//------------------------------//
// The Elements 
// Story: Arrival 
// by Sh4dowWalker96 
//------------------------------//

	"There's nothing here about strange behavior, in fact, there's not much here abut the Elements at all!" I say, returning Legends from across Equestria back to the shelf. "And I can't go to the library, because Twilight will probably just go insane again, and that will accomplish nothing." As I look through the bookshelf again, making sure I hadn't missed something that might help, I hear a knock on my door. "Just a moment!" I call down the stairs. Checking the clock on my way to the door, I wonder, "Who could it be? It's only 2:30, so it's not Rarity about the cloak.." Opening the door, I see Pinkie for the 2nd time that day. 

"Hiya Lunaris! I'm supposed to give this to you," she says, handing me a scroll with Celestia's seal on the wax. "I don't know what it says, but it's from Princess Celestia, so it must be super duper important!"

"From Celestia?" I say, accepting the scroll, "I wonder how she knew I lived here."

"I dunno. You should probably read it, though. Well, I have to get going, the Cakes need me back at Sugarcube Corner. See ya!" She says, as I close the door behind her.

Walking over to my table and opening the letter, I read, "Lunaris Sericos, you have hereby been invited to dinner at Canterlot Castle. It will be at 6:00 tonight. Hope to see you there. ~Princess Celestia" Not believing my eyes, I re-read the letter to make sure I hadn't missed something. My efforts were in vain, as nothing pointed to it being a fake. "Canterlot... I haven't been there for... what is it, 10 years now?. Well, it is a summons from the Princess, so I can't exactly say no," I think to myself. Looking at the clock, I realize my shock lasted longer than I had thought. "3:30? Oh no, I need to go pick up my cloak from Rarity!" I exclaim, grabbing my coat and bits as I rush out the door to the Boutique.

Arriving at the Boutique,  I stop to catch my breath before entering. As soon as I open a door, I hear Rarity say, "Oh, that must be that stallion here for his cloak! Took him long enough."

"Sorry, got a letter from the Princess inviting me to Canterlot, I haven't been back there for quite a long time."

"Back there? You mean you used to live in Canterlot?" She asks, handing me the cloak. "That will be 200 bits."

"Yeah, back when I was just a colt," I say, accepting the cloak and handing her the bits, "And thanks again for the cloak, I've been needing a new one."


Arriving home, noting I still have 2 hours before I have to be at the Castle, I decide to take a quick shower. "After all, wouldn't hurt to make a good first impression," I think, putting my coat on it's hook, my cloak on the one next to it, and my bits in a drawer by my bed. Exiting the shower, I put my coat back on and head down to the train station to catch a train to Canterlot. Getting there barely on time, I rush towards the castle to ensure I don't keep the Princess waiting. Arriving at the castle gate, the guards crossed their spears, saying, "Halt! Who goes there?"

Expecting this, I simply say, "Lunaris Sericos, invited by Princess Celestia."

Uncrossing their spears, one says, "You may enter. The Princess is waiting for you in the dining hall. You will be escorted there to ensure you do not enter any restricted areas," opening the gate and calling over one of the other guards as the escort.

I simply nod, following the appointed guard to the dining hall. Arriving at the entrance, he stops and says "The Princess is waiting for you inside," while opening the door.

Entering, the first thing I notice is the sheer size of it. It could easily seat all of the ponies in Ponyville, if needed. As it was, the second thing I noticed was that the Princess was not alone. Both Pinkie and the Librarian, which I remembered was named Twilight were there as well, along with Rarity, the cyan pegasus that crashed through the library wall, and 2 other ponies I had not met yet, one a shy-looking yellow pegasus, the other an orange earth pony that looked as if she lived on a farm. Taking the only empty seat, which was next to the yellow pegasus, which I found out was indeed shy by the way she hid her face from me behind her mane, and across from Pinkie.

"I'm glad you were able to make it, Lunaris. Twilight has told me about you"- Oh, so that's how she knew I lived in Ponyville -"And there is something that I have decided we must all discuss. But, you are probably hungry, so let us eat before we worry about such things," Celestia says, as waiters and waitresses bring the food to the table. After we had all finished eating, and servants took the dishes away, Celestia says, "Now that our desires for food and drink are satisfied, there are things we must discuss. First of all, after you had left Canterlot, Lunaris, your father, Ashen Light, left me something to give to you. A scroll, with a saying I could not find the meaning of. I am sure you know though, otherwise he would not have given it to me to give to you," levitating a small scroll, yellowed with age to me. Accepting the scroll, I open it and silently read, " For the blood of the Family runs in my veins, this will ensure that my enemies will not remain." Shocked, I say, "Yes, I know what this is. It's a spell, passed down through my family for generations. It is normally given to the firstborn unicorn on their 18th birthday."

Intrigued, Celestia asks, "Would you mind telling it us what it does, and why I was not able to detect anything?"

Sighing, I say, " I cannot say what it does, for it's finer details are a family secret. However, I can show you, if you wish. I will need to use the spell sometime soon anyway. The spell itself is not dangerous, though it can only be used by one member of my family at a time. My father passing this down to me means I am now the one who represents my family. As for why you detected nothing, it is because it's a blood-bound spell, only unicorns of my family can use it."

Looking up, I see everypony staring at me, including Princess Celestia. "Interesting. I would indeed like to see this spell," she says. "As it is, these 6," she gestures to the others at the table, "have already sworn an oath to keep what happens here a secret. I ask you to do the same, for the main reason I asked you to come is a matter of very great importance."

Nodding, I say, "Understandable. I shall swear my secrecy, then I shall show you a very closely guarded secret." Rising from my seat, I bow to Princess Celestia, and say, "By the blood of my family, from myself to the ancient unicorn tribe of before Equestria, I, Lunaris Sericos, swear that, from this point forward, all that is said here will be kept secret from all others, even at the cost of my own life."

Celestia replies, nodding, "As it is said, so it shall be. You may rise, Lunaris Sericos."

"Thank you Princess," I say as I rise, "Now I must do as my father did before me, and his before him, and his mother before him, stretching back to the spell's creation nearly 2,000 years ago." Walking to an open area, I recite, "For the blood of the Family runs in my veins, this will ensure that my enemies will not remain," extending my right hoof during the second part. Not long after, a shimmer appears in the air above my leg, just behind my hoof, solidifying into an obsidian short sword hilt with a shimmering diamond in the crossguard. Once it finishes solidifying, an arcane purple blade shoots out, seemingly piercing my leg. As it does, the diamond glows the same color as the blade, and I hear the others gasp, most out of horror, but 2 seemed to be out of surprise. Then Celestia says, "It can't be.... is that the sword I think it is?" As I grab the handle with my magic, the blade vanishes, and the diamond stops glowing. "Yes.. probably. This is the blood-bound blade, MoonDancer," I say, turning to face the others, tucking the hilt safely into my coat. All but Twilight and Celestia had a look of pure shock on their faces, while Twilight's was a mixture of shock and awe, Celestia's was one of amusement.

"MoonDancer.. created by Starswirl the Bearded, shortly after the Fall of Discord, it was used to keep monsters away as the Old World was being founded," Twilight says, "There hasn't been any records of it being seen for nearly 300 years, it was presumed lost. How did your father find it?"

"He didn't," I chuckle, "It was never truly lost. Just never used, and kept secret, passed down from generation to generation. Now that I have preformed my duty as Bearer," I say, walking back over to the table and sitting back down, "What is it you called me here for, Princess?

Celestia's look quickly became serious. "Yes, the reason this meeting was organized. You came to Twilight yesterday inquiring about the Elements of Harmony, correct?"

"Yes, I had knocked a book off of one of my shelves, and it fell open to the legend of the Elements, so I went to the library to see if it had anything else about them. But aren't they just a myth, a story told to foals to help them sleep?"

"Would you be here if they were? The Elements of Harmony are more than just a mere myth, Lunaris. In fact," she says, gesturing to the others at the table, "they sit before you now. These 6 ponies are the bearers of the 6 Elements of Harmony, Equestria's final hope against the forces of evil and disharmony. I chose you to reveal this to because, oddly enough, no pony else has expressed an interest of them besides the old legends."

After sitting in silence for a while, letting Celestia's words sink in, I nod and say, "Interesting. This will take some getting used to. It is getting late," I say, noticing Twilight's poorly veiled attempt at hiding a yawn, "And we are all probably quite tired. I must take my leave now, if I am to get home tonight." Getting up, I bow to Princess Celestia and say, "Thank you for the meal, Princess. It has been nice being back in Canterlot, after all these years."

Nodding, she says, "Goodnight Lunaris. I must now go lower the sun to make way for the moon. Take care."

Exiting the dining hall, and following the new escort back to the gate, I make my way back to the train station to head home. Arriving back in Ponyville, I notice that the Element bearers had stayed in Canterlot. "Must be visiting for the time being," I reason. Entering my house, I put my coat on it's hook, and MoonDancer in a drawer by my bed. Barely able to contain a yawn myself, I get into bed and soon fall asleep.