> The Cave of Elements
>  by Sage Probo
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> Introduction: Stella Dawn
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Introduction: Stella Dawn


Again.

That nightmare again.

For weeks she had been having the same strange nightmare. Every night the same routine: she would go to bed, then be asleep about 30 minutes later. She would find herself in a cave she didn't recognize, with only whispers from nowhere in particular. Out of nowhere, with a small flash, that strange creature would appear in front of the largest door. After that, she would wake up with heavy breathing and sweat all over her coat.

She had been having those nightmares for two, maybe three weeks, growing progressively more tired as they continued. But today would be the day she’d change that. After debating with herself whether or not tell her mother, she decided it was long overdue to tell her about it. Stella was in luck, though, for her mother was the most studious pony in all of Equestria: Twilight Sparkle.

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Stella Dawn, daughter of the Element of Magic Twilight Sparkle, was a unicorn different from the rest. In a way, you could say she was like Pinkie Pie. But instead of being the only pony with a bright, cheerful color, she was the only one in her family with a gray coat. Her mane was black, with a streak of white going through the middle. Her tail was black and white, like her mane, and straight without anything fancy. She liked to wear a watch on her foreleg, it had been gifted to her by her uncle Shining Armor and Princess Cadence. The watch served as a reminder of them. There was little remarkable about her. Her cutie mark, however, served to change that. Instead of appearing completely, the cutie mark had changed over time. It had originally appeared as a symbol with a cross, a mark she hadn’t understood upon getting it. Now, the "cross" was accompanied by four small pictures. These pictures each represented an element of nature. On top there was the picture for "Air", three lines with curves that looked like wind. On the right, there was a drop of water that represented water. At the bottom there was something akin to a rock, symbolising the earth. On the left side was a small flame, meaning fire.

Stella got those "pictures" after she manipulated the element they stood for. The first to appear was "air" when she was still a filly and in school. Her mother had been teaching her about magic and how to use it, but Stella hadn't been prepared for what had happened that day:

One day they went to the nearby lake to let their self-made boats float. Stella and her classmate had built a ship with a sail. But, much to their dismay, there wasn’t any wind that day. Defeated, they sat on their haunches, until Stella decided to use her magic to let the ship float. Normally, a unicorn would use magic on the ship to move it around, but she thought that would be too easy, and decided to use a different approach. Stella closed her eyes, and started to concentrate her magic. Then, she had begun to move the air around the sail, and surprisingly, the ship’s sail caught the now moving air and began to sail around the lake. The other fillies, that had been watching from a distance, were in awe from this display of magic. Even Stella’s own classmate couldn’t believe what she had seen, but was all the happier because of it. After Stella let her magic fade, the symbol for air had appeared on her flank, along with a cross. Several of the spectating ponies had cheered for her, but Stella had known something wasn’t quite right.

The next symbol to appear was "water". That happened years later, around the age of 15. 

Stella, finally properly trained to use her magic, had been working in the park with the others from the storm team. The pegasus ponies had scheduled a storm and she had volunteered to help out, since she could snap the branches with concentrated gusts of wind, reducing the danger of twigs and branches flying around. The work progressed smoothly. Then one of the ponies working near the lake was swept off her hooves by the wind and thrown into the lake. She was drowning. Stella, hearing her cries, rushed over to see if she could help. Frantically looking left and right, she found nothing that could help the drowning pony. In her desperation, she tried the only thing she could think of: she tried to levitate the pony out of the water. But regardless how hard she tried, she couldn’t grasp the pony. Thinking back how she moved the air, she then tried something else. Concentrating on the water, she lifted the water surrounding the pony out of the lake, carrying the pony with it. Gasping for breath, the now rescued pony noticed Stella's cutie mark glowing. Stella, following the pony’s eyes, noticed that a second mark had appeared alongside the cross: a drop of water.

The earth symbol was the third to appear on her cutie mark.

Stella had received that part of her mark as she was helping Pinkie Pie’s father on his rock farm. She hadn't been thinking clearly that day, because she had gotten a nasty cold. She just took the rocks with her magic and transported them to where Mr. Pie wanted them to be. It hadn't been long until Stella noticed something: she had been levitating the rocks... she couldn't believe it. She, who hasn't been able to cast even the most mundane spell a unicorn learns, was levitating rocks around. Realising that, she felt a warm sensation on her flank, similar when she had gotten her other symbols. Stella took a look at her cutie mark, to see it had gotten another added to it, this time in the shape of a rock.

The last one she got was the fire symbol. That story wasn’t a happy one:

A few years ago, there had been a fire that destroyed half of Ponyville, leaving several ponies injured or crippled. Some ponies even died. How the fire started... nopony knows. But what was known, was that it spread quickly around town. Most ponies were able to flee to safety. Some of them got slight injuries from falling debris and some from the flames. Some weren't fast enough to get out of the burning buildings and were crushed by falling debris, or were trapped by the flames and burned alive. By the time it happened, Stella was returning from Canterlot, where she helped out Rarity in her boutique "Canterlot Finesse". Stella saw the smoke from the train she was riding, and thought about her mother and the other ponies in town. After what seemed like an eternity, the train stopped and she exited the train as fast as she could and sped into town, terrified at the sight. 

Stella went to help all the ponies she could reach, but quickly noticed that if nothing was done against the fire, the whole town would be burned to the ground. In a desperate attempt she had tried to control the fire with her magic, because there wasn’t any water near her. To her surprise, she actually managed to do that. Pulling together all the flames she could reach, she formed a giant ball of fire in the air. Thankfully, the fireponies quickly came and began to extinguish the fireball. After that, she assessed the damage done to the town. 30% injured and sent to the hospital, that, thank Celestia, was spared from the flames, and the casualties were few, 15 ponies to be exact, 3 of them fillies. Exhausted, she looked back at her cutie mark, to see it once again changed. Now it was showing another symbol: a flame.

All four spots around the cross were now filled. But neither Stella nor her mother could explain the strange behaviour of her cutie mark, or her inability to use standard unicorn magic. And 7 months after the fire incedent Stella's nightmares began...

> Chapter 1: A bad start
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stella stood up from her bed. Knowing her mother, Twilight was still up to do some late night studying or some simple reading. She went down the stairs and looked into the library’s main room, where Stella thought her mother would be. She had guessed right: Twilight was indeed awake and busy reading a thick tome on her desk, Owlowiscious sitting on his pole besides her. The only noise was coming from a quill, every time Twilight made a note. Princess Celestia had given? her the book, which was about high-level magic for advanced users such as Twilight.

Slowly, Stella went to her mother’s side, who, too engrossed into the tome, took no notice of her until she spoke up.

“Mom?” Stella asked, startling her mother.

“Oh Stella, I didn’t know you were still awake. I thought you wanted to catch some good nights rest after today’s events.” Twilight said, raising an eyebrow at her daughter, pondering what could keep her awake.

Today’s events were, to be honest, a catastrophe for Stella. Not only did she manage to almost drown Sweet Apple Acres in water (literally) when the Apple family asked her for help, she had also made a complete and utter fool of herself when she asked Big Macintosh’s son for a date in public... right after he came out of the toilet. Everyponies eyes were on her when she shouted her date question. Realising where he just came out of, a deep pink appeared on her cheeks and while Stella mumbled some excuses, she quickly sped away from the scene, leaving the colt puzzled and startled behind. Stella rushed towards home as fast as she could. Upon entering, she quickly went up to her room, not bothering to answer the question her mother had.

“Yeah, I thought I could sleep, after what happened today. But there is something I have to tell you. I think it’s important, because it’s keeping me from sleeping for several weeks now. It’s about a nightmare I’m constantly having. Under normal circumstances, I would say it’s nothing. But to have the same nightmare for weeks? I would say that is something strange, and maybe you can help me figuring something out about it,” Stella replied with a hint of nervousness in her voice. 

Twilight, now curious what kind of nightmare could haunt a pony for weeks, looked up from her tome and faced her daughter. She thought about her strange cutie mark and her abilities, and looked at her with a worried expression. Sighing, she gestured Stella to sit down at the table in the middle of the room.

“Shall I get some tea before I listen to your story? I have this new blend Zecora gave me, and it got quite an appealing taste,” Twilight asked.

Stella thought a moment about declining it, but then decided against it. After telling her story, the tea may help her to calm down.

“Sure, if Zecora got you to drink it, it must be good,” Stella said with a wink, which earned her a chuckle from her mother.

Twilight left Stella alone and went into the kitchen area to prepare the tea. Stella thought about how she should begin to explain her nightmare to Twilight. After several minutes Stella finally found a good explanation - or at least she hoped it was - and Twilight returned with the kettle and two cups. She poured her daughter and herself some tea, then sat down next to her and waited for Stella to begin, a curious expression planted on her face.

Stella closed her eyes and took a deep breath, as to calm her down, and began her tale of the nightmare.

“It all began about three months ago. At first, I didn’t pay any attention to it, as I thought it was only a one time nightmare, like other dreams. And the next night I had a normal dream, so I forgot about it. The night after that, however, the nightmare returned. I had intervals of one day between the nightmare until a month ago that changed, as I began to experience the nightmare every night.

        “In my nightmare, I’m standing inside a cavern, a very large one. In the middle of the cavern is some sort of pillar, with runes and symbols I can’t decipher. I look around and see that inside the walls are seven doors or gates: six small ones with a symbol on each one and a gate twice as big as the other doors with all six symbols arranged as one. Three doors are set on the left side of the big gate, and the other three are on its right side.

“Curious, I go to one of the doors and examine it. The symbol on the door is a flame. But not just any flame, it looks exactly like the flame on my cutie mark. The door itself is made of stone, and when I knock at it with a hoof, I hear a hollow sound echoing behind it. Then I go and examine the other doors as well. Three other doors have exactly the same symbol of an element as I have on my flank. But the last two doors are somewhat out of place. The door directly to the left of the giant gate, the symbol there is a sun, similar to the one Princess Celestia has as her cutie mark. On the other side of the gate, the door has a crescent moon pictured on it, this time similar to Princess Luna’s cutie mark. But neither of those symbols are on my mark. I can’t understand why they are placed there.” Stella had her eyes closed, to recall the details, as she described what the cavern looked like.

“Then, after examining the cavern, I begin to hear whispers. At first, I can barely hear them. Besides them, I can’t hear other sounds at all. No earth rumbling, no dropping of water from stalagmites, not even wind blowing through the cave. Only the whispers. As time goes on, the whispers become clearer, but I still can’t understand the words. There is also the part where smoke is coming out of the gate, a blackish-dark looking smoke. The whispers are becoming more and more clearer now, and the smoke begins to take on form. 

“The first part to take on form are some sort of hooves, but they could also be something else. I... can’t really describe it. After that the smoke rises up and begins form legs with a dark red coat on them attached to the hooves. Now the waist and hip are forming, also with the red fur on them. Then a large body part of a creature I have never seen before begins to form. It’s hairless with six bunches around a hole in the center of the lower part. The upper part of the torso is divided in two, and hairless like the bottom part. From its shoulders it grows two appendages akin to our forelegs, but they’re visibly thinner than it’s legs. Also, hairless like the rest of it’s upper half. Then, finally, the head comes into sight. Normally, this is the point I tend to wake up, covered in sweat. Up til today, I have never seen the head of that thing.” Stella ended her explanation of the nightmare and looked at her mother’s face, waiting to hear what she was thinking about it.

Twilight sat in silence and thought about what she just heard, already going through her mental list of books she could use as research material. 

“Well, I honestly have no idea about the creature nor the place. It’s just too strange. But I will help you the best I can, because I love you and you peaked my curiosity. I already thought of a list of books we can use to see if we can find anything related to your dream. Because under normal circumstances, it’s not possible to remember a dream, much less a nightmare, in this detail and describe it to other ponies. I felt like I was inside you nightmare, but was still sitting here listening to you. I don’t know what is going on, but now I want to find out the meaning behind it. Maybe we can ask Princess Luna for help, as she can enter the dreams of ponies,” Twilight explained her next course of action.

“Alright mom. I really appreciate it, I feared you wouldn’t believe me and just wave it off like it was nothing to be concerned about.” Stella let out a breath of relief. What she feared the most, her own mother not believing her, didn’t come true and pulled off a huge weight from her heart. 

Twilight smiled at her. “Of course my dear, I know you don’t say something like this just because you want attention. Let’s do everything we can to solve this puzzle.”

“I also want to find out why this is happening to me. So let us start, those books don’t read themself.” Stella replied, ready to look through every book her mother would give her. 

> Chapter 2: Research and Failure
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight stood up, went to the stairs and yelled.

“Spike! Come down into the main room, I need your help to find some books.”

“Sheesh Twilight, it’s 11 pm, it’s nighttime. You were reading that big tome Celestia sent you. What books could you possibly need for that? Reference guides?” came the muffled voice of Twilight’s trusty number one assistant out of his room.

“No, well, yes. Stella told me something and I want to check some books about it. Come down and she’ll tell you about it.” Twilight said.

“Stella is still awake? I thought she went to bed a while ago, I haven’t heard her leave her room after that.” replied Spike. “Alright, alright. I’ll be down there in a minute, just give me some time to wake up enough to be helpful.”

Soon after that, the mares could here some rumbling in his bedroom and then they heard Spike’s footsteps coming. Spike opened his bedroom door and walked into the room, looking slightly confused at the waiting mares. He sat down on his legs and looked at Stella, who retold her tale to Spike.

Spike was not longer the small purple dragon baby he was when he first encountered his friends. He was now as tall as Twilight in height, and his arms twice as long as they were before. His legs also grew considerably, matching his arms in length. The hands were also bigger and had more dexterity now, which resulted in a new hobby of his: making bottle ships, tiny models and the like. His tail was now able to grab things behind him or what he wanted it to hold, and also enabled him to support himself with it in case of a fight. The scales on his head and neck became sharper and a bit more pointed, but that is all to them. His face had stayed pretty much the same, the only difference to before was it was more masculine now, not as round as a baby’s.

“That is a pretty messed up nightmare, if you ask me. But now I see why it kept you awake.” Spike said after he listened to Stella. “What books do you need, Twilight?” 

“Anything you can find on supernatural creatures and different realms. I think we have a copy of “Creatures of the Nightmare Realm” somewhere here. Also, please get me “Natural or Supernatural: A Guide to beings outside the mortal plane”, “Tobin’s Spirit guide” and “Scrying the transmundane for fun and profit”. After you get them, please look for other books with the same or similar topics.” Twilight replied, thiking about the names of the books she wanted to use.

“That is pretty hard litarature. But then again, it’s not unlike you to ask for them. I know where most of them are, but the rest may take a while to get.” Spike said in thought.

He stood up and went to the shelves to get the books Twilight requested and returned with them a few minutes later. Stella and Twilight took both two books and began to read through them to find any clue they could get. 


~MC~MC~MC~


“This is pointless. We’ve scanned ALL we’ve found and NOT a single clue we can use!” Twilight complained angrily, shutting the book with a look on her face that said more than words ever could.

Stella stopped reading the book she currently had (Cygnii, Urae and other astrozoological creatures of the Everfree) and looked over to her mother. She could see that this was frustating Twilight, since most books never failed her when she wanted to look something up (The only time was when she was sent to the Crystal Empire). Stella sighed and closed her book as well. She poured the three of them (Spike had joined since he was interested now as well) another cup of tea before speaking up. 

“I don’t think the creature is in any of those books. It was too bizarre, even if you say it comes from the Everfree. So reading all these books was a pointless endovour from the beginning. I also thought that I could get some information about the cave itself. But after reading through a couple of geography books I haven’t found a single note about a cave like this. Maybe it IS just a nightmare and the cave and creature exists only in my head.” Stella stated, pointing at some books set aside the creature guides.

“No, Stella. I don’t think the cave nor the creature are products of you imagination. Think about it, even if it was inside a dream, all but the head of the creature was describable. If that was a nightmare, it wouldn’t stay that way, you would have seen the head. I think it’s more like the creature or whatever it is didn’t want you to see it’s head, which makes it more and more mysterious. I also don’t think we will find anything in my library, and the only one with other books on this topic are inside the Royal Canterlot Library and maybe the Canterlot Archives. So we have to make a trip to Canterlot and see if we can find something there. We will also have to ask the princesses for permission to enter the restricted area. Spike?” said Twilight, turning her head to the dragon, who stopped reading after hearing her groan.

“A letter? Now? It’s in the middle of the night, Princess Celestia is probably asleep and Princess Luna has her night court to attend to. I don’t think she’ll be happy to have mail intruding on an important matter. Why don’t we go back to bed, and when we get up, send the letter immediately. That way, you can think about what to write her, too.” Spike replied, yawning after being woken up in the middle of the night to help with the books. 

Twilight answered that with a yawn of her own. She rubbed her eyes and took a look at the clock.

“I guess you’re right, Spike. It past midnight and we’re tired. We can discuss what to do next after we get a healthy dose of sleep. But I think it’s better to clean up, unless you want to do that in the morning alone while we speak.” Twilight said, with a sheepish smile on her face as she looked at the piles of books that lie around the room. Spike, thinking about what is about to come, just groaned. Stella giggled and stood up.

“I think you’re right, mom. Let’s help Spike get the books cleaned up before he bursts with pleasure from thinking about tomorrow.” Stella said, still a bit giggling.

“You know? If I wouldn’t know any better, I would say you two enjoy making fun of me like this.” Spike deadpanned. This caused the mares to burst out giggling and Spike to groan more.

All three piled the books together into staples and were soon done with claning up. They bid the others a good night went into their respective rooms to catch some sleep before they continue to plan the next step in this strange tale. 

> Chapter 3: Gettin' ready
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

All three inhabitants of Ponyville’s one and only “Golden Oaks Library” awoke around the same time, like an alarm clock shrilled throughout the tree. The two mares stood up and went through their respective morning routines.

Twilight went to her sideboard, where her mirror and her brush were located, then magically took the brush and began brushing her mane. Normally, she would spend a little more time on it, but today she rushed it. Afterwards she went to the fillies’ room and then went down the stairs into the kitchen, where Spike was already preparing breakfast.

Stella’s mornings were slightly different from her mother’s. She stood up from her bed, and then went straight to the bath to take a hot shower. After that, she dried herself with wind, or if she felt like it, took the water from her body and dropped it in the shower. She then brushed her mane and tail until she was satisfied with its look, and proceeded to brush her teeth. She had a bad run in with the local dentist once, Minuette - or Colgate as she was sometimes called - now the sound of a tooth drill gave her the shudders. So she took that part of her morning serious. Finished with her routine, she went down into the kitchen to join Twilight and Spike for breakfast.

Spike’s morning routines hadn’t changed much from when he was young. Usually he was the first one to be up now, meaning he was also the one who had to prepare breakfast for his family. This change surprised Twilight the most, since in the past he would do anything to sleep in. But as he grew up, slowly but surely he began to enjoy waking up early to prepare breakfast. They always got the same: Twilight a bowl of oatmeal and a freshly brewed cup of coffee; Stella some toast with strawberry jam, two eggs with hay bacon and cup of black assam tea. Spike got a sandwich with lettuce, tomatoes and cheese, and of course some gems.

Spike’s mornings changed only slightly from before. Most of the time he was the first one to get up. He took a quick shower, brushes his teeth (He also had a bad meeting with Colgate) and then went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast for his family. Twilight got a bowl of Oatmeal, as always, along with a fresh brewed cup of coffee. Stella, on the other hand, had a different taste. She ate a toast with strawberry jam, 2 eggs, some hay bacon strips and a cup of black assam tea. 

After the three of them had eaten their breakfast in silence, Twilight spoke up. “Alright, since I woke up I’ve been thinking about the letter, and yesterday before I went to bed I wrote it down, so the only thing left to do is to send it, Spike.” She said to him, as he takes the dirty tableware to the sink. Now looking at Stella, she continued: “I have written everything you told me and what we have done so far, as well as asking for permission. I don’t think the princesses will deny us our request. Would you be so kind and book two tickets to Canterlot, my dear? I want to stay here and wait for the response.”

“Only two? What about Spike, doesn’t he come with us to Canterlot? Maybe you can go and see Rarity?” Stella asked with a raised eyebrow, and looked fast enough to see the dragon with a light blush when she mentioned Rarity. Twilight just closed her eyes and let out a small sigh.

“As much as I want to take him along as additional help, somepony has to keep watch over the library in my absence, and the only one I can ask and who knows the place is Spike. Besides, if we take him along to Canterlot, we would need a crowbar to get him away from Rarity,” Twilight answered with a small laugh, which earned her a glare from the now visibly blushing dragon.

“Just so you know, I’m fully capable to divert my attention from the mare of my dreams to more important matters at hoof. And I don’t know why you still need to make jokes about it. I have already been with her on a date, which we both enjoyed. But, I guess you’re right, somepony has to look after the library, and who is better suited than an actual resident?” Spike said in a flat voice, followed by a sigh.

Stella, who had been quiet after her question, smiled and stood up. She went from the kitchen into the main room and headed over to the reading desk, opened one of the drawers and took the purse stored inside. Taking her saddlebags from the entrance area and placing them on her back, she stored the purse inside and, before leaving the tree, shouted back into the kitchen.

“Alright Mom, I’ll be going now. Two Canterlot tickets for the morning train tomorrow, coming right up. See you later,” Stella yelled, and walked out of the library, closing the door behind her.

Stella trotted down the path to the market, waving and greeting the occasional pony that was already awake. Most of them greeted her back, and those who didn’t were busy setting up their stands/booths, or preparing their shops for the day. At the market Stella made a stop at the “Sweet Apple Acres” booth, to have a small chat with whoever was behind the booth today. Lucky for her, Applejack was there. She always cherished the small talks she had with AJ, because every tipp she gave, was honest and worked every time she needed it.

“Well, Ah’ll be. Ah didn't think after what happened with you and MacGie, y'all would be brave enough to leave your house again. He told me by the way, to tell you that even after you caught him in that place, he’d still like to go on that date with you,” Applejack greeted Stella with a warm smile. “Ah jus’ hope it’ll work out between the two o’ you. You two make a sweet couple.” Stella began to blush furiously, looking shyly to the left, then to the right, as Applejack finished her sentence.

“Ssshhhh... please don’t shout it out aloud. It’s still embarrassing to talk about that. However, it’s wonderful news that he wants to go on a date with me. So, how are you, auntie AJ? I heard you had a small accident back on the farm,” Stella said after calming down.

Applejack frowned when Stella mentioned the accident. “Well, Ah guess Twilight told you about it. While Ah was busy hauling the apple buckets to the barn with the cart, one of the wheels suddenly broke off and the whole cart flipped to the side, while Ah'm still strapped to it. Took me by surprise, but thank Celestia, nothing serious happened. Ah just sprained my hip, but after Nurse Redheart took a look at it, she said to rest the day, cool it, and all will be fine and dandy. If Ah feel it actin' up again, Ah'll stop by there an' they'll do some X-rays.”

Stella let out a small sigh of relief, before returning a smile. “Glad to hear that you’re on the road to recovery. But I have to go now, Mom and I want to go to Canterlot tomorrow to visit the Royal Library to check something. And mom said I should go and buy the tickets in advance, so we’ll be on time in Canterlot tomorrow.” 

“All right sugarcube. Take these apples with ya, you know how long those train rides can be,” AJ stated with a wink and handed Stella a few delicious looking apples that Stella put in her saddlebags. She turned around towards the train station and bid Applejack farewell and well beings.

Stella followed the road until she was directly at the station. She went to the ticket booth, in which a rather dissatisfied looking pony was standing behind the counter.

“2 tickets to Canterlot, tomorrow for the morning train please,” Stella said.

“That’ll be 30 Bits. Would you like to purchase return tickets as well?” the stallion behind the ticket window asked as he grabbed 2 tickets from his roll.

“No, thank you.” Stella replied, searching for her purse in her bags. She pulled out the purse, hoofed over the bits and placed the tickets in her bags. “Well then, good day, sir.” With that, she turned away and began to trot home.

The trip home was uneventful. The marketplace was now bustling with ponies eager to strike a bargain. Stella was halted by Rainbow Dash, who asked how Twilight was doing. They then shared a brief conversation about yesterday's events, which still seemed to amuse the hot blooded pegasus. They parted and she continued to go towards the library, and Stella arrived without other distractions. 

“I’m home! And I got the tickets, morning train, so we can be in Canterlot as soon as possible tomorrow.” Stella yelled as soon as she entered her home. But there was no reply, which was unusual and caused Stella to wonder why neither her mother nor Spike were answering her call. She went into the kitchen to see both sitting at the table, with a letter in front of Twilight. Stella was just about to ask her mother what was wrong, when Twilight whispered,

“We have been summoned by the princesses. Urgency: 3 red ribbons...”

> Chapter 4: An "uneventful" Trip
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What do you mean, we've been summoned? And why would the princess use three red ribbons? That is normally the urgency rate where she comes personally to us and take us with her," Stella wondered with wide eyes. "I mean, what could possibly be urgent enough about my dream, that it causes her to use three red ribbons?"

"I don't know. It perplexes me as much as  it does you, Stella," Twilight said, her eyes still fixated on the letter. "But now we have to hurry. You said you have the tickets? Okay then, let me pack a few things. You should too. We meet back here in ten minutes."

With that, Twilight got up and went to her room to pack. Stella sat down dumbfounded, but eventually stood up as well and went to her room to start packing as well. She guessed they would at least stay a few days. She grabbed her saddlebags from her back, and began to place some things she thought she would need into it. After she finished packing, Stella went down the stairs to meet with her mother, who was already waiting for her.

“It’ll be most likely that we are away a few days, maybe a week or two,” Twilight said to Spike, then opened the door. “You don’t have to re-shelve the books while we are away. But if you got nothing to do, maybe you can start with some of them. You know where the money is, and please, don’t try to fry the library, one near-disaster is clearly enough.” Spike gave her an annoyed look to her remark of the fire. It’s not like he wanted to burn down the library, he just got a huge hiccup, and the flame that came out was not a sending flame, but a dangerous “burn-down-the-house” type of flame.

“Sheesh Twi. No need to remind me of that. I’ll be careful. You go and tell the princesses I said hi, that is enough. Now go. You know how the princess is, if you come late after receiving a three red-ribbon letter,” Spike said, pushing Twilight out of the door and into the street.

Stella followed her mother onto the street, and after she left Spike, closed the door. The two mares began to trot towards the station in silence. Stella was pondering why the princess would use three red ribbons and Twilight was thinking about what to say to the princess when they were meeting her.

They arrived at the station and quickly boarded the train, and were soon on their way to Canterlot. Twilight was reading a book she brought along for the ride, leaving Stella to her own devices. Stella decided to take a nap, and was soon asleep.

What Stella didn’t expect was to see Princess Luna standing before her in her dream. She blinked a few times before waking up again, startled. Twilight looked confusedly at her daughter and raised an eyebrow.

Stella breathed in and out to calm herself down, then proceeded to answer her mothers unspoken question.

“I wanted to take a nap, but the moment I closed my eyes and began to dream, Princess Luna was standing before me. I was shocked and woke up right after I saw her,” Stella told her.

“Princess Luna visited you? Then the situation is more dire than we thought. I just hope we are not too late for whatever emergency occurred,” Twilight said with a serious tone. She returned to her book, which happened to be a spell-book with spells she hadn’t learned or tried yet.

Stella, not keen on encountering Luna a second time in her dream, looked out of the window the rest of the ride. She saw the mountains close in, and soon they were inside one of the many tunnels along the track. Not long after that, they arrived at Canterlot Station, and left the train car.

Stella was surprised to see two guards and her uncle greeting her, while her mother approached him with a weak smile and hugged him.

“It seems we meet only if there is some sort of disaster impending, isn’t it, Shiny?” Twilight asked him after she let him go. “How is Cadence? I hope that both she and your daughter are fine and ok with you being away from them so suddenly.”

“Yeah, seems like it. And they are both in good spirits. Gentle Dancer sends her hugs to you both and Cadence says hello. Dancer also asks if Stella could come over sometime this year,” Shining said as the group began to trot towards the castle grounds. “You have free time this year, don’t you Stella?”

“Sure, just write me when it’s okay for me to come over, and I will take some days off. I think I’ll be needing a vacation after all,” Stella replied.

The rest of the trip everyone was busy with his or her own thinking, only stopping here and there to grab something small to eat or to chat with a guard that served under Shining. The whole trip took them 30 minutes, not including the time spent on talking and buying food, so the total time would be something around an hour. They arrived at the castle gates, where the guards were waiting impatiently for them.

“We are to show you your quarters before you have your audience with the princesses. Prince Armor, we have prepared a royal suite near the chambers of the princesses for you. Ms. and Ms. Sparkle, the guest rooms in the west wing are prepared for you. Please follow us,” the guards said before turning and walking towards the castle.

The three of them gave each other an odd look before following their respective guards to their prepared rooms. They entered the castle interior and parted ways after reaching the stairs. Shining armor and his guard turned to the left, and Stella together with Twilight and their guard turned to the right. They walked down the corridor and turned right at the end, and continued a bit further, until they were standing in front of a door.

“This will be your room, in there we have two beds and shelves for you to store your belongings while you are in the castle. Please get comfortable, a maid will be with you shortly and serve some snacks. A guard will come later and lead you to the conference room, where your appointment will be held. Good day,” the guard said before he turned and walked back to his post.

Stella and Twilight shrugged, and went inside the guest room. They put their bags in the shelves and sat down on the beds, which were very comfy. While Twilight took out her book again and began reading, Stella examined the room: there was a big and beautiful table between the beds, the shelves that held the bags, another door which Stella assumed would be the bathroom, two giant windows with gold decorations and various plants and decoration around the room. It was really beautiful in here, and Stella began to feel at ease a bit more. She stood up and went into the bathroom. As soon as she closed the door and locked it, she could hear the maid knocking and entering the room with what sounded like a small cart. Stella heard her mother thanking the maid and the maid leaving the room. She finished her business in the bathroom and then joined her mother with the snacks, which appeared to be apple-fritters, imported from Ponyville.

“Mmmmhhh, I never thought they would serve us the Apple family’s praised reunion fritters here. And plenty of them too,” Stella said between fritters. “Taste like they invited Applejack here to cook them for us. Don’t you agree, mom?”

“They sure taste like them. But don’t eat too much, we still have our appointment later. You don’t want to sit there with an aching stomach, do you?” Twilight replied in between eating.

“No, not really. I’m still nervous as is, and I don’t think stomach pains will relieve me from that. So, how long will it take after this before we go to the conference room?” Stella asked her mother.

Twilight gulped down the last fritter and put a hoof to her chin, she was clearly thinking about it, before she simply shrugged and rang the bell that was attached to the cart. Minutes later the maid came back and took the cart with her after both thanked for the snacks.

“I don’t know, I haven’t been involved with political affairs and the like in years. So I can’t take a guess when the time will be,” Twilight answered Stella’s earlier question before returning to her lecture.

Stella, not knowing what to do in the meantime until the meeting, took one of the books from the bookshelf and began reading. It caught her interest pretty quick, and while she read, she didn’t notice how the time went by. She was so engrossed in her book, that she didn’t hear the knocking, so she was a bit startled when the door suddenly opened and a guard came in.

“Ms. and Ms. Sparkle, the princesses are now ready to meet you in the conference room. Please follow me, you can leave your belongings here,” he said, then stepped out of the room and waited.

Stella and Twilight closed their books and put them back into the shelf, then proceeded to step out of the room into the corridor and to the waiting guard. They walked in silence after him and a little time later, they were in front of a large door, behind which they assumed the conference room must be. The guards standing beside it opened it and Stella and Twilight walked in.

> Chapter 5: A Past long forgotten *NEW*
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Prince Shining Armor were sitting at a large round table in the middle of the room, clearly waiting for the two mares to arrive. Celestia signaled them with a motion of her head to take a seat. Twilight went to sit besides her brother, and Stella sat down next to Luna, who gave the mare a small, warm smile before she turned serious again.

“You are probably wondering why we summoned you here in such a rush.” Celestia began.

“Yes, Princess. We are wondering why you summoned us and, moreover, why you would use three ribbons on your notification. All we wanted was to visit Canterlot City Library and/or Canterlot Castle Archives, nothing more.” Twilight answered her former mentor. “But then again, I guess you have a good reason. It’s the same thing, it happened before.”

“You are quite right, Twilight Sparkle. We used three ribbons to make you come here as fast as you could. We have something we would like to show you, and your daughter as well.” Luna replied with a small sigh. She then used her magic to conjure up a torn scroll, old and withered, but still in a good shape. Twilight thought that must be the work of a preservation spell cast on the scroll.

“Dear Stella Dawn, please read the contents of this scroll out aloud, so everypony in this room knows it’s content.” Luna said while hovering the battered scroll to Stella.

Stella took the scroll into her hooves, then laid it down on the table. She cleared her throat and began reading:

“This record is to remain the only one in regards to its contents, as they are from a time that was disastrous to ponykind. If there was a copy made from this record, the copy and the original will burn in a flash instantly. Please refrain yourself from doing so, as some very historical information's have been stored on this scroll.

Be reminded, that any information revealed to outsiders not considered by either Princess Celestia Lumica, harbinger of the Sun, or Princess Luna Umbramin, solemn deity of the Moon, will destroy this record instantly.

This is something that happened way back in the past, even before the rule of the great alicorn sisters: The Discordian Era.

Records from that time vanished from history, and only a few, very carefully selected books had survived time’s demise, fires and other catastrophes. This text is one of these, and I hope someday it will be helpful.

Signed: Paper Trail”

Twilight, ever the studious pony she was, put her hoof against her chin in thought as soon as she heard the name. She closed her eyes to concentrate but whatever she tried to remember, it seemed it failed her today. 

Though one thing she was able to remember: “I think I’ve heard that name before, but I can’t remember where...”

Princess Celestia raised an eyebrow, surprised by her former student, but it’s not like she didn’t expect it. She glanced over to her sister, who simply made a small nod, and then back to Twilight. Closing her eyes, she let out a small sign, before she spoke.

“Paper Trail is mostly known for historical events throughout his life, at least the time under our rule then. All events that took place, the peace treaty with Griffonia, Isla Minos and the dragons, the first stone we set for our castle in the Everfree Forest, all that was recorded primary by Trail.” Celestia spoke with a stern tone, it sounded more like a lecture than giving information.

Luna continued: “It was also Trail who suggested, that we should destroy any other historical records about that time. It seems he feared, that with that knowledge of what happened back then, we could be dethroned, threatened, or worse. But he was also a dear friend to us, so we heeded his plea. With a decree by our newly appointed throne, we asked that all historians gathered at our, well, it WAS a shed Tia, shed, and informed them of what we wanted them to do.”

It was here, that Celestia took over again:

“Of course, most of them were extremely furious, and a few ones actually understood what we were trying. They explained it to the rest the best they could: We wanted to avoid another discordian era. Only those who were near the site of the final battle knew where Discord stood, but what if somepony tried to free him again? We couldn’t risk that, and after some effort from both sides, we managed to strike a deal. Paper Trail, as the one who suggested the destruction, was to write a complete record, with EVERYTHING that happened until that day, to ensure at least a bit of history could be preserved. A week passed, and he wrote all of it on a single scroll.”

“Now, it was our turn to hold our side of the bargain. Combining our power, we casted a preserving spell on it, so it may never wither and crumble e away from age, and a copy-destruction spell, to prevent anyone to write down anything of that era. With that, peace finally returned to the land of Equestria.” Luna explained, ending their small history lesson on Paper Trail.

Stella heard enough to know he was a pony of great wisdom and foresight, enough to envy him a bit. But she pushed these thoughts aside, returning her focus back to the princesses. It was now that Shining Armor spoke the first time in this meeting.

“History lesson is good and all, but that doesn’t explain why you summoned us here. Whatever it is, it is related to my niece’s strange cutie mark, and the reason is hidden inside the Discordian Era, or am I wrong, your highness?” He asked bluntly, direct to the point, just like he was at the time of his wedding. Celestia couldn’t stop but admiring that treat of her nephew-in-law. She nodded in agreement and turned her head back to Stella and Twilight.

“There is one thing we haven’t told anypony, and I mean it, no one besides me and Luna knows about it, so you are the first ponies besides Luna and me to learn of it’s existence... and its fading into history and nothingness.” Celestia said.

What followed that statement was a stunned silence. Nopony inside the room dared to say something about what Celestia just revealed. Twilight’s head was working in overdrive, trying to comprehend the underlayed information in that explanation, Stella was seriously wondering what could be so dangerous that the princesses decided to let it be forgotten by time and history, and Shining Armor was contemplating what kind of threat it posed to him, his wife, his loved ones, and the ponies he swore to protect.

“Before our final battle against Discord” Celestia began the next part of her story, “and even before we found the Elements of Harmony, we traversed the land, in search for others of our kind, not just alicorns, any kind of pony would have suffice. As you know, alicorns can survive long periods without any sort of nutrients, as long as they stay connected to their power source. It was devastating. For weeks, maybe months, we’ve seen no trace of any civilisation whatsoever, no ruins, no graveyard, no bones.”

Luna showed a sad smile for the briefest of time, before she took over the line:

“We were all alone, except that we had ourselves as company. Whenever we were tired of walking around aimlessly, we searched for shelter and dimmed our power to an absolute minimum, to avoid being found by Discord. These days he hunted alicorns just for the fun of it, continually decimating our numbers. It was sheer luck we were able to survive so long. We had given up hope, but we still pressed on, staying still would mean to give up our live. And one day, we laid our eyes on something strange in the distance. All we could see were silhouettes, but for the first time, what felt to us like ages, we saw some kind of structure. A structure inside a vast forest. A sign of life.”

Celestia let out a small, dishearted sigh before she shared their tale further:

“With hope renewed in our hearts, we set out to meet whoever built these structures. But, as we approached it, it became clearer and clearer, that these structures, were mere pillars of stone standing tall, about ten to fifteen meters high.The closer we got, the more intense became the magic that flew through the air around us. Soon, we reached them and were impressed by their sheer presence there.

“We began to examine them. They were made of stone, that we had concluded already, they were round and all had three stripes indented around their base, a kind of wave was planted in the middle of the surface facing to the centre of the structure. Accompanying the wave were below it a square, and above it a triangle. That was all we could make out then. On the ground, around the pillars, were a small, almost not visible circle. We were confused, what were they representing, and who build them?”

Twilight decided to intervene here, before Luna went on:

“So, all this is about is a trio of strange stone pillars? That’s nothing I would deem dangerous enough to hide it away or destroy it. I mean, what could that do? Open a portal to a plane of crazy mad demons bent on world destruction and chaos?” She chuckled a bit from her own joke. But Celestia and Luna shared a brief glance, and Luna continued the story:

“Twilight Sparkle, you laugh at the thought of a stone circle being a portal, but in that era, magic was but something dangerous, without known boundaries. With Discord homing in on magic signatures representing alicorns, nopony dared to use magic. But I digress, we should now move to the time after we defeated Discord.

“After Discord was defeated, we went to the stone pillars again. Now that we weren’t under the threat of being discovered and killed, we could magically examine the place. And yes, it was a portal, a portal to a very dangerous realm. The realm of Niflheim, land of demons and monsters. Without us knowing, we opened it simply by using magic near it. The ground began to glow in the center, growing larger each second, until the whole area was one glowing place. We were thinking it was a trap laid out by Discord, when a few moments later the glow disappeared and just a circle in the perfect center between the stone pillars was left.”

“You see, these days, it was quite possible to fall into his traps, he blend them in into his mad world of chaos.” Celestia took over. It seemed like they practised who told what part of their story, but then it was still interesting.

“We approached the still glowing circle with extreme caution, we didn’t know what it was that time. As we drew closer and closer to it, a feeling of dread began to fill the air instead of magic like it did last time. Fearing the worst, we set up a barrier around the place, just to be sure that if there is something harmful in it, it wouldn’t escape easily. After being done, we returned our attention to the circle, and closed in once again, with the feeling of dread increased every step we took. When we were very close to it, the glow, formerly white, turned dark in an instant. We got startled, and jumped back in a measure to defend ourselves. Then, we looked in terror as a being rose from the dark circle. It was then that it striked us it was a portal, and the color didn’t leave any room for interpretion. The creature that emerged...”

Luna took this as her cue to show them an image, while Celestia took a deep breath:

“Was the same creature that you saw in your dreams, Stella.”

Three sets of jaws hit the table simultaneously, in perfect sync with each other. 

Stella couldn’t believe the image Luna showed them, it matched the creature from her dream to almost one-hundred percent. It was also now the first time she ever got to see the head of it. The head... was very hard to describe. It was wearing a hood, which two horns coming out of the side of it’s head. So Luna and Celestia didn’t see the face/head either, but that was understandable.  The princesses waited for that revalation to sink in, as it was something that was hard to stomach. They motioned the waiting maids and butlers in the corner to serve them some snacks and drinks.

The maids and butlers sprang into motion and rolled in tea wagons with water, tea and juice to drink, and sandwiches, cookies and muffins to eat. (Twilight was amazed that the insant the muffins appeared Derpy wasn’t crashing through the nearest wall or ceiling to get at least one muffin) Stella took a sandwich and apple juice, Twilight took the sandwich and some water, and Shining Armor took the muffins and some tea (a habit he developed in the time shortly after he moved in with Cadence in the Crystal Tower, they only had tea leafs, and he began to enjoy them throughoutly). 

They ate their snacks in silence, their minds still concerned with the revalation from the princesses. Twilight was thinking about the meaning behind this, why this strange creature appeared in her daughter’s dreams without showing its complete image. Shining Armor was, simply put, stunned and dumbfolded (for the lack of a better word), and worried about his niece. 

Stella...  was unsure what to do with her newfound information. On one side it eased her to know she wasn’t going to be insane, on the other side it a shuddering thought she is or was connected to such a being, in whatever way it is or was.

The whole time all five ponies were quietly eating their food, and when they were finished, the maids and butlers put the glasses and cups on their tea wagons and left the room. 

Luna and Celestia were unsure of how to continue. They could clearly see that their story rattled them rather deep. But it was important that Stella was told the complete story, and they couldn’t afford to back down now. Celestia cleared her throat, and spoke again:

“I know it’s hard to stomach, but our tale is not yet finished, there is one more thing we have to tell you, Stella. Please, listen to us as we lay out the rest of our encounter with the creature.”

“The creature that rose from the portal and the princesses that witnessed it stood across the meadow where the portal was located.

“At first, we dared to do nothing but stare at it, as it slowly ascended out of the black portal. The red eyes under its hood looked at us, menacingly and longing, as it wanted something it was about to get. For what felt like hours, we simply stared at each other.

“And then the creature attacked, it’s movements were faster than anything we knew or encountered before, it must have honed its agility to the highest degree. Before we could react, it hit us with its fist in our faces, sending us flying through the air, both of us, in an instant. We managed to do a barrel roll in the air and land on fours, but it didn’t gave us the opportunity to catch our breaths. Right when Luna landed it rushed towards her and delivered a kick into her sides, sending her straight into the trees. She coughed a bit of blood, otherwise she seemed fine. I charged up my magic and fired it in volleys, but with its unnatural agility it managed to dodge all of them. Coming to me fast, I put up a barrier as it clashed against it, giving a primal roar of displeasement.

“It was then when it charged its magic to perform a spell, one we never seen or heard before. We were worn out by it’s attacks already, so we knew it would be disastrous if that spell hits us. Luna and I managed to get together in time to put up a barrier that we hoped would save us. Just when we finished the barrier, it unleashed it.”
Luna shifted a bit before she resumed telling:

“It broke the barrier like it was nothing. The blast from the following explosion was enough to send us towards our other barrier and we almost fell unconscious from it. By the time we stood up the creature was already approaching us. In one last desperate attempt, both of us summoned our last bit of strenght and combined it into a powerful spell.

“While closing in, it charged another spell and fired it at us, which could dodge only by a hairs width. But we continued charging and, finally, it was ready. We released it and shot it towards the creature, who was in line with the portal. Its speed was its downfall, unable to change direction, it took the blast full force into its chest, sending it flying back towards the portal. When it hit the ground, it stood up, staggering, but mostly unharmed. 

“And to our surprise, it went back into the portal, which closed after it vanished.”

Twilight, Stella and Shining Armor were shocked. The princesses, who were strong enough to defeat multiple enemies such as Discord and Sombra, were almost defeated by that mysterious creature? That was hard to believe, even when Queen Chrysalis obtained enough power to win a direct battle with Celestia, that such a being existed.

“What happened after the fight, princess?” Twilight began her questions. “You mentioned that you did something to make it disappear or something like that. Did you destroy the portal?”

“Mom, she also said that whatever they did, they made sure that it was forgotten by everypony. If they would have destroyed it, something of portal, or the site of their fight, would have remained. Yet nothing of that sort is known to us, even if it was in the Everfree Forest.” Stella corrected her mother, and in return earned 2 pairs of curious eyes on her, which belonged to the princesses.

“I know, you never said it was the Everfree, but from what you said, I deducted it to be the only place with such a massive amount of trees.” Stella answered in defense.

“Your daughter has the same observation skills you have, Twilight. I’m truly amazed she could find out where our fight was by just hearing small fragments of it.” Celestia said to Twilight which made Stella blush a little. She then continued: “And I’m certain you have your own thoughts about what happened afterwards. Would you like to share them with us?”

Stella closed her eyes in thought. Yes, she has a theory, but it was a laughable and silly theory in her opinion. But the princess asked her on her thoughts on this, so regardless how silly she thought it was, she would share it:
“Yes, I have one theory. First: It’s impossible to hide such a formation as the stone pillars naturally, so just leaving it to be grown with plants is out of question. Second: You said it faded into history and nothingness, so in regards to the history part, you hid it. So how do you hide something that big... perhaps by building something over it?”

Twilight, already having her own thoughts on this, added: “So if you build something over it, the building must be huge enough so the pillars weren’t seen anymore. And the only building inside the Everfree Forest I know of, is the old castle of the royal pony sisters, your old castle where Nightmare Moon was defeated, twice.”

With this out, Celestia and Luna finally smiled, a heartily and welcoming smile. 

“Indeed, the stone pillars that form the portal are underneath Everfree Castle.” Luna confirmed their assumptions. “This was the only way to hide it away from the world, in a place nopony would expect. So with a bit of help and magic, we sank the ground and hid it inside a cavern.”

“Wait, did you just say cavern?” Stella shouted out and then realized she was in the presence of both the princesses and her mother. She sheepishly smiled and sat down again. “Excuse me, but that was just a surprise to me. You are the architects of that cavern?”

Celestia and Luna both nodded simultaneously and giggled over Stella’s outburst.

“You created it to seal of the place with the stone pillars, so much I get, but what about the doors, the pillar in the middle of the cavern, and the symbols on the doors, the middle pillar and on my cutie mark?” Stella asked repeatedly.

“I think this is enough information for today. I’m sure the three of you have a lot to think and talk about.” Celestia replied to her disappointment and added: “And I also don’t have to say it, but please keep this confidential, both the story about the discordian era as well as our fight. Have a nice evening, my little ponies.”

With that, Luna and Celestia stood up and left the room, and shortly after them Stella and her family left to. Once outside a guard escorted them back to the Sparkle suite, which all three entered. Inside, they sat down at the table, noone saying anything for a while. Only Stella asked:

“What the hay is going on here?”


> Chapter 6: What to do now? *True Chapter*
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“What the hay is going on here?”

That question lingered inside the room. Neither her mother nor her uncle could answer that. Twilight was just as confused as Shining Armor and Stella were.

“I don’t know, Stella,” she replied to her daughter. “I’m just as confused as you are. I think it’s best we wait for tomorrow when we meet with the princesses again. And I need to think for a while, so don’t mind me sitting here.”

Shining Armor was surprised to hear such an answer from his little sister. Normally, she would go berserk with not knowing and head straight for the library and do research for hours, not sitting in a room with her family and do some thinking. But he knew it was only because Celestia and Luna said that there are no books or scrolls on this subject.

He turned towards his niece and saw in her eyes the same puzzled look that he seemed to have. He simply shrugged and sighed. This was going to be a long night.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

“And then he came out of the toilet, and I was so nervous about asking him on a date that I managed to shout the question, for the whole marketplace to hear. I’ve never felt so embarrassed my entire life. So once I felt my legs again I bailed and ran straight home, headed for my room, and didn’t come out for a few hours.” Stella told Shining what happened the last few days. “When I was about to fall asleep, I felt a resolution rising inside me that it couldn’t go on with this nightmare. I went down to talk to mom about it, and we did some research together with Spike. He’s fine by the way, and sends his regards to you and aunt Cadence. Well, mom decided we should go to Canterlot to continue our research here and sent a letter to princess Celestia.”

Shining chuckled when he heard the last bit. During all these years Twilight lived in Ponyville, the only thing that hadn’t changed was her habit of asking her former mentor for assistance.

Old habits are hard to break, so they say, Shining thought, thinking about his own habit of still thinking Twilight was his baby sister who needs protection.

“So, I set out to get the ticket at the train station, and I happen to run into aunt Applejack,” Stella continued. “We talked a bit and she told me that BigMac’s son, MacGie, would actually like to go on a date with me. I’m so happy. I mean, he is just so handsome, and nice. I can’t believe how lucky I am to actually get a date with him. Can you believe it, uncle Shining?” Stella was all giddy about the prospect to go on a date with her love interest.

“Well, after that I got the tickets and returned, only to see mom sitting dejected at the table and a scroll before her. She told me Princess Celestia had summoned us but didn’t explain why. So we packed a bit and came here. You know the rest,” Stella concluded her summary.

Shining smiled at his niece and pulled her into a hug. He let her go and returned to being serious. The thought that she was involved in something this dangerous hadn't left his mind. At least he knew that she had something to look forward to, even if it was something small like a date.

“As glad as I am for your date, I’m still quite confused what the princesses told us. It just seems so out of the blue that I have a hard time understanding it. You are the one that is involved, don’t you have any questions about it?” Shining asked his niece, showing that it troubled him.

Stella stopped smiling and put a hoof on her chin, thinking about her uncle’s question. Then she answered, “Yes, I have a ton of questions, but I know that when we meet the princesses again tomorrow, a lot of them will be answered, so I don’t burden myself with overthinking them. For now, I just focus on what is in front of me, and that is a good night’s rest .”She let out a small yawn to demonstrate her last statement.

Stella’s yawn was infective as Shining and her mother both shared a yawn of their own. Twilight stood up and cracked her stifled neck.

“Stella has a point here. Thinking and talking about it will only get us this far. I’m sure Princess Celestia and Luna will answer some of our questions tomorrow. For now I think it’s best we go to bed,” Twilight said, before turning towards Stella. “Do you want me to cast a deep sleep spell on you? That way, you can get some rest and you won’t be haunted by the nightmare tonight.”

Stella pondered a bit over the question. “Nah, I’ll think I go through it again tonight. Yesterday, as strange as it sounds, I didn’t dream of the nightmare, maybe because I’ve shared it with you. And with today’s information, I maybe able to figure out a bit more than before,” she replied, turning down her mother’s offer.

"We should go to bed. Tomorrow will be a long day, and I think the princesses haven’t told us everything they know on the matter."

Shining bid the mares good night and left the room to go to his own suite. Twilight took the left bed and Stella climbed into the right one. Soon, both mares were sound asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stella stood in front of the stone pillar again, examining it more closely than before. Like the princesses told her earlier, it had all six symbols inscribed into it. This time however, one of the symbols was glowing. It was the symbol of air. It glowed in a light shade of green, bordering between lime and turquoise.

Stella blinked and moved her attention to the door harboring the same symbol, only to see that it was also glowing in the same color as the one on the pillar. She moved closer to examine the door, but before she could do so, the glow vanished. Turning around, she noticed the glow on the pillar was gone too.

Instead, another symbol was glowing, the symbol of water. It was a deep sea blue, rich and beautiful and calming. Stella, expecting that the same thing happened as it had with the air symbol, moved towards it and saw her expectations fulfilled, with the symbol glowing in the same deep sea blue as the pillar symbol.

Unfortunately, this was the point she was about to wake up. The corners of her sight became foggy and soon she lost consciousness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stella stifled a yawn as her consciousness slowly slipped back into her body. Still sleepy, she just laid there thinking about what just happened in her dream. It was so different than the ones she had before, it seemed it wanted to tell her something about the doors and the symbols on them. Her closest guess was, that behind the doors was something that, when done, destroyed or solved, lit up the symbols on the middle pillar.

Figuring it was useless staying in bed, Stella ruffled her sheets and moved out of the bed. She looked over to the other bed where she thought her mother would be, only to see it was empty and already made. Surprised that Twilight was up so early, Stella made her own bed and went into the main room. As she expected, her mother was sitting at the table, drinking a cup of coffee and reading the book she took with her. The moment she heard her daughter's hoofsteps though, she looked up and smiled at her.

"Good morning dear, I take it you had a peaceful night?" Twilight asked and took a sip from her cup.

Stella poured herself a cup of coffee as well and nipped before she answered the question.

"Yes, I didn't meet the creature or demon or whatever it is. Instead something else happened, and I want to hear what the princesses have to say about it."

This made her mother gave her a quizzical look. Twilight closed her book and looked Stella directly into her eyes. It was this piercing look that amazed her everytime as it seemed she could look straight into your soul.

"Stop it mom, you're using your soul eyes again," Stella said as she closed her eyes.

Taken aback a bit that her daughter had named her gaze "Soul Eyes" - Twilight had dubbed it "Eyes of Inquisition" herself - and pointed out that she was using it, she lowered her gaze and took another sip from her cup. 

"As expected, when I fell asleep I was back in the cavern. But unlike the times before, one of the symbols on the middle pillar lit up in color, and when I checked the door, the symbol on it was glowing as well. At first I was surprised, you know that never happened before, but then the light went out and another symbol flared up. And the same thing happened to its respective door.

"Just like the other symbols, it went out and before another symbol could light up, I could literally feel I was beginning to wake up. I lost consciousness and awoke back in the real world." Stella retold this strange deviation from her usual dream about the cavern.

"I could feel that whoever or whatever is making me experience this dream wants to tell me something important, but for Faust's sake I can't understand what it is."

Both were a bit startled when they heard the main door opening and turned their heads to see who it was that came in. Standing in the doorway was Shining Armor, smiling for an unknown reason. He moved into the room and closed the door behind him.

Twilight smiled back and asked:

"Why are you smiling, BBBFF? Something good happened?"

Shining nodded and sat down at the table. Using his magic, he grabbed some breakfast off the wagon and took some bites and sips before he shared what put him into his good mood.

"You see, before I married Cadence and became the prince of the Crystal Empire, I was the captain of the royal guard as you know. So, today when I woke up, I just took a stroll around the castle and ended up in the barracks, and I just happen to see they were doing their morning exercises. One of the instructors recognised me and asked if I cared to join. I accepted and it was wonderful to get some exercise again. Then I hit the showers and came here. That's all."

Twilight and Shining shared a small giggle before they were interrupted by another knock at the door. It opened revealing a guard waiting outside. As if they had planned this, all three rose and followed the guard to the same room they were talking in yesterday. 

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As before, Celestia and Luna were sitting at the table waiting for them to arrive. The guard closed the door and once again it was only those five inside the room.

"Good morning, my little ponies. I take it you've slept well?" Celestia asked once they were all seated at the table, which all, including Luna, answered with a nod. "Tell me Stella, did you dream of the cavern again last night?"

"Yes, your highness, I have," Stella answered, and before somepony could interrupt, she set out to explain what she saw. "Like the previous dreams, I awoke standing in front of the middle pillar. But unlike last time, there was no sound of any sort hearable. Also, the smoke that should appear from the main door didn't come as well. Instead, one of the symbols on the pillar began to glow with a strange light, a light shade of lime green. I was surprised, so I examined the pillar a bit closer and in the corner of my sight I noticed that the door with the same symbol had it glowing as well. I moved towards the door to have a closer look at it. But just when I reached it, the glow vanished suddenly. I stood there confused and looked back at the pillar and noticed the same happened to the light on it. Well, not exactly.

"Upon returning to it another symbol flared up. Remembering what happened just before I turned to the door bearing the same symbol, and like the other door the picture on it was glowing. I approached it but it also went out. Checking the pillar again, I saw that the symbol was dark as well. I wanted to see if another symbol would light up again, but I noticed I was waking up." With this, Stella finished her story.

Celestia and Luna sat perfectly still, but it was plain as day and night they were troubled by what they just heard. They shared a glance at each other and like the day before, the older alicorn began talking:

"So it has begun. This is troubling news you brought us today. In fact, this is what I wanted to talk to you about today. The doors you've seen and the pillar in the middle. Once this is over we'll give you more detail on what we told you yesterday. For now, let's focus on your dream and what it meant.

"We were already aware of the immense power the natural elements hold as well as the power of light and darkness. So we made use of that power and forged seals containing that very power. We first created the masterseal in the center before the door. As you can guess, it's the pillar with all six symbols on it. The pillar was not yet finished and functioning.

"Next, we carved what would be best described as a hallway with a very deep bottom, and behind that we placed the chamber in which we placed the first seal, the Seal of Air. We bound pure air and wind into it and directed its power towards the pillar. We did the same for the other three elements.

"This could have been enough, but we knew there was always a way to manipulate the natural elements. So we discussed how to insert what could be called a failsafe. We came onto the idea that light and darkness are elements that are very hard to handle. We agreed that this was the best choice, and carved two additional hallways with seal chambers. And to make sure we can't overcome them, each of us dug her own hallway and made the seal at the end of it. Luna infused her seal with the power of the night and darkness while I infused mine with the power of the day and light itself.

"What you saw in your dream was what it should look like once the seals we placed are lifted. Once all seals were in place we weaved the sealing spell into the door and used the pillar as its power source. Doing so made all symbols on the pillar lose their glow."

Celestia continued her explanation of what the pillar was and what exactly was behind the doors. The whole thing took most of the early day, as Stella's wrist watch showed it was shortly after noon when she checked it. The silence was the same silence that reigned the day before after it was revealed what the creature was.

Luna spoke up into the silence:

"Please, join us in the dining hall. By the time we have finished our meals, we will discuss about gathering your friends. I heard the chef talking about something he called 'meatloaf'. Apparently, it is chicken meat formed into a long block with prench fries and a neighpon-style salad. I also heard it is a delicacy over in Griffonia."

Stella opened her mouth and was about to decline when her stomach decided to intervene and grumbled. She smiled sheepishly and closed her mouth. The other four ponies in the room giggled and rose up. Stella, Twilight and Shining followed the princesses into the dining hall and sat down at the large table. Celestia and Luna at the head, with Twilight and her daughter at the left side and Shining at the other.

The meal was eaten in silence, only disturbed by the clacking of the forks and knives on the plates. After they were finished, the door to the kitchens opened again, a ponymaid came out and removed the now empty plates. She left the hall and the door closed behind her quietly.

"I think we should move back to our meeting room, there are still some things I have to tell you," Celestia said as she stood up and headed towards the door. They walked back chatting quietly until they entered the meeting room again and sat down.

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Stella had waited until now, there was a question regarding the seals and now was the best time than ever.

"Princess Celestia?" Stella spoke up.

"Yes, Stella? Do you have a question before I continue?" came the sun-diarch's reply.

"To be honest, yes I have a question. And it's related to what you told us earlier about the seals," Stella said, readying herself about what was about to come. She took a deep breath and said:

"Why do the symbols on the doors and the pillars look exactly like the ones on my cutie mark? Except the sun and the moon ones."

Celestia and Luna both kept silent after Stella spoke out the question that have been on her mind since she heard about the seals. It wasn't like they didn't expect it, after all it was related to her cutie mark.

"Stella Dawn, each element has a symbol that anypony can recognise. In the past, those symbols were used in formulas and spells as an easy way to differentiate them as well as to shorten spells which used a particular one," Luna answered Stella's question.

"Also, I liked the design we choose and all our subjects sticked to them ever since. You have to admit, sister, those symbols are simply wonderful."

Celestia smiled at Luna and had a look on her face that showed she was thinking about past times. However, the look was soon replaced with a look of discern. And when she started to speak, it was obvious why:

"We knew this day would come eventually. Back then, when we were young and had just created the sealing caves, a pony whose talent was divination came to us and told us something we found disturbing that day. She said she was given a prophecy by the great creator Faust.

"Luna, if you would be so kind to tell the prophecy of them?" Celestia asked the younger alicorn.

"Yes, my sister, I will," the moon princess replied, and turned to the three waiting ponies.

"This prophecy was not written down. But if my memory serves me correctly, it went like this:

A being of old came through the wall,
to bring calamity and chaos to all.

But two beings, young and strong,
sent it away to where it belongs.

With the aid of the world they barred the way,
the power they have shall remain and stay.

The seals with nature's power will strive,
as long as they shine the world will survive.

One day, however, it shall return,
to crush the beings and watch them burn.

When it comes back, a mare will rise,
to bring back hope, and the beings demise.

The mare will wield the powers of nature, day and night,
with help from harmony she will go and fight. 

She will go from where the being came,
and once the fight has ended, everypony will know her name."

Celestia addressed Stella directly, "This was the prophecy given to us. All this time, we waited and looked out for the mare mentioned in it. When your mother first wrote to us about your cutie mark, we knew you were the one mentioned, but we waited to be sure. And we became more and more aware that the day of fighting drew nearer as you unlocked your abilities to control the natural elements." The sun-diarch flashed a frown before resuming her normal regal expression.

"But as you are right now, you can only unlock four of the six seals. You still have to learn and master the power of light and day as well as the power of darkness and night. I'm sure you will learn to use them both within a week."

Stella was surprised by that. The princess just indirectly told her she and her sister would train Stella in using the powers of light and darkness. Her mother noticed it as well, a wide grin plastered on her face at the thought her daughter was going to be tutored by her former teacher. 

"I would be honored to be taught by you, your highnesses. But what about the part mentioning the Elements of Harmony? Does that mean I won't go alone into the cave to unlock the seals?" Stella asked, a bit confused about that part of the prophecy.

"Yes, Stella," Celestia replied, "You won't go alone into the cave. We will summon your mothers friends once we start your training. Which will commence tomorrow. For now, I wish that you rest well, our training will be taxing enough for you."

"What about me, your highness?" Shining Armor asked. "In all this, only my little sister, her friends and my niece are involved. Why did you summon me to hear all this?"

"Because Stella will need practical training as well. You will be the one that will train her in the fine art of magical combat," Celestia explained. "You're one of the best unicorn soldiers I know of, and if anyone can train your niece, it's you."

"Well, now that we know what we are going about, I think I will write the letters to my friends," Twilight said. "And I also want to patch up my own combat spells in the Star-Swirl-the-Breaded wing. If it's okay with you, princess?"

"Of course, Twilight. Please do. We'll wait for you tomorrow in the castle gardens," Celestia said and together with her sister she rose from her spot. "It is still early afternoon. What you do now is up to you. As for us, we still have a bit of royal business to attend to."

"Good day to you, my friends," was Luna's statement on the matter as the diarch's left the room.

Twilight, Stella and Shining rose up as well and left the meeting room. Twilight turned left while Shining and Stella turned right.

"I'll go to the castle library. I'll see you when I come back in the evening," Twilight said as she waved her family goodbye.

Stella and Shining waved back and left the castle to grab a little something to eat in one of the city's famous cafes: Donut Joe's Donut Dome. Just as they sat down, the owner of said cafe, Donut Joe, walked up to them and placed a tray with freshly baked donuts and two cups of cocoa in front of them.

"Thank you, Joe," Shining said with a smile. "Even after all these years, you still remember what I like when I visit your place."

"Well, 'Captain,' you came here so often, it would surprise you more if I forgot what you like to order. Anyway, how are your wife and kids? I heard they kept you busy up in the North," Joe replied with a grin on his own.

As the two stallions descended into casual conversation, Stella replayed the news that she heard since yesterday. She always wanted to apply her powers for the prosperity of the country she loved, but this was not the way she wanted to. Sighing, she ate her fill of donuts in silence, not noticing the shadow that walked past the window, a malicious intent glimming in its eyes.