somepony born of their heritage…” There was a sudden flash of realization in her head.
Rainbow Dash picked up on Twilight’s realization. “…until somepony from their world came here to rediscover them!”
“But Twilight,” Applejack muttered quietly, so as to not disturb the others in their beauty sleep. “Didn’t ya say that ya didn’t trust’im earlier?”
“Yes, but I mentioned that because I might have been a bit more uneasy after what we’ve been through earlier.”
Rainbow Dash chuckled. “Yeah, did you see what he did to that thing? He took down that beast single-handed.” She punched the air and lunged herself across the room, reenacting the fight in poor recollection.
Twilight raised an eyebrow. She cleared her throat. “I think the princesses have more trust in him at this point. I mean, Celestia allowed him to push her down that hole.”
“That was t’ save ’er skin, Twilight.”
“Exactly. I’m sure if they didn’t trust him enough, she wouldn’t have let him do that.” She gazed out of the window to her right, looking at the moon that lit up the night sky. “I just hope that we can figure out this mystery before more of those things come.”
Rainbow Dash gulped. “Yeah, me too.”
“Me three,” Pinkie Pie bounced up from behind Twilight. She had a worried look on her face. “It would be a shame for us all to have to miss out on my super-duper special parties because some evil space goons decided to come here and ruin all of the fun.”
“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “The horror.”
“But it’s true,” Pinkie exclaimed. “Nopony would be happy without my parties, and if nopony was happy, then we’d all be in trouble, and if we were all in trouble, those monsters would spread tyranny and chaos across all of Equestria, and if those monsters spread tyranny and—”
Twilight stuffed her hoof inside Pinkie’s mouth; she hissed with another hoof against her lips, motioning her head toward the others who were still sound asleep. Discord managed to roll himself onto his back, making absurd and incomprehensible noises a few times before humming to himself in his sleep. Twilight removed her hoof from Pinkie’s mouth with a soft pop, letting Pinkie breathe in deeply.
“We’ve got to think about something. Where would we start looking for clues?”
All four of them pondered in deep thought.
“Oh, what about the library?” Pinkie exclaimed quietly.
“We’ve already been in there. That’s where we found the book,” Twilight responded. “That was our first clue.”
“How ‘bout th’ grand hallway?”
“That’d probably be way too obvious for anypony not to notice a ‘secret’ doorway in an area that they can wander freely about in,” Rainbow Dash said.
"Hmm, yer right 'bout that."
Twilight thought for a few moments. She looked outside toward the moon, thinking that Luna would provide some suggestions, but she felt nothing. Perhaps she was sound asleep, peering through the minds of everypony who were also in deep slumber. “I wonder if we should take a look at any buildings closest to the mountain—perhaps any hallways that stretches through the mountain itself?”
The others shrugged in agreement.
“That just seems like alotta ground fer us t’ cover.”
“Well, it’s gotta be somewhere within the castle walls. I’d imagine Starswirl didn’t have to travel very far from his personal study to get to where he needed to be.”
Pinkie raised her hoof. “How about we search around his study then?”
“Pinkie Pie,” Rainbow Dash said. “You are a genius sometimes.”
Twilight grinned. “I’d say that’s a great plan. We’ll talk more about it in the morning. I’m gonna need some shut-eye in the meantime.”
Rainbow stretched her arms and legs across. “Yeah. I’m gonna hit the sack as well. See you all at the crack of dawn.” She flew straight into her rainbow-striped sack and nestled herself comfortably. Even if it was provided by Discord, it was still a generous act of him, if it wasn’t for Rarity’s persuasive antics.
“Ah should git mahself some rest as well. See y’all in th’ mornin’.”
With Twilight and Pinkie Pie the only ones still up, they chatted briefly with each other about their finalizations for the plan in the morning.
“Oh, I can’t wait! Asura’s gonna be thankful that we’ve made him a super awesome plan. I mean, it’s not as awesome as a planning party, but we could always throw him one before we set out on our tour. Oh, maybe we could have a touring party, and have us split up in two or more groups for us to cover more ground?”
“Why don’t we talk about this in the morning?” Twilight said. “My head’s starting to hurt from all of this pre-planning, and I’m gonna need all the sleep I can get.”
“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie said, bouncing her way to her fluffy pink sack. She made one final bound and sunk into the sack like it was a portal to another dimension. Her head then stuck out of the opening of the sack and she turned herself to rest the left side of her head on the pillowy cushion.
“G’night, ev’rypony,” Applejack said, closing her eyes and letting the soft bed send her to sleep. Twilight slid herself in the sheets of her sack, being careful not to disturb Spike too much. She nestled the bottom of her chin on the top of Spike’s head in a warm cuddle, and wrapped one of her wings around him. Before she could blow the candle out with her magic, the candle blew out on its own.
“Perfect timing…” she said to herself. She didn’t bother to notice that the rest of the castle had all of its candle lights blown out at the same time as well. She closed her eyes and let herself fall to sleep. She felt a slight tingling sensation enter her body through her horn, followed by Luna’s reluctant voice.
~~~
‘Sister! Twilight! Cadence! You all need to see this!’
~~~
“What?” Twilight asked in confusion. She had just fallen asleep in her room and now it felt like she never went to sleep at all. She saw her friends next to her who were in the same disposition as she was.
“What’s going on?” Rarity asked. “Why did Princess Luna bring us here?”
“The better question is what prompted her to summon us here?” Celestia inquired.
“Princess…” Twilight exclaimed in shock. “I didn’t know you were here as well.”
Discord’s voice bellowed out from behind with an uncomfortable yawn. “Ugghh, I was having a marvelous dream until ‘dreamcatcher’ decided to drag me here.”
Twilight and Celestia both looked at him in dismay.
Rainbow Dash fluttered just above him, snickering in delight. “Maybe she wants to toy with you a little bit, just to make things even between you two.”
“Oh, I highly doubt that, Rainbow Dash. I’ve hardly done anything to her, except, perhaps, altering one or two of her dreams to turn her precious moon to cheese.”
“What’s going on?” Shining Armor asked, approaching Celestia and Twilight with Cadence by his side. “Is it another one of Asura’s summonings to his people?”
Both princesses shrugged.
In the blink of an eye, a dark hazy cloud materialized in the large dome-like room where they were held in. Luna made her appearance from the cloud, smiling in glee.
“Hahaa! It worked!” she exclaimed happily.
“What worked?” Celestia asked, still confused about the situation.
“We were able to get into Asura’s memories so that we may look closely and answer any questions about how to find clues for these ancient whereabouts scattered across Canterlot.”
“Oh good,” Celestia and Cadence chimed together.
Twilight’s eyes widened at what Luna had explained. ‘She’s actually made it inside his memories? Since when did she try doing that? That’s incredible!’
“Yes, dear Twilight; tis’ most incredible indeed.”
Twilight blushed. She forgot that Luna could read her thoughts as well while in her pocket realm.
“I found something that might answer another question of yours as well, Twilight.”
Twilight looked up. “What do you mean? You mean why he came here?”
“Precisely. Would you all like to take a look?”
Everyone looked at each other.
Cadence shrugged. “Why not? It’d be interesting to see what his home looked like, aside from the Hall of Aniliath that we’ve seen already,”
Luna nodded, and turned to face the multicolored glass wall that stretched to the top of the dome in one corner of the room. The glass glowed softly, revealing a window of another world through Asura’s eyes in his memory. Everything was in near-perfect detail. All at once, everyone’s thoughts faded away and were replaced with his memory.
The usual sounds of Canterlot and Equestria were replaced with foreign, unusual sounds. There was a strange sensation of an unusual energy that flowed around their consciousness. They were all inside Asura’s mind—more specifically, they were reliving a specific event that happened only a couple of weeks ago, or so they thought.
Various voices could be heard from behind. Asura turned around and smiled to the group of Precursor elders who were standing around an oval table, conversing with one another and praising each other to the day of Somris. It was the day where the selected nobles would ascend to a higher rank in their society. Asura was one of those chosen to ascend from his studies and to receive the mark of the guardian.
They did not know who these people were, but Asura’s thoughts helped them understand quickly.
They heard his thoughts as they examined the scene around them through his eyes.
The people standing around the table all wore the same decorative robes, but each one was of a different shade of brown, yellow and orange. Asura wore a light tan robe. He was accompanied by two equally young companions. They were his closest friends and brightest scholars of Paleia. Inna, the black-haired woman, stood to his right, and Keran, the blonde haired man, stood to his left.
One of the elders nearest to them slowly turned around and stepped forth, holding a forged bronze box in her hands. Asura bowed to the elder and held on to the box. A powerful surge of energy could be felt emanating from the box. It felt strange to them—it was a natural occurrence otherwise.
“Asura Envar, son of the House of Keior,” the elder spoke, “we pass onto you the key to the gateway of the heavens. The Hall of Henath has called forth your presence.” Asura stood up from his bow. This was a rare occurrence to be accepted as a guardian. He had trained for a long time under Paleia’s presence. The key was the Heart of Mar, an ancient relic that would unlock the doorway to the Guardian Sword. It was a powerful artifact, forged by Mar himself, to intertwine the souls of the Precursors to ensure of their safety. "It is time for you to bear the mark of the Guardian."
Asura understood the principles and hardships he had to partake, and he almost got caught up in the moment when he just about released his grip from the box. If he'd done so, even if it was a mere accident, it would have meant his declination of the Hall’s invitation.
“Do you accept Henath’s call?”
Asura nodded. “I accept their call. I will do what is right to protect our heritage and to defend my people from any harm that threatens our peace.”
The elder let go of the box; it was now in his hands. The Heart of Mar pulsated with pure energy within the box. Inna and Keran smiled and congratulated him. The elders around the table bowed to him. With Asura taking his final bow, the elder ushered him and his colleagues to the front gate of the citadel. As they walked along the the side of the table, the elders bowed and praised Asura on his accomplishments that led him to this day.
The giant bronze gate swung open. The light of the sun above penetrated the hallway already lit by crystalline lanterns. The large balcony stretched out several feet to the edge, where it abruptly dropped off to the valley below. Out in the distance, the beacon of the Hall of Henath could be seen on the other side of a distant mountain range. Next to the base of the mountains was a guardian dropship, stationed in its place to carry troops from one part of the world to the next. Its elongated fin touched down to the ground below, making it look like another one of Marcovi’s vertically standing citadels.
Keran took off his robe and handed it to one of the armored guards that stood next to a skiv rack. Keran had a tight-fitting suit made of small bronze scales. He was a trainee for Marcovi’s defense network. The armor he was wearing was for the highest-ranking trainees that had ascended from basic boot camp.
Inna also took off her robe. She wore what looked like a golden spandex body suit. She was also of the defense network, but she worked as an intelligence officer. She graduated from training several months after Keran joined the ranks.
The skivs were a common mode of personal transportation from one citadel to another. They looked like anti-gravity cycles, like the ones Mar used to ride. The skivs had what looked like metallic wings protruding from either side of the front of the vehicles. They served as the primary propulsion of the skiv. Asura took off his robe, wearing his bronze skin suit underneath. He’s had plenty of experience riding a skiv, with Keran as his personal instructor. Keran was training to fly one of the guardian skivs, which were a heavily modified and militarized version of the civilian skivs they were operating now.
Keran started up his skiv, and a jet of blue flames emanated from the end ‘feathers’ of the skiv’s wings. Inna started hers up, and Asura was the last to get onto his. The skivs were all of the same color and finish; Asura and his colleagues had different flight experiences.
Asura looked back to see many of the elders of the citadel standing out onto the balcony. Some of them waved farewell, while others stood and watched. Asura smiled, and waved back. He kept the bronze box in a compartment just below his chest, where it wouldn’t fall out of his hands. He half-expected Keran to show off his aerobatics once again in mid-flight.