The Festival of Lights

by Dusk Melody

Prologue - A Thousand Years Ago

One thousand years ago.

Somewhere deep under The Badlands of Equestria.

It felt so still. The air wrapped around her like the touch of a cool bed sheet. Below, the lake surface lay shining and perfect as a mirror. Blue lights danced around the cavern, reflected by the water.

Lady Alethea closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. As if she was slipping gently to sleep, the world seemed to shrink around her. She felt not a breeze and heard not a sound. A jumping cave fish shattered the silence; a resounding splash echoed up from the lake and set the mirror surface to shimmering. Silence left her as quickly as it had come, and she once again heard the sounds of the ceremony from the city above. Alethea sighed, cleared her mind, and continued down the long spiral staircase that led to the Tomevault. She had work to do and this would be her last chance in an exceptionally long time.

Inside the Tomevault, Alethea hurried to the central chamber and readied the Crucible. The angular stone inside seemed to catch the light from the room and cast it out again like a prism. As she had done many times before, Alethea removed the stone from the Crucible and replaced it with another. She stared for what felt like an age into the white gem – such a vast wealth of knowledge inside, and it had kept them safe for all these years.

“And yet not safe enough,” she said aloud without meaning to.

“I know you wish it hadn’t come to this, Lady Librarian,” a voice from behind called out to her, catching the aged red earth pony mare by surprise. It was Evenlight; how long had she been there? “I feel the same way, but it is for the best. For all of us.” the white unicorn smiled at her, and Alethea looked from Evenlight down to the stone she held in her hand which cast reflected light across her eyes.

“All the knowledge in here, all of our history, our tradition. Will it be forgotten as Umberfoal will be?” Alethea gestured toward the stone and looked back at her friend. Evenlight was the younger of them by far, but Alethea noticed for the first time the creases beneath her eyes. Perhaps time was catching up?

Evenlight, known as the Wise, was the most gifted unicorn mage in Umberfoal. Not that she would ever stoop to using such a title herself. “Perhaps,” Evenlight said as she gathered her long robes around her body, “But this is not forever, my friend. To us the years will pass in but a peaceful moment. What is forgotten can be remembered.”

She had toiled long and hard with her friend to prepare the very enchantment they were about to cast. Yes, the price was high, but it was one worth paying to save her people and her city from the Lord of Chaos.

“You’re right,” conceded Alethea, “As always.” she smiled back, “You should return to the plaza for the final preparations. I will be with you soon, after I have attended to the Crucible.” Agreeing, Evenlight turned and trotted away and soon enough, Alethea heard her begin the winding ascent back to the city. She stood by the tall archway and listened intently until she could no longer hear the hoof-falls, then she hurried back into the main chamber.

Pulling away a cloth, Alethea revealed an intricate device sitting on a stand. It seemed at first to be full of water – black and inky as the Deepwell itself, but soon it started to shift and turn. Shapes began to appear in the device; a single strand of silk wove its way out of the blackness, framed by the image of eight long legs that almost seemed like they would reach out and grab her, but instead they curved and distorted around the thread. A slowly rising hissing and clacking began to fill the room as the silk began to resonate, and a singular voice echoed out toward Lady Alethea.

“Have the final preparations been made?” it whispered through the vibrations. Alethea closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Breathing out, she looked around at the library that was her home. She plucked at the thread to reply.

“Yes,” she said simply, “They have.”

Comments

[Zervon Tora]

This is off to a promising start.