//------------------------------// // Prologue: Discovery (rewritten) // Story: Family Ties: A new Future // by sithy91 //------------------------------// Thud! "Ow! Who the hell leaves a box at the base of the stairs?!" Grumbled a blue unicorn as he stood back up shaking off the dust that stuck to him coughing a bit. "Geez, I forgot how dusty this place was... Mental note, take some time off to clean up." Shadow Freeze muttered as he looked around, “ugh so friggin dark and depressing down here.” His horn glowed midnight blue for a second before he gasped and blinked as he used an illumination spell.”Gaaah! Bright light! Mental note --- -close eyes before firing up that spell in pitch-dark places.” Once his eyes adjusted and not longer had a big fluctuating spot he spotted his target on the ground and smiled. With his horn’s aura glowing once more as he picked up an old textbook of his in its magical grip. Shadow walked through the basement towards his storage area his hooves echoed a bit as they impacted the ground with each step he took. As he found where the textbook went placing it there. Shadow looked at his mini-library and sighed as he ran a hoof over the obscure history books he had bought before he looked around the basement. It held a bit of melancholy for him. It was neat and tidy, yet covered in dust and cobwebs much like his old desires. He had to push an itch he had a young colt to the side so that he could succeed in life. With a heavy heart he sighed as he moved to leave. As he made for the stairs he glared at the offending box. “You sir! Are in the wrong place.” Shadow thought to himself as if the box had telepathy. With his horn lighting up he wrapped it in his magical grip urrrffing with effort Shadow dragged the box out from in front of the stairs to a landing next to them. With a slight pant he looked at the box his head tilted. “Why are you so darn heavy? Hmm” Shadow muttered a hoof tapping his chin. Moving his head around the box he looked for a name on it. “Strange…” Shadow looked back powering up the illumination spell a bit more to brighten up the long corridor. He looked at his parents storage space, his younger brother’s, His sister’s and then his own. Everything seemed in order. But… Why was this so out of place? Was it always here? As Shadow stared at the box curiosity at what was inside the squared cardboard container held tickled at the edge of his mind. With a smile he would tap the top of the box locating a seam in the packing tape, he flexes his horn’s power creating a thin blade of ice to cut the seam allowing him to open the box. As he opened it he was hit with a nasty, and musky scent that offended his nose, making him cough so badly he had to move away from the box until it was over. Blinking a few times to clear them from the watering they did thanks to the coughing. “Oh Celestia that’s rancid… “ He wheezed as he caught his breath before he took a breath and faced the box. Taking an experimental sniff and found the scent has dissipated he exhaled. Smiling again he shifted angling his horn just right he looked at the contents. The first thing that caught his attention was several leather bound journals. Using his horn he picked up the top journal in it;s magical grip as he examined it closer. The faded leather was still flexible if a bit stiff in his horn’s grip. Looking to the front he was unable to make out the name on it so he carefully unwound the binding straps that kept it closed to open the journal. He looked at the inscription on the inside of the cover able to make out a name through the writing. Property of Second Lieutenant Thunder Justice Shadow blinked as that name tickled and made the wheels of his brain start to whirr and click. He recognized that name. Yet he couldn’t place where. “Thunder Justice… Where have I read that name before?” As he tried to place that name shadow moved his gaze to the first entry, glancing at the date he blinked as he felt his jaw go slack threatening to dislocate itself. “This… This is over a thousand years old! How is it in such good condition?!” He thought to himself as his horn’s aura flashed brighter with a sonar like pulse of magic. He aimed the localized pulse at the Journal and recoiled from the feedback smacking into his horn. “Of course, restoration and preservation spells. I should have known.” Shadow He muttered eyeing the book with suspicion. These were powerful enchantments, to keep soemthing this old intact. After the initial shock wore off Shadow settled on his rump bringing the book close to his muzzle he glanced over the first entry with a smirk. He read through this unicorn stallion’s first days in the officer’s training school for the royal army. Seems he had gone there before before West Hoof had been officially named. Flicking through the pages the young unicorn was interested in what this journal had to say. He had been reading full entries here and there until one stood out to him from how it started… War… Just the mere mention of that word fills me with dread. It’s ironic… I join the royal army as an officer to protect my country, I was knew that fighting in battle, or a war was possbile from day one. Yet I’m frightened at the prospect of actually having to fight… Am I a coward? Shadow blinked as he read that passage, He was a city guard himself. Yet the mere thought of having to drive of an invading army filled him with the same dread this pony must have felt. He continued on reading riveted by the life of this pony. I got word of the declaration at the start of PT today from our captain. It still hasn’t quite sunk in. Why would the Crystal Empire declare war on us? Their most staunch ally? It feels wrong, it makes no sense! I just know that my unit is shipping out within the week, I pray to Celestia and Luna I make it. I want to see my foals again… Shadow’s spine had gone cold from the creeping chill that made his fur stand on edge. “Here I thought I had it rough… I can’t imagine the hell he went through… “ Shadow thought his own brain trying to fathom how he could handle such a prospect. He kept reading unable to stop himself, as the pony recounted the very first battle of the Crystal War. Damn them! Damn them to Tartarus! How can a King force civilians to be meat shields?! How?! I don’t know why I am in pain… I survived yet I feel like I got stabbed through the heart! The colt I killed couldn’t have been more than fifteen… Fifteen!! He even thanked me! I...I can’t… Shadow felt as if he was right there sitting next to this pony’s desk hearing the tears fall upon the parchment. Shadow’s own heart threatened to break as he read through the next few entries watching as this once Hopeful pony became grizzled and hardened. This one pony fought on the front lines for what seemed like decades to him. As Shadow read he focused on one of the later entries. The end is near… Thank Celestia. Finally this nightmare can end. I can finally retire and stay home with my family. Just one more fight… one last siege… I don’t how this force could have gotten behind our lines without us noticing. It doesn’t matter now. The last remnants of Sombra’s armies are trapped here. What baffles me is why would they hole up in the Moon Temple. They had to know Princess Luna would not let her Knight’s headquarters remain in enemy hands… It matters not anyway. Everyday out unicorns bombard the outer wards with spells, our siege engines roar to life and hurl enchanted stones at their enchanted walls. I can sense it’s only a matter of time before… Shadow stared at this entry as it remained unfinished except for an odd scrilly line as if he had been interrupted. That’s when he noticed the slight singe on the pages after this entry. He wished he had a spell that could let him see what happened in that moment. Only to wince remembering the ruler to his gnoggin when he mentioned time magic. “As much as I wish to see this pony as he wrote these entries, I’m not gonna tango with time spells.” Shadow thought to himself moving to the next entry. Damn Thestrals! It wasn’t bad enough their unicorns nearly killed me. I wake up the day after I return back to the frontlines to screams of death, and the scent of blood. Only to to fight off a Thestral assassin. The commander of this last force is a shrewd one. He got us to let down our guard. That night raid almost forced us to break the siege so that we could get reinforcements. Thank Celestia, Luna’s honor guard dealt with their rebellious brethren quickly so that the siege can continue. I pray the walls break soon, I tire of having to wash my blade and hooves of blood almost everyday. I am just so close to walking into the wasteland in front of the castle and just ending it… I’m just so tired… Please Celestia, let the war end… “Geez… He got dark there... “ Shadow thought reading how the pony contemplated suicide to end his living night mare. He had expected that to be his final entry, as he turned the page. Seeing two more entries he sighed with some relief confused as to why he felt that way. Finally! We broke through! The castle fell in short order once their defenses broke. After a month os sieging this place. I was woken up yesterday by a massive shockwave, and the shriek of powerful magic. I thought we were being bombarded again. Only to watch in Awe as Luna herself blasted the outer wards and enchanted walls of her own fortress. I had only heard stories and folk tales of the might of an Alicorn. I am blessed to have seen the Princess showing why she had been chosen for the crown. Before I knew it she blew open the walls and gatehouse for us and the slaughter began. The war is over… I had spent most of that day hunting down hold outs and survivors within the castle to secure every inch and reclaim this last bastion from our most hated enemy. After the events a few weeks ago, the war should have ended for us here. But the last pockets of resistance proved more tenacious that we realized. It took weeks for us to finally clear out the castle of enemies. Many still think there are enemies here, I have found no evidence to prove that save a blood drained soldier, or soldiers missing their entire throats. It’s baffling… No trace of any enemy warrior could be found. Whoever or whatever did this is a ghost. That entry made Shadow shiver. He glanced up the stairs and around himself. That entry made him think of his younger brother for some reason, “it’s uncanny on how this journal freaks me out sometimes.” Shadow was about to close the book when his horn hit the next page just right and he flipped to it revealing a last entry one that had been hidden by the last entries… Why? He even noticed a few sketches hidden in the leather flap after this entry, while he removed the sketches his eyes moved left to right. Sweet Celestia can things go back to normal! The next day after I wrote about securing the castle a new pocket of holdouts was found. Thankfully We didn’t have to do much, but I’ll never forget it. Luna herself intervened again when we found these holdouts in a set of hidden catacombs under the castle. The bodies wasn’t what scares me about out Princess. It was the cold efficiency she displayed. Not a single ounce of remorse for the ponies she slew. I could never do that. As the bodies piled up the deeper we got the stronger the enemy’s troops got until we finally found the leader. Me and my squad were ready to finally kill the last of Sombra’s generals. So we charged only to be swatted a side without a second thought. I thought I had sustained brain damage cause when I recovered, Luna and this unicorn were talking. It wasn’t a ponish. I don’t think it was a living language… When I glanced away to check my shoulders the conversation I looked back to see our hated foe on the ground with luna’s blade still in his chest. When my men assured me they were fine I went to join Luna in the room this unicorn had come from. What I saw made my blood turned to ice. This entry was longer than the others, and with each word, each paragraph he read Shadow felt that chill return. His heartbeat sped up as his blood grew colder somehow. He felt something bad was coming for some reason. As soon as I entered I had felt a massive amount of magical feedback slamming into my horn. There was so much magical energy here it was absurd. I could barely see at first… frightened I still looked. Only to see a horror show. Mutated thestrals, unicorns, and even earth ponies. I couldn’t understand what had happened, but Princess Luna did. I was blown back from the force of her immolation spell she casted upon the corpses so they could rest in peace eternally. As I recovered from the blow back I looked up to be met not with the benevolent eyes and warm smile I had heard rumors about, but with the slitted eyes of a demon bearing such rage I thought my heart stopped. When I got control of my extremities again I followed her gaze and saw what she looked at. There sat three orbs of ice swirling with chilled air, and what was inside of those orbs. They were foals… Foal! Frozen in time by obvious black magic. When I looked back to Luna I saw a tear fall from her chin as she looked to me those slitted eyes gone. I was ordered to vacate this place immediately, She was giving these foals and the castle to the Crescent Moon Order. I could not let those spooks make this place vanish from the history books. So I quickly sketched everything I could about that place every single detail paper could convey. Above each orb there was an inscription bore into the stone work. The first one reads as thus: “A blade of shadows forged in battle frozen in the purest of ice will bring a new frozen age.” Shadow stood frozen eyes as wide as saucers when he reached the bottom of the entry. His heart felt like it had stopped. He looked to his cutie mark then back to the journal. With his blood frozen he kept reading despite his shock. I moved to the next foal looking over the coal black colt in the ice angry that such a cruel pony could rob these foals their lives. I grew angry for some reason. I for the life of me don’t remember why I was so mad. But this pony’s inscription reads as thus: “With a primordial flame born in one’s heart, their rage will burn brightly. To quench this rage their thirst will consume rivers and leave desolation in their wake.” Shadow’s blood drained from his face as he kept reading, having to force himself to remember to breath as he almost dropped from lack of air. Were these prophecies?! Was this why this box drew him in?! He had so many questions! The only philly among these three nearly broke my heart when I gazed at her. She shone like the most beautiful ruby. She was the third and final foal, and her incripstion read as thus: “A gem most pure, born with the allure of royalty. She will stand above all, and bring ruin to gods.” Shadow shook. He shook in an absolute fear. He didn't know if these inscriptions were about him and his sister, but now he knew. He looked at the sketches new not even finishing the journal’s last entry as he looked at the hovering parchment recognizing himself first due to his unique horn, his heart skipped a few beats. Forcing himself to shift through to the last sketch he threw the papers and scurried back the journal dropping to the ground with a leathery slap. There on the ground sat his sister. Sketched in full detail like him. He didn’t even notice the other sketch. Shadow sat there absolutely frozen in fear, shock, anger, so many feelings collided on his nerves making it hard for him to process when a thud from the basement door opening snapped him out of his stupor. A pegasus descended the stairs as Shadow cut his horn’s magic entirely and the illumination spell. “Shadow you down here?” She called her feminine tones like a soothing serenade on his ears. “Yes mother I’m here, did you need something?” Shadow asked after clearing his throat of the frog lodged in it. With a sigh, his mother sat on her haunches, “Yes, your father is being stubborn and needs help moving furniture. Alura is out getting the last of the supplies needed.” Shadow nodded in the darkness, “Okay, I'll be there soon. I was strolling down memory lane. Sorry mother.” “I understand just hurry up Shadow. You don’t want to miss the fun.” She said and strolled up the staircase. When he heard the basement door snap shut he lit his horn again and grabbed his old saddle bags as he quickly, but carefully packed away the other journals, and other nick nacks that the box held leaving it empty save for a few pieces of scrap metal and stones. As shadow worked his mind was in overdrive, “Why did I call her mother? Is she even my mother? What about father is he even my dad… Who the hell am I? And why did a thousand year old journal have a sketch page of me?!” He couldn’t answer those questions and it bothered him, felt like someone had stabbed his heart. As much as he refused to believe he was adopted he worse the pain got. As he strode up the stairs he paused to glare at the box hating it for tricking him. But like it or not he would find out his origins! He had to know! For now, his “family” needed him…