Epilogue, Moon Rocks
Stories in Stone
Luna's Royal Guard
By TDR
Epilogue
Moon Rocks
Twilight rubbed her eyes and sighed. Her ears perked up as Rarity closed the book with a dull thud. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy sat on the couch with Applejack between them, muttering something among themselves. Pinkie Pie had been strangely quiet while Rarity caught up in the story, though she had slipped away to raid the fridge at some point along with Spike.
The purple unicorn still wondered what her friends were thinking about all of this. Luna did not need them to make her decision, but she would still be going by what they decided. Well, Twilight thought, she might go with what they decided; it was hard to tell what the Princess of the Night was thinking. Even if they all said no, however, Luna may ask another group the same question in the future, despite knowing that Twilight was still on the fence with her choice. There were reasons to let them free and just as many to keep them imprisoned.
She briefly looked to the blade lying in the open case on the table. It was all set to be sent back to the princess along with the decision they came to. The only thing still nagging her was Luna's suggestion that she follow the scry until the blade was sealed.
Why would it matter? The princess had said there was nothing that would influence her decision, so she had not bothered to check it out before letting the others make their choice. Still, she figured she would look once things were over tonight.
Pinkie and Spike moved back out of the kitchen as Rarity rubbed her chin a little, thinking on what she had just finished.
“Honestly, Twilight darling, I did not really expect all that. Didn't the princess say she had used the Elements of Harmony to seal Nightmare Moon?”
“In a sense, she did; well, the bearers of the Elements, at any rate.”
“What about the Elements themselves? Where did they go?”
“I think to that machine in Winnysor that Luna built. That must have been the device we found them on.”
Fluttershy spoke up, “Umm, why would she leave them there? Wouldn't it be dangerous to have them in the open like that that?”
“Well, to be honest, I don't think anyone knew where they went, and if they did, would they recognize them as the stone balls we found? They were armor when most ponies saw them.”
Spike piped in.
“It might just be something else that happened. There's still a lot left to figure out. The point is, we have all the information we need. Luna wants to know if the five of them should be free again. That's what we are here to decide.”
“‘We’, Spike?”
“Don't even try to tell me I don't get a say in this. I know more about what went on than anyone aside from you; that includes the two princesses that were there. Celestia forgot most of it and Luna wasn’t there for all of it.”
“How do you know so much then?”
“I've copied that story at least four times over. I can probably recite whole sections of it just from memory. I have also seen some of the stuff you had me edit out. too.”
“Good point. Okay, I’ll get your vote too. That works out better anyway in case we wind up deadlocked.”
Twilight unrolled a blank parchment and looked around at the others as she readied her quill. She was set to document all this to send to Princess Luna.
“So who wants to start? Aside from just saying yes or no, it might help to give the reason why.”
Rarity shook out her mane, looking to the others.
“If no one minds, I would like to give my decision while all that I have read is still fresh in my mind.” A few nods and a shrug were the only response; the white unicorn took that as a sign to go ahead. She cleared her throat, gesturing with a forehoof.
“Yes, they should indeed be freed, and forgiven for what was done. After a thousand years trapped in the moon, Nightmare Moon was forgiven by Celestia rather easily. What they did was indeed dreadful, but they worked hard to fix it, even allowing themselves to be locked away as punishment. If Luna can be allowed back into society, why should they not have the same release for the same acts?”
Twilight jotted all of it down as a few muttered comments passed between the others. A loud meep from Fluttershy brought Twilight's attention to the pale yellow pegasus. Fluttershy glared back at Applejack, who simply had a grin on her face.
“You okay, Fluttershy?”
“Um, yes. I'm fine... I just…” She bit her lip, straightening up and trying to ignore everyone staring at her. “No.”
Twilight blinked, not having expected this choice from her. The word being spoken seemed to give her a bit of confidence as she continued.
“They are all warriors and soldiers. Even with some of the troubles that we have now a days, Equestria is still a land of peace. Nearly all of our issues come from either misunderstood ponies or monsters that wander in from the Everfree forest. The monsters are just misunderstood, but after reading the story, they all seem to have an 'attack first and not ask questions unless they miss killing someone,' way about them. Honestly, there may be a time we need ponies like that again, but it is not now.”
“Okay, thank you, Fluttershy. So who's next?”
“I might as well get this out of the way, not really in the mood to be thinking about this.”
“Umm, okay Rainbow, go ahead.”
“Yeah they should be free. I mean, heck, can you think of what it would be like to be able to fly with the only other pony to do a Sonic Rainboom? How awesome is that?”
Applejack facehoofed as Dash went on to describe a few maneuvers. Twilight was about to cut her friend off when the rainbow-haired pegasus's entire tone changed back to the somewhat darker mood she had been in earlier. “...There's also the fact that no matter what happened, they stuck by their friends, no matter the differences or the problems. They were always there to help each other out. We could use a little more loyalty like that in the world...”
Twilight tilted her head, watching Dash deflate. The others had looks of concern as well. What had happened when Rainbow had missed that night of study to rush back to Cloudsdale?
Twilight was about to say something when a hoof holding a pink frosted cupcake was shoved into Rainbow Dash's face. The pegasus blinked, looking down, before taking the cup cake. A slightly amused look crossed her face as Pinkie Pie patted her on the head with a “there, there” and bounded into the middle of the room.
“Dashie is right; it could be a whole lot of fun. I vote yes that they should be free, ‘cause no pony should be a rock. I mean’ unless they were born a rock, but then they wouldn’t be a pony. I mean, come on, bo~ring! They were just good ponies tossed into a bad situation and had to make choices the best they could at the time, or they let their emotions get the better of them in certain cases. I mean, sure Rhede could have held back, but that was sorta a family member and he was really protective of them. I mean what would happen if one of us did something really bad without meaning to or kept a secret that could be an issue if it ever came out? Would everyone hate us, or would they remember we stopped Discord, and parasprites and Nightmare Moon and that dragon with the snoring... what was up with him, anyway? I mean there's other dragons and their snoring doesn't blot out the sun, ooooh maybe he was a dragon god and smoke was his thing! That would make a whole lot of sense and I bet the writer of this fic is getting bored now trying to figure out what I am supposed to say next so I better stop but this is a run on sentence from heck here that just not want to stop though I guess what I really am saying is we need to free them so Luna can be happy and they can be happy and we can party and can hear that dragon sing and hit Jer'rahd with a pie so maybe he'll cheer up or at least smile ‘cause I’ve never seen a pony with fangs except the fake ones Luna put in for Nightmare Night and that was fun and scary and she was like ROAR and I was like AH! NIGHTMARE MOON! and I ran then Twilight caught me and I said it was fun being scared and ooomph!!!”
Rather than eat the cupcake, Rainbow Dash had done everyone else a favor and shoved it into Pinkie Pie's mouth.
“Okay that's three yeses and one no. Applejack?”
“I reckon ah'll make this short after that rampage there. Ah say no. They killed an awful lot of ponies and critters that didn't deserve it right along with the ones that did. That they tried tah stop Nightmare Moon doesn't mean a thing since they all did it for their own reasons. It may have been tah save a friend, but they shoulda’ done somthin’ sooner. They coulda’ stopped her themselves, but they chose a gamble that really didn't have much chance tah pay off anyway. One that could have cost more lives than it woulda saved if Celestia hadn’t done what she did. The five had selfish intentions to tha very end. That ain’t a reason tah be forgiven.”
Twilight blinked, looking at the farm pony with a bit of interest. She was not sure if the revelation that the Apples were descended from the Pelts and quite possibly Rhede had swayed her decision, but it was a valid point.
“That should not matter much, Applejack. As I stated, Nightmare Moon did not even have that selfish act to her name and she was forgiven.”
“A selfish act is still a selfish act.”
Applejack and Rarity start bickering over each other’s decisions, with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie throwing into the argument every so often.
“GIRLS, STOP! I am here to find out what you think, not to have a discussion group. We can do that later once I hear from everyone. Spike.”
The little dragon had been sitting back quietly, polishing off a plate of cupcakes.
“Glad to see you remembered me this time.”
“Don't start that again, Spike; you wanted a vote, now's your chance.”
“Spiky, you agree with me, don't you?”
“Rarity, stop trying to sway his vote.”
“No, I don't, Rarity, and no. After everything was said and done, they all had choices. They could have picked a harder choice that would have resulted in less death nearly every time. Sure they couldn't stop the dragons peacefully, but they didn't have to go after Cindervale, or Aqua, or the griffons. Rhede and Starfall did not need to suddenly go for blood, Velkorn preached about doing away with the stereotypes of her race but was more than willing to follow them and kill that foal. Jer'rahd could have stopped being star-eyed for Luna long enough to see what the problem was and try to fix it instead of just fawning over her. The only one out of the entire group of them that I think has a chance of forgiveness is Bleu, and we can't let her out without the others, so they all should stay. Every choice they made was the wrong one and they kept making them. They never learned from their mistakes until it was too late to matter anymore. They should stay locked up. I figure someday maybe they might be freed, but I don't want to see it anytime soon. “
Spike crossed his arms, staring up at Twilight as she wrote everything down. Rarity looked a little hurt, while Applejack had a smug look on her face. Dash looked annoyed and Pinkie had a sad look. Fluttershy was likely under the couch still, where she hid when Rarity and AJ had started bickering.
“Alright then, that makes it three for and three against. Figures I would be the tie breaker.”
“More like ‘fitting’, darling. As Spiky said, you have seen more of this than anyone else. I dare say you may have even developed a better understanding of it than even those who where there. They would only have been able to see their own side of things and you were able to view it from everypony’s standpoint.”
“That's true. ‘Sides, you were the first one that was asked to check this out. If you hadn’a gone to the gardens, none of us would even know anything about it at all.”
Rainbow Dash nodded lightly and Pinkie smile.d looking to be ready to say something when she spotted the clock and freaked out.
“Oh no, it’s nearly noon? I need to get back to foalsit for the Cakes. Sorry I can't stay, Twilight, but you know how Mrs. Cake stresses over time.”
“Alright, bye then, Pinkie...” The pink pony was gone before Twilight even managed to finish the sentence.
“I hate to run as well, Twilight, but I do have a few dresses on an order I must complete. I don’t want to leave you without having a nice discussion, but I am afraid it cannot be helped. I am sure Applejack will agree that we should let you draw your own conclusion instead of trying to sway you.”
“Sounds more like somthin’ you'd do. Ah gotta git back to the farm any way. Ya might wanna head home, too, Fluttershy. Mac's gonna bring another load of them old apples for yer critters.”
Rainbow Dash's ears perked up a little though she still seemed a little morose as she looked to the farm pony.
“Spike, yah gonna keep watch on Apple Bloom an’ the others today?”
“Yep; they plan to try their hooves at baking with Granny Smith. I am definitely not gonna miss that. Even their worst could turn out pretty good.”
“Ah keep fergetting you liked those baked bad things... alright, ah'll let ‘em know yer coming.”
“Right.”
Twilight watched as Rarity and Applejack bickered a little more before heading out the door. It was not nearly as bad as when she first met them both, though the pair seemed to have more fun arguing than anything else. Dash sat back on the couch, yawning a little before looking at Twilight.
“So you going to do it then?”
“What? Do what, Rainbow?”
“Spike said earlier that Luna came by and told you there was more to see. Weather duty’s light today, so Cloud Kicker can handle it. I'm kinda curious as to what else there might be. I doubt it's gonna change my mind, but you need somepony here to watch you anyhow. I'm free ‘til later tonight, so I'll keep watch for you.”
“You sure? I haven't gotten any more books that are up your alley as of late.”
“Nah, its fine. I figure I’ll look back over what you wrote. I wanna see if maybe I missed something that AJ saw that made her choose ‘no’. Otherwise, we will probably argue about it for a while.”
“Well, alright, if you're sure.”
“Yeah, I’m not feeling up to much at the moment, anyway.”
Twilight looked back as Rainbow Dash pulled open the tome to start reading the story again. She could tell something was wrong with the light blue pegasus, but she couldn't tell what. She sighed, planning to ask later after she was done with this. One more look wouldn't hurt. The Princess of the Moon had gotten her curiosity up again.
The purple unicorn cast the spell, letting the familiar feeling wash over her as she was pulled into the magic world. She opened her eyes, looking at only one window: the one that lead to the Waning Moon.
She sighed, saddened that this was the last visit before she sent the weapon back to Celestia, before slipping into the window.
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It had been three months since the defeat of Nightmare Moon and the Lunar Republic. Far too much had happened in such a short time. Winnysor Castle and the Lunar Republic city around it were destroyed utterly, with only a few sections of the castle itself remaining, at Celestia's order. The throne room in particular was to be left undisturbed with the strange device in its center with the five Elements of Harmony resting on it, frozen in stone as their bearers were.
The 42nd had remained where Jer'rahd had sent them last: the ruins of Dullahan and the abandoned military base that was there. When the Royal Guard and the allied armies of the nations arrived demanding their surrender, the officers refused. They cited they had been ordered by the only one they followed to hold this position. They were not leaving. One large attempt was made by the joint forces to remove the ponies from the military fort and the ruins of the city. That met with total disaster and the 42nd held their ground still. A few smaller attempts were made to remove Luna's Hoof from the area as well; all met with failure.
Finally, an ambassador was sent in to negotiate, as Celestia had seen enough death. The 42nd agreed to surrender, but refused to vacate the area. It was eventually allowed, though several Royal Guard outposts were set up in the area to make sure the group would not try anything.
Though unhappy with the allowance, the joint armies agreed with Celestia's solution, if reluctantly.
========================================
When the issue with the half-dragons was addressed, it was not due to them being hunted down as the 42nd was. A month after Nightmare Moon's defeat, a dozen of the older half-dragons flew into Canterlot. A flight of Royal Guard pegasi went out to intercept the small group, and finding they were unarmed and unarmored, escorted them back to the castle itself.
Celestia allowed the small group into the still-damaged throne room to speak with them. The large half-dragon, Lion Heart, spoke for the group.
“I wish that you would show my kind mercy, Princess. There are far too few of us left for any more losses. What Nightmare Night did not kill, the war did. There are barely a hundred of my race left and only about two hundred of the new breed. If you still require justice to be served for our actions, those of us who have come here, the leaders of our race, will accept that punishment. We only ask that you spare the others who were following our orders.”
“No.”
The half-dragons winced at the stern face and answer the Princess had given. None of them made a move, however, though several of the Royal Guards moved around them. Lion Heart's ears droopd, but his gaze remained unwaveringly on the Princess. Celesta ignored the looks and continued,
“There has been enough death and sacrifice in Equestria as of late. You are correct that what has been done cannot go unpunished. The Minotaur have been removed from the council of races and are forced to live on the fringes of the lands to be considered by many as little more than monsters. It time, perhaps, they will be ready to rejoin, but they are a stubborn lot. You, however, have come to me. That shows some merit, admitting you were in the wrong and yet still trying to save the rest of your kind. I am well aware of your creation and what the dragons of the Flame Party did. I only offer you one option.”
Lion Heart perked his ears, listening as the others glanced from him to the Princess.
“You will disband all military forces you have, as well as cease training of said forces that you may be undergoing. Your land was devastated and you will need all of those that would be an army to rebuild it. You will submit to becoming a providence of Equestria and swear to me as you did to my sister. I will not have a military leader in any of my providences, so none of your rank and file nonsense will apply, even that which came about from your time with the dragons. The remaining Shadowbolts that accompanied your initial retreat fall under this requirement as well.”
The half-dragon nodded, but his expression gave no indication on whether he approved of what she asked or not.
“Furthermore, in light of your actions, as well as a partial agreement I made to someone in regards to your loyalty and decisions in the Lunar Republic before its fall, I am appointing you, Lion Heart, as governor of the new province. There will, of course, be Royal Guard stationed and a selection of advisers and investigators to make certain you follow the guidelines that you will receive as the Gallopagos becomes a providence of Equestria. Is this acceptable, or will there be issue?”
The half-dragon regarded her curiously a moment, his ears flat to his head. The Royal Guards around the group shifted their weapons as if to emphasis what might happen if there was a issue. Lion Heart remained unfazed by the bolster, his gaze yet to have left Celestia.
“I question your choice of the one to lead, Princess, but I will abide by it if that is what is required to save the others.”
The large half-dragon sank to a bow before the Princess of the Sun, the others following suit.
====================================================
A lone pegasus stood on the raised dais, staring at the five new statues added to the garden. Cloud Dancer sighed, shifting the rucksack draped over her back, making sure her wings were free so she could fly. The white bleaching of her mane and tail was starting to fade and the bright pink was showing again at the roots. She exhaled deeply, staring at the stone face of her mother; even in rock, the mare looked saddened. Her ears perked at the sound of hoof falls behind her.
“I figured I would find you here.”
“You realize I have been sitting here waiting for you about an hour now, right, Cyan?”
“Not my fault you can fly; some of us still have to walk.”
“Please, don't tell me you're getting old already. You were faster than this in basic.”
The unicorn snorted his annoyance and stepped from the thin hidden path to the surface of the marble rise. He moved to the edge to look out over the garden, the Brilliant Dawn and Waning Moon hanging on either side of his torso.
“So you still plan to leave?”
“Yeah.”
“We could still use you. There are a great number of issues that might still need some fancy flying to deal with.”
“I am not going to be like my mother. I only joined the Guard to get over my fear of her and bring her to justice and I did that. I have no other use for the Guard now that my own revenge is done.”
“I suppose. So what are you going to do now?”
“There's still a lot of ponies in this world that need help. I am not against doing that, just not with the Guard. Maybe the King's Cross, though I don't know anything about medicine. Maybe they need a messenger or something. Pity I can't just help by flying.”
“That is not entirely true.”
“What, you know something?”
“Yeah, sorta; it is a bit of a long shot I suppose. You know where your mother got the idea for the Shadowbolts, right?”
“She claimed it was from an old stunt show that traveled with the Equestrian Service Organization. She said she enjoyed the one show of theirs she saw, but they were all wiped out in Dullahan trying to fight back against the attacking force, even though they were civilians.”
“Yep. Well you know that mare I met when I got out of basic?”
“The one calling herself Silver Sparkle? Yeah, what about her?”
“That's her stage name. It was a stage name her aunt used as her first stage name. Anyway, she’s trying to rebuild the ESO.
She already made a name for herself by being the one the Platinum Swan chose as their lead singer for their first tour season. Celestia has also agreed to help her rebuild the ESO to what it once was. Equestria needs something like that after all that has happened, a way to forget about the troubles for a while. She is looking to find replacements for the Wonderbolts as well. I suggested you as the first one to talk to.”
“I am not much of an entertainer.”
“But you fly, and you are one of the best, if not the best left now...” He glanced to the frozen Starfall. “Buck, you have always been one push away from being able to do a Sonic Rainboom yourself. Besides, it is not as if you would be stuck just being a show mare. A unit like that could also be used for rescues and a fast response team to disasters. The full list of what they would do would be up to you… if you accepted the offer to be in charge of the group.”
Cloud Dancer chuckled. “I never will make that push, Cyan. If nothing else, my mother can remain the only pegasus to do a Rainboom. I will leave her that. As for the Wonderbolts? I might look into it after a time. Not like I am doing anything else with my life.”
“I suppose I could not ask for much more than that. You know where to find me when you decide.”
The pegasus nodded as she walked over to the stone statue of Starfall, brushing a wing feather over the frozen figure’s cheek.
“I don't hate you, mommy. I never really did.”
She launched herself into the air, wings spread wide as she flew off into the cloudless sky.
=========================================
“So she left as well? Do you think she may take up the offer?”
“It is possible, Princess. She might also go help with that new pegasus city, Cloudsdale, or whatever it was going to be called.”
Celestia sighed, sitting back in her cushion and looking down at the table before her. Baelit sat to one side of her and Cyan simply stood on the other side of the table. Behind him, Fox and a Wolf stood patiently.
The food before them all was, of course, some of the best, and the Princess regretted letting it go to waste, but even after a month, she was still struggling to hold back the onset of depression. Damn that Kaisur for being right about something yet again.
“Yes, Cloudsdale. In all honesty, they could use one of her skill as well. With the Nightmare Night disaster as well as all the weather changes we ourselves have done with Winter Wrap-Up, Equestria is now in need of full-time weather pegasi. In its current state, the environment is still too unpredictable and potentially disastrous. It seems that the rumors of Aqua controlling the weather over the seas as well as the waters themselves were not simply rumors. Cloudsdale will be needed to ensure that Equestria is not turned into a wasteland by the forces of nature itself. What of Proud Tail?”
“Chief Proud Tail is still participating in the mourning ritual following the death of his father. When that is over, he will become their chief to lead them to the new grazing lands for the summer. He will not be returning to your Guard, Princess, much like Cloud Dancer.”
“I did not expect he would. He realized I was using you all against Luna's Generals.”
“He was content with that Princess. He was using the Guard to try and gain the power that his father had. With the tribal tattoo magic he rediscovered, he may very well have done just that. Besides, we all knew that was why you gathered us together. We all had our own reasons for agreeing to join your personal guard, and while it did not work out as we hoped, this was still a better solution than many predicted outcomes.”
The white unicorn glanced at the notes floating before him in the air. “Shall I continue with the reports?”
“Yes. Please do, Cyan.”
“Manehatten is already up and running. The city itself was rebuilt over the ruins of the old city, atop a pony-made island in the middle of the water, of all things. The 42nd have begun rebuilding Dullahan as a city. There is talk of setting it up as a shipping port. Major Dutch- sorry, Govener Dutch, and his advisers have seemingly changed their strategy for holding on to the land. Since Horseshoe Bay and areas around it are technically new land due to their former existence as the Darklands, they were never claimed by Equestria. They are planning to invoke settlers’ right to hold the land and use it as they see fit.”
“They do realize that makes them accountable to Equestrian law again, correct?”
“It seems they do. It also allows them to continue to follow General Kaisur's final order to them to hold that position without causing further strife among the other nations. As with any new settlement, it will need to be named. Since Dullahan was wiped out completely and there are far too many against renaming it that anyway due to General Kaisur's nickname, they are looking to call it Baltimare”
“I did not expect Kaisur would put an idiot in charge of that unit; it seems I was correct. Go on, Cyan.”
“Let’s see... the new mountain range south of Hollow Shades has been dubbed the Foal Mountain Range, with the largest simply being Foal Mountain. Ponyville is now completely uninhabited to the point where not even the ruins really remain. A patrol into Winnysor confirmed there are no more forces in the ruins and the device and the Elements remain untouched, despite the massive destruction inflicted by our allies. Seems they were not willing to fiddle with something Nightmare Moon made.”
“How long until the representatives arrive?”
“Within the next month or so; things should have calmed enough for the conference. The dragons, harpies, and minotaurs will not be in attendance. The zebras, griffons, and diamond dogs will attend, as well as several of the other races, including a representative of the seaponies. Evidently, she was the former captain of the Princess Bride and one of the few seaponies not enthralled by Aqua. After Nightmare Night they started a colony along the string of islands that were once the mountain range keeping the Hooper Sea from the Equestrian Ocean.“
“While that is a good sign of peace with our waterborne cousins, why will the dragons not be attending? They are a primary race.”
“According to one of the remaining officers, there is only a few hundred of their race left, and they are all so scattered that there is no point in trying to pull them back together to find a leader. It was simply stated that the dragons would agree with the terms proposed by the Lunar Peace Pact when each individual dragon was made to do so. It seems that there is no longer a dragon nation at all, and yet they are still stubborn bucking creatures.”
“That will cause issues down the line, I am sure. Was that everything?”
“Almost, though I will let the Apple brothers speak with you first, as what remains is on a more personal level.”
“All right; Wolf, Fox, I gather everything has gone well for your family?”
The lanky pony shrugged, blowing a bit of hair out of his eyes. Wolf nodded lightly, letting his brother do most of the talking.
“Well enough. Maw is a bit eager to get a move on; itchy hooves from sitting in one place too long. She told me to thank you for the offer to use the grand ball room for the Apple family’s first Hearths Warming Party, but she declines. Too many bad memories, it seems. I can't really blame her, though she might appreciate a little help finding some ponies, if you are willing Princess.”
“Finding some ponies?”
The orange-furred pony held up a scroll with a hoof.
“Names of some mares and foals that she hasn't found yet. Seems Rhede managed to make her cry one last time with that final gift of his.” Celestia smiled softly.
“Now that that bit is out of the way, I figure you called us here again from setting up the caravan ‘cause you needed something.”
“I need you to write a book about what has happened, Fox.”
“I suppose I can do that. But wouldn't it be a better idea to cover it up?”
“I am already making sure most of the documents even regarding Luna's existence are removed: the artifacts, the stained glass windows, her throne, everything.”
“So why do you need me to write a book about the events? Wouldn't it be better if it was completely forgotten so that what she has done will be lost into history until you can find a cure for her?”
“I have calculated the amount of time that she will be sealed in the moon, Fox. It is one of the reasons I am allowing that day she was banished to become a holiday. The Summer Sun Celebration will not only be a remembrance of the Lunar Republic's fall, but also a reminder that on the thousandth year of that day, she well return.”
“I am still missing the point, Princess.”
“I need an old mares’ tale written, Fox; something that everyone will know, but no one will believe fully. When she does return, I will need something to give to the ones I have found who can use the Elements of Harmony to finally cure her. I failed the others by thinking of which of them I would sacrifice to keep Luna free. I was never their friend; my sister was. The ones who will be needed to cure her have yet to be found. When they are, I will need a book or a story that will tell them what they need to know to heal her.”
“You are asking me to craft a tale that will both be well-known and ignored at the same time, and that will teach someone in a thousand years how to harness the Elements of Harmony enough to stop your sister?”
“Yes.”
A rather wide grin crossed Fox's face that showed an uncanny resemblance to his older brother, Rhede.
“Sounds like fun. A little foals’ tale about a couple of sisters and a bit of jealousy about something simple should do nicely. Simple and memorable.”
“I shall enjoy reading it when you have finished, Fox. I take it you two are leaving the Guard to help the family?”
“Ooh, got it in one. There's a lot of work for us to do, Princess. As much fun as it would be to remain your Royal Guards, it was never really something to suit us farmer pony types. We agreed to get to Rhede, though that didn't turn out how anyone expected. But I will be sure to work on that book for you.”
“Thank you. I would ask you tell your mother one more thing for me.”
“What's that?”
“If her family is ever tired of their travels, weary from the road and wish a place to finally settle once more, come to me and I will ensure that the Apples, or whatever name your family follows then, will have a place in Ponyville.”
“Rather nice of you, Princess. But with how stubborn we are, don't expect that offer to be taken up for a long time.”
Celestia sighed as Fox pulls out some scrolls, starting to take notes on ideas as they crossed his mind. She looked over to Wolf, who simply shrugged and gestures to the white unicorn. “I suppose that brings us back to you, Cyan Sparkle. What was it you wished to bring up?”
“Just the notice of my retirement, Celestia.”
“What? Not you as well. Is everyone planning to leave?”
“I am not going anywhere, Princess; I am simply stepping down from a position in the Guard.”
“Why would you do that?”
“You seem to be missing a big part of this reconstruction, Princess. You have plenty of soldiers on your side. You do not have any nobles. Most of them still complain that you should have acted earlier and there are many, even after your actions, who do not consider you fit to rule anymore. The Sparkles were never a major house in the game, Princess, but the name is still very respected. I would not see everything that has been worked for unraveled because of petty greed and infighting, particularly not from those who think themselves better than anypony else. Someone will need to watch that group for you to make sure you stay several steps ahead of any plans against you.”
“You could remain a Royal Guard and still do that.”
“No, most will think that I am little more than a spy and will shut themselves off to me. As just a noble, I can get into things and end them before they get bad. We do not need another Order.”
He floated the Waning Moon and the Brilliant Dawn to the table before her, setting them lightly down on a clear spot.
“I never considered myself worthy of either of these, anyway. That, and my marefriend doesn't want to marry a guardspony.”
“You do work fast. Did you not only meet her just out of basic? “
“That was a year ago, and yes, but what can I say, Princess? A beautiful mare with a gorgeous voice is something that only a foolish stallion would pass up.”
“I do hope I can hear her at some point.”
“If you hold the Gala next year and The Platinum Swan performs, you will. Hint hint, and all that.”
“I shall do that. Thank you for everything, Cyan. “
“Of course, Princess. Alright, Apples, let’s get moving. There’s lots to do. See you around, Baelit.”
“Later, Princess. Later, Kingy.”
“I wish you both well. Good luck, Baelit; you may need said luck, with what you have planned.”
Baelit frowned at the smirk Wolf showed, though the other two seemed just as confused by the statement as the Princess was.
“I will send you a letter regarding the outcome, Wolf; now shoo.”
“Just remember to pay me for that metalwork I did, my friend.”
“I already told you I will; now in your native drawl, GIT!”
The large pony laughed, trotting out of the room with the others, leaving Celestia and Baelit alone. The princess stared at the zebra as he regarded the food on his plate with sudden interest.
“I suppose you will need to return home soon as well, Baelit.”
“I have time. It is not as if Velkorn's death has changed anything in my homeland; the civil war still rages.”
“There is much cleanup left to do in Equestria, but I will offer aid to you if I am able.”
“I know you will, and there is perhaps something you can do about it with relatively little effort on your part. It is one reason I came here today.”
“Oh? And here I thought it was for the joy of my company.”
“That is a given, Celestia, though as your doctor, I am a little worried about you.”
“Oh you are my personal doctor now?”
“Among other things, and with my aunt's… retirement, I am possibly the only one alive who knows how to treat an alicorn. So yes, I can say I am your doctor with a straight face.”
“So what is the issue then, Doc?”
“Everyone is leaving you: your Guards, the older nobles you are familiar with, even the other gods. To make things worse, you had to banish your own sister, the one pony you have been close with for centuries. I am particularly concerned with how depression will affect you. Equestria cannot survive if something happens to you as well.”
“I am not depressed.”
“You are a horrid liar. I would think at your age you would be better at it.”
“That is rude, Baelit.”
“The age or the calling you a bad liar?”
“Both.”
“Well it is not exactly easy to find things wrong with you to tease you about, so I have to use what I can.”
“So what exactly do you recommend for my 'depression' then?”
Baelit smiled. “A vacation.”
“You're joking. This is the absolute worst time for that.”
“I am not so sure on that. Take a working vacation if you must, but if nothing else, you need to get out of the castle. It will aid in your image as well to be seen around the damaged lands overseeing their revival. You need to not sit here and sulk away with the memories you have. You should get out and have new ones. Save the depression for when nopony is looking. Equestria needs a strong leader right now; it does not need to see you weep over what they consider the greatest evil of their lives.”
Celestia sighed, looking down to push a fork around on her plate, the meal untouched.
“So what should I do then? You are correct in that everything I have cared for is gone. Kaisur was correct in that I will need something to work on. He always was far too accurate in such things.”
“Considering how much death he experienced in his life, I would say he could very well be an expert on dealing with it.”
“All running about would do now is make things take longer to fix.”
“Yes, thus keeping you distracted longer. Also, your vacation might very well fix the issues in the zebra lands.”
Celestia raised an eyebrow as Baelit took a sip of his drink. “You mentioned that earlier. How would my presence fix anything? The zebra's hate gods.”
“No, no. The zebras hate [i ]zebra gods. They are quite enamored with alicorns. Luna was rather well-received when she was there. As for how you would fix things... How long have I known you now?”
“Almost three years. Why the sudden subject change?”
“And how long have we been, ahem... closer than that?”
“A little over a year and a half... it may have been longer if your aunt had not had so much issue with it… wait...”
“The easiest way for the civil war to end is by someone who is well respected and feared by both sides to get involved. Someone who defeated the greatest threat since the God Kings. Someone who could easily be made queen and thus rally the full support of the entire country behind its king.”
Celestia stared at him, a small smirk barely crossing his muzzle as he set a small box on the table, flipping it open show a golden horn ring with a rather impressive diamond and very intricate detail on the band.
She looked between him and the box, her gaze a cross between disbelief and confusion.
“That is by far one of the worst proposals I have heard. It makes you sound like a two bit story villain. 'Rally the country behind the king'. Honestly?”
Baelit facehoofed, his face turning a bright red as he seemed to try to hide it.
“Well, excuuuuse me, Princess. I have not had a few thousand years to practice this sort of thing.”
“Picking on me due to my age again, are you?”
“That is not an answer, Celestia.”
The Princess of the Sun sighed. “I do not get attached Baelit. It never ends well. I will not age and you will wither and die before me.”
“I see.”
“I am sorry.”
“So you will pass up the good years that you could have simply because of what will happen much later?”
Celestia's eyes narrowed.
“I said that to Pelt, you know.”
“Does it make it any less true? I am still a young zebra; I’ve got a good hundred years or so left in me.”
“Maybe about forty ‘til the plumbing doesn't work.”
He chuckled. “I am one of the best medics in the world; I am quite sure I can come up with something so my sexy queen would not have to do without her favored ride for much longer than that.”
“Now you are simply being foalish.”
“I am still waiting for an answer. I can promise I will do my best to make sure you remain happy as long as I am able. There is very little more anyone else could do. Had I the magical knowledge, I would seek my own way to godhood to remain with you. As it stands, I will simply have to live well to stay around longer.”
“You are a persistent one.”
“I have not even begun to be persistent. It is a bit of a family trait, to be honest.”
“Alright. I might regret this, but yes...”
----------------------------------------------------------------
Twilight pulled back, shaking her head. She was actually both mad and jealous at the same time. She knew she should not be as Baelit was long dead by now, but that twinge of anger at someone else wanting and getting the Princesses affections bothered her greatly. Perhaps he was the one Luna had spoken of.
She twitched slightly, looking down at her foreleg and remembering what Luna had said. She looked back at the window, biting her lip, curiosity getting the better of her as she slipped back in.
------------------------------------------------
(Three years later.)
Celestia tilted her head, frowning as she looked up at the crossed blades on the mantle before her. The Waning Moon and the Brilliant Dawn both had little flames running along their bare edges in the presence of the mare that controlled both the sun and the moon.
The princess sighed, looking at them and shaking her head. She turned about, looking towards the white unicorn stallion standing on the far side of the room by the door. In just this short time, Cyan had grown larger both in stature and a bit in girth as well. The soft life of a noble was getting to his physical form, though thankfully, his wife did not seem to mind. That softness did nothing to dull his mind, however, as was clear by the reports he had been giving her, though this time Celestia was only half listening.
The wedding had happened a year ago on the day of the Summer Sun Celebration. The choice was made so that every pony would have something else to remember the day for rather than the defeat of Nightmare Moon.
Baelit had been correct in that the civil war stopped as soon as the news of the engagement came into light. Celestia's presence and acceptance as the new queen had changed many opinions on the zebra council. Some, who did not agree with the king and new queen's requests to find common ground, stepped down from the council, fearing Celestia's ire if they continued to fight. A number of rebel leaders were appointed in their place and at Baelit and Celestia's urging, a single Untouchable was appointed to the council as well.
The new zebra council had decided that despite the marriage between their king and the princess, they would remain independent of Equestria. Both Baelit and Celestia were fine with this, as despite being little more than political figureheads, their word could still sway decisions that were needed.
One of the first decisions made was to allow a free trade between the two nations, something that Fox was quick to jump on. The resulting negotiations placed the Apple family as the primary trade group between the two lands.
The pair had spent the better part of that first year traveling and seeing to the rebuilding of the land. They even stopped by Baltimare, and Celestia was rather surprised at the warm reception they had received from the former Luna Republic forces that were the primary inhabitants of the new city.
“Are you even listing, Princess?”
She snapped back to reality, glancing over to an annoyed Cyan. “Only partially, but I will be hearing about it several more times anyway.”
“Yes, well, you wanted to hear it from me first, so here I am. I could be doing other things...”
Celestia turned to stare at him, her eyes narrowing. “No need to get annoyed, Cyan. I know you would rather be with your wife and son. I do appreciate these reports you bring me. I am just a bit easily riled today.
“As you wish, though that does bring up a question I have had for a few days that I would like to ask you.”
She sat down, lifting a tea cup to her lips and glancing down at the paperwork on the table with a small shake of her head.
“Hmm, and what is that?”
“How far along are you with foal?”
Celestia nearly choked on her tea, the liquid spraying from her lips andhitting a shield Cyan had the foresight to put up over the papers on the table. She coughs again catching her breath. “What?!”
“Do not try and pass it over on me, Celestia. My wife just had our first and she showed signs of it prior to the large belly. You show several of them on top of a rather ineffective illusion spell to cover the obvious signs. Is that why Baelit has spent the last few months in the zebra lands alone?”
“He is looking into some things that he is worried about, nothing more, though he may also be somewhat afraid of my reaction as well. He will be back well before she is due.”
“You already know the gender, I see. I may need to borrow that magic if Silver and I manage a second foal. In all honesty, I am surprised you are having one.”
“I was a little surprised as well when it first came to my attention, though it seems there are certain things I neglected to do spell-wise due to all that has been going on.”
“Yet you still plan to keep her. Good for you, Princess though you are going to make my job a bit of a nightmare with this.”
“Yes, well, on to some other related news that I have for you, Cyan. I have the invite to Proud Tail's wedding for you and the others, and it seems some mare has her hooves on Wolf as well. Fox is livid, of course. He is still unable to get so much as a date.”
“I gather you got a rather long letter about that from him.”
“Yes, I did. How is Cloud Dancer working out?”
“An absolute horror to work for. I constantly give thanks to the stars I was not born a pegasus. The Wonderbolts, however, are quite amazing under her leadership. They have a few routines set up and have already performed quite a number of search and rescue operations. Despite the complaints from the others in the team, she is quite apt at what she does. None of them have even considered quitting no matter how hard she pushes them. Granted, several of them are fighting for her, ahem, affections. It seems her mother’s name has not turned anyone against her.”
“So it seems everyone is doing well for themselves, then. That is good.”
“Unless you try to strangle Baelit during foal birth like my wife attempted to do to me.”
===================================
( Four years later)
Celestia smiled, hoping Baelit would return soon from his trip to the zebra lands. Hearth’s Warming was coming, and she really wanted him to be here. The last two years had been some of the worst for her, though they were rapidly getting better.
She was reminded again of her sister when a pair of mares named Shim and Sham had shown up in Hollow Shades convincing the population there to give tributes to Nightmare Moon again by making her reappear with a bit of stage magic and big talk.
She was going to send Guards to have them arrested, but Fox sent word to leave them be. He had gone himself and sent word back that they were selling costumes, masks, and cheap trinkets to tribute, but were not touching the supposed offering. After some talk, it seemed that Fox had managed to convince them to make it into some sort of festival. It also seemed that Fox had managed to convince the pair of other things as well, considering how the rest of his letter had gone. She decided to let him deal with it. Turning something that should be a remembrance of a disaster into some sort of holiday for foals fit well for what she wanted to do.
The other nations had agreed to step down most of their forces, leaving little more than a royal guard as part of the Lunar Peace Accord.
For the first time since before the first dragon war, there was an actual peace. The next generation being born would not need to know what their parents had gone through and in a few generations, none of them would even remember it at all.
She had done her best to see to the removal and destruction of quite a bit of the technology that had been developed for war. A whole joint force of all nations had been formed to do this and track down any remaining trolls that had escaped. She did not like the need to destroy another race, but trolls were little more than living weapons of war created by Discord. Destroying them would be a boon to the world at large.
The orcs were also hunted, though for a different reason. However, only a hoofful of villages were found in the former dragon lands. The rams and the orcs had taken over the lands and claimed them as their own. This worried some groups, though they only wished to be left alone. The half-dragons were the same; unless asked, they kept to themselves, though their land grew quickly and quite wealthy due to the problems inactivity caused the older generation.
Celestia smiled, looking down at the oak box on the table before her. The Brilliant Dawn was already sealed away along with the bone armor. Her visage reflected in the Waning Moon as she regarded it in its velvet-lined case for a last time before moving it into the library. The only other lasting weapons of the war, the Gray Grimoire and the Red Tome, were sealed in Tartarus before she and Baelit had even wed. The boat pony and his pet that guarded the entrance were quite content to allow her access to the accursed place in order to seal the evil of the books inside.
She exhaled softly, pulling a swath of fabric over the weapon. Her ears perked as a small red and white blur galloped past behind her. Celestia turnd, a frown crossing her face at the sound of the foal's laughter. She closed the box, sealing the sword and smirking softly.
“No you don't, my sunshine. It's bedtime for you...”
--------------------------------------------------------------
What. The. Buck. Was. That!?
Twilight floated in the space, her eyes wide in shock. Her teacher had a FOAL?! A zebra FOAL? A RED striped zebra foal?
She spun in place in space a moment before whipping her head about and sighing. It was not her business to ask that sort of thing. If Celestia wanted her to know, she would have told her.
GRAHHH! But she wanted to know!
She watched as the window of the Waning Moon closed. It was a somewhat sad sight though, she knew it would happen sooner or later. If she needed to, she could always turn the spell back to the very start to view it again.
A small glimmer in the air before her drew her attention to what she thought was a star in the distance. It was instead a tiny window that had been hidden by the larger window created by the Waning Moon.
She blinked, floating around it curiously. This was something new; a shard or fragment that had been missed somewhere, perhaps? Well, one way to find out. She dived into the window.
---------------------------------------------------------------
A dull gray landscape stretched out before her. Twilight blinked, turning about to see the strange dusty plain. A soft light from above illuminated the land, though not as brightly as Celestia's sun. She wondered briefly if the spell had gone wrong. She could still feel the connection to herself, though. Perhaps there simply was nobody here for her to look through.
She studied the area around her. Gray dust and rock, little more than a desert of sand and dirt. In the distance, she made out what seemed to be a hill or a rise of some kind. She started trotting towards it, glancing back in some amusement and seeing she was leaving no signs of her passing. She was still little more than a spirit here, much like the place the spell took her. With the higher vantage point that hill could offer, she might be able to figure out where she was.
Reaching the top she, was rather disappointed, as a gray landscape stretched out before her as far as she could see. Twilight sighed, thinking again that the spell had messed up. She was about to try and make her way back when a glimmer of blue light caught her eye from the shadow at the base of the hill. She stared at the spot until the light flickered again before she started galloping towards it.
At the base of the hill among some large rocks, she found what had caused the glow. Twilight’s eyes widened as she slows to a stop, looking down into a small crater at a dark equine form curled into a ball on the ground. A dark blue coat, platinum gray mane and tail, and a purple splotch with a crescent moon as her cutie mark. The soft blue glow of light surrounded her like a shield.
This was Princess Luna... then that would mean... Twilight looked up to the source of the light that had guided her path. A whole world lay above her; landmasses, oceans and rivers covered with a mix of clouds and storms. A portion of the world was in shadow and another portion in light. The princess’s sun was just barely seen on the far side of the world. The land far above her in the middle of the landmass covered in the shadow was Equestria. This was what the world looked like from the moon at nighttime.
Twilight’s jaw dropped in awe of the spectacle until a voice snapped her attention back to the sealed princess. Four ponies stood around the glowing dome that covered the moon goddess.
“Wake up, Luna. It is time for your return”
A black pegasus stallion with a tail and mane to match the color of his coat stood to the left of the small bubble. The flower of a plant Twilight did not recognize adorned his flank. Somehow, she thought he was familiar, though.
“Seriously, sleepy head. Wake up; you’re gonna miss the party.”
A bright pink unicorn with a mane and tail that was awash with more colors than Rainbow Dash's poked at the side of the shield with a hoof. What looked like a cat wearing some sort of pastry and riding a rainbow was his cutie mark.
A dark blue pegasus mare with a white mane and a gray tail stood on the far side of the bubble staring at the alicorn with in it. Twilight could not see her cutie mark from this angle.
A tan earth pony with a dark blue mane and tail that seemed to move and flow about her form like a magical aura stands nearest to Twilight.
“I do not wish to. Leave me be.”
Twilight looked towards the alicorn, surprised the princess was awake and seemingly herself.
“Sorry, no can do, Princess. The time has come. You don't want that that whole prophecy thing Imbrium made and gave to that Apple colt so he could write that book to turn up fake, do you? He worked soooo hard on it.”
“Shadow, be quiet. Leave me alone. The dead should not bother the living. Let me rot here.”
The colorful unicorn snorted in annoyance at that.
“Let me just kick her flank out of bed and be done with it .”
“No, Nightshade. We must not force it. Besides, Imbrium won the coin toss, so if anyone gets to throw the princess out of bed, it is her.”
The black stallion growled and Twilight remembered where she saw him from. When Starfall took the test to become a Bearer of Honesty, this was the stallion who spoke with her. These must be the Bearers of the Elements from when Luna and Celestia sealed Discord!
The dark blue pegasus mare spoke again, looking to Nightshade.
“I understand you are still mad that we were tricked by Aviana's Bearer of Loyalty, but justice came to him as it should be. This is what we have waited for, so we might make that wrong right again.”
“Perhaps that is what you think; I do not see how we can ever make that error right again. No matter; we have a task. Get up, princess, or we let Imbrium have a go. Your Generosity is rather annoyed with you.”
“Why should I return to a place where no one wants or cares for me?”
“Don't be like that. We loved and cared for you; your sister does the same. Heck, there's five ponies who had themselves turned to stone just so they would be there when you came back. That has got to be boring for them.”
“You were not supposed to tell her that, Shadow.”
The multi-hued stallion shrugged. “Oops.”
“I do not care. They were not my friends, just his. They are always his. He is the only one who ever cared for me, and yet even he betrayed me.”
“What the buck is she talking about, Dusk?”
The dark blue pegasus sighed.
“She is speaking about Hooper. Her mind is muddled with fighting off the darkness consuming her, and she thinks that Jer'rahd is a reincarnated Hooper. Those books did a number on her.”
“Oh for buck’s sake, that's it. Imbrium, kick this foal out of bed. I can only stand being nice for so long before I want to go back to the way we used to do things: somepony pisses you off, kick them in the head!”
“You are far too violent, Nightshade.”
“It comes from getting tricked and dying, then spending the next six thousand years watching your one living friend screw everything up.”
The earth pony closest to Twilight had been silent the entire time. She looks towards the others, who grew silent, and then back away from the dome as the mare moved closer. As the mare moved, Twilight could finally see the full moon cutie mark on her flank.
“WAKE THE BUCK UP, YOU STUPID COW! I HAVE HAD IT UP TO HERE WITH YOUR SHIT!”
Twilight's eyes widened at the outburst. The mare’s voice boomed across the gray landscape, kicking up dust and rock and flinging it about Twilight. This was far beyond any version of the Royal Canterlot Voice she had ever heard before. The mare roared on...
“Enough with this damn ‘poor me’ pity party you have going on up here. You lost. Deal with it. The Nightmare is still in control, so sitting here on this rock is not going to help anypony. Sooner or later, it's gonna be too strong for you to hold on to and it's gonna bust loose anyway after eating you fully. You think everything sucks for you, yet you do nothing to change anything about it. Honestly, I don't know why I am bothering to tell you this shit since you’re not gonna remember a lick of it anyway, but here's something that better stick in that tiny brain of yours, little sister.”
The mare smashed a hoof against the shield, shattering the glowing dome and leaning close to the squirming princess.
“If no pony cared for you, we would not be here. If Celestia did not care for you, she would not have set up all she did for your return. If they were not your friends, the Elements would not have worked. Jer'rahd is not Hooper's soul returned. There have been several ponies that have fallen in love with you over your long life, none of them the same. It is only the stubbornness of those two that managed to get past that wall you put around yourself. If you opened your damn eyes, you would see that you are just as cared for , if not more so, than your sister. Five of them even stood against your sister on countless occasions for you, and now they wait for your return. So get your ass up and get down there. The thousandth year of your imprisonment is over. You can go home.”
“But it will be...”
The form of Luna shuddered, a black energy wrapping about her, a dark laugh echoing across the gray surface as the miasma of energy shots upward from the lunar surface, heading towards Equestria. Twilight knew what was about to happen; she saw the other side of this story. This was Nightmare Moon's return; only an egghead and five newly-found friends would be there to stop her.
“Well, current bearer of Magic, is this what you expected to see? “
Twilight took an involuntary step back as Imbrium turned to look at her. The mare’s eyes burned red spots of light in the shadow of her mane.
“You can see me?”
“Why not? Harmony could.”
“I suppose, though I did not expect the legends of ponies being stars to be true.”
“There are many things you may as of yet not understand. That is fine; I expect you will know more than any of us when your end finally comes. I thank you for what you will do... ‘have done’, I suppose, by your view point.”
“What you mean? Beating Nightmare Moon? I was not given much of another option.”
“There are always choices, Bearer of Magic. You did far more than you think.”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you recall the prophecy of Nightmare Moon? The last part of it?”
“Yes... why?”
“On the longest day of the thousandth year the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring nighttime eternal.”
“I’m sorry, but I do not understand the relevance. I now know you four helped her escape, and since you’re dead, I guess your stars... this is very confusing.”
“You seem to be missing the point, Bearer of Magic. The reason we thank you for what you have done is that we are not the stars that freed her. You are.”
“What...”
“The prison was not the moon, but the Nightmare that held her. The night time eternal is the immortal Princess Luna, for as long as she lives, she will bring the night. The stars that aided her escape are the ones that adorn your flank and represent your friends and the connection you have with them. You are the one who fulfilled the prophecy, Bearer of Magic. You released our friend from the pain she had suffered for a thousand years.”
“But how would Fox know about me, or how would you even know about me to tell Fox... GAH! I hate time travel.”
“Honestly, does it matter, at this point? What is done is done, though there are far more pressing and dangerous things for you to worry about. You future is still shrouded, Bearer of Magic. A much greater task and much pain await you. A trial is coming that you must overcome, for if you do not, ponykind will be destroyed. You should wake now; the next chapter of your life is about to begin.”
------------------------------------------------------------------
Twilight yelped, tumbling backwards away from the sword. She crashed into the couch, knocking it over to land on the floor with a dull thud.
“Ow...”
Rainbow Dash poked her head over the back of the couch.
“Um, Twilight? That is you, right? Not one of the other yous?”
“What? Yes, Dash, it’s me. Why would you think it would be one of the other ones?”
“Well, you started glowing and your mane caught fire, so I started hitting the panic button and nothing happened.”
“It shouldn't do that... Ugh, never mind. That is probably it for the sword. GAH! Every time I answer something, there's a whole new slew of questions! Gah, who do I have to choke to get a straight answer from the dead!?”
Rainbow Dash winced and Twilight perked her ears at the look on her friend’s face. She exhaled, trying to calm down, focusing on her friend.
“Alright, Rainbow. What’s wrong? You've not been yourself since you came back from Cloudsdale.”
“Not something I really want to talk about.”
Twilight sighed. “I can't help if you don't tell me.”
“Not like you can help this anyway.”
“Dash... I am at least trying.”
The pegasus muttered something. Her ears flattened to her head as she closed her eyes, her forehooves draping over the back of the couch as she sank down behind it further, as if using it as a wall to hide from Twilight. The purple unicorn was about to give up when her friend finally spoke up. “My friend Gilda is dead.”
Twilight's eyes widened.
“Gilda? The griffon Pinkie Pie party-pranked? What? How?”
“No one really knows. They found her body in Cloudsdale. I think someone her family knew might have gotten to her. That's one of the reasons she was in Cloudsdale when we were younger. Her parents sent her there to get her away from the trouble that was going on at home. Supposedly, she was from some important family or something that had a lot of enemies. I guess one of them must have finally found her. It looked like something out of that book you wrote about the past. They actually needed me to identify her. I only knew it was her by a tattoo she had on her wrist.”
“By the stars, Dash... why didn't you tell one of us?”
“No one here really liked her. I didn't think anyone would care.”
“You know that's not true, Rainbow...”
A loud pounding at the front door cut off what she was saying. She was going to ignore it when the door burst open.
Pinkie Pie tumbled into the room, her eyes wide in a panic. She spotted Twilight, leaping onto the unicorn and knocking her back over the couch with a crash. Rainbow Dash shot skyward, barely avoiding getting wrapped up in the pile as well.
“Pinkie, what in the world?!”
“IT'S HAPPENING AGAIN! ITCHY BACK HOOVES!! ITCHY BACK HOOVES!”
“Pinkie, what?!”
“THE TWITCH, THE DEATH TWITCH, MAKE IT STOOOOP!!!”
“Pinkie we found out what happened...”
Twilight looked over to Dash, who nodded lightly and looked even more depressed. Pinkie stopped her panic dead, looking from Twilight to Rainbow Dash.
“... Gilda died.”
“Gilda... oh no; when did she die?”
Rainbow sighed. “A couple of weeks ago, judging by what the guards said.”
“A couple of weeks? THEN WHY DO I STILL HAVE THE TWITCHY TWITCH NOW!?!”
“TWILIGHT!!!”
The purple unicorn sighed and pushed the panicking pink pony off of her. Celestia had a foal, she had a warning from dead ponies, Pinkie was freaking out, Rainbow Dash was more depressed than Twilight had ever seen her, and now Applejack was screaming for her as well.
This was turning out to be a much more chaotic and depressing day than she wanted. She whipped her head, trying to clear out the frustration as Applejack rushed in. Twilight blinked surprised at the panic on the farm pony’s face.
“Twilight, we need tah git tah Fluttershy's now! She's been attacked by some ponies, an’ mah brothers been hurt real bad!”
“What? Why did you come here instead of getting him to the hospital?! GAH!!”
Rainbow Dash tore out of the house, ripping most of the books from the shelves just from the force of her passing.
“BUCK IT, DASH!”
“She brings up a good point, why didn't you take him to the hospital?”
Applejack looked at Twilight, biting her lip.
“‘Cause where he was cut has got tha markings of poison. Its tha same description of what was affecting that pony in tha story you been working on, and yer prolly the only one who remembers the cure tah that stuff.”
“Pony in the story...”
Her jaw dropped as the realization hits.
“Wind serpent venom? Mac was attacked by some pony using wind serpent venom?”
~Fin~
====================================================
To be continued in Book 2,
Stories in Stone, Memories of Twilight.
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HOLY FRAK! NEXT STORY! NOW!
YOU MAGNIFICENT BASTARD!!!
Well damn, now I've got to go on another amazing adventure with an almost unmatchable story and unique original characters and dubious morality.
You have no clue how much I hate you now /sarcasm.
And I really hope that in the sequel you don't go the 'Rainbow Dash is a lesbian' thing. That, and a weird spellchecker, are the only things that bug me about this fic.
Either way, loved the story, want the sequel.
So much want you can't even begin to imagine.
YES! Sequel!
First thought was No! It's finally over!
Second through was Hurry up with the second book!
You are so very, very evil, you know that?
Of course, now I have to eagerly await your newest story instead of your next chapter. Oh, whatever shall I do?
YOU FUCKING BASTARD I KNEW IT !!!!!!
(Joke) Alt. Title: Let's Make It Saddark Again!: Twilight Learns About Getting Stoned
Why you dirty little author! You made it sound like there was going to be an end! I hop you realize that this only mean that we'll be eagerly awaiting your return!! SOOOOO MANY CLIFFHANGERS!
Celestia's foal? Messages? Poison? TUNE IN NEXT TIME TO FIND OUT!!
Damn it, you had to end on that cliffhanger. Now I want the sequel.
....yooooooou! Okay, GET TO WRITING! NAO!
DAMN IT.
Man... that was more evil than anything you had the old 6 Bearers do... That's just wrong.
Good story, even if the epilogue doesn't really cover anything! BAH! DAMN YOU!!!
ok, when's the next book come out?
Congrats on the second-longest completed fanfic on FiMFiction! (Only Decretum has this beat). Now to sit down and actually *read* this monster. Fortunately, Christmas break is nearly upon us. :)
WAIT
WHAT ABOUT THE STATUES?
GOD DAMNIT, RABBIT
QTUCXSZWYEYJRSY3WEXYU5U4ESRDS
You might want to do something about that sex tag... just saying
Hmm...seems like we might have a war starting... who do we call!?
1804475>>1804480>>1804510>>1804554>>1804558>>1804564>>1804566>>1804570>>1804654>>1804654>>1804692>>1804738>>1804746>>1804895>>1805057
To all of you. At no point ever when i spoke about the end of the story did I say just 'Stories in Stone'. I always wrote about the end of the story as 'Stories in Stone, Luna's Royal Guard' other wise i reffered to the story as SiS.
I have three notebooks full of things to write about . I covered about half of them in SiS:LRG.
Lets start this party with a bang shall we?
1805199
I'm sorry, I didn't read your story, WHAT does this have to do with my (Joke) Alt. Title?
1805199
So will the Five still be relevant at all in the next story?
1805199 jeez, someone doesn't know how to take a compliment.
warglblargl!
Hehehe
1805199 Let's start this party by revealing whether or not the original Bearers will be freed from stone, shall we?
I've sat through 46 chapters, 573,381 words, edited the first chapter and attempted to edit the others (Sorry, but it's hard to reformat since I'm not sure exactly what you're trying to do at some points. I will say that it has gotten better, however, and it will be easier to edit the last few chapters.). I make up at least 62 of the total views and am a huge fan.
I think I speak for all of us when I say we really don't want to sift through two more stories of half a million words just to find out if they come back.
Tell me or I will cut you
You magnificent bastard, I love you
1805241 Book 2
1805321 Now
th08.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2012/090/3/f/pinkamena_diane_pie_by_nyuumew-d4uksxf.png
The shit just hit the fan
So MUCH SUSZPENSE! I can't stand it. but I must
hah, knew it, sequel to come later
that means another, possibly, super long fic to read, yay
also, a typo that really bugs me when i see it:
“Shadow, be quite leave me alone. The dead should not bother the living. Let me rot here.”
should say Shadow be quiet, not quite :/ sorry but that kind of typo really bothers me due to how common it is.
1805199 Yoooooou glorious bastard.
YES!!1! I KNEW IT!!
I have a feeling that Equestria is gonna experience war for the first time in one thousand years and it's gonna take the current and previous bearers of the elements to fight this enemy. 
1805199
I noticed that when I started reading this but I thought that other SiS would be about other statues in the garden, not to set it apart from it's sequel. Either way I cannot wait. Start it now.
Yay
Mother. Fucker.
Ok let me get this all straight(mostly I just want to point out the funniness of it all)
Both princesses and Twilight have been Magic. Amusing since each has a cosmic cutie mark.
RD, loyalty, is the descendant of Starfall, Honesty, and is being shipped with AJ, who is also Honesty(RD is in love with herself...kinda?).
AJ also happens to be a relative of Rhede, potential direct descendant.
IIRC Spike was heavily implied to be Bleu's son.
If we go off the names, Twilight was a descendant of the one who opposed Jerrahd, Cyan.
Cyan was a knight for Celestia and Twilight is her student/lover. Must run in the family.
Alright, I am waiting to see how Pinkie, Fluttershy and Rarity are descendants of LRG.
Also I am going to officially predict this. Zecora is the descendant of Baelit and Celestia, granted it is a long genealogy. The hints?
A. Zecora is a zebra as was Celestia's child. Chances are the child would hook up with another zebra, imo.
B. Zecora's cutie mark is, or is very close to, a sun. We all know how TDR loves to poke at that kind of stuff.
C. Zecora seems to be out of the Zebra culture. While the this is just convenience for the show, again, TDR loves that kind of stuff. I'm sure he'll argue that her lineage was banished from the Zebra lands for being red or something to that effect.
Just wanted to be the one to call it should this prediction come to fruition.
1813047
::Sits back reading the post with a wide grin.::
Yes. Both princesses have been magic, so was Aviana. You are on the wrong track with the cutie marks though due to [ Redacted ]
Yes RD is loyalty, and Starfall was honesty though [ Redacted ]
Aj is indeed a direct decendant of Rhede... or at least the Pelts. Keep in mind GrannySmith was from a family called the Smiths in the Family Apprciation Day episode. They were Apples, but they had her fathers name at the time. though with the zap apple discovery they changed it to her mothers name.
Spike is NOT Bleu's son. Knowing the hatchery was instinctive from when she was there as an egg, before being moved to Celestia's school for Platinum to hatch. Spikes egg however WAS recovered from Cindervale and was the "unlucky " egg that almost escaped. Bleu is not old enough to have her first clutch being only the equivilent of 16-17 in pony years.
Twilight is indeed a decendant of Cyan, though Shining is following closer in his hoof steps due to [ Redacted ]
Fluttershy, and Pinkie have no direct ancestors i have shown. yet.....
Rarity's ancestor on the other hand was some pony who was annoying Starfall about uniforms.
As for Zecora, well [ Redacted ]
I hope that covers everything, if it doesn't keep an eye out for the next book. I plan to make a blog post and link from this stories description when it goes up.
Congratulations on having a larger wordcount than War and Peace. Can't wait for the sequel.
1814723Still have not touched FO:E
1813953
Aww, yes. That what it was with Spike. I remembered there was some kind of connection with Bleu but I couldn't remember exactly what it was. That does raise some other questions however. Was Spike decision truly unbiased or did he realize this, to him, possible truth and want to reward Bleu for it (which would be why he mentioned her being the only nonguilty one).
Also did AJ seriously not see her connection or did she just ignore it? I found it weird that everyone seemed to gloss over that fact even though it was fairly blatant, even givent eh name changes of her great-grandmother.
As for Zecora, I'll take your silence as an affirmative. Sorry TDR, I am not completely lost in your web of tales.
1816617 RBD didn't see the connection to Starfall, AJ ignored hers, Twilight suspects shes related to Cyan. Spike did not know that was his egg and twilight only noted it looked familer so he didnt make that connection. Spike simply noticed out of all ogf them. Bleuhad the most pangs of regret for even her minor actions. She also never went out of her way to kill things like the others witht he notible exception of Claymore and Claymores daughter. but that was due to Platinum.
1817642
RD is just silly then
AJ....ya, I can see her doing that
I can see Twilight being suspicious. I'll give you that.
For Spike, I suppose it is meta knowledge. I am not also saying Bleu isn't in the right for being released, I was just figuring that Spike was a little biased in some way, shape, or form.
I like how you ignore further Zecora elaboration which tells me that I am either right or you are going to make me rage. But would you do that on purpose? hmmm....
Also I love this slight back and forth we are having. While it is temporarily taking away from your writing of the next book, I cannot deny that it is very entertaining.
1818565 Only a little, i am making fairly good head way witht he story any way and I like talking about this sort of thing.
RBD is some what clueless though as we have seen dash only cares a little about a family having never really had one before. If Twilight told her that as well as Cloud Dancer being the first offical head of the Wonder bolts she would likely flip her shyt.
Pity there is so much going on right now that this is not likely to happen any time soon.
For Spike it is a bit meta but like he said he knew more about it than any one other than Twilight due to how many things he copied and how many things he read that he didn't copy. Repitition tends to drill things into ones head.
On a side note Spike [ Redacted ]
. I refrain from saying anything about zecora because her parts are already written and i do not trust myself to not give away everything in a debate about her. Suffice to say though She is still only a bit part in the whole thing. The main focus shall be Twilight of course.
That should be easy to tell just from the title.
1819247
Twilight is going to be the main focus of the next book? Now you are just blatantly lying to me. Why would you do that TDR, I thought you were better.
Also almost to comment #666. I would say some ill omen are coming around the corner but this is SiS, it feeds off the horrible. However should something happen, Jerrahd is one clever pony and I am sure he could figure it out.
GAH!!! Y U Lie about end. Splitting off into another story does not end this one. You told us we would get an epilogue, and gave us pne that answers nothing... doesnt even answer or address the whole PURPOSE of this entire story... addressing the princesses with her findings and deciding the fate of the 5. I'm very glad you are continueing, but don't pretend its a separate book or story. You just placed an arbitray chapter break to DRIVE US TO INSANITY!?!
Y U NO normal next chapterz dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/shrug_Luna_apple.png
You really know how to end a story on a frantic note. The impact of it would be much greater, though, if I could remember what that stuff was.
Also, I was so busy, I didn't get a chance to comment on the previous chapter. I was wondering if Bleu's comment about the Scottish accent was a fandom reference.
1820564 hehehe Darth vader ... that is all i say to that.
1820617 cause i am a little bit of a troll honestly,[ the rick roll should have shown that]. Besides with whats going to happen i needed a bigger divifder than just a chapter break,.
I actualy did answer some questions. The mane 6+ spike voted, how NMM was fotrgotten . I can't help i made more questions..... okay i could but NAAAAh
1820847 considering the length its not surpriseing. i had to go back and dig things up every so often too, Most of Bleu's refrences are refrences to something when they seem to break the 4th wall. that one was a dragon Heart refrence to being a last dragon with a scottish accent, Sean Connery., The kung fu skills and glow were also a refrence to the movie, the last dragon...
Oh noes. The Devil's comment is nigh. Who shall give this story such a blessing...
Perhaps it shall be me with a double post. Muahahhahaa
I can hear everyone else now going
nooooooooooooooo.com/vader.jpg
(Plus there is Vader)
But all I have to say in response is
images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110219014808/gleeusers/images/7/7e/Suck-it-up-Princess.gif
:p
1823716 I could be evil and just delete the post so that this one would meet that number.
::Grins::