Just what were those four stars that allowed Nightmare Moon to escape her lunar prison, and where are they now?
A 7 part project detailing the history of Equestria's forgotten past. As we saw in the return of Nightmare Moon, the very stars themselves would aid in her escape. But what, or rather who, were those stars. How did Celestia harness all six Elements of Harmony herself alone? Why was Luna banished for 1000 years instead of being cleansed like all the others. These questions and more are answered in Occultus Canonicus, hidden legacy.
"Visit the Crystal Empire! Home to this years Equestrian Games and resting place of the Crystal Heart! Visit the Crystal Cathedral where the Elements of Harmony succeeded in saving the world yet again! Medieval Fair with Jousting, Arts and Crafts, Unique Foods and Styles. All this can be yours when you you vacation in the Crystal Empire! -Crystal Empire Tourism Board Pamphlet No. 6
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Twilight was having the time of her life.
There weren’t any natural disasters to worry about. No monsters storming the kingdom. No sealed away evils to battle and snatch defeat away from at the last possible moment. There wasn’t even any other patrons in the Crystal Kingdom Library. And it wasn’t all that surprising really, if you had been demi-banished for 1000 years you’d want to stick your head out and see what had changed too. No, the newly crowned Princess of Friendship was enjoying some much needed down time in her Sister-In-Law’s book repository, lost amongst the stacks looking at preserved tomes that the world hadn’t seen in a millennium.
Row after row of dusty tomes line the path Twilight took deeper and deeper into the stacks. She pondered briefly where the dust came from if everything but the books themselves were made from unchanging crystal and instead turned her inquisitive nature to a gated off section she hadn’t noticed before when she was with her favorite filly-friends searching for a way to deal with King Sombra. Using the magic in her horn she gave the gate a dug and the latch wouldn’t move. Gasping and clapping her fore hooves together in foal like glee made back to the main librarians desk.
“A forbidden section! My favorite part of any library. Exclusive tomes holding knowledge the world hasn’t seen in ages. Even more rare and uncommon than the library it’s self! And to think, all those poor books with nopony to read them! This neglect shall not stand on my watch, I decree it!” Taking a brief bit of foalish joy in her newly acquired princessly power.
“Good for you, then kindly decree it where someponies are trying to read in peace!” A grouchy aged stallion grumbled from his study chair off to the side of Twilight’s proclamation.
Blushing fiercely and bowing an apology she scurried to the head librarian’s desk to inquire about the restricted section.
“What? A locked gate? No. No I don’t think so,” the aged Librarian Mare puzzled, “The only locked door in the whole library is the one to my office that has delicate books under repair or containing frayed magics in need of repair and that’s behind this desk. You’re sure you found a gate that was locked in the library?”
Twilight reassured her and asked if there were any keys lying around, that maybe there were something in the collective memory of crystal ponies that they were still trying to remember after being cut off from their crystal heart for so long. After a bit of searching they turned up nothing, and more than a little intrigued the Librarian went back with the lavender princess.
When they reached the gate the Librarian walked right on by it with out noticing it all. And in fact, looked puzzled that Twilight had stopped all together and looked at her expectantly.
“What is it dear? I thought we were going some place. . .to. . .that’s strange I forgot what we set out for. This old memory isn’t what it used to be, did you need help finding a book dear?” the Librarian polished her reading glasses on her coat waiting for Twilight’s answer.
“Please tell me Mistress of the Library, in the index where would I find a yellow book on Star Swirl the Bearded that detailed his early years studying in the Ever Free Castle?” Twilight posed, testing a theory.
“Well that would depend, do you mean his personal memoirs that are in a mustard yellow book, his school reports and magic theories that are actually in a teal book, or do you mean that tawdry unofficial biography done in a daisy yellow book?”
“I thought as much, your memory is more than fine. I think the gate we’re trying to open has been enchanted so that ponies simply don’t notice it or forget what they were looking for.” Twilight rapped her hoof on the metal bars and the librarian’s eyes bugged out. All she saw was another indiscriminant stack of books like all the others but when Twilight’s hoof tapped she could hear metal. The disconnect immediately made her nauseous and she wobbled in place, Twilight steadied her with her wing until the aged keeper of books settled her stomach and equilibrium. When she had she noticed something different. “I say! When I’m in contact with you I can see the gate and my stomach settles down. This is powerful Avoidance Magic my dear, which if memory serves requires powerful magic to sense let alone create. It’s similar to the spells dragons use on their hidden hordes to keep would be adventurers away! I must’ve walked by this a hundred times a year and never knew it was there.”
Twilight puzzled over this as they went closer to inspect the locked gate, “Well, and no offense, you crystal ponies aren’t known for having your own magic spells aside from the ones you use communally like the one with the Crystal Heart. This could only mean. . .” She trailed off; around the lock was a familiar black crystal inlaid sigil that she’d seen before on the crown of King Sombra.
“Th-th-th-The King!” the Librarian stammered immediately breaking contact and backing away from the gate at full speed until she bumped her rump in support column on the other side of the hallway. Shaking her head she calmed down quickly and looked confused for a moment. “Oh dear me, my memory isn’t quite what it used to be, tell me deary, what were we looking for again. Did you need help finding a book?”
Mind racing Twilight shook her head know and sat down to think while the once again oblivious Library Mare when back about her work. “Omigosh Omigosh Omigosh Omigosh!” Twilight thought to herself,”This is top tier magic warding at work here. And I don’t want to risk upsetting the Librarian again. Even with Sombra gone they’re still skittish at any mention of him, though to be fair if I was imprisoned for a millennium I’d be fearful of him too. I wish I had Spike with me, at least then I wouldn’t be traveling into the unknown alone.”
She drew little circles on the polished crystal floor pouting, cursing the young dragons admittedly justified curiosity in the dragons migrating to the south. Even if his adventure with the teen dragons had ended poorly she couldn’t slight him for wanting to know more about his people and how he came into the Princesses’ possession. Having sulked enough she stood up and squared her shoulders while readjusting her regalia to venture forth with pride.
“You can do this Twilight! You’re a Princess now, if you can handle ancient gods of chaos a restricted section should be no problem!” Returning to the gate she had a feeling how to open the gate, focusing her will and letting her magic take on the darker tones of Shadow that Celestia showed her the lock frosted over with purplish black crystals as a little used locking mechanism recognized the magic it was built for and swung in. Behind the ornate metal work lay a deep hallway descending down into inky blackness. Refocusing her magic into a light spell the Princess of Friendship went on to plumb the unknown depths of the Crystal Library.
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Applejack was not having the time of her life.
The town market was slow today, the summer sun high in the sky influencing all the mares and colts to gravitate to the Ice Cream Shops and more air conditioned stores like Sugar Cube Corner instead of her open air stand in the middle of the square. The heat didn’t bother the earth pony. Her long hours in the orchards made her neigh impervious to sunburn and her once light yellowish white coat had been sun tanned into the yellowish ochre it was today. Even her mane and tail were lighter than when she was a filly. Truly, if there was every a mare with a love for sunlight than it was Applejack.
But the sun was not working in her favor today. And the few bits she had in her coffers were more than a painful reminder that if things didn’t cool off soon she’d have to haul back a still mostly full apple cart and a mostly empty bit bag. While no stranger to hard work and never one to shirk it, she preferred that the work be in her favor. Mind left to wander the cowpony didn’t notice the stallion of roughly the same age as her making his way through the stands filling his saddle bags with various ingredients. It wasn’t until he was perusing her wares that she noticed him at all.
Tall, and more than a little pudgy, he was an earth pony with a stark white chef coat to contrast his black fur. Acid green mane and tail were braided similar to hers and he had a cutie mark of an apple growing from a bush with thorns on it. Removing her hat she immediately thrust out a hoof and shoot his in her typical greeting.
“Well howdy there pardner, t’ain’t seen you round these parts before! Anything ah can help you with, Sweet Apple Acres has the best fruit around if aye do say so myself! Name’s Applejack, how can aye helps ya?”
A stranger’s smile first appeared on the stallions face, then surprise, followed by full on shock. Applejack couldn’t place his accent, but when he spoke she recognized a similar drawl to her own, but older, like Grannysmith’s.
“Ahm pleased to meetcha Applejack, the names Blackbriar, Blackbriar. But did you just say Sweet Apple Acres? As in a farm owned by the Apple Family?” the dark stallion asked with incredulity.
Thrusting out her chest with pride the earth pony mare gestured with her hoof at the 6 different varietals on display. “Ya did indeed hear correctly thar pardner, the Apple Family has been till’n soil here for well over a hundred years, ahn we’re plan’n to do so for a hundred more! I’m surprised y’all haven’t heard o’ us before, we’re famous for our cider. It gets sold all over Equestria and is a favorite of the Princess herself.”
The stallion was dumbstruck; he appeared to be honestly befuddled by a fact that was fairly common to most Equestrians. Applejack could see the gears turning in his head and moved the conversation along to avoid an awkward pause. “Ah don’t mean to brag, goddess knows that’s Rainbow Dash’s specialty, but we Apples have spread all over Equestria. Shoot, we just had our family reunion a spell back and we had folks coming from over 20 cities. I guarantee, if you’ve been to a market in your home town you’ve probably bought something from an Apple. You’d have to be living under a rock not to at least have heard of us!”
“Oh no, ya misunderstand lass, ah can't indeed believe that yer who ya say you are. At first ah thought it just a coincidence but if what ya say is true then ah’ve been gone quite a bit longer than ah thought.” A look of dread washed over his face as some unseen problem had started gnawing on him from the inside.
“Well, t’aint my goal to disturb ya stranger, just selling my wares. Is there anything ah can help ya with, ‘specially doing with apples?” Applejack motioned back towards her wares, hoping to distract the troubled stallion from his dread.
It seemed to work as he looked over the barrels of apples on display by Applejack’s cart. “Well, let me see here. Those on the end, the ruby red ones with the light grey flakes are called Rose Ash Apples, named after the fact that there were the only apples left growing in the orchard after a fire wiped out three quarters of the orchard. The green ones next to them with the yellow stems and a dull waxy skin are Grannysmith Apples, very tart and tangy. The ones under your right hoof are Bloodleaf Apples, named for their foliage that weeps red sap when you prune them back. How am ah doin’?”
If Applejack’s jaw was hanging any lower she’d have to dust the dirt off the bottom of her chin, her shock turned to confusion and then anger a moment later, “Hey now, how’s it you know so much about apples and ancient Apple Family History that even ah have a hard time remembering but didn’t know about Sweet Apple Acres? Ah usually have to grit my teeth something fierce when folks swing by and say, ‘I would like a dozen of the green ones and a half dozen of the bright red ones.’ Honestly, y’all’d think that somepony would take a bit of time to learn what they’re eat’n right? Ah figured ya might know more than the average pony when it came to food with that coat of yers, and even maybe a bit more about apples with that cutie mark, but pardner, something doesn’t add up here. Where are ya from originally anyway?”
Lucian gulped down the lump in his throat that had grown during Applejack’s analysis, and answered the sales mare in a meek voice. “Ah'm the Head Chef of the Night Court in Everfree Castle.”
"While little documentation remains form that era, we can safely confirm that one, and only one pony could traverse the Realm of Dreams. And while She remains trapped on the Moon, all the little fillies and colts can sleep safe knowing their time spent in bed will be safe, sound, and restful." -A Foals guide to the Post Banishment Era
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“Ahm sorry, didja say Night Court in Everfree Castle?” Applejack sputtered.
“Well, at least ah think I was. Minds all fuzzy, like I’ve had a few too many Apple Ciders. Haven’t lost this much time since we brewed the batch with the charred Timber Wolves barrels. Ah tell ya, them varmints are nasty critters, but it’s on par with any Dragon Whisky or Diamond Dog Vodka,” the strange stallion mused, “When ah woke up all ah had was mah coat and a right nasty headache like somepony’s been tap dancing on mah skull. So ah wander around for a spell, Castle ain’t in sight and ah come across this trail. Figure that’s gotta lead some where so I start on my way.
Anywho, here I ahm in some sorta town ah don’t reckon but bits are still good so ah figured ah’d get some grub. But now that ah’ve met ya ah know ah don’t need ta. This is clearly some sorta dream or daze from one of Swirl’s tinker’n. Ah swear, that blasted unicorn’ll be the death of us all, or Princess Luna strike me dead! Kinda strange though, ah usually dream about feasts and harvest season on the Hidden Acres. Not cute little fillies that can’t be alive yet let alone with thar own farmstead. So as this is a dream would it be too forward of me to ask ya out on a date their hot stuff?”
While Applejack was admitted not the most learned of ponies she could tell easy enough that somepony wasn’t bucking their whole orchard. And after shaking the grinding gears noise out of her head she squinted at the newcomer with a little sympathy.
“Whoa nelly thar pardner, ah’m rightly sure that what ah said is real as mah hoof and yer the one that’s a might bit confused. Ya hit yer head or something feller? Cause while ah’m flattered, in a sorta creeped out way, if’n what ya said is true than that’d make us family and thar's more than enough of that sort of gossip going round with out somepony getting ideas that it’s true.”
“But we can’t be family, mah little sister just got married to some big feller by tha name of Mallus Apple last fall and thar first foal tain’t expected till a little after the Summer Sun Festival. Ah did tha cater’n myself for their wedding at the Hidden Acres Chapel. And while ah did give’em a huge parcel of land north of tha Everfree which if mah sense of direction ain’t all screwy from this weird dream then ah’d still be over 100 years old. An as you can see ahm not.”
“Sugar cube, we can settle this right easy, tell me what year it is.”
“Why, it’s the Year 576, in four more years we’ll be celebrating the 580th anniversary the Regal Alicorn Sisters sealed The Chaos Bringer Discord in Stone. Ah hear the Crystal Empire gets the honor of hosting. Much as ah hate to travel that Princess Melodius is a right fit filly if ya don’t mind me say’n,” the stallion wiggled his eyebrows.
“Oh brother, well take a gander at this here newspaper and ya tell me what ya see about the date at the top,” the farm pony pitied.
Moving on to the newsstand and picking up a copy of the Ponyville Express Applejack pointed to the date and was assured of her victory.
“Wut’s a newspaper, this here thing?” Blackbriar continues to read taking more in, “Special on the return of the Crystal Empire. . .Equestrian Games successful held. . .Changeling Spell taught in schools. . .Monday the 10 of July . . .TWO THOUSAND TWENTY FIVE?!!?”
The bustling market place screeches to a halt at the exclamation, native Ponyvillians have learned when somepony starts screaming it usually means one of Twilight’s friends are about to do something dangerous or some other disaster has befallen the town yet again. After nothing more happens other than a strange stallion starts hyperventilating and smacking himself in the muzzle they go about their business as usual.
“This can’t be, it just can’t be. Over ah thousand years. But there’s the paper, and there’s you, and ah hit on you, and that’s wrong, and there’s the paper, and ah can feel pain, and Princess Melodius has a fine flank, and then there’s you, and the usual mud wrestling fillies from the dream haven’t shown up yet, and this town is here, and, and, and oh look the ground. . .”
Face planted firmly in the dirt back leg twitching Applejack sprang into action. Whistling loudly at a near by cloud bank as familiar rainbow colored mane sticks out over the edge.
“Ugh, what is it AJ, can’t a filly get her afternoon nap in with out somepony having a breakdown in the center of town?”
Crouching down to roll the stallion on his side to avoid him swallowing his tongue incase he has a seizure she growls at the Pegasus making her way down to the ground.
“Jokes later action now Rainbow, we need to get this feller to the hospital quick, dunno what’s wrong with him but he was acting mighty peculiar right before he bit the dust. Ah need you to get Nurse Redheart as quick as you can, after that swing by the farm and let Granny Smith know we got something right strange going on that might involve the family. After the paramedics get him taken care of ah’m going to head to the post office and send a unicorn message to Twilight. Ah know she’s going to be miffed that we’re cutting her vacation short but ah gotta nasty feeling in my gut we’re going to need her magic and know how ta get to the bottom of this.”
Giving a quick salute Rainbow Dash revs up her wings and gets ready to bolt toward the hospital, “You got it AJ, and I’ll get there in ten seconds flat!” A technicolor wake is left behind as the eager weather mare makes her way to help while Applejack looks down at the twitching chef stallion in the dirt.
“Just who in tarnation are you?”
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If the lock on the door didn’t give it away the gnarled black crystal ornamenting the walls and nooks of the passageway leading down into the depths of the Crystal Empire Library confirmed Twilights suspicion that this was the personal library of King Sombra. Only he was so well known for his love of the hideous looking rock formations. She wondered idly how this part of the Empire had remained in tact when the rest of the metropolis had been cleansed the of vile King’s influence when the Crystal Ponies ran their own brand of Earth Magic through the Crystal Heart. After a thorough investigation with her BBBFF and the freshly appointed castle guard they had found no trace of the fell monarch’s touch anywhere he’d held sway before. Trotting with care her caution turned to annoyance as flight after flight fell way beneath her hooves.
“Sombra MUST have been a proficient Teleport Spell user, as I can’t imagine anyone would willing traverse THIS many stairs to get to a place you’d visit often. What is it with this guy and stairs?!?”
A simple spell reverse summoned her hoof regalia as she finished the trek down to the bottom. While she was more comfortable in her role as a Princess the shoes were going to take some getting used to after a life time of walking everywhere bare hoofed. All her walking had yielded results though as she was a rewarded with the secret laboratory of a mad king banished from the Material Plane. The layout and composition reminded her of her own basement lab only furnished with the payroll of a king and not a librarian. While ancient and antique in terms of how out of date everything was the room was still immaculate and expensive just by a quick glance. Beakers and alchemy sets with various experiments in different stages of analysis. Shelf upon shelf of books lined the walls not filled up with cabinets holding how ever many years of study.
After a quick circuit the whole lab was about the size of a hoof ball field, though a larger part of it seemed sealed off with wards that not even her extensive knowledge knew what they would do. Caution being the better part of valor Twilight opted to continue exploring the more lived in sections. At last she found what she was searching for, every good scientist no matter how evil kept a log of what they were doing for future reference and on an ornate stand that appeared to be carved to look like it was held up by the backs of chained Crystal Ponies the Princess found it.
Making a moue of disgust Twilight tested for traps and having found none she began to skim the pages.
“. . .finally installed the security spell on the doorway down here. Wouldn’t want ‘my liege’ to find out what I’m planning until she can’t stop me. .
“Well, that would explain why no one’s found this place yet, if it was strong enough to be hidden from a Princess then no wonder the head librarian didn’t find it after all this time!”
. . .the experiments go well so far, the Umbra Crystal Spell leeches the vitality out of any rock substance it can get near, targeting crystals especially, going to need more Sea Pony Ink if I want to make it a sustainable essence for my broach. . .
“Oh? I thought it was just a spell that made the crystals grow like that, I mean, Princess Celestia and I can make them grow at will so long as we have a host crystal from the Empire to start with. Maybe Sombra did something to the crystals here that allow that spell to work. . that would explain why his crystals never left the boundaries of the Empire and infect into Central Equestria.”
. . .The Alicorn sisters visited today, I can tell the Elder one doesn’t care for me. Almost like she knows what I have in mind but she can’t! There’s no way she could know. The Younger one likes me well enough. Princess Luna and Princess Melodius’ guards aside I was able to pretend to have a good time out on the town drinking with them. Ugh, I don’t care if Minuette is a direct descendant of Queen Platinum; she’s just a unicorn like me. And one day soon the strongest shall rule. Power over Blood! Though the whole evening wasn't a wash, that Luna is something else, she’s got this depth to her that I can’t grasp, like some dark well of knowing that I couldn’t plumb the depths of for a thousand years. Not a bad flank on her either, though the size difference could be a problem. . . .
Skipping the next couple of pages with some less than savory drawings Twilight blushes furiously as she flips ahead.
. . .I don’t care how much he’s willing to pay me. I won’t let him have my crystal magic. Can’t let anyone have it! It’s mine! I prayed to the Master of Unmaking for the divine inspiration and it’s mine! I paid the price in blood, bone, and oath! He already has time magic at his beck and call, why does he need my crystals!?!. . .
“Wait, time magic, there sure isn’t many ponies that know that type of magic, especially in that era.”
. . .It worked! The empire is mine! But the secret isn’t safe. I must protect my art, my craft, mine mine mine mine mine mine! Going to have to do something about the unicorns. They could spread the magic; give it to that court fool in the South. . .
“Unicorns? There are no Crystal Pony Unicorns. . only. . .Earth Ponies. . .”
Several pages were torn out, the edges smeared in blood, like someponies hoof was bleeding profusely when they were torn out.
. . .it’s done. It took months, and I had to sacrifice so many to get enough power together to hit the whole kingdom at once. Those fools never expected me to use their own Crystal Heart against them. Melodius put up quite a fight. I don’t know if her foal got away or not, the boat carrying her to the Light Bringer and Dream Dweller was far into the river when my spell bomb went off. But no matter! The act is done, the die is cast! I’ve Horn Gelded an entire kingdom! Now even if those infernal Alicorn Sisters think to rise against me my magic will die with me, my secrets! Mine! Mine! MINE! MINE! MINE!. . .
Twilight got to the bottom of the page and immediately back pedaled into the wall behind her, these were the machinations of a unicorn gone mad. And what was Horn Gelding? She could’ve sworn she’d seen something in a book some where with that phrase before but it was slipping from her mind like sand in a sieve. There wasn’t much of the log left that wasn’t computations and experiment results. In the margin the deranged notes grew worse and more pervasive. Somepony strong in magic to the south was a threat to him, even more so than Regal Alicorn Sisters, if that could be believed! She stopped turning pages with her magic when she got to more personal journal entries.
. . .I’ve heard what the slaves say when they think I’m not in ear shot, I hear all, I hear all! They say I’m a monster. That I’ve created abominations that no pony should meddle with. How little they know! I would not use these soldiers of living crystal and pony blood to attack my neighbors to the south. Nay. Nay I say! I will need a guard, that fool in the south has created REAL monsters. Can’t write his name, he will know I plot against him! Never! Never! I can’t even tell what makes them up, part pony, part monster, and part something else? Alive? Dead? Both? Neither? They’ve crushed the Minotaur Rebellion and the Changelings daren’t cross into the Shadow of Everfree Castle. Any Griffon that enters that forest with out just cause vanishes. What has the Dark Sister unleashed in her Mage?. . .
More paranoid ranting follows, troop movements at the borders and spy reports that a small force is cutting a swath through every form of resistance he can bring to bare on the field of battle.
. . .What are they?!? The Four Stars?!!? What Tartaurus blasted furnace did that fool smelt these equine horrors from. They look mortal enough but their power; Gods do not wield that much power with so little care! They will be at the gates tomorrow if their speed holds. I must go and ready myself, if my kingdom is to fall then I shall take it with me to my grave!. . .
There the journal ends, and Twilight can all too easily imagine Celestia and Luna meeting horns with him on the battlements and in attempting to end his reign of terror loosing the Crystal Empire for a 1000 years. And while a few of her questions were answered many more rose in their wake. Taking the journal with her the Princess of Friendship made it back to the top of the stairs with a few well placed teleports. Sealing the gate behind her she startled the Librarian with her sudden appearance now that the Avoidance Spell was no longer functioning.
“Oh dear me!” the aged book mare grumbled, “Well there you are, I’ve been looking all over for you, your majesty. We just received a message from your home town of Ponyville. Seems there’s somepony there claiming to be 1000 years old?”
Already having resigned herself that her vacation was over Twilight thanked the Librarian for the message and made her way to the Train Depot. Questioning Princess Celestia and Luna would have to wait until this new mystery at home was sorted out.
“While little has been documented about the personal lives of Changelings we can confirm that they operate with a hive mind mentality, like bees, ants, and other insectoids they have a central intelligence that handles their upper brain functions. The basic needs of eating, sleeping, and shelter are still handled by the individual. But the over arcing goals and desires are handled by their Queen. It is unknown whether or not Queens have Kings like we do in Equestrian society or if they simply breed with drones specialized for the task. But considering that we have yet to see a King like we have with Sombra of the Crystal Empire, King Platinum of the Three Tribes Unicorn History, or Lord Typhon of the Griffins the former would seem to be the case. This would be keeping in line with their already well established bug like nature.” -Excerpt from Filling Phylum’s Graduating Dissertation on the Changeling Invasion.
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The miles passed quickly beneath the Friendship Express as it made its way back towards Ponyville. Despite being a Princess, the Element of Magic, and a gifted unicorn the dangers of cross country teleportation were not lost on Twilight. “One wrong calculation and you could end up off the curvature of the planet, and while I MIGHT be able to survive in the upper atmosphere like Luna it’s not something I want to test out.”
“Very wise of you Mum,” a small filly’s voice piped up from the books she was holding up and open for Twilight.
“And the travel time gives me a moment two actually do a bit of study on these Four Stars. There’s so little in the Canterlot Library about them. I know a lot was lost in the faction infighting, and more redacted by royal decree so ponies would be less likely to follow in Nightmare Moon’s steps but still, at least some legends or old mare’s tales should have been passed down through out that ages!” Growling in frustration Twilight paced back and forth in her personal car, occasionally going over some notes and dictating more to the filly acting as study aid in Spike’s absence.
“I can’t believe there isn’t even a legend of them?! I know Nightmare Moon was just a subject of folk lore before she did in fact come back but these sound like they should stick out about as much in the collective memory.”
“They were a right powerful bunch, that’s for sure, Mum.” The little filly squeaked from the notations she’d finished making for the Princess of Friendship. It was then that Twilight realized that she was speaking to another living breathing individual and no herself.
“Omigosh! Where did you come from?!”
“I’m Zoisite Quill Mum,” smudging a bit of ink on her muzzle and giving a deep curtsy, “though the others at the Orphanage just call me Zoey for short. I was carrying some books for you from the Library and you started dictating notation to me. And well, you’re a Princess, so I just figured I’d follow your orders. Didn’t want to get into trouble.”
“Oh dear, what have I done?!”
“You were looking at who the Four Stars were and what they meant to Equestrian History, Mum.”
“No that! I’ve just kidnapped a little filly! How old are you?! I would imagine ponies are looking all over for you!”
“10, Mum, and I very much doubt it. Like I said, orphanage.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry! I know a trio of fillies that age, one of them is an orphan as well; they all go on adventures for their Cutie Marks.”
“Not a problem Mum, based on what I’ve been told my parents were outside the Empire when the King sealed us away. They lived out the rest of their lives grieving for me, and I will miss them. There was a lot of fighting and older ponies disappearing because of the King so I’m hardly now alone in losing my parents. At least mine had happy lives and didn’t end up as an experiment, Mum.”
Twilight was taken aback by the little fillies seeming nonchalance when talking about the loss of her parents. Then again, she came from a time that was at the height of war less than a year ago in her memory. Still, the nagging need of obligation was tearing at Twilight, “All the same, I’ll notify the conductor to find a switching station to get your taken back as quickly as I can. I’m so sorry I didn’t even notice right away, I’m just so used to working with my assistant I fell into old habits. We’ll have you back home soon!”
Turning to leave Twilight felt a tugging on her dresses train and a faint sniffling.
“Please Mum; I know you don’t owe me anything. You’ve already done so much for the Crystal Empire I can’t ask you for anything but please, please! Let me come with you. While they care for us very much at the orphanage there’s little I can do, and I feel the need to DO something with my life. I haven’t figured out my destiny or achieved my Cutie Mark. You and your friends have already taken care of the King I wanted to punish for robbing me of my parents and I’m actually really good at research. It’s why I was in the Library when you were leaving. If you’re missing an assistant the least I could do would be fill in for them, I owe you my freedom and my life Princess. I wish to repay you the favor!”
Twilight released the brake cord for the train and turned to the teary eyed filly. Zoey could give Sweetie Belle a run for her money in the sad filly eyes department. Gears turning Twilight brought her hoof to her chest and then flexed it out while slowly exhaling, just as Cadence had taught her. Looking down at the filly she was conflicted, “I’m not sure, somepony is bound to be looking for you, and things around me are rarely safe, doubly so in Ponyville. . .”
“I. . I. . I understand, Mum,” the despondent filly replied, “I’ll just write down what I know about the Four Stars and back my things for the return trip, Mum.
A light purple aura of magic surrounded the crystal pony filly as she twirled slowly in the air as the magic coalesced into an article of clothing. A bright flash of light later, Zoey blinked the glare out of her eyes away and suddenly found she was wearing the tabard of a court page complete with saddle bags and an emblem of Twilight’s Cutie Mark done in an amethyst symbol. Clapping her hooves in filly like glee Zoey turned around a few times looking at her new clothes then wheeling around to joyously gaze at Twilight.
“Well, every Princess should have some subjects. I don’t even have a court, or a kingdom. I don’t think my Sister-In-Law will begrudge me dragooning one of her subjects. Now, Zoey, take a letter. I need to send word to Crystal Empire Officials that you are with me on a Royal Mission.”
Jittery with rapture the crystal filly got her recording gear and took the notation. Happy at last to finally be doing something I the world.
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Applejack’s day was getting markedly worse.
The wreckage she found once making her way to Ponyville Hospital was not encouraging to say the least. The lack of a receptionist and the disarray of the hallway leading toward the patient rooms was her first clue that things had not gone well. Distant shouting gave her an indication that the trouble had moved it’s self to the central courtyard were patients were brought to relax outside while still safely confined on hospital grounds.
Passing room after room most of them still held ponies in various stages of healing. They appeared fine if some what confused. Save for one patient that was just barking at her in a playful manner, the straight jacket binding the mare was loose and she was wagging her tail like Winona would. Carefully closing the door with the name plate “Screw Loose” in spite of the whimpering AJ made her way to where the commotion was coming from. The scene that greeted her was strange to say the least.
Five orderlies, all a size big enough to give Big Mac pause, armed with rope and nets were trying to get a delirious hospital gown glad Blackbriar down from a fountain where he had just bucked a doctor into Nurse Redheart. The doctor taking the majority of the damage had passed out while the nurse was only dazed. Helping her up, AJ asked what was going on.
“No one told us we had a case of Nosocomephobia! This is the last place on Equestria he should have come with out serious sedation!” Nurse Redheart cried, readying a syringe with a viscous green fluid. “I need him held still long enough for me to administer this paralytic before he hurts somepony!”
Gritting her teeth in determination and readying her rope from beneath her hat the farm mare began to swing it around and around while hollering her trademark charge. “HEEEEYAAAAAWWW!”
Having just knocked out two more orderlies, a third lying dazed the pudgy mystery stallion whipped a befuddled looking expression in Applejack’s direction, “Sis, is that you?”
The distraction lasted just long enough for the experienced mare to hog tie him and bind his legs tight while the Nurse administered the drug. When the needle pulled out Blackbriar saw what was happening in his addled state and proceeded to tear the ropes off with brute strength. Shocked that a so out of shape stallion managed to break her binds he was bucking wildly in every direction. Fully consumed by what ever fear induced freak out he was having.
Her rope in tatters, and having just dodged a barrage of hooves that very well could have knocked her out Applejack hunching down the farm mare sprang into the air, turning around twice before landing a solid kicking hoof across the jaw of the bucking Blackbriar. Knocked silly the stallion sat on his haunches as the four AJ’s resolved themselves into just one blurry one.
“Ah learned that trick from Rainbow Dash while she was fighting those gol’dang Changelings during the Canterlot Invasion. Ah’m glad it worked, though ah’m bet’n y’all be feel’n that one in the morn’n.”
“Wow, you must be related to me. Only Sis ever hit that hard,” eyes twirling round in his skull Nurse Redheart stuck him with another syringe. “Oh look, its mah friend the ground again, how ya doin’ buddy!” A moment later he was drooling into the dirt.
“Was that really necessary Nurse?”
“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!? He knocked out five orderlies, a doctor, almost took my head off, just about took yours too, took a full shot of paralytic which would normally drop a MANTICORE given the same dose, all followed up with a flying drop hoof from the strongest mare in town and kept going. YES, it was NECESSARY!” Shouting done, and more than a little embarrassed that she’d been shrieking at the Element of Honesty the nurse straightened her hat and brushed the loose bits of main that had come out of her bun. Brushing some of the dirty out of her now stained white fur she apologized to AJ and then moved to aid the now steadily reviving staff.
After everypony was patched up and Blackbriar restrained thoroughly in Screw Loose’s room, those not nursing headaches to rival a post Summer Sun celebration morning convened in the staff lounge to discuss matters.
“Ah’m sorry Nurse Redheart. Despite his claims to be family ah’ve no idea who he is, where abouts he’s from, or what his deal is. And what’s Naws-comb-fobya?”
“Well, no lasting harm done, it’s an intense irrational fear of hospitals dearie. He was doing fine during admittance but the moment they got him in the operating room to check his vitals and give him a magic scan to check for internal injuries he went berserk! Now I’m still training to be a doctor so I can’t confirm officially but he showed symptoms of a sever phobia to something, and as he was just becoming violent to staff after regaining consciousness in the room it seems to be the cause of the mental break.”
“Well, that’s a might peculiar of’m. Though, seems like the more we learn bout this feller the less and less we reckon. Anything else but our mystery chef?”
“Based on what little we were able to check on him, combined with what he was able to do when provoked he’s definitely got that Earth Pony strength and stamina, no broken bones, not even his jaw after you popped him one, which is strange because I could’ve sworn I heard you at least dislocate his shoulder and fracture his mandible bones with that strike. We weren’t able to take any blood samples as he became untamable around the equipment so we can’t tell if he’s got poison joke or some other toxin affecting his mental state. For all we know his mental state is all in his head, a fabrication made up by stress, some traumatic event, or some other unknown solely mental affliction.”
“Ah think I got most of that, so yer basically saying he just might be bonkers.”
“Erm, yes, that would be a laymans analysis. Now, normally I’d keep him for observation as he’d be out cold for the next week or so but as we’ve seen he processes sedatives differently than any other pony I’ve treated before. So, my advice is to take him back to the farm, make him comfortable and call in a professional psychiatrist. Physically he’s fit as a fiddle, despite all that extra weight he’s more than fine in the body department, so there’s nothing more we can do.”
Applejack nodded, and signed the release papers. Construction ponies were already on the scene setting things right, they moved out of the way for the orderly bringing a still bound Blackbriar in a wheelchair to the front to Applejacks wagon. In all the hullabaloo she’d completely forgotten her cart, and as luck would have it the honest ponies of Ponyville had sympathized with her plight and bought all her apples leaving the cart mercifully empty to know drag her hypothetical relative home to the farm. The money box jangled heavily as they set off the paved road to Sweet Apple Acres. “Well wallop my withers, I never thought ah’d wish for a quiet sales day till now!”
“Unicorn Colts and Fillies are advised to practice the Changeling detection spell with their parents often until they’re confident to cast it at a moments notice. Earth Pony Colts and Fillies are advised to find an adult right away if they think they’re in the presence of a changeling in disguise. If cornered, your strength is your best bet to defend yourself until help arrives. Pegasus Colts and Fillies have the advantage of flight, and while some changelings may transform to chase you, even the most average of Pegasus should be able to out run them. No matter what your tribe, run to the nearest adult for help that you trust, a changeling’s sting can knock even the largest Earth Pony unconscious.
Always be aware of who you’re with and if they’re acting strange. While changelings are excellent at mimicry, they lack our cutie mark talents or tribe strengths. Keep your eyes open and don’t try to take them on by yourselves. Find an adult!” -“Colt and Fillies Guide to Dealing with the Changeling Menace” by Chaotic Note.
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Amber clouds floated in a sea of orange as the wagon bumped now and again as it made its turn on to the country road leading to the farm. Blackbriar, still swimming in a sea of sedatives imagined that there was an ocean of orange smoothie dotted with floating marshmallows. He suddenly recalled that he still hadn’t had anything to eat since arriving in this place and his stomach seconded that realization. He tried to move a hoof to turn himself over off his back but found the chemicals pumping through his body still hadn’t worn off yet, still very much paralyzed.
“Woo doggy, yah just might be related tah us after all pardner. Only feller ah know that’s got ah gut that loud is mah brother Big Macintosh,” Applejack spoke what she thought was an unconscious pony in her empty apple wagon. “Big bro doesn’t say much, not since Ma’ and Pa’ passed away, but his stomach and hooves do the talking for him. You’d never guess he actually has a real purdy singing voice. Last time ah heard it was the funeral, can’t blame him, ah didn’t so much as buck a tree for a month after we buried them by the old orchard. Always was a bit funny like that. He got Pa’s body and Ma’s voice, and ah got the opposite. Ah was so mad when ah was a filly. Can’t sing, not half as strong as Big Mac, and to top it all off ah got Great Gran’s freckles. Not sure how Apple Bloom’ll turn out yet, bit young to be bucking trees. . .”
Blackbriar felt the wagon incline as they were cresting a hill, and as Applejack started to carefully make her decent his view changed from the setting sunlit sky to a view of Sweet Apple Acres themselves. His heart caught in his throat as tears started to pour from his eyes. He was home, or at least something that looked like home. The trim, the color, even the type of wood were all familiar, all types he’d used before to erect his own home as a colt. Even through all the stress and confusion Blackbriar knew in his bones that he was finally where he belonged.
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Twilight was enraptured. Why hadn’t anypony thought to ask the survivors of the Crystal Empire about history?! They had actually lived there in that era a thousand and change years ago! And despite being a little filly, Zoisite Quill was a font of information. Just know she was finishing in a school report style oratory on the main exports and imports of the Crystal Empire. “And the Gryphon Kingdoms are particularly partial to our ewes. But because the foliage they eat only grows there, so even if they try to raise their own stock they end up as plain sheep in the next generation. Though I always thought it kinda of icky that we raise other animals for other animals to eat. But I believe you wanted to know about the Four Stars Mum.”
Snapping out of her note taking Twilight shook her head a bit and rolled up the parchment she’d been filling up with tightly spaced horn writing. “Yes, yes, of course. How silly of me. You just have so many experiences there either weren’t documented or were lost to time so it’s very interesting to me, let me get a new roll.” Shelving her previous roll with a growing stack of others in one of her cases of luggage a city guardsman knocks once and sticks his head into her personal train car.
“Princess Sparkle, the conductor has let me know after a brief refuel at the next stop we’ll be to Ponyville in roughly two hours, your highness,” the guard salutes and then gently closes the door with his magic.
“Ugh, I never get used to being called ‘your highness. There are some days when I wished I was still just a librarian in Ponyville. . .no matter, you were saying about the Four Stars.
“Um, yes,” Zoey paused a moment to gather her thoughts, “To be honest, the only reason I know what I know is because when there was still school we had to learn about current events and in the span of five years the Four Stars, at Princess Luna’s behest and backing, had ended two of three wars, ours do be the final one. At that time around Equestria proper there were the dragons to the South in the Badlands that had a tentative agreement after the fall of Discord. So we weren’t allies, but we weren’t enemies either. The Haysead Swamps held a large hive of Changelings that made the Southern Boarder of Horse Shoe Bay off limits to ponykind. Then in the North between Neighagra Falls and the South side of the Crystal Mountains there was a Griffon Arie. Not nearly as large as the ones in Griffonia proper but no small outpost either.
In the, forgive the term, chaos created by Discord’s defeat a power vacuum formed. Prior the Celestial Sister’s Equestria was easily the lowest in terms of economic power and martial might. We were still considered prey for a lot of monstrous creatures and when we suddenly managed to put down the single greatest through to the world the rest of the races suddenly took notice. While the Pegasus Military and the few combat sorcerers that survived the chaos were a force to be reckoned with they lacked the numbers of the changelings, the strength of the minotaurs or speed of the griffins.
During this time there was a lot of political upheaval. Many ponies thought the two sisters were weapons that should be controlled. Others worshiped them with a cult like reverence. When all was said and done two courts were formed. The Day court with Princess Celestia and her entourage, and the Night Court with Princess Luna. Almost all of the royal work force was day based, following suit with their previous unicorn masters. So tryouts were held as the great castle Everfree was being built in the wild wood. Being centrally located instead of on a mountainside meant that forces could be easily sent to any of the four corners of Equestria. In the end the positions were filled with strange ponies that few knew where they came from. In addition to Star Swirl the Bearded who stood as Arch Mage of Day and Night there also one Jester for both sisters. But the Four Stars filled the other positions: Head Chef, Senchal, Captain of the Night Guard, and Physician. And they were almost monsters in and of themselves. Some say there were born of need, that ponykind needed champions with aspects of their predators to survive. Others thought it was the meddling of some crazy unicorn. I just think it was a lot of rumor and hear say, or did until I saw them marching on the Crystal Empire’s Gates.
The Chef, was peculiar, from a prominent farming family he was rumored to be able to eat anything. And I mean anything, even meat. Even back then the Princess of the Night was more warlike and would frequently be the one to host visiting delegates during her night court where as Princess Celestia handed more of the day to day country running duties. But as such, the Night Chef had to account for the diets of non-vegetarian races, and his ability to eat anything made him valuable. The fact that he could crush those that tried to poison his mistress with extreme rage was a bonus as well. Some say he got the green fire around his hooves when angry as a boon for his efforts in crushing the Changeling menace near his ancestral homelands around Haysead Swamps.
The Captain of the Guard was the biggest Unicorn I’ve ever seen. Larger than even the sturdiest of Earth Ponies, his strength was legendary. None could challenge him and win in a horn duel, and few were foolish enough to try. He often led the charge, despite his high rank, against a besieged city or even a fortified line of opposing troops. But he was no dullard either, the speeches he gave before battle made the ponies under his leadership some of the fiercest fighters ever to take on the Minotaur Clans. During this less than civil time he also was the executioner for the Celestial Sisters. His mighty double bladed axe was a symbol of pony justice feared amongst those races that thought use simple prey.
The Senchal, in charge of running the Night Castles day to day affairs and acting as second to their Goddess was a Unicorn as well, but where as the Captain was huge the Senchal was slight. An adept at Fire Magic she was instrumental in forging the pacts that still stand today with the dragons in the south. In battle how ever she was almost never injured, her hide was as tough as armor and always wore her Night Court Tabard regardless of wading into a pitched battle or planning a dinner for ambassadors from visiting nations. All I know is when the monsters of crystal and dark magic tried to tear her apart like they did the advance troops she strode through their ranks, weapons snapping on her back while she melted them to slag with a fire so bright you could see it from the highest towers of the city. I recall being in the observatory for class when she trounced the King’s minions and it was not something I’ll ever forget.
The quietest and most unassuming of the Four was the Physician. She could diagnose and treat people in the battle field with grace and easy unmatched by the greatest zebra shaman or unicorn doctor. It was strange, because as a Pegasus who isn’t typically trained in the healing arts, she did have their speed. And then some. I know the papers dubbed her the Blur because on the field of battle she’d seemingly appear from place to place treating or caring for the wounded with out ever traveling from one place to the other. And if an enemy struck down one of her charges in front of her you didn’t get in her way. Her blades to clean away dead tissue and infected wounds could just as easily dissect a foe. Historically speaking she dealt with the griffins. Rumor had it that they betrayed the peace envoy and started slaughtering her guards to send a message to Princess Luna that there would be no negotiations. Their Arie isn’t even on the map anymore, their whole stronghold wiped out with not a griffin left alive. I actually got to speak with her before the city vanished, she couldn’t have been any older than you Mum, but she walked with the grace and wisdom of the Head Librarian. She had a kind of calm that only comes from great experience, and you just know that beneath it all is much much more. . . .
All in all they lot of them terrify me. The only other member of the Royal Entourage I got to meet was the Court Jester, Saucy Tart. I’d never met a Batpony before and she was scary at first. But she was a really cool acrobat, heh, I just got that joke. And she could make even the grim faced Captain of the Guard chuckle now and again. Everyone laughed around her, there was no place she couldn’t bring love and light to. She entertained at the Crystal Palace once or twice I’m told before the King took over and it is remembered to this day. Your friend Pinkie Pie was dressed rather similarly to her when you were putting on the Crystal Fair. And that’s about all I know, I hope it helped Mum.”
Twilight was just finishing furiously scratching down the last of her notes when she sighed and thanked the filly. “That’s immensely helpful Zoey! Thank you so much. Though you only gave me the name of the Jester, did you know the names of the others aside from Starswirl?”
“Oh yeah!” the filly remembered, “The Doctor was Ruby Heart, the Senchal was Blazing Torch, the Captain was Killing Blow, and the Chef was Blackbriar.”
Twilight’s quill snapped as it wrote down the last name and she looked at the crystal filly with dread in her eyes, “Did you say Blackbriar?!?”
“Yeah, the Chef from a farming family, big guy, black coat with green hair.”
Racing to the door and throwing it open with her magic she called for a guard and while he rushed to his Princess’ side Twilight turned back to Zoisite Quill and quivered, “That sounds a lot like the stallion my friend Applejack discovered in Ponyville. Maybe the Crystal Kingdom isn’t the only thing to be coming back after 1000 years. . .”
“No one quite knows the full extent of the Ever Free Castle’s wealth. It was not built all at once like Canterlot, nor planned out like most modern residential areas. It was pieced together, brick by brick and wing by wing as needed. It was the last bastion of sanity in a world ruled by Chaos and Discord’s iron claw. No one pony worked on it’s architecture, and such no one pony knows all it’s secrets. Who knows what lies hidden in the walls or down hallways that might not have originally dead ended. Doubly so with a pair of fledgling Demi-deities with a love of pranks running the place toward the end of it’s completion.” -Neighboring Sites to See Around Ponyville by Mortared Brick
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Racing off the train, forgetting in her haste that she could Teleport, Twilight stomped around the stations boards looking for the threat she knew would be wreaking havoc on her home town like it usually did. Other than a filly accidently dropping her icecream cone in surprise to see her Princess in a state of outright panic there were no threats to Equestrian security. Bashfully turning around she saw her personal guard, hoof picked by Luna herself, extricating themselves from the train as quickly they could in full armored regalia.
“Note to self: enchant some better energy armor for my guard so they can keep up if I need to run or teleport short distances. Heavy steel is great for looking good to tourists but bad for battle situations requiring speed.” Their shoulder pauldrons and leg guards scraping shrilly on the metal doorways as they filled out of the train made her add an addendum, “or stealth.”
Weaving between their legs, her tabard almost getting caught in the rush, Zoisite Quill came to attention to her Princess’ side, “What are your order Mum?”
“Brace for impact Zoey, we’re about to receive a Ponyville welcome.”
“I’m afraid I don’t follow Mum, what does that have to do with impa…”
The rest was lost in a rush of air as a pink blur almost bowled her over and still left her gasping for air.
“Omigosh Omigosh Omigosh! Welcome to Ponyville little Crystal Empire filly! My name’s Pinkie Pie, but you probably knew that when we visited your kingdom and dealt with that mean old Shadowy Pants. Any way, welcome to Ponyville! We have a bakery, and I work there! And it sells croissants, doughnuts, eclairs, cakes, MY BOSSES ARE NAMED CAKE! And we have a Quill and Sofa shop, and three restaurants, and a bar. But you’re probably not old enough for that yet. And there’s a school. Are you going to go to school here? I know some fillies your age that you could be best of friends with. Oh! Can I be your friend?! What’s your name?!?” Lung capacity now spent Pinkie sat down a little dizzy as she recouped her breath while the poor crystal filly caught up mentally.
“Pinkie, this is Zoisite Quill, my new page. She’s on a erm. . .field trip. Yeah, field trip. With me while we investigate some findings I discovered while in the Northern Empire. Zoey, this is Pinkie Pie, best baker in Ponyville, premiere party pony and the Element of Laughter.
More than a little lost, but quickly making up ground, Zoey shook hooves with the heavily caffeinated pink party pony and smiled a bit nervously, “Pleased to make your acquaintance Mum, like m'lady said, I’m Zoisite, but everyone calls me Zoey. I’m technically under Princess Twilight’s purview in where and when I go places but I am starting to get hungry, that was a long train ride. Seeing as how there’s no outright disaster Mum, might we inspect the local bakery for a bit of pre-disaster planning?”
Much like Spike would, the mentioning of food reminded Twilight that she herself had not eaten since last night’s dinner, and even that had been sparse amongst the stacks of books in the Crystal Empire’s Library. Tummy grumbling like it too was a baby dragon the Princess of Friendship hastily agreed, seeing no monsters crushing homes or other disturbances and made haste to Sugar Cube Corner. “Food first, then to uncover who this mystery pony is.”
“Mystery pony?” Bouncing merrily along on all four hooves like they were pogo sticks, “you mean there’s more ponies for me to meet and greet? My Pinkie Sense hasn’t alerted me to any new visitors, and I already greeted everyone else on the train when we were up North! Are you sure Twilight? I mean, I know you like to be all scientificy about this kinda stuff but my Sense hasn’t told me a thing. Funny too, it was all sleepy when I was around town today. Like it took super duper long for me to realize things were happening when they did. Like that nice quiet mare from Canterlot that likes to play the cello accidentally got a store sign dropped on her when somepony shut a door too hard. Oh, speaking of hard we’ve got a new batch of rock candy ready to go if you wanna try some. The secret ingredient, ROCKS! Did you know I grew up on a Rock Farm, my parents sent me a note about the time Trixie was working there part time. You know, for a Unicorn she did pretty good! Might have more than a little Earth pony in her heritage, might explain her low level use of magic. Oh, speaking of magic. . .”
Zoey was spell bound with the ability this mare could change subjects with such fluidity. There weren’t even any pauses for breath, and considering that the average pony lung capacity while held was only a minute or so she was talking for a good three when they finally got to Sugar Cube Corner. Twilight, well used to a “Welcome Back to Ponyville Pinkie Rant” took it all in stride as she did her best to sort the wheat from the chaff. Pinkie gave her a rundown of EVERYTHING that had happened recently. Though a small worry started to grow in the back of her mind, if Pinkie hadn’t sensed the visitor to Ponyville was he a spell? And not a pony at all? She had sensed just about every new comer to Ponyville and this was a staunch diversion from that pattern. Sorting that fact away for later they entered the bakery and partook of its wares.
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Spices. That was the first thing you smelled in the rickety farm house kitchen.
A thousand thousand days and nights filled with the smells of cooking cider, jam, and other apple products permeated the air with a muted fashion that know perfume or spell could reproduce. It was in the very wood itself, ironically not apple wood.
The next thing was the fire smoke. The stove in the corner had been installed before Granny Smith was fetlock high to an apple, and while it had been well cared for over the decades, you could still smell the smoke that had worked it’s way into the room from countless burnings.
And beneath those two fairly strong odors was sweat. Tangy, salty, just a little sour, but not unwelcome. This wasn’t some colts gym locker. This was an honest sweat made from a day’s labor putting food on your family’s table. All of it reminded Blackbriar of home, and it only added to his confusion.
After depositing him in a kitchen chair, half slumped on the table as the last of Nurse Redheart’s medication worked it’s way out of his system, Applejack excused herself to put away the bits and the wagon for tomorrow’s haul. Leaving the strange stallion with a confused look on his muzzle and two mares of very different ages to keep an eye on him.
“So yer like some kinda distant relation to us Apples Mr. Blackbriar?” a small filly inquired.
“Ahm. . .not sure kiddo. Ah might be, can’t know fer sure yet. Yer sis thinks I’m a few apples short of a bushel, but folks in my time thought the same of me.”
Working a spoon around a pot with her hoof, some pleasant smelling concoction bubbling away on the stove, the aged green mare regarded her guest without turning around, “Fiddlesticks! There’s sur’in a way for us ta know if yer an Apple. From the youngest sprout like Applebloom here to the eldest timber like mahself, every Apple from the their 7 season on is taught tha Apple Family Applesauce Recipe. Unchanged for decades, never written down, passed down from generation ta generation by word of mouth, in a great oral tradition on par with any fancy pants unicorn history!”
With hooves more deft than one would think a septuagenarian mare would have, she balanced the bubbling hot pot of apple sauce on her head with a pot holder between and set it down in front of Applebloom and Blackbriar. It’s percolations slowly decreasing in frequency off the heat source until just a gentle steam issued from it’s surface.
“Now ‘Bloom, you were just taught this the other day, what are the rules for making Apple Family Applesauce?”
“Ah Granny Smith, that was years ago, but ah remember. Rule One: Y’all can use any apple ya like ‘cept Zapp Apples, they’re only used for jam. Rule Two: Portions. It goes 5-4-3-2-1. 5 parts apple, to 4 parts sugar, to three parts water, to two parts acid, to one part seasonings! Citrus or fruit acid fer sweet sauce and vinegar or alcohol fer savory. Rule Three: No Magic! We do things the Earth Pony way! Hoof or mouth or tail. If you got wings or a horn you git out of mah kitchen!” she said, doing her best Granny Smith impression at the end.
“Alright ya whipper snapper! I think he gets the gist of it, now what’re the spices?” she said offering him a spoon while simultaneously putting a hoof over Applebloom’s mouth.
Without even touching it, just taking in a whiff of the sweet succulent smell. Blackbriar fought back some salivation as he analyzed the concoction. “Ah think yer spot on thar Applebloom, but what yer Granny is looking for is the recipe to prove my heritage, and I don’t plan ohn disappointing her! Y’all got cinnamon, pretty standard in most apple sauces, but it’s cut with ah dash of nutmeg, to give it an Earthier aroma. Less harsh spice, and more mellow woody notes. Y’all added some ginger root, must be ah pain to find in these here colder and wetter climes. But it’s thar in the background, just waiting to be tasted one you get by the more dominant notes of the cinnamon. But what she didn’t mention is what she cooked the sauce with. Cause it’s not just what goes into the pot that affects the flavor, it’s what’s around it as well. Ya used Timberwolf wood to cook it. Ya gotta kill ah creature of the forest to make the Clan’s Signature Dish. It adds a certain feral bitterness to it that you can’t get any other way. And it’s that illusive note that people crave, and can never guess. Cause only a fool would dare walk into the Everfree without a guide and hunt those critters. Now something tells me ya don’t got in ther and slay the beasts, so would ya kindly tell that massive mountain of stallion to stop skulking in the shadows with that bat. Ah don’t mean to be a poor host, but ah get a might bit agitated when pony folk mean me harm without just cause.”
You could hear a pin drop in that kitchen if the clatter of a wooden spoon falling out of Granny Smith’s mouth hadn’t covered it up. Applebloom looked from the shell shocked Granny Smith, to Blackbriar, to her rather bashful brother setting his baseball bat aside, to Blackbriar, and then back to Granny Smith. “Wow! Y’all must be family, I ain’t seen no one else be able to suss Granny like that and not earn a whap upside the head with a spoon for it!”
Blackbriar stood and squared off with the large red stallion in the hallway leading down toward the bedrooms. Looking eyes the long silent stallion looked at the smaller, if rounder visitor before him. “Ah’m Blackbriar, Head Chef of the Lunar Court of Everfree Castle. Ah presume y’all are the brother Applejack mentioned earlier?”
More than a little shocked that another stallion would square off with himself much less taking on such a dominant stance in his own home, the stern red giant kept his gaze and expression even. Giving his standard response, “Yuuuup.”
Having regained her composure Granny Smith returned her pot to the stove and killed the flame. “Ah’m sorry young’n, but ah had ta be sure. Y’all wouldn’t believe how many imposters try ta get our family recipe by posing as an Apple Family member. And with us not seeing ya at the Family Reunion just a while back we thought ya were one of’em. But ya were right, ah don’t kill them critters, though no one used ta really. Always had mah husband, mah son, or my grandson here do it. Though we don’t advertise it, we can harvest the wood without killing the critters now. We just give’em a good buck and take a leg branch, they can hobble around until they get enough wood gathered to replace it. They get ta keep their lives and our livestock stands a might better chance getting away from a three legged predator. That was till mah daughter in law got. . . .”
The front door slams shut as a well worn Applejack makes her way into the kitchen, dispelling the staring contest of wills between the two stallions and interrupting the story Granny Smith found herself remembering against her will. “Ah see ya already met Big Macintosh! Don’t let his grim looks get ya down, he’s a big softy, mean left hoof but a softy. Ah might bit over protective of his sisters as well, but we’re family, it’s ta be expected. So as Granny isn’t hollering yer ear off for being a fake ah take it yer actually an Apple?”
The kitchen window slides open and a creature that only looks vaguely like a pony dressed in black rags with glowing red eyes beneath a hooded cloak sticks it’s disfigured face into the room. “Actually my dear, he’s older than the Apple Family Line, but it’s not going to matter much once I send him to his grave like I have all his accursed family line!”
“Safe? You want to know if this is safe ‘Princess’? No, it isn’t safe. It isn’t sane, it isn’t ethical, and I’m not even sure if it’s possible. But I’m willing to risk my Mage’s License and the security of all Equestrian futures on the off hand chance we can win this war. Omelettes and eggs, Tia, it’s omelettes and eggs. I knew you didn’t have the stomach for this work, it’s why we built that Summer home on that hill you call Canterlot. I do my work in the shadows and you bask in the light of all our little ponies. Luna sees things my way, and Faust preserve us, it might just be our only hope to save all of ponydom from being slaves, food, or worse to the animals pounding on our walls.” -”Final Journal of the Harmonic Resonance Project” from the Redacted library of Starswirl the Bearded
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Twilight raised another teacake to her mouth with her field and munched down on a nutty goodness that was another of Mr. and Mrs. Cake’s masterpieces. In a surprise to exactly no one two hours had gone by and Twilight just didn’t feel the need to get up out of this comfy chair, in this quiet part of the bakery and deal with another threat. There were guards around town now that she was in residence, there were four other bearers of Harmony running around, each a force to be reckoned with. And Zoey was having a blast!
Having never been further south than the Ewe Ranches on a field trip before her banishment, and no further than the city limits afterwards. Zoisite Quill hadn’t seen much of Equestria, and she was drinking it all in with a zeal reserved for the uninitiated and the young. Even the concept of building NOT made of crystal and stone were fascinating to her. Wood was used as fuel for the forage, or the temporary stands set up for fairs to be saved year after year. Not build homes out of, let alone cities! Twilight marveled at the Page as she saw more colts and fillies that had normal matte hides and she was the focus of some attention as well. Most Ponyvillians hadn’t run into many crystal ponies save for a few that were passing by on parts unknown to explore a world a millenia removed. They couldn’t get enough of the way her hooves while soft to the touch still made little clink sounds on the tiled floor near the counter.
And the treats, my Goddess Celestia the treats! Crystal berries pies were all well and good but being so far north the Crystal Empires desserts tended to be more savory than sweet, what with sugar being a valuable and often times expensive import. Honey could only be found in the few months that summer held sway in the frozen north, and now with so much variety and choice she couldn’t keep up with the things pony folk were offering her. Eclairs filled with sweet cream, a distant relative of the maple sap fritters that were very popular in the heart of winter done up all fluffy and light, and chocolate! A substance to opposite what she was used to it was like dropping blots of ink on the blank canvas of her pallette. She tried one of everything and two with anything remotely associated with the ebony treat.
Pinkie giggled along, making small talk with Twilight, and as the sun started to get lower in sky a nagging feeling in the back of her mind started to form. Wasn’t she supposed to be somewhere, some where important, with someone important to her? She couldn’t remember, it was all fuzzed out by the recent memories of a fillies first trip to a candy store. Mr. and Mrs. Cake hadn’t been by their table in a while either, where they getting ready for the dinner rush? But she had arrived in Ponyville this morning, why had she done that? That worry grew as Pinkie attempted to tell her a joke when she wasn’t keeping along with the conversation to get her attention back. And when she noticed none of the other ponies were talking to each other only Zoey and herself that worry bloomed into full on paranoia.
All at once mental defenses snapped down like iron doors locking Twilight with in her mind. Deep in her psyche she focused on an image of what she used to be, a unicorn, floating in a light lavender glow. Just like Zecora taught her, she cleared her mind of all distractions. As Pinkie asked her if she was okay, and Zoey complaining for the umpteenth time that she couldn’t eat another bite the world slowed to a stop as Twilight started acting at the speed of thought. Something was very wrong after all, or else her training wouldn’t have brought her here.
Another Twilight, haggard looking, slightly malnourished, and very bookish with glasses and her mane done up in a bun poofed into existence. “About bloody time! Do you have any idea how long I’ve been fighting off their influence since you got off the Train!”
Twilight touched down on ground that was just there and addressed her stressed out clone, “I’m sorry Sublight, I didn’t even think to be worried with Pinkie around, she is so on top of things with her Pinkie Sense that it never occurred to me we were in a battle situation!”
The Subconscious Twilight dusted off her fetlocks and struck a proud pose, “But I did as we agreed on, I remain ever vigilant in the back of your mind monitoring for mental attacks and it finally payed off. It’s so gratifying to have your existence affirmed!”
Rolling her eyes and giving herself a brohoof, only missing once or twice like the nerd they were they got down to business. “Well clearly I haven’t just been enjoying a nice afternoon in Sugarcube Corner or else we wouldn’t be here. What can you tell me that you sensed in the background that I clearly missed?”
A blackboard appeared behind Sublight and she used her field to write down one, two and three, “At least two of the criteria for a mind influence spell have been met, with the third probably coming next to make it a full on mind control spell. Your Alicorn constitution has held them back so far but if we don’t act soon I doubt we’ll be able to help anyone out other than the Cakes with their bottom line. Did you know you’ve eaten over a dozen of those tea cakes in the last hour. We’re going to have to do so much arial cardio after this!”
Watching as the blackboard was filled in with her mind’s very immaculate hoof writing Twilight reviewed the list, “Nonsense, we’re being attacked, and under the Royal Charter of Discordia we have every right and legal authority to channel fully powered Alicorn Magic at out aggressor, even base spells at that rate burn thousands of kilojoules a second, we’ll work it off in no time. Note to us: that’s why Princess Celestia has a sweet tooth, more calories equals a great well of magic to tap into.”
Clicking the chalk back into the tray Sublight regarded her partner, “Neither here or there unless we can counter their attack. Phase one is complete, they were able to enter proximity to us undetected and were able to cast their spell to enthrall us. It is so incredibly weak and fine that we didn’t even notice it slip in. As our parasympathetic nervous system has only been numbed and not shut down we can tell that we’re too full and need to use the restroom we still have control of our glands. Though with just the trickle of adrenaline keeping me whole in this state that’s going to wear off in about 5 microseconds. We’ll need to kick the sympathetic nervous system into gear if we’re going to activate any more of the limbic system and as we’ve lost most of the upper brain functions to this mesmerization we’re stuck with enteric nervous system. And to block their attack long enough to reboot our brain we’re going to need a massive reflexive action to distract both the attacker long enough and wipe or mind of the control. Above or below Twilight, you’re the one that has to worry about cleaning up after yourself, I’ll just have to deal with the memory.”
Grimacing at the idea she’ll have to further embarrass herself in the situation of already being hypnotized while her friends are in danger she asks, “What about phase two, that’ll play a role to be sure.”
Humming to herself in thought, “Phase two, maintain enthrallment while the spell takes hold. Well, they have to be close to maintain contact with their spell, something this delicate is not likely to survive long in the aether. More than likely they’re with in five yards of us.”
Twilight waved a hoof at the black board and it flattened into a Diamond Dogs and Dugouts board game like Shining Armor used to have. But instead of hidden traps and monsters the layout of Sugarcube corner rose up out of the grid lines. “Well, there are currently three ponies in my vicinity close enough to cast that kind of spell. Only one of them is a unicorn, and Lyra Heartstrings special tallant is playing the Lyre and going on about those hooman things. She also doesn’t have the finesse to handle this type of spell. A beautiful concerto on strings as fine as floss, sure, but not mental penetration magic. Besides, we’d have to be by her earlier than this and she entered Sugarcube Corner after us. But the only other two are Pinkie and Zoey. Zoey’s a Crystal Earth Pony, and Pinkie is well Pinkie. She has a special magic all her own, but not anything that should be able to penetrate an alicorns defenses!”
“Yeah, about that, much as we hate to admit it the only new factor in range that could be affecting us is her. And you know, I haven’t seen her eat a CRUMB since we got here. Usually we have to tie her down to keep her from diving muzzle first into the display case. Which brings up another unsavory question. Who or what is doing this? Few creatures are as adept at mind magic as unicorns, and the only other species that would fit the bill.
“Changelings!” “Changelings!” “Good to see we’re on the same page. So, did you decide how you wanted to do this Twilight?”
“Yeah, and it’ll be that much funnier when I finish my friendship report to Princess Celestia about this. Prepare for a eructation of epic proportions!”
“Aye aye, boss, and good luck out there.”
“Thanks Sublight, good to work with you finally.”
Back in the real world, Pinkie had just finished asking if Twilight was alright when from deep with in her equine bowels there was a rumbling the likes of which would give even the dragon teenagers from the Badlands pause. At point blank range, their muzzles barely six inches away. The freshly crowned Princess of Friendship let loose a thunderous belch that pushed the poofy haired pony’s mane straight back like she just got in a yelling contest with a manticore. It seemed to go on and on, stars were born, burned, and winked out of existence during that burp. And when it was done you couldn’t hear anything but a polite, “excuse me” followed by a blast of eldritch might that tore the whole side of the building off it’s foundation.
Also aimed at Pinkie Pie’s head.
“BY ROYAL DECREE, WITH THE POWER INVESTED IN ME BY THE GODDESSES OF THE SUN AND MOON, BARE WITNESS TO THOSE THAT WOULD DEFY THE CROWN!”
And Twilight charged through the smoldering hole.
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Back on the farm things had been going just about as well as you would think they were. The red eyed pony jerked his head and the three Apples in a row: Big Mac, Apple Bloom, and Granny Smith, soon found themselves forced into a closet near the pantry of the kitchen.
Wheeling around with lasso in teeth Applejack whipped her rope at the creature as it ducked out of the windows aperture. Cursing in a way that would get her hide tanned if Granny heard her she dashed down the hall and out the front door. Only to find Blackbriar already squaring off with him. The pudgy pony, having miraculously lept through the window was now in mid buck with the creatures jaw. With the sound of metal sledge slamming into a granite slab the intruder flew snout over tail four times before connecting with fence post. This was cold comfort for the thing as it bucked again by Applejack right through the post and a tree trunk 20 feet further. The crackling of wood could be heard for miles as a 30 year tree had it’s life cut short as the creature blasted out the other side.
Approaching cautiously, Applejack and Blackbriar circled around the cloaked figure only to find themselves suddenly flattened to the ground as if a wagon had been parked on their withers. A sickly greenish glow coming from a stump on the attackers head. All his flights through wood had all but completely shredded his cloak, and what lay beneath was haunting.
It used to be a pony, that much was sure, and probably an alicorn based on the stump on it’s head. A jagged ruin of a foci for magic now a charred husk currently oozing foul smelling ichor from the torn tip. His flesh was taut and drawn to the bone, like a creature that hadn’t eaten in years and was kept alive by some unholy power. What little muscle remained on the things skeletal system was ropy and torn in places, as if the sheer act of moving in any way was a labor of pain. And it’s eyes. Instead of the usual pupils and eye lids there was just a skull with eye sockets. Filled with in by two glowing coals from Tartarus itself.
Discord was a threat to the realm in terms of his grasp on reality. Nightmare Moon was a threat to the pony way of life in general. Chrysalis was a parasite with delusions of grandeur.
This thing was evil.
Applejack looked to her left and could hear Blackbriar yelp in pain as the distinct sound of bones breaking in his rib area creaked and snapped like rotten floor boards.
“What’s a matter Blackbriar? A little pain too much to bear after a thousand years in retirement? I would think you would recall an old friend like me. I guess not, time has not been kind to me, and death even less so. I must say, getting to you will be sweet but killing off your family line in this time will be the icing on the cake. You like cake don’t you? I can’t eat it any more, after my tongue started to rot all I could taste was putrid meat! You left me in that seal, but I’m not built like you! I wasn’t blessed by Her Majesty with a form that could withstand the process. Instead I’m naught by a SHADE haunting my own corpse! Well ‘Chef’, there’s a new course on the menu, and wouldn’t you know it there IS something I can eat like this.”
Turning to Applejack Blackbriar stopped writhing in agony as the mare met the things eyes directly for the first time. “How rude of me, here I am about devour your very essence when I haven’t even introduced myself. Stalwart Tome, at your service, now just lie there while I devour your silly mud pony magic.”
Over the sound of Big Mac trying to buck the door off the closet hinges with what little room he had left, and over the muffling of Granny Smith’s hooves pressing down almost painfully on her ears Applebloom heard a scream.
