//------------------------------// // The Favor // Story: Brave Story: Revival // by EternallyLost //------------------------------// Dear Twilight Sparkle I hope this message finds you well My faithful student, though this isn't a casual letter. Researcher's of the magic college have recently discovered a rare auracite stone, a relic that dates back to times long past. As you know auracite is a stone of powerful magic... The one they found bore a marking, it is believed to be part of a set. They are correct, but there is a fair bit more to that stone then is to be revealed to the public so the revelation is on hold for now. You may ask why I would contact you about such a matter, aside from obvious scholarly interest. That is something better revealed in person. My sister and I would like you to gather your friends and meet us in the Ruins of Tambelon. But I would like to stress this is not an order. It is a personal request on behalf of myself and my sister. Please send a reply if and when you all would be available to assist in this matter so we can arrange transportation. I hope to hear from you soon, - Princess Celestia It was the fourth time Twilight had read the letter, the second time that day during the long carriage ride. Whatever subtext that may be lying within was lost on the student, but she couldn't shake the feeling that this was no small favor. The tiara that rested atop her head only cemented that feeling. "I don't get it," Rainbow Dash's grumbling brought the unicorn back to the present, using her magic to place the letter back into her saddlebags. "Is this aura-stuff really such a big deal? I means it's just a magic rock." "Um, it's a bit more then that Dash." "Yeah, Auracite is like SUPER rare!" Pinkie spoke up halting Twilight's attempted explanation. "It absorbs magic like a big crystal sponge." she exclaimed with forelegs outstretched as wide as she could. "Papa Pie said it was a legendary find." "Yes, Pinkie's right." Twilight replied somewhat surprised, though in retrospect she knew she shouldn't have been. "Auracite is very much sought after in the magical research circles for it's ability to store and channel magic. Most artifacts of a mystical nature often had auracite as a fundamental part of their construction, even ones dating back thousands of years ago. The many uses for the crystals are still being discovered to this day." "Oh?" Dash was battling between curiosity and boredom as Twilight's explanation began to grow long. "So then this stone is like some super powerful artifact? ooh, maybe a key to some magic temple, no doubt racing another group of bandits to an even bigger treasure!" "I think you've been reading a bit too much of them adventure stories sugar cube" "Bah, your no fun." The pegasus mutter before turning her attention back out the window of the PAINFULLY slow carriage. "Um, I just want to know why the princess wanted us to bring our elements." Fluttershy spoke up ever so slightly, tapping the pink butterfly hanging about her neck. "True, it's not something that the princess would request on a whim." Rarity tapped her delicately manicured hoof to her lips. "Would that put this 'favor' on the same level as facing Discord or Nightmare moon?" That thought caused all conversation to dry up. An anxious silence filled the carriage as the contemplated the possibility of facing down a threat on the level of previous foes. It was twilight that finally broke the silence, in defense of her mentor. "Now girls I don't believe it would be something that dire. This was a personal request, if there was a greater threat I'm sure the princess would have told us." "Hm, I suppose yer right. But I still don't like it." Applejack frowned. "Somethin' just doesn't seem right about the whole thing." "Well we will find out soon enough, I believe we have arrived." Rarity's words brought everypony's eyes back to the windows are the royal carriage had reached their apparent destination. Tambleon. Long ago it had been a fortified city, a successful trade town on the edges of the old empire though legends say it fell to dark powers. Now it was just a ghost town. The rolled through a section of broken wall flanked by a pair of Royal guardsmen, the wheels began to shake and it switched from packed dirt to old cobblestone, the streets were quiet, the houses abandoned after some kind of raid. the only life was the outside themselves being small patrols of Royal guardsmen spread out about the ruined city. The houses thinned as they reached a moat of stagnant dirty water flanked once more by a pair of guards who gave the carriage a sharp salute. Unlike the first set, these were of Luna's 'night guard', casting a lot more intimidating look then Celestia's golden boy counterparts. The old bridge creaked but held as they continued toward the broken inner walls to Tambelon castle. "You know for a personal request there certainly are a lot soldiers here." Rarity noted with a hint of concern. "Yeah what's up with that, I thought we were going on a secret mission." Pinkie pouted. "I had brought my sneaking suit and everything." "That's so strange, I would have expected something more discr-" Twilight trailed off as a familiar voice reached her ears. "Okay men I want one more patrol up on the west wall looking to the badlands." A stallion's voice. "Best to be safe rather then sorry." "Is that... Shining?" her initial confusion turned into elation the carriage slowed and a white coated Unicorn stood out amongst his grey coated companions. "It is!" she clopped her forehooves together excitedly. "Shining?" The other girls exchanged looks as Twilight rushed out of the carriage peeking out to see their scholarly friend rushing up to the armored unicorn. "A friend of hers?" Fluttershy ventured as the other five filed out of the carriage. "He doesn't look like any unicorn from Ponyville." Pinkie said with certainty. "Twily?" The stallion was surprised but a large smile broke out on his face as twilight buried her head in the crook of his neck, returning the affectionate gesture shortly after. The two exchanged a few soft words. "A coltfriend?" Rarity whispered, her own mind having trouble grasping the idea even as she suggested it. "Seriously? We're talking Twilight here," Dash replied unconvinced. They wouldn't have to debate much long as Twilight as leading the stallion back their way. "Girls, I'd like you to meet my Brother Shining Armor, captain of the Royal Guard." "Brother?!" eyes traveled between the two trying to make the connection between the military stallion and the awkward librarian. "You never mentioned having a brother," Applejack said "Oh really? She's talked a lot about you all in her letters." Shining looked to his sister with a raised eyebrow, the lavender mare had the decency to look embarrassed. "I, well, it never really came up in conversation or anything..." She floundered for a bit as Shining did his best to keep a neutral face to make her squirm more. "Anyway these are my friends," she transitioned swiftly getting a chuckle from her brother. "This is Applejack" "Howdy." The farm mare greeted with a tip of her hat. "Rarity." "Charmed," she offered the handsome stallion a demure smile. "Rainbow Dash." "Fastest Flyer in Equestria." she finished with cocky grin, ignoring the rolled eyes from a few of her friends. "Pinkie." "HI!" the party pony greeted waving a foreleg excitedly. "and Fluttershy." "...H-hello" the timid mare muttered from somewhere behind Rainbow Dash, eyes averted. "It's nice to finally meet you all in person, Twily has talked a lot about you in her letters." He said ruffling his sister's mane fondly with his forehoof. "From what I hear she lucky to have such a great group of friends, please keep looking after her for me. She needs ponies who can keep her from getting buried in books all day." "Shining!" Twilight blushed hotly as her brother and friends shared a laugh at the good-natured jab. She took a few breaths to calm herself and focus back on the present situation. "But What are you doing here anyway?" "Well I got hardly let both princesses head out to the edge of the badlands without an escort, much less my little sister." "Indeed, He was quite insistent." The moon princess' regal tone pierced the din of the crowd, fortunately not to the volume of the 'royal Canterlot voice. "Tis a joy to see you all again friends." she added with a small smile. All the ponies took a short bow toward Luna, though she swiftly motioned for them to stand back up. "We are pleased you could all make it today." "It's not a problem Princess Luna," Twilight replied earnestly as her friends nodded in agreement. "Oh yes, we're always glad to come help a friend." Fluttershy added sweetly, bringing a smile to Luna's face once more. "Thank you my friends... Though this is a less then ideal place for pleasantries we should have more then enough time to catch up after our business is concluded. Speaking of which." she turned toward Shining Armor who immediately straightened up. "We shall be departing for the castle interior. We leave the watching of Tambleon to you and your men Captain." "Of Course your highness, you can count on us." He replied professionally, breaking it only slightly to offer the girls a wave as Luna lead them into the dilapidated castle. Inside was empty, not a single guard had been allowed past the door. Broken furniture and dusty books shelves filled the rooms, the only sounds carrying though the halls were the tentative hoof beats on stone as they headed down into the lower floors of the castle. "Dang, this place is a dump." Rainbow Dash spoke up suddenly, unable to deal with the uncomfortable stillness of the place. "Yeah somepony tore it up real good. The whole city looks like it was on the wrong end of a twister." Applejack added as they stepped around a fallen chandelier. "Yes, The fall of Tambleon was a rather violent affair though not more then a footnote amongst the other events of the Tribal Wars." Luna replied with a small hint of bitterness but it as swiftly covered up as she continued. "There are no records of what exactly happened, but if one can judge based on the findings we have made recently it was more then some raiding barbarians." The last flight of stairs had descended into some kind of cavern, worn brick replaced with smooth craved stone, as well as a fresh set of torches. The group entered into a large room, completely circular with a massive stone door at the far end. Next to the door stood Celestia, practically glowing in comparison to her dank surroundings. "Greetings sister, our guests have arrived." Luna voice seemed to bring the elder princess out of a daze as she turned her gaze their direction, a kind smile gracing her lips. "It's nice to see you again girls." The elements of harmony offered a short bow before Twilight strode forward to join her mentor by the aged door. "Any time Princess." she began to look over the door, in awe. The massive door were crisscrossed with magical algorithms and runes. Three rough hewed crystals were place in a triangle, inside glowed a mark that pulsed lightly in the dim cave. "Wait, These stones... They have zodiac symbols in them. That other stone you mentioned..." "Yes Twilight," Celestia gave a proud smile as she levitated out a red crystal with the glowing symbol for 'Cancer' inside. "Yes this stone is apart of the same set. Twelve powerful stones baring the power of the stars." "So they belong to princess Luna?" Rarity ventured as eyes turned to the moon princess who allowed a small chuckle. "Nay, The night sky was over head long before we hel-" she paused as her sister gave her a bemused looked. "Before I held it to my will. Just as these stones were about before me." she turned a somewhat put out look to her elder sister. "Is that better?" "Now now, I think it's cute," Celestia replied with a mischievous glint in her eye. "Sister please, tis hardly the time." she returned doing her best to suppress the blush. A few light chuckles amongst the group ease the tension of the ominous room but it could only last a minute before they had to get back to the business at hand. "So why are those aurastones or whatever stuck in that door?" Rainbow asked confused, mere decoration seemed like a waste for super powerful relics. "It's a locking mechanism. The runes are mostly in old equis but how they're arranged seems to point to a sealing spell." Twilight spoke up before either princess could answer, still analyzing the twisting runes. "Very Good, right again." Twilight smiled proudly at the praise as Celestia took over. "The stones seem to have been placed here to seal this passage." Celestia continued pulling a small cloth bag out and placing the Cancer stone into it. "But is it to keep ponies out... or keep somethin' in?" Applejack muttered anxiously as the sun princess shook her head. "It's hard to say for certain." Luna frowned at that statement but said nothing allowing her sister to continue. "But judging by the energy coming from the other side I would say the latter." Celestia said in a grave tone directing her gaze to the door. "W-What kind of energy?" Fluttershy's reluctance was palatable. "Tis a gate into the depths of Tartarus." Luna said firmed causing a gasp of shock from the younger ponies, Celestia remained quiet. "It is a rather distinctive energy." she added offhandedly. "But how can that be?" Twilight was one of the first to recover from the bombshell. "The gate to Tartarus much further east, I've been there myself. There is only one recorded entrance to the underworld." "The key word of that statement Twilight is 'recorded'." Luna stated calmly. "Yes, Necromancy may be a forgotten art in our times but back then it was a far more common practice. And to have direct access to the underworld, was a goal that any Necromancer would die for." Celestia and Luna looked to the door distastefully while the other tried to come to grips with the implications of what this favor was going to entail. "Wait, yer not tellin' us that you plan on opening that thing are ya? The underworld is sealed fer a reason." Applejack said with a worried frown looking between the two princesses before it fully donned. "...You know what's behind that door." "Yes," Luna spoke up before Celestia could, the elder sister closing her mouth and looking away. "The matter of this door and a thread long left dangling, we had not had the means yet to cut it free." the moon princess met Applejack's defiant gaze evenly. "Our Journey shall be quick and shallow, barely touching the true depths of Tartarus." "I understand if you are uncomfortable with the idea," Celestia took over, her voice soft. "If you refuse we will not force you to do so otherwise. But this is a matter Luna and myself have wished to rectify for a long time now. A great injustice that needs to be corrected. So please," Celestia suddenly crouched down into a bow eyes turned to the ground. "All we ask is you consider our request." The six young mares looked between each in confusion as Luna joined her sister. "Princess..." Twilight nearly approached her mentor before she was pulled back by Rarity. "Um, could you give us a moment to discuss this." "Yes of course." Celestia spoke in a resigned tone that held the weight of her many years. "We will await your decision." Luna gave a nod taking a seat by her sister's side and place a wing over he in a comforting manner as the six friend turned to each other to try and decide this weighty issue. "I don't like it." Applejack spoke up immediately "No pony aught to be messing around in Tartarus long as their still living and breathing. T'ain't natural," The farmer finished firmly. Applejack had been raised to respect those who passed on, it was hardly right to go skulking around their resting place like a thief in the night. "Come on AJ, it's not like were going in there to raise an army of Zomponies or anything." Rainbow rebuked casually. "I mean this is a once in a lifetime opportunity!" The thrill seeker in Dash was showing through clearly. To go right into the jaws of death itself and come back out, how could somepony pass that up! "Exactly, ONCE in a lifetime." Rarity retorted in a dry tone. "What your suggesting is an early peek. Personally I don't see how any good can come of this, anything that has been sitting about in Tartarus for 'a long time' can't be pleasant." The fashionista added distastefully. "Oh I don't know." Pinkie began thoughtfully. "Not like only bad ponies go to Tartarus, there' plenty of good ponies as well. Just imagine how bored you'd get sitting around in one place for so long. I'm sure they could use some fun too!" she said with a little bounce. "Pinkie, we are NOT going to wake the dead." AJ put her stomped out that train of thought as quickly as possible, no matter how serious the party pony was being it was no joking matter. "Aww, your no fun." "um I'll pass." Fluttershy muttered. "It sounds way too scary to me." The mere thought of waking in the place of the dead raised the timid pegasus' hairs on end. The girls continued to go back and forth for a few moments longer before Twilight finally spoke up. "I'm not sure whether this is right or wrong." she began, her friends quieting as she continued. "Ethically, morally, magically, scholars have debated for years over such things. All I do know. Is I have never seen Princess Celestia so sad before, in all my time under as her student. She needs our help." she looked up determination in her eyes. "And I'm not about to let a friend down." Her words were firm, her gaze steady as she looked to the others. "Yeah Twi, no way we can leave the princesses hangin'" Dash cheered pumping her foreleg, Pinkie nodding emphatically. It was Fluttershy that was the first to speak up from those against idea. "They do look so upset, whatever is in Tartarus must be really important to them..." she stated sounding unsure. "It is clearly some kind of personal matter," Rarity bit her lip. "and whatever it could be... I don't think it would be bad. The princess wouldn't ask us to do anything untoward." "Aye reckon they wouldn't... They do seem to be hurtin' something awful." The farmer muttered her gaze wavering on the sisters who awaited their judgement. Silence held sway for a few moments, before twilight spoke up once more. "What do you say girls?" Pinkie and Dash nodded immediately, followed momentarily by Rarity and the smallest of nods from Fluttershy. Twilight's eyes turned to Applejack who frowned, closing her eyes before finally sighing and giving a nod. All six turned back to Celestia and Luna resolute in their decision. "Princess, You can count on us."