//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: Final Fantasy XIV:Darkness and Harmony // by steel soul //------------------------------// The Starswirl the Bearded wing. The most sacred of wings amongst wings that lay within the foundations of Canterlot Castle. Only those who are the most trusted are allowed to gain entry within its hallowed marble halls and live to tell the tale. m And who can be more trusted than that of Twilight Sparkle, the very bright and promising student of Princess Celestia, benevolent ruler of Equestria. The lavender coated mare nearly bounced with excitement with each step she took. If one were to see her in such a giddy state, why, that very pony may believe that she was practically prancing with joy. After her last excursion to the not-so-mysterious-and-yet-still-amazing-wing, she was rather apprehensive about revisiting the old library of knowledge. It wasn’t until her three-hundredth apology letter to her teacher that she had believed she had disappointed that Celestia had gotten rather miffed at the constant scrolls at her hooves and had told Twilight, pony to pony, that she would allow her student to have free reign within Starswirl’s Wing so long as she stayed away from any and all time manipulation spells. Needless to say, Twilight agreed wholeheartedly, and now found herself just before the double doors to the much vaunted wing of knowledge and wisdom. Their handles were coated in gold - not made of pure gold as most gossipers would have you believe - with an intricate carving of both the sun and the moon, each on one of the handles signifying the rule of their diarchy. The middle of the door was decorated with an opaque decoration of Starswirl the bearded, both doors having the same decoration mirrored on both sides. On either side of the double doors stood two guard, one covered in gold armor with a white coat and blue mane and tail, the other with silver armor and a dark gray coat with a purple mane and tail. As they saw Twilight approach, they both straightened up slightly and kept their eyes set ahead of themselves. The white one was the one to greet her as she got close. “Good afternoon, Miss Sparkle. Here to access Starswirl’s wing?” he asked in a slightly baritone voice. “Good morning sirs,” Twilight answered as she gave them both a gentle nod. “And indeed I am. Special permission by the princess herself.” “Yes, all the guards set for Starswirl shift have been given a missive about that. We’re to let you in whenever you come by to visit,” the guard affirmed for her as he and his companion reached for the door handles and opened them up for her, revealing the room inside. Inside, the walls were filled, floor to ceiling, with books of all shapes, colors and sizes. Throughout the large, circular room, interspersed by at least five feet of space between each, was another shelf of books, just as tall as all the others. They were double sided and also filled to the brim with books, though left a large circular area in the very center of the room where a work table could be seen, with a few blank scrolls, quills and inkwells scattered along its surface. But Twilight knew there was more to this room than just what she could see from her spot as she walked through the ornate double doors, both guards gently shutting them behind her and latching in place with a soft ‘click’. As soon as the doors were shut, the room almost seemed to bulge outwards, the walls expanding and moving in many different directions. Each section of books nearly tripled in size as the walls made room for even more shelves of rare tomes to fill the spaces it created. And it left Twilight with a growing, giddy feeling inside as she beheld the spectacle of the Starswirl Archives in all their glory. If she were a lesser mare, she would have felt some sense of pleasure from it all. But as she was, she just let out a quiet squeal of excitement and dashed forward to explore all she could. “Just look at all of this wonderful, wonderful knowledge. Starswirl the Bearded and the amniomorphic spell! History of Mage Meadowbrook's eight enchanted artifacts! The journal of Comet Tail the Starry-Eyed and the Council of the Ancients! So much information! I just can’t wait to get started!” Twilight sighed longingly at the many scrolls that caught her eye, her gaze shifting from one shelf to another as she did so. “So much knowledge...I can’t believe the others wanted to go get ice-cream instead of coming here. They can learn so much about our history in just this lane alone.”  As Twilight continued to gush over the tomes before her, she caught a slight hint movement to her left, which actually surprised her, seeing as she was told that she would be the only one allowed within the wing besides her friends. The lavender mare squeaked with delight as she galloped around the corner where the movement had originated, only to find… Well, Twilight wasn’t sure what she was expecting to find in the Starswirl Archives. Another pony, maybe, or perhaps it was Princess Luna coming to check out a book for some light reading like she thought Luna might have done. What she wasn’t expecting was to find a tall, black cloaked being with what looked like claws for forelimbs that were delicately holding onto a book, gently turning the pages silently as it read what seemed to be a book on Pre-Nightmare history. Most of its body was hidden from her view, covered in the cloak as it was, as its face wasn’t turned towards her and the only thing poking out from beneath it were the two aforementioned forelimbs. “I… um… what?” the mare stuttered as she looked upon the figure before her. ‘How the hay did it even get in here? For that matter, what the hay is it!?’ she mentally screamed. Ever so slowly and carefully, Twilight took a step back, only for her rump to bump against a pillar behind her, an action that caused a rather heavy book that lay on a stand upon it to fall to the ground with a loud thud. As Twilight’s breath hitched in her throat and her pupils shrunk in slight shock, the cloaked being slowly reached within its cloak before producing a bookmark and gently nestling it between the pages, closing the book softly after it did so. It then turned towards Twilight to stare at the mare, the face hidden from Twilight’s view within the hood of the cloak. A few moments passed, neither pony nor strange being saying anything to each other, before the silence was broken by the being tucking the book underneath its left forelimb and bringing the right up, showing the five digit claw that seemed to be covered in metal scales ending in sharp but not lethal points. It splayed them open towards her in a sign of greeting, before a decidedly female voice came from the hood of the cloak. “Hello there.” Twilight squeaked at the sudden and rather benign greeting she was given. The mare could only offer a stutter of a response. The being cocked its head to the side slightly as the mare stuttered at her. “Are you alright?” it - or she, considering the voice - asked Twilight. Twilight squeaked at the question, before slowly shaking her head no, her voice still eluding her. “Then maybe you should go see a doctor? Your kind has those, right? I’m pretty sure I saw a hospital down in the city earlier,” the female being stated calmly. “What the hay are you?!” Twilight finally half yelled, half squeaked as soon as her voice returned to her. “What the bucking hay are you?!” “Hm. Not the nicest way of wording that, but I suppose it’s to be expected considering I don’t think my kind has ever made it here before,” the being said with a slight shrug. “As for the answer to your question, I’m an Au Ra.” “I… but… you… YOU!” she said, pointing a hoof at the now identified Au Ra. “How did you get in here? And what did you mean your kind has never been here before?” “Just as I stated. I believe I’m the first of my kind to ever come here. Which is interesting considering what I’ve read of your history so far,” she said as she patted the book beneath her left forelimb. “From the sounds of it, this Discord person wouldn’t have been something so easy to miss. So it’s interesting to think I’m just now learning of him.” “No… wait… I… I think i need to sit down,” Twilight finally decided as she slumped to the floor with a soft ‘thump’. “And why are you being so nonchalant?” “Because none of this is really new to me. Sure, meeting a new sapient species is nice, and learning about a supposed god-like being warping reality to his will is a bit of a shock, but it’s not so earth shattering to me that I would stop functioning. To me, it’s just another day,” the Au Ra said with a shrug. “J-Just another day…” Twilight parroted as she looked up towards the Au Ra. “I… I don’t even know what to say to that.” “You could start by telling me your name. It probably would be incredibly rude of me to keep referring to you as purple horse… or purple pony, considering your size,” the taller of the two females responded. “I… my name is Twilight.Twilight Sparkle. Who are you?” “Swift Gale,” the Au Ra responded with a short bow, her right arm tucked underneath her chest as she did so. “Pleasure to meet you, Twilight Sparkle.” “Oh. Your name is quite… normal,” Twilight said as she tilted her head to the side in thought. “Normal is subjective,” Swift responded with a shrug. “To you what seems normal may seem odd to others. And what may seem normal to me may seem odd to you. For example, I know of a woman who was named Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn. An odd name, to me at least, and one that took a while to get right when trying to speak of her. But for her people, it was the norm.” “How would one even write that?” Twilight asked, her muzzle scrunching slightly. “No wait. Let’s not worry about that right now. Right now let’s talk about how you got here and where you came from. This is a restricted area within Canterlot Castle. Which, in itself, is quite restricted. How did you get in here? And why are you here?” “It’s restricted? My apologies, I didn’t know,” Swift said before continuing. “But as for your questions. In order: I got here by walking, I come from the eastern mountains of Othard, I got in here by walking through the front gate - which was wide open, by the way - and I’m here because I was curious about your peoples’ history.” “I really need to talk to Celestia about the guards here,” Twilight sighed before looking back at the one before her. “I think you need to come with me. I’m sorry, but I need to tell the princess.” “Ah yes, I read about her. Princess Celestia, was it?” Swift asked for confirmation. “Or, well… the first one was named that, anyways.” Twilight nodded. “Yes. No matter how benign you seem, I really need to tell her about you.” “I understand. But do you mind if I take this with me? I was rather intrigued by the contents of it,” the Au Ra asked as she raised the book she was holding in her left claw-like appendage. “I-I’m not sure. These books and scrolls are usually to stay in here,” Twilight answered as she bit her bottom lip. “Then do you know where I can find another copy?” Swift asked calmly. “If it’s that one, then I think so,” Twilight answered carefully. “Very well, then,” Swift responded as she opened the book to the bookmarked page she had left off on, before retrieving said bookmark, shutting the book and placing it back neatly on the shelf she had obtained it from. When that was done with, she stowed the bookmark back inside her cloak before turning to Twilight. “Lead the way, Miss Sparkle.” Of course. This way please,” Twilight said as she said as she lead the new creature towards the entrance. Twilight couldn’t help but wonder exactly who this Swift Gale is. Where did she actually come from? How did she get past dozens, if not hundreds, of guards? She sighed softly before looking back towards the Au Ra. She wanted to know the answers to those questions, but she felt that the princess was more equipped with handling them. As they came upon the doors to leave the Starswirl Archives, Twilight glanced back at Swift worriedly for a moment before opening the door and sticking her head through. Once she saw both guards there, she cleared her throat to get their attention. “Yes, Miss Sparkle?” the white coated guard once again spoke up first. “I do hope I am not bothering you too much, good sirs, but I think we have a bit of a small problem,” she said. “What problem would that be, miss?” the guard inquired of her. “Well…” She turned to the one that was still right behind her as she paused. “Were you aware we had an… unexpected guest in the wing?” The stallions blinked as they looked upon the creature behind her, their eyes widening slightly before narrowing. Both guards slipped into full on attack mode, each one brandishing their spears as they did so, pushing Twilight behind them. “Hello to you too, gentlemen,” Swift casually remarked to the two of them. “Halt in the name of the Princess!” both guards called out in unison. Twilight groaned and facehoofed, her horn lighting up before she teleported between the stranger and the two guards. “You two were the ones that she had got past. Don’t try and play the heroes now,” the mare reprimanded them, both taking a step back in surprise. “B-but this being is still an intruder. In a restricted area, no less. We should be taking it to the dungeons for trespassing at the very least, ma’am,” the second guard finally spoke up. “You two should have noticed she was here in the first place. Now. She is being civil right now, and she is under my care, so I will deal with her.” “Respectfully ma’am, if you choose to do that, we must accompany you in case she decides to try anything funny,” the first guard stated. “Fine, sure. But don’t think that changes anything,” Twilight huffed. Both guards saluted her momentarily as both Swift and Twilight fully exited the Starswirl Archives, one turning to the door and placing his horn against it before the sound of a clicking lock could be heard. After that, they both took up positions on either side of Swift Gale, their spears kept at the ready at their sides. Now leading the way of the little party, Twilight went forwards, forging the path towards her teacher’s throne room and pondering exactly what to tell Celestia. ~00000~ It wasn’t long before the party found themselves within the the halls leading towards the main throne room. It was easy at first with the group being as small as it was. However, with the rather unexpected guest accompanying them, Twilight found herself leading a curious crowd of ponies following after her and, more specifically, the new creature that was following after her. Grumbling to herself at the crowd they had managed to gather just by walking through the few halls and corridors between the Starswirl the Bearded Wing and the main throne room, Twilight finally stopped as they reached the door leading into said throne room. On either side were two guards, similar to that of the white coated one from earlier, and off to the side waiting in a single file line were a bunch of ponies ranging from almost every possible color conceivable and from seemingly every walk of life. At their arrival, the line of ponies seemed to split apart slightly, some leaning left and some leaning right, for them to get a good look at the new being brought before the throne room doors. The guards on either side of the door remained nonplussed by the newly drawn crowd and the focus of their attention, but did salute when they spotted Twilight Sparkle approaching them. “Good morning, sirs. Can you please tell Princess Celestia that I really, really, really need to see her? It’s important.” She looked back at the group that had followed her as she said that before continuing. “Really important.” Both guards stared at the group and Twilight for just a moment before the one on the left gestured with his head for the other to enter the room. Not waiting much longer, the second guard did just that and shut the door behind him. Twilight sighed softly before turning around, a glare forming in her eyes. “And you all. You are bothering our guest, so go back to what you were doing.” There were a bunch of hushed whispers and mutterings from the crowd as she said that, but after a few moments of the crowd milling around, they eventually acquiesced to Twilight’s commands and left the hall. Some looked back a couple times as they left, but they all left regardless, just leaving Twilight, the three guards, their guest and the line of ponies in the hallway. Twilight sighed once again before turning to face Swift. “I’m sorry about that. You are something we have never seen before after all, and ponies are naturally curious.” “Don’t worry about it. They were pretty harmless,” Swift waved off with a shrug. “Still. Being rude is being rude, no matter how harmless it is,” Twilight said with a huff. The guard that had entered the throne room earlier chose that moment to return, opening the door for Twilight and her guest. “Princess Celestia will see you now,” he stated evenly. Twilight nodded before making her way towards the doors, both being opened by the either guard beside her. She led Swift inside, the doors being shut behind them as they made their way up the thin yet comfortable carpet leading from the door up to a raised golden throne, upon which sat Princess Celestia, diarch of the sun and co-ruler of Equestria. Princess Celestia, were she to be standing instead of sitting on her throne, would easily tower above most ponies. Her coat was a pure ivory white, with a mane and tail consisting of multicolored pastel greens, pinks and blues that seemed to wave in a non-existent breeze. Her horn, the same color as her coat, stuck out proudly above her head and golden crown, ending in a sharp point. “Hello, Princess,” Twilight began as she bowed to her teacher once they reached the foot of the raised throne. “As I am sure you are aware by now, we have something we need to discuss.” “Rise, Twilight,” Celestia stated as she kept her eyes on the newcomer. “And yes, it looks like we do. Who’s your new friend?” “Oh. Well, you see,” Twilight began, giving off a small, nervous laugh. “She is the something I wanted to talk to you about.” “Really, now? Twilight, I’m flattered that you would feel the need to share you made a new friend with me, but couldn’t that have just as easily been sent in one of your friendship letters?” Celestia asked, though her tone was kept casual and lighthearted. “W-Well. Its not that I made a new friend today. Its more how I made said new friend.” “Oh really? Please, do tell. I’m sure I’d love to hear the story about how you made a new friend,” Celestia continued, her eyes finally leaving the newcomer to smile at Twilight. “I-I… well.” Twilight cleared her throat before going over the events starting from when she had made her way into Starswirl’s Wing, all the way up until she had met Swift within said wing. “I see. Well I am quite glad you have brought it to my attention, dear Twilight,” Celestia praised with a gentle smile. Twilight blinked at the sudden praise, blushing slightly and rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment as she spoke. “T-thank you, Princess. But, what about… um… her?” she continued, angling her head back towards Swift, who had been silent the entire time they talked. “Indeed. What do we do with you, young Swift?” Celestia asked the cloaked figure with her ever present smile. ‘You could let me go back to reading. I had just found a really nice book about Pre-Nightmare history when Twilight found me,” Swift stated plainly. “Ah. I remember that one. If it is indeed the one we are both thinking of,” Celestia mused as she tapped a hoof under her chin. “I… W-wha?” Twilight stuttered as she looked between both her teacher and the cloaked figure. “Though it is no wonder why any pony, least of all my student, would be on edge around you. Why are you wearing the cloak anyway?” Celestia asked with a tilt of her head. “Ah, I still had this old thing on?” Swift said as she reached her hands up to her hood, flipping it back to reveal her head. Twilight had never seen a being quite like the one standing before her. Light, furless skin could be seen upon her face, partially covered by dragon-like scales along her cheeks and neck, the color of which was that of a brilliant midnight blue. Within her gaze, the lavender mare would see the purest of greens, slightly offset by dull black limbal rings separating the pupils and the corneas. Impressive horns that adorned either side of Swift’s face curved around and pointed ahead of her, resting just a little bit above and beside her cheeks. Twilight would have guessed that any dragon worth their pride would kill for a set of horns like the ones Swift wore proudly upon her head, the bases of which were slightly obscured by the full head of snow white hair that draped down behind her neck. “Sorry about that. I guess I just got used to it being on,” Swift apologized as she let her hands rest at her sides again. “It is quite alright, my dear. Though I really would have thought that the guards would have known about you.” The princess’s gaze shifted towards the two in question, both of whom were stiff as boards, their nervous glances between one another plain to see. After a moment, the gray coated guard spoke up. “We… weren’t given any notice of our guest, ma’am,” he said nervously. “And we formally apologize for our actions.” At that, both guards bowed apologetically to Swift, who merely scratched her cheek with a single digit and waved it off with her other hand. “Eh, don’t worry about it. It’s not the worst thing to have been said about me.” The princess looked upon the Au Ra with a gentle gaze. “Well. In any case, allow me to formally introduce you to my most prized student, Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight blushed at the praise once more, and Swift nodded her head. “Yes, we’ve had the pleasure of introducing ourselves to one another.” “Brilliant. From what Swift has told me before, she is quite the scholar. I was going to do it myself, but with both of your love for books and knowledge, I don’t see why you cannot ask her about where she comes from. Mayhaps find out a little about her culture. I am quite interested in hearing about her, as I’ve never seen her kind before. That is, if it’s alright with her,” Celestia stated as she looked over at Swift inquisitively. The Au Ra merely shrugged at that. “I’m fine with it, so long as I can ask some questions of my own.” “But of course. A cultural exchange of information is a great way to make friends, after all,” Celestia agreed with a wide smile. Twilight smiled brightly at that. The thought of telling the princess her findings was much too tempting of a task to turn down. “Yes! I-I mean of course, princess. You can count on me.” The lavender mare turned to face the Au Ra. “I’ll lead you back to the Starswirl Wing. Oh! But I’ll need to grab my saddle bag from my old room. Maybe my flash cards as well. Oh! Oh! And my special ink and quill set!” Twilight tittered excitedly, lost in her own world as she led Swift back the way they came. As the duo left the throne room, with the excitable lavender unicorn leading the way and already starting to formulate question after question for the Au Ra, Celestia turned towards the two guards that had come in with Twilight and Swift, and spoke up to them. “Please head back to your posts. And on the way out, let the guards out front know to let the next petitioner in.” Both guards immediately snapped into salutes with a shout of, “Yes ma’am!” before hurrying towards the door. “Oh! And before you go,” Celestia interrupted them. “Please summon my sister from her bed chambers. I would like to speak to her as soon as she is able to, if that would be alright.” Both guards grew a tad paler at the request. Saluting once again, though with noticeably less enthusiasm than before, they left to complete their assigned tasks. Celestia chuckled softly before sitting herself in proper princess-like position. “Game face, Celestia,” she spoke to herself. “You will have time to admire your little joke after today’s sessions.” And with that, Celestia readied herself for the petitions to resume their normal flow.