A Wish That Could Be

by Faithful Brony

The Reasons for Change

Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.

Saint Augustine

The new day started off slow after Celestia rose the sun. It had only been six hours since she rose the sun that morning yet it felt like it lasted longer than most. She paced there wondering what today would hold after the revelation she had yesterday. She was very much interested in solving the mystery of Russel's goals. He was hiding something and she was sure of it. Some how he blocked her spell from reading him.
It was as if a fog of darkness had blocked her from connecting. The fog seemed familiar but she couldn't quite place where she had seen it before. She briskly walked to Luna's bedroom to confer with her on it. When she entered Princess Luna's room, it was eleven thirty and her sister was already up sitting at her desk writing something down.

"Morning Celly, how well did you sleep last night," Luna asked calling her sister by the nickname she had given her as a child?

"Well enough I suppose, it took a bit of tossing and turning to get to sleep. How about you, did you sleep well this morning," Celestia responded with while rubbing her eyes?

"I'm pretty efficient at sleeping and I fall asleep fast so, no trouble there. Just finishing up the night court report and finalizing some documents. So what was in the present Russel got you," Luna asked as she finished up her work?

"He gave me a pair of diamond crafted aviator glasses and a note. He thinks I should go on vacation to a beach and relax more. I don't know what he means, I relax and get out often enough. What did he give you Lulu," Celestia inquired back. In response she began laughing which only got her a odd look from her older sister.

"Are you sure about that, he may have a point. I think you could stand to get out more Celly. Anyway, I haven't looked, there was a note on it that said don't open it yet. Its said I'll know when to, but I don't even know if I want to. He need to be figured out first and I don't want to think about opening it until then," Luna said while looking through a court records book.

"So what did you learn about find out about him last night," Celestia asked getting to the point?

"Well sis, I learned that the horn has indeed granted him much foresight into magic. He understands its intricacies in a way the average unicorn doesn't. Its odd, he even posses some degree of control over dark magic, but I cant figure out how. He didn't do much anything last night though, he even elected not to go to sleep. He just sat their meditating," Luna reported while groaned in frustration. She was not use to just watching but that's all she could do since he didn't reach the dream state.

"We'll have to look further into this, however it may just be that he chose not to sleep last night. In the mean time, I was given some interesting news by my advisers. Dragons that have been scattered all over Equestria have all been migrated back to Volcana. The dragon nation has been increasing in size over the past few months and more are flying in. Something is going on, only nopony knows what it is. I plan to make an inquiry about this in the next session," Celestia stated telling Luna what she had learned this morning.

"That is interesting news, I doubt its anything bad though. They're probably just trying to rebuild their broken culture. Now, I'm done with this boring report and I feel famished. Come sis its breakfast time," Luna called as she walked out the door lingering only to emphasize her words with a follow me gesture. Celestia quickly followed to catch up before switching back to a walking pace.

"In light of the recently bizarre events I neglected to ask for your opinion. What do you make of our guests," Celestia asked wanting to hear her sisters thoughts?

"I think everything the elder said so far is truth. I do believe that is the extent of what he knows. There is obviously more to it though. I believe Russel knows something and he is keeping it secret. He knows things, spells that not even Twilight or Cadence know. That horn has taught him spells that I had personally buried knowing that they should never be used again.
I was so sure that I was the only one who knew that wisp spell he used in his theatrical entrance yesterday. It doesn't make sense," Luna said thinking back on the memory of what happen when their guests arrived.

"Lulu, its doubtful that he has any major knowledge of dark magic. You know as well as I do that mere mortals cannot wield its power without becoming corrupted by its influence. King Sombra was the perfect example of dark magic infecting the mind with evil. Mortal minds are weak and incapable of using it, that's why we locked up all knowledge pertaining to dark magic in the vault. Nopony is capable of getting their hoofs on it so I doubt that he has anything to the extent of what you believe he has. Does he sound or look like someone under its effect, I don't think so.
The horn is old so at most it might know a couple of spells from the old days. That's probably the extent of it though. The way Russel explained how he found it leads to the conclusion that it was likely lost for centuries prior to that. It may be a receptor for knowledge but it cant absorb it if its been sealed in one place all this time. He may know something but its certainly not that," Celestia said bringing her sister down from her train of thought.

"Maybe your right, its probably nothing. Lets just try to subtly confuse him into telling us the other things he did after his transformation. Maybe he will slip up and reveal something, lifting the shroud on what his agenda is," Luna said as they reached the dinning hall. They opened to door to find most of the visiting party there. Most of the elements were there minus Rarity and Twilight. Rarity was probably trying to find the right dress for the occasion or just to be fashionably late.
Twilight on the other hoof was probably up late reading her new spell book and slept in late. The only other late party seemed to be Russel. As the princesses sat down they thought to call a guard to retrieve them when Twilight and Rarity came walking through the door. Twilight was dressed natural and Rarity was wearing a fancy new dress she made. They were followed by Russel who was adjusting his armor to a uniformed straightness. He then removed his helmet allowing the ponies and his friends to finally see the physical changes in his face.
The physical changes looked exactly how he described them. His skin shined and his eye glowed but he acted like it was all normal. As soon as everyone was seated, Chef Pierre came through a side door and bowed to the princesses.

"Bonnes princesses du soir et invités ont assisté. We have a lovely banquet prepared for breakfast this fine morning. We have some deliciously crunchy hash browns with a nice eggs Benedict and to top it off, some lovely powdered crepes. prendre plaisir," the griffon said with a thick griffonsque french accent. A bunch of ponies wheeled in the food and set it at each place at the table. They then wheeled in the largest plate shaped dish they could find in the kitchen with a huge portion of food on it for Elder Rockjaw.
They all proceeded to eat their meals with much satisfaction on their faces. The princesses and company gave their approval to the chef before he and the staff left the room. The group went on enjoy their meals as they made casual conversation. It was mostly about their everyday lives and gossip they read about in the newspaper. Once they were finished, they headed to the throne room to continue the negotiations. They soon arrive and were seated to start.

"Alright now that we can continue, I want to inquire about something. Lots of scouts around Equestria have reported seeing numerous dragons in the sky. Later I was sent a letter by one of my navy captains. He reported that some massive dragon migration was happening and was wondering if he should be worried. Tell me Elder Rockjaw, should we be worried," Celestia asked trying to quell any stray bad thoughts she may had.

"No, we are merely trying to reinforce our society by bringing together the strays who have lost their way. After The Great War, many retreated back to Volcana but quite a few dragons broke off and scattered about. They either let themselves be consumed by greed or formed pocket colonies migrating from place to place during seasons. I personally sent out an ancient call, a call that no dragon can ignore. Faan Wah Bild Niist Zin, a call to defend their honor. Their honor is only tested in times of great strife or conflict," Elder Rockjaw stated though hesitating on that last part.

"Your people have had many years of rest and solitude in your seclusion. Why now, whats changed," Luna asked getting straight to the point. Russel held his hand to the elders forearm in concern as if saying he doesn't need to continue.

"After I had trained the first group of soldiers and sent them to reinforce our borders. I gave them a crystal that would allow two way communications between us. The inspiration for that came from my colleague here in Equestria that finds me the locations of the artifacts I seek. I received a message a month later from Nahlokaaz who was the captain of said group. They were under attack and were requesting additional support. When I asked who was attacking though, he said it was the griffons.
I sent my second in command, to give them backup, and to confirm what was going on. By the time he got there however, it was already to late. The entire group had been killed and he confirmed that it was indeed griffon crossbow fire that killed them. I sent my spy unit to sneak into their capitol city to find out more and I was shocked by what she learned. They have not only increased their borders significantly but have almost doubled their army. Their whole army numbers in the hundreds of thousands while the dragon population is only twenty thousand strong.
That however isn't the whole story," Russel explained.

"So that's what you did after you gained your new form. You began retraining the dragon race on how to fight," Celestia said piecing the story together.

"Yes, I spent much of my time for the next few months training them in human fighting styles and tactics. I knew how from my life before thanks to Virtual technology and simulation programs. The reason why the griffons have been able to increase their territories is they're killing our border patrols and taking dragon territories. Months later we received a letter from the griffons. This also happens to be days before we came here. It pretty much confirmed everything we knew for months.
It said that the time for dragon existence is over, and that the time of the griffon is coming. They openly threatened us with extinction because they think we no longer have the right to exist. We aren't going to sit back and let that happen so we are preparing for war. Our only hope is that we win but the odds are stacked heavily against us," Russel finished as he sat down for the first time since entering the room. Most of the ponies were shocked however Fluttershy fainted from the disturbing news. Rainbow Dash immediately went about waking her up.

"Why must this happen now. Isn't there anything that can be done to prevent this from escalating," Twilight spoke out not wanting to see this happen.

Unfortunately Twilight it must, I wish there was a way. I don't want be resorted to killing in order to protect myself and other. The griffons have apparently come to far for anything else," Russel answered back.

"How is this even possible? The griffons are a strong race, but they don't have nearly the strength needed to do what your suggesting," Celestia stated fishing for answers.
"That's the thing, they're getting help from someone. I just don't know from where and we cant figure it out. I don't know where to look unfortunately. Teacher, its probably time to ask them what needs to be asked, Russel suggested. Elder Rockjaw nodded in agreement.

"I ask that if war does come that you do not interfere. Whatever happens in the near future is meant to happen and you need not intervene as it is not your ponies responsibility to do. So please promise me that you will follow this request," the elder asked with an air of concern that Celestia noticed right away.

"We will need to think this over but, it is something that I don't know yet. This is something that goes against my better judgement as a leader. Why are you asking this of us," Celestia wanted to know.

"You don't need to suffer any losses. Plus if anything does happen, we want you to be the ones to take care of what we leave behind. You proved your prowess in battle during the great war and your wisdom since then which shows you are worthy. Worthy to receive our secrets," the elder dragon said as Russel cast a spell. Immediately a rather large book fell in front of her. She looked at it and noticed a symbol of a drake circling a dark red ruby on the front of it.

"What is this book about," Twilight asked in wondering. She already wanted to look at its content with much curiosity.

"It is everything we are and know, our whole history is in that book. In the event that extinction does occur, we want all our recorded knowledge to live on in your hoofs. That is why we are giving this to you, we need to be careful. its just a precaution," Elder Rockjaw explained. That's when everything clicked in to place. They were here presenting her with a gift of faith.
They were trying to make up for the past mistakes made while they still could. They were holding on to hope for the future. Celestia was honored by this but also saddened under the circumstances of why its happening.

"Thank you for trusting us with it, it means a lot for you to give this to us. We will protect it with the utmost care," Celestia said with genuine emotion on her face. It was sad to even think of a species threatened with extinction much less see it happen. Russel pull a crystal out of a pouch that was attached to his belt. The crystal was shaking on its own until he touched it. As soon as he did that, a beam of light sprang up and channeled into an magic wave line. a voice soon spoke out.

"I have another piece located if you chose to accept. The coordinates is marked on a map that will be with you shortly. Be at the usual meet up point for the transaction. Good day," the voice said right before winking out.

"Well it would seem that my attention is needed elsewhere. Is there anything else or can you handle the rest master," Russel asked as he put the crystal back.

"Yes, I think I can inform her of the rest of the details from here. The princesses are the ones you need to get the okay from. Its their land," Elder Rockjaw said as he turned to Celestia waiting for an answer.

"Its okay with me but you must take Twilight and one of her friends with you; so that no trouble is caused. Twilight, who do you want to take with you," Celestia asked expecting a quick response from her student. Twilight sat their looking at her friends and pondering on it for a minute.

"I choose Rainbow Dash," Twilight decided as she went to stand next to Russel. Rainbow Hoof pumped in the air for a second before doing the same. The map appeared and Russel grabbed it, stuffing it in the same pouch as the crystal.

"So where are we going," Twilight asked right before he placed his hands on both hers and Rainbows backs.

"Hold on tight, this may feel odd. RITHWUNDUN," Russel yelled and a field of energy formed around them. After half a second it dissipated and they were gone.

(Somewhere else in Equestria)

the energy field faded, and they were no longer standing in the castle. They were now standing on a rocky mountainous area. Russel started hiking in a particular direction.

"Why are we here, and how far did we travel? I thought we were suppose to go get the artifact," Twilight stated as the two ponies followed him.

"This mountain is the place where the artifact is. How far we traveled is roughly five hundred miles north of Hoofington. We're in a place called the Andalusian mountains range. It wouldn't be in a easy to reach building," Russel said back to her. The trio hiked for a while until they reach what looked like a cave. The entrance to it looked rough like it wasn't carved out well and the doors were blown apart.
They walked amongst the debris and entered through the broken doorway.

"It seems to have been like this for quite some time. The tunnels look structurally intact but its hasn't been maintained for quit some time. I wonder what else is falling apart though," Twilight asked out loud as she looked around at her surroundings. They continued to travel further in and it only got darker as they went. Eventually it got dark enough to where they couldn't see in front of them.

"Shuluv Rith," Russel spoke and an orb of yellow light appeared. It glowed brightly, lighting up a thirty foot radius. Twilight cast a lantern spell and doubled its range. They continued for another hour before they came to a corridor. The corridor went on for another fifty meters before they reached a door with symbols all over it.

"It seems to be a door but there is no way for opening it. how do we get through," Rainbow Dash said as she was confused by the construct.

"There is a mechanism to opening it, its a word mechanism. Speak the key word in dragon speech and the door will lift. I have to find each letter hidden in the randomized text to figure out the key word. That will take time," Russel said as he studied the glyph's on the wall. Twilight and Rainbow Dash found a comfortable spot and sat down to wait for him to figure it out. Twilight cast a spell that summoned a chess set so she and Rainbow could occupy their time.
Over the course of the next thirty minutes, they played three different games. Twilight had beaten Rainbow all three time. Twilight was a champion of chess and it didn't take long for her to win each round. They had already set up the fourth game and were a few moves in when they heard a loud "CLUNK" coming from the door. It begin to lift up and Russel stepped back to allow it to retract up.

"So what was the key word," Rainbow Dash asked as she got up and stretched?

"It was yol shun, the fire is cleansing, He replied before being quiet again. When it was done he wasted no time and continued walking further in. They walked for another thirty meters before turning down a path and down a flight of stairs. The stairs led to a very open room with a door at the end. As they walked through it they took notice of the many things inside the room. There were many ancient ornately carved stone caskets lined up along the wall.
There were a few decaying tables and scrolls that looked like they hadn't been used in a long time. Candle wicks that harden to stone were sitting on the tables and there were jars that were in varying states of damage. The room had obviously been abandoned for quite some time. The trio walked through the room getting a creepy vibe from the place as they did. They were about fifteen feet from the door when Twilight accidentally bumped into one of the pots and caused it to fall over. It made a loud clattering noise as it came in contact with the floor.
Russel turned back to look at Twilight and she blushed in response.

"Sorry, I wasn't looking," Twilight said as he continued walking.

"Just be careful, the dead aren't so dead in this place. An ancient spell sits upon some of the corpses that wakes them up. Their designed to protect this place if trespassers are heard inside. Be quiet and stay on your hooves," Russel stated at a low volume. As they passed through the door they came into an even bigger chamber. This chamber had waterfalls in the back cascading down to a large pool of water naturally formed at the bottom.
The water snaked through several carved out river beds that had formed over time. There was a few areas of land that they could pass through. On the far end was an alter with a casket on it and candle holders that no longer had candles. About ten feet to the side of it was a stone treasure chest that sat on a naturally formed table. The trio walked slowly over to it, paying attention to the casket the whole time they were moving. As soon as they reached it, Russel motioned for Twilight and Rainbow Dash to stand back. He then proceeded to open it and found a single armor piece for the right fore leg.

"Well it looks like you found your armor piece. Grab it and lets go," Rainbow Dash said as she was ready to get out of the creepy place.

"No its not, it cant be the only one. One of the times I went to find an artifact it was the rear leg guards. The thing is, it was two pieces and they were both sitting in the chest together. Wouldn't it make more sense to do the same with the foreleg guards as well," Russel said as he tried to get the point across. Then it dawned on him, if it wasn't in the chest then the only place it could be was, in the coffin. He walked over to it and lifted it open.
Inside laid what looked like a lifeless dragon priest. On its left front hoof was the other armor piece. He reached for the piece but his hand was instantly grabbed by the other dead hoof as it came to life. It screeched at Russel and launched him to the wall with a punch.

"So that's what they do, the foreleg guards give the wearer increased strength. Thats frighteningly interesting," Twilight said out loud as she watched the drauger climb out of its box and walked towards Russel.

"And since it looks like an earth pony, that would mean that its adding to its already natural given strength. Allowing the punch to packs quite a wallop behind it," Rainbow Dash said right before she ran forward and bucked it. As her buck came in contact with the skeletal body, it went flying to the left and into the wall. Rainbow was pretty strong as well and she knew the kind of strength this creature had at its disposal. It had to be as strong as Big Macintosh or stronger because of the armor piece.

"Rainbow, keep it still long enough and I can take the armor piece off. Pin it down," Twilight advised as she ran to help her friend out. Rainbow Dash was running towards it when it reach out with incredible reflexes and grabbed her by the neck. It climbed out of the indent in the wall and threw her across the room. Twilight charged forward and launch a beam spell at it. The drauger held up its armor piece which deflected the spell at the floor near her. It caused the floor to blow up and the force sent her flying against the wall.
The drauger was about to come pick her up when she saw Russel appear in front of her and backhanded it to the wall again.

"You two need to get to the door. I will cast a shield spell to keep you safe once your there. Go now," he yelled as he picked her up and ushered her away. As soon as they were there, he waved his hand and a force field surrounded them. He turned around only to get punch towards the wall again. The drauger then jumped up and started pounding on his torso armor.
It was making sizable dents in the armor but before it could do any real damage, Russel grabbed it and tossed it upwards in the air. He then extended his wings and took off, catching it as it came back down. He took it to the ceiling of the room and threw it with force towards the ground. It crashed into the ground and a lot of debris flew out from the impact. The dragon priest tried to climb out but Russel slammed down onto it and ripped the armor piece off its leg. He then inhaled and let out a blazing stream of fire, burning the dark creature to ashes. Russel proceeded to wave his hand and release the shield spell releasing Twilight and Rainbow Dash. They trotted over to look at the two recovered armor pieces.

"Looks like you showed that undead pony a thing or two. Who is the pony by the way that we are suppose to meet, Rainbow asked as he did not say before they left.

"You will find out soon enough, in the mean time. Gaar lu tol ofan daar vuuk suleyk ahrk vos nii meyz oraan do dii meyar," he spoke activating the gems on his armor. The magical essence of the armor pieces flowed through the gems on his armor and into his chest plate gem. He dropped the depleted pieces and the magic glowed through his eyes as it became part of his now expanding magic well. Once the process was complete, he picked up the relics and put it in his bag. He then fixed the dents in his armor before heading back the way they came.
When they made it out of the cave Russel immediately performed the same transportation spell and teleported the trio to the desired location. The transport was instant as the girls recovered from it to find themselves standing in front of an old museum.

"So this is the location, its not what I was expecting. Who would be meeting us here," Rainbow Dash said as she thought up different scenarios of who it would be.

"Here she is now," Russel said as a Pegasus with explorers gear approach. She tipped her hat and the two fillies immediately recognized the figure. it was their favorite character and archaeologist pony, Daring Doo.

"Ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh, its Daring Doo. This has to be one of best days ever. We actually get to meet "The" Daring Doo. Can we get your autograph PLEASE," Rainbow Dash asked as she fan girled majorly. Twilight stood back in respect but Daring Doo could tell the lavender mare felt the same way as the rainbow one she thought. she was blushing intensely and had a big smile.

"Yeeeaah, sure, just as soon as me and him are done with this transaction, Daring Doo said. She felt awkward by the loads of attention Rainbow Dash was giving her. Russel motioned for her to lead and they followed her into the museum. When they entered Twilight was instantly at wonder of the many artifacts and old books that were on display here. She started zooming around looking at all the cool items in the different exhibits.

"So what are you going to do with this old place," Rainbow Dash asked as it looked like hardly anypony came in here.

"Well someday it'll be reopened as, Archaeological Finds of the Rare and Mystical. The items in this exhibit are mostly things that I found on my adventures that weren't to dangerous to be displayed. And right here is the exhibit that he is helping me with. This exhibit is for displaying the dragon priests enchanted armor set. Those armor pieces are some of the oldest magical artifacts to ever be recorded about in pony history. They contained awesome powers and if combined together, will make the wearer a very powerful force.
Each piece has its own individual enchantment designed to enhance the wearers abilities with the body parts they are designed to. The horse shoes give the wearer lightning fast speed and the rear legs give unnatural jumping powers. This right here is the display I had designed for the armor," Daring stated as she showed off the armor to them. The pieces she had were set up on the ponyquin perfectly.

"Speaking of which, here are the foreleg guards," Russel said as he handed them over to her. She went right to placing them on the ponyquins front legs. As soon as she was done she went to the back of the library and opened a drawer on her desk. She came back a few minutes later with Russel's payment of one thousand bits. She tossed it to him and hoof over two autographed photo shots of the epic adventurer. Rainbow Dash and Twilight both thanked her and giggled excitedly.

"Now if you will go, I have many things I have to do. I will report back to you when I find another possible location," Daring said as the trio left the building.

"That was awesome, I cant believe we just helped the Daring Doo. This day just got twenty percent cooler than it was before we got here. It was already amazing to begin with too," Rainbow Dash said as she squeed with excitement.

"I know, today was great day indeed. Now let get back, I'm sure the girls are wondering where we are. I wouldn't mind getting something to eat either since I'm feeling pretty hungry," Twilight stated as her thoughts turned to food. Russel repeated the teleport process one more time and the they returned to Canterlot castle. The scenery changed to the familiar white and gold walls that the girls were use to seeing. As Twilight and Rainbow Dash headed towards the kitchen, Russel headed down the opposite hallway.
This almost went unnoticed by Twilight but she caught it just in the nick of time. She waited for a few seconds before turning around to follow him. Twilight kept a minimum fifteen feet behind him as he made a left turn down the next corridor. He then headed up a flight of stairs and into the guest wing. She was about to call it quits when he stopped in front of a painting of beautiful flowers all in a meadow. The meadow was bathed in moonlight which only made the image look more serene.
She watched him wave his hand over it then fell back in shock as he stepped into it. After a few seconds she recovered from her shock and ran up to the painting. She pushed her hoof into it only to feel a solid surface. She stood there perplex on how he did that. After trying to figure it out for fifteen minutes she called it quits as she didn't want to be there all night. Plus the girls would start to worry if she stayed much longer.
She took one last look at the painting and decided she would come back later when she had time to figure it out. She headed to the kitchen to enjoy lunch with her friends and to fill her stomach to her hearts content.

Author's Note:

Well I have officially written my longest chapter yet in this story. It may be a little long I don't know, tell me what you guys think. Sorry for not making the fight scene longer I have a bigger one that's going to be coming up soon so look forward to that. Also one last thing, I know there is a lot of technical mumbo jumbo and a lot of side quests that I'm throwing at you, but trust me its integral to the story so just bear with me here. Anyway i hope you at least enjoyed the chapter and the next one will be up soon. Have a nice day readers.