The War of Equestria

by rainbowtiger00

Learning Runes

There was a forest lake in the woods. Not many townspeople knew where the lake was. It was a hidden place, one to go when the soul needed cleansing. The water poured out from a hidden geyser in the ground. The water was mineral rich, and clear as a diamond.

Lena sat on a large rock and stared at her reflection in the crystal blue water. It was in the middle of summer, and the land was warm. Jonathan and Argon were playing with Argon's sisters. She was alone for a few hours. This lake was a special place for her.

Nineteen years ago, Felix and Jonathan's father, Gelasio had been on a hunting trip.

They had discovered the lake and explored it. During the exploration, Felix and Gelasio had found her as a newborn baby on a rock beside the lake.

She was wrapped in a silver colored blanket that had a crescent moon on it. All she knew of her parents was that they had cared enough for her to place her somewhere warm and safe. The two men had brought her to the town. A kind woman with the name, Keldsworth had looked after her while she was a baby. She had been the one to give her the name Lena.

Then when she was six, the woman died from the disease that haunted Corina. Lena had moved to the streets, in order to survive. She took the woman's name as her last name, to honor her.

But she wasn't completely alone. Felix and Trisha gave her food when she couldn't find any back during the first years. It was during that time that she had gotten to know Jonathan and Argon. They were like family to her. Jonathan helped her hunt.

Argon taught her how to read and write. She cared deeply for them all. Lena sighed softly and picked up a gray, smooth pebble. She rolled it around in her fingers. She had a problem.

Ever since she turned fifteen, she had begun having feelings for Argon. But she was certain that he had none for her. She threw it into the lake. Hard. The resounding splash echoed throughout the lake.

She sighed heavily. Having no blood family meant that she had nothing to offer other than herself if she were to go into a relationship. No dowry. A dowry was a gift that you gave to the family of who you were to love. While she did know that Trisha and Felix wouldn't mind not having any bonus to their wealth, it still bothered her.

Jonathan had the status of his family being well known by the village. If he were to love someone, he could use his necklace and halberd as a dowry. She didn't even know if Argon gave her a chance if it would go that far. But her heart wouldn't let her not think of it. Footsteps sounded behind her.

They were accompanied by the thud of a staff. Lena's head quickly turned to the source. Elder Onyx Ashstone was standing on the trail, with his back to her. On his finger was a tiny baby bird. She stood.

"Greetings, Elder Onyx Ashstone." He turned, and saw her. "Greetings, young Lena Keldsworth. (Tis fine to see you)." His eyes searched her, and Lena got the uncanny feeling that he was reading her thoughts.

"Do you know what type of bird this is? (It's not easy to tell)." He asked, stretching out his hand. Lena got down from the rock and took a closer look. The baby bird still had it's fluffy down on it, and it's beady eyes blinked at her.

The feathers were black and white, and its beak was small and black. The wings were small, and Lena guessed that it had tried to fly only for it to fall out of the nest. All animals seemed to have a deep respect for Elder Onyx Ashstone, often approaching him without fear. He in return held a deep respect for them. "No, I don't."

Elder Onyx Ashstone's mouth was hidden from view behind his blue mask, yet she knew from the sparkle in his eye that he was smiling. "It's a mockingbird. (A baby mockingbird.) This little fellow will charm you by copying any tune from any bird and then steal your food. (Nature's little thief)." Lena giggled.

"Really?" He nodded. "Yes. (Very clever these birds are). But there is one thing that they do that is rather odd. (Only a few animals do this.)"

He climbed up a tree and stopped near a nest. Eight baby bluebirds were in that nest, along with a mother and father bluebird. They were chirping softly and cocked their heads at him.

Elder Onyx Ashstone placed the baby mockingbird gently in the nest. It hopped to the mother and father bluebirds. They nestled the hatchling with their wings, seeming to comfort it.

Lena raised an eyebrow at him as he got down. "Shouldn't the baby bird go back to its family?" Elder Onyx Ashstone shook his head. "The baby is already back with its family. (Mockingbirds lay their eggs in other bird's nests).

Their young are raised by perfect strangers. (It's how they work)." Lena stared. "The other bird's don't mind?" Elder Onyx Ashstone nodded.

"Not a bit. (The mockingbird males earn their own way to please a female mockingbird, you know)." Lena turned to him. "Really?" He gestured at a stray bluebird feather on the ground.

"They gather every piece of anything that is shiny and lines their nests with it. (But they really don't need to have it, the female would want to be with them, purely for them being them)." Lena nodded. "Thanks for telling me, Elder Onyx Ashstone." He nodded at her.

"Your welcome, Lena. (I hope that helps you)." She left the lake and headed off to find Argon and Jonathan.

A loud clunk startled him, and Jonathan jumped up with surprise. Twilight was frozen in mid-motion, her hoof having knocked over a large pot of water. She smiled at him sheepishly. "Sorry Jonathan." He mumbled.

"It's okay." The sun was at its very peak, and there were no shadows on the ground.

Jonathan had been laying on his side, watching Twilight. She was drawing a piece of chalk all around the dirt. She was copying the symbols from the scroll onto the ground. Spike was there, having woken up from his nap an hour earlier, and was happily enjoying a cup of blueberry tea.

Applejack had gone off to find the rest of Twilight's friends, for Twilight had said that it was best if they knew what was going on. Although
Pinkie Pie probably already knew. Then he had fallen asleep and had another dream. Jonathan sighed, and rolled onto his side. His gut was aching from fear.

He was afraid that Argon or Lena was hurt.

He couldn't forget about the armored female, the nimble dagger throwing man, the hateful dark green eyed man, and the dark blue cloaked person that was so sad. Why was an arrow shot at the person? Why were there so many creatures?

Why did most of them seem so familiar? And why was the dark cloaked person sad? It was all so confusing. And there was no elder to go and ask advice from. Which was bad.

Twilight stopped drawing with the chalk. “Alright, Jonathan. Step right into the middle of the chalk arcane symbol, please. But be really careful not to mess up the chalk. He tiptoed across the ground avoiding the white lines.

Once he was in the middle, Twilight flapped to the outside. “Okay then. Everything is set. Ah, and there are my friends.” Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, a pink-maned pony with a butter yellow coat named Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie had arrived and were sitting on the sidelines.

Twilight's horn glowed, and the chalk was set ablaze. “Jonathan, whatever you do, don't panic. Alright?” Jonathan swallowed nervously. “Right.”

The air around him turned into a dark purple color. The fire itself was light lavender that was glowing. He felt shivers crawl up his back.

He felt an ethereal wind push at his locks, making them move along with it. The necklace lifted into the air as well and began to glow. Jonathan winced internally. “Here we go.” He looked at his back.

Two large, glowing outlines in the shape of a pair of wings had appeared onto his back, just like the ones before. He felt his forehead. A horn was on there, like the one before. He glanced at his chest. An outline of a six-pointed star with five other stars was glowing there.

Jonathan glanced at his hands. His hands bore the outlines of a single leaf on each. Then finally, he looked at his legs. An outlined tail lay there, moving as he moved. Five other marks were on his legs, two on his left, three on his right.

The two on his left were each a mark of something. One was of three balloons. The other was of three diamonds. The three on his right were also a mark of something. One was of three apples.

The other was of three butterflies. Lastly, one was a cloud with a lightning bolt coming out of it. The outline of Twilight could be seen through the dark purple air. “Okay then. Jonathan, step outside of the circle.”

He obeyed. The air turned to normal, and the fire extinguished itself. He glanced at his hands. Everything had returned to normal. Twilight was scribbling into a notebook.

She nodded. “So, then. The tail, horn, and wings are there merely for show, apparently. They simply are there to scare off enemies. Nothing more.

However, all the five symbols on your legs are runes. Including the stars, and the leaves. Also, the streak on the bottom of your lip. The ones on your legs, and chest all have the same energy source. Light.

It seems like they could be used for protection, healing, and amplifying spells. The ones on your hands and lip seem to have a mixture of

Light and normal magic. This could be used for telekinesis, telepathy, and music. The streak on your lip seems to be what is allowing you to know what we are saying.” He blinked.

“You mean without this. I wouldn't?” Twilight shook her head. “I think all you would be able to hear is a high pitched whine.” Jonathan suddenly snapped his fingers.

“Of course! It makes sense now! Only I could hear the creature say 'die' over and over. Argon and Lena kept hearing a high pitched growl instead!” Twilight nodded. "But there are three others.”

She looked at him with a calculating look.

“I can't tell what they are. But I do know that when I try to tap into their energy source, they flare back at me with what feels like dark magic.”

Jonathan sighed. “Even more wonderful. So these runes can get me home?”

Twilight paused, then sighed. “Do you want the good news or the bad news? Or both?” Jonathan bit his cheek. “Both.”

Twilight gestured at the necklace. “The runes aren't powerful enough for you to be taken back home. We need something in order to charge them. But at your world, I fully believe you could use them without charging them. Here, however, you have to charge them.”

Jonathan looked at her. “How do we charge the runes? Do we use another one of your spells?” Twilight shrugged. “I don't know.
I haven't figured that out yet.” He groaned and slumped next to Spike. “Argon's gonna kill me…”

Pinkie Pie bounced over to him. “Hey, Jonathan! Guess what I was doing yesterday!” Jonathan looked at her. “What?”

She kept bouncing. “I was wandering around the edge of Applejack's fields when I came across a rock. It had a name on it. And it was the most curious name I had ever seen!” Jonathan cocked his head.

“What was the name?” Pinkie Pie answered.

“Angina.”

Author's Note:

Tell me what you think.

Comments

[Blackdust]

Angina? So he's in the future...? Or the past with the future colliding into it?

[Castok the Shadow]

Angina

Argon X Lena slowly becoming cannon?!

[rainbowtiger00]

7207361 I don't care, I love it!