Twin Guardians

by rye

Impossible Truth

Hours had passed by since Twilight had discovered that Rye has a cutie mark. "I don't understand Princess. How can he have a cutie mark...not to mention the wings and horn we saw." The other girls nodded. Pinkie had gently took Rye by his shirt sleeve and lead him into a private study were the rest had gathered. "And now Rye isn't even responding to any thing."

Celestia didn't say a word, she simply placed a hoof on Twilights shoulders. The look from the young unicorn showed much distress. Celestia calmly took a breath, "I have sent for Princess Cadence. My theory is his heart is broken. After all that has happened before he came here, and now with seeing that other human is here. I can only imagine what he is going through. I have rooms ready for each of you, let's hope things can be turned around."

A guard stepped in, after knocking on the door, to introduce Cadence then taking his leave. Once the guard had left, Cadence and Twilight shared a moment while Celestia's attention was turned to the boy. Cadence turned from Twilight, seeing Celestia's gaze, and looked at the human boy. In moments her heart melted at seeing his state of mind. "I'll see what I can do." Cadence trotted over by Pinkie's side. "My dear, can I have some time with him. I'd like to see if I can help." Pinkie looked up at Cadence, her mane had gone flat, she nodded before getting up and sitting by the other girls. "Hello, My name is Cadence."

Rye didn't shift his gaze, "My name is Shining Hope..." Cadence looked at the others curiously. Not fully understanding what he had just been through in the last twenty-four hours, she knew she had to be careful. "The other one was my brother, now he's only Damien." The comment startled the ponies, no-pony expected him to suddenly speak so freely.

"What do you mean he was? Did he disown his family?" Rye shook his head. Thus far Cadence had refrained from using her magic not sure what would happen to the boy, but to get any were she had to ease the pain of his heart. She took a deep sigh and focused her magic into the tip of her horn. She carefully stepped up to Rye, gently placing the tip of her horn over his chest. The magic gently flowed into his being, the love and warmth he suddenly felt caused a few tears he held back to travel down his cheeks.

Rye took a deep breath, "He still is my brother, but something is wrong with him. He hasn't been the same since the nightmares started. In fact, it's like he is a different person. Though I have no proof that this is true..." Cadence lifted her head up, she looked into his eyes. It was clear he was wanting to cry more but he was holding back something else. "He was the one that turned in every one we loved."

"I'm sorry, Shining Hope, but I still don't understand what you mean by he is only Damien now?" Rye looked at the youngest Princess with a gentle smile. His eyes reflecting joy full days of his past.

"We were both given two names at birth. My birth name is Shining Hope, my other name is Rye. The same goes for my brother. His birth name is Midnight Dreams, his other name is Damien." Rye finally turned from the window and walked to the nearest seat. "I suppose every one wants to know about this..." Rye pointed to his cutie mark.

Celestia nodded but took notice of the time. "For now though, get some rest. We will continue this after dinner. Enjoy the gardens, but please stay within the palace grounds. If you need any thing just ask a guard to aide you. Before we part, will you tell us the name of your parents?" Rye looked down before nodding in agreement.

He averted his eyes back up at the group, "Father's name is Toby Sung. He was adopted. My mother was called Aurora Sung. Far as any of us knew she has no living relatives." Upon hearing the name of Rye's mother, Celestia's eyes widened for a moment. Rye noticed this but paid it no mind.

"The rest of you may go rest for a while. Cadence would you kindly escort Rye around for a while?" Cadence nodded, "Twilight, I have a new task for you. This one I want you alone to look into. Now come with me." Celestia and Twilight had left the others standing there.

"Um, is there a wide open garden I can use? Or even some kind of training area? I'm feeling the need to do some training to burn off this tension" Rye glanced around at the others. "I'm sure it's an odd request, but I need to do something or I'm gonna end up brewing again." Rye was tapping his foot rapidly.

"Of course, there is a private garden you can use or the guards training ground. If you like I can also see if the guards would spare with you. They are are trained to take on many kinds of foes to keep the princess safe and Equestria as well." Cadence gently smiled, trying to reassure the boy all will be fine.

"Actually the training grounds would be perfect. Can any of them use swords?" Cadence just grinned, "I take that as yes. So who will be willing to go against me?" The group had made their way outside, a large stadium was just off in the distance. "Whoa, that's the training grounds?" Rye's eyes grew wide. "Um, wow..." Cadence smiled at his minor comments.

The main gates opened slightly as they proceeded inside. "Is Shining Armor here?" Her attention was turned to a near by guard, who simply nodded in response. "Good, in the armory I assume?" Again the guard nodded to her, Cadence smiled and pressed on. Rye and the others followed, not sure what was going on.

Meanwhile deep in the Canterlot archives Twilight and Princess Celestia were deep in old scrolls. "What are we looking for Princess?" Twilight had set up a nearby table as a make-shift study desk. Quills and ink on one side, stacks of scrolls on the other. "I assume it has to do with Rye ... or is it Shining Hope?" Twilight had many questions that sparked in her eyes, this made Celestia smile while she cleared a spot in a shelf.

"We are here to find answers about his mother. There is an ancient scroll that tells of an Alicorn who had vanished one day during the time of a great war. This war was fought behind the scenes so pony folks could try to live normal lives. At least for some time, the Alicorn that went missing was in search of an artifact that held a special weapon. A rainbow, but this rainbow was different then those of today. It acts in the same manner as the Elements of Harmony do. But I must find prof that he is her child..." A click was heard on one of the shelves Celestia was clearing.

A small door way opened up at the bottom of the case. "Wow, I didn't know that was here." Twilight made her way to Celestia's side. Both peeked inside for a brief moment before a plum of dust shot out. Coughing and trying to clear the air, Twilight nor Celestia noticed a small book in a glass case at their hooves. "What, what just happened!"

As the dust finally settled their eyes fell upon the glass case. "I think we found some were to start, my dear student. I will leave this up to you Twilight. Find out if this book tells anything about Aurora. I will get the scrolls that speaks of the artifact." Celestia went back to searching while Twilight removed the book and headed to the desk.

Back at the training grounds, Rye and Shining Armor had taken a stance across from each other. "So your the thing that showed up in ponyville huh? I'm grateful that you saved our Princess. My name is Shining Armor, Captain of the Guards." Shining Armor stood tall, his captains armor shone in the sunlight. "And what name do you go by?"

Rye just simply smiled. "For now, just call me Rye. And if you win, I'll tell you my true name. But if I win, you treat us to some sweets. Fair enough?" Shining tried not to laugh as he nodded to bet. "Good, let's get started." Rye had taken what they called a long sword while Shining Armor had just his horn. Rye looked his opponent over for the first time since they had walked into the arena. The unicorn had white fur that ruffled just above blue hooves. His mane and tail were dark blue with a light blue streak.

Near by Pinkie blew into a large horn, her hair had became very curly and she wore a huge grin. The two raced at each other, Rye bared his blade to his left. His body turned slightly to his left to add in force in the blow. Shining Armor had a spell aimed for Rye's shoulder. It seemed that both were taking this as a real battle. Cadence now had a slight fear she may have put Rye into a very bad situation.

As the boys came with in feet of each other, Rye began to rotate his body to his right. The sword held tightly, it's aim ... the unicorn's horn. Shinning Armor suddenly grinned before a bright flash filled Rye's eye sight. The blade still held to it course but found nothing.

Shining Armor appeared behind Rye in a new flash of light. He quickly began to charge a bolt of magic. In the corner of Rye's vision he saw the flash, not letting up on the spin, he continued to turn around. Both combatants held smiles, but Rye wasn't expecting Shining Armor to be fast with his magic. As the light faded Rye noticed a purplish hue followed by a bolt of energy. Flicking his wrist sky ward, he release the blade to fly high into the air.

With the energy blast now with in feet of Rye, the boy pushed off his feet into the air. The bolt barely missed the tips of his shoes but a second shot wasn't that far behind. Rye could hardly see the second, as it came close he twisted his body just in time. The bolt burned away most of the back of Rye's shirt. As Rye landed on his hands and knees, he ended up facing away from his opponent. Throwing his right leg in a large round kick, he suddenly felt a shift in the air.

Rye turned his eyes skyward, his jaw dropped wide. Returning his gaze to Shining Armor, Rye noticed the blade was in a direct impact path with the guard. "no...no... Please just once more..." Rye scrambled into a mad dash at Shining Armor. The wings and horn appeared once more as if hearing his plea. I won't make it in time... Rye could only imagine pushing him out of the way with a burst of wind.

Shining Armor hadn't noticed the blade above headed straight for him, only that now this creature resembled an Alicorn His jaw hung low as he saw Rye race towards him. Rye closed his eyes and focused on what he wanted. The moment he felt the magic connect with his mind and body, he threw his left hand, palm open, at Shining Armor. A massive gust broke out from Rye's palm and headed right into the guard.

As the gust made contact with Shining Armor, a few things happened nearly at once. The guard was sent flying to the other side of the arena, near by windows shattered, the sword made contact with the ground barely second after the guard was gone leaving a small crater. The ground it self even vibrated slightly from all that commotion.

Meanwhile in the archives, Celestia found that the scrolls she wanted were currently gone. Twilight had gotten most of the text translated and found an old prophecy from Aurora in the book.

" 'Siblings of a forgotten realm .... Two souls forever bound .... New land to save .... Dark ones final form .... The land now reborn' Princess, I think I finally got some of this text worked out." Celestia walked over to the desk Twilight had made. Looking over her notes, Celestia looked at Twilight. "I think this talks about Rye and his brother. But parts of it are too faded to finish it properly. But the rest of the book is in perfect condition. I think this was added long before the rest was even considered."

Celestia nodded, "Thank you..." The walls suddenly shook slightly and dust fell from. "What going on... Twilight, I leave the rest of this in your hooves. I'm going to find out what is going on." Celestia turned and walked out the door. Twilight levitated scrolls, quills, and ink to her side. She set about making a report.

As Celestia made her way into the main throne room, she proceeded onto the balcony. Once outside, Celestia spotted a small plum of dust rising from the training grounds. "Now what is going on over there?" Taking flight, she made her way over top to see rye near the edge of a small crater, Shinning Armor laying in a heap by the far wall. The bystander ponies were barely getting back to their feet.

Cadence had regained some sense of balance, "what ... What happened?" She scanned the area carefully. She didn't panic till her eyes fell on Shining Armor. "Shining Armor...." Celestia came down next to the guard. Cadence quickly made her way to his side. "Is...Is he OK?" Celestia nodded as she looked over at Rye. "How....how did you do that... And what are you?"

Celestia walked over to Rye. "young one, tell me what happened." Rye stared at his hands as he relayed what happened during the sparring match. Celestia listened intently as the other girls all gathered around. "I understand it was an accident, but you will need strict study to help control your magic. But i fear we may not be qualified to teach you what you need." Rye looked a bit dejected. "Don't worry young one, We will do our best." As every one turned their attention back to Shining Armor, Rye began to glow.

"HEL-" With a flash, Rye was swept into a ball of energy and whisked into the sky. Rainbow Dash barely turned her head in Rye's direction only to see him vanished into the light. She let out a whelp of surprise before following. The others turned to see Rainbow take off after a ball of light.

As the commotion finally died down, Twilight had made her way into the training grounds. "Princess, I've been looking every were for you. I found out..," As she looked around at the mess, her eyed grew large. "What happened here?!" Cadence walked over to Twilight.

"Shinning Armor and ... Rye were sparring. Rye was needing to do something to find relief. Something happened and Rye changed... He looked just like us..." Cadence was still trying to grasp all that happened. "Rye had literally blow Shinning Armor to the wall. Suddenly dust covered every thing. We were all knocked back and windows broke. As the dust settled, the sword Rye was using is were you see it now. Rye was a bit from there, Shining Armor lay unconscious. That's were Princess Celestia arrived."

"Were is Rye now?" Twilight was looking around for the boy. "And were is Rainbow Dash?" This all still made little sense to her. That's when Princess Celestia came to Twilights side. "Is my brother going to be OK?" Celestia nodded giving way for Twilight to sigh.

Rainbow Dash came back rather slowly, she appeared winded. "I followed it almost clear to Ponyville. I think it was on it was to the Everfree forest. But it was going too fast, even for me. What ever took Rye ... It had to some kind of magic. At least that's how it looked." Rainbow laid on the ground, her body finally giving way to exhaustion.

Twilight went to Rainbows' side. "Describe everything you saw and felt." At that moment Twilight levitated a notepad from her saddlebag. Sitting down by Rainbow, she first made note of how the arena looked, and what Rainbow said once she got back. "OK, start from the moment after the Princess arrived" Rainbow began to tell Twilight what took place.

Deep in the Everfree Forest, a ball of light, that carried a single passenger, dived into the ground. Rye could see all that was going on, but could not move. Once he was taken underground, he couldn't see a thing till a small green light in the distance. The light grew in size and brightness till Rye was blinded to the point of blacking out.

Rye slowly opened his eyes, the small amount of light in the center seemed magnified by the emerald walls. The green ambiance helped ease the headache Rye felt. "ugh...." Slowly sitting up, he looked around. Groans from his body escaped his lips. A shadow slowly came across a wall opposed to him, Rye froze in fear and curiosity.

"Oh goodie, you're awake!" A pink haired mare bounced into the room. "This place is HUGE! And there is no door out - or in for that matter. OH! And each room has a different color. It's like a really big party cave house." Her grin never faded nor did she breath during her little speech.

"Pinkie? How did you get here? And ... Are are you OK?" Rye had gotten to his feet and looked over the pinkie pony. "You seem fine... So care to show me around?" Rye's curiosity about the pink pony was begin to drive him crazy.

Pinkie Pie bounced out of the room, "Okie dokie lokie." Rye followed behind. His mouth hung open as they walked past many rooms. There were three more rooms just like the one Rye woke up in. "These must be bedrooms, but they don’t look all that comfy." Near the end of the hall held a staircase leading down. "OH and there are two more floors. Come on!"

Rye continued to follow Pinkie. "Are they all green in -" He couldn't finish as brightly colored lite rooms caught his attention. Two rooms were even bigger then the ones upstairs. The one on the left was light blue and held what seemed to be kitchen supplies. The one on the right was a bright orange and seemed to a dinning area. About that time Rye's stomach gave a low growl. "hehe, guess I'm a bit hungry. Does this place have anything to eat?"

Pinkie frowned a bit, "No! Not even cupcakes!" Pinkie bounced to the other end were stairs lead down. "This is the final floor. And its gigantic down there. There whole place is one room. And its shinny! Oh and Rye, no matter what we're your friends. Don't forget that." Pinkie started down the stairs before Rye could respond. Shaking his head Rye followed suit.

As he reached the bottom, the main thing that caught his attention was an image of an Alicorn in the middle of the room. "Pinkie, what is that thing?" She didn't say a thing, only nudged him towards it. "OK, OK. I'm going." He slowly started towards the image. Upon reach in front, he just froze. "So, what do I do?"

"Just talk to me, my child." The image spoke and looked right at him. Rye fell back in surprise. "Don't worry, young one. I am your mother." The image smiled at Rye. "My name is Aurora. Simply ask me any question you have and I will answer it."

Rye sat there starring at the Alicorn image. "Tell...no show me everything. How your our mother to why my brother is acting this way." The moment Rye spoke those words the room filled with a brilliant white light. As his vision returned he could see the room filled with lad equipment. As he looked around Rye noticed Pinkie was gone.

"Aurora! Aurora! We got it! The Portal finally connected to a new world!" A young unicorn shot up from behind a counsel. Rye looked around in bewilderment. "We can't hear anything but we can see the planet." From a separate room walked in Aurora. Her fur was a dark violet while her mane and tail were pastel rainbow. Her cutie mark was that of a group of stars connected by small lines resembling an Alicorn.

Rye stared at her as she walked over to see the results. "Nicely done Starswirl. Record the results and coordinates then shut it down. Check the crystals and the rest of the equipment for any damage. Then set up for the final go tomorrow morning. I have a few last minute details to setup before then." Aurora turned and left to a small room in the farthest corner.

Rye followed her into the room. She was facing a crystal, light emanated from it onto Aurora "My sweet children. I leave these crystals for you both. I am sorry I can't be here to guide you. This is my last one. It will be here to call you to my lab once you call upon the Alicorn half locked inside yourselves. I know you are also wondering how i know of you two. My youngest assistant Starswirl created a potion to peek into the future. As i drank from it, i saw many futures take place. But one stood out above the others."

Rye walked closer to her side, tears fell silently down his cheeks. "There stood two half Alicorn beings on two hooves. They were over shadowed by the shadow lord of the shade. I understand its not a lot to go on but I knew what i had to do. I was sure the two half-lings were related me since my main reason for the potion was to try and find the rainbow stones to help bring peace. Legend spoke of six of them. I was sure they were lost and that some were there had to be more like them. I pray your world will have them or something like them. I must go now my children." Her horn glowed and the crystal grew dark before floating to a near by pile.

As the stone gently lay on top of the others, Aurora sighed. Her emotions were running a bit wild. She was feeling scared but only what will happen after she is gone, she worried for her kind and her student. Steadying her nerves, she returned to Starswirl side to aid in finishing up for the experiment to take place in the afternoon. "Do you have everything ready for the final run?" Starswirl lifted his head from under the counsel with wires in his mouth. A grin plastered on his face, he nodded genetically before returning under the counsel. "Very good, I'll go make something to eat. Then we must talk."

Rye could see Starswirl peer over the counsel edge. "I wish there could be an other way, we all are going to be lost without your kind." Rye noticed a small tear slowly work its way down Starswirl's cheek. Rye didn’t fully understand all he was seeing but it was clear this was hours before Aurora had left her home for good. With out notice, the entire cavern shook violently. Aurora dashed back into the room only to seal the only door behind her. "What's going on?"

Aurora turned, fear filled her eyes. "They found us, i don’t know how but the shadow lord is here also. We must turn it on now, quickly! Before he breaks through. Once its open and i step through speak nothing of Alicorn again. For a time we will be forgotten but not gone. Hurry..." She darted back into the small room together all the crystals. Floating in front of her, she lay them by Starswirl "Final note, set up the largest crystal in the dead center of the room after you destroy everything. Then place the others in some pattern on it. I may be able to get shadow lord to follow me in, if that happens some kind of peace should return shortly after."

The cave walls shook once more. Magical traps could be heard going off in the farthest reaches of the cavern. "Aurora, they got in. They will be here in five minutes." Starswirl was rushing around setting up the machines as the walls shook more and traps went off. "Don't worry, I'll take care of everything..." The minutes ticked by quickly. Just as he turned on the device the final barrier Aurora setup was blasted open. Starswirl hide low and held his breath.

The room slowly filled with black smoke. The voice that followed was heavy and raspy. "Go my shadow warriors. Find her and kill. But leave any others alive for slaves." Masses of smoke billowed across the floor. Starswirl was shaking with intense fear when he heard a large blast. "You foolish Alicorn This will be you end....AAAAAHHHHH!" Starswirl barely peeked up to see the shadow lord rushing Aurora who was in front of the portal. She only held a grin as she turned and jumped in. "You won't get away from me that easily!" A large billow of smoke with red eyes and sharp claws rushed into the portal after her.

The other shadow creatures suddenly froze in place. Starswirl slowly stood up and looked at the creatures. "So they cant live with their master..." Rye walked in front of the portal as it was slowly closing, Starswirl turned to see the last place he saw his master. His jaw hung open ever so slightly. "You're real!" Starswirl nearly screamed. Rye quickly spun around facing the unicorn. "Oh my gosh. I can't believe it. The energy must be traveling in time as well... You look just as she described. An Alicorn on two hooves...." Rye looked at Starswirl questioningly, but didn't know the light had given his wings and horn a mystic like glow even though he didn't call them out. "listen carefully, i will leave a detailed journal behind hidden in the capital city or royal palace which ever may come. It will contain spells to aid in fighting the darkness once it returns. I will do what i can for now. You are not alone in this... Good luck" just as he finished speaking to Rye the portal closed up.

That moment Starswirl turned his attention back to the shadow creatures. "now to end this..." Magic gathered at the tip of his horn till it glowed as bright as the sun. As he released the energy a blinding light filled the room. Rye quickly shut his eyes, a few minutes later he could hear hooves on the crystals coming towards him.

"There you are, silly. You should have said you wanted to play hide seek. But now I found you! So what did I win!" Rye hardly opened his eyes as Pinkie jumped on him. She was smiling real big as if waiting for some hidden treat. Rye couldn't help but help but laugh.

"I wasn't playing a game, you silly filly. But I am glad to see you. And... I now understand why we are here. But ..." A slight frown came to his face, "I still don't get how to get my brother back." The crystals that lay at the base of the image of Aurora began to glow. Pinkie's jaw hung open as the crystals started to spin around in a circle. "Pinkie, what are you staring at?"

A male voice resounded from behind, "Inside these stones lay the magic used during the time of the shadow wars. The Alicorn most powerful secret is stored here only to be used by the decedents of Aurora Borealis. You who are her child, must learn the ways of unicorn magic before such power can be released to you. Take these stones and learn, but be warned only the most powerful unicorns and Alicorn can use these. All others shall perish to protect these secrets." The crystals slowed and returned to their previous positions.

Rye had been frozen in place the moment he heard Starswirl voice echo out of the crystals. "My child, if you wish to leave this place simply speak my true name and the location you wish to be. Mind you, this only works for this world alone... I am sorry." Rye smirked knowing he can get his brother back, maybe defeat this shadow lord and who knows what else.

"Pinkie, do you have a bag? We need to get these and go. The others have to be worried." Pinkie pulled up a bag already full with the crystals in her mouth. "Wow, OK hold tight to that. Aurora Borealis!" the large stone started to glow. "Canterlot Castle Thorn Room!" A bright flash blinded Rye and Pinkie for a moment only to see the thorn room start to materialize. Guards had taken position around them, Rye could see it was dark outside and Luna sat on the thorn.

Once the spell finished Luna quickly had the guards stand down. "Pinkie pie, friend of Twilight Sparkle. Who is this creature and how did you get in here?" The guards only moved to let the princess by. Rye gently took the bag from Pinkie and nodded at her. She happily told what took place up till rye vanished. Luna looked over at the boy. "So you are the one our sister spoke of. It has been two days since you both had been taken. Show them to their rooms, come morning our sister and we would like to hear your side of this... Rye am i correct?"

Rye nodded before giving a slight bow. "Some rest will be nice but if you don't mind I am very much hungry. Is there a place I can get some food?" Luna smiled at his polite yet somewhat rough attitude. "Pinkie if you wish, you can join me." Rye smiled at her, "Of course Princess you're more then welcome to join me if you're able."

Pinkie just shook her head, "thanks but I'm OK. I'll see you later." Pinkie turned and followed a guard out of the room. Rye turned his attention back to Luna. She had started across the room shortly after Pinkie left. Rye followed behind her slowly. His thoughts filled with everything he saw back in that cave. His face grew very serious as the scenes replayed in his mind.

"We shall head to the dinning hall. There we will have the chef prepare a meal for us both." As Luna looked back at him she could see that events were filling him with worry. "If you wish to talk to us, we are willing to listen. So is our sister and your new friends." Rye looked at her questioningly. Luna gave him a caring smile, "don't think you haven't made an impression on them. They saw you as a friend the minute you showed them such trust as to share your life with them. And you also seem to have a rematch with the captain of the guards. Something about going all out."

Rye laughed as he recalled the fight. "Thank you, princess. And some one to talk to would be nice. But can it wait till after we eat. I don't like to ruin a good meal with sour thoughts." Luna nodded and continued towards the dinning hall.

Meanwhile in Celestia's room, Twilight and Celestia were sitting on the balcony enjoying a cup of tea together. "You're still worried about him, my dear student. But fear not, this young stallion is stronger then we give him credit for. But his emotional state is in turmoil, the many deaths he had to endure weights heavy on him." A stern knock interrupted Celestia's train of thought. "Enter."

A guard opened the door and bowed. "Twilight Sparkle, your friend Pinkie Pie has returned with Rye. She has retired to her room for the night, but Rye and Luna have gone to the dinning hall. Your sister thinks it's a good idea to wait till he is rested before learning what has happened to him." Celestia nodded to the guard and he took his leave. Twilight sighed and smiled.

"Do you wish to see him?" Twilight shook her head. He needed rest and she was growing tired. "It's good to see you relax some. Shall we continue this in the morning?" Twilight nodded, stood and proceed to leave. "We shall see you at sunrise, my faithful student."

As the door closed behind her, Twilight let out a deep sigh. It was apparent that she hadn't rested since the day she found out Rye and Pinkie had been whisked away by magic. Making the long trek back to her own room seemed to take hours. Her body grew exhausted with each step. Thinking back over the last few days didn't help much.

(Two days ago)

"Rainbow, what's going on?" Twilight took a canteen from her satchel and passed it to Rainbow Dash. Drinking most of the content she told Twilight about the entire fight and then Rye's sudden departure. The look on her face was of great concern.

"That's not all, Pinkie is gone also. I think she might be with Rye. Not sure, but I gave it my all. I'm sorry Twi, I should have been faster." Rainbow just laid there, sadness ever growing on her. Applejack shook her head before making her way to Rainbow's side.

"Now don'cha fret none, Rainbow. You did all ya could and we are proud of it." Applejack placed a hoof on Rainbows shoulder. Smiling up at Applejack, Rainbow slowly made her way to her hooves. The exhaustion could be seen in her movements, Applejack stood next to her coaxing her to lean the offered support. Both Rainbow and Applejack made their way back inside the castle to let Rainbow rest.

Twilight shook herself into focus, "Let's tend to the injured first. We can send a scouting party to see if they can find a trace of Rye or Pinkie." Twilight turned to her friends. "Rarity, we need clean dressings for any wounds and fresh blankets. Fluttershy, I'd like you to help tend to injured. Once Applejack gets back, have her help carry ponies into the med ward. I'll set up a route for the scouts to follow. OK let's get this done!" Her friends cheered and split off to help each pony.

Celestia smiled before returning back inside. As the rest of the day progressed, no sign of Rye or Pinkie was seen. The injured were minimal and the repairs were underway. Twilight and her friends retired to the dinning hall while the guards finished the clean up. After they had their fill, they retired for the night.
As the sun rose each of the girls set off to help were they could, but Twilight headed to the library.

She spent most of the night researching the old journal that was found, and who this S.S. is that signed the last page. "I don't get it. Why were such powerful spells left in a journal? And why was it hidden so deep in the archives?" Twilight spent the entire day and most of the night reading book after book. The sun was slowly raising into the sky when the librarian walked over to Twilight.

Gently shaking from the librarian jolted Twilight awake. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sleep in here." A light blush came to Twilights cheeks. Nodding the librarian went about her work while Twilight went back to learning more about the journal. Pulling out some old scrolls by Starswirl the Bearded for referencing, she noticed the signature was S.S.B. Her jaw slowly dropped as a revelation came to her. "Oh sweet Celestia! This was Starswirl the Bearded s journal. But why did he hide it?"

Spending the rest of the day reading the journal over and over, hoping to find some clues to what is going on. The moon had just risen as Celestia walked in. "Twilight, my faithful student, come with me. You have been locked up in here for days now. Let's go to my room and talk over some tea." Twilight looked at her mentor with eyes full of worry and exhaustion. Celestia placed a hoof on her shoulder coaxing her to stand and follow. Twilight sighed but got up, packed her things and followed.

(present day)

The sun had just began to rise when a loud knocking came to Rye’s bedroom door. Groaning he burred himself deeper into the blankets. The knocking persisted but Rye didn't move, out side the door the guard was growing impatient. Twilight was walking past when she noticed the frustrated guard "Is something wrong?"

The guard looked back at her and frowned. "I was sent to retrieve Rye. But i can't get him to answer. The princess wishes to know what happened to him and what those crystals are for." The guard knocked harder, growing even more frustrated. Twilight smiled slightly.

"I'll tend to him, let the princess know we will arrive once he is ready." The guard nodded and walked off. Twilight knocked on the door but waited for no response before heading in. Rye was sprawled across the bed with his head hanging off the edge. Twilight noted his cloths were folded neatly on the chair by the desk. "Rye, it's time to wake up." Twilight used her magic to force the blanket off him.

"Five more minutes mom, please. Damien kept me up all night...." Rye rolled to his stomach. Twilight gasped as she saw the claw like scars that littered his back. Rye continued lightly snoring as Twilight got closer, a evil grin came to her as she got an idea on how to wake him. Levitating the flower out of the vase and setting them aside before she lifted the vase its self.

"Rye, you need to get up. I'll drench you if you don't" Rye just groaned and covered his face with his arm. "I warned you." Twilight brought the vase over his head and turned it over. With a scream and falling off the bed Rye was defiantly awake. Giving Twilight a very annoyed look as she grinned down at him. "Glad to see your awake. The princess wants to see you."

Rye grumbled as he wrapped the sheet around his waist, "That was cold, Twilight." She only giggled a bit, "OK, I'll be ready in a few... After i shower of course." Twilight nodded and left the room. Rye got to his feet and headed to the private bathroom. Fifteen minutes past by before Rye walked into the hall. He noticed Twilight was waiting for him. "I'm ready, let's go."

In the throne room both Luna and Celestia were seated waiting for Rye to show. "So, sister, what do you think of our guest." Celestia looked over at Luna, who seemed a bit distracted this morning. "Luna, what's on your mind? You seem distant."

Snapping out of her thoughts, Luna looked at Celestia. "we're sorry, sister. The young stallions dreams were horrible. He has seen and been the cause of so much death, but in the name of freedom. He fought to save so many lives yet took many in turn. It all weights heavy on his heart." Just then the door open and a guard announced Rye and Twilight.

"We will talk more about this with him in private later sister. For now let us find out what happened recently." Luna nodded in agreement with Celestia. Once Rye and Twilight reached the thrones both bowed in respect to the princesses. "Rye, Twilight, I hope you both got plenty of rest. If you don't mind, please tell us what happened to you." Rye sighed as he bared himself for the long tale.

An hour had passed by as Rye finally ended his tale. "You got to see Starswirl the bearded!" Twilight couldn't restrain her excitement. "What was he like? Did he..." Rye placed his finger over her lips. A blush came to her cheeks.

"First, yes i saw him but didn't meet. Second he was really young cause he was just called Starswirl. Third, he mentioned a book he would leave hidden in the capital." Twilight and Celestia looked at each other before Celestia nodded. Twilight then removed a book from her saddle bag. Rye stepped closer, placing his hands under it, Twilight released the book. As if calling to him, Rye started to flip through the pages.

As he reach the middle, a spell stood out before his eye. In a trance, a silhouette of his horn became visible, he started to read it aloud. "From kingdoms lost, and harmony found. In this moment, let the truth ring loud. Let all secrets be heard." Back in Rye’s room the bag of crystals were glowing. Each crystal burst from the bag and broke through the door.

Rye blinked a few times, "what...what just happened?" Twilight quickly took the book back from Rye. Celestia and Luna could feel powerful magic was just released. Both princess took stances in case they had to fight back. "Twi, what's going on?" Rye felt a bit unease by the actions each pony was taking. "come..." The crystals suddenly burst into the throne room and started to encircle him. Rye look at Twilight with fear in his eyes.

The crystals began to bath Rye in a mystical light. A deep voice rang through the room, "Forged in the fires of Tartarus of metal only found deep under the mystic forest, Tempered by the mists of the floating city, and balanced by magic of a master lost. For the first born Princes of this land." A loud clank was heard before the light finally dissipated and the crystals went dormant.

Once the lighting returned to normal, Luna's jaw hung open. Rye was wearing golden armor. In the chest plate was magically eched his cutie mark. A black mass with a star in the center casting light outwards. The helmet and back were even modified to fit his wings and horn when called for. Rye looked to his left and saw similar armor but all black. "I will get you back, brother."

Author's Note:

sorry this took so long to get out, I'm in and out of the hospital for chemo treatments. I will try my best to get chapters out as i can.

Comments

[Silvia_Stargazer]

I hope you do better! And this chapter was amazeing and I can't wait for more!