Legends Never Die: The Return of the King

by bookhorse125

Prologue: Crescent Moon

In a secluded part of Equestria, the tower stood.

The Tower of Day and Night rose high above the mountains surrounding it, a tall, narrow structure of pure white stone jutting into the sky. All around it in the perfectly circular break in the mountains was a deep canyon, crossable by twelve rope bridges that surrounded the Tower at regular intervals. Whenever the sun shone on the tower, its shadow would fall across the land and reveal what the time was - if anypony was around to see it.

Alas, nopony had been to the Tower of Day and Night since its creation - and even then, the only pony there was Princess Twilight Sparkle herself, along with former princesses Celestia and Luna, whom she felt were obligated to see the Tower themselves.

The large, seemingly pointless tower was actually a large clock, and within this giang clock was a tiny amulet, the Amulet of Day and Night, which contained a small amount of both of the royal sisters’ magic, allowing whoever held the amulet and could activate it control over the motions of the celestial bodies above.

Of course, Twilight Sparkle had been given this amulet when she became ruler of Equestria and the royal sisters retired, but it hadn’t taken her long to realize that she couldn’t keep up with the exhausting task of ruling both the day and the night, and with nopony to help her, she decided to leave the amulet to its on devices - literally. She constructed the Tower of Day and Night and put the amulet inside it, so that, as the clock kept ticking, the amulet would be magically activated at the right times, bringing about day and night without Twilight ever lifting a hoof.

A perfect solution - at least, while Twilight reigned. But one of the two retired sisters knew that the purple alicorn would not reign forever - and could already sense danger on the horizon.

This place needed a guardian. And so she decided to find one.

Her hoofsteps were slow and deliberate. The mountain range loomed in front of her, but she flew over it leisurely. A magic shield - passed through with a single blast from her horn. Once the pony was inside, the shield went back up, flickering magenta pink before solidifying and turning invisible.

As always, whenever Luna was out and about in the day, she felt so out of place. Her coat and mane were dark blue to match the night sky and all its glorious splendor - the day just didn’t suit her. It was too demanding, too bright, too harsh for her liking.

But she would wait here. She would wait here and they would come.

They would come… if they were right.

Luna landed next to the Tower and walked around the base, inspecting it. When Twilight had first shown her and her sister the structure, they had watched from a distance as the princess cast a transparency spell on the side, allowing them to see the gears and levers and fancy mechanics inside the Tower working as the day turned to night.

But now she could see all the detail, the inscription along the bottom that explained what the tower was and how it worked. The shallow carvings in the smooth white stone had been immortalized by Twilight’s protective shield - the Tower was supposed to be kept here forever, always working, never changing. And, most importantly, nopony was supposed to know about it. Luna had a pretty good feeling why Twilight had looked at her specifically when she said that.

The Princess of Friendship was a lovely pony indeed - Luna had no doubt about it. But that didn’t keep her from making a few mistakes - everypony did it. That was why she had her friends to help her. But for this, Luna suspected that she was the only pony who really knew about it - other than perhaps her sister. And she knew that somepony needed to stand here and guard the Tower of Day and Night, and protect something else.

Around the Princess of Night’s neck was a small crystal in the shape of a crescent moon that exactly matched her cutie mark. She had taken it from the Tree of Harmony, hoping that the magical entity’s ability to see many things, both past, present, and future, would substitute for her and her sister’s ability of the same kind.

After all, somepony had to deliver the ominous prophecies that made it seem like the world was ending while also providing a faint hope that an unlikely group of heroes would save the day through a complicated and mysterious method.

And so she waited, without much to do. During the day, she would pass the time by exploring the valley and the Tower itself, trying to sort out how it worked, but eventually giving up on that when she realized that it was far too complicated for her to understand. When night came, Luna would explore the dreams of the ponies she chose, give them the message again, and wait. Waiting was all she could do at this point.

Until he came.

Luna had been waiting for a week, possibly more, and was even more bored than she was in the early hours of the morning when Celestia was still sleeping. She eventually decided to go for a fly around the Tower to stretch her wings. As her wings caught an updraft and she soared in circles just underneath the shield, she spotted a small blue and purple figure emerging from the mountains and slowly approaching the Tower, with the air of a pony who had just laid their eyes on something magnificent - something that they can’t believe that they are seeing right now.

She watched, hovering in place, beating her large blue wings silently through the air, as the pony below stepped out of the shadows of the mountains and into the noon sunlight, and there was something… different now.

Of course, whenever someone steps from shadow to light, they look a little different, but this pony practically glowed. It was as if his coat was infused with sparkling crystals-

With that thought, Luna had her answer. This pony was a Crystal pony.

But she hadn’t given her message to any Crystal ponies… and she was so sure that she only gave the message to ponies that would be able to find her and the Tower of Day and Night. How had this pony found her?

Deciding to make herself known, Luna soared down and landed at the edge of the canyon on the Tower’s side of the gaping void. The Crystal pony had crossed one of the bridges and was walking around the base of the Tower, reading the inscriptions that were there. Now that she was closer, Luna could see that the stallion was barely older than a colt (or maybe that was just her perspective, since she was more than a thousand years old) with a dark blue coat similar to hers and a curly purple mane that oddly glittered in the sunlight. His sky blue eyes bore the same resemblance to all Crystal ponies, with a glistening sheen over the crystal-shaped pupils.

“Uh, Your Highness,” he stammered, quickly bending his legs in a bow.

Luna rolled her eyes and sighed. She had been retired for years now, and ponies still bowed whenever they saw her. She didn’t blame them, per say - she could be very intimidating.

But for Celestia’s sake, why did old habits have to die so hard?

“Please, excuse the formal titles,” she said arily, waving one wing and tossing her head. He stood up, his hooves still shaking slightly, and she folded her wings, trying to appear as non-threatening and unintimidating as possible.

“What is your name?”

“Um, Midnight, Your Hi-” He clamped his mouth shut before he could continue.

“How did you get here?”

He pointed behind him. “There’s a tunnel leading through the mountains - I found it on an ancient map before I came down here.”

“And how did you know to come down here?” This was the question she was most anxious to ask - if she hadn’t given this pony her message, then how had he received it?

Midnight lowered his eyes and pawed nervously at the ground. “One of my friends… he’s a yak, and we usually meet in the mountains. He told me that he was having this strange dream, and he told me what it said, and I don’t know, I just - I felt like I should come down here. Like it was for me.” He looked into her eyes and said, “If you’d like, I can go back now-”

“No, no, it’s fine,” she laughed, and he looked surprised. “Though I did not give you my message directly, I sense that you coming here was no act of coincidence - and I shall accept your service.”

He looked confused. “Um… all the message said was that I was supposed to find the Tower of Day and Night, and you would explain the rest.”

“Did I not mention the pledge to service?” He shook his head. “I could have sworn I did. No matter, I’ll explain it. As you undoubtedly know by now, this is the Tower of Day and Night, and it is the reason we have day and night. This is a symbol of continuity and order in Equestria - what is to be expected.

“But it may not always be this way. For I sense that, soon, we will not know what to expect anymore - which is why we - I - need somepony to know what to expect.”

The Crystal pony in front of her gulped. “I don’t suppose you’re talking about somepony else?”

She shook her head. “I’m afraid not. But that is why I asked you to meet me here - I wanted to make sure whoever found me and the Tower would be up to the task.” She lowered her head until they were eye-level. “I hate to bestow such a burden to a pony so young as yourself, but I do hope that you will agree - I sense that you are the pony I am looking for.”

Midnight thought for a long moment. Luna could see that he was thinking hard, and she didn’t blame him - this would be a huge commitment. But then he took a deep breath and lifted his head.

“I’ll do it,” he said. “Just… what exactly is it?” Then, in an undertone to himself, “Maybe I should have asked that before I agreed…”

“It is nothing complicated,” Luna assured him. She used her magic to lift her necklace up and over her head and over his until the crescent moon rested on his heart. “This is a piece of the Tree of Harmony, infused with some of my magic. It will allow you to receive visions of any danger that may come to Equestria, and the ability to enter the dream world to warn the necessary ponies about it.”

Midnight was looking even more unsure now. “And… you want me to do that?” he asked, a hint of panic creeping into his voice. “I’ve never done anything this important before! What if I mess it up? I’ll probably mess it up! A-and how will I know what to do, and-”

“Midnight.” She put a hoof on his shoulder, and he looked into her eyes. “You found your way down here for a reason. I have complete faith in you. You are the pony I need, and I hope that you will find the confidence in yourself to believe the same.” She glanced at the sky. “If you would like, night is coming - I can help you practice what can be practiced tonight. But then I must leave, and the rest - you will have to figure it out on your own.”

“Okay,” he said heasitantly. “Just one more question - how long will this last?”

She sighed heavily. “That, I do not know. As long as it takes. The crystal will release you when the time is right.”

“Release me?” he cried, looking down at the small object that rested on his chest. “Is it stuck?” He tried to pull the necklace over his head, but the crystal glowed bright, and he yelped, letting it drop back to his heart. “Why can’t I take it off?”

Luna nodded sagely. “It is as I suspected. The crystal has chosen you - you are the right pony for the job. You will have all the answers to the questions I am sure you have, but in due time.” She gently steered him back to the Tower. “You are to guard the expected and announce the unexpected. I sense that you are the right pony for the job. I have the utmost confidence in you.”

The pony sighed and lifted the crystal in his hoof, staring at his reflection in the pure white stone. “I hope I will, too.”

The sun set, the moon rose, just as it always had. But the unexpected would come - and soon.

Author's Note:

Here's the first chapter! Tell me what you think!

Constructive criticism is appreciated. Thank you for reading!

Comments

[Phetiamwantip]

I think it's amazing, bookhorse125. I really like this new sequel. I'll be willing to read more of your upcoming chapters soon. Keep up the good work! If four things are followed - having a great aim, acquiring knowledge, hard work, and perseverance - then anything can be achieved.

[Yoshifan30]

Of course, Twilight Sparkle had been given this amulet when she became ruler of Equestria and the royal sisters retired, but it hadn’t taken her long to realize that she couldn’t keep up with the exhausting task of ruling both the day and the night, and with nopony to help her, she decided to leave the amulet to its on devices - literally. She constructed the Tower of Day and Night and put the amulet inside it, so that, as the clock kept ticking, the amulet would be magically activated at the right times, bringing about day and night without Twilight ever lifting a hoof.

Well it makes sense to be honest with you how the sun and moon move by itself

[Yoshifan30]

So it looks like we went back to the past and it looks like Luna was waiting for somebody to guard the tower but apparently she didn't have to wait this long because a pony showed up but it's the crystal pony named midnight apparently he had a dream that one of his friends told him about this Tower and somehow knew about this area and Luna felt like that he could be the one to keep an eye on the tower if anything happens and apparently the crystal agrees because it chose him I wonder if he could be that mysterious Pony that Sunny was talking to well I guess we'll find out next time

[MatTheBook]

Hello

old friend

[Magic135]

Great build-up.