Rumors from the North

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Listen, my child, and listen well; for this history is your own just as much as it is ours. There is much you may learn from the words we are about to share, much and more so long as you've the mind to grasp it. All the years of your life you have been fed lies and half-truths, covers to help best cloud your mind to the facts of your existence. What we are about to tell you is a memory we have guarded for years beyond count, centuries and millennia have aged the tale and blurred its meaning. Yet if you are diligent enough, perhaps the ramblings of these old sacks of flesh might open your eyes to the truth that lies before you... But that part is up to you. Regardless, the stories will be told, the songs will be sung, and the Awakening will begin...

The news came just after midnight, its bearer a simple earth pony whose allegiance had been bought decades ago. Honest, familiar, trusted; the watchers had no reason to doubt the truth of his words. They did not question him, they did not stop him, all they could do was open the gates and watch as the words that confirmed their worst fears entered upon his lips.

In that earliest of morning hours the city slept, its citizens safe within their homes of stone and wood and earth, oblivious to the grievous tidings that galloped through the streets outside their windows. A lone earth pony, a rare sight in the capital city of the Planes, raced headlong toward the home of the nation's wisest leaders. An assembly had been called, and the greatest minds the region had to offer had convened there, taking up refuge in its asymmetrical halls for the past month. Generals, politicians, historians, and magi, scientists and clerics, artists and philosophers; all were in attendance, though not all would be awake at such an hour. The call had gone forth over a month prior; those who had assembled here were the last hope that the nation had to find an answer to the growing threat that marshaled before them. A threat whose true magnitude the Council had done everything they could to keep from their citizen knowledge.

Tirelessly they had worked over the past few weeks, collaborating in the hopes of finding a viable solution to the inevitable. Searching desperately for some escape from the fate that was now seeming more and more imminent. Time had been on their side while the war had raged to the north, providing the southern regions with a sense of security as news reached them of far-off battles in inconsequential lands. The strife had taken place on what might as well have been a different planet, its staging grounds an expanse of land almost half a world away. Yet here came our grim witness to that bloody conflict, galloping through the streets with a message that would soon change the way an entire society would look upon recent events. His words would be said in private, spoken in hushed tones safely behind the walls of the capital building. Yet dark words will always find their way to ears that were never meant to hear them, and these words would be as black as the sky itself in the hour that our little messenger ran toward his destination.

He had come from the north; over field and mountain, through forest and bog and desert to reach the city he had been dispatched from to begin with. He had run endlessly for days, a trip that had left him lathered and breathless, yet he would need every last breath he had left in him to pass on the news he carried. The news had been fresh from the source when he had set out almost a week ago, but as he neared the final stop on his journey it dawned on him that all of it could have changed in the time it had taken him to return. For speed he had left the city carrying no provisions or comforts of any kind, making use of the land around him for food and shelter. He nothing with him when he had set off, but he had returned carrying a war upon his back and a death sentence in his words. Perhaps not for himself, but for undoubtedly for his masters in that peaceful capital city. It made little difference to the messenger; his time in this life was nearly at an end either way.

He climbed the steps up to the main door of the capital building: a massive, cavernous hall which the city's founders had dug into the side of the mountain that made up the capital's southern wall. The natural barrier had no official name, remaining as nothing more than just another unclaimed mountain on maps and charts. To the citizens of the city, it was simply called Barricade; a massive slab of granite that jutted upward at such bizarre angles that no one was quite sure how it was able to support its own weight in places. Smooth, seamless, and unclimbable, the Barricade had kept attackers from striking from the south for centuries. The Barricade had held strong for thousands of years and would would likely outlive every city, kingdom, and empire that would ever spring up in its shadow.

He entered unchallenged, the sentinels needed only to look upon him to understand gravity of his mission. Theirs were some of the ears which were not meant to hear the discussions of the inner councils but did anyway. For them, the news from the north had been little more than rumor and hearsay. One look at the ragged messenger, however, made it all seem so much more real, so much closer than it had before. Their eyes were sharp, the eyes of hawks and eagles, and they saw him long before he reached the steps. By the time he got there there was nothing they could do but wave him through, the one on the left quietly cursing him as he passed. None of it mattered to the earth pony; let the griffons curse him all they like, a part of his message pertained to their kind and would soon make matters far worse for them than they could possibly imagine.

So he entered the uneven hall, running past the alcoves, rooms, and corridors that sprouted from the main chamber. A statue of their king graved the center of the hall, set above a massive fountain which flowed with a different type of liquid every day. Most days found it to be some sort of drink, typically one far too sweet for the messenger's taste. Now, however, what appeared to be nothing more than simple water poured from the oddly shaped plinth upon which the stone likeness was set. The sight of the statue itself left an unpleasant taste in the earth pony's mouth. The stories that had accompanied the primary message he now carried were numerous to say the least, with many of them completely contradicting one another. One fact seemed to be present in almost every version of the events that he had heard before leaving the north, however, and if it did indeed prove to be true, the fountain would likely soon be seen as a terrible caricature of the leader, rather then a testament to his glory.

Finally he made it to the staircase he had been searching for, a winding thing set deep in the natural walls of the Barricade. He climbed up and up, not daring to stop and catch his breath. His legs hurt, his throat burned, his lungs cried out for relief, but he ignored them all. None of it mattered, not anymore. All that remained was for him to deliver his message, then he could rest. He could go home, enjoy the comforts that his employers had provided him with, finish the book he had begun writing before he was called upon to serve his superiors. It wasn't much further, just a few more steps and he'd be at the top. He was so close, so very close to his destination. He rounded the last twist in the stairs and came upon a short hallway; a single door awaited him at the end of it, a single door which housed one of the most powerful members of the council, a single door that was closed to all but the most important visitors. One of the Elders dwelled just beyond that door, and only a fool would keep such a high-ranking member of the Council waiting.

The room was decorated in traditional fashion for members of the upper class; a comfortable little apartment carved into the living stone, made to resemble a cave but furnished with the finest luxuries money could buy. Couches and cushions lined lined the walls, ensuring there was always a pleasant spot to sit or lay down. Sturdy hardwood tables, counters, and desks were located at key points of the main room, all gilded and shined to a mirror finish. Warm rugs covered the floor, tapestries the walls, and the scent of incense hung heavy in the air. The earth pony entered and took in the sights as he caught his breath. They were all too familiar to him, the room and the creatures within it.

Three of them occupied the room this night, two adults and their young whelp, born less than a year prior. "Master..." They all turned their attention to the door as the earth pony made his presence known; the child cooed in its mothers arms as she stood, bowed, and took her leave, retiring to the nursery in the next room. The male turned from the map he had been studying at the desk in the far corner of the room. His body was that of an emaciated lion but with bat-like wings folded upon its back, a cobra's head was mounted atop its shoulders, and the barbed tail of a scorpion lay unfurled on the floor behind him, writhing about as he turned to face his guest. "... I bring word from the north. Grave news, I fear."

Serpentine eyes studied him from ears to hoofs, forked tongue darting out momentarily to taste the air around him. He strode forward, remaining bipedal as he had been standing for a few steps before dropping to all fours and approaching in a much more natural-looking fashion. His tail remained unfurled, dragging behind him across the fine chimeran rug that covered the floor near the chamber's entrance. He walked around the messenger once, eyeing him suspiciously before finally stepping back in front of him and embracing him. "It is good to see you again, my old friend. We have heard troubling things about the roads to the north; we were not entirely sure you would be able to return to us at all, much less in such a timely manner. Come in, sit down, your message can wait until you've gotten some water back in you; you look thirsty, and half-starved on top of it!" The chimera's voice was soft, charismatic as the whispering a of any serpent, but genuine in its concern. The messenger had learned that much, at least, when he first began his employment to the creature's noble house.

"I didn't take the roads, for that reason exactly. And I'll not decline water, m'lord, but I'm afraid the news cannot wait a moment longer." He would have gladly changed the subject if he could have, spoken of anything else in the world while enjoying the comfort of the councilor's hospitality. But he knew full well that the message would need to be delivered eventually, and he wanted it to be over and done with. "Your honor, the king is dead... This war is all but over. Your people are fleeing the north in fear of their lives. Thousands are attempting to make the same journey I just did, all of them seeking sanctuary in your city."

"Our city, Chagrin, not mine. I'm but one of many whose voice the council speaks with and I'll not have anyone forgetting that. And you are right, this is grave news. We had feared the worst had befallen the king, the signs are unmistakeable, but we were not so certain as to what fate that left our brethren to... Need I ask what army it was that dealt the final blow?"

"No army, m'lord, not a one could stand before His Grace. No, it was a champion, or a pair of them depending on what story you listen to, most seem to agree it was two but not all of them. They drove him back with the power of the gods themselves, turning the very elements against him."

"I see... A taste of his own medicine then... Did they survive? Or did his host strike them down after he fell?"

"Begging m'lord's pardon but, the host fell to bloody pieces in his absence. The chimera's fought on as long as they could but met only slaughter at the hoofs of the surviving battalions. The few dragons that remained were slain by the champions after His Grace was defeated, and the manticores... Poor retches had it worst of all. Something happened to their minds when the king met his end. They snapped, turned feral right in the ranks and began raking at anything they could reach, friend or foe alike. Some dark magic crafted by the younger champion, if the stories are to be believed. By all accounts, she's some spawn of the dark gods made flesh. And the older one... The stories circling about the cruelty of that one are haunting to say the least. And to think she's taken the symbol of the Life-Giver itself, its an outrage!"

The councilor was barely listening, he had gone back to his map, leaning over the great wooden desk with a paw on either side of the parchment. "The manticores are broken, then. The same thing happened within the city, we've had to round them all into holding cells for the time being.... Left as no more than ravenous beasts... And now the north-dwellers mean to seek refuge here, in our already over-populated little utopia..... Chagrin, make yourself at home, I shall be back momentarily. The other councilor's must be informed of this."

"Yes, m'lord. But, there is one last thing you should know. It concerns the alliances that once stood between the races that fought under His Grace. You see, when the armies of the Sun and the Moon descended upon his host, the only reason they were able to break his lines was because of a betrayal from within."

The chimera stopped at the door, his attention now fully focused on this newest bit of information. "What are you saying?"

"The champions offered an ultimatum to our king's forces, giving them one chance to change their allegiance and be spared from the fate of their leader. They just had to pledge themselves to the rebel cause and join the fight against what they viewed as the enemy of all of Equestria..."

"Who was it? Who betrayed us? Answer me, Chagrin, don't just talk me around in circles like this. Who abandoned our people?"

"...The griffons. The griffons have chosen to side with the enemy. They turned on our forces in the midst of battle and knelt to the usurpers the moment the battle was over."

He looked on for a moment before turning back to the door. "I see... Stay here, my friend, I will return shortly with the other council members. I expect you will be prepared to regale them all with the same tale you've just told me?"

"Of course, m'lord."

"Good, then I'll not wait a moment longer, the Council must know of this. Preparations need to be made." With that, he left the room and made his way down to the main hall to wake the others. Soon their order would need to come to a decision on how best to handle this turn of events, but that process could not begin until the were all informed of what had transpired in the north.

It was a few moments before the lady of the house returned from the nursery, the child tucked safely away in its cradle. She was built similarly to her husband, though her wings were feathered and her head was that of a canine. Slender and graceful, she slipped into the main room without a sound, seating herself on one of the large cushions across from the tattered earth pony. Her husband had left water and mugs on the table beside the messenger, one of which was already being used by the hard-run traveler. When he finally put his drink back down she decided it was time to get some answers of her own out of him. "You were in the north when our king was struck down, yes?" Her accent made her every word sound as though she were growling it through clenched teeth.

"I was, my lady. It was an awful little that tore through it, though the ponies who call it home seemed to have been able to shrug it all off quickly enough once it was over."

"And is it, do you think? Over, I mean. Has the war truly ended with the death of our ruler? Because, if I didn't know any better, I would think that you and my husband know something you are not sharing. That there was a deeper meaning behind your words than simply a story of loss and betrayal."

"What is it that you are asking me, ma'am?"

"Very simple, I am asking you what happens now? Now that the war to the north has come to an end, what happens to those of us who live here, in the homeland? What will become of the cities that once served as the one of his majesty's most loyal? Are we to expect that these rebels will simply allow us to go on living here? To continue raising our families in peace as if none of this ever happened?"

"I... I'm not certain I understand what you are asking, my lady. I am as much a loyalist as you, what makes you think I would have any more idea what they have in mind for us than you?"

"I do not doubt your loyalty, you have served my stand well for decades. But you were in the north, you were there when the war was lost... If you cannot tell me how they will treat our people here, just think back and tell me how they treated our brothers and sisters there."

Understanding suddenly dawned on him as he realized what it was she was asking. He hesitated, but in the end he knew lying to her would do nothing for him and would not change the facts of the matter. "It.... It was a massacre, my lady. The young, the old, everyone. The alicorns did not want to take chances with the possibility of an uprising after they had taken charge... Anyone who would not kneel was put down. Your people in the north, any who are not currently running here, are gone."

One Last Day

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The meeting was held in the temple chamber located just below the ground floor of of the capital building. Once a place where the elements of nature were revered, it had since become the impromptu home of all political gatherings for members of the Council. Closed to the public, the isolated soundproof cavern made for an ideal spot to discuss topics that were never meant for common ears. Tonight, just such a topic was being presented to more than a thousand concerned councilors; chimeras, griffons, sphinxes, all were in attendance. Even a few representatives from the draconic races were present, though their people had long since abandoned the city to its lesser inhabitants. All stood or sat around the large granite slab which once house the altar of the elements, before such worship had fallen to the wayside. Atop its smooth black form stood the earth pony messenger and the spent-headed chimera whom he had reported to, as well as a blind male sphinx who may very well have been old enough to have remembered the days when the temple had actually seen use for religious purposes.

The earth pony had just finished regaling the assembly with the story he had told his master earlier that night, and already the crowd was beginning to fall into disarray. Many were calling for war, other lamenting over the loss of their great leader, and still more brooding over the fact that their already overpopulated city was about to have another hundred thousand mouths stomping down their gates in hope of finding shelter. It fell to the chimera to silence their cacophony, cutting through the noise with a piercing hiss. "SSSSSSSILENCCCCCCE!!!" As the chaos subsided he reverted back to his normal voice; its calm, cool tone undercut by just the slightest hint of the venom his words could carry. "My friends... Fellow Councilors... Now is not the time for us to let this society which has stood for hundreds of years suddenly fall apart. Yes, Discord's death is a tragedy, a slap in the face of all who have served hi faithfully these many years. But it is not the end for us! He has stood as our king for generations, yet ever he ruled from afar, leaving us to our own means of government. And, in my humble opinion, we did a fine job of making the work."

As he spoke he circled around the parameter of the altar, making sure to address every side of the room equally. "Look at our beloved city and tell me what you see. A mindless, lawless rabble of abominations running unchecked through the streets? No! We took our respective races and from them forged a kingdom that could withstand the test of time. A civilization of order in the midst of the Planes of Chaos. So what makes any of you think that the fall of the god of chaos himself would mean the end of our fair city?" He turned to address half the crowd at once. "My friends. I assure you that we will not let this insult go unavenged! The alicorns sisters who now call themselves 'Princesses' will be made to pay for Discord's defeat... But the time for such action is not yet upon us. Tonight, we are here for one reason and one reason alone... To ensure that our civilization, our very way of life, survives the coming darkness."

The crowd murmured, some in agreement, some in disdain. Though his words had settled the majority of the assembly, many of the chimeras were unmoved. They had heard such speeches from him before and were immune to the hypnotizing aspects of his voice. They saw through his words to the clouded message behind what he was implying, contemplating its meaning until one finally spoke out. "Just what are you getting at, Selik? What do you know that you're not telling us?"

The outburst caused others to suddenly question their true purpose there that night, many quickly realizing that the only information they had had come from the mouth of some filthy earth pony; a member of the enemy's ilk. Soon the protests outweighed the cries of agreement and the whole assembly erupted into chaos once more. Tis time, it fell to the ancient sphinx to settle the crowd and bring their attention to the stage once more. "If you will not listen to him then listen to me... and know the full gravity of the situation here tonight." He turned to the chimera and nodded. "Thank you for trying, Lord Selik, but I think it would be best if you let me handle the rest. You are dismissed."

He bowed, not prepared to challenge the old one's authority. "Elder." He stepped back to the center of the slab, allowing the sphinx to prowl its edges slowly as he spoke.

"As our spymaster said, we are here tonight to speak of the future of our society... It is unfortunate that such things need be discussed at all, but I cannot stress enough just how urgent it is that we come to a decision before the sun rises." He began to circle the altar, his age barely showing in the graceful way he moved. "Earlier this night, as you all know, we received word of our glorious leader's defeat in the north. His army was smashed to pieces, pieces which are, even as we speak, tumbling back toward this very city. What's more is that every chimera, sphinx, griffon, and any others who bore any relation to the races who served His
Magnificence are rushing here from their northern homes in search of shelter and sanctuary... It is our fear, however, that they are not coming alone.

"These alicorns are no fools, they know that our city exists and that it will stand as a symbol of hope for any who stay true to our king... But they do not know its exact location, nor any way to safely strike at it. However, now that this mass migration has begun, there is nothing stopping them from simply following the refugees right to our doorstep. From there they may choose to lay siege to our city, strike from the sky with their pegasi forces, or attempt to starve us out... which will not take them long to accomplish due to our soon-to-be-bolstered numbers... Any way that they choose they will eventually break through and overtake the city. However, I fear they may be choosing a completely different path all together..."

He came to a stop in and looked out over a section of the crowd behind a pair of griffon councilors. "They mean to open our gates from within, ensuring that we are disarmed before they ever arrive and that there is no risk to their own forces... They mean to send in saboteurs with our own people who are fleeing from the north, disguised as more refugees... And through that treachery, they will end our resistance before we ever have a chance to mount it..."

Silence and hushed murmurs met this news. There was no sign of the previous disquiet amongst the politicians, priests, and seers. The other Elders in the back of the room, the chimera and sphinxes who had helped found the city hundreds, if not thousands of years before, all stood still and silent as statues in the corners of the room. Finally, one of the council members had found the audacity to voice what most of the room was thinking. "How do we know this? What makes you so certain they will resort to something like that?" The griffon did his best to remain respectful of the Elder, but the extent of his doubt was clear in his tone. "They have legions of pegasi at their disposal and last I checked there was no dome over this city to prevent an air strike."

A beastly chimera in a nearby row stood and answered him in an appropriately bearish voice. "What would we need a dome for? Last I checked, pegasi ain't got nothing but their puny little hoofs to hit us with, whereas we got soldiers with claws, spines, and fire all just waiting to be unleashed. And all of them are just as winged as those damned horses."

Murmurs of agreement echoed through the chamber, there was no doubt that they had little to fear from the sky. But the first speaker stood his ground, licking his beak nervously before once more addressing the assembly again. "That may be true. That may all be true, but we are all of us ignoring one glaring fact that no one in this room seems to want to acknowledge." The griffon turned back to the altar, staring at its occupants as he spoke to the Council. "We are all just assuming that we know what has actually occurred up north. Yet the only information that we have has come to us from the very mouth of our enemy." He pointed to the earth pony, his conviction clear in his eyes and voice. "What makes you all so quick to believe anything that that filthy horse says? Have you forgotten who we are fighting against? Who our enemy is? How can we trust anything that comes out of his mud-plowing mouth?!"

The uproar which ensued bordered on pandemonium. Their ploy had worked for a time, but the subject had clearly been sitting on everyone's mind for far too long. Several members of the crowd called for the pony to be questioned more forcefully, until there was no doubt that he was telling the truth. Others demanded to know who he where his allegiance truly lied. A few issued threats to the chimera standing next to him. It was only then that he stepped forward once more, meeting their disapproval with his own reptilian gaze. His glare was malicious, but his voice came out soft and calm, too quiet to be heard over the raucous at first. "Loyalty..." Some of the noise began to die down as others realized that he was speaking. "You question my servant's loyalty?" The inclined his head in acknowledgement to the chimera's question, not wanting to dignify him with an answer. "...Or is it my own that you are calling into question?" The crowd became silent, none of the councilors wanting to miss what they assumed would be a momentous argument between two of their council's chief debaters. "...Because if I were you, I would not be so quick to begin pointing my greasy talons at others in hopes of starting an inquisition into where their loyalties lie... Not until I had heard the last bit of new we received from the north."

He leapt down from the altar, his tail whipping behind him as he hit the floor. He padded through the crowd, "A bit of information that happened to come not only from my servant, but from the first of the refugees who arrived a few hours ago as well. Injured warriors who shambled back to our beloved city alongside the fleeing civilian population, all telling the same story. A story of how, in the midst of battle, when one final push could have ensured victory for the remnants of Discord's armies, a great treachery unfolded. A great treachery involving a certain eagle-headed race turning on their comrades and, as one, joining the slaughter that the alicorns unleashed upon our forces... Thousands died at the talons of those they had just been fighting beside as allies only moments before..."

He came to stop directly in front of the griffon, allowing the crowd to part around them. The surrounding councilors exchanged their reactions in hushed, uncertain voices. "So by all means... Tell us more about how my servant has something to answer for because of his race... Tell us all how he is the one we shouldn't be so quick to trust... Tell ussssss.... what the price these 'princesses' promised you in exchange for the lives of our brothers and sistersssss!" The whispered turned to shouts as the chimeras and sphinxes suddenly turned upon the griffon councilors. "How many of our sonsss and daughterssss had their lives torn away from them by your brethren?!"

"Traitors!"

"Murderers!"

"Kill the lot of them!"

"SILENCE!!!"

The Elder upon the altar strode forward, parting the murderous crowd that had encircled Selik and the unwitting griffon. "Enough of this madness. Our enemies are baring down upon our gates as we speak and yet you would start a war here within them. There is more that must be discussed tonight, and we will not speak of it over spilt blood. Not in this sacred place." He moved over to the two combatants, placing himself between them. "There is more you must hear, all of you. We Elders have let our minds dwell long on the possibility that this war would end poorly for our kind. We were charged with ensuring the survival of our great civilization, the civilization which WE founded so many years ago...

"To help us see the best way to protect it from what the future may hold, we have resorted to resuming our prayer to the elements. Over the past few months we worked endlessly to clear our minds, return our thoughts to nature, and see what the days ahead will bring. And finally, late last night, a vision overtook several of our order, laying siege to their minds with images of what will come to pass." He places a paw upon the shoulders of both councilors to either side of him and stood up on his hind legs, spreading his wings wide as he relied on the chimera and griffon to support his remaining weight. "Here me now members of the Council, for this is why we summoned you here this in such urgency tonight! We have one day to prepare ourselves for the massacre which will soon descend upon us. The alicorns and their armies WILL break our gates, tear down our walls, and dismantle our city. The pegasi will trample it into the dust. The earth ponies will change it to forest and field. And the unicorns will rewrite history as they see fit. In a hundred years... this city will have never existed. Yet our civilization must survive!"

Someone from the back of the room spoke out, "What exactly did you see, Elder?"

The ancient creature closed his eyes for a moment, gathering the images to see the painful vision clearly in his mind. "At dawn they will come over the horizon. From high above they will descend on feathered wings, yet they are but a small portion of the coming force. The battle against the pegasi will draw too many of our warriors. There will not be enough to hold them off AND protect the gate. The earth ponies will force our guardians back to through the main gate, but it will be the unicorns who bring it crashing down upon us. The city will burn, innocent lives will be lost, and millions will perish in flame and cinder as the Sun and the Moon themselves descend upon what remains of the sanctuary we have built ourselves here... This building will be the last to fall. Many of us will perish right here, in this very temple or in our own lavish chambers. All will burn. All will die. The races of sphinx and chimera will come to an end.... For only then will their attention turn from away from this city..."

As he finished speaking he slumped back to the ground, resting on all fours as the crowd looked on. "...For only then will their attention turn from this city.... And only then, can the cinders be rekindled..."

Another Elder began to speak from a different corner of the temple, picking up where his comrade left off. A portion of his voice bleated out from the massive jaws of his lion-like face while another part came booming forth from the goat's head protruding from back. "We have searched for an answer and received only shaded prophecy in return... until last night. Now the path is finally clear to us. In order to survive, our races must die. A great sacrifice needs to be made. The alicorns know that the entirety of the remnants of both of our races will be gathering on this sacred city to weather the attack. They will expect our numbers to be massive and will not end the slaughter until they believe us all to be dead... So we must spent them with enough bodies to convince them that that is the truth of it."

Another took up the explanation from there. "Yet a few will survive the massacre, hidden away within the depths of the Barricade, in rooms known only to we who helped shape it. There they will continue to exist, forming a new society from the ashes of our own. Our civilization will live on through them, even as our city and its people lay dying."

Once more an Elder on the opposite side of the temple began speaking. "... And they will continue to exist in those dark stone chambers, until the minds of our conquerors turn away from this land. Only then will it be safe for those few who live to emerge, facing the world that believes them to be extinct... Only not in our ancient and sacred forms... If they are to survive, they will need to change. Several of our own order will go into hiding with them and, during the decades that pass before we emerge, we will teach them how to take on the shapes of those who destroyed us. Earth pony, unicorn, pegasus.... even griffon. Those are what our enemies will see us as when we reenter the world... "

One last Elder spoke, a sphinx this time. "And, as those survivors enter the society of our enemies, they will begin paving the way for our ultimate vengeance. For the reckoning which the alicorns earned when they cast down our glorious king! Our kind will live again, once the usurpers have been made to suffer sufficiently. Our kingdom will rise once more, and a new savior will lead us into the future with the horses as our servants! His coming has been foretold to us for centuries, but now his true purpose is finally clear. His birth will mean the end of our time in hiding, and the beginning of our new reign..."

And then it was back to the first Elder once more, his voice slipping softly from his lips. "...But first, we must ensure that no word of our plan nor prophecy reaches the ears of the Princesses..." The strike was quick and deliberate, too fast and unexpected for anyone to have prevented. The head rolled several feet before the body even hit the floor, and as it rolled, several more heads joined it as onlookers took the hint. "Know that we hold your treachery to be forgiven. On this day, your kind has paid for your crime with blood... Die now knowing that your progeny may be spared from the fate we now shape for equestrian masters..."

The next hour was stained by the blood and screams of several hundred griffons as their lives were forfeited to the other races of the Council. When the culling was finally complete, the preparations for the coming attack began. And the light of the final full day of life for the city rose on the horizon.

Chimeran Massacre

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A prophecy is a terrible thing. Once written, they are not easily erased; once heard, they are not easily forgotten. The city would fall that day, of that much no one doubted, yet that knowledge alone was not enough to keep panic from ensuing when the cry went out for the soldiers to take up their arms. Refugees were ushered through the gates, those amount them with strength to fight were given arms, the rest were ordered to take shelter. Civilians ran through the streets as the enforcers desperately tried to keep order, not a soul among them certain of how the next few hours would play out. All around the sacred city, chaos reigned.

As daylight broke, the first outrunners of the coming armies came into view. Earth ponies, barded in blue and gold, galloping in rhythm across the planes. A lone unicorn ran with them, a banner bearing the a joined sun and moon flapped from a pole on its back. As they neared the walls the massive gates opened to allow the city's own ambassadors out to treat with them. A cloaked sphinx, majestic and glorious to behold, flanked by two guardians: a minotaur and a chimera, both armed and armored, the seal Discordian symbol emblazoned upon their plates.

Their meeting was brief and bitter, but no blood was shed during the parley. The ambassadors reentered the city and, as the great wooden gates closed behind them, announced that their enemy would give no quarter unless the entire city yielded. This was met with shouts of disdain, as was to be expected from warriors who had been trained to give their lives defending the capital. The city would never kneel to the forces of the north... and as such, they would all die.

The bloodshed began only a few hours later, unfolding just as the Elders had predicted. pegasi descended from the sky, their approach hidden by the blinding sun. As the defenders rose into the air to ward them off, the earth ponies began their strike upon the walls. Battering rams hammered the gate as war waged overhead, the broken forms of chimeras and pegasi raining down as both sides collided.

A small force of griffons joined the fray from the Equestrian side, expecting to be joined by their brethren from the Discordian city. It was not until they neared guard towers around the main gate that they realized their mistake. The twisted stone towers had been constructed to resemble massive tree trunks with huge, thorny vines wrapping around them. As the towers themselves came into view, the griffons found that the vines had been further decorated during the night. The corpses of countless griffon agents from within the city had been impaled upon the granite thorns; a grisly warning to the traitorous race.

Many of the invading griffons were cut down as they attempted to flee, pursued by winged defenders whose friends and family had perished in the battles to the north. For the next hour or so the battle raged with the defenders holding the advantage. It was not until the unicorn battalions arrived, along with the bulk of the Army of the Sun, that the tide began to turn. The Equestrian mystics made short work of the defenders upon the battlements, bathing the ramparts of the wall in flames of every imaginable color.

Several groups teleported themselves beyond the walls, taking the defenders by surprise. The minotaurs did their best to fight off the miniature magi, but their brutal strikes did little against the stalwart enchantments and vicious spells that the unicorns unleashed upon them. It fell to the sphinxes, the last remnants of a race whose very existence was a testament to their natural mastery of magic, to counter their power. Several of the creatures appeared around the main gate's courtyard and, with a rhythmic chant in their own sacred tongue, stole away the unicorns' ability to weave spells themselves.

Without the advantage of their magic, the unicorns were torn apart in a matter of seconds as minotaur and chimera alike descended upon them from all sides.

It was only a moment later a warning cry erupted from overhead as the earth began to shake. Silence fell over the battlefield as all noise was forcefully drawn away. The wind changed direction on both sides of the wall, the air itself becoming hot, heavy, almost unbreathable. Then, all at once, sound came crashing back into the world, the wind returned, stronger than ever, and the massive wooden gate that protected the city's entrance exploded into a hurricane of splinters and iron shrapnel. Where the giant oaken doors had been stood the silhouette of an alicorn; wings spread, mane billowing in the wind, horn alight with some vile magic. The rays of light that shone forth from behind it made it impossible for the defenders to look directly ahead for more than a few seconds.

Te deafening CRACK of the gates' being broken had left much of the chimeran army stunned, too dazed to defend themselves as death itself marched through their walls. Thousands were cut down where they stood before the first attempts at retaliation were finally made. The defenders struggled to reform and drive the horses back, but all of there efforts would prove meaningless just a few moments later.

The minotaurs were the first to succeed in securing a foothold amongst the chaos, rallying the other guardians to their position. But just as their ranks began to swell, the sky became dark. The few who had time to look up saw the moon venture to the apex of its orbit in the noon-time sky, larger than any of them had ever seen it, covering the sun with its girth. And from its center rained down a new hail of pegasi, unlike any they had encountered before. Dark coats, leathery batwings, and razor-sharp teeth that would have shamed most dragons; the creatures descended upon the battle with terrible, earsplitting whinnies, the delight they took from the carnage ringing clearly in their voices.

And above all the other noise came laughter, beginning high and girlish but suddenly shifting to a deep, booming pitch that could only have foreshadowed the approach of some demon in the night. There, from the center of her terrible army of shadows, swept the second alicorn. Shielded in dark blue plate upon a pitch-black coat, the silvery outline of the crescent moon graced her armor. Her laughter echoed through the city as her minions descended upon the streets, breaking through buildings of wood, brick, and stone as if they were paper.

It was at that point that the battle ended and the massacre began. The city would burn, from the tallest towers of the noble palaces down to the half-buried hovels of the poorer districts. The fighting would rage by the gates for another hour before the attackers would finally spill into the streets, claiming the lives of all but the few thousand whom the Elders had chosen. And it is those chosen ones whom we must turn our gaze to now. For the fate of the rest of the city is still far too clear in my mind... far too painful...

The Elder led the way, through wooden gates and iron doors. Through dirt and sand and stone they descended, down and down, into the heart of the Barricade. Ten thousand souls of all different ages, the last broken fragments that would remain once the two great races once the bloodshed above was complete. Sphinx and chimera, the former masters of the Planes of Chaos before the war had ever even been conceived.

From the hidden door within the capital building the line of chosen stretched down into the great mountain; the passage so narrow that it required them to proceed in single file. Only those who possessed an aura of magical awareness had been picked, and from those, only so many as could be fit into the undercity. They had been piling into the passage for hours, yet only now were they finally coming to the end.

It is here that we see the final members of the Council, those who had not joined the battle at the gates. Some were too weak to fight, others had been chosen to live, and the remaining few were there to guard the secret doorway, knowing full well that their own lives were forfeit by doing so. They had been instructed to act as if they were there for an emergency meeting, making the room appear to be nothing more than an ordinary conference chamber. The passage would be sealed from both sides and enchanted to appear to be just another bit of wall.

Among the last of the group to be ushered into the passage was a chimera with the head of a serpent, his wolf-headed wife, and the newborn child, barely a week old. The husband walked upright on his hind legs, a long pike clutched in his right claw like a walking stick. With his left arm, he cradled the child, quietly speaking his goodbye to the son he would never see grow to adulthood. The female stood upon all fours for the moment, but soon she would take back the child and make her way down the hidden corridor with the rest of the chosen, forcing her to switch to two legs.

As the last of future survivors passed through the doorway, the wall sealed itself behind them. The stonework was flawless, completely indistinguishable from the rest of the walls in the chamber. The guardians who had stayed behind to guard it placed their weapons down upon the table in the center of the room and took their places, awaiting the doom that was about to sweep down upon them. Scimitar, greatsword, pike, halberd, and trident all laid upon the alabaster table, awaiting the taste of blood.

It was only a matter of minutes before that thirst would be sated. The city would burn; its citizens would be slaughtered, its defenders crushed. Days would go by as the last holdouts were destroyed by the Equestrian forces, those hidden within them put to death quickly and unceremoniously. Weeks passed as the city itself was slowly demolished, its long history brought to an end in less time than it had taken to construct even the simplest of its buildings. The following decades would see that that history was remembered by none: scrolls were burned, maps redrawn, entire annals rewritten to ensure that no mention of the city remained.

Yet for a thousand years, deep beneath the remnants of the Barricade, the a new society had formed to carry on the essence of that lost civilization. The remaining Elders had shaped their charges into a functioning nation, complete with a new Council and its own religion. Their society was driven not solely by their shared hatred of the Equestrian races, but by the final piece of the prophecy that had led them into hiding to begin with.

It would not be until generations after the fall of the city. Yet if we remained vigilant, with an eye always fixed on the horizon, one day we would bear witness to the coming of a savior. Their birth would bring about a new age for our people and they will lead us out of hiding once and for all. We would be able to cast away the guise we had made to hide us among the Equestrians, and be free from the fear of extinction which had plagued our minds for so many centuries. And, ultimately, our savior would be the one to bring about the fall of those who cast down our king, avenging him and all who fell in loyalty to him.

And so we have waited, disguised as the very creatures we have been at war with, for thousands of years. We have waited, but never have we forgotten what was lost to us so many generations before. We have waited and waited, always watching for the signs to show us some glimpse of the light of our Deliverer... And at long last.... You have been born!

"Disciples!" The old sphinx let his voice ring forth as he stepped out onto the balcony over the subterranean streets. "The time is at last upon us! Our watch has ended! On this day, in this hour, the prophecy has been fulfilled! So many centuries have we waited, and at last it has come to pass!'

The room behind him surged with light as the sapphire flames of a massive fire pulsed in a pit at its center. Their glow stained the room blue, their heat driving back all but the most devoted of the priests. Within the flames sat an twitching orb, green and smooth but for a single crack running from top to center. It shook and rattled within the flames, letting out growls and curses in some long forgotten tongue.

All at once the fires died out, bathing the chamber in darkness. The priests moved closer, the Elder on the balcony turned to see what had happened. As they neared the egg a second crack appeared and one final growl escaped its dark blue shell. Several of the priests understood the signs and, at the last moment, dove back out of the circle. Two were not so fortunate and, as the egg hatched, they were engulfed and incinerated by the rush of blue flame that erupted from its core. The wave of fire singed the ceiling, its heat washing over the Watchers and out onto the balcony where it swirled about the Elder's head.

Upon the floor, in the center of the binding circle, their savior lay curled in a ball. Fast asleep in the midst of the flames, the child slowly breathed in and out, the fire itself growing and shrinking with each breath.

The priests looked down upon it, their eyes filled with adoration and love. Tiny wings protruded form its back, far too small to be of any use for another few years. Its head resembled that of a tiny lizard, a forked tongue slipping out of its mouth every few breaths. Its body was armored in a blue, chitinous shell, like that of a beetle. Each leg seemed to belong to a different animal, but before the priests could identify any of them the child wrapped its long scorpion-like tail about itself, making itself little more than a ball of plated scales. "At last..." spoke one Elder as he neared the circle. "We must finish the binding, quickly, before the child wakes!"

The ritual would take hours to complete, but the little savior would sleep through every moment of it. They would have one less Elder by the time they were done, but at long last their path to revenge would be nearly complete. The child would have to be given time to grown, to discover its fate for itself. But after having waited thousands of years for it to be born, what was another eight in the grand scheme of things...

The ritual was complete, the binding successful, and from sacred flames, the chimeran savior soon awakened...

To Greener Pastures

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Time... What is time? In the blink of an eye you witnessed one thousand years pass by. Civilizations crumbled, histories forgotten, the sands of eternity obscuring all. Yet now I must ask you to bear with me a bit longer, for our journey is not quite complete. There is one last stop we must make before we reach the modern age, one last walk we must take. So listen well once more, my child, for this may be the last time we speak for a very long time...

Several years had passed from the day the child was born. She came into the world in a wave of sapphire flames, forged from the ancestral spirits of chaos and bound with the blood of those who had damned her predecessors to a life in hiding and the souls of those who fell defending their precious city. It was only a few days later that she was changed, her form clouded by the ancient magics of the Elders who remained; taking on, like all other members of the chimeran race, the shape of pony. Scales were replaced by a fine coat, spines became a colorful mane, claws turned to hooves. All executed according to the prophecy that had brought the survivors into hiding to begin with... But now is not the time to speak of such things.

Now, we will speak no more of chimeras and sphinxes and other forgotten races. Let such things slip from your mind as we gaze upon a happier scene. Here, in the ruins of what might once have been a mighty city, a trade center has sprung up. A meeting point for the north and south, thousands wander these crossroads every day. Travelers, traders, explorers, refugees; all can be found here traveling alone or in groups. And, in a few cases, entire families can be seen migrating from the harsh condition of southern Equestria to the fertile lands of the north.

It is one such family that we follow now, a mother, a father, and their young daughter, a little filly asleep in the back of their cart. They have been traveling long, if their ragged looks can attest to anything, but have had little company on the road until now. As they leave the bustling trade village beneath the bizarre granite mountain they assimilate into the throng of travelers making for the northlands. Just three more nameless faces in the sea of anonymity that was the road to Canterlot.

The mother was an earth pony, with a brown coat dotted here and there with white. The father and daughter were unicorns, he a deep, dark blue while her coat was grey and pale. As the stallion took his turn pulling the cart the mare and her precious child rested on a cushion secured between all of their meager worldly possessions. Everything that they had from their old life had fit into the small covered wagon, with room enough left over for food, supplies, and the travelers themselves. Truly life had been difficult for those living in the water-starved lands of the south.

Many of the other travelers were passing by the slow-moving cart, some clearly in a rush to reach the next town before darkness fell. The little family had made camp by the sides of the road every night prior to this one, however, and clearly had no issue with continuing that trend today as well. As the sun slowly sank behind the mountains on the horizon, the the unicorn began to look for a place to stop for the night.

They were more than ten miles from the nearest town, yet the traffic had grown no less heavy on the road itself. After a few hours of walking through the earliest bits of the night the family came upon a small camp set up a few yards off the road. Familiar with the practice from the previous days' travels, the unicorn unhooked himself from the cart once it was to the side of the path and went over to speak with the group of ponies gathered about the central campfire.

He came back a few minutes later to rouse is family and pull the wagon up to the fire.

"Mari, sweetie, wake up. We're stopping for the night."

The earth pony opened her eyes slowly and yawned as she sat up. "Cy? Is it nighttime already?"

"Afraid so, I'm going to move the cart just over to the campfire over there with the others. A group of bards set up a little encampment here and said we were more than welcome to share it with them. Assuming as we don't mind the music, of course."

That made her chuckle; music had always been one of her great passions and was what brought them together to begin with. "A little music sounds like just the thing to take our minds off the journey... Did they say where they're traveling to?"

"Canterlot, by the sound of things. They were invited to play at a gala that's going to be held their later next year."

"Well then it looks like we're all heading in the same direction. Always nice to have some talented company on the road!"

The night passed by on a wind of haunting melodies weaves by harp, drum, flute, and voice. When morning finally came the bards, their followers, and the family all kept pace with one another. The musicians seemed as happy for the company as the family was.

"We've not had so many others to walk with for weeks! So many willing ears to hear us play."

"Its our pleasure, I assure you. My wife and I always loved the type of music you four play. Such beautiful sounds and stories, straight out of ancient times."

"Aye, its just our way of praising the old lore. We prefer that there's always a worthwhile story in what we play. Come to the fire tonight and you'll hear of Nightmare Moon's fall. Tomorrow it might be something about the founding of Canterlot or the war over the Badlands back south."

"Nightmare Moon's banishment seems to be a running theme in what you lot sing of... Is it something that's spoken of often where you come from? Because we were only ever told the most vague of stories about it when I was growing up. Simple mares-tales around Nightmare Night, but little else beyond that."

The singer's eyes seemed to light up at that. Over the course of their short journey together he had proven to be absolutely in love with the prospect of having an audience which was truly interested in hearing his stories. "You heard our final song last night, yes? The Lunar Lament? Well, lets just say that it is not entirely our own work. Its a well-known tale back home. Far to the south, where I once lived, we grew up hearing stories of the great Princess of the Night and how she helped establish our civilization, over a thousand years ago.

"Many of these stories focused on her perceived fall to darkness and the punishment she suffered for it. Most of those, however, explained how it was really her sister's lust for power which led to her banishment... though I would never be so foolish as to sing of such things once we reach Canterlot, of course!" He laughed heartily at that, though the truth of his words was clear behind the merriment of his voice.

The harp player spoke up from the other side of the singer. "Its not our place to decide which version of history is the right one. We simply want to make sure that both sides are heard, after that the audience is free to draw their own conclusions on the subject."

That night they made camp just off the road, the listeners drifting to sleep as the bards practiced their art. And so that became the norm, and for the better part of a year the family traveled north with the ever-changing changing audience that surrounded the musicians. Eventually they reached the northern regions, where sand and dust gave way to lush grass and lively forests. It was at that point that the songs of the Lunar Princess' glory and inevitable return to her people ceased, turning to tunes which glorified the the sun and the empire associated with it. Word would soon reach them of their beloved Princess' return, but we will come back to that story later.

After another few months they finally arrived at their destination: a small town just outside border of the Everfree Forest. The mountain upon whose face Canterlot nested was visible from the road and made for an incredible sight as they entered the cheerful little village. The cart carried only their belongings today, as all three family members walked beside it taking in the sights of what would soon be their new home.

"...And right over there is the train that will be taking our friends off to Canterlot. Maybe we'll go visit them sometime, how would you like that Ashy?" The unicorn looked down at his clearly distracted daughter, not really expecting an answer.

The little ash-colored filly was gazing around at the town as it unfolded around her, eyes wide and mouth stuck in an unintentional grin. The trade centers and little villages along the road had been nice, but they were often filled with nothing but adults and other travelers, and the few other friends she had met of her own age were soon saying their goodbyes as her family started moving again. Here, however, they had already passed two roaring bands of youngsters; all of them running about and playing without a care in the world. And best of all, for the first time in over a year, she wouldn't have to worry about leaving any of these new potential friends behind.

"Ash? You still with us, dear?" Her mother was smiling down at her as they walked. "You look a little out of it, sweetie. Everything okay?"

"Haha, better than okay! This place is great, just look at all the shops and houses. Everyone just going about their business without having to pick up and leave at a moment's notice. I love it!" Her attention suddenly turns to a building nearby as the large brass bell in its belfry begins to ring. "Hey! I think that's the schoolhouse! When can I start going? Huh? Huh?"

Her father had to chuckle at that. "Lets just focus on finding finding your uncle's house first, shall we Sport? As soon as we're all nice and settled in we'll look into getting you enrolled."

"Until zen, it looks like zere eez a library right down zee road," said the drummer as they turned the corner onto the village's main street. "If you're really sat eager for some education, zat eez. Hahaha..."

She didn't hear any of it. At that same moment another group of children had come running out from behind one of the buildings and had completely stolen her attention. The three fillies seemed to be of an age with her and looked to be having the time of their lives chasing after a trio of kites which, she could only assume, had gotten away from them moments earlier. Running, laughing, shouting at their run-away kites together; such simple pleasures that she might finally be able to enjoy for herself soon.

"Well... it looks like this is where we must part ways, I'm afraid. It has been a pleasure traveling with you three. Perhaps our we will meet again somewhere down the line." The singer bowed to the parents, mussed up Ash's mane, and wished them all the best of luck in their new life. The little filly had become very attached to the bard, whom had been one of the few friends she had had throughout the entire journey out of the south. The idea of losing that friend and the familiar faces that traveled with him sent a sudden pang of regret through her.

"Do... Do you really have to leave right now? Can't you stay with us just a little longer?" She made her eyes grow wider and brought them to the verge of tears, a trick one of the actors who had followed the troupe for a short time had taught her. It had worked wonders in the past, but did little good this time around.

"My apologies, little one. But I fear we are already later in arriving than we ever intended... Besides, I get that feeling that if we stay in this lovely little town too long we might never want to leave. It seems to be a wonderful place to live from what I've seen so far."

"Look us up if you ever come to Canterlot!" The harpist tossed a small ragged bag to them as he passed by with the band's instrument cart. "We'd love to see some familiar faces after all the strangers we're going to be playing for up there."

Ash snatched the little bag out of the air. As she opened it the sunlight struck its contents and made the sack light up with a bright silver aura. She placed it on the ground and pulled it out with her mouth; a beautifully wrought necklace with an amulet shaped like a crescent moon hanging from its length. "Uhts bhuedifuh," she expressed, still clenching the chain between her teeth.

The singer could not help but laugh at that. "Hahaha. Yes, yes it is. I trust you will keep it safe for us?"

She nodded.

"Excellent! Then may it bring you luck and joy whenever you wear it. We were going to engrave it with the words to one of our songs but there simply wasn't room enough for that. So we etched a couple lines from your favorite into the back of it." He gave the filly one last hug, said his final goodbyes to Marigold and Cypress, and joined the others as they am their way to the train.

With their companions continuing on toward Canterlot, the little family made there way through the town alone. Strangers greeted them as they passed by, friendly faces surrounding them as they walked. Finally they came upon the building from the letter they had received from Cypress' brother. A tall, tan structure with a roof and shutters the color of old tree bark. A brown earth pony stood outside applying a new coat of paint to the front wall. He turned to them as he heard the cart roll up to his door and welcomed them to his home.

"So you decided to take me up on my offer after all! Well its great to finally see you all again." He patted the filly on the head. "I suppose you probably don't even remember me do you, Ash? You were just a sleepy little foal the last time I saw you, couldn't keep your eyes open for more than a few minutes at a time. I'm your uncle, Lance." He smiled at her, but then turned his attention to her parents.

They spoke for hours, talking about the journey, the south lands, and all the time that had passed since Lance had moved to Canterlot. He still went back every month, but the rest of his time was spent living here in Ponyville. He told them about the town: its shops, its landmarks, its inhabitants, the inevitable party that was to be thrown for their arrival. "I figured it'd just be simpler to tell her you lot were coming. She'd have found out on her own one way or another and just thrown a party for you herself... unannounced.... in my house..."

The rest of the day was spent getting the little family settled into their new home. Marigold and Cypress would share a room on the second floor, just above Lance's. Ash would have her own, albeit small, bedroom right down the hall from them. Tiny as it was, it would be the first time she ever had a space all to herself, and for that she couldn't have been more grateful.

She set to work arranging her meager possession around her new room. There was a book shelf full of her uncle's old books and scrolls, a desk with writing materials tucked neatly into its draws and an inkwell on top of it. Her bed was just below a small window which gave her a clear view of the moon making its ascension into the night sky. There was even dresser and a closet were there to hold all the clothing she did not have.

When she finally grew bored of exploring her new room she went down the hall, thanked her uncle, said goodnight to her parents, and laid her tired head to rest in her soft new bed. Tomorrow would be Saturday, and her uncle had promised to take her for a tour of the town. Her dreams that night were filled with the thoughts of all the friends she would surely make in this new town, and all the fun they would have together. She could hardly wait for the dawn to come.

* * * * *

"Lance, we cannot thank you enough for this, for all of it."

They made their way down another flight of stairs, the walls around them at this depth little more than hard-packed earth.

"Not at all. A little hospitality is the least I can do for my brethren from the south... Besides, the Elder would have my head if I did not show the utmost respect for those who have dedicated their lives to the Watch. Tell me, do they still use the term 'Minion' down south?"

Marigold had to laugh at that. She and here husband had not been referred to as such for well over a decade. "Its used, of course, but only for those in their first year or so of service. The rest of use prefer to be seen as Disciples."

They turned another corner and descended down one more flight of stone steps. No torches burned in this section, but their eyes were all perfectly attuned to the darkness.

"You were brave to make such a journey by yourselves. I've heard rumors that the roads are growing less and less safe these days."

"We had some fine company for most of the trip. In fact, they're the ones who brought this latest bit of information to our attention... And now to your's, by extension."

A wall opened in front of them, revealing a brightly lit circular room mans of pale sandstone. Shelves stacked high with ancient tomes a scrolls lined the walls. A limestone table sat in the middle surrounded by chairs carved from similar material. At it, stood a majestic, ancient sphinx, studying a scroll possibly as old as he she was. She looked up from it as the three ponies entered, gazing at them through slitted cat-like eyes the color of old amber.

"So you have arrived at last. Good, then things may proceed as scheduled. The time for the child's revealing approaches quickly. Preparations must be made... and it is essential that those who guard her be made ready for the work ahead." She paused, noting the look of disconcert on the faces of the two newcomers. "Something troubles you, my friends?"

Cypress stepped forward, carrying the crescent moon pendant in his mouth. He placed it on the table before her. She picked it up hesitantly in one paw, turning it over and examining each part with a critical eye. She paused only a moment as she came to the inscription on the back. " 'Feed the challenge, but even if I miss, I'll land among the stars.' ...Fitting enough I suppose, though I can assure you we do not intend to miss."

"Its not the inscription we thought would interest you, its the story behind the pendant itself. The pony who gave it to us spoke at great lengths of the enmity between the followers of Royal Sisters... And it would seem that, only a month or two ago, the younger sister reappeared... in this very town."

The sphinx smiled at that. "And naturally you think that this was our doing? Well, we can't really take full credit for it, I suppose, but yes... we played a part in her return. I trust a great deal of civil unrest will break out to the south as a result."

"Thats what we came to tell you, Elder. Fighting has already broken out in the ruins. The fury of the old city is slowly beginning to rekindle. I suspect we shall hear news of civil war erupting between the followers of the sun and the moon very, very soon. And from what the travelers said, the moon will likely take the first victories in the south."

"Excellent. Then our task is already running ahead of schedule. Now we can focus all of our present attention on the Child... She has grown quickly, the surface dwellers suspect nothing, I assume?"

"Nothing," answered all three of them together.

"Good. The time will come when her identity will be known far and wide, but until her training is complete and she is crowned and armed, it is essential that she stays protected. There must always be guardians to surround her... and on that note, I must thank you once again for making this journey."

"It is our honor and our duty," said Cypress.

"The Child's protection is our greatest concern," expressed Marigold.

"Excellent. Return to me any time you see fit. I will be watching and waiting, as always... Do stop by once in a while with news, I would greatly appreciate some company now and then."

And that was that. They made their way back up the stairs and out the hidden door in Lance's closet. They spoke of none of what had transpired once above ground again. They said their goodnights and went to bed, none entirely certain of what the next day would bring.

Introductions Aren't in Order

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Children... They are our past as much as they are our future. The twists and turns that their lives take echo throughout eternity as the foundations all events to come. We were all counted among their ranks once, none of us made it this far without having a childhood of some form or another... And so to must our champion have her childhood. If ever she is to reach the advent of her destiny, she must grow into the great savior we all know she will be. We guide her with our love, we pave the way for her with our actions and prayers. But in the end, it falls to her to walk the path herself. So let us wait, as always, and see how she chooses to proceed...

"Alright class, settle down. Today we're going to continue with last week's history lesson about the founding of Canterlot; but before we go on there's someone I'd like to introduce."

Ms. Cheerilee nodded to the door as a little grey unicorn awkwardly entered the classroom. Her mane and tail were a shade similar to her coat, with a few streaks of a darker grey throughout. A dark blue saddlebag rested upon her back; one of her uncle's old school things, cinched together with fine red rope.

She walked to the front of the room to stand beside Cheerilee. "Class, I'd like you all to say hello to Ash. She and her family just moved to Ponyville last week."

The class greeted her warmly enough, with only a few students responding in a half-hearted, tired manner. The three fillies she had seen being outsmarted by their kites on the day she had arrived were present, all of them smiling pleasantly as their eyes followed her.

"Ash, perhaps you'd like to tell the class a little about yourself?"

She paused. She had looked forward to going to a real school for so long, had looked forward to this very moment since she had arrived in town. She had always been good at starting conversations with other and had known exactly what she was going to say when she got up in front of the class... And then all of that slipped her mind completely.

"Uh... H-Hello.... class... Um... My-My name's Ash and... uh.... uh.... um..."

A bit of laughter escaped from one corner of the room, a giggle from another. One little, light pink filly decided to help add to her humiliation.

"Well I guess we know can rule out public speaking as her special talent," she said, ushering in a wave of laughter from several students nearby.

Embarrassment washed over her. She could feel the blood just beneath her skin boiling. Cheerilee broke in for a moment but her presence seemed to do little to help the situation.

"Diamond Tiara, I'm surprised at you! That was very rude."

"No no, its okay Ms. Cheerilee." It had taken a moment for her to regain her composure but she finally managed to organize her thoughts and come up with a plan to save a bit of her dignity. "Trust me, talking has never been one of my strong suites," she lied. "Actually, theres not really much else I wanted to say. My name's Ash, I just moved here, I like music, and I want to make some new friends. Thats all."

The teacher looked down at her, seeming slightly surprised. "Are... are you sure there's nothing else you want to say? Nothing about where you're from or your journey here?"

"Nope, that's about it. If anyone wants to hear about that stuff, I can tell them after class. But I don't want to hold up the lesson any more than I already have. Can I take my seat?"

"Ohhh...Kaaay... Um, lets see. Theres a desk open in the back of the room, or one by Snips over in the corner. Or I suppose you could take the one behi-"

A deafening CRACK erupted from beside her as she looked around the classroom for a desk for her newest student. A bright golden light flashed across the room accompanied by the scent of smoke.

"-behind Diamond Tiara? That'll be perfect, thank you." The pink earth pony nearly jumped out of her skin as the new unicorn spoke up from the desk directly behind her. She let out a quick, involuntary shriek, causing the students' laughter to turn on her instead.

The rest of the class flew by in a flash of historic information. The little unicorn sat quietly at her desk, took notes, and generally played the part of the perfect student. However, underneath it all her mind was far from focused on what Ms. Cheerilee was saying. How could she be expected to pay attention when there was so much else to think about?

All around her were potential friends for her to meet, new ponies to talk to, an entire world she had never been able to be a part of back in the south and on the road. So when the bell finally rang for lunch that day, she was among the last to leave the room, still busy taking in her surroundings, getting a feel for how the classroom was set up.

She stepped outside with her lunch tucked safely away in her bag, a few other students greeting her as she passed by, looking for a good spot to sit and eat. She had not gone far before the trio of fillies she had seen on the day she first arrived were beckoning her over to a nearby picnic table. The earth pony and pegasus were smiling warmly while the unicorn to their left was standing on the table, calling loudly to her.

"Ash! Aaaaaash! Come sit with us!"

The scene attracted the attention of just about everyone in the school yard, though most of the students seemed so used to the little white unicorn's over-enthusiasm that they just ignored it.

Ash had been looking forward to making some new friends here since day one, so she jumped at the opportunity to spend some time with these three who had already clearly taken an interest in her. She made her way over to the table, not noticing the other two fillies following a few yards behind her.

The three welcomed her to their group, introducing themselves in turn as she made herself comfortable on the opposite side of the table.

"Hi! I'm Sweetie Belle."

"Ah'm Applebloom."

"Scootaloo, nice to meet ya."

That last one particularly interested her. During the past week she had seen maybe three pegasi in the entire town, with Scootaloo and a little grey colt from their class making up two of those. It had initially struck her as being a bit odd to see any of the winged breed living in the grounded little town, but she decided it would be rude to ask and simply let the subject drop from her mind.

"Its great to meet all of you. I was so worried that I wouldn't be able to make any friends here or that no one would want to talk to me 'cause I was new and all." She waited a moment for one of them to respond, but it seemed as though they hadn't heard her. Her smile began to fade as she realized that their eyes had been drawn to something behind her.

"Well well well, it looks like the reject patrol has a new member."

"What d'ya want, Diamond. We ain't doin' nothin' to ya, can't y'all go just one day without botherin' us?"

"Oh we just wanted to make sure our new classmate was getting along alright. But I guess we were just too late to save her from you three." She turned to the bespectacled filly that had accompanied her. "I suppose its just as well, don't you think? The last thing we need is another blank-flank following us around everywhere."

Ash looked at her in confusion. "Blank-flank?"

"Don't listen to her, Ash. She's just jealous because her only talent is being a spoiled little brat."

"And because the rest of us are still totally full of potential and could do anything we want with the rest of our lives!"

"And 'cause Silver Spoon's her only friend, while we get along with just about everyone!"

The two interlocking earth ponies just glared at them from behind twin expressions of boredom. "Uh huh... Silver, I think we've wasted enough time trying to help this lost cause. If she wants to be one of their... what is it again? Blank-Flank Brigade? I say that's her choi-"

"THAT'S 'THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS,' YOU BRAT!" The little white unicorn was on the table once again, her voice breaking as she did her best to deafen the two would-be bullies.

Ash couldn't help but laugh as the two stumbled backwards a few paces, their ears clearly ringing after Sweeitie Belle's aural assault. They shook it off quickly enough and attempted to walk off with some shred of their dignity still intact, eyes closed and noses raised in distaste. When she saw the opening she simply couldn't help herself. Her horn began to glow the golden color of her eyes.

A stick began to move from its eating place beneath the nearby oak tree and settled a few inches in front of Diamond Tiara and her friend. It snapped as they tripped over it, the sound mingling with their shrieks as the ground rushed up to greet them, alerting everyone in the schoolyard to their misfortune. Laughter erupted from every corner of the yard as the two scrambled to their hooves, coated here and there in a thick film of mud. They sprinted the rest of the way to the door, the laughter of their classmates following them the entire way.

Back at their little table, the four fillies quickly turned their attention back to their lunches. Ash inquired about the nature of the so-called "Cutie Mark Crusaders" and was immediately drowned in a wave of enthusiasm as her three new friends clambered over each other to explain it. She liked the idea of the group, though getting her cutie mark had never really been a top priority in her mind before then. If nothing else, being a member would mean belonging; and that thought alone was enough to convince her it was a worthwhile cause.

"And we have secret meetings, and capes, and a clubhouse, and everything," Applebloom continued.

"Ha ha, you guys don't have to convince me, I already said I'd love to join!"

The bell rang a few moments after they finished eating. All of the students found their seats quickly as Ms. Cheerilee began the lesson once more. Everything continued as it should . A perfectly normal day at a perfectly ordinary little schoolhouse.

These were the days which the Child would cherish for the rest of her unnaturally lo life: the simplicity of it all, the happy memories, the time spent with her loving friends. All of it would be remembered, all of it would warm her heart and ease her mind as the trials grew mo brutal and more bitter. For now, though, this was life. It was all she knew, and it was all she wanted. She would fall asleep that night, as she did so many nights, thinking of her friends and her family, and all of the lovely memories they shared together...

* * * * *

The thunder made her stir from her thoughts, the visions of her past life fading as lightning tore through the sky overhead. The parapets were slick in the darkness, made treacherous by the rain that had hammered down on them since morning. The dreary day had given way to a cold, unforgivingly-stormy night... Just as she had planned.

The wet surface of the tower was of little concern to her as her claws and talons dug deep into the stone, holding her tight against the steep neck of Archives. The Disciple had gone before her, ascending the stairs inside as she made her way up the face of the tower itself. She glimpsed him for a brief second as she climbed past a window, the rain distorting his form as it beat against the crystalline pane.

She continued her ascent, the rain pattering harmlessly off of her armor. The wraps drank up the falling water, cooling the burning flesh beneath them with their sweet kiss. Her tail swung from side to side as she climbed, its stinger scraping the stonework as it moved. Golden eyes glowed beneath the weight of her crown, a dark orange flame burning deep within them as they gazed through stone and time. Her target moved amongst the bookshelves, searching frantically for something that she knew full-well he would never find.

The Disciple had seen to that part already, confident that the old unicorn would sense his end approaching. The wizard had proven to be a far more capable adversary than the Order could ever have imagined. His wisdom was jarring, his resources endless, and his cunning far beyond what they had prepared her for. They knew he needed to die, but even they could not have known the haste with which it would now need to be accomplished.

He had worked feverishly for the last five days to perfect the spell that might undo all of her work, taking no meals or sleep for fear of what might happen should he let his guard down. He had been sustaining himself only on summoned water and nutrients, too fearful of the possibility that any food he did not create himself would be poisoned. Yet the lack of sleep would surely cloud his senses. There would be no more opportune moment than this to strike.

She saw where he was going, where he would search for his forgotten book. She sped her way up to the floor he would come to, letting herself in through a stained-glass window between two sections of shelves. The shadows rushed to conceal her presence, cloaking her in their soft embrace. A moment later she heard the door open as the sorcerer and his steward entered. They passed by her hiding place and made their way to a nearby shelf, the old unicorn searching relentlessly for his papery savior.

A curse escaped his lips as he found the shelf empty.

The time had come. The ruse ended here and now. Lightning streaked across the sky. Thunder roared from the heavens to shake the earth below. And on that night, in the dusty aisles of the Royal Archives, history was rewritten.

Turn the Page

View Online

The day was perfect.

The rain had been falling for two days now and the ground was expectedly soggy. Puddles of water reflected the cloudy, gray sky while lakes of mud began to spread across the roads and fields. The wind was blowing lightly, no more than a slight breeze. No thunder. No lightning. Just a nice, peaceful little downpour. The perfect weather for reading.

Twilight had stocked her nightstand with several of her favorite books the night before ini preparation for another rainy day, having fallen asleep with one particularly interesting tome resting on of her stomach. She had spent most of that night flipping through its tattered pages, completely engrossed in the memoirs of her one of her greatest idols.

Most of the book had held her attention through every word, but she finally drifted off to sleep as the narrator began describing the breakfast he had just finished eating that morning. The surprisingly boring section had arisen in the midst of what had otherwise been a fantastic chapter of the book's story. Had it not been so late she simply would have powered through it, but by the time 3:00am rolled around, she had simply lost the will to go on. Words blurred, the room spun, and suddenly she was sleeping soundly with the book spread out on top of her.

She awoke in exactly the same position, looking around and quickly realizing that the night had already passed her by. She scrambled to put the book back in order, smoothing out the creased page and setting the tome lovingly down on a pillow beside her. Spike entered the room a few minutes later, a platter carefully balanced on one claw and broom clutched in the other.

"Oh good, you're awake. I know you said to get you up at sunrise but... well, you sort of only fell asleep a few hours ago so I figured I'd just let you rest." He set the tray down on the bed in front of her. "Here, I need you to tell me how this turned out. Pinkie gave me the recipe but it something about it just doesn't seem quite the same as how she makes it..."

Twilight was still rubbing the sleep from her eyes when Spike lifted the lid off the platter, revealing a pile of what may have, at one point in their nightmarishly depressing existence been muffins. Half were burnt to a shade comparable to that of writer's ink; Twilight sincerely doubted that it would be possible to actually remove them from the tray without seriously damaging the metal they had apparently fused with. The rest of the batch were considerably more muffin like in shape and consistency, but something about them still made her a little hesitant to try one.

"Um... Spike? Maybe its just the lack of sleep talking but... are these supposed to be purple?"

"...Yeeeeaaah, about that. I didn't use anything but the ingredients I the recipe, but they still came out like that. From what I could tell that shouldn't have been possible, but I sorta wanted your opinion on that matter."

She studied the pile for a few moments before reaching out with her magic and turning out the lights in the room. "....Well, these three glow in the dark, the burnt ones seem to have become welded to the platter and-" a fwoosh erupted as the room became illuminated by a flickering orange light. "-this one seems to have spontaneously combusted... You might want to go have Pinkie Pie look over that recipe again before you try making the next batch."

"Right... I'll go make us something else. Maybe something that doesn't need to be cooked..." He left the room, taking the glowing, burning coagulation of baked goods back Down to the kitchen.

Twilight returned her attention to the book sitting beside her. She had decided weeks ago to schedule herself a day off and intended to enjoy every last minute of it. No errands, no assignments, no chores. Just a full day of relaxing and reading while the rain continued to fall outside.

She opened the old tome once more, flipping through the pages with her mind until it was back to the last thing she remembered reading before she had fallen asleep. "Here we go, now lets see if I missed anything last night. Maybe I just skipped a page or something and that's why the chapter seemed so strange." She read on.

Each chapter prior to this had had an incantation scrawled across its first page, generally a spell which author had either created or made use of during the course of that day's entry. This one merely reused an old spell which Twilight recognized as being taken from one of his earlier works.

It was another hour before Spike returned, carrying a bowl full of clipped daffodils. "Here, this is about all I could find. I'm going to go restock the kitchen as soon as this rain lets up."

"There was nothing for you to eat down there?"

"Nah, I'm all set. I had one of the glowing muffins. They actually came out alright... So what are ya reading now?"

Twilight closed the book for a minute to give Spike a better view of the cover. "Its one of the personal journals of Star Swirl the Bearded. I borrowed it from the archives the last time we were in Canterlot."

The little dragon studied the cover for a moment, his eyes following the intricate borders and symbols which decorated the tome. "Huh... Is it any good?"

"Well it was a very interesting read up until now... Apparently this was the last thing he ever wrote, so its all leading up to the very end of his life. In each chapter he's discussed little details about some kind of huge final spell that he's trying to develop, emphasizing more and more how important it is that he finishes it... But then this chapter just suddenly comes in with over fifty pages of him just describing the breakfast that his steward prepared for him that day. He literally spent ten pages elaborating on the color of his orange juice!"

"Are you sure he isn't writing in code or something? Maybe he was afraid someone else would read it. Someone who wasn't supposed to."

"No, I've gone through this chapter six times now. This is literally just a description of a meal... A disturbingly in-depth description, but a description nonetheless."

"Huh. Well, maybe he just really liked the food that day. I mean, you said this was all written toward the end of his life, right? He was pretty old by then... Really, really old, actually. Maybe this was just the sort of thing that caught his attention at that point."

"Hmm... maybe... Maybe... Maybe if I just read through it one more time."

"Twilight! You've been through this chapter half a hundred times already. If you didn't find anything yet, going back again isn't going to change things."

She looked at the first page of the chapter again, noting the all-too-familiar spell inscribed upon the paper. She sighed, lazily levitating a dandelion blossom out of the bowl and quickly chewing it up. "You're right. I'm getting distracted, and I'm wasting a perfectly good day obsessing over this. I'm going to go start the next chapter; are you still going to go get us some more food?"

"Oh right, guess I should probably get on that soon while the rain's still light. I'll be back soon!" The little dragon ran out of the room and down the steps. A few minutes later Twilight heard the front door slam as he left the library. She waited a few minutes, making sure that he didn't come back in; then she flipped through the breakfast chapter once more, desperately searching for anything she may have missed the first fifty times.

It was just a few minutes after noon when Spike returned, pulling a small wagon of food and cooking supplies up to the door. "Twilight! You still here? The sun's out and its getting really nice out here. You should totally come read outside....... Twilight?"

He stepped inside, the small mountain of groceries he was carrying entirely blocking his line of sight. He made it a good two feet before the tripping over a book a which had been carelessly discarded on the floor. Recovering at the last moment, he spun and just barely managed to keep his grip on the bags. "Geez, what the heck it this doing here? Twilight never just leaves these things lying around like thi-" He stopped where he was, now conscious of what was in front of him.

The shelves of the library were barren. A few books were lying on the floor around the perimeter of the room, similar to the one he had just stumbled over. In the center of the room, however, stood a funnel-shaped mound of literature. Every book in the library had been piled into a circle, with the sides stacking up around the the center until it appeared as though there was a small volcano made of Twilight's beloved tomes was protruding out of the floor.

Several books were floating in the air near the middle of the of the cone, each suspended by a ghostly purple aura. They simply hovered there for a moment, until one was cast aside; striking the wall and falling to the floor as another quickly shot into the air to take its place. Pages flipped at lightning speed, the sound of the fluttering paper filling the room for a few seconds before another book shut and was tossed aside.

Spike made his way to the pile, the groceries promptly abandoned against the wall. He climbed up one side of the circular book fort, having to pull himself up a few feet before cresting the top. It was from that position that he finally saw Twilight.

Sitting in the center of the funnel of literature, the purple unicorn was frantically turning her head back and forth. Her horn was burning with violet energy as arcane power left her and entered the books, levitating four or five at a time. She looked at one hovering on her left, causing it to open; its pages turning in a storm of papery fury. Not satisfied with what she found, the book was tossed aside as she turned to the next.

He watched her work like this for another few seconds; half a dozen books being thrown away as he waited. Finally, he found his tongue and the courage to use it. "Twilight? Are... Are you.... Is everything alright?"

The books fell from the air as she whipped around to get a look at who had spoken, who had interrupted her concentration. Her eyes were wide, her mane a mess, and her jaw was clenched in noticeable discomfort. Finally, as she focused in on the little dragon at the top of the mountain of books, she seemed to calm down slightly. "Ssssppiiiikke? When did.... How long have I...."

She looked around, seemingly taking in her surroundings for the first time. She looked shocked for a moment, but soon began to regain her composure. "Did I... Did I do all of this?"

"Sure looks that way. I just got back and found you sitting here flipping through books like some kind of crazed library tornado! What happened?"

The concern was evident on her face. "I'm not sure. I know you went to get groceries-"

"Two hours ago..."

"Right. So I... umm... I went back to reading Star Swirl's journal. I read that breakfast chapter again, only... only......."

"Only? Only what?"

Her eyes narrowed as she tried desperately to remember the events of the past hour, her mind just barely managing to hold onto the memories she needed. "Only this time I... I tried the spell that was discussed on the first page of the chapter."

"Spell? I thought you said it was just a bunch of rambling lines about a spell he hadn't actually made yet."

"Well, at the time he wrote this he hadn't made it. But he finished it before the end of his life. Remember when I said the spell he was describing sounded really familiar? Well that's because it was the time travel spell, the one I tried to use a few months ago."

"From his section in the Archives? Weird... But that still doesn't explain how all this happened." He motioned toward the bookcano they were currently sitting in.

"I think it does, actually. When I used it as a normal spell, one without a definite target, it sent me back in time because I was the one who cast it. I basically made myself the intended target. This time though I.... I think I tried to cast it right on the book itself."

She looked around for a moment, the nervous expression quickly returning to her face as she began to panic once more. "Spike, quick, help me find the journal! I know its in here somewhere!"

Though she was quite visibly worried about finding the old tome, Twilight seemed to have lost the fanatic fervor that she had displayed a few moments before. She had been in a near trance-like state while she had been blowing through book after book in the pile, her mind's thirst for knowledge overpowering the limitations of her body. Now, however, it appeared she was paying for that massive exertion of power.

While she was busy carefully sifting through the mountain one book at a time, Spike had dove int the pile itself in search of the journal. It was a good five minutes before he finally surfaced on the other side; the record Star Swirl's final days clutched tightly in his claws.

"I got it! Here, here's the journal, Twilight! It looks like it got a little beaten up in there but its should be fine. Do you remember what page it w-AHHH!"

Spike was lifted off his feet as Twilight pulled the book toward her with her mind. She cleared a spot in the middle of the funnel and set the journal down, flipping the pages carefully as she searched for the chapter she had been reading before her memories had disappeared. At last, as she turned one page over, she came to a section of glowing purple text.

"Here it is! Spike, come look at this! You were right, or at least you had the right idea. That breakfast chapter wasn't code, exactly, but it was just a decoy for the real text."

The little dragon skimmed over the first page quickly, the bright purple words stinging his eyes slightly after a few minutes of reading. "So... its a letter? He wrote a letter and hid it in his journal. Why? And why put such a convoluted spell on it?"

"He obviously didn't want anyone but those he knew he could trust reading it. Back then, a spell like that time travel one would have been a secret known only to him and maybe be or two others, all of whom would have been the ones who helped him create or test the spell to begin with. Listen to this part: 'I do not yet know why, and I doubt I will learn before its too late, but if you still hold any respect for me as your teacher, you will simply take my word on this. Do not trust them; the elemental-worshipers and the southern immigrants. I trust my source, but I fear I cannot disclose them for fear of what might befall them if I do.'"

"...Elemental-worshipers?"

"No idea. But he keeps going on about how its essential that this letter stay hidden at all costs... Spike, I think we may have found something... big."

It was only at that moment, while neither of the them dared make a sound for fear that it might somehow scare away this new secret of theirs, that the two heard a tiny sound coming from just beyond their mountain of books. It sounded as if someone was clearing their throat form a mile away, the noise just barely audible over the boisterous silence. Then, suddenly, the sound changed; shifting until it almost sounded as if the air was whispering Twilight to them.

Leaving the safety of their literary fortress, the two peered uncertainly over the top. Standing there, a large book poking out of one of her saddlebags while she picked up another off the floor in front of her, was a slim, yellow pegasus. She was attempting to stack some of the stray tomes which Twilight had thrown against the walls, piling them up in front of the book-mountain.

"Fluttershy? What are you doing here?"

She jumped slightly at the sound of another voice, having clearly been searching for Twilight in vein for at least ten or fifteen minutes, judging by the significant number of discarded books she had piled up.

"Oh, um, well I, uh, I finished the book you gave me about taking care of snakes and I thought you might... um... want it back?" She was clearly trying her best to act as if nothing were out of the ordinary, yet the looming mountain of literature was constantly stealing her attention as she spoke. "I can, um... I can just leave it here if you're busy. I didn't mean to intrude in... whatever you were doing."

"Actually, we were just about to start putting the library back in order. Your timing couldn't have been better."

"Is this... Is this every book you have here?"

"Just about. I found something strange hidden in a journal a little earlier today so I just started going through every book I could find to see if any of them had any other little secrets hidden in them, as well... I guess I got a little carried away by the end."

"Something strange? What was it?"

"A letter disguised as a journal entry. Here, we've still go the page open in here, come see for yourself."

Twilight and Spike slid back down into the center of the bookcano while Fluttershy carefully floated over it to join them. The purple letters had begun to fade, but were quickly reignited as Twilight cast that time travel spell in the page once more. She backed up a step to allow her friend to get a better look at the letter. The bashful little pegasus began reading aloud, her voice little more than a whisper.

"My dear Clover..."

* * * * *

It has been far too long since we last spoke, and I fear we may never get the chance to again. If you are reading this, I'm afraid it means that I have left this life, struck down by those who wish to keep me silent, to drown my discoveries and erase them from existence.

He ascended the steps as quickly as his bones would allow, the book hovering about a foot in front of him as he continued writing. The words were being emblazoned into the page itself, disappearing into the paper as they left his mind. He had chosen the section carefully, applying the words to a section he had written a few weeks earlier; an unimportant passage he had written simply to test a new type of ink he had created.

I am sorry that there is not enough time to fully fill you in on what I have discovered, but there simply is not enough paper in Equestria to hold the words needed to fully explain the situation. Suffice to say, someone came to me tonight with very troubling information. If nothing should come of it, I will see you soon and we will share a good laugh about this entire series of events. If his words prove true, however, then this tome and the ones to follow will hold the only records of my last thoughts and wishes.

His steward was close behind him, still under the impression that his master was merely reviewing the discoveries he had recorded in the journal weeks ago. The young earth pony had proven himself to be very useful, but far too eager and knowledgable for the old wizard's liking. No farmer's son should have been so insightful about the fields of magic and unicorn history.

They reached the Royal Archives, the grand jewel of the kingdom the unicorns had established for themselves. His visitor had warned the old wizard that his life would come to an end in that very room, so it came as little surprise when he heard the clicking of the latch as his steward locked the door behind him. Clearly, the so-called earth pony had no intension of allowing his master to escape down the stairs.

I know this will sound paranoid of me, but I must stress it none the less. I am my enemies surrounded on all sides. They have been plotting my downfall for some time, though I have successfully countered their efforts at every turn. Still, I cannot risk them finding this record. As such, I am sending it to you along with a very special copy of Elements of the Architects which I hope will aid you should these monsters turn their sights upon you next. I do not mean to scare you with this statement, nor do I think I could even if I tried, my brave little student, but it is essential that you understand that this is a strong possibility.

He had made certain to keep the second book in a special location, upon a shelf where no one would think to look for it. Yet as he rounded the corner and began searching the shelf, he found that the Elements of the Architects was nowhere to be found.

He cursed, his eyes turning upon his steward with all the fury the old unicorn could muster. "I assume this was your doing then, boy?"

The earth pony smiled beneath his hood, two sets of fangs now very prominently displayed in that arrogant sneer. "I fear so, master. Perhaps if you had simply allowed the poison to take effect instead it never would have come to this. You could have died a nice, peaceful death in your sleep... Now, though, I'm afraid we've had to resort to less delicate measures."

The unicorn noted his position, suddenly remembering the visitor he had received earlier that week. "Well, I can't say as I'm particularly sorry for making your job more difficult. Oh and, just so you're aware, your illusion is slipping. I can see your fangs." The spell was already taking effect by the time he finished the sentence; a ghostly aura suddenly surrounding the books upon the nearby shelves.

"My disguise is of little consequence now. Besides I thought you would want to see just what it was that was coming for you." The creature took a step forward. "I wanted to see if the fangs would be enough to convince you to give up, but I guess I'll have to drop the whole disguise in order to convince you." His body began to shift, the illusion suddenly wavering as the steward reverted back to his actual form.

That was all the distraction Star Swirl had needed. "Don't bother; I've met enough chimeras in my life to know how ugly they can be." The books began launching from their shelves, propelled forward with enough force to crack bone. They collided its their target one after another, knocking the chimera off his feet and battering him to the floor.

The wizard stood over him as more tomes circled overhead, ready to be brought down on the would-be assassin if he so much as twitched. "I understand what you were thinking, of course. 'What threat could this old, decrepit, senile unicorn possibly pose to a mighty southerner like me?' ...Maybe next time you won't let your over confidence get the better of you. Never let your guard down while your opponent is in their element."

The chimera groaned, yet he retained his consciousness and was still clear-headed enough to respond. "Never... Never let your guard down.... At all!" His tail whipped forward, the disguise fading as it moved, twisting into the body and head of a serpent. Its mouth unhinged and its fangs unsheathed, striking headlong at the the unicorn's throat. Quick as lightning it sped forward and clamped down.

I do not yet know why, and I doubt I will learn before its too late, but if you still hold any respect for me as your teacher, you will simply take my word on this. Do not trust them; the elemental-worshipers and the southern immigrants. I trust my source, but I fear I cannot disclose them for fear of what might befall them if I do.

The vision of Star Swirl began to evaporate as the real one made his way to a different section of the archives. He stopped, tossed the journal onto a nearby shelf, and began channeling the spell he had been waiting a full week to week to cast. The portal opened before him, engulfing him in its temporal energy. Suddenly, he was back in his study, observing himself writing his journal.

The other Star Swirl looked up, acknowledged him knowingly, and set the book aside. "Past or future? No, wait, that's ridiculous. If you were from the past I would remember this. So, future then. What do I need to know?"

There was no time to explain fully, the spell would end in a matter of moments and the chimera would surely be waiting for him. "There is a group of chimera assassins attempting to end our life. They will succeed one week from now. You need to ensure that you send covertly send a news of this and a warning to Clover before it is too late. Also, the location is not safe! They find the copy first!"

"The copy?"

"The copy of E-" The spell dragged him back to his own time before he could finish. And there, sure enough, stood his very infuriated looking steward.

"Enough of your tricks, old one... Your life ends tonight. The Order has commanded it, and we shall see their wishes through. You will not survive this night."

The way was blocked by a shelf the assassin had clearly knocked over in his attempt to find the old wizard. No escape was in sight. And a new set of footfalls, heavy and foreboding, could be heard upon the tiles, moving toward them.

"...No.... No I will not...."

From Sacred Flames

by ArtoriasFlagg

Rumors from the North

One Last Day

Chimeran Massacre

To Greener Pastures

Introductions Aren't in Order

Turn the Page