A/N: This story takes place before Discord and therefore also Nightmare night. Also this chapter was previously shorter but has now been merged along with some of the other chapters in the revision. This was the last chapter published during the 3 month hiatus. It has not been revised. You may continue to chapter 4 if you have already read this one.....
The chariots looked like something out of a Greek storybook. They were pure white with gold trim sparkling along the edges like sunshine, and the sides had intricate designs of Celestia’s sun mark done in gold. It was pulled by two large, white, pegasi stallions who stood at attention as they waited for their passengers to board.
Fluttershy wondered what little Harmony would think about flying on a chariot pulled by pegasi. She hoped the child wouldn't be scared.
"Harmony, we're going to take a ride now. The nice pegasi are going to fly us to see the princesses." Fluttershy explained to her charge when they arrived outside Twilight’s library where three chariots pulled by Celestia's armour-clad soldiers waited.
"They're going to fly us there?" the child asked as she took in the scene.
Twilight conversed a bit with the pegasus soldiers before she chose a carriage with Applejack. Rainbow insisted she could fly to Canterlot, but chose a seat with Pinkie Pie who cheered her up by starting a game of I-spy even before they had taken off.
“I spy with my little eye something that is white!” the pink pony giggled.
“That could be anything~” Rainbow mumbled searching around.
“Come along dear, we can’t keep the princess waiting.” Rarity called to Fluttershy as she stepped into the third carriage.
“It’s the chariots.” They heard Rainbow guess.
“Nope!” cried Pinkie.
“Can Harmony sit with us, Rarity? I’m sure there’s room….” Fluttershy asked, meekly.
“Of course, darling.”
She turned to the little girl who seemed a little scared. “It’s OK, Harmony. I’ll sit with you. There’s nothing to be afraid of.” The pegasus said, nuzzling the child’s neck.
“O-ok...” Harmony replied, shakily and gripped the pegasus’s tail again as she lead her into the chariot. She fit perfectly between the two ponies and cuddled up to Fluttershy, who stroked her hair.
“The pegasi soldiers?” Rainbow Dash asked as the soldiers in question began to canter and rise into the air.
“Nope again!” Came Pinkie.
The chariots began to rise as the pegasi took to the air and leaning over Fluttershy’s side Harmony gazed out as the ground swiftly grew smaller below her.
“Wow, we’re really flying.” She whispered, her soft voice excited but also full of wonder too as if the child had never believed she could experience such a thing.
“Mmhm.” Fluttershy nodded, smiling.
“It’s not like a plane…this is like… a dream come true.” Her dreamy statement seemed to be full of sadness too and the caring Pegasus wished she could somehow understand the hidden pain that was being carried in such a young heart. Before she could contemplate it further, Rarity pulled Fluttershy from her thoughts.
“Why Fluttershy, my dear, you seem to absolutely adore this little human child.” The unicorn said and she turned to her friend.
“Well I-“ She started feeling a little flustered.
“I believe you have more than compassion and kindness for little animals. Why, Fluttershy, darling, I think you could be a mother with the way you take care of and protect her.”
“Oh uh...yes...um” Fluttershy blushed bright red and Rarity smiled as they watched Equestria’s first human child gaze out over the land as they flew off toward the mountains of Canterlot.
“I give up.” Rainbow Dash grumbled from the carriage next to them.
“It’s the clouds, silly!” chirped Pinkie.
“The clouds? We’re in a white chariot with white pegasi and you pick clouds?” the rainbow pegasus demanded.
“Yup.”
“Pinkie Pie.” Rainbow Dash started. “You are so random.”
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Canterlot city was more beautiful than Fluttershy remembered. She had been there only a few months ago for the Grand Galloping Gala but perhaps then she hadn’t taken in all the beauty of the castle city that jutted out of a mountain like a spectacular rock formation because she was too intent on finding animals to play with. That had not gone over well, and she didn’t like to think about it.
The chariots had landed just outside the path to the castle drawbridge in a patch of green grass and trees which banked steeply toward a cliff where a river ran down from the castle moat. The noble unicorns of Canterlot were out enjoying the sunshine on their lunch break and Fluttershy admired their beautiful clothes made of silks and threads she could only imagine Rarity must be fawning over.
“Oh my, why, I’ve never seen such a beautiful shawl- oh! And that hat! And those shoes! Oh my goodness!” The unicorn in question was indeed gushing over the fashions of the Canterlot citizens as the group walked through the path to the drawbridge. Fluttershy wouldn’t have been surprised if some of the fashions her friend was exciting over were of her own influence based on her popularity with Equestria’s celebrities as of late. As she thought about this she almost forgot about why they were in the capital city, and looked to the little girl standing beside her who she had come to care for deeply.
“Is that the castle where the princesses live?” Harmony asked as she gazed up at the white marble and yellow striped towers of Celestia’s sun palace.
“Yes, it is, Harmony.” The pegasus replied continuing to stare, still mystified herself.
“I sometimes forget how much I miss this place…” Twilight spoke up then and Fluttershy noticed the tears in the purple mare’s eyes.
“Did you used live here?” Harmony asked.
“Yes, I grew up here, Harmony.” She replied, blinking the tears away as she realized the child was much farther away from home then she had ever been.
“So the princess got you home too!” the child exclaimed. “She can definitely find a way to get me home then, and she can grant my wish!”
“Harmony, that’s not how-“ Twilight tried to explain but Fluttershy held out a hoof in front of the unicorn and shook her head. It was better to let the little girl believe, than dash her hopes. Whatever it was they may be.
“Are we going to meet the princesses, or what?” Rainbow Dash impatiently fluttered in front of them breaking their chains of thought.
“Oh… yes. Let’s go girls.” Twilight said, and the group walked across the drawbridge and into the castle.
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Sunlight poured in through the many coloured stained glass windows in the great hall of the castle, casting a rainbow of light on those entering its chambers. Their hoof (and in Harmony’s case; foot) steps echoed on the marble as they approached the majestic white mare princess who stood at the end of the hall waiting for them, her expression regal and therefore unreadable. Twilight galloped up to her mentor to offer a greeting and Harmon hid behind Fluttershy’s tail and took in the sight of the majestic alicorn whose ethereal, pastel mane flowed in the still, breezeless room. She had never seen anything like the princess before. Princess Celestia’s ivory coat and tall, horse-like appearance reminded her of the unicorn of legend from where she had come from. The ponies of this world were small and colourful, each with their own magic and beauty, but this princess was how the little girl had always imagined a unicorn to be, and she immediately knew that the magic she had always believed in must truly exist here and she could get her wish.
“Hello, my little ponies.” The princess said warmly, a smile appearing on her face. The ponies bowed and Twilight nuzzled her teacher.
“Hello, princess, thank you for agreeing to help us.” Twilight said.
“No, my faithful student, thank you for coming here. Where is the child?” the regal mare asked looking over the gathered ponies.
Fluttershy turned around, knowing by now that she would find Harmony hiding behind her.
“It’s OK, Harmony, you can come out now.” She said, gently. “The princess wants to say hello.” She smiled, putting the child at ease. Cautiously Harmony came out from behind the pegasus’s tail and stepped into view of the princess.
The alicorn matriarch gazed down into the eyes of the small human child who stood nervously in front of her. She was nothing like the human she had met and mistakenly trusted so long ago. She was a child, barely more than a baby. If ages were similar in her world she couldn’t be any more than five or six years old. Her large blue eyes held wonder and amazement but also seemed pained somehow. They were eyes that had seen suffering and fear. Celestia didn’t know what to think of it, but she knew there was no way this small child could ever be the same as the human who could have destroyed Equestria so many years ago.
“How do you do, Princess. My name is Harmony.” The child said, bending her knees and pulling the sides of her dress out from her body in a curtsey. It was a feminine bow that her ponies couldn’t have done, and it impressed her. This little girl must had seen royalty where she was from also and learned the greeting there. In response the princess bowed her own head toward the child.
“Hello, Harmony. On behalf of myself and my sister, Princess Luna, I would like to welcome you to our kingdom of Equestria.” She declared, straightening up and smiling at the child who smiled back.
“Thank you, Princess. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Princess Celestia,” Twilight spoke up then. “Where is Princess Luna? Will she be joining us today?” she asked hopefully. She hadn’t seen the moon princess of the night since the elements of harmony had healed her of her possession by Nightmare Moon. Would this be the time to finally meet her again?
The sun princess momentarily frowned. “Luna will be along. She is a night pony, so the afternoon is usually still her time of rest. She will join us soon.”
“Now, Harmony,” the ivory alicorn turned to the little girl again. “Can you tell me anything about when you first came here?” she asked.
“Um… I don’t know. I was sleeping…and then…and then… I was in that forest. It was cold and scary and I didn’t know where I was or what to do so I just started walking, but I fell and and…” the child began sniffling, her voice shaking.
Fluttershy galloped up to her and nuzzled against her as she began to cry.
“It’s OK Harmony, you’re safe now. You don’t need to go back to that scary place. I’ll protect you.” Harmony hugged the pegasus mare who reached up with a hoof to hug her back.
“Fluttershy- the element of kindness- you are the one who found her?” Princess Celestia asked, thoughtfully. The yellow pegasus turned to her, still holding the little girl.
“Yes, she was just outside the Everfree forest. She was all alone, I had to help her, Princess.” She explained, hesitantly. “I hope that’s OK with you…” she bent her ears low as she held on to her adopted charge.
“You did well to help her. I would have done the same myself.” The regal mare seemed troubled as she spoke. “There is nothing to fear, my ponies. This child is in no way like the tragedy that befell our kingdom so long ago. I see no threat; no harm will come to her.” Princess Celestia paused, and then turned to face the other ponies.
“I think it is time I showed you all what really happened the first time a human came into our world.”
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Princess Celestia led the ponies and little girl down a set of stairs and deep into the castle, where the halls were darker without the usual beauty of the stain glass windows, and only torchlight to light the way. The hallways stretched into the darkness with the pale torchlight only showing glimpses of barred doors and small cave-like cells carved into the stone walls. Even Twilight had never been to this part of the castle, as it was located deep beneath the court and bedroom areas where she had lived and studied.
Fluttershy, who would’ve been afraid of the dark and cavernous basement herself, conquered her fears and let little Harmony clutch her mane as they nervously walked through the dark halls. The other ponies noticed this and stuck close to their friend as she tried to be brave for the little girl and it touched their hearts.
“I apologize for the unkemptness of this place. These halls are not used by the general court, and neither Luna nor I have any reason to come here anymore.” The princess explained.
“Princess, is this a dungeon?” Twilight asked somewhat shakily.
“Why, Twilight, what a thing to ask. The princess would never put any pony in a dark depressing place like this.” Rarity scolded.
“Well…” Celestia paused and turned to the group, reluctance in her tone. “Things have not always been as peaceful as they are now. Sometimes the dungeons were necessary to make sure no evil would fall on the ponies of this kingdom.” She returned to her steady pace of walking before her revelation could sink in.
Rarity’s mouth hung open in an unladylike expression of shock, and Twilight felt too astonished to speak. She had studied much about Equestria’s history, as well as heard stories from her mentor, but had never realized what a world without peace really was like. To think that this dark and frightening dungeon was needed for the criminals of the past meant they must have been accused of more than taking an apple without paying for it back then. She shuddered to think what they would come upon at the end of the dark hallway. What had the first human done? What had her fellow ponies done to merit such a punishment?
Princess Celestia said no more on the subject and soon they came to a locked door which she unlocked with her horn. The large stone door opened with a loud creak, and revealed a dark storage room which the princess lit up with the glow of her horn. Inside was a long metallic object that neither of the ponies had ever seen before. The object had a wooden handle piece with a rounded trigger attached to the narrow metal muzzle that stretched out into a cylinder with a sharp point at the tip.
“This is the reason why the human has become just a legend. I do not want any pony or creature to know about this evil thing.” Princess Celestia stated with a note of disgust and pain in her voice.
“That thing’s bad.” Suddenly, Harmony spoke up causing everypony to look her way. “Boys like to play with toy guns, but mommy says they are bad and hurt people. I don’t like them.” She spoke as if she had seen many of the things and this concerned the princess.
“I see the human world still has a use for these then. I had hoped you would not know what this was, my child.” She said sadly.
“What is it? Can I play with it?” Pinkie Pie excitedly asked, reaching out to touch the newly discovered treasure.
“No!” The thunderous voice of the usually calm princess echoed through the cavern as she swatted Pinkie Pie’s hoof away from the hated object. “Do not touch it, don’t even come near it!” she shouted, and the pink pony fell back, her expression one of shock and hurt.
“Pinkie!” cried her friends, and Applejack offered a hoof to help her up. The princess stood firm in front of the door, telekinetically slamming it behind her.
“I am sorry, my ponies.” She sighed, her ears low as the door shut out the view of the metallic object. “I did not mean to be so sharp, but I truly fear this thing and that is why I keep it here. It is dangerous beyond your imagination and I did not anticipate that any of you would try to come so near it.” The regal mare bowed her head in front of Pinkie who grinned, seeming to disregard the whole incident.
“Okey dokey. Not a toy. Got it.” She said.
“Princess, no one could anticipate what Pinkie Pie would do,” Twilight started, eyeing the silly pony, but she felt frightened from seeing her teacher become so angry so suddenly too. “But what is that thing, and why do you fear it so much?”
“This is the only proof we have left of the first human.” The princess replied. “It is an evil relic, but I cannot destroy it.” She sighed. “The human brought this with him to our world and committed a grave act with it. When he suddenly disappeared this was left behind, and I had it locked here where I hoped no creature would ever see it again- especially my sister.”
“The human disappeared?” Fluttershy interrupted, anxiously glancing over at Harmony again hiding behind her back.
“Yes. I do not know how he came here or how he left. I am afraid that is a mystery I cannot solve. The only clue has been Harmony’s appearance roughly 1000 years later, although I do not really see a connection.”
“At the time, as you know, Princess Luna and I were living in the castle in the Everfree forest where you defeated Nightmare Moon. This is where the human was found by some of our soldiers. He was discovered bloodied and bruised, and our soldiers feared him. He may have been too dazed by finding himself in our world to speak, or did not believe he could be understood, but he attacked without provocation so the unicorn soldiers subdued him and brought him to us.”
“The human was a large creature, much larger than Harmony. He was full grown, an adult stallion called a Man. He was my height, or perhaps a little taller, but his body was wide and strong, more so than our strongest stallions, although he said the horses of his world were bigger. When I met him I had never seen anything like him before and although the soldiers urged me to take action on him I pitied him his injuries and tended to them. Luna was more wary of him- I suppose I was more trusting and naïve. She questioned him heavily on where he came from, how he was injured and why he was there. He could only answer about his injuries which he received in a battle he had been fighting before he found himself here.”
“He had no idea why he had ended up in our land, and told us that equines in his world did not talk and certainly did not have a horn and wings. He had never seen ponies such as us before, although unicorns and pegasi were told about in stories. This was the same with any kind of magic too. He called it ‘witchcraft’ and seemed to fear it.”
“Neither Luna nor I knew what to do with him. I let him rest and recover from his injuries in one of the castle rooms. We did not keep him as a prisoner, but he was not free to leave the castle due to a leg injury keeping him from walking. He was quiet initially, only speaking when spoken to. Luna thought he had something to hide and feared him. I just thought he was confused about being thrust into our world so suddenly and wished I could find some way to help him return to his own world. I suppose I pitied him and only wished to help him some way. I couldn’t imagine what it must be like for him to find himself in another world with beings he had never seen before. Luna would probably say I was too trusting, which was dangerous in my position of power although she always was there to balance it out.”
“I explained to the human how Princess Luna and I ruled Equestria by raising the sun and moon and keeping the peace between ponies and other creatures. He seemed interested in our powers, and began to ask questions about what we were capable of. Or what I was capable of. As far as I know Luna never spoke to him alone. She argued with me a lot about trusting him so thoroughly, but I don’t believe she had any plans to hurt him. She just wished we could find a way to send him back to where he came from so that her sense of mistrust about him could be put to rest. Unfortunately, this was all happening around the same time of her eventual possession by the Nightmare and things were already tense between us. Although at the time I had no idea how much so.”
Princess Celestia paused then and looked over to the child who had come out from her hiding place to show her interest in the story, and she frowned.
“I apologize. The next part of the story may be frightening to you, child, and even you my little ponies. I just want to say before I continue that I do not blame you or your kind for what happened in both my world and yours. Maybe things are better there now, although to hear you recognize the weapon is not promising. I truly believe there is good in every creature in some way, and now, to see the innocence of a human child here we can maybe learn more about the human race and shed our prejudices.” The regal mare shook her mane and smiled briefly before continuing.
“I searched the Everfree forest for some clue to how the human came to our world, or some way to help him return. I did research and consulted the most powerful of ponies to help find a spell to help him, yet I did not tell anypony but the royal guard of the human’s existence. I didn’t want to scare them, or invite anymore mistrust. I suppose it became an obsession of mine and I failed to notice other things going on around me. All I was able to do was summon a memory spell to see the events of the human’s life leading up to his appearing here. What I saw shocked me. The human had explained he had been in a battle before coming here but I had never seen a battle quite like that. I saw him and others like him on dark fields, much like our own, but somehow different in the time of war. They all held those weapons I showed you and used them to shoot balls of fire at each other causing horrible injuries I had never seen before. People fell and were left for dead, there were no medics or magic to heal. Humans ran at each other like wild dogs wielding their sticks of fire and shooting each other mercilessly. I watched as this human I knew participated in the carnage and I finally knew the fear and mistrust that Luna had always had toward him.”
“The last I saw before I could no longer bare to view his violent memories was the human be shot by one of the fireballs. I thought that he must have been much more badly injured than he was now and wondered how he had survived. He said he didn’t even remember being shot, but he guessed it could have happened. And this is what worries me, my ponies, I think he might not have survived being shot like that and that is why he was somehow brought to our world. It still left much to be explained though. Why would he be the only human to come here in death? How did he come here? I didn’t think that the vision of the human’s past had done much more then make me fear him like everypony else, but I would not have much more time to ponder this as things were about to come to a head.”
“It was in the early morning the next day as I got ready to hold court. No citizens were around yet, it was just myself and the royal guard. Luna was resting as she does in the morning after taking care of the night. The human suddenly came into the court room. I did not even know he had recovered enough to walk, and had never seen him outside of his quarters. Needless to say I was surprised to see him as were the guard, some of whom still didn’t know about him. I asked what he was doing and if he needed anything. He didn’t reply and as I was about to explain his appearance to the guard I noticed that he held that horrible weapon in his hands. Of course I didn’t know what it was yet, but I remembered seeing it in his memories and immediately knew that something was very wrong. He spoke to me before it happened. He actually apologized and thanked me for taking care of him, and then he said that the power I possessed, along with our kind was too great for him to resist and that he must have it starting with the ruler of our country. Then he brought out that terrible thing and the world exploded in fire and deafening noise. It all happened so fast I barely could comprehend it. The only reason I am still here today to tell this story is because one of my soldiers by the name of Lancer jumped in front of the blast to shield me. His breast was pierced by the metal ball of fire that the human had shot and he died in a type of agony I hope to never see again. He sacrificed his life for me and there is not a day that goes by that I don’t remember him. Although I could not describe what really happened to the citizens, I do have a statue of him in the Canterlot gardens which speaks of him as a brave pony who protected the royal sisters. I truly regret the trust I put into that Human Man and it grieves me that another pony had to suffer so greatly for my actions. ” The princess had tears in her eyes, and as she bowed her head little Harmony came over and reached up to the alicorn’s muzzle and wiped away her tears.
“It’s OK, princess unicorn. He’ll be waiting for you one day, and I’m sure he knows how grateful you are to him.” She said softly, as if speaking with a voice from another time and place. The little girl held the princess’s muzzle close to her face and leaned in with her.
Twilight watched in quiet awe as the human child calmed and comforted her mentor in a way a mother would comfort their child. She had never seen the princess cry in true sorrow like this and it pulled at her own heart. The little girl somehow seemed to understand what she was going through as she held onto the regal mare, closing her eyes and smiling sweetly.
Fluttershy was equally surprised to see the child she had been taking care of become the one to offer comfort- especially to the princess who had told such a dark tale, with such a tragic conclusion that Harmony seemed to understand as if her gentle soul had somehow felt it too. It brought tears to her own eyes and she bowed her head along with the princess and little girl.
“I thank you, my child. Your touch is of great comfort to me. You must possess some of your own magic to be able to heal like that.” Celestia lifted her head once more and offered a sad smile to the child who stepped back, her own gentle smile her only answer.
“Unfortunately that is not the end of the story.” The princess continued, sorrowfully.
“The human was subdued and brought to this dungeon by the rest of the guard and Luna who arrived too late after hearing the commotion. I couldn’t face him and grieved for Lancer and my own mistake alone. Princess Luna was furious, and I left her to deal with him as she wished. And that may have been my second grave error in this tragedy. Because I could not deal with her or my own actions for some days after, I do not know what occurred with Princess Luna and the human. She left me alone and I did not seek her counsel. Then, before we had learned to deal with the tragedy the human had brought on us, she came.”
“The Nightmare took possession of my precious sister, and I was forced to put my feelings of guilt and sorrow aside to deal with her. And you know the rest. By the time I had used the elements to banish her to the moon I had almost forgotten about the human during the even more tragic events leading to the loss of my sister. Our world had been thrown into chaos by Nightmare Moon, the soldiers had been too busy trying to protect everypony to guard the dungeons where we had left the human. When I finally thought to check on him I found them empty and he was gone. All that was left was the horrible weapon that had started everything. I locked it away in here in a fit of anger, and I have never found out what happened to the human since.”
“That’s because I made sure you didn’t, sister.” A voice echoed sternly in the darkness, and Celestia turned to see Princess Luna standing across the hall from the group.
She stood tall and strong like her sister, no longer the young pony the friends remembered her by from when they saved her from the Nightmare. Her midnight blue mane flowed wildly behind her as she stood braced in the dim light.
“Luna, what do you mean?” Celestia asked, warily, disturbed by her younger sister’s tone and the anger glinting in her dark eyes.
“I made sure he would never hurt anypony again. Just like you did to me.” Luna replied, darkly, her ears low and threatening.
“Luna, please…” the sun princess pleaded, backing up toward the others as she sensed the looming danger.
“No! I won’t let you make the same mistake this time. I won’t let a human into our world again!” The night princess reared up on her hind legs, and a flash of light exploded from her horn. The blast flew over to where Harmony stood watching fearfully beside Fluttershy. Before it could hit the child, the yellow pegasus jumped in front of the light and was enveloped in its blinding glow.
“No! Fluttershy!” Harmony cried, as the gentle pony reared up in fear and then collapsed to the ground.