Chapters Prologue: Words From Willow
PrologueWords from Willow
The first time I met Jamin was back before Equestria was even formed. We first met when Celestia and Luna were having a meeting about the shape of the pony tribes. The tribes, which at the time were fighting each other, were also split up so that only Pegasus ponies were in one tribe, unicorns were in their own tribe and earth ponies had their own tribe too. While Princess Luna was talking to Princess Celestia I bumped into him, quite literally. He was sitting near the door to the meeting room.
I still remember the way Jamin looked back then. His coat was a snow white, his mane and tail were as black as night; His ice blue eyes shown like a ghostly candle even in the darkest of nights. Then there was his cutie mark, an image that symbolizes his special talent, his mark was so perplexing and yet so interesting. His cutie mark was a flaming dagger that was protruding from a shadow.
What took me by surprise is that Jamin started to apologize for the mistake that I have clearly made. At that time I had no idea that he was the personal guardian of Princess Celestia. Once he stopped apologizing, and once I had told him that it was my fault not his, we began to talk. We shared stories about our experiences while working in our guard units. Since the princesses had their own small colony that would watch over the feuding tribes they enlisted the service of those ponies who didn’t want anything to do with the tribes.
One thing that stuck me about him was how relaxed he was while he was around a unicorn. During that time unicorns were considered the most dangerous ponies, and in that Dark Age, their magic was deadly. I had been serving Princess Luna for about three thousand years, and even the unicorns scared me; yet Jamin wasn’t even afraid of them.
It wasn’t until after the meeting of the princesses did I learn that Jamin was Princess Celestia’s personal guardian. When the princesses emerged, my charge nodded to me signaling me that it was time to leave. I said my good bye to Jamin and turned to leave. That was when I heard Princess Celestia ask him to accompany her. The only time any normal guard is anywhere near a princess is when he is passed by as she is leaving a room. I knew he wasn’t a general since he wasn’t wearing a general’s uniform. After quickly checking any possibility that would seem even remotely probable the answer hit me in the face. He was Princess Celestia’s personal guardian, just like I was Princess Luna’s Guardian.
I didn’t see him again until a small raiding party attacked me while I was out gathering intelligence on the tribes. In those times, anyone who engaged in combat would have to fight to the death, since nopony would ever give up or flea. I was pinned down by two unicorns that held me still with their magic, as another one charged what was supposed to be a lethal spell. It was only moments before the beam was ready to be fired a blur of white and black struck the unicorn that was going to kill me. By the time that the body of that unicorn landed on the ground, the other two were lying on the ground, on their sides. The other two unicorns were completely still, unmoving and their chests didn’t heave with the signs of life.
Once I had gotten up I found Jamin standing next to me, making sure that I was okay. Once he was sure that I was fine I was able to see the carnage that he wrought on the three unicorns. The unicorns were badly beaten; they had ribs protruding from their body in a couple of places, and their necks were snapped. I knew that no normal Pegasus could ever do this, so I confronted Jamin about it. I had anticipated many things, but hearing that he was given the ability to wield magic so that he could better protect Princess Celestia as he traveled from one life to the next made my jaw drop with surprise. To hear that he was not only as old as me, but that he could wield magic that was nearly as powerful as the princesses, left me nearly frozen with shock.
When we arrived back at base, we agreed to talk with each other more often. The times when we would talk became some of the best memories I had back then. Things were great, we became great friends and eventually, we became lovers. Then everything changed, it had been a thousand years since Equestria had formed, and only nine hundred years since the princesses took the reins of Equestria. Things took their toll and Princess Luna began to grow dark with anger and jealousy. That is when her army marched on Princess Celestia’s army.
It was this fight that put me in a position that I will never let happen again, because I was sent to fight my lover. Being that we were working against each other because of our positions, we had no choice but to fight. Though, we both knew that we would never truly loose each other, since we had both agreed that there would be no bad blood between us after the fight was over. Though it still pains me to this day that I had to fight against him, and even though he forgives me, I will never forgive myself. I promised Jamin that I would help him write this book, which tells of our past, but I fear that I can only really help with this section. Since it is mostly his history that is written here, I feel that this is where I should stop.
Chapter One
The Beginning
Hello, my name is Jamin P Rose, but you can just call me Jamin. I suppose that you’re wondering what this book is about. This is the story of my life, I am writing this because I was told that it can be therapeutic and can help you work though bad memories. Though I feel that I should describe what I look like, so that you can better understand, and picture, the situations that I have gotten into. I am a Pegasus Pony; I have a light pink coat, and a dark greenish mane. My eyes are a blue-green, almost teal color. My appearance may be a bit feminine, but I am a stallion. My cutie mark is a rose with a tear drop falling onto it.
I earned my cutie mark a while after my father died, I was taking care of a rose bush that I had planted in his honor, it was on the anniversary of his death, when I was trimming and taking care of that bush, I was crying while I gathered roses to take to his grave that afternoon. As my tears fell onto the roses, I remember that I wasn’t the only one who had lost someone, and that millions have lost family members. I felt selfish and sad for everyone who had lost someone dear to them, so I set about collecting roses from all the bushes that were in my yard. On that day, in the afternoon, I went to the cemetery and laid out a rose on each grave. The last rose I left was on my father’s grave and as my tears fell on that rose I earned my cutie mark. It does make sense that I would gain such a mark, a mark of a tear falling onto a rose. I was born with extreme empathy, I could always feel others emotions, and tell when they were sad or happy, angry or confused, etc. So when I placed the roses, I realized that I could give people something that they could bring as an offering of memory to their loved ones. When I set up my flower shop, I honestly expected to end up out of business, I am certainly no earth pony, and no expert on growing flowers, but every time someone came to buy flowers, weather it was for a passed love one, or someone who was still alive, I felt happy and was praised for having such nice flowers.
Alas, tales of my time selling flowers is a story for another day. This is my life story after all. So now that you know what I look like, I think I should start explaining why this book is so long. Some would say that such a long book is not possible, since you can only do so much in a lifetime. Since some ponies would say that this is too long for one life, I will be frank with you, it is, but then again, this isn’t my first life here in Equestria. Before you go asking, I am not a god, nor am I “immortal” in the sense that I cannot die. I can, and have, died; I have done so many thousands of times. I am what others, who know of me, call a Star Soul. A Star Soul is a being that will continue to be reborn, with only one purpose, which is to watch over The Princess of the Sun. I have, for many thousands of years, watched over her. I have made sure that she was okay after every war, and I have watched as she has become a great leader. To some, the name Start Soul would make them think that I server Princess Luna, for she lays out the stars each night, but this is a misconception. While stars are the responsibility of Princess Luna, they are just like the sun, balls of gas that shine in the night sky, and they share the same type of energy that the sun has, just in smaller amounts. I do hope that what I said makes sense and clears up any confusion you may have had, for I server Princess Celestia.
Princess Celestia, she is like a daughter to me. I was created at the beginning of her life, to act as a guardian and protector. I would guard her deepest secrets, and protect her from her own abilities if they were to ever get out of hand. For all of my thousands of lives I have been ready at a moment’s notice to go and aid her. The last time I was called to help her was when Nightmare Moon attacked for the first time. That was the worst battle of my life, and it was the most saddening. That battle saw the fall of Luna, who was a sweet soul. Not only did the battle see the fall of Luna, but it saw the fall of my lover.
My lover… it has been a long time since we last met, last life time I think. Although, that is beside the point. My lover he was magnificent, his silvery hair, and light red eyes would send chills down my back, and when he would hold me close it was as if all the stress I had simply melted away. His dark grey coat was always so soft. His name, the one he has used since he was created, is Willow. He chose this name based on his abilities, he is agile like the wind, and his combat magic is normally unmatched. I have told you that I am a Star Soul, but what I forgot to mention is that I am the only one of my kind. Unlike me, Willow is not the only one of his kind.
Willow is, for all intents and purposes, my opposite. He, like I, is tasked with watching over a Celestial Princess. While I watch over Celestia, he watches over Luna. He is also immortal, but in a different sense, for he will not age and will not die. He is a “Fixed point in Space and Time” as an old friend once put it. He is, what stories call, a vampony. While he needs blood he can also eat normal food, he just can’t live off of it for too long.
I suppose that I should explain what a vampony is; a vampony is a pony that has been influenced by the power of the night to making them stronger, and more versatile. Their race, up until the war against Nightmare Moon, was quite large. There were well over five thousand of them, they made up the Lunar Guard and would work all around Equestria in the most dangerous places. They were very resilient and had few weaknesses. Their main weakness was not garlic, or sunlight, nor religion or silver, no; their weakness was much more profound. They could not die and as such they could not breed. Their race is stuck in time, unable to move on, unable to age. Willow once told me of this “curse” as he put it, since they could not die, age or give birth, they were forced to exist without end. Though, rumor has it, that once every thousand years they can, with the help of Luna, enter a stasis that is without end, so long as Luna does not enter the area where they rest. They were once the mightiest force in Equestria, until Luna’s last act; by mere chance Luna was able to gain control long enough to send away the Vamponies and force them into a hibernation without end. While they could be created by Princess Luna, they could never make more of their own kind without help.
So when Princess Luna became Nightmare Moon, the Vamponies became her hammer. That battle was the bloodiest that I have ever witnessed. While everyone believes the white lie that it was simply Princess Celestia who fought against Nightmare Moon: that is not the case. It was a war, a full-fledged war. The last battle has left many bad memories that refuse to go away. I suppose I am dodging the main point. This battle saw me and Willow going head to head, his ranged combat against my close combat. It was a painful time, and neither of us wanted to fight, but we had no choice. I can never disobey an order from Celestia, and neither can Willow disobey an order from Luna. We fought, and much like when Celestia and Luna went head to head, the devastation was huge. The personal defenders of the princesses need to be powerful, and powerful we were.
If you were to compare our power levels to the princesses’ we had about half as much power as they did. While the princesses could control all of their power, we could not. While the princesses leveled the throne room, we leveled half the castle, simply because we didn’t have enough control over our abilities. The battle was intense, and the wounds sever, but we had no hard feelings towards each other. When our own battle came to a close with our last attacks, we actually apologized for what we did to each other. Willow knew that Nightmare was going to be beaten and allowed me to launch him far off into the wilds that lie to the east of the Everfree Forest with the energy of my last attack.
In the end, after all was said and done, that battle left me mortally wounded, though I feel that I should explain a bit more about my own strengths, and specifically, my endurance. Most think of a mortal wound as something like being stabbed in the gut, or having a spear rammed into your chest. That is not the case for me; I can take a lot of “punishment” and have a better chance of surviving a stab to the gut or a spear rammed into my chest. If I am mortally wounded, then you would expect to see me with at least two missing limbs and large chunks of my torso missing. I could survive the loss of a limb, and the spear in my chest, but after a point my body just won’t be able to survive. I knew my limits in that battle I reached them.
I knew that I would be born again, and that I would be able to see Willow and the Princess again. While I knew that I would be able to return, I was still sad as that life slipped away. It was a good life; I had a great father, and a loving mother. Fortune rarely shines on me in the form of good parents, so I always miss the good ones that I have, but that’s enough of the sad stuff for now.
I think it might be best to explain how my abilities work; it may help you understand how I manage a few things. The basis for my abilities is the energy of the sun, or in simpler terms, I command fire, light and heat. These abilities let me do many amazing things. I can create constructs, beings made of mass that are sentient, and walls of fire that burn anything that is hostile to me. There are many other things that I can do, and most of it relies on my creativity. I once created a castle of pure light in the middle of a battle field, the raw and unrefined light harmed only the enemy while the royal guard were unaffected by it. With the abilities that I have I can do a fair few things that aren’t even combat related; things like cooking food faster, lighting candles without a tool, building bridges out of light to help others. So, I guess that makes me an all-around useful pony.
I suppose I could tell you a bit about Willow’s powers as well, given all that we have been though it may be helpful. Willow’s powers are similar to mine, except the opposite in a way. Willow commands the darker arts, such as necromancy and demonic summons, but he also controls moon light and shadows the way I control light and heat. He also controls the powers of water, and as such, balances out my power. While my power requires free and unrestrained creativity, his powers require strong and concise patterns and designs to be effective.
Well, now that I’ve finished that tangent, I think I should tell you a bit about a couple of my past lives, specifically some of the ones after Nightmare Moon’s attack.
The First Life In The Celestial Era
The first life after the battle of Nightmare Moon was an interesting one for sure. I was born into a large family, one not quite as large as The Apple Family, but still large. In this life I was called Arcon the Smith, and I was a proud member of The Smith Family. I was born, once again, as a Pegasus. My mane was a steely grey and my coat a fiery orange. My family, in that life, served Princess Celestia by making the armor for the Royal Guard. Everyone in the family worked with some kind of metal and made some kind of useful tool for the Royal Guard.
The Smith Family was quite old, and held many traditions that none but a family member would really understand without some kind of explanation. The first tradition was actually quite obvious; whenever one of the family members earned their cutie mark they would receive an extension to their name. Mine was an addition of the Smith, because I was quite adept at crafting many types of armor and weapons from a multitude of metals. My brother, Johnson, was what one could call a master of crafting swords and as such, he received the extension to his name of: Blade Master.
While all is fine and dandy with having a good family, things were less than peaceful in this life. This life was plagued with small battles between the Royal Guard, The New Lunar Republic, and The Cult of Darkness. The new lunar republic was an organization that was dedicated to creating a peaceful country where the day and night were treated equally, and the government was run purely by elections, not by royal blood lines. They tried to act as a mediator between the Royal Guard and The Cult of Darkness, but the hatred was too strong and they were forced to step aside, letting the other two go to war.
The Cult of Darkness, it was a small but strong organization that sought the return of Nightmare Moon for they believed that she could create a paradise for those who loved the darkness. Among them were the races that Princess Luna created. These races were: Thestrals, Vamponies, Arkaoks which are corporeal beings that can interact with this plane, and “Children of the Night” which were ponies that could command dark magic without the risk of corrupting their souls. This group fought a valiant war against the Royal Guard, seeking to gain back the powers of Nightmare Moon to create their own land on which they could live.
The Royal Guard was in charge of all things defense and crime related, whenever crimes actually happened. They would patrol the borders and towns of Equestria, trying to keep the peace the best they could. Try as they might the Royal Guard couldn’t keep the whole of Equestria at peace, and were left with one choice: let The Cult of Darkness go untouched and spread across Equestria, or annihilate the entire cult. They took the second choice, and so a war began.
This war was one of the few that were commonly known of during the times following its end. My family, which forged most of the armor for the Royal Guard, practically doubled the output to accommodate the quickly growing army. While they made armor for the Royal Guard, they also made armor for The New Lunar Republic, who sought to end the conflict peacefully. The New Lunar Republic wanted to be able to protect itself in case a battle ever broke out while they were trying to work out this conflict.
While all seemed fine in the first few weeks of the conflict, which included no major battles or assaults, that was not to be the case for long. On the 30th day of the conflict The Cult of Darkness made a major attack against the Royal Guard’s HQ, which was located not far from the palace in Canterlot. This assault began with a swift magic attack that served only one purpose, to knock out the walls of the Royal Guard’s base. Once The Cult of Darkness was inside their Earth Pony soldiers began an all-out assault on the Royal Guard. Any pony that was in the way of The Cult of Darkness’s soldiers was either knocked out or killed.
When the Royal Guard had finally rallied it was too late; The Cult of Darkness had destroyed most of the base, killed well over a hundred guards and made off with the majority of the Guard’s equipment, including weapons and armor. The Guard, while severely weakened, was not without the ability to retaliate. They ordered some of the best equipment that they could get from my family and set about finding The Cult of Darkness. For months they chased The Cult of Darkness, with only about a fifth of their soldiers dedicated to the search they had lost their enemy many times. It wasn’t until the battle of Vanhoover where two hundred civilians were killed; that was when the Royal Guard really started to hunt The Cult of Darkness.
After the battle of Vanhoover the Guard dedicated seven-eighths of its forces to tracking down The Cult of Darkness. Within two months the Guard had The Cult of Darkness on the ends of its ropes. That was when The New Lunar Republic stepped in, that demanded that, by Equestrian Law, The Cult of Darkness was entitled to a chance of surrender and the peaceful exportation of any criminals or murderers. This is where I once again step into the picture, at the time I was not only working as a master smith, but as a negotiator for The New Lunar Republic.
The negotiations started of quite roughly, both sides were stubborn and resentful, but with time the negotiations smoothed out. Within a week the ponies responsible for the deaths of the civilians was arrested, with the investigation revealing that they acted separately from The Cult of Darkness. After two weeks of negotiations The Cult of Darkness was given some land upon which no Equestrian government agency could act, and the Guard received their armor, tools and weapons that were taken from them in the first assault. The Guard also was also allowed to have a few of its members on the “Land of Darkness” to monitor The Cult of Darkness.
In a year’s time the Land of Darkness was a full-fledged city, filled with all of the ponies that survived the war. They were happy and glad to have a place to live. It is said that if you were to go to the city that sits on the Land of Darkness, on a full moon, that you would see the most amazing thing ever. The streets would be bustling with ponies of all ages, from foals to elderly mares and stallions. Every new moon their entire land held a celebration, of the life that thrives in the darkness. While they were happy it was not to last.
One year after the construction of the main city of the Land of Darkness, a contingent of guard, who had abandoned the Royal Guard, began to attack the outlying villages of the Land of Darkness. It was at this time that the lunar guard formed. Instead of being made up of ponies from the Land of Darkness, it was made of the members of The New Lunar Republic. This new Lunar Guard took up the task of stopping this group of rouge Guard members.
With the blessing of Princess Celestia the Lunar Guard was given an official standing as the nighttime guards of Equestria. They were given access to the royal treasury in order to buy better weapons and armor from my family. The influx of bits and work for us helped us not only make the armor that the New Lunar Guard needed, but extra tools for them to use in their search. We created many things for them, including a few focus lenses to increase the power of the Lunar Guard’s magic users. If you’re curious, a focus lens is a tall pillar with ring shaped object on top of it that is made of crystal. The focus lens can be used to channel unicorn magic into an extremely concentrated beam. These things are only ever used when assaulting a well-fortified bastion. These focus lenses take only one unicorn to power it, but it becomes a lot stronger with each additional unicorn powering it.
The Lunar Guard tracked the rebel guard down with in six days of getting their equipment. While I would like to claim that it was because of the equipment that my family provided, it was in fact because the users were already skilled in tracking. On the seventh day the Lunar Guard mobilized to the rebel fortress which was hidden in a mountain range that lies to the west of Canterlot and Ponyville. On the eighth day the battle began at dawn. The Lunar Guard, with the help of the focus lenses, was able to break their way into the fortress. By noon of the eighth day the Lunar Guard had captured all of the rebels, and suffered only seven casualties.
By the time the rebels were brought to Canterlot, only nine days had passed since the Lunar Guard had been Equipped with their armaments; they had done better that the Royal Guard had ever done, and asserted themselves as the more powerful group of guards. It is around this time that my involvement in this set of events, and for that matter this life, came to an end. My age finally caught up to me leaving me unable to do anymore work with metal and not long after that I died.
Throughout my life I had seen some more peaceful times . I was able to travel throughout Equestria, visiting the somewhat smaller sized towns that most ponies know of now. I was there for the first annual Summer Sun Celebration, which was held in Canterlot. I visited Manehattan when it was little more than a set of towns living on pony-made island. I saw at the first Nightmare Night in Filly Delphia when I was but a young colt. I sailed to the Griffon Kingdom when I was no more than an apprentice of my father.
While I saw some good times this life I also saw my fair share of bad times. I was the last born son of Janelle, Steel Singer. My mother Janelle died shortly after I was born, a disease killed her, but for some reason left me unaffected. While I was growing up, my older sister, who was about seventeen years older than me, took care of me like I was her own child. While she treated me like I was her son she made sure that I knew she was my sister and that my mom had passed away. She didn’t do so out of cruelty, only because she believed that I deserved to know the truth. As time went on she eventually found a pony to love, who was a member of a similar family to ours.
Eventually the time came when we had to say good bye. She was moving to her husband’s home, and wouldn’t be able to see me as often. She did however promise to bring me some apples, from the farm where she would be living, whenever she came to visit. She also had me go to her house from time to time so that I could learn about her style of smithing, which was working with gold and silver. We spent many days together, and had many memorable adventures in the orchards. While time passed she and I stayed close, and when she was getting older and less able to help out at the farm with her children she would invite me over so that she and I could talk about the good times we had.
While we had good times, they came to an end when she passed on. I was sad, and borderline depressed, she was always like a mother to me and losing her hurt, but I moved on, knowing that my younger half-brother would want to spend some time with me before I passed on as well.
So, at age 99 this life came to a close. My father had long since died, my older brother as well. Though I was not alone in my last moments, my younger half-brother and my two younger half-sisters were there with me. They wished me well in whatever lay ahead of me, and with one last good bye, my life slipped away. I know that they followed my last wish, which was to be buried beside my older sister. Though I feel ashamed that I can only recall my birth-mother and older brother’s name, I have lost all most all memories of the names of my family in that life. Though in the end I know that they forgive me as they watch me from the stars above.
I think that it’s time to move on to what happened next, this kind of sadness is not something that should be suffered for a long time.
My Fourth Life, Life as a Mare
The second life I had after The Battle of The Two Pony Sisters was quite dull, I spent my time working at a winery collecting grapes, and doing repairs for my employers, I lived a quiet life until my time of passing. My Third Life wasn’t too special, or exciting, it was just an ordinary life for me. Reconnecting with Willow was one of the highlights of that life. While my third life was simple and ordinary, my fourth life was completely different.
Having been born as many times as I have, I have come to expect the unexpected and sometimes that unexpected thing is being born as a mare. Having this happen to me was rare. Roughly one in every ten lives I would be born female but in the last cycle, which is 20 lives, I had been born a mare about seven times. When I have lived a life as a mare I have always had an interesting one.
There is something unique that happens when I am a mare, and I have children. In all of my history I have noticed that my descendants have played important roles in the history of Equestria. For example, Starswirl the Bearded, one of the greatest magic users in the history of Equestria, was my grandson. He was always a calm child, unlike his mother who was one wild child.
Having these connections I have come to find some meaning as to why I am born as a mare. From time to time, I have found that it is because I have a connection to the coming events. There are also times when I believe that I am simply born as a mare because the world is at peace, which makes a bit of sense, because during every warring period I have always been a stallion.
So here I am, once again as a mare, and this time I find myself born in the great city of Vanhoover. My parents were city ponies. My father, a grey coated and white maned Earth pony stallion, was working his store while my mother, a blue coated and black maned unicorn mare, was a musician. I was born in late December and with my bluish-grey coat, charcoal-grey mane, and my wings just a small bunch of bones and feathers and my rose colored eyes. My mom said that I was “the cutest filly she had ever seen.” and she gave me a name I am proud to have, Wayvera. Mom said that it was the name of the song she was humming just before I was born. She told me that the song had been passed down her family for hundreds of generations and that the song meant “Loyal One.”
My life started off fairly normal. I went to school, played with my friends and even found my special talent, which earned me my cutie mark. Things didn’t change until I was about nineteen, maybe twenty, when I was spending some time at my favorite café when I saw him. There he was, walking along the sidewalk. He was the most handsome unicorn I had ever seen. When I saw his red eyes shine from behind his silvery mane I felt a rush of memories. Memories of all the time I had spent with him, my past lives and all that I had been through.
The rush of memories was enough to daze me and when he approached me I may have fainted. When I awoke I had found that the handsome stallion had carried me inside. Blinking I was able to remember why I had fainted sitting up I noticed that Willow was sitting there watching me, with those amazing red eyes. “Hi Willow,” I say, “Thanks for carrying me inside.” Willow blinked and smiled at me.
“It’s nice to see that you are a wake and well again.” Willow said. The manager of the café came over to where I was sitting to check on me.
“How are you feeling miss?” she asked with a concern look on her face.
“I am fine, I’m just a bit tired, but thank you anyway.” I replied smiling happily.
“That is good to hear, well I hope you have a good day,” the manager said before walking away.
“So… this is kind of a surprise,” Willow said, “seeing you as mare isn’t something that happens that often.” His soft red eyes staring deep into me this causes me to blush and look away.
“You know, you’re just as handsome as ever, and I like what you have done with your mane.” I said, looking up into his eyes, “a shorter mane looks better on you.” While staring into his eyes the whole of the world seems to fade out. I remember him being handsome before but he never seemed so…
“Spacing out again huh,” Willow comments with a gentle laugh, “I take it you really like the new look.” I respond by blushing and nodding.
“Yes, I most certainly do,” shaking my head to clear it of thoughts I stand up and stretch, “While it is really nice to see you again Willow, I do need to be heading home soon, but how about we meet up again here at say, lunch time tomorrow?”
“That sounds good to me,” Willow replies with a nod. “Say, I never did get your new name.”
“It’s Wayvera,” I say as I head for the door. Willow just stood there dumbstruck. I giggled and waved my hoof at him, “bye Willow, see you tomorrow.”
I headed to my home, which was in the industrial district. A I walked I could see my dad’s store and out living area that sat just above it. I walked into the shop and waved to my dad, who was sitting at the counter.
“Hey dad, how was business today?” I ask approaching the counter.
“Hey Sweetie, business was good as usual, although it was a bit slower. It must be all this rain we’ve had lately. So, how was your day today?” My father asked, his ever charming smile appearing on his face.
“Oh, you know, I spent time with Lilly and went for a walk in the city gardens. I also stopped over at my favorite café. Oh, and I met this nice unicorn.” I said as I flapped my wings to launch myself over the counter.
My father raised his eyebrow at me, his blue eyes pinkish eyes. “Really, what’s he like?”
“He is the most gorgeous stallion that I have ever met. He has a greyish-black coat, a slivery mane and tail, and the most amazing red eyes.” I said, sitting down next to my dad.
“He sure sounds like something.” My dad commented, staring off into space. After a few moments I prodded him in the side with my hoof
“Equestria to dad,” I said poking him again.
“Huh, what?” my dad said, blinking in a disorientated way.
“Dad, you were staring off into space for a moment there.” I said, a concerned look crossing my face.
“Oh, I must have just gotten lost in my thoughts.” My dad said, smiling at me. He gave me a quick kiss on the forehead, “It’s nothing to worry about, now don’t you want to get washed up before dinner?”
“Okay,” I reply “See you at dinner dad.” I head off to the bathroom upstairs.
Little did I know, at the time that is, that my parents had already met Willow. Apparently they met at the local hospital. Willow was there doing volunteer work there and he must have recognized me. Though I doubt he said anything about it at the time, he must have known that it was me.
So there I am heading off to the dining room after having cleaned up, and I overheard my mother “whispering” about something to my father, although she wasn’t particularly quite about it.
“She’s met a stallion!” My mother exclaimed.
“Honey, please keep it down, she could hear you, and yes she has.” My father said.
“You… you realize just who she met?” My mother said, “With that description can only be him.”
“Yes I know, but if she is happy with him then I am fine with that, besides, whom better to protect her than the Captain of the Lunar Guard.”
After their conversation seemed to have ended, I entered the kitchen. “Hi Mom, what’s for dinner?” I ask acting as if I hadn’t heard anything that they had said. I sat down at the table, a smile gracing my lips.
“Hello Wayvera, how was your day?” My mother asked giving her usual gentle smile.
“Oh you know mom, my days are always good, I got to play my harp in the park this morning, I spent some time looking around the shopping district and I spent the rest of the afternoon at my favorite café before heading home. Also, I met this really nice stallion and I’m going to be meeting him tomorrow for lunch at that café I always go to.” I kept a smile on my muzzle but I was really feeling worried. My parents obviously knew Willow, but they didn’t seem to know who I “really” was. “So, can we have dinner now? I’m starving.”
“Yes I suppose so,” mom said as she started to dish us up a salad with fruit and nuts, “So, tell me more about this stallion you met.”
“Well, he is a handsome stallion with a silvery mane, a greyish-black coat and amazing red eyes. He is the captain of the Lunar Guard, war hero of the Darkness wars for fighting against The Cult of Darkness, former personal guard of Princess Luna also knows as the Princess who became Nightmare Moon. He is an immortal unicorn who has been around since the birth of The Princesses and is well known as being a master of combat magic. I think that’s about it.” I say with a cocky grin on my muzzle.
The dishing spoon that my mother was using to dish up our salads fell as her magic faltered. The room took on what can only be described as an “awkward” silence.
“What? Did I say something wrong?” I ask barely keeping myself from laughing at their expressions.
“Uh… Okay, you know a whole heck of a lot more about him than we thought you did.” My dad said, after finally being able to speak.
Ah ha! I had them now! “You two already knew exactly who I met, didn’t you? And don’t try to deny it! I heard you talking about it.” I spoke triumphantly looking at the two of them.
“Yes… we did know about him. We met him at the hospital just after you were born. He was working there as a volunteer and I immediately recognized him. When I spoke to him about it he was calm and just said that it was a coincidence that he was there, but something still bothers me. He said he was waiting for someone to arrive around the same time you were born, but at that time the hospital was only open for emergencies, so I still wonder why he was there.”
I gave a hearty laugh, “He was waiting for me silly. You two probably haven’t realized it yet, but Willow happens to have a soul mate that is always reincarnating, and he always knows when said soul mate is going to be born. That soul mate is me, a Pegasus who just so happens to be gifted with the ability to use magic,” I say as I use my magic to lift the serving spoon mother was using back into the bowl, “You see. That is me, and I never would have known if Willow hadn’t approached me, though I can tell that he was trying to do so for a long time.” I smile and shake my head.
“He always gets this way when I am born as a mare. He’s afraid that you two will be mad at him for “claiming” your daughter. The big oaf, I love him to bits but the fact that he can hardly approach my parents in any life can be so infuriating.”
“W-what?!” my mother exclaimed as she fell back into her seat. “You mean that he- he…”
“He what? Is my soul mate? Or that he is scared to talk to you two until we have been together for longer?” I ask, raising my left eyebrow questioningly. My mother just sat there spluttering for a moment before stopping and sitting silently whilst thinking.
After a few moments of silence my dad finally spoke up “Uh, honey…”
“Yes?” My mother asked, snapping out of her stupor.
“You were just sitting there, silently, like you were stunned.” My dad said giving her a concerned look.
“Oh, I’m fine, just a bit surprised, that’s all. So, sweetie,” my mother said, turning to look at me, “You know Willow so well, tell me, has he ever hurt you in any of your past lives?”
I cringe slightly at that question, “yes and no, you see, there was once a time when I served under Celestia as her personal guard and as the emergency captain of the Royal Guard. During the time of Nightmare Moon, I had to fight Willow. He was, and is, the captain of the Lunar/Night Guard so we fought, against our wills, because we were ordered to and while we both got hurt we agreed that it would never get in the way of our love and it hasn’t. Though in any other situation he wouldn’t hurt me and especially when I am born as a mare.”
There is a silence that fills the room. It’s situations like this that the phrase “Stunned Silence” was created for. We just sat there quietly eating our dinner. After a while my dad broke the tension. “So… now that you’ve met Willow, will you be leaving us soon?”
I almost choked when I heard that, “what gave you that idea dad? Willow and I still have to reconnect properly and my personality has changed, like it always does when I am reborn.” I replied after swallowing the bit of salad that I had in my mouth. “So no, not for a while at least, someday yes I will have to leave, but not yet dad.”
“Okay, it’s just that, you spoke about him like you were going to be moving in with him right away.” My mom said.
From there we descended into idle chatter about other things and life started to move on. Willow and I started dating, and soon after we were spending our days together. He was always waiting for me when I finished my weekly harp practice, and I was there for him every time he would return from his work as a guard. Life moved on swimmingly, and after a few years, I became a happy mother. Together Willow and I raised our sweet little filly in a quiet neighborhood of Vanhoover.
We spent our lives living happily in the city and while Willow worked as a guard I would take care of our filly and when she was old enough to come with me I took her to my concerts. She was so fascinated with how well I played the harp and with time she too learned to play a musical instrument. My little angle was the best flute player I had even heard. She used her magic to help her play the flute and with time she was accepted into Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. She learned to use her magic and her flute to soothe the sorrows and angers of the ponies around her. I may not have known it at the time, but her great, great, great, granddaughter would become the princess of love, having inherited the gift to soothe even the fiercest of anger and sadness with the magic of love.
So with my daughter off on her own path of life, my life started to draw to a close. In the end it was a peaceful passing. My final days were with my lover and that was all that mattered. So came to pass the ending of my fourth life.
A Life of Painting and Change
Every life for me is always different. Different colors, different talent, different personality, those things are always different, but this time there is something else different. I knew it the moment I was born, and I will always know it. No matter how hard I tried, I knew that I would never be able to fly. I was born with a condition that left the muscles in my wings too week and incapable of supporting my weight.
Not being able to fly really impacted me. I love the skies and I love to fly, but having that denied hurts. For a Pegasus, not being able to fly was like a unicorn not being able to use magic, or an earth pony not being able to run. It was something that affected our lives, but I rose to the challenge and started to adapt. Instead of using my wings to fly I started to use them to help me with tasks at home. With time I was able to use my wings to hold on to things like forks and knives. I was also able to open doors with my wings, though it was still hard to do. This is where I found my talent, I was using my wings to hold a paint brush and paint and that was when my cutie mark appeared. It was a paint brush with a wing wrapped around it. By the time I was done painting and having fun I was covered in paint, quite literally. From head to hooves I was covered in paint. I still have the painting that I was working on when I got my cutie mark. It was a painting of a rose.
The paint was a pain to wash off but when it did I saw my cutie mark. Sitting right there on my white furred flank. I was so happy that I jumped for joy. Of course my main and tail were still wet so I naturally ended up splashing myself with more water. I remember that cleaning the paint out of my golden colored mane was hard, but in the end it was worth it. From then on I painted every day, and I got better each time I painted. Soon I was selling my works and taking commissions and this is where I met Willow again. By this time I had my own studio and was regularly going to art galleries to show off my work.
Willow came to my studio to see about getting a commission and just like that my memories came flooding back to me. Memories about how we met, our times together, the good and the bad of our relationship, all of it came rushing back but instead of fainting like I usually do I just greeted him with a smile, happy to see him again.
From there we began our usual cycle. We dated, we got married again, and then came The Great Canterlot Fire of 592. The two of us worked to help put out that fire. I moved through the buildings near the fire to try and make sure that everyone got out. This is where I met him. The pony that started the fire: Thangre Volekiez. This pony would become one of the most notorious ponies of the time. I had heard of him many times before and Willow had been hunting for him for years before we had gotten back together.
So here he was. The murder himself, Thangre Volekiez, he has killed more ponies than one could imagine. So we fought, and in the light of the fire our skills were tested. While I am no expert at hoof to hoof combat, I am not that bad either. We fought our way through the buildings as they burned and when I had him cornered, pinned to a wall, and at my mercy, I could not kill him. I just couldn’t, I couldn’t bring myself to take his life. I let him go and soon after he was found, dead, having hung himself. He must have realized what was happening and finally decided that he’d had enough. It was a shame that he never really changed but the fact that I couldn’t kill him stayed with me.
A month after my confrontation with Volekiez, I went to visit Celestia. I remember it as if it was only yesterday. I marched along the halls of Canterlot Castle. Every guard I passed dipped their head in respect. I was Celestia’s reserve captain, her commander in a crisis and that earned the respect of the normal guards. When I reached the meeting hall where Celestia was the current captain of the guard tried to stop me from entering the room.
“You may not enter this room Celestia is in an important meeting and is not to be disturbed.” The Captain said, his golden eyes attempting to pierce my determination. His ghostly white coat and silver mane were left un-dyed as a symbol of his rank.
“Unless every diplomat from every nation is in that very room and they are discussing war, then you cannot stop me, now stand aside. You may be the captain but I am Celestia’s champion and I will see her, now.” I said, my eyes glowed a bit and the captain shivered before moving out of the way. Once he was out of the way I stepped into the room. The sight that greeted me wasn’t too surprising. Celestia’s personal scribe and her personal advisor were talking with her.
“Ah, My Faithful Guard, how may I help you to day?” Celestia said, greeting me in her usual manner.
“I am here to talk about Volekiez, Your Highness,” I said, with a bow.
Celestia turned to her scribe and her advisor, “Would you two leave us for a bit, we will resume work on the law in a bit.” The two ponies nodded and then bowed before leaving. Once they left Celestia focused her expectant gaze on me.
“I encountered him on the night of the great fire. He was the one who started the whole fire and I was forced into the position of fighting him. When I had him beat, and had him staring down his own end, I-I just couldn’t do it. I know the orders of the guard were to kill him on sight, but I-I-” I broke down crying. In that moment Celestia wrapped her wings around me and hugged me.
“It’s okay, I forgive you. He was stopped in the end, and you didn’t have to take another life.” Celestia said as she comforted me, her eyes had a motherly gleam to them.
“B-but I-I failed, I had a duty and I failed and… and I, I cannot continue to do what I once did. I cannot protect you like I use to. I feel like I have failed you.” I say my voice trembling slightly.
“You haven’t failed me, but I can tell that this isn’t the only reason why you’re here, is it?”
“No. I am here because I no longer wish to be the reserve captain. I will always help where I can, but I can no longer fulfill that role.”
“And no pony will ever need to again. We are entering a time of pure peace, that… pony that you fought was the last major criminal and the crime rates have dropped so much that such a position is not ever going to be needed again. Though I know you will always be there when I need you, I just want you to have a good life, and for every life you live after that to be just as happy.” She said with a smile. Her hooves wrapped around me and held me tightly, “after what happened with my sister I had lost everyone I cared about, everyone except you. Just knowing that you are living a happy life and that you will always be here for me is enough to make me happy. Since you truly seem to wish to leave your position then how about you take on a new role, no longer a guard, but a friend, will you be my friend?”
Tears come to my eyes again, this time they are tears of joy, “Yes, I will be your friend Celestia.”
We sat there, talking about the past, reminiscing about the good times. We talked late into the night and when it came time for me to head off and rest, Celestia asked me to stay with her that night. She wrapped me up in her wings and held me as we slept. In the morning I woke to find that Celestia had left already. I was kind of sad that she was gone before I could even wake up but as I started to get ready to go a guard came in and informed me that Celestia was waiting for me in the dining hall. I headed to the dining hall and found Celestia sitting at the main table, patiently waiting.
“Thank you for joining me,” Celestia said before she took another sip of her tea.
“I’m sorry if I made you wait,” I replied as I sat at the table with her.
“It’s no trouble at all,” she said as she looked at the assortment of things that sat on the table.
When I looked at what was on the table, I was surprised. The table had a golden table cloth, with red stripes along the center of it, and on it was a spread like no other. There were pancakes, fruit salads, scones, fruit slices of just about every imaginable fruit, and to top it all off, there was perhaps the most amazing thing I had ever seen, at least food wise, it was a perfectly layered pomegranate coffee cake, with warm butter, delicious oats and a gentle spreading of frosting on top of it. “Celestia, did… did you have this prepared specifically for me?” I asked, still somewhat shocked by the sight before me.
“Well, I know how much you love pomegranate and since I knew you would be heading off to your studio I figured that a nice breakfast would be a good way to see you off,” Celestia said as she started to dish up her plate.
I swear that was the first time I have ever really heard Celestia sound so unsure of what she was saying. I know that after I woke up to her shaking and shivering from a nightmare, I helped her relax and we spent some time together. “Thank you Celestia. This breakfast looks amazing,” I said as I too started to dish up my plate. Using my wings to hold a fork I moved a couple of pancakes, a bit of fruit salad and a slice of the pomegranate coffee cake, on to my plate.
“Why do you not use your magic, it’s not like you have to hide it from me.” Celestia inquired before she took a bite of her pancakes.
“I have simply not bothered to learn magic in this life. My wings, while incapable of holding me up for flight, are able to hold onto things like a unicorns magic would, so I see no need to learn magic.” I took a bite out of my pancakes, using my right wing to hold the fork. “I must say, the palace cooks are as good as ever.”
“Yes, they most certainly are. They were handpicked from the best culinary academy in all of Equestria.” Celestia said as we continued to enjoy the cooking. After the meal was over we said our goodbyes and I left the castle for my studio. When I arrived I found Willow waiting for me.
“So, did you get a chance to talk to The Princess?” he asked as I sat next to him on the couch.
“Yes, and I am no longer the reserve captain. She and I are friends, no longer soldier and Princess, but friends.” I said as I snuggled closer to him, a small pang of guilt perking up in me.
“I’m sorry Willow.” I say as I hang my head a bit.
Willow doesn’t say anything right away, but just wraps his hooves around me. “It’s fine, I know about it, and I’m not mad at you.” Willow’s reassuring gaze and loving hug helped me feel a bit better.
“Thank you for being so understanding Willow,” I nuzzle his neck. We spent hours in each other’s embrace. The day turned to night and back to day and life moved on. Soon news came out of the castle about Princess Celestia becoming pregnant. To this day no one knows who the father of her child is. Being Celestia’s friend I was allowed to come and see her even when she was pregnant. I spent a lot of time visiting her and when her daughter was born I was there to help her take care of her. I would watch over the beautiful daughter of my friend while her mother was busy dealing with things that required her direct attention. Willow even came and joined me in watching over the little princess.
With time we became like uncles to the sweet little Rose Bud. When I asked Celestia why she named her daughter Rose Bud, she told me that it was because it was her daughter’s father’s favorite flower. When Hearth’s Warming Eve came around I painted a picture of Celestia and her daughter for her and I also gave her a painting of a rose in a vase. Rose Bud had a yellowish-gold mane and a white coat, which made it hard to tell that she was even there when she was being held by her mother, but that little sweetheart was always happy.
With time she grew up into a fine young mare and even when I fell deathly ill she would come to see me. She was right there with me when I died, right next to Willow and Celestia. I remember saying that I was proud to have been her “Uncle” even if I wasn’t Celestia’s brother. I made my peace with death and so to ended my fifth life after the banishing of Nightmare Moon.
My sixth life rolled around on a stormy day in the middle of the summer. My mother, a Pegasus on the weather team, had been at the hospital for a checkup when the time came to deliver me. It was lucky that she as at the hospital, because the storm that was raging outside would have made it impossible for her to get there while in labor. If it wasn’t thanks to my mother being at the hospital it was likely that she wouldn’t have made it to see another day. I was born a week before I was due and I was very lucky that the doctors who were at the hospital were the birth specialists.
I wasn’t like most ponies, I was born with a cutie mark. Most ponies have to earn their cutie mark, but I was born with one. My cutie mark was a red five-pointed star, and ever since I was little I was able to use magic, even though I was a Pegasus. A Pegasus that could use magic was a very rare occurrence, but then again, when you have a bloodline like mine, it’s not too uncommon. In the life I was born to the granddaughter of Princess Celestia.
From the time I was able to read I was reading all about magic. I learned how to levitate things before I was even able to go to pre-school. Around the time I was able to go into pre-school there was an incident. A couple of older foals were picking on a kindergartener and when I saw them get a bit more physical with their attacks I got mad and sent them flying backwards by about twenty feet. Needless to say, they were terrified, especially since my eyes were glowing a brilliant red. When they had run away my eyes stopped glowing and I turned to the foal that was being picked on. He looked scared of me, like he wanted to run away, but when I asked if he was okay, and if the bullies had hurt him, he calmed down a bit.
From that point on, I would stand up to any bullies that dared to harm others. Then came that fateful day, three bullies who had been known to terrify other foals and terrorize them into doing whatever the bullies wanted. It was that day when I became their next target. They decided to corner me just outside of the play ground near my house. They pinned my down and attempted to order me to do their bidding. When I refused they threated to beat me up, when I told them no again, their leader went to punch me.
I wiggled free and turned to dodge, but the leaders hoof clipped me on my back, right between my wings. This strike triggered an extreme magic surge. Compared to the magic surges of normal magic using ponies, which could cause a little destruction, mine was ten to twenty times more destructive. The three bullies were flung halfway across the neighborhood and the resounding explosion destroyed the majority of the playground. The magic surge began to send my abilities haywire. Walls of magic surrounded me and soon all of the streets in Canterlot were glowing with magic. It was at this point that Princess Celestia showed up.
The walls of magic around me shattered as she flew her way to me. My magic surge stopped when she wrapped her wings around me and held me close. I was quite surprised when I came too, after my magic surge had ended I must have fainted. Waking up in the wings of someone who cared about you was always nice, but waking up in your great-grandmothers wings was something different altogether.
“C-Celestia… What happened? ” I asked as I moved further into Celestia’s embrace.
“You had a magic surge, sweetie, a very powerful one,” Celestia said as she used her wings to set me down on the ground so that I could walk. “It seems the reports of the bullies that were threating other foals were true. I found them all unconscious and lying on the other side of the neighborhood. Don’t worry though, they won’t be bothering anypony with their bullying for a long time, I have my guards taking them to the hospital.”
“Am… Am I in trouble Celestia?” I ask, tentatively, worried that I had done something wrong.
Celestia said nothing, but she shook her head before giving me a loving nuzzle. Silently we walked the rest of the way home. The neighborhood was quiet, despite my magic surge, it was relatively normal. Like nothing had happened at all. When we got home Celestia knocked on the door and after a few moments my mom answered.
“Grandma, what brings you here?” My mother asked as she beckoned us in.
“I am here because Storm Bringer had a magic surge. Not just any old magic surge, one strong enough to nearly level the nearby playground.” Celestia said as she sat down on the couch in the living room. “Three bullies, who have been rumored to be threating other foals, apparently cornered him and managed to strike him on the back between his wings. Being that he is a Pegasus, whom happens to be able to use magic, the area between his wings is where his magic focus point is and when they hit him there they triggered a magic surge. Worry not though, he is otherwise, unharmed.”
My mother wrapped her wings around me in a loving hug, “I’m glad he’s okay, and I hope those bullies face the consequences for their actions.”
“In due time they will face their consequences, though, they will have to be cleared to leave the hospital first.”
“H-he… put them in the hospital?!” my mother stammered in a panicked manner.
“Relax, April, he’s not in trouble and those bullies are simply having their scrapes and cuts taken care of. I suspect that they will be cleared to leave within the hour, and will be well on their way to facing the consequences of the actions.” Celestia said, “Though, for an out of control magic surge, there was a lot less damage done to them than I would have expected. Regardless, I have come to an important decision, I will be taking Storm Bringer on as my student. I will teach him to control his magic and how to handle magic surges, at least, while they are still an issue.”
“Are you sure, Grandma? What about the royalty, they will be very harsh about it, and- and…”
“I know my sweet granddaughter, but I will handle them. Storm will be fine, and once he has learned the basics I will be teaching him how to cast a shield to protect himself from others. For now though, I must return to the castle and tomorrow I will have two guards come to pick him up.” Celestia said as she stood up, a smile on her face, “I will see you tomorrow Storm, and April, you are more than welcome to come and visit whenever you can. I am certain that Storm will like that.”
“I sure will,” I said, as I rushed over to Celestia and hugged her, the best I could, especially considering that my forelegs could barely reach half-way around her neck. After a moment I let go and hovered back down to the floor. Celestia said her goodbyes and headed off to the castle. I knew that the very next day would be the first day of the rest of my life, the life of a Pegasus who has magic stronger than most unicorns. So I come the following day I started my studies. I would spend time studying magic and in my free time I would spend time talking to the guard, asking for all kinds of stories about their services to the crown. Then I met him, I was on a walk late at night, unable to sleep. I literally ran into him and I have to admit, his armor is very hard. I was put in a daze from hitting his armor with my head, but when my dazed state faded and I looked up I looked into eyes that I hadn’t seen in a long time.
“Willow, I haven’t seen you in what feels like forever.” I said as I jumped up and wrapped my forelegs around his neck.
“Ack!” was the sound that came from Willow when I grabbed him around the neck. I held him like that for a little bit before letting go. Willow let out a sigh of relief, “for just being a youngster, you sure are strong. So, looks like you remember me, and for you not to faint from the sudden memory rush… it’s amazing.”
“What do you mean? I did faint. Don’t you remember, you and I actually met when I was just five. You were passing by the playground when it happened. If it weren’t for the fact that I was tuckered out it would have seemed odd that I “fell asleep” while playing.”
“So you mean that you knew when you were only five,” Willow said “then you have known for what, three years now?”
“Yep, that sounds about right, but when I arrived here you were nowhere to be found.” I said as I snuggled up against Willow.
“You do realize that, at the time, I was mostly off on missions like checking up on the borders, as well as checking out the Everfree castle.”
“I know, but it would have been nice to have seen you sooner. Especially with what happened two weeks ago.”
“You mean what happened with the bullies? Yeah I’m sorry about not being there to help you, but at the time I was on my way back from the Everfree and the second I was back I was dragged into dealing with those bullies. What a colossal mess that turned out to be. All three of them are sitting in their own jail cells, and will be there for two more weeks. Their parents are coming to petition for their release, every. Single. Day.”
I rubbed my hoof on the back of my neck, somewhat embarrassed by that, “Sorry about that, but they did trigger a magic surge.”
“It’s fine, besides, they will get out in two weeks. They still have this incident on their records and will have to deal with the consequences.” Willow said, reassuring me by wrapping one of his forelegs around me. Once he did that I let out a soft yawn. “Sounds like it’s time for you to get some sleep.” As soon as he said that we appeared in my room. Willow gently levitated me onto my bed and wished me a good night. Before Willow could even leave the room I was fast asleep.
Life drummed on, in a constant rhythm of studying and practicing magic. I would spend time with Willow when he wasn’t busy and practice my magic constantly. Life continued this way for a while, and then came that fateful day.
On my way home from running an errand I was confronted by three familiar ponies. These ponies were the same ones that had tried to beat me up when I was just a foal. Now fully grown they appeared to be stronger and tougher that before. The second they saw me they began a relentless assault on me. I was lucky enough to be able to put of my shield before their attacks could hit me. I stood there, stopping all their attacks with my shield and returning none of them. Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse, Willow showed up and one of the ponies attacked him.
They caught him off guard and managed to hurt him. Seeing Willow hurt right in front of me sent me into a rage. I quickly fashioned three spears out of the earth around me and speared the three attackers. After they fell, the earthen spears crammed into their shoulders, I saw what I had done and what I had been so close to doing. It terrified me, it brought me such despair that I took off. Not even listening to Willow’s cries for me to stop, I flew straight for the border. As soon as I reached the border between Equestria and the Draco Range, the home of the dragons, I was intercepted by Celestia. She quite literally caught me in her forehooves. We tumbled to the ground and when we stopped rolling I found Celestia holding me.
“It’s alright Storm. You don’t have to run, you’re safe now.” Listening to Celestia’s words I calmed down and soon found myself feeling better. “The three who attacked you are all now sitting in the Royal Guard’s holding cells. They will be tried for assault and attempted murder.”
“Attempted murder?” I asked as we got up.
“Yes, attempted murder,” Celestia said, a stern look crossing her muzzle, “one of them was carrying a griffon made sword. Having such a weapon in your possession is a class one felony and the pony that had it tried to use it on Willow. Of course he was unsuccessful in harming Willow, but such actions will never be tolerated so he is being accused of attempted murder and his accomplices as well.”
It was after that, that Celestia wrapped her hooves around me, in a loving hug. We stayed like that for a while and then, she whisked us back to Canterlot. After the whole mess with the trials was settled things returned to normal, like they always did. The rest of my life wasn’t too exciting. A couple of smart-assed nobles here and there but none that ever really did anything against me and Willow. Life was generally peaceful, even on deaths door it was still peaceful. I was glad that my recent lives were seeming to be peaceful, at least, most of the time.
Life, it is such a wonderful thing. It is an endless cycle of beginnings and ends. So to, began another one of my lives. My earliest memories are of my mother teaching me to fly. My mom was a single mom, who loved me so very much. She would take me everywhere she went and would always let me come with her to the school that she taught at. I still look back on those times with great amusement. All that happened long ago. My mom was gone now and I had to move on. I most certainly missed my mother, and I was upset that she had to die and to a stray bolt of lightning too. I sighed and wiped a tear off of my dark cyan-blue muzzle. My messy, silvery, mane hung off to one side of my face. I was an emotional wreck, I had just sat through the funeral for my mom, not two hours ago, and I was still feeling guilt for suggesting that we go outside so that I could show her how much better at flying I had actually gotten.
We were flying though the city, like we usually do, but today was a day when the city was supposed to have a storm. I knew that it was delayed but I had forgotten that it was only for an hour. The weather team started the storm, just like usual and then the lightning started. Before I could even suggest that we land, my mother was struck down by a bolt of lightning. She plummeted into an ally way and by the time I got to her, she was already gone.
I just cried and cried and cried. By the time any member of the guard had found us, I had cried myself to sleep. I remember waking up in the local guard’s out post, and being interrogated by them. I may have gotten a bit angry and I may have made a comment about they weren’t patrolling the area where my mother died. I also may have implied that they were responsible for her death because I thought that they were incompetent. By the time I got around to the fact that it was my mother who died I was in a full on rage. I remember having to be restrained after breaking several bones in at least seven guard’s bodies.
I took a while for me to calm down and when I had finally calmed down I saw what had happened and I made a vow. I would never let another pony get hurt by a storm again, neither a weather pony nor any other pony. From that day on I worked hard to get into the weather team. Now here I am, just after my mother’s funeral and the very next day I have my first day as a weather pony.
That night I cried myself to sleep, and by the morning everything looked brighter. It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life for me, and I’m feeling good. I began my morning by singing as I made me some hot oats with berries. I had always loved music and would listen to it whenever I could. After breakfast and a shower, which as a little longer than necessary, I was on my way to work. Though, before I left, I gave a short prayer for my mother, wishing her a happy after life.
When I arrived at work I was shown how to handle the normal clouds. I was in charge of clearing the area above my neighborhood. I set to work and began to clear the skies, just like I was told to. Kicking the clouds away helped me clear up my mind and organize my thoughts. I knew what I was going to do. I was going to become the storm manager and I was going to make sure that no pony else got hurt by a storm, at least, when I could have prevented it.
Time went on, and I began to climb the ranks of the weather team. From a junior member to a full member. From a full member to a Junior Storm Worker. Then, finally, I was a full Storm Worker. I had gotten to where I wanted to be, I was able to assist with the creation of storms, and when there was a storm I would scour the area where it was happening and warn any ponies that were outside that a storm was about to start that that it would be best that they headed inside.
Of course some ponies didn’t head my warning, and occasionally, would be out there during a storm. There was a time when I was sick and unable to help with a storm and a couple of ponies were hurt, and… and one died. It hurt to hear that I wasn’t there to help, so I started training and working harder. Before long my immune system was strong enough that no illness could pin me down for more than half a day. Every day I would work harder to make sure that I could be strong enough to help those in need.
I was a couple of months later when I was working on setting up a storm, I noticed a group of ponies had congregated in the streets below. There were Earth ponies, Pegasus ponies and Unicorns, all of them seemed different, but there was one thing that seemed to connect them. They all were wearing something yellow. I flew down to warn them about the storm and I was greeted with an odd sight. They were exchanging news about things that were going on in the city. They were just chatting like it was nothing. I asked to talk to whoever was leading the strange event. When I did I was taken to the center of the group where I saw a pony that seemed a little too young to really fit in.
“So, you wanted to speak to me about something?” the young pony asked, looking at me with a suspicious look on his face.
“You’re the pony in charge of this group?” I asked, unable to contain my surprise.
“Yeah, you got a problem with that!” The young pony said, very loudly.
“Oh, no it’s not that, I was just a bit surprised. But the reason I am here it to warn you about the s-”
“I don’t care who sent you. None of the other gangs are going to chase us off, so you can stop wasting my t-”
“Shut up and just listen!” I yelled, “There is a lighting storm that is about to start and all of you are right beneath the center of it, which means you are all at risk of being struck by lightning. Do you want that? Do you all want to die. You’re a Pegasus for buck sake, you should at least know that the center of a storm is very unstable and can be very unpredictable.”
Every pony that was near us was frozen in fear. Just as I had finished saying that the storm started prematurely and a bolt of lightning was heading for the pony who was in charge of this gang. I quickly knocked him out of the way and took the full force of the lighting. I was lucky to be able to channel the lightning though my wings.
“Go now!” I exclaimed as loud as I could, “before another bolt of lightning can strike.”
“We’re not leaving you,” the head pony said, “help him to the nearest hospital!”
I was soon lying on the back of an Earth Pony and being carried to the hospital. I must have passed out because the next thing I remember was coming to in the hospital. I lay there a while before I noticed that the leader of that gr-gang was sitting beside my bed. I let out a groan as I sat up and that woke up the ponies that were at my bedside. The weather manager was there as well as the leader of the gang.
“It’s nice to see that you are awake Solis.” My boss said, “You’re lucky, it only went through your wings and missed your heart.”
I chuckled, “It wasn’t luck boos, I used my wings to redirect the lightning.” I chuckled again and looked to the leader of the gang, “You all right?”
“Yeah, I’m fine, but I can’t believe how reckless you were, but then again, you did save me. For that I thank you.” The kid said.
“Could I at least get the name of the pony that I saved?” I asked raising an eyebrow at him.
“Kiza, Kiza Tameo.” He, no Kiza said.
“Nice to meet you Kiza, I am Solis.” I said, a smile playing on my muzzle, “and it is I who should be thanking you, you and your gang got me to the hospital and got me the help I needed.”
“It was nothing, it’s not like I could leave the pony who saved me to die.”
We chatted for a while and eventually I decided to get up. I pulled off the covers and hopped off the bed. Everyone who was there, including a doctor, were stunned. I looked at them, “what?”
“y-you’re standing?! But you were just struck with lightning! How can you be standing?” the doctor said as he started to panic.
“Jeez, I’m made of tuff stuff. I bet someone could put a knife in my side and I would be back on my feet in a few hours.” I shook my head a bit, my silvery mane whipping around as I did so. “Relax, I’m fine. Look, I’m a storm worker, and I have been training for years to be able to withstand the energy of lightning.”
“At least let the doctor check you out and confirm that you are fine, and you still aren’t going to be working for at least two days,” my boss said, shaking his head in disbelief “you have two days off to rest up a bit, regardless of what the doctor says.”
“Fine,” I say with a sigh as I hang my head, “so doc, can we get this over with.”
The doc nodded and started his examination. He checked everything, my heart, my head, my wings, and well… literally everything else. “As far as I can tell, you are healthy as can be. It’s almost like you were never even struck by the lightning.”
“Thanks doc, I guess I can head home now, right?” I asked, tilting my head slightly and raising my eyebrows.
“Yes you can, and take it easy. No more getting struck with lightning.” The doc said as he gave me a stern look.
“Okay, I’ll do my best doc. See ya,” I said, waving my right wing as I left. As I wave my wing a small spark shoots off from it. The doctor’s jaw dropped and he just stood there as the door closed behind me.
As I left the hospital through the main entrance Kiza caught up to me. “What was with the sparks that jutted off your wings?”
“Just a little trick I learned a long time ago. I can store electrical charge in my wings, it’s how I can redirect lightning.” I reply as I continue to walk towards my home.
“I see, that’s really cool. So, have you ever considered joining a gang?” Kiza asked as we walked through the now empty streets.
“Nope, never have, never will.” I reply as I turn my head to look at him, “I never liked that kind of thing. Too violent.”
“I see, well… If you’re okay with it I would like to make you an honorary member of the Golden Threads. They’re my gang and control the general area that you work in.”
“As long as being an honorary member doesn’t involve me having to be at meetings of be part of battles.” I said as I stopped in front of my house.
“Nope, it’s just a title that you would have, that’s all.” Kiza said as he looked at me with a smile on his muzzle.
“Cool, then I would be honored. Though, just a heads up, try not to be out during the storms. I was there to help this time, but I might not be able to help next time.” I headed towards my door while giving a long yawn.
“We will be more careful next time. See you later.” Kiza said as he started to head off. I waved to him with my wing and it gave off a few more sparks. I headed in and enjoyed a very well deserved rest.
For the next dozen or so years I continued to do my work and soon I was a senior storm worker. While I hadn’t really wanted to be promoted I took the job anyway. Being a senior storm worker meant that I was not only able to work on the storms but help plan them. I would occasionally pop up at a Golden Threads meeting if I was in the area, usually just to say hello to Kiza. From time to time I would actually stop and talk to the other members of the gang. They were usually friendly to me, having saved their leader and all. I recall that, at one point, Kiza and I were talking when one of the members have mentioned that a “Black unicorn with a silvery mane” was stomping his way through the gang members.
I quickly ran out to investigate it, with Kiza in tow. The sight that greeted me was kind of scary. There was a unicorn, who’s eyes were red and mane was silver, with a black coat. I had dreamed of him before and now that he was here I remembered. He was my lover, my life mate and my savior. Though he was attacking the ponies in the Golden Threads gang. Sure he was just knocking them out, but he was attacking them. I breathed a silent apology to Willow and flared out my wings. In an instant the tips of my wings were cracking with lightning and with a quick flick of my wings I struck Willow with a bolt of lightning that would have been lethal to any pony but him or a princess.
As expected, Willow was knocked out instantly. The gang decided to take the opportunity to try and attack him but I was there in an instant. They stopped their charge when they saw my wings sparking. “No pony touches him!” I yelled, “Or I will fry you where you stand.”
The ponies were too scared to even run. I gently lifted Willow onto my back. When I started to head home I was stopped by Kiza.
“Why are you helping him? He attacked the gang!” Kiza questioned, his anger barely contained.
“He is my lover. He and I have been lovers for a long time, longer than Equestria. I am the Grand Inheritor, former personal guard of Princess Celestia and this is Willow, My lover, Guard of the night and personal guard of a now forgotten princess. Besides, all he did was knock out the ponies in your gang, not kill them. I will find out why and let you know but for now he needs to rest.” With that I left. A small part of me felt a bit guilty for the way I acted, but it was what had to be done.
I nursed Willow back to health and soon he came to understand what was happening. He even apologize to the gang. Life continued and was good, but then came The Storm. I was working on setting up a storm, and as a part of a test that would place me as the storm manager I had to set it up on my own. It was alright, I knew what I was doing, but I made a miscalculation. Instead of setting it up with the usual pattern I used five clouds within a ring of rain clouds. When I had the clouds in place I started it with my lightning, but it all went horribly wrong. The lightning arced out and formed a star shaped pattern and the clouds around the outside were all alight with the lightning. From above it must have looked like a pentagram. The winds that were sustaining the storm forced me into the center of the lightning matrix. At the center of the storm the pure energies condensed and formed a massive bolt of lightning. That lightning struck me square in the chest and that was the last thing I ever experienced in that life.
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Being A Crystal Artist and A Mare Is A Hard Job
Once more I was born as a mare. Life as a mare is never bad, I usually end up with a talent that focuses on aesthetics, which is something that I like. This time around I was born to a nice, somewhat wealthy, family and while some would think that the parents in a wealthy family would be really lax about the rules it isn't true. My parents weren't harsh by any means, but they were a bit strict at times. Though I supposed that they did so to try and teach me what I needed to know and it wasn't like it was that bad. I had to help out around the manor and clean my own room, and sometimes I had to help clean up after dinner. My home life was just fine and I was even able to find my talent in my first few weeks of school, I was playing around with some quartz that I had found on my way home from school.
When I started to tap them with my wing the crystals would shift slightly. When I noticed this I started to try to shape them into something. The first thing I ever made with the crystals was a small sculpture of my mom, my dad and I. In the process of shaping the pieces of quartz I was able to purify it. The quartz shone very nicely when it was done and that was when I noticed that it had become completely clear. When I showed it to my mom she was proud of me. I was so happy that I didn’t even notice that I had my cutie mark until my mom pointed it out to me. My cutie mark was two wings on either side of a crystal with a hoof touching the base of it.
After a year’s worth of school I was ready for the summer. When I learned that my dad was going to take me with him to a crystal mine that was near Canterlot I was so excited. I remember that when we went there I was having so much fun. I was able to get tons of cool crystals, even some rose quartz, which is my favorite kind of crystal. I spent days molding the quartz that I got into all kinds of cool things. I made miniature statues of the Princess, and statues of the royal guard. I also made small statues of some of the popular places in Equestria. Though my best statue had to be the one of Canterlot that I did. Most ponies wouldn’t even notice, but if you looked close enough you could actually see the defined shapes and figures of ponies that were on the streets of Canterlot.
When I decided to set up a stand to sell my creations I didn’t expect that ponies would actually care too much for them. I received a lot of praise for my detailed work with my statues and especially of my sculpture of Canterlot. By noon I had at least two ponies who wanted to commission a sculpture from me. I was so pleased by this that I immediately set to work on the commissions. I used the last of my crystal to make the commissions, one was of Princess Celestia and the other was of the great waterfall of Canterlot. The second one was much harder than one would think. To suspend the crystal beads that looked like water with crystal that so thin that it was practically invisible was really difficult.
With time I started to make more crystal statues, I even began to make crystal bracelets. Soon I was able to even make my own crystals, but that was very difficult and I rarely did it. Before I knew it word reached Princess Celestia and I found her at my stall in the market. Here I was, just out of elementary school and the Princess herself wanted a commission from me. I was more than happy to oblige. Doing a commission for a Princess was a big deal for an artist, it really gave them a boost and to get one so early on in my career, was amazing.
Celestia must have known that I was her once personal guard, because she challenged me to do something that I hadn’t ever done before. She asked for a life sized statue of someone she once knew, who I later discovered was Princess Luna. She gave me a three-sixty degree sketch of the pony she wanted me to do and she even gave the pony’s height. I spent over a month making and perfecting it. I had the pony down to the very last detail, from the texture of the pony’s fur, to the sparkles in her mane, it was the best work I had ever done, and likely ever will do.
When I was done I sent a letter to the palace to notify them that I was done and before the day was out the Princess was at my door.
I bowed to her, “The statue you requested is complete your Majesty.”
“Please rise,” Princess Celestia said, as she looked at me, “I would like it if you would show me to the statue, and I would love to look at some of your other works.”
“As you wish Princess, now if you will follow me,” I said as I started to walk towards my work area. Princess Celestia followed behind me as I led her through my storage room “In here is where I keep all the smaller pieces that I make.”
Princess Celestia stopped in front of one of the shelves, specifically the shelf where I kept the pieces that came from strange, and random, bursts of inspiration. There were statues of ponies that I had never seen before, yet I knew somehow. There were other things on there too, like a sculpture of a castile that was, as far as I could tell, really made of crystal. I had no idea how I knew these things, but I did. I noticed that Princess Celestia was focused on one particular piece. It was a sculpture of a castle, not the one in Canterlot, but one that was now in ruins. It was a perfect replica of what was probably the original, and not ruined, castle. “Young Starlight might I be able to buy this off of you?”
“Of course Princess. If you would like, you can place it on the table near the door so that I don’t forget about it before you leave,” I say, giving her a smile and I nod towards the aforementioned table. Princess Celestia gave a smile back and placed the statue of the castle on the table. “Now, allow me to show you to the statue that you commissioned.” I led Princess Celestia through the last door in my studio/warehouse and when she saw the statue she was stunned.
The statue was a perfect replica of the pony that she wanted me to make a statue of. The statue pony’s mane and tail were sparkling like the night sky, her horn and wings were perfectly shaped and her body matched the sketches perfectly. “This-this is perfect. It’s almost like… like the pony is real.”
“It’s my best work. Better than anything I have ever done before.” I said smiling at her, “it’s work that is fit for a Princess. I am really glad that I got to make something so amazing that it stunned even you.”
“It truly is beautiful.” Celestia said as she continued to gaze at it. “Thank you, I will cherish it for as long as I live.” Celestia said that and then did something that I never would have dreamed of, she hugged me. In that moment I felt loved, protected and completely at peace.
When she let go she looked at the door, “I have just one question. How am I going to get this out of here?”
“Simple Princess,” I said as I walked over to the door. I placed my hooves and wings against the frame and the door expanded to be large enough to take the statue through. “All doors in here are made of crystal, I can shrink and expand them at will, normally they would have been smaller than they are now, but I knew you were coming so I made them larger.”
“I wish more ponies were as skilled with crystals as you are. You have a truly incredible gift.” Princess Celestia said as I moved a flat-cart over to the statue. With a few quick taps of my hooves and wings the crystal below the statue rose up and I was able to move it onto the cart.
“I’m glad you think my gift is incredible, but sometimes it feels like it’s just something that I can use and that it really isn’t useful for much. Sure, I can create a super thin sheet of crystal that I can use to lift up twice my weight, but that’s not really useful for much more than just shopping.”
“You have a wonderful gift,” Celestia said as she looked me in the eyes, “it is something that is very useful. You could easily shape crystals into a set or armor or a shield to protect others. You could even make an entire palace from it, the gift you have has limitless possibilities. As long as you have the imagination to see what you want you can make it.”
“I… I suppose you’re right. It is my imagination that helps me make these sculptures.” I say as I look up at her. Looking into her eyes I could see the reflection of my own green eyes. I realized I was staring and I looked away. Looking into the crystal of the statue that I was moving I could see my reflection clearly. My green eyes standing out against my white coat, my dark blue-ish mane just barely reflecting in the crystal, I had seen myself in mirrors before but looking at myself reflecting in crystal always helped calm me down.
“Celestia, can I ask you something?” I ask still staring at the crystal as I move it to the front of my studio, and also grabbed the other piece that she wanted.
“Certainly, you can ask me anything.” Princess Celestia replied, a smile gracing her lips.
“This pony you had me sculpt out of crystal, why… why do I know her? I know who she is, yet I have no idea why.”
Princess Celestia just smiles at me and places a wing over me. After a few moments like that she finally speaks, “It is probably because you are a gifted pony, after all, you are very talented with your crystal work. Like that castle that I’m getting. It lies in ruins right now but you were able to recreate the original perfectly.”
“Thank you for the praise Princess, but I still don’t get why. I know that pony’s name, her talent, her personality yet I just don’t understand why.” I said as I moved closer to Princess Celestia. I could feel her regal, and multi-colored, mane tickling the back of my neck. Her white coat was pressed against me and her purple eyes staring down at me.
“It is because you have memories and knowledge of such past events. You may not know it yet, but you are a very special pony, especially to me. You have knowledge because you have… I’m sorry… I’ve said too much already, but please trust me, in time you will learn all about what I mean. When you meet a certain pony you will understand everything.”
“I understand. If I don’t need to know now then I will simply wait.” I said while I moved away to enlarge the last door.
“Thank you Starlight. I will send my guards to deliver the payment for your commission and for that castle statue.” The Princess said as she gave what I can only describe as a motherly smile.
“Thank you Princess, but that castle statue is free of charge. No one ever seemed to want it, like it was cursed or something, but if you really like it then it is all yours, completely free.” I give her a smile and then I hug her. She was a bit taken aback by the sudden hug. “Having someone like you commission something from me, it means a lot to me. Thank you, thank you so much. I have never done work that was quite like that statue required. I really helped me expand my skills, so from the bottom of my heart, thank you.”
“You’re welcome young Starlight.” Celestia said as she returned my hug, “but please, call me Celestia, seeing your work humbles me and I would be honored if you would be my friend.”
“I would be honored,” I said as I let go of her.
That was one of the best days in my life. I would send letters to Celestia every week and we would meet for tea whenever we could. I lived a happy life, working my crystals and making ponies smile with beautiful works of crystal art. Then came the time when I met Willow. I was in my fifties, which for me is still young. Willow and I reconnected at the Summer Sun Celebration. The celebration of Celestia’s peaceful rule of the lands of Equestria was indeed something to celebrate. Meeting Willow there was completely by chance. I was working my crystal statue booth and he happened to come and check it out. At the time I was surprised to find him standing there, staring at me, like he had seen someone he knew. Of course the fact that I fainted just after turning to see him gave away exactly who I was.
From that day on Willow would come to visit and eventually he moved in with me. Before long the two of us were a happy couple again. Then came that fateful day, where Willow and I went to see Celestia. Celestia and I had planned to have tea and I asked her if I could invite my lover. She had said that it sounded like a perfect idea and so, I did. When we arrived at the palace we were escorted to Celestia’s favorite meeting room. We were surprised to find her sitting there with a book that I recognized instantly. I remember what happened like it was only yesterday.
“Celestia… why do you have that book?” I asked as eyed her suspiciously.
“I see you are still recovering your memories. You asked me to keep this safe until you returned.” Celestia said as she floated the book over to me. The book was about all of my lives, at least, after the whole nightmare moon incident.
“So… Willow, I see that you’ve found your way back to your soul mate. I take it that you were the pony who happened to send a few criminals to me by throwing them through the palace gates.”
Willow chuckled deeply, “yeah, that was me. I may have put too much power into it, but when your lover is in danger you tend to lose control.”
“It’s fine, though Starlight, I must say you are positively glowing.” Celestia complemented, as she looked me over. This earned a blush out of me.
“Thank you Celestia,” I said as I sat down at the table with her.
“So Celestia, aside from knowing her well enough to be complementing my lover, how long have you two known each other?”
“I have known her since she was twelve. We have had tea together many times and it was always something that brightened my week.” Celestia said as she levitated her cup to sip her tea.
“I see, well it’s nice to see that you two are friends again. A friendship that lasts lifetimes really is something that is quite beautiful.”
“Yes, it sure is a beautiful sight. So Starlight, what are you going to name her?”
“Hmm,” I said as I tilt my head, “what are you talking about Celestia.”
Celestia blinked as she looked at me, “You do realize that you’re pregnant, right?”
That got a response out of me, specifically I spit out the tea that I had just taken a sip of. Willow and I had only… been intimate once since we reunited. The more I thought about it the more I realized what had happened, it was just around the end of my cycle and we were in the mood so… well, you get the picture. The realization dawned on me that I was pregnant, which would explain those weird cravings.
“I… I never realize until now.” I said as I started to panic a little, I was always aware of what was happening to me and to have missed it so completely was shocking.
Willow wrapped his hooves around me and held me close “It’s okay Starlight. Everything will be fine.”
I snuggled closer to Willow before looking at Celestia, “How do you know that it’s a girl?”
She smiled at me and said, “Intuition.”
That day was one of the most surprising days of my life. Though I was very happy. Having a child, for all the pain that came with it, it was worth it. Before long I was a proud mother of a beautiful unicorn daughter. She had a white coat and a white mane with purple stripes, and the most gorgeous violet eyes. For years I looked after my daughter Glimmer, and when she could learn, Willow taught her magic. We lived together for years and years, as happy family.
When my one-hundredth birthday rolled around I was panicked. I die ever one-hundred years and am reborn shortly after, but that didn’t happen this time. I kept living, and as each year passed by I worried less and less. Perhaps my life was just going to be a long one this time. So I enjoyed the time that I had left and when the day finally came, I was one-hundred and twenty five, an age I could have only dreamed of achieving. On my one-hundred and twenty fifth birthday I left for the next life.
My tenth life after the Nightmare Moon incident started in the cold month of December. I was born in the little town of Ponyville on the sixteenth of the month. I was born as a Pegasus with a pink coat and a green mane. I had aqua-turquoise eyes and while I was a stallion my muzzle was less defined and more feminine. So began my life, the life of Jamin Rose. Growing up I knew I was different, I could use magic and was able to feel others emotions as if they were a physical thing.
In school I was always the one who would be kind to others but stand up against bullies and this led to many fights. I would, from time to time, fight anypony who made fun of me. I was one of those ponies, who bullies liked to pick on, but I would either turn them from their ways by showing kindness or I would fight time. I had my fair share of fights in elementary school. From the first one, where I bit the other pony on the fore-leg, to duking it out with another fourth grader, I was a pony who wouldn’t really take the horse-apples that the bullies tried to dish out.
My life went on and I got lucky. I got into a nice school were I made friends and had fun, and then came the day where I got my cutie mark. It was a slow process but it came from my love of tending to flowers. My cutie mark was a rose that was just blooming, and this cutie mark led me to my current job, selling flowers. I love my work and I will always love it. Owning a flower stand was hard at times, but it was worth it.
It was actually around my twentieth birthday when Willow walked into my life again. Willow came to get flowers for his annual ritual and that is how he found me. He chose to come and visit my show since it was the closest to where he was heading. I was surprised when he thought I was a mare, though I must admit, having more effeminate features led to that happening a lot. Willow may have been a bit surprised to find out that it was me, but he was happy none the less. So we proceeded to go to the old castle in the Everfree Forest where Willow preformed his annual ritual.
Willows ritual was a simple ritual. It was to remember his charge Princess Luna who was trapped in the moon and still consumed by that nightmare-ish form. Candles were burned, flowers set out, songs sung and dances danced. I was usually invited to the rituals, save for the centennial ones, as Willow liked to have some company while doing the ritual and I knew Princess Luna too, so I was more than glad to take part in the remembrance ritual.
That night we sang and danced all night, having a good time remembering The Princess of the Night. That night we were happier than we had ever been. We were together at last and we were happy to be with each other again. Life kept at it’s usually pace and then things changed. Life became less peaceful.
We saw the return of Nightmare Moon I had to hold Willow back from trying to defeat the Nightmare. I watched as my great granddaughter, Twilight Sparkle, take off after Nightmare Moon. Before long word came that my great granddaughter and her friends had defeated the darkness of the Nightmare and returned Princess Luna to the land of Equestria. I had never seen Willow so happen as when he got to see Princess Luna again. They were able to spend time together again, after one thousand years it is normal for ponies to wish to spend time together again.
Not half a year later came another old enemy, Discord. The very spirit of chaos himself, and he found a way to stop me and Willow from interfering in his plant, admittedly, locking the two of us up in a cave wasn’t the worst thing that he had done. So we enjoyed ourselves, at least, the best we could. In the end, discord was stopped and we were free again.
We also happened to be in Canterlot for a wedding and low and behold a race that I thought was long dead and gone appears again. Changelings, creatures who live off of emotions and can disguise themselves as any pony they have seen, were swarming all of Canterlot. Willow and I knew that they would, inevitably, lose so we made it a competition to see who could knock out the most changelings.
Willow used his offensive spells to knock them out of the air and out cold while I created “clubs” of magic to knock them out. We fought for a good half hour before a pink wave sent all of the changelings flying out of Canterlot. It was a pity too, I would have loved to have counted them all up when we were done, but oh well. We had fun and that was all that mattered.
Then came a very fateful day, all of Ponyville was thrown into chaos as Twilight Sparkle used an ancient spell. That day she altered the destinies of her friends and caused a lot of chaos. In the end though, she was able to fix her mistake and much to our surprise she ascended to become and Alicorn. The most powerful of the pony races, Alicorns are the natural leaders of pony kind and my great granddaughter had become one.
So here we are, in the present, back where we started with this book and the end of the tale for now. Now I think I will go join Willow in watching the sun set. It is really beautiful to see the sun setting over the Everfree Forest. This is all for now.
The End