De Umbris et Astris

by Aeteros

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure
Length: 7630

What began as a simple enough mission to the gates of Tartarus turns into a bigger adventure than anyone would have thought. Seven ponies set out to reveal a malicious plan which could forever change Equestria as they know it.

What began as a simple mission to the gates of Tartarus turned into a bigger adventure than anyone would have thought. Seven ponies set out to reveal a malicious plan which could forever change Equestria as they know it.

Big thanks to my friend and prereader Achaian who makes sure that my silly mistakes won't burn your eyes. Go check out his stories.

Enjoy!

This is on a hiatus until I feel like picking it up again. At that point I'll also rewrite it.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2014-02-26 19:41:36 UTC

Prologue

As the sun sunk beyond the horizon, leaving its spot for the moon to take, the ponies in all of Equestria went to sleep. The serene calm of the world, unbroken by dangers for too long, had lulled them into a belief of everlasting blissful peace.

Not even the ever-vigilant citizens of the nearby village noticed the portents of great misery to occur. Radiating malicious intent, dark clouds had begun to assemble over the Everfree forest not only untouched by the wind, but also unregistered in the weather patrol’s lists. Suddenly a bright but soundless flash erupted from the clouds, clashing with the forest ground and revealing a low, unnatural fog that had begun to assemble. Not having taken any form, the fog started moving towards the home of the sole living pony in the forest, guardian of ancient secrets and powers.

As it slowly crawled closer, untouched by sombre trees’ winding roots, it slipped under the door of the wooden home and started gazing around the room with newly formed gleaming eyes; searching for the sole purpose of its presence. Ignoring the books, potions and masks in the room, it made its way to a simple wooden box, badly hidden behind two books. Solidifying one of its foggy legs, it grabbed the box, opened it and removed the power-radiating object. Carefully, it put the box back into its place, making sure to rearrange everything to perfection as to not arouse any suspicion. Retreating, the precious treasure now assimilated into the fog, the strange being exited the room, unnoticed by the snoring inhabitant.

Having accomplished its mission the fog dissolved, floating upwards to merge once again with the unnaturally black cloud; soon enough, it was dashing away into unknown distances, leaving not a single trace of its actions.

Though unnoticed by most, the suspicious act did not go completely unseen. On top of a nearby mountain, hidden from vision by the night’s blindness, stood a mare clad in shadows watching the strange phenomenon. The cloud flying into the darkness of the world, she stepped away from her viewpoint and began her descent, the long black cloak floating in the chilly night air as the only testimony to her movement. Hearing roaring thunder from afar, she accelerated her steps,  running down the mountainside and merging with the quickly approaching forest.

Without taking a single break, she raced through leaves, jumped over roots, always making sure not to entangle herself in low-hanging branches.

She suddenly felt a wave of magical energy washing over her, warning her of the upcoming disaster. Worried at what could be happening, she rushed even more. As she progressed further, the night turning to day already, screams resonated from beyond the woods. Deciding that the moment had come, she channelled magic into her horn and teleported, only to be greeted by a maelstrom of screams and chaos.

Under Attack

It had started off like any other day in Ponyville. With Celestia’s bright sun beginning to climb over the hills adorning the horizon, the townsponies woke up and began to follow their routines. Ignorant of last night’s troubles, some could be seen going out to the market; others went to work; small groups of foals mingled to decide on new adventures to get lost in. Yet the innocence of the scene was interrupted by loud stomping noises, still far away from town, but close enough to make the ground tremble slightly. The realisation that the suspicious noise was coming closer worried the ponies; its cause still remained unknown.

Quickly parents gathered their foals to make a run for their houses, and a group of adults assembled in the middle of the town, each shooting worried glances at one another and the direction of the sound. Suddenly a scream pierced the sky and in the blink of an eye, a green pegasus with a tower as his cutie mark shot through the clouds and landed in the crowd. Gasping for air he only was able to utter the word hydra before shock and exhaustion caused him to faint.

Upon hearing this, the surrounding ponies broke out in panic. All of a sudden the entire crowd was scurrying around, looking for a safe hideout. In their haste ponies bumped into one another, adding angry yells to the cacophony. It didn’t take long until the heavy steps came to a halt, a premonition of the gigantic creature’s arrival at the border of the town.

Some had run to the big tree in the middle of the town, trying to get its inhabitant, the alicorn Twilight Sparkle to help out with the situation. A few started calling for help while the others were hammering at the door until it broke, revealing the cold interior. At that unfamiliar sight the intruders were painfully reminded that their saviour was still staying in Canterlot with her friends. Thus rendered helpless, the small group split up again and joined the masses that fled the town. The faces of the once happy ponies were clad in masks of fear and terror; some tried to take their most precious belongings with them only to be pulled away by the more reasonable ones, leaving behind a trail of random objects.

A loud crack resounded through the town when the monstrous abomination of nature broke through the first wooden houses. Having five long snake-like heads, it indeed seemed to be a hydra, but only on first glimpse. A closer look revealed that the heads were crowned by lion’s manes, while the tail was a snake as well, making it look rather like a distorted chimera.

With a quick motion the tail threw a ball of flaming lava into a random building, obliterating it and setting nearby houses on fire.

Screams of terror came from outside the village, the streets now wiped clean; safe for one pony who had appeared in a bright flash of teleportation.

The cerulean unicorn took a quick look around to get some orientation, still being a little dizzy from her entrance. Why did it have to take me so long to get here, she thought as she began to make out the cause of the disaster. The beast wasn’t too far away from her and after positioning herself she fired a bright yellow beam of magic at it. Noticing the assault the beast turned around to see who dared interrupt its fun. Upon seeing the ineffectiveness of her spell the mare jumped out of sight behind a building, feeling moderately save for the moment. Now how am I gonna do this…?  I wasn’t exactly trained to defeat monsters that shouldn’t even exist in this world. Oh shoot! She thought and made a run for the next house as her previous cover was obliterated in an explosion.  If only I had more time to consider some options… well improvisation it is, with that thought she jumped out of cover and, instead of going for a large magic blast again, she channelled the same amount of force into a thin laser pointed right at the beast’s necks. A shrill sound and the scent of burned air spread through the town; the focused attack elicited a high pitched scream from the creature, which had lost three of its five heads in the process, each meeting the ground with a loud thump. From the stumps dropped a boiling green slime which fell on a particularly expensive sofa somepony had tried to evacuate. The fragile furniture immediately began to dissolve, leaving behind only a puddle.

Well that seems to have worked quite well; time to deal with the last two… She had barely finished the thought as the chimera’s body began to twitch. Each tremble made its way to the spots where the former heads resided, creating an ever-growing bulge. Now this is unfortunate, she thought as six necks with heads on top formed on the old one’s remains. With a quick motion of her head she teleported away from the open spot and now found herself at a safe distance from the now eight headed thing.

The trembling in her legs slowly reminded her of her exhaustion which now spread throughout her body; her mind went dark for a second as she tried to think of something that she could do in her state. Let’s recapture what we now so far… So every time I cut off one of its heads two new ones appear. Furthermore the “blood” or whatever it is has a highly toxic quality so I better not touch it. Why can’t this be easier…There’s only one thing that I can do now.

Meanwhile the chimera had made its way to the school’s playground and started to demolish it. The unicorn slowly approached the building from the other side and with as little power as possible she teleported on top of the building, nearly exposing herself. She once again got into a stable stance and started focusing every drop of magic left in her body into her horn, never losing sight of the beast. The yellow glow slowly intensified, engulfing her body, and with a loud thunder a beam of pure light erupted from her and buried itself beneath the gigantic chimera. The ground began to shake as suddenly a circle made of the same light formed on the ground; more and more mysterious glyphs added into a complex formation. Upon completion the circle rose from the ground to the height of the chimera’s shoulders.

The sudden display of power would have caused the chimera to retreat if it wasn’t for the invisible bindings immobilizing it. The beast trembled in fear in prospect of the awaiting fate, throwing its heads around and shooting a series of fire balls from its tail. The circle wasn’t to be penetrated by such weak actions; the fire was simply stopped by a containment field.

The beam of light which had begun to falter became brighter once again, lifting up the chimera and causing the circle to turn. With a last immense effort, the circle began to form a sphere around its host and gradually shrank into nothingness, leaving behind nothing but the destruction the attack had caused.

The unicorn on the roof gave a weak smile and used the rest of her strength to get down to the ground again. She felt her mind fading at an alarming rate and during her last moment of consciousness she saw a golden carriage on the horizon before she fell into a deep dark slumber.

Good Morning?

When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was a glowing purple blob standing next to her. Wait a minute! Purple blobs usually don’t have a horn…. Or wings… and they most certainly don’t glow…

“Where am I?” she asked with a weak, trembling voice. Her sight slowly improved and she found the strength to move her head. Beside her stood what appeared to be a lavender alicorn. Aside from the unique visitor it was an ordinary hospital room; the walls painted white; a monitor to depict her heart and magic rate, the latter being fairly low, not to forget a table with a few chairs for visitors.“Oh, so you’re finally awake,” she said, “You’re in a hospital room, in Ponyville’s hospital to be precise. I’m Twilight Sparkle, what’s your name?”The volume of Twilight’s voice made her cringe and sent a sharp pain through her head, adding to her headache.“My name is Serene Blaze,” she hissed through her teeth, “and could you do me favour and not speak quite as loudly; my head hurts more than that one time I tried to compete with the gryphon at that drinking contest…”.At this a slight blush showed on Twilight’s cheeks.“Nice to meet you Blaze”, she whispered, “so now that the official part is done could you maybe tell me what exactly happened out there?”Blaze began, “Well my memory is still blurry, all I can tell you is…” She didn’t get any further for a group of five ponies, followed by a quite unhappy nurse, entered the room.Oh Celestia why, Blaze thought and in a matter of seconds all of them broke out into questions, causing her headache to grow even further.“What’s your name? Where are you from? Uhm, are you feeling better now? What the hay happened to the town?” The cacophony of questions paralyzed Blaze and every attempt to figure out who was asking what was in vain.Twilight, who had been startled by the entrance, was quick to calm down her friends.“Girls, please be quiet for a moment, we’re in a hospital. Now I know you’re all as eager to know everything as I am, but we can’t disregard her condition. Blaze, these are my friends Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie.” She pointed her hoof at each of them as she announced their names. “And girls, this is Serene Blaze who, according to a few observers, saved Ponyville from certain destruction.”As she had finished the introduction the door burst open and a doctor furiously entered the room.“Now everyone who isn’t either a princess or injured leaves this room immediately.”Under severe protests the five left again, Pinkie dragging a get well balloon behind her.“Princess,” he said with a bow at Twilight, “How is the magic therapy going?”“So far we’ve made good progress; as you can see she’s finally awake, though whatever spell she used drained every single drop of energy from her body and I can’t do much about that.”“You’re lucky that Princess Twilight has arrived just in time to take care of your treatment. We don’t really have experience with such magical injuries in our small town hospital. I assume that it would be for the best if you don’t cast any spells for at least half a week,” the doctor explained in a calm voice,”Do you agree Princess?”“I absolutely agree with you and I’ll personally make sure that she obeys your prescription,” Twilight quickly answered.“Well, that’s all for now. Please do tell your friends not to rush in all at once again,” he mumbled, lost in thought already.“I will. On your way out could you tell my assistant Spike to send a letter to Princess Celestia with a request for assistance?”The doctor nodded at the request and made his way out of the room.“So…,” Twilight smirked, ”before all this chaos broke out you were about to tell me what exactly happened?”Blaze sat up in her bed, took a deep breath and began to report.“So I was wandering around in the mountains when I noticed an unusual black cloud over the Everfree. It stayed there for some time and then flew away again. I saw Ponyville in the distance and out of concern I came here to make sure that everything was fine. Alas, when I arrived here some chimera-manticorish thing was attacking buildings and terrorising the population. I decided to take action, but after several failed attempts at killing it I was forced to use a powerful spell which got me into this condition.”In the meantime Twilight’s intrigued demeanour had fallen into a worried frown. Blaze saw the wheels turning in her head while Twilight was lost in thought after the report.“Princess?”“Hm?”“You said that I’m finally awake. How long was I unconscious?”“Two days, more or less; which reminds me that you should eat something.” Twilight levitated a tray from the table to the bed. Noticing that her empty stomach was desperately calling for food, Blaze began to stuff her face with whatever food there was.“Also,” Twilight wasn’t sure if she should be understanding or disgusted, “you saved most of Ponyville from certain destruction, so there’s no need to be formal. Just call me Twilight.”Blaze raised an eyebrow at the offer which sounded more like a command, but after a moment she shrugged and continued her meal.Twilight was impatiently waiting, barely able to keep herself from asking questions until Blaze was done.On the spot she removed the tray, pulled a chair next to the bed and made herself comfortable.“I’m curious, Blaze; you know, I’ve studied magic for almost my entire life, cast spells too difficult for most unicorns, but I’ve never been knocked out for two days straight. For a few hours maybe, but never much more. So could you tell me how you ultimately defeated that monster after your other attempts had failed?”By the end of her question Twilight had gotten so excited that she was sitting on the very edge of her chair.Blaze looked into those big pleading eyes and she could feel Twilight’s thirst for information.“I’m not sure if I’m allowed to share that information with you, prin…uh…Twilight”Twilight’s ears dropped.“Now no need to tear up. I can’t tell you any details, but since you’re a princess I guess I could give you a few hints.”The ears went back up again.“The spell I used was an ancient binding spell which sends its host to Tartarus. No blood, no body, no mess, but as you can see it takes its toll which is why I only used it as a last resort.”The hint was more than enough for Twilight. In fact as Blaze finished her explanation Twilight jumped off her chair and dashed out of the room, using her wings for additional speed.Huh… that was odd… For the first time since she had woken up Serene Blaze was alone in the silence of her room. No magic for at least three days and guarded by a princess… well I guess it could have turned out worse. Though I wonder where she ran off to. I bet those friends of hers could tell me. She looked at her ragged cloak laying on one of the chairs. The fabric had been demolished during her fight and being close to the magical tension of her spell hadn’t exactly helped. I wonder if anypony in this town would be able to make me a new one.The opening door pulled her out of her thoughts; an orange earthpony and a cyan pegasus entered the room.

_______________________

“Would ya care to tell us why Twilight left the building as if Celestia herself had landed outside?” the orange one asked.“Your guess is as good as mine, Apple…John?” Blaze said hesitantly.“It’s Applejack!”“Oh, sorry,” Blaze tried her best apologetic smile.“And I’m Rainbow Dash, and we’re here because we want answers!” the pegasus rashly added.I don’t like how this is starting, Blaze thought, still trying to keep up her smile.“I’ll try to give you those, so go ahead!” Blaze could imagine what she was in for and took a big sip from her water.Rainbow hovered over the bed and until she was face to face with Blaze.“First off, how come you incidentally came here at the right time to save the village from destruction? Secondly, I overheard Twilight uttering something about how unicorns shouldn’t be able to kill whatever that thing was. Care to explain? And what the hay happened to your cutie mark? When AJ carried you here we saw those weird symbols and no one was able to figure out what they mean, but it doesn’t look natural.”Not to mention that it was freaking me out. Rainbow took a deep breath and gazed into Blaze’s eyes, waiting for answers.Applejack made a quick jump, grabbed Dash’s tail and pulled her away from the bed.“Easy there Rainbow, don’t wanna accuse anyone of anything just yet, do we?” she hissed, tail still in her mouth.“It’s quite alright, Applejack,” Blaze grumbled, “You’ll simply have to take my word for it— before anyone can prove me wrong or right that is. I’m not gonna answer the other questions though, it’s definitely none of your business! Now before anyone utters more conspiracy theories I’d like to get a report on casualties and damage.”Rainbow Dash was visibly fighting the urge to tackle Blaze and Applejack’s friendly smile had morphed into a perplexed frown. She recollected herself and answered in an absent tone.“There have been no casualties, just a few burns, cuts and bruises. As for the damage, six houses and the school yard have been destroyed, but they’re already rebuilding that. Overall Ah’d say that we were damn lucky. Ya’ve gotta understand though that we can’t just take your story as it is. Too many coincidences if yer asking me…”As Blaze was about to retort to the lingering accusations a giant blue radiating orb engulfed her, blocking her from view. In a matter of seconds it disappeared again and all that was left were two dazzled mares and an empty bed.

_______________________

Hundreds of thoughts tortured Twilight’s mind as she shot through the streets of Ponyville, flying straight to her faithful library. On her way out of the hospital she had pulled Spike with her, knowing she’d need her assistant if she was to solve the mystery.Replacing the demolished library door by a more stable model had been one of her first actions during her short breaks from keeping that unicorn from dying and organizing the town’s reconstruction.From afar she pushed it open with her magic so that she could fly in full speed. Before colliding with one of the shelves she cast a quick spell to stop herself mid-air. Still panting from her effort she sat down and levitated a dozen books from all parts of the library around her for closer inspection. Good thing that the monster didn’t cause any damage to the library; some of these books are irreplaceable and of great value. Behind her Spike was mumbling something before taking position at her right side.“Why did you drag me here like that Twilight, I was just having a nice conversation with Rarity,” he said with an annoyed tone.“According to that unicorn Serene Blaze, there is a spell that can send all sorts of creatures to Tartarus; I can’t believe I haven’t heard of it yet, but she wouldn’t tell me more. So what I need you to do is bring me all the books about ancient binding spells that you can find while I start going through these ones.”“Sure thing Twilight, sounds impor…burp.” He didn’t get any further as a scroll enveloped in green flames appeared in front of him. Twilight pulled it from his grasp and opened it.“So, what does it say?” He could see the growing worry in Twilight’s eyes.“It says we’ll be there shortly; gather the elements for an emergency meeting.”A bright light flashed outside signalized that Princess Celestia had teleported in front of the library.Twilight’s worried frown deepened as she tried not to step on books while making her way to the door.She only got halfway there  before the door was pushed open by a golden aura. To Twilight’s surprise, both Celestia and Luna had come to visit. What aggravated her worry were the sorrowful frowns on both of their faces outmatching her own.

Of Secrets and Memories

“Pardon our intrusion, Twilight, but your letter and some recent events warned us that we have no time to waste. “ Celestia said as she and Luna made their path through the library’s chaos. In the meantime Twilight tried to levitate as many books as she could to their appropriate spots, deeply embarrassed by the state her home was in.

“I’m so sorry for the disorder, Princess” Twilight gasped, out of breath from her multitasking, “would you like a more detailed report while I’m cleaning this?”Celestia smirked. Even after all this time she still resembles the little filly I took in as my personal student on that fateful day.“I thought I had told you to drop the formalities, Princess Sparkle” Celestia said mockingly “so please stop exhausting yourself, sit down and tell us everything you know.”Twilight grinned sheepishly and with a nod she let the myriad of books she had been holding float to the ground. With another nod she pushed away a few book-towers to create someplace for the three of them to sit down.“Now let’s see, where should I begin…” Twilight said, lost in thoughts about the latest events.“Start from when you arrived here and make sure not to forget the slightest detail.” Celestia gave her a benevolent smile only a teacher could grant.“Right,” Twilight began, “so when I and my friends arrived here everything was over already. A few buildings were burning; everypony had left the Ponyville and was hiding on the outskirts of the Everfree forest. It was just overall chaotic. When we entered the town we found a badly injured unicorn near a big hole in the ground next to the school. We carried her to the hospital, which had luckily stayed undamaged, and while organizing the chaos I tried my best to treat the unicorn’s injuries which were mostly the effect of extreme magical exhaustion. This pretty much went on until an hour ago, when she finally woke up again. She told me about a monster attacking the village and she mentioned using some binding spell to banish it…”She didn’t get any further since Luna, who had been awfully quiet until now, jumped up, and asked in Royal Canterlot voice.“Describe that unicorn who speaks of such magic.”Twilight had been pushed back by the volume of Luna’s voice. She quickly snapped out of her dazzled state and straightened her mane.“As I said, she’s a unicorn, her coat is some dark shade of azure. Her mane is purple with a lighter highlight and pretty messy. I think her name was Serene Blaze.”Twilight’s voice dropped when the whole room went dark all of a sudden, the only remaining light being Luna, now airborne and with a much calmer voice Luna asked.“Where is she now?”“Ponyville hospital, room twenty,” Twilight quickly answered, taking  cover behind Celestia.With a loud crack the darkness disappeared as quickly as it had come, leaving behind only a black orb floating over the couch.Luna rushed over, pushed away the load of books and in one motion she sat down the orb’s host and pulled it into a big hug.“Mmmpf… Prin… cess… need… air …” Serene Blaze groaned using her last breath.At once Luna let go of her and, noticing the other two princesses’ questioning faces, she stepped back and took a more reserved posture. She wasn’t able to hide astonishingly joyous expression in her eyes, though.Celestia was the first to regain her composure.“Luna, would you care to explain what just happened and who exactly this mare is?”Luna looked over at the cerulean unicorn and took a deep breath, much like a child before making a confession.“Uhm… this is Serene Blaze and errr, you could say that she has been our student for the last two years. We cherish her company and are very glad that she is safe; although she’ll have to take responsibility for her actions. She put herself and everyone around her in great danger by her reckless actions…”Celestia’s mien dropped and she stepped closer to Luna, knocking over a small pile of books.“Luna, Twilight said something about a binding spell and now this… you didn’t do what I fear you did, DID YOU?”The atmosphere around her filled with energy, so heavily that Twilight found it difficult to stand. Luna blushed and dashed away, taking cover behind Twilight.“We… didn’t have a choice, sister. She needed it and we made her promise only to use it as a last resort.” Luna hastily said.Twilight turned around with much effort and noticed both worry and sorrow on Luna’s face, a result of the older alicorn’s frightening display of power.Being pushed into the couch by the same pressure, Blaze winced and was the centre of attention at once. Much to her relieve the library’s door burst open and Twilight’s friends rushed in.In an instant the magical pressure disappeared.“We will discuss this matter later, Princess Luna,” Celestia sighed as she turned to the other mares, giving them a little smile “I see that our nation’s heroes are now all assembled, so allow me to give you a few explanations. We shall then decide on actions to take.”The five ponies noticed the grave tone in Celestia’s voice and, not daring to make a noise, they sat down in front of the princess waiting for whatever was to come. Twilight gulped and quickly joined her friends.Celestia observed their faces for a moment and when she was sure that they were indeed attentive she began.“A few moments ago, Twilight was giving me a short report on the attack of Ponyville— until she was interrupted.”Celestia looked over at Luna who was doing her best not to draw any attention. ”Nevertheless I got enough informations to come to the conclusion that something’s wrong. Four nights ago, the night before the assault, both Luna and I felt a dark presence the like we haven’t encountered yet. We fear that this was the cause of the incident and it may cause more harm until it is stopped. Therefore I ask you to go and confirm a suspicion I have. The only way that a beast like the one who attacked your town could find its way to this world would be through the gates of Tartarus. Twilight should know where they are located; I must ask you to start your preparations as soon as possible to make sure that you’ll be ready for departure by tomorrow. Yes Rainbow Dash?”I thought this would be more of a challenge after all the fuss the Princess made about it… Dash thought. ”So you’re just asking us to go to those gates of whatever, see if everything is alright and then come back?”Celestia noticed Dash’s disappointment, “even though this sounds easy, with whatever evil force is going around out there, things could become tricky very quickly.”While this last remark seemed to please Rainbow Dash greatly, the rest of the group didn’t take it quite so well. Twilight had started scampering around, gathering a bunch of books; Pinkie was trying to reanimate Fluttershy who had straight out fainted and Rarity and Applejack were making mental lists of everything they would need for the expedition.Luna and Blaze sat next to each other observing the scene in disbelief. Celestia on the other hoof couldn’t hold back any longer and burst out laughing. Everypony stopped in their tracks and looked at her quizzically.“It may become difficult, but I wouldn’t ask you if I wasn’t sure that you could do it,” Celestia said as she had recovered from her outbreak,” I also know that you may feel weaker than usual without the Elements of Harmony. That doesn’t mean that you’re helpless though. More than any Element, it was your compassion and your courage that helped you live through all your adventures. I have faith that once again you will be of great service to Equestria.”Blaze’s and Luna’s eyes met and with a short nod Blaze got up from the couch.“With your permission, Princess Celestia, I would like to join this mission.”Celestia sighed. I should have seen that coming.“I will grant you permission. Though ultimately it’s up to Twilight to decide,” Celestia said looking over at Twilight. Let’s see how she handles that responsibility.Twilight studied her friends’ faces to see if they would be with a new member; Rainbow Dash and Applejack seemed indecisive while the other three didn’t really care. She considered Serene Blaze’s condition and noticed the determination in her eyes.“Very well,” Twilight spoke, ”you can come with us. It‘ll take about five days to get to the gates, so you should be fine when things get dangerous. One condition though, when I give an order I want you to obey, understood? I can’t take you on a dangerous mission if I can’t count on you.”Blaze bowed to Twilight.“I will do as you say and I’m sure that you won’t regret your decision.”Celestia felt proud at Twilight’s decisive tone.I taught her well; she makes a great princess.“I’m sure you have preparations to do now.” With those words Celestia dismissed the mares and with a glance at Luna she left the library.“Twilight, is there someplace where We could talk in private to our student?” Luna asked.“You could take her to my bedroom upstairs,” Twilight offered.In a flash the two ponies disappeared and with all her friends suddenly gone, Twilight found that she was alone in the library.

_________________________

“Rainbow Dash, did you really have to knock over ALL my mannequins,” Rarity was desperately reorganizing the mess her friend had caused.“I’m sorry, Rarity, but we need to talk about what just happened,” Dash insisted.Rainbow Dash had insistently pushed her friends out of the library. She looked around in fright of someone observing them and quickly motioned her friends to run for Rarity’s boutique. She launched herself into the air and, as usual, ended up in a stack of neatly arranged mannequins.“Ah didn’t think some small adventure would make yah that nervous, Dash,” Applejack teased,  Rarity and Fluttershy nodding in agreement.“It’s not about the adventure; we had plenty of those. It’s about that new pony. I don’t trust her to be a good companion,” Rainbow Dash made sure to voice her opinion as simple as possible.“Uhm,” Fluttershy began, “I think she seems rather nice. She saved the town after all and being Luna’s student… eeeeep.”Rainbow Dash had flown over to glare at Fluttershy.“Drop this behaviour this instant, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity frowned at the ruckus her friend was causing. ”Instead of wasting your time making preposterous accusations you should go and make preparations for tomorrow. Right, Pinkie?”The pink mare simply sat there, unusually calm. One of her ears kept budging and her eyes were moving around, seemingly pondering invisible plans. She jumped up with a loud eureka and dashed out of the room, leaving her dazzled friends.“Huh… that was odd, anyhow Ah think Rares is right. For now we should get things done. Yah know that Ah’m with you on this Dash, but everything at its time. We’ll question that pony’s loyalty later on,” Applejack said, getting up to exit the room as well.“Ugh, alright guys, but this discussion is not off the table yet,” Rainbow Dash pouted, but quickly followed her friends, leaving Rarity bustling around._________________________Celestia flung herself unto her bed, letting go a loud groan. Upon her swift arrival in Canterlot she had cancelled every meeting and instructed her guards to keep the day court closed for now.She had closed the curtains to block the sunlight she usually savoured; the quiet flickering of a solitary candle was more apt to calm her nerves and it helped her focus on the latest events, yet still it couldn’t block old memories from re-emerging from the depths of her mind.“Nooooo…” Discord was fazed by the sudden petrification the rainbow beam had brought upon him.Celestia and Luna stood side by side, three crystals circling around each of them in rapid motion. Panting under the effort the activation of the long forgotten artefacts had taken, they slowly drained the magic current, their mission finally accomplished.Before the crystals could drop to the ground they levitated them into their saddle bags and with Discord’s statue engulfed in a blue-golden aura they took flight to their home near the Everfree forest.With Discord’s capital of chaos not having been all too far away they arrived quickly and on their descent they dropped the statue into their backyard.“It has been a long day, sister and we require some rest,” Luna opened the door letting both of them enter the simplistic hut; Discord’s reign hadn’t allowed for anything pompous to be built.“And well deserved it is, sister,” Celestia spoke, dropping onto her bed of hay.Celestia sighed; reminiscing old times had a quasi-narcotic effect and helped her distance herself from pressing matters.Yet not all memories are good, and unsettled matters don’t bring solace to the restless mind.“We have made surprising progress, sister, it seems as if the elements of harmony serve a much greater purpose than to counter the mischievous plans of chaos’ henchman.” Luna was positively excited at her newest discovery.Two hundred years had passed since the imprisonment of Discord and as an act of gratitude the citizens of the newly-founded Equestria had built a magnificent castle on top of the alicorn sisters’ hut.Celestia was sitting on her throne, slightly annoyed at her sister interrupting an important meeting to debate a trade treaty with the griffon nation.On arrival, Luna had shoved aside the griffon ambassador; the ministers were cowering under the volume of the royal canterlot voice.“Excuse us for a moment. Prime minister, would thou take charge while we’re gone?” Celestia waited for the grey unicorn’s silent nod and enveloping Luna in a golden aura she teleported both of them to their private chambers.“What could be so important that thou dare interrupt our important negotiations?” Celestia barked at Luna.Luna was sitting on the floor, not sure if she should be amused or offended by her sister’s rude behaviour. “Please, sister, we both know that thy presence at these meetings is mere decorum. We’re sure that the Prime minister will be up to the task,” Luna tried to lighten Celestia’s mood. “Besides, We think that thou will find our newest discovery quite interesting.”The two large alicorns moved over to their reading spot by the vivid fireplace. Stacks of books of ominous titles such as ‘Your Crystal and You – A Guide to Telepetry’ and ‘How to analyse a magical object and get away with it’ adorned Luna’s side, while Celestia only had a small stack of political journals on her side.Celestia sighed and looked over into Luna’s eyes which were begging for her undivided attention; with a groan she motioned for her to bring forward her findings. “We’re sure that thou have wondered about the odd effect the elements had on Discord,” Luna began. ”While analysing the crystals I found that they resonate with each other and with their bearer. So they create a field of magic which obeys the holder’s intention, but only to a certain degree. No matter the intentions, the elements will always have a binding effect. Thus, Discord’s very soul was bound to the stone he merged with; though the stone was not part of the element’s work, but our own magic adding to the elements’ force.”Celestia was following the development with interest and these news had so far proven worthy the interruption.“But this is not all,” Luna continued, ”We’re conducting experiments to synthetically create this magical field in case the elements won’t be at our disposal at some point.”“TIA!” Luna’s call interrupted Celestia’s thoughts. “The guards told us that you rushed past them to your chambers. What were you thinking about so intensely?”Celestia felt Luna snuggling up to her, knowing that the older alicorn needed some company.“Just reminiscing old times, Lulu,” Celestia mumbled.“I’m sorry for not telling you about my student, Tia,” Luna felt that the apology was appropriate.“It’s alright Luna, it’s not the first time that you act on your own after all,” Celestia sighed, the comforting warmth of her sister’s body embracing her, helping her mind fall into a deep slumber.

_________________________

“Twilight, are you there?” Applejack’s voice echoed through the empty library.The sound of  a head hitting wood came from upstairs.“Ugh…one moment Applejack, I’ll be there in a minute.” Twilight’s voice was accompanied by the rustling of parchment; she had been preparing for their departure.A mare with a messy mane and the notion of fading pain in her eyes trotted downstairs.“Where’re Princess Luna and that new friend of yours?” AppleJack inquired.“Luna went back to Canterlot shortly after you left and Blaze left for Rarity’s, something about getting a new cape.” Twilight wasn’t sure what to think of her friend’s sudden visit.“Alright then,” Applejack took a moment to figure out how she should confront her friend with her doubts. “I came here to talk to yeh about that Blaze pony. Yeh know, Dash and Ah don’t exactly know what to think about her just joining us like that. After all we hardly know anything about her and honestly Ah’d rather know with whom Ah’m going on such an adventure.”Silence.The tension between both ponies became tangible; Applejack was uneasy with confronting her friend in such a way; yet the only other option would have been to let Dash do the talking… and you never leave the talking to Dash.Twilight was reflecting on how to respond to the unexpected complaint to her decision-making. It never would have occurred to me that they wouldn’t trust Celestia’s, Luna’s and my judgment.“I don’t know what to tell you AJ…” Twilight began.” I thought that you of all ponies wouldn’t mind meeting a new friend after the reception you gave me on my first arrival here. I wish I could tell you something about her, but all I know is that she’s Luna’s student and quite good with magic. That’s enough for me for now, but if it calmed your nerves I could keep an eye on her and maybe try to get a few more informations when she gets back later.”Applejack was stunned by Twilight’s slightly reproachful tone. “That’s all Ah’m asking for. Ah’d just rather not have any negative surprises.”The tension Applejack felt earlier had been suspended by her own embarrassment at having involuntarily disappointed her friend’s expectations.Twilight noticed her friend’s uneasiness and closed the gap between them to pull her into a hug. A blushing Applejack struggled free from the embrace and with a quick cya she rushed out of the library.

_________________________

“Are you sure you don’t want anything else with that cape? Maybe a hat or some boots matching your eye colour?” From the moment Blaze had entered the shop Rarity had been desperately trying to talk her into getting something more fashionable than just a simple black cape. “Maybe a nice pattern that goes well with your coat? If nothing else, just give me a moment to style your mane, you must have been running around like that for months.”Damn she’s persistent, Blaze thought and rolled her eyes. Rarity’s pleading look and the light pout were breaking her defence. “Fine, you could maybe add a pattern, but nothing too flashy. I hope I’m not interrupting your preparations too much.”Rarity’s mood lightened immediately.“Oh I know just what to do,” Rarity scooped around Blaze taking measures. “Also think nothing of it, you’re a friend of Twilight and Princess Luna’s personal student. I see it as an honour to tailor this for you. It’s a shame though that you don’t want anything else.”Rarity was levitating an unbelievable amount of fabric, scissors and other tailoring utensils, handling each of them with precision.“I’ll bring the cape with me tomorrow, you can leave now,” Rarity said at the vague direction of where Blaze was standing. She opened the door with her magic and with a quick push she moved Serene Blaze outside and slammed shut the door behind her.Hmm, that was odd, Blaze thought and started making her way to the library.Around her the town was bustling. Foals were running around playing games, construction workers were rebuilding the homes that had been destroyed during the attack, tThe market was full of vendors trying to sell their various goods. Blaze took a deep breath, savouring the activity and almost forgetting her current state and the upcoming mission.Faster than she felt necessary she found herself knocking at the library door.The door was pulled open by a purple aura letting Blaze enter the realm of the lavender alicorn.“Hey Blaze, how was your visit at Rarity’s?” Twilight came down the stairs to greet her guest.“It was… interesting, but I got my order placed so it was alright I guess.” Blaze stepped through the library, making her way to the couch.“Yeah, Rarity can be a bit pushy, but she means well,” Twilight took place on the armchair next to the couch.” Now that you’re back and rested I’d like to talk to you about a few things.”Blaze sighed, “It’s about me, isn’t it?”Twilight nodded.“Alright, I’ll tell you a few things, but I’d prefer if that stayed somewhat confidential. Tell your overly suspicious friends if you must,

but don’t make it a big deal.”

Twilight nodded again and as both mares got into a more comfortable position Blaze began telling her story.The world was burning.In the middle of what had once been a village sat a sobbing filly. The ashes of her surroundings coated her with grey dust. Cries came from around her; a mob of angry faceless ponies carrying pitchforks formed a circle around her. The filly looked around, her fearful eyes filled with tears, not understanding how she could be the cause of this chaos. “Please, stop,” her miserable voice barely reached the villagers’ ears, ”I didn’t mean to…”The circle drew closer, trapping her helplessly inside; the small horn was trying to build up an aura.“Don’t fear, child,” a blue silhouette formed from the dissolving mob.” We have notice that you’re having this dream quite often. Are thou that afraid of your own might?”The filly looked up at the alicorn forming into existence in front of her,” Who are you?”“And that’s how I met Princess Luna,” Blaze had closed her eyes towards the end. “She offered me to help with magic training and with how to control my emotions, so that dream would never come true.”Twilight was moved by the short story, knowing how eager Luna always was to help whenever she could. Ever since her return she had been rejected by her subjects; finding someone who accepts her must have been blissful.Twilight looked into Blaze’s eyes and saw that the cerulean mare was lost in memories.“I think we should leave it at that for today,” Twilight said and got up from her chair.” We’ll leave early tomorrow and you need some rest. You can sleep on the couch if you want; I’ll have Spike bring you a blanket.”Twilight made her way to the stairs.“Thank you, Twilight.” Blaze nodded her head graciously.“You’re welcome,” Twilight closed the door to her room, sent Spike down. She lay down on her bed; thinking of the unknown dangers that she would be facing, her head began to whirl and she fell into an uneasy sleep.