From the Ashes

“Sister!” Luna’s voice rang through the corridors as Celestia powered away from her. “You didn't answer my QUESTION!”

Celestia stooped in her tracks, taking a deep breath she turned to face her younger sister, a look of anger etched onto her face.

“I told you not to worry yourself, it is only a precautionary measure.”

“Precautionary measure?” Luna said in disbelief. “You have not readied the entire guard since the rise of Nightmare Moon, not even the threat of Discord caused you to take such measures!”

Celestia lowered her head, she knew that trying to convince Luna nothing was wrong was pointless. She took a deep breath before turning her attention back towards her sister.

“A long since vanquished treat has returned from a time before you could even walk..” Celestia explained, her gaze turning cold. “This monster does not care for chaos, slaves or power, all he wants is to kill every living pony on this planet.”

Luna gulped at the words, she hadn't heard her sister speak in suck a cold way for more than a thousand years. “If this creature is as much of a threat as you say we must combine our forces and strike-”

“No Luna!” Celestia interrupted. Luna fell silent at the outburst. “You are to retrieve Twilight and her friends. Bring them here and do not let them leave your sight.”

Luna tried to say something but gave in and nodded. Celestia turned and continued her way down the corridor leaving Luna alone. The young Alicorn sighed, ever since her return, Celestia was treating her as if she was a child. Something that was growing old quickly.

She turned and made her way back to her chambers. She was still tired from being awoken from her slumber and she needed to get some rest. Her mind buzzed with the thought of an enemy so dangerous an entire army had to be mobilized to defeat it, She had never head of something so dangerous.

She stopped mid stride. How could she not of know about an enemy as dangerous as her sister described. She hadn't even heard of such a monster in old tales or stories used to frighted young foals.

She turned around and headed down more identical corridors until she arrived at two massive gold doors. Her horn glowed and the doors slowly swung open.

Inside sat rows upon rows of books, thousands of them. An elderly unicorn stallion sat behind a small desk at the front of the room. His coat was a light grey colour and his mane was a crisp white, thick wrinkles sunk into his face making his age all the more apparent.

The old librarian looked up from a book on his desk and looked towards Luna, he levitated a pair of glasses onto his face and smiled. “It's not every day I am visited by royalty.” he said closing the book he was reading and turning his attention back to the princess.

“I require access to history books written before I was even a child.” Luna said to the old stallion who she remembered being called Book worm.

“Ancient history you say, hummm.” Book Worm said, taping his wrinkly hoof to his chin. “It's been a long time since anyone has wanted to read ancient history.” He shakily stood from his chair and took wobbly steps towards one of the aisles. “If you would follow me please.”

Luna fell into stride with the wobbly stallion. “So what has you so interested in ancient history then?” Book Worm asked.

“An ancient enemy has arisen and my sister has place her guard on high alert, but she is reluctant to tell em any more about this threat. I hope to find a reason for this.”

“Of course princess, but if I may add, could there be a good reason for her not telling you?” Book Worm asked only for Luna to glare at him. “Perhaps she just wants to keep you safe.”

“I am capable of taking care of my self, I am no longer a child.” Luna growled.

“Of course princess.” Book worm said. He stopped and and looked up to his left. “Here we are!” he said. “this entire section covers history from Before discord, if you need to learn of this new threat it should be in one of these books.”

“Thank you Book Worm.” Luna said with a smile.

Book Worm bowed and turned to leave. “Book Worm.” Luna shouted out to him.

He Turned “Yes your majesty?”

“Can you please bring one of my lunar guards to me.”

“Of course princess.” Book worm said with a creaky bow.

Five minutes passed before one of her Luna guards came to her. “I want you to send a detachment to retrieve Twilight and her friends from Ponyville.”

“Yes princess” The guard said with a bow.

“I also want the entire guard mobilized, my sister has ordered against it but if this threat is as grave as she says she will require all the help she can get.” The guard bowed once more before setting off down the corridors of books.

Luna scanned the book shelf and randomly picked at a book. “History of Equestrian monsters.” Luna read the title, a small flash of her horn and a char appeared behind her, sitting down she flipped open the first page of the book and began.

“So you're saying the last thing you remember was waking up in an uncontrollable body?” Alex asked another one of the Sweet Apple Acres escapees. He got a nod in response from a young man named David.

Alex cradled his head in his hands as he tried to absorb all of the information being thrown at him. Almost every one who had escaped knew very little to nothing about the time just before waking up in Equestria.

David said he had been in Paris when it was attacked, and like everyone else his memory seemed to die off at that point. He pulled his head from his hands and looked at all of the worried faces before him.

Alex died slightly at the looks, he had already forgotten many of their names but each and every face shared two things in common, fear and sadness. None of them remembered why they were here , or how long it had been since their first life of slavery.

That also caused Alex to go cold, the thought that not even death could relieve these people of their torment, they would just simply be reborn and the cycle would continue.

Alex sat there cold, he didn't know what to do, his shoulder ached, the sky was beginning to darken and strange noises that cast a shiver down his spine could be heard deeper into the forest.

“Does anyone know what is in this forest?” Alex asked the group.

None of them spoke, just simply shook their heads. “Has anyone heard anything about this place? Even just conversation you heard from passing ponies?” Another wave of shaking heads.

Alex pressed his had into his face as he tried to think. There was to many variables, to many unknowns. He didn't even know where they were. Let alone what he should try and do. Ponies would soon be chasing them down after what they had done at Sweet Apple acres.

“What do we do?” A meek voice asked.

Alex looked up at a man with long brown hair, brown eyes and a rather small build. Strange build considering he was used as a slave.

“What do we do now?” he asked again, his face fell and a look of terror crossed his features. “How do I even know this is real and not some dream? How do I know I won't just wake up again in my cage!” He yelled his voice cracking as he did so.

The outburst caused many of the other humans to take on similar looks of dread, their eyes growing wide at the possibility of it all being some hope filed dream.

“I don't know.” Everyone turned to look at Alex as he shrugged. “I have no idea.”

“To... to what answer!?” The sacred man cried, his eyes watering as tears began to stream down his face.

“Both, I don't know what to do and I have no way of proving this isn’t a dream.” Alex said as he locked eyes with the crying man. “After all, nothing I say could change your mind if you were dead set on this being a dream.”

The man's mouth wobbled as he tried to think of a retort. “To be honest, if this is a dream it's by far the most logical one I have ever had, as far as dreams go.” Alex said before the man could think of something to say. “If you truly believe this to be a dream then I'm not stopping you from going back to the farm or jumping up into the sky and flying all the way to the moon.”

The man fell back slightly, slumping forward as tears continued to stream down his face. The rest of the group also sat back, each one of them lost in thought.

“What was your name again?” Alex asked the crying man after several minute of constant sniffling.

Wiping his eyes the man looked to Alex. “Ben, I think, it's been to long to long...”

“I know, I know” Alex interrupted in a warm tone. He reached forward and placed a comforting hand on Ben's shoulder. “But we have to assume that all of this is real, that you re finally free. Or you risk falling into a state of mind you won't easily recover from.”

Ben's head fell again. “That goes for all of you!” Alex said rather loudly as he turned to the group. “We can't continue thinking that we will wake up at any second. This is your chance at freedom.”  There was a quiet pause for a moment. “And revenge.” Those last words sparked a small change in the group, spirits lifted at the thought.

“I do not wish for the destruction of pony kind, no no no no, I wish for something much worse, we are going to make them feel true loss, ever single pony alive will feel loss, feel pain, and once we have completed this, we will allow them to live, just so we can bask in their misery.” Alex finished with a low growl.

A pregnant pause followed these words and Alex took the time to lock eyes with each and every person who sat around him.

“Now that's enough talk, lets make a fire and get something to eat.”

Around the fire sat fifteen men and five women. Their eyes locked on the flickering flames that licked the air. No one talked, most basking in the memory of the previous day where they had burned Sweet Apple Acres to the ground.

Standing by a tree not far from the group was Alex, the noises of the forest had been growing closer and wilder, as such he decided to take watch, it also gave him the much needed time to think.

There was to much to consider all at once, and Alex didn't know where to start. They would need to move again or risk get found by the ponies, but advancing into a forest filled with who knows what was also off the table.

The pain in his shoulder had abated and for good reason, his ability to do magic was almost completely gone, the most he could do was summon a small flame for the fire, even then it flickered out after a few moments. He only hoped it would be enough to lift the curse.

The largest problem of all was lacking a plan, he had acted to quickly in trying to rescue the slaves and it backfired. He had no plan and no way of trying to form one, he didn't know where he was, and he had no idea of what he could be facing.

There were to many unknowns, and jumping into things to quickly would lead only to disaster. Alex rubbed his tired eyes, everyone he had freed was looking at him for direction, and he didn't know which way to turn.

Not to mention the worst problem, the disappearance of Tom. Alex had asked every single person in the group and not one of them remembers seeing a third man with him, if it was an effect of the dark magic Alex had no idea how to reverse it.

The snapping of a twig stopped Alex's train of thought and he turned sharply. Thick bushes covered his view. He reached down and grabbed the spear at his feet and aimed it in the direction of the bushes.

A minute passed with no other noise, Alex relaxed slightly and returned to his position by the tree, this time keeping the spear firmly in his grasp. It was hardly the time to be complacent.

Science reigned, the only sound coming from the soft crackling of a fire long since extinguished. The air had chilled and darkness slowly engrossed the camp. Sleepy eyed men and women stared long fully into the flickering embers.

The day was long but passed quickly, names and memories of past lives shared, and future hopes and dreams lit. their belly’s were full and their thirst quenched, feelings that had for so long been lost to them.

For the first time in as long as they could remember they had tasted freedom, a feeling that none of them wanted to lose, not again.

But not everyone shared their glee, standing not far from the camp, cast in shadows stood a man, his attention not on the cheerful talk, but on the forest around him. Something stirred in the distance, older than the trees themselves and long forgotten by any who lived.

Cold and still, waiting for someone to unearth it.