//------------------------------// // History // Story: Antecedent // by Anonymous Pegasus //------------------------------// Raindrop was not a pegasus given over to overt displays of emotion. She didn’t cry, or wail, or grunt and groan. Generally speaking, she was a quiet pony, preferring to suffer her emotions and misgivings in silence rather than just letting everyone around her know about how she felt. Therefore, the pegasus spent very little time feeling bad for herself. She knew what she had to do, she knew what was next. She had to go and see Princess Celestia, ask her about the Elements of Harmony. It was perhaps a pipe dream, magically fixing herself using the Elements of Harmony, but at that point, she was grasping at straws. It was the only plan of action she had, and she was not wont to give up on something she wanted without a fight. But first thing first. She had to see it herself. She had to return to the place that she had seen only twice before. She had to see Evergreen and Cee’s grave. ~ ~ ~ The forest seemed to be hushed here. The birds didn’t chirp, the woodland creatures didn’t rustle, and the wind itself seemed to blow through the grass as gently as possible in reverence of the black marble cottage that lay nestled in the treeline. Raindrop could hear the blades of grass under her hooves snapping and bending under her weight, and she unconsciously lightened her steps, to make as little noise as possible. It was a very tranquil area, with no sound except the faintest whisper of wind in the leaves. Peaceful. The marble edifice that had once been a cottage bore no marks of time. It had been years since it had been transformed, but the forest seemed unwilling to reclaim it. Firewood was still stacked up outside the cottage, and a pair of rocking chairs facing the forest stood in a mute reminder of the two simple ponies who had lived there. But Raindrop knew the truth now. Cee had been no simple pony. She was a changeling. A changeling queen. How could no one have told her?! Scowling faintly, the pegasus stepped over to the window, lifting her hooves to the window sill and peering inside. The house was the same as it had been when it was transformed. Raindrop could see everything just as she remembered it from when her father had bought her here the first two times. The first had been when she was seven, and the second was after he had broken up with his wife, leaving her for a much younger musician pony who came through town and stole his heart. It had fractured Raindrop’s family, and she had been forced to stay with her father while her mother moved to the east, into the griffon state Transavian. ‘Transavian is no place for a young pony to grow up,’ she said. And that was that. Raindrop scowled further, reminiscing. After she landed a job on the weather team, she had moved away from the ‘happy family’ to Ponyville. She still remember standing here, at the front door of the house where her grandparents had died, listening to her father try to explain why he had betrayed her mother so readily, for a much younger pony. ‘See...sometimes yer think yer in love...but then a love comes along that’s stronger than that. Yer mother understood that, and that’s why she left.’ Well, maybe her mother understood, but Raindrop was quite certain she’d never understand why somepony would leave a pony they’d been with for nine years. She’d only been with Shine for two years now, and she would never leave him. Even his flat-spoken blunt hurtful words didn’t phase her. He was depressed, and given to mood-swings. Even that was her fault. She couldn’t think ill of her love at all. Raindrop forced her thoughts back to the present, peering in at the bed where her grandparents lay. They were posed as though sleeping, resting under the blankets. Evergreen was laying on his side, the age lines on his face softened, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his muzzle even in death. Raindrop had never really known Evergreen. Most of it was from when she was too young to remember; but she remembered him showing her the flowers of the countryside, and the one magical field of blue nightblooms that both Cee and Evergreen insisted that the entire family see at least once. Cee said it was where she had truly fallen in love with the dumb oaf she called her husband. And even as she insulted him, she embraced him openly. Cee, for her part, was laying opposite Evergreen, her nose almost touching her eternal lovers own, a hoof thrown carelessly over his neck, her eyes closed, and a soft smile on her muzzle. They were the picture of contentedness. Two old ponies that had died knowing they had lived a full life. But it was a lie. Raindrop’s eyes hardened as she stared at the marble form of her grandmother. A grandmother whose curse was flowing in her veins. She wasn’t even a unicorn! Raindrop felt betrayed. Lied to for so long. And even her father hadn’t felt it prudent to tell her. Surely he had to know his mother was a changeling? That wasn’t exactly a secret that was easy to keep. Scowling, the pegasus dropped her hooves from the window and turned away, stalking a few steps down the path and then sitting down on her rump, staring out over the forest towards the smoke rising from fireplaces in Ponyville. Coming out here was a bad idea. It was just bringing up memories that she’d prefer to keep hidden, and causing her to be agitated. Not to mention it wasn’t bringing her any closer to what she needed to do. She need to get to Canterlot and speak to Princess Celestia. She needed to find the Elements of Harmony, and get healed by them. It was simple, really. Simple, but hard. Setting her shoulders, the young weather pony rose to her hooves, and then spread her wings, launching into the air without even a single glance back to the cottage where Cee and Evergreen lay, eternally together. ~ ~ ~ Walking up to the castle was awkward. Raindrop had never visited the royal castle before, and she found herself growing very self conscious. Her feathers were mussed up, and her fur bore streaks of moisture from clouds she had flown through. The royal guards at the front entrance, a unicorn and pegasus, looked her up and down as she approached. “U-uhm...I’m here to see the Princess?” Raindrop offered nervously, her ears splaying backwards. “Do you have an appointment?” the pegasus asked of her, a brow raising under his helmet. “U-uh...no. I didn’t know I needed one,” Raindrop said uncertainly, wincing. “Princess Celestia told me to come see her if I needed to speak to her...” “Oh, Miss Raindrop?” the guard inquired. “That’s me,” she responded with a blink. “Go on through,” he said, returning to his straight stance. The pegasus stared for a moment, before stepping between them, pushing open the large doors and walking quietly across the entrance hall to the door at the far end. There was a faint, magical chime as she opened the next door, and a sign asked for quiet and patience, the princess was a busy Alicorn. Raindrop seated herself on a couch, and pulled up a magazine from the table besides it. It was Aeronautical Monthly, and had a front-page feature of the inside-story of Blaze, the new Wonderbolt Captain, presumably the youngest Captain since Spitfire herself. Flicking to the article, Raindrop settled in to read, resting her head on her hooves. She had barely made it past the first few paragraphs when the door leading from the room opened, and Princess Celestia poked her nose in, raising a brow. “Raindrop?” Raindrop nodded, closing the magazine and tossing it back onto the table. She had read the article in question a few months ago, when it first came out. “I wanted to talk to you.” “Indeed. This way,” Celestia said, turning and walking down the hall towards the east wing of the castle. “I assume you intend to go after the Elements yourself?” The pegasus nodded grimly. “I’ll find the bearers. I don’t care what it takes.” “I admire your passion,” the princess said simply, as she lead the pegasus up a long staircase and to a long, decorated hallway with stained glass windows lining it. “This...is the Hall of Harmony. The artwork here shows the history of the Elements as we know them.” Raindrop looked at the windows; they showed various scenes. First was Discord, whom she knew from her history lessons, with a puppeteer device controlled a pegasus, unicorn, and earth pony each, to represent his miserable rule. Next was the two Princesses, Celestia and Luna, fighting, or perhaps sealing, Discord away. Next was Nightmare Moon, and the six young ponies who took up the Elements of Harmony to defeat her, and return her to normal. And then was a sombre stained glass window, showing five of the original ponies around a casket, interring the Elements of Harmony to the gravesite as a sign of respect for the deceased. Celestia waved a hoof at the windows. “We, that is to say, Luna and I, no longer maintain control over the Elements of Harmony. We discovered them in a time of great unhappiness, when Discord ruled the land. We did not create them, we merely used them. And even since Nightmare Moon, the ability to control the Elements has been lost to my sister and I. “As you can see from this window. When Rarity passed away, the other five bearers of the Elements of Harmony placed them at the site of her memorial. They were no longer needed to maintain the order of Equestria. Discord is a back to being a stone, and without the Element of Generosity...the other Elements have no worth,” Celestia shook her head, giving a faint sigh. “I...don’t even know if you can unite the Elements without a period of strife. There would be no harm in trying...but I fear I am sending you on a fools errand.” Raindrop looked from the stained glass window, to the Princess. Celestia’s eyes were a little bit misty, like she was about to cry. “A-are you okay, princess?” the pegasus asked uncertainly, staring at her for a long moment. Celestia took a long, deep breath, and then nodded. “Indeed I am, Raindrop. I just...All this talk of the past is bringing up memories...my former students...friends...” Raindrop gave a slight nod at that, shifting uncertainly. “You knew the bearers of the Elements?” “Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie. I remember them all fondly. Especially Twilight. But...they’re all gone,” she said with a sad shake of her head. “Victims of time.” The pegasus shifted uncomfortably, not quite sure what to say. There was obviously a deep sadness to the Princess, a sadness that she tried her hardest to not let become visible. “You don’t have to show me where the Elements are...or go get them yourself. Just tell me where to go, and I’ll go retrieve them.” Celestia gave a hesitant nod, looking down at her hooves for a moment, and then back up at the pegasus. Her horn began to glow, and a piece of paper and quill levitated down the hall to a stop in front of them, a quick map beginning to be drawn. “The place you’re looking for is an overlook in the western mountains ranges, at the border of Equestria. It’s a pretty unassuming place...Let me send a guard with you in my stead, to ensure you can find the place,” Celestia said quite firmly, her horn glowing for a moment. After a long pause, a pegasus guard pushed his way into the room, standing straight and proud in front of them. “This is Sentinel. He was there when they laid Rarity to rest. He knows where it is,” Celestia said, turning away from them, beginning to walk away. “Come find me when you have them...And we’ll discuss the next steps.” “Thank you, princess Celestia,” Raindrop said, before turning to the guard. Sentinel bowed in greeting. “When will you be ready?” The pegasus cast her gaze left and then right, before shrugging. “Now’s good.” “Indeed. Let us go then,” Sentinel stated, turning about and heading off in the same direction the Princess had gone. Raindrop fell into step besides the guard, but didn’t say anything. His attitude didn’t exactly lend itself towards ease of conversation. As they passed down the hallway, Raindrop saw the Princess standing in front of a large picture, faded with age, showing a picture of the six ponies that Raindrop knew were the previous bearers of the Elements of Harmony. The picture showed them all smiling and laughing, wearing the elements, standing with the two princesses. Various other pictures lined the walls, showing assorted groups of ponies with the princesses, some of them yellow with age. But the thing that Raindrop noticed most was how Celestia stood. She had one hoof lifted, resting against the photo frame, and her nose almost touching it, her head inclined forwards, staring at the picture with a look of heart-breakingly deep sadness, a single, silent tear tracing its way down her cheek. Raindrop wanted to stop, to offer comfort to the Princess. “Leave her be,” Sentinel stated flatly, his tone leaving no room for question, and Raindrop nodded meekly, continuing to walk. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Raindrop thought to herself, a phrase that was popular with her mother. This was the first step. But she hoped this journey wouldn’t be that long.