The Old Days
Celestia walked idly along through the corridors of the Royal Castle.
Court was over. Meetings with the nobility, listening to them attempt to convince her to instate higher taxes for everypony but the rich (again), were done. Meetings with her advisers, magical, financial, physical- they were all done. Her Sun close to setting, and Celestia was heading towards two things.
The first was dinner. This would be good, but what Celestia was truly looking forward to was the slice of cake at the end of it- a scrumptious little piece of heaven as a reward for making it through another week.
A slight frown came to her face. It would be smaller than normal- the royal physician had set out a diet for her to follow, and while Celestia did not want to the chefs had been informed and would loyally follow the prescribed recommendations, much to her dismay. He had wanted to do away with cake altogether, but Celestia had flat out refused. As a result, she would now be eating a leaner meal for dinner than normal, and her little slice of heaven had been cut down slightly, but it was all worth it for her little treat.
The second thing she was looking forward to was, of course, her sister Luna. Since her return from her banishment, Celestia had made it a point to make time for her younger sister, and the time between dinner and bed was one of them. Though for Luna, it was the time between breakfast and the beginning of her duties as Royal Diarch of the Night.
A faint *pop* signaled the arrival of a scroll, and she caught it expertly in midair. Golden light unfurled the parchment as she walked down the final hallway to the private dining room.
Her eyes widened.
She sat down almost unconsciously, still reading the scroll from her most faithful student as her meal was put in front of her.
"What is so interesting that thou- you cannot put down that parchment, sister?" Luna asked.
"See for yourself, Luna," she replied, passing the scroll across the table. Blue magic replaced the gold as Luna took the scroll from her, allowing her to get her first look at her new adversary.
It was a salad. A delightful salad she was sure, but of a smaller portion than she would have liked. She frowned, but nevertheless levitated the salad fork with her magic and took a bite. She almost rolled her eyes- the dietician had even replaced her favorite dressing with a similar but low-fat alternative. The difference was noticeable.
The maid finished pouring her a cup of tea, and Celestia took the cup into her magic gratefully. "Thank you, Grace."
Graceful Touch smiled and bowed, leaving the teapot on the table. Her physician may have limited her diet, but had insisted that she keep her tea habit. Something she was very grateful for. Either way, the tea that she sipped from her favorite teacup was as calming as ever. It helped her think.
Already she was planning some serendipitous trips to the kitchens.
"Most interesting," Luna muttered, rolling the scroll and setting it down upon the table.
"I agree," Celestia replied, taking another bite of her salad.
"I believe I need to visit Ponyville on the morrow, sister," Luna said idly, hooves steepled over her breakfast as she thought. Celestia shot her a look.
"Whatever for?"
"First, W- I can take what we talked about yesterday morn to Twilight Sparkle and her friends. Second, I wish to see this mare for myself. And finally, I believe I may have found something on the issue of the Shadow."
"Oh?"
"Perhaps," she said, a small, mischievous smile upon her muzzle. "Tell me, sister mine, dost thou remember the Spring?"
---
"What time is it?! What time is it?!" Twilight frantically asked.
"Eight-thirty, Twilight," Spike replied, glancing at the clock as he hefted a book.
"GAH! She'll be here any second! Whatdoidowhatdoido-"
The library was still a mess. Spike had been making good progress before Twilight had woken up with a letter from the Princesses on her bed, telling her that Princess Luna would be dropping by to discuss her research. And some other things too, but the moment she saw the words 'discuss your research', Twilight had quit caring about the rest of the letter.
The quill and parchment held in her magical grip began to smoke, she was writing so fast, but Twilight didn't notice or care. She had to have this report finished by the time Princess Luna-
Knocking came from the front door.
"GAH!"
Twilight wrote faster, using magic to put out the small licks of flame that were beginning to char the parchment. Just a few more seconds... a conclusion... done!
Twilight smiled.
Then she looked around the room.
"GAH!"
Knocks came from the door again. A hair sprung out from her mane.
"Just a minute!" she shouted to the door.
Spike, blissfully unaware of what was happening, picked up another book- only for it to be ripped out of his grasp by a pinkish magical aura.
"Twilight-" the little dragon started to complain. Before he could finish, he was hefted into the air by a pinkish aura too.
"AHHHHHHHH!!!" he screamed out as he sailed around the room, along with every other book in the library. Twilight, floating several inches off the floor, her eyes white with arcane power, was shelving books by the bookshelf. Within a few seconds, the floor of the library was book-free for the first time since this whole mess had started.
She set back down onto her hooves softly as her eyes lost their white glow. Looking around at the library, she gave a firm nod of satisfaction. Everything was in place. Everything was ready.
Smoothing her mane, she trotted over to the door of the library, opened it, and bowed.
"Twilight Sparkle," Princess Luna, saddlebags slung across her back and a strange box floating in her magical grip. She turned to Twilight, a small smile upon her muzzle as the door closed.
"I have my report right here," Twilight said, producing the parchment with a flourish and a bow. Princess Luna frowned, ever so slightly, as she set down her belongings and took the report in her magical grip.
Oh no, had she done something wrong? Ohhhhh, this was bad, this was bad-
"I am impressed. I was not aware you were so far along in your research," Luna said, studying the parchment. "'Tis far more than the scholars in Canterlot have on the matter."
Twilight beamed under the praise.
Then a book fell on her head. Followed by a baby dragon, and the rest of the books on the shelf.
"I wish you wouldn't do that," Spike complained as he dragged himself out from under the new pile of books.
"Do what?" Luna asked, confused.
"Shelve me along with the rest of the books," he replied as he pulled on a purple hoof. He removed a book off of the pile to reveal Twilight's muzzle, and her rolling eyes.
"Ah. Well, as I was saying, I believe I have a potential lead on the matter," Luna said.
The Princess quite suddenly found Twilight staring at her, muzzle to muzzle.
"You do? But how?! I've read every book on the Everfree and I'm the only one who's been in contact with it-"
A silver-shod hoof silenced her.
"Peace, Twilight Sparkle," she said. "I will give you your answers soon. First, there is other business which must be taken care of."
The box which she had brought to the library once again floated in her magic, and was set before Twilight. With a nod from Luna for confirmation, Twilight Sparkle opened the box- and gasped.
Before her, set into velvet inlays, were the Elements of Harmony.
"We do not know what has caused this disturbance, nor the dogs," Luna intoned as Twilight stared. "It is possible that, should it return, the Elements will be able to combat it. As such, We have agreed to remand the Elements to your possession. When thou-you have time, distribute them to your fellow Elements; tell them to keep them safe, and secret, and should you have need of them, do not hesitate to use them."
Twilight nodded reverently.
"Very good. Second, your letter to my sister yesterday mentioned a gigantic mare of horse-like proportions. What else can you tell me?"
Twilight's cheeks burned as she closed the lid on the box.
"I- I'm sorry, Princess, I haven't had time to research her much. I wrote down everything my friends and I found out in the letter," she stammered out. Luna made a thoughtful hum.
"Understandable. We- I would very much like to speak to her myself, if possible," she said aloud.
"Applejack offered her a place to stay, and she said she wasn't planning on leaving just yet, so she should still be over at Sweet Apple Acres."
Luna smiled. "Excellent! Now, with those taken care of, we can discuss your research!"
"Spike, take a note!" Twilight called out excitedly. A few moments later, the young dragon appeared at her side, quill and parchment in hand.
"Ready!"
"Now, the first thing you must understand is that not everything is written down. This is doubly true of the Everfree, which has confounded scholars for ages now. Perhaps the most knowledgeable on the subject are myself and my sister, if only because we have lived for so long."
"When we were investigating the great wall around Ponyville before it was destroyed, We-I thought I felt something familiar in the magic. After everything had been settled, I took it upon myself to find out just what was so familiar about that magic."
Luna wrinkled her muzzle. "'Twas a most frustrating search through the Canterlot libraries. But, yesterday, in the early hours of the morning, I had a breakthrough-"
"INCOMING! WATCH OUT!"
There was hardly time to react as a cyan and rainbow missile plowed into the library. Rainbow Dash's flight was abruptly stopped by a rather soft violet unicorn, and then by a bookshelf- which then dumped all the books off of the shelf and on to the pair of ponies.
Luna simply stared wide-eyed at the spot formerly occupied by Twilight Sparkle.
"Tell me, young Spike. Doth this happen often?"
"Often enough," Spike shrugged, putting another tally on Twilight's 'Rainbow Dash Crash List'.
A few books on the new pile parted, revealing the twin heads of Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle.
"Heh heh, sorry. Lost control," Rainbow chuckled nervously. Twilight Sparkle was obviously not amused.
"Spike-"
"Already did it, Twilight."
"Good," she replied, getting to her hooves. "I'm sorry about this, Princess Luna, I can-"
Luna held up her hoof. "No apologies are necessary, Twilight Sparkle. As I was saying, I was searching through the Royal Libraries for any clue as to my feeling of familiarity, when I came across a book entitled Legends of the Everfree. I have it here," she said, levitating it from her saddlebags. "It revived an old memory, a very old memory of mine. And I knew where I had felt that magical signature before. It was the Spring!"
"THE spring?" Rainbow Dash asked, shaking books off of herself. "There's a lot of springs in the Everfree."
Luna allowed herself a small, knowing smile.
"My apologies. What I speak of has gone by many names over the centuries- Wellspring of the Alicorns, the Peaceful Spring, Retreat of the Gods... Perhaps the single most famous name, and the one that survives to this day, is the Font of Harmony..."
Both Twilight and Rainbow's eyes got very wide at that. Luna almost laughed.
"...but to my sister and I, it is merely the Spring."
"The Font of Harmony..." Twilight whispered reverently.
"Yes. But it has been many centuries since I have been there, even before Nightmare Moon. For Celestia, it has been even longer. We cannot be certain that it is the magical signature that I sensed within the walls of the Shadow. And we must be sure. As such, I will be traveling into the Everfree to find it... and I was hoping to enlist your help, Twilight Sparkle."
There was silence for a moment as both ponies stared in awe.
"I...thank you, Princess Luna! Of course I'll help!" Twilight said excitedly.
"Can I come too?" came the innocent question from Rainbow Dash.
"I do not see why not-"
"YES!" the pegasus practically exploded. "Oh Celestia, this is going to be just like Daring Do!"
Princess Luna was startled backwards a few steps by the outburst, but smiled uncertainly at the mare's enthusiasm.
"My thanks to both of you," Luna replied as Rainbow Dash continued her victory dance. Her sister had assured her that Twilight would be willing, and the events of Nightmare Night had given her further hope, but it was still nice to know that ponies were willing to associate with her, even help her, after what she had become.
"I would suggest packing bags for an expedition, we should leave as soon as possible," she continued. "Though there is one stop I wish to make along the way."
---
"There she is," Applejack said, gesturing to the open field where the cattle were grazing. Off to the side, but not too far away, the large horse-like creature Epona grazed as well in the spring morning.
"We made a bed for her in th' barn last night, she's jus too big to come in the house," Applejack continued. "I gotta tell ya, Princess, there's something not quite right 'bout this mare. When I came to give 'er some breakfast this mornin', I found she'd already eaten a good amount of the hay we'd used fer her bed and was tryin' t' get out of the barn, 'cept she couldn't figure out t' lift the beam on the door. Wherever she's from, I don't think she's had the benefit of an education. Or real civilization, fer that matter- claims she usually sleeps out under the stars."
Luna nodded in understanding, but her eyes never left the mare in the field.
"I am not surprised. Horses were always more... wild than their pony counterparts."
"Wait... Princess, you've actually seen something like Epona before?" Twilight asked incredulously. Luna chuckled.
"Yes, I have, though 'tis been a very long time..."
Luna looked at Twilight and saw the question plain upon her face. That mare was almost too curious for her own good. Luna held up a hoof to forestall it.
"Long ago, when the world was young, many creatures that do not exist today walked upon the earth. Among them was a race we called 'horses', and they looked much like Epona here does; large enough to stand taller than even the race of bovines, yet unmistakably pony-like in many ways."
"The world was very different then. Ponies were only just beginning to build the semblances of civilization- simple mud huts were shelter more often than not. And the race of horses... well, they were much more animalistic than their pony cousins. Much as cows are today, as I understand it. They travelled in herds and were content to live in the moment, with the wind through their manes and the grass under their hooves. A simple life, but from the ones my sister and I talked with, a very contented and happy life as well."
"Beggin' your pardon, Princess, but... why ain't they around today?"
A shadow came across Luna's muzzle.
"A calamity befell them. The same event that happened to so many other creatures in this world... can you not guess?"
"Err... Windigoes?"
"No, the race of horses survived the troubles of the windigoes. No, I speak of another calamity, one which we are not free from even in these enlightened days."
"Discord?" Twilight guessed.
"Discord," Luna confirmed. "He has never truly been truly 'evil', but he is thoughtless, negligent, and vainly self-centered. He does not purposefully kill, nor intentionally torture, but he plays with creatures like they are his toys. When he came into power, any creature that did not flee to the Everfree was subject to his machinations. This included the race of horses, who had moved to the area that would become Saddle Arabia in the wake of the windigoes."
"From what my sister and I understand, Discord grew bored with ponies and left for other parts of the world for a time, and came across the horses. His first attempt at... entertainment... did not go well for him. The sheer size of the horses, as you can see, allows them to buck at about Discord's eye level. Did you ever wonder why he had only one fang? Horses do not have the same magic as ponies, but it is potent nonetheless; Discord's mismatched other fang was knocked out, and not even his prodigious power could replace it. 'Tis unfortunate it takes far more than a buck to the face to stop a creature of Discord's power; deciding that he did not like playing with toys that could harm him permanently, and inspired by the race of ponies, Discord decided to 'ponify' the entire race of horses."
Luna did not miss the looks of shock on the two ponies faces.
"Yes, he can do such a thing. He even had practice- many creatures who roam this world, such as cockatrices and manticores, owe their existence to Discord's chaotic magic. Even ponies were not safe- the seaponies of the great oceans are a result of his meddling. In the case of horses, he shrank them, and gave them a number of more-pony like attributes, among them the distinctive larger eyes; though, as a side effect, it bestowed upon them greater intelligence as well."
Luna sighed heavily. "By the time my sister and I found a way to stop him, it was already too late. Discord reigned for more than twenty years. The Elements reset the world, but they would not undo life that had been created in the chaos. And so any surviving horses returned to their original form... but their foals remained as Discord had changed them. Those foals became what is known these days as Saddle Arabians, and the name ‘horse’ attributed to their kind."
"But... shouldn't, uh, horses like Epona be around then?" Twilight asked uncertainly.
"I wish that were true, Twilight Sparkle. Horses like Epona do not live as long as ponies; when the Elements restored their forms, the horses found that the vast majority of mares were now too old to foal. They limped on for several decades, their numbers growing fewer with every generation, before finally succumbing to their fate. A quiet and mournful end to such a unique and majestic species."
"Or so We had thought... until now."
Luna levitated her saddlebags off of her back before taking off her regalia and setting it down as well.
"Wait here. I shall not be long."
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Guh! That was so frustrating and even a bit disappointing!
Don't get me wrong, it was another good chapter, and its content was interesting, but after that cliffhanger at the end of the last chapter, I was really looking forward to some good-old Epona in this one.
Well, I hope the next chapter comes out soon, I don't think I can wait much longer for an Epona chapter without punching a wall.
oh man, i cant wait till Wolf!Link enters the scene! The wacky hijinks and the misunderstandings will surely be hilarious!
3900667
Apologies. It will be within the next two chapters, i assure you, but i had to get this out of my system
so he can manipulae the very genetic and physical structures og entire species, but not his own tooth? well if discord ever invades ima get a suit of enamal
3901223
Discord reserves the right to change these rules whenever he wants. For his own amusement and convenience, of course.
that was a really interesting bit of world building, nice way to integrate things that seems so unrelated as Discord's missing tooth and the ponies from Saddle Arabia. A bit short tho
3902451
The next chapters should make up for the lack of content in this one...
Somebody over Spacebattles noted something
that said, the image of a horse knocking Discord on his butt is hilarious and amazing at the same time
178:3 now...
images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/33100000/Mlp-my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-33181971-900-900.jpg
I see you're trying to tie real life into your fic. Please avoid this as much as you can. Trying tie in our issues into a fic is a dangerous road.
I have a feeling I am going to encounter more of these later. If I do....this fic gets a downvote. Sorry, but people need to stop shoving their political views down the readers' throats. Or unfolding it in front of our faces.
4401359
... I wasn't trying to....
I suppose it's certainly possible that I am projecting subconscious political desires into my story. I mean, we all do that. Who we are shapes what we do and therefore how we write. But I certainly wasn't trying to make a political statement there, certainly not one linked to anything in real life.
The point of that passage was 'Celestia has had a long day'. And knowing that she has to deal with Blueblood as a part of the noble class, I thought to myself, 'what would a bunch of Bluebloods want?' The answer I thought of: more money. Obviously, there's some normal or at least less snobbish nobles, like Fancy Pants, but to be honest my headcannon is that a lot of the nobility are like Blueblood.
In my headcannon, horses are to ponies what gorillas are to humans. Humans evolved from gorillas, right? Well, I theorize that ponies evolved from horses.
Wow. Such a sad story. Luckily, Epona is not an Equestrian, right?
Errors:
Comma needed after " did not want to"
That comma should be a semicolon.
Same as previous. Also, you need an apostrophe at the end of "jus".
Missing apostrophe at the end of "ponies".
Well, here go again