Figurehead

by CheshireTwilight

Prologue II - Prophecy

“Nooooooo!” Celestia cried, sitting up on her bed in a cold sweat. She looked at the calendar, fearing illogically that she was still in the past. It read simply: August 14th, 981 years after Luna’s Banishment (Celestial Era, C.E.).

She was back in her bedroom in Canterlot.

These royal chambers were a cozy affair. A hearth and roaring fire kept the room warm year-round while the various tapestries and textiles kept the heat in. At one end, were the bed, a simple armoire and a walk-in closet filled with various formal and informal wear, at the other end, a simple pillow (one large enough to for the seven foot princess) lay in front of the fireplace.

“Princess Celestia!” a beige earth pony mare gasped as she ran to her from just outside the door. The mare had an orange mane and a teapot cutie mark and wore the frilled gown of the castle maids. “Are you alright! I-I heard screaming and-”

Celestia raised a hoof to the maid. “Yes, Orange Pekoe, I am alright; it was just a bad dream.”

“Dream, dream?! That sounded like a most horrific nightmare!” she cried.

Celestia put a hoof on Orange’s withers and smiled. “I am fine, forsooth- I mean, it is true. I am sure I will be all better after a nice cup of tea.”

Pekoe’s look of concern immediately vanished into one of determination. “Of course, I have this crisp, floral darjeeling that I know will calm you right down!” With that, she left the room in a hurry.

Celestia tried to get her attention again, but the mare left too quickly. She groaned, ‘I actually could really use some strong ‘pick-me-up tea’, rather than ‘calming’ one at the moment ...’

As she got out of bed, a bell was silently triggered several rooms down by the shift in weight. Immediately, her secretary, a white unicorn mare with a grey and black swirling mane, an ink pot mark, and a black-and-white business suit rushed down the hall and entered the room. “Your Highness, would you like me to go over the plans for today?” she asked, heading into the bedroom’s walk-in closet.

“Yes, Fine Quill, that would be fine,” Celestia replied before entering the shower in the bathroom on the other opposite side of the closet.

“Of course,” Quill replied, pulling out Celestia’s gold chest-piece, boots and crown as well as a white and gold dress with a flowing train. She made the bed and then placed the clothes carefully on it while she waited for the Princess to finish her grooming. When Celestia exited the washroom, Quill fitted the clothes onto the tall alicorn, using a small step ladder for the crown. Quill talked as she did so, “After breakfast with the staff, there will be meeting with the Trottingham Elementary Student Choir which will be singing at this year’s Grand Galloping Gala. Following that is your monthly meeting with the Equestrian Cultural Society, lunch, and finally a private meeting with sponsors of the Manehattan Recreational Development Project ending in dinner.”

“Nothing after dinner?”

“Not today, Your Highness,” she confirmed. That wasn’t surprising since it was a weekend and so government functions were closed. Quill tightening the clipping the final clasp on the dress. “All set! Are you ready to go?”

Celestia simply nodded her head, wanting to move on with the day as quickly as possible to get her mind of the nightmare. Following Fine Measure out into the hall and down a flight of stairs, they entered the dining room where Orange Pekoe had just finished setting the her tea down for breakfast.

The long dining room was flanked on one side by large floor-to-ceiling windows which opened to a stone balcony and the other by the doors leading to the kitchen. At the far end was the door leading to the hall and the rest of the castle while the exit the Princess came from at the bottom of the stairs sat her larger chair and some assorted drapery and a tapestry signifying its station as the “royal seat”.

The other members of the staff were also present: butlers, maids, plumbers, carpenters, tour guides, anypony who was working at the Castle was always invited to complimentary meals in this dining room. Another dining hall was used for more formal functions, but Celestia rarely found use for it except in treating foreign dignitaries. For some of the ponies seated, this would be their first time seeing the Princess and sat in awe as she made her way to the end of the long table. After several hundred years of similar looks, however, Celestia was not phased at all by the stares.

Before she sat down, Celestia looked out at the night sky still outside and—with a quick twist of her head—started the Celestial process to lower the Moon and raise the Sun. As she did so, she looked down at the city.

Canterlot was a beautiful city, for a certain definition of beauty. The upper-city on the mountain was exactly as it always had been since it was first completed, a place where the rich met and high society held their functions. Gardens, white marble, and gold dominated the streets. A fresh-water river coming from higher up the mountain cut the city in two and provided a stunning waterfall. It was a rich city for the rich government officials and the new money made by Equestria’s capitalistic society.

The lower city, safely tucked away from view at the foot of the mountain, however, truly showed the wealth divide. Large industrial manufacturing facilities and coal-fed smoke stacks dominated the skyline. In between, houses were crammed together as tight as possible. The beautiful waterfall, coincidentally, made living conditions worse. The water dissipated over the city, mixing with the heat from the smoke and greatly increased the humidity. Luckily, thanks to Equestrian weather services, the air was mostly clean and the humidity didn’t build-up from day to day. Still, when it rained, the water was toxic with soot.

Celestia hated what the city had become. The lower valley used to be a simple stopping point, a place for the farmers to sell their produce. After the democracy took over where the Celestia’s old advisory council left off, great “progress” had been made in energy production, textiles and agriculture which saw an explosion in population. Celestia at the time was blinded by the improvement in the quality of life of the average pony and gave more and more power to industry and government. She had hoped that her little ponies would bring about levels of prosperity that she couldn’t imagine, but it seemed that prosperity came at a price.

The look of anger showing on Celestia’s face was more than enough to tell Pekoe and Quill to leave her alone to her thoughts. Celestia eventually sat at the head of the table and ate quietly. Nopony made an effort to talk to her and—while she would normally relish the opportunity to chat with the staff—preferred that this time; she had a lot on her mind.

‘It has been almost one hundred years since I last had that dream,’ Celestia thought. ‘To think that after all this time, it would come back … and so emotionally.’ Celestia had had that dream many times before, but never since she that first night had it been so strong. After the meal, she got up to leave when she was confronted by the Royal Guard Captain. The castle guard still wore the traditional golden suits of armor, however the captain never walked around armed like the others.

Celetia rose an eyebrow in concern. “Captain Rough Cut, what do I owe the pleasure?”

His natural colors were obscured behind the white coat all pegasi Royal Guards had in disguise, but the spell didn’t hide the scars his face received in the repeat combat throughout his long career as a soldier. Despite its deceptive rank, the Captain of the Royal Guard was almost exclusively held by Brigadier Generals, and was typically used as a way of informally retiring older career soldiers. They were given a better pension and reduced pay, but were still kept in the chain of command to chair military meetings, gave their opinions on strategic decisions, and acted as liaison between the government and military for ceremonial events. Since they only commanded the 186 Royal Guards of the Canterlot Castle Grounds, however, the position was still only officially in charge of a company-sized outfit expected of a captain.

The Captain gave her a quick salute before producing a small envelope from his uniform. “I was given this by the castle postmaster. I know that you normally receive your letters in the evening, but this had your seal and was marked ‘URGENT’.”

Celestia’s eyes went wide and she thought, ‘That is what the dream was about?!’ She immediately knew exactly what the message would contain and her suspicions were confirmed once she finished reading it:

The sixth star is in the sky, please confirm the ‘prophecy’ at your earliest convenience,

Stellar Gaze Ph.D, Professor of Astronomy, Canterlot University

“I appreciate this Captain,” Celestia replied. He saluted and marched away. She turned to her secretary, Fine Measure who had just come out from down the hall and shook her head. “I am so sorry, Ms. Quill, but I will have to cancel all further activities for the day. Something urgent has come up.”

The poor mare look stunned, she looked down remorsefully at her list. “Even the elementary school choir, Your Highness.”

Celestia thought hard and eventually sighed. ‘Not even the fate of the world could reconcile the guilt of disappointing a class of innocent foals,’ she thought. “Alright … I guess the stars can wait an hour or so …”

She made it to the Canterlot University Observatory—just outside the city limits—around noon. It seemed whether she liked it or not, she could not tear herself away from the endless: questions, stories and piggyback rides the foals demanded. ‘Honestly, they are almost worse than the politicians,’ she mused.

“Princess! It is so good to see you again!” Stellar Gaze exclaimed, meeting Celestia in the lobby of the Observatory.

“I apologize for the delay, I was … otherwise engaged,” Celestia replied. It wasn’t a lie.

“Oh, no problem at all! I’m sure whatever it was was important. This is only as urgent as you want it to be.”

Stellar Gaze was a blue unicorn mare with a teal mane and in a simple lab coat with a shooting star cutie mark embroidered on the flank, hiding the genuine article. She led Celestia up a flight of stairs, past the enormous telescope and into a small dark room off to the side. The red glow obscured the many photographs hung to dry on various strings.

“Now obviously we can’t actually see the stars at the moment since it’s day now … unless you want to fix that,” she winked. Not getting a response, she coughed and continued, “Anyway … I took a few photographs of the phenomenon.” She took several of the large film sheets from the string and brought them over to Celestia in her magic. She pointed her hoof to two in particular. “As you can see, the night before there was five stars around the Moon here, but now there are six. This is completely independent of what I would expect.” The film was a little grainy, but the stark black-and-white contrast made it clear that there were indeed six small dots surrounding the Moon.

Celestia studied the pictures carefully. “Yes, that does appear to be correct. I thank you for your time, Stellar Gaze, and as always, keep the news of my interest in this a secret, if you will.”

Stellar Gaze nodded, although with a slightly confused expression. “Oh course, your highness. After all, it was thanks to you that we even have a night sky after all!” That statement brought a slight frown to the alicorns lips. “Still, with you controlling the sky, should this even be possible … or is this some sort of test? Not that I-”

Celestia patted her on the withers. “Your part to play in this is over, I am afraid. It is not something I could—in good conscience—get you involved with. I am sorry.”

Gaze only nodded her head in acceptance. “It’s alright, I understand. I’m just glad I could help out with whatever it is.”

Celestia smiled. “Your career is only beginning, knowing about what I am doing would only needlessly put that at risk ... for something you cannot do much more to help. You will do big things, I know it, but it need not be this.” Without saying another word she turned and left. After all, Gaze would soon be getting a letter of recommendation from the Equestrian Cosmological Society in the coming weeks; but that would have to wait until Celestia had tea with the Chief of Research first, of course.

Celestia walked into the Castle of the Two Pony Sisters, deep in the Everfree Forest.

She was reminded, once again, of the battle she fought. This time, however, she was more pressed to remember the moments afterwards. She passed through the front entrance and through the ruined courtyard; the small gravestones she had made for the ponies lost in Nightmare Moon’s massacre were completely faded away now. One thousand years was a long time. She walked towards the throne room; much of the hallways now crumbled in disrepair. Further away, she could still feel the protective wards she had placed on the library and on a few of the traps to keep thieves away. There had been a surprising lack of need for the old knowledge and she had felt that it was likely safer in an abandoned castle in the middle of a dangerous forest surrounded by traps than an archive at the castle in Canterlot. She made her way through the throne room and up a flight of stairs to her old bedroom. Like everything else in the castle, it was ruined, save for one small picture sitting on the bedside table. She lifted it up feeling the old tingle of the protective ward she had placed on it. It was the only one like it now to exist.

A picture of Luna.

Everfree Castle, Solar Bedchamber, 0 C.E.

Celestia had never left her room once since she had banished her sister.

The only sight before her in the moonlit night was the small painting of her sister that had sat on her bedside table, now clutched in her forehooves as she lay, rocking steadily on the bedsheets. Her tears were all dried up now, but she still wallowed in self-pity and shame.

“... I am so sorry, dear sister … I never loved you enough … I should have listened … I should have been there for you … I could not protect you … I love you … I wish I could take it all back ... I miss you ... ”

Again and again she muttered similar phrases. Occasionally she would walk around the room, and pound her forehooves on the floor in frustration before settling back into bed to grieve once more. At other times, she would gallop throughout the castle, attacking the vines and plants that tried to invade the grounds. She told herself at the time that she did it to protect the graves that she had freshly made for the staff and friends who had lost their lives to the Nightmare, but it was really just a petty excuse to vent her frustrations. Eventually, the corruption of the forest slowed and the vegetation ceased its encroachment. She would go through these phases over and over: anger, disappointment, relief, frustration, sadness, self-pity and then anger again.

Every morning and night, however, she raised and lowered both the Sun and the Moon.

Despite her emotional state and the sudden trauma she had witnessed, she vowed she would do it every day, in spite of the incredible toll it placed on her. She rationalized it first as her duty, then as penance, before finally as remembrance for the sister she involuntarily missed less and less as the days went on. Now, a fortnight later, she had already forgotten her voice; the picture in her hooves being the only thing keeping her from forgetting her face.

Suddenly, a loud crack could be heard from the distant forest. Celestia could hear the sound of howling animals and then the sound of ponies in conflict.

‘Ponies are in danger!’ she thought.

Celestia jumped up, placing the picture back beside her bed, before racing through the air towards the sounds. However, the battle was over before she arrived. Over four hundred soldiers had fought their way through the now chaotic forest towards the capital. Their golden armor glistened in the sunlight, easily allowing Celestia to differentiate the soldiers from the rest of the thick foliage. She then noticed the red-plumed helmet of a General in the crowd and landed beside the soldier.

As she landed, she immediately recognized him as General Halberd. “Our Princess!” he gasped, immediately going into a deep bow. “You are alive! We dared to hope that it might be true; the Sun and Moon had continued their celestial motions after all. Still, we were anxious that you might have somehow succumbed to the madness that infected this forest. We had not heard of any news … we suspected the worst!” He looked up in glee, but immediately frowned at the clear face of tired indifference on his Princess’ face.

“T-The fates may not have felt fit to doom Equestria completely,” Celestia responded, her gaze to the Moon in the sky, “but for Us … Tartarus itself would be welcome distraction.”

“What happened, Your Highness?”

“Of this ... We must speak, without fear of inquiring ears,” Celestia stated, motioning the other soldiers which had gathered around away. She found an isolated spot away from the rest of the army before she explained everything to him. Princess Luna turned into Nightmare Moon, killed the nobles and staff at the castle, and the resulting disharmony has caused chaos in the Everfree. Celestia skimmed over most of the details—she still couldn’t stomach discussing the corpses or the level of damage done—but emphasising that Luna was corrupted by some curse or external force, that she wasn’t sound of mind.

After hearing all this Halberd—perhaps for the first time in his life—was stunned in silence. For a few moments he stroked his beard contemplatively, collecting his thoughts. “Then is the Everfree lost? I had hoped that the forest creatures gone wild were maddened by a temporary illness, but if it be true that the reestablishment of order has not occurred, even two weeks hence … a city cannot survive surrounded by these ravenous beasts; agriculture—yet alone trade—would be impossible!”

Celestia’s face showed clearly her distress. “I know … How are the affairs of state? Where are the Everfree citizens now, and what of the other nobles? We have been neglectful in Our duty-”

“Speak nothing of it Your Highness!” he replied in shock. “A week or two to recover from such ordeals is only to be expected! Not only that, but you have defended the castle while everypony else had fled! If what you say be true—and, of course, you have no reason to lie about such solemn affairs as these—then you have done this nation the greatest service it could ask! To trade your sister for us?” He took off his helmet and bowed, “If nopony else says it, I will always be forever grateful. Forsooth, with the power to eclipse the Sun and bring forth eternal darkness, Equestria would have been destroyed if not for you!”

Celestia didn’t answer away, instead the tears on her face were all the words he could ever need. ‘Thank you,’ Celestia thought, ‘I-I needed to hear that.’

He rose and replaced his helmet again, a calm expression appearing on his rugged features. “Now, in regard to the state of affairs of the citizens and nobles, they are fine. The Everfree civilians were relocated to makeshift structures near the village of Canterlot. It is temporary, but Canterlot had just finished the summer harvest so there should be no food scarcity and the town have a spring which flows from a mountain near thither; it should last for some time if necessity warrant it. The nobles … those ponies have formed a coalition of sorts, ‘The Federation’ or some such name. The aristocracy were confused and afeared of foreign invasion; at least, that is my take on it. With both Princesses gone and the Thestrals ...’

“What is this about the Thestrals, General?” the alicorn asked, leveling a stern glare that said “Thou wilt hide nothing from me!”

“T-they are gone,” he stated flatly, looking away.

“Gone?”

“Truly ... Knowing now what has transpired to Our Night Princess; it only makes sense. From what I had heard, they complained of sudden lack of accomplishment; that they had somehow failed. Most of them scattered in search of their Lady, others … were self-slain-”

“No …,” Celestia trailed off. She thought back to what Moonglow had told her.

“I know not what I would do without her!”

‘Did their connection run so deep?’ she thought. ‘I knew that their devotion was strong, but to be as … fanatical as this-’ She stomped her hoof and shook her head, startling Halberd. ‘No, they were loyal to the end … it just shows how much my sister meant to those closest to her.’

Celestia composed herself again. ‘I will conquer this self-pity.’

“What of the rebellion?” she asked. “We are ashamed that We left the field—as Our sister did—with little hint toward a course for your engagement.”

Halberd was about to say something comforting, but noticing the determined expression on his Princess’ face, he decided against it. ‘The fate of Equestria is still in peril. She would not want frivolous succor now,’ he thought. “I did what I could. Without the words of a proper leader to calm them, they thought that we had infected the Night Guard with a poison and—without their own leadership—they ignored our words of surrender. Even with their walls completely compromised by the colossal attack your magister conceived, and our superior force, they fought desperately. It is to my bitter recollection that well over one thousand were slain before we could maintain order.”

Celestia sobbed, turning her head away in shame. ‘Wherefore does tragedy stampede unimpeded,’ she thought. ‘Is my sister not enough?! Must everypony die before my oversight is vindicated?!” She sniffed loudly and got control of herself again. ‘I cannot think like that anymore. If I had not waited all this time, I could have travelled back and saved them myself. I will not be worthy of forgiveness if I commit such failures hence.’

Watching all of this, Halberd wondered if he made a mistake. “My Princess, do you-”

“Thank you,” Celestia stated calmly, blinking back her tears. Now a mask of fierce determination was on her face. “We will not make such a grave misstep henceforth … you might absolve my misdeed, but it will be far longer before We can forgive Ourselves.” Celestia made a sweeping motion with her wings, asking Halberd to walk with her and moving the discussion forward. “Tell me,” Celestia asked, “in your opinion, what are the most immediate courses of action necessary?”

Halberd didn’t hesitate to answer, he had been thinking about that for the past week. “I imagine that you should meet with the nobles and take reign of the government again. There are still several rebel movements throughout Equestria, and with our forces on the borders trying to put forth a facade of unity towards our neighbors, we have little to quell the internal turmoil. Not only that ... but I fear the type of drastic action that our nobles might do with their new coalition.

“Still, I would suppose that this forest hither be foremost on our agenda. It would be to our considerable advantage if we could remove the pestilence that pollutes this place. I imagine that might help in showing those nobles that you have everything under control if you could restore order hither and return everypony home.” He finished that last statement off with a smarmy grin.

Celestia hadn’t thought of that, in all honesty; she had subconsciously assumed that the forest was too far gone. She considered it again, ‘If the Everfree has gone mad for the same reason as my sister, then mayhap it can be ... solved the same way.’ The words bore heavily on her mind. The fact that she had to use the Elements on her own sister rocked her understanding of the world to its foundation. If her sister could be corrupted in such a way, who was safe?

Nonetheless, she had to try again.

“We understand what you say, Halberd. You and your ponies should wait hither while we do what We can. We have no doubt that your troops must be exhausted. The bridge was destroyed in the attack, so the pegasi would be the only ones able to aid me anyway. Rest here the night. We will depart with you on the morrow … whether We have a solution or not.”

With the soldiers now camped outside the forest, she entered the throne room again. In her despair, she had not returned here in the entire time since the banishment. Every time she felt like she could, she had this irrational fear that the Nightmare would be back and so she would turn away. This time, she had the future of Equestria weighing down on her; she would not turn back now.

The room was exactly how it had been left following the battle. The first vaulted ceiling ever constructed now lay half demolished on the ground, debris strewn throughout. The pulpit at the far end was still smashed and a large hole showed the full Moon; the black mare icon portrayed on it’s face was the only thing keeping flashbacks of that day from bubbling to the surface of Celestia’s mind.

Shaking herself out of these needless worries, she looked about the room, “To where have the Elements of Harmony situated themselves?” she mumbled.

She searched throughout, looking amidst the rubble, but couldn’t find the six gems. She thought back, “After I … banished Nightmare Moon, I remember floating above the castle for several moments … when finally I resolution to move, the elements were no longer with me. If that is the context, then they must be somewhere-”

It was then that she noticed five, perfectly circular holes in the ceiling; just in front of the hole Nightmare Moon had made in her second attack. “There! The Elements must have fallen through the canopy!” she exclaimed as she rushed to the holes before preceding to lower herself directly underneath the breaches. She wouldn’t have though the small gems could make such an impact, but they often worked in mysterious ways; the fact that there were five similar-looking holes couldn’t be coincidence. She searched the area.

“There is nothing here!” she yelled angrily, finally finishing her fruitless search. “The only thing strange are the- these five stones …” She noticed the identical, perfectly spherical stones had an icon engraved on them. She levitated the stones in her magic, twisting them all around so she could see the picture.

A simple hexagonal diamond shape extruded out from the face of each one. “Just like the Elements,” she whispered.

“What could this mean?! Wherefore do these stones remain and where is the sixth Element!” she yelled, stomping her forehooves in frustration.

She thought deeply for a few minutes, realizing that she honestly didn’t know that much about the Elements. There was only one place she could get answers: the Tree of Harmony. She placed the five stones on the She flew quickly out the hole in the roof and down the side of the castle into the valley below. Much of the valley floor was covered in plant-covered ruins and rubble that fell from the castle above.

She waded her way through the debris and found the cave that held the tree. It sat its regal splendor, completely unaffected by the events that had occurred. Celestia sighed in relief, ‘If the Tree is safe, Harmony has yet to surrender, and neither will We,’ she thought.

As she moved towards the Tree, she felt a familiar warmth; a soothing feeling that melted all of one’s worries away, that everything would be okay. The feeling intensified as she stood directly in front of the tree. “You had spoken to me before … you said that so long as Harmony remains here, that you could contain all that grows here, but what now?” She put her forehooves to the base on the tree and lowered her horn to it, flowing her magic into it, ‘What say you now?’

Suddenly her eyes shone with a brilliant white and words suddenly filled her mind:

This night, among the stars, a sister sleeps;

and in her chambers dost her sister weeps.

When travelling lamp o’erhead returns its course,

and thousand years the calendar endorse,

the mare of night will from her sleep awake;

the land Equestria now hers to take.

But mare of light is capable to end

this curse; her sister’s mind from Nightmare mend.

When seen six stars beyond control align,

make haste and from this Tree further divine.

Her eyes returned to normal as she stumbled backwards, falling on her rump as she tried to process what the Tree had told her. She tried push her magic into the Tree again, hoping to get more information, but nothing happened. “Satisfied” that there was nothing more it would say, she thought for a moment on what it had said.

“So ...,” she spoke aloud in her contemplation. “So Nightmare Moon nor my sister are dead?! She will return and, furthermore, she … she can be cured!” She sat up in glee before suddenly becoming overcome with dread. “Wait, but this prophecy said that it would be one thousand years from now…”

She was suddenly overwhelmed with anger. She blasted some of the debris outside the cave with her magic. “Wherefore these circumstances though?! How will Nightmare Moon return? Wherefore can I not control the Elements?! Where did they go?! Wherefore must … must I wait …”

She was about to cry again but steeled herself. “No. This will be Our fate. We will remain steadfast and observe Our duty as well as that of Our sister, until such time as she returns. Nothing will stand in the way … one thousand years or one million? We will see our sister again, We will cure her, and there will be peace in Equestria once more!”

The Tree of Harmony, 981 C.E.

Celestia was here once more. One thousand years had almost come to pass, but the six stars had finally aligned. It had happened so suddenly. She had always ensured that the Equestrian Cosmological Society had funding, under the pretext of “cosmic maintenance” to verify that the stars she moved throughout the night had moved as expected. In truth, she could care less about the movement—it was trivial after only one hundred years to keep the night sky the exact same every night—but the lack of movement that the Tree’s prophecy hinted at was vital. Suddenly, only a year prior, stars one-by-one would cease to move, staying next to the Moon.

‘With six stars now outside of my control, this Tree will ‘further divine’. It must ...’

Just as before, she placed her forehooves on the tree and lowered her horn. ‘Please … give me hope to cling to … anything that I can do to save my sister ... to save Equestria from her return!’

Her eyes shone white again and words filled her mind just as before:

This night a child now born the final mare.

Six prophecies: the Elements to bear.

Their destinies are mark’d when in the sky,

rings of Loyalty’s rainbow hues sail by.

When Light o'er hears a sound beyond a sound,

is when their marks of destiny are found.

To tower high you seek for Magic glow’s

results; adult from hatchling, dragon grows.

Of Magic’s fear you must alone sedate,

lest seal thy nation and thy sister’s fate;

as leader, Magic of this meager troupe;

without thy aid, her duty she wilt droop.

The six’s friendship, together once concealed

together brought, sixth Element revealed,

but in ignorance the six mares must be,

for without which does fail this prophecy.

Stars of prophecy, did this Tree reshape

a path, now made to aid in her escape.

Now on the Celebration of the Sun,

will night eternal reign, or be undone?

For these six mares, the night alone resist,

as mare of light, now sealed, cannot assist.

Celestia thought that it had finished and was about to release her horn when the Tree continued:

A warning now this Tree feels has for spake:

a perfect end cannot this treatise make.

Equestria, its destiny to fall,

from mare of night, or political cabal,

control of griffons ‘cross the sea desire,

and Chaos from its stone prison conspire.

One from these fates, the mare of light must choose,

the Elements alone cannot diffuse.

Celestia had thought she was mentally prepared this time, but once again found herself falling to the floor, unable to fully process the words that had flooded her mind. There was so much to consider. It took her quite a bit of time before she could finally patch what she felt was possible to “translate.”

“The elements will be held by six bearers, and these bearers are now all born? One of them was born today? There will be some ‘rainbow ring’ event—a sound beyond a sound—which will trigger all of them receiving their Cutie Marks simultaneously? The bearer of Magic I will find somewhere in some tower … with a dragon. Loyalty will have rainbow colors somehow associated with them? Can the Tree be any more confusing?!

“Ignoring the bearers for now, Nightmare Moon will make her escape—using the stars somehow— and will appear on the Summer Sun Celebration? If the previous prophecy still applies, that means … nineteen years next month! But the stars … does that mean in order to fulfill the prophecy, the Tree also aided in the return of Nightmare Moon?!

“Forgetting that—since my sister returning sooner should really be considered a good thing—what’s most worrisome is the end ... I will not be able to assist in the defeat of the thing that possesses my sister? Not to mention I cannot even tell the bearers that they must be together in harmony for the sixth element of Magic is revealed?! Moreover, I will have to choose how Equestria will fall? What nonsense is this?! Still … I cannot simply ignore everything this prophecy says … it was not wrong about the stars …”

She refocused. “Let me think this through ... ultimately, none of this will work unless the Elements of Harmony are working again. That means the bearers must be found. The only clues the Tree has given me are that one of them was born today and that they will all get their Cutie Marks at the exact same time. That means a list of all ponies getting their cutie marks on the same day as this ‘rainbow event’ will need to be tracked down. That means…” She groaned.

“That means I will need to ask the government for help.”