Ancestral Cycle #1: Freedom

        Days passed, and Song soon lost count of how many days he had been in the infirmary. The bat-pony poison had worked it’s way through Song’s system, paralyzing everything except his head. In the first week, Luna had been kind enough to visit with Song and talk to him every time she was done raising and lowering the moon-but eventually her duties led her away from visiting him.

        The nurses informed him and Celestia(three days after he was in the hospital) that he wouldn’t survive for the next two days. But, miraculously, he did, and the Nurses kept him to do tests on him to see why. Eventually they all left him alone, and now he was incredibly bored.

        Song wanted to inspect the journal, seeing if there was any changes, but he couldn’t move at all. Celestia came in one day, and informed him of some rather changing news. She gave him the news of what was happening. Before she left she said, “Oh, and by the way,” She trotted to the door, and turned back to look at him. “I have been informed that some of your friends will be visiting you the day after tomorrow.” Song just sighed, and stared at the ceiling.

        In the throne room, Celestia sighed, and Luna looked at her and asked, “What is the matter, Sister?”  A scroll appeared in a burst of green flame and Celestia opened it to read it. At least Twilight’s making friends, Celestia thought as she put the scroll away.

        “I’m just worried about Song,” She looked away. “it seems that there is always bad luck when it comes to him and friends,”

        Luna scrunched her snout in thought. “Doth thou knowst why? Thou hast told me everypony can make friends,” She said, looking at her sister.

        Celestia’s head did a sorta-yeah bob. “Well, he did make some friends….” Her voice trailed off, and Luna’s ears perked up, readying for a story. Celestia breathed in and said, “It was about eleven years ago…”

“But Celestia! Why can’t you teach me?” Song complained as him and the Princess walked towards the front of the castle.

“I believe you should be making plenty of friends and learning at the same time in a classroom full of colts and fillies your age. Also, you know good and well is that I, nor any of the guards, have any time to help you learn the basics.”

Song was going to complain, but they reached the front doors, and he just shut his mouth. A guard was standing by a carriage at attention. He noticed the Princess, bowed, and asked, “I take him to and from school, correct?”

Celestia nodded, turned to Song and said,  “Now, I want you to go and behave properly and try to learn something. Do you think you can handle that?” Song nodded miserably. “Good. Now go with Iron Hide and go to school. Try to make some friends.” Iron Hide and Song got into the carriage and it began to leave. “And I want a good report when you come back!” She called after the carriage.

When they arrived at the school,  a peach unicorn mare with a pink and blue curly mane and tail stood outside on the steps. Song and Iron Hide trotted up to the teacher, who leaned down to Song and said,”Hello, there! You must be my new student, Song Tune! “ She looked at the guard and said, “School lets out two hours after noon.” Iron nodded, and went back to the carriage.

The teacher gestured for Song to follow. She stood at the door entrance and said, “My name is Miss Starburst, and I will be your teacher. I hope you feel welcome. Celestia told me that you were a really bright colt.” She smiled, and Song forced his. She opened the door and Song trotted inside.

Inside the classroom, many colts and fillies were talking, but stopped when Song walked in. Miss Starburst walked to the center front of the classroom and said, “Class, we have a new student with us today.  His name is Song Tune, and I would like for all of you to welcome him.” There was a monotone chorus of ‘hellos” and Starburst smiled. She turned to Song and said, “Okay, you can go sit behind Aura Burn, the white unicorn with amber hair in the back.” She pointed at a white unicorn in the far left-hand corner. There was an empty seat behind it, so Song went and sat in it.

Miss Starburst trotted to the chalkboard, and drew a familiar picture: the picture was Nightmare Moon. She trotted to her desk and said, “Now, class, since it’s close to that time, we will go further in depth of the Story of Nightmare Moon.” Song groaned on the inside, but the rest of the students perked their ears. Nice, Princess, Song thought. Put me in a class where I am more advanced than the others…. He leaned his head on his right hoof and decided to half listen to the teacher.

***

When lunch break let out, a group of colts and fillies had gotten together to go to a cafe just down the road. As they left, Song was a little interested, and trailed them without them noticing-a little technique he picked up from one of the guards. They reached the cafe without detecting him, and walked inside. Song just sighed and sat down outside, on the other side of the street.

Suddenly, he felt weight on his back, and was pinned to the ground. Something covered his eyes, and Song realized they were wings: lime green wings. “Guess who?” The pony said, with the voice of a filly, jokingly.

“I dunno. A pegasus? Lime green?” Song guessed.

She giggled and said, “Nope! Guess again! You should’ve had the time to know everypony’s name!” Song tried to somehow get her off, but she was surprisingly strong.

Then a colts voice was heard from Song’s front-left, saying, “C’mon, Soda. Let him up. He doesn’t look too happy.” The filly sighed, and got off of Song. He got up and dusted himself off, and then looked at the two ponies.

The mare had a lime green coat,and lime green eyes. She had a green spiky mane and tail, with a red jagged line running through it. Her cutie mark was a soda can, with what looked like an explosion on the can. He turned his attention towards the colt. He was a blue pegasus, with a black mane and tail, and green eyes. His cutie mark was an eighth note inside of two headphones, and frost all over it.

He smile kindly and said, “Hiya. I’m Frost Sound, and that” He pointed to the lime pegasus. “-is Soda Pop.” Song looked at Soda pop and realized how cute she looked.He instantly shook it off.

“Oh…..I…..I’m Song. Song Tune. Nice to meet you.” He smiled halfway, and stuck his hoof out.

Soda Pop grabbed his hoof and shook it so hard he thought it was going to fall off. “Like my buddy Frost said, I’m Soda Pop and you’re going to be my new friend, ‘kay? C’mon, let’s go!” She quickly trotted inside the cafe.

Frost walked up next to a confused Song, shook his head, and said, “That’s Soda Pop for you. Anyways, what’s your talent?” Song looked at his rump, and Frost realized. “Ooooh…..sorry. I-I didn’t see that you didn’t have one.

“It’s all right.” Song said.

“Cool! C’mon inside, I’ll introduce you to some of my friends.” He went and trotted inside, leaving Song outside by himself.

Song shook his head and thought, Well, maybe Celestia’s right. This doesn’t seem so bad. He quickly trotted inside to meet up with his new two friends.

***

“Hey,” A voice from the door at Song’s left said, and Song slowly turned his head. “Oh,” He said quietly. “Octavia.”

“I heard what happened. It was nice of you to protect me from that changeling.” She said as she walked to his bedside. Song moved his head back into place where it was, facing the ceiling.

“Any clue on who brought me here?”

“No.” She noticed something, then said, “Hey. You can speak more clearly. The nurse told me you could hardly speak. You must be healing well.” She sat down. “But the next day, when you weren’t found at home, Vinyl joked about Nightmare Moon capturing you and probably torturing you. Let’s just say she won’t be able to smell for a week.” She lightly chuckled.

Song tried to laugh, but couldn’t. “So, what are you doing here?” Song asked.

Octavia stopped laughing and said, “Oh!” She tapped her bowtie she was wearing. “The Symphony and I are practicing for tonight’s Gala.” Song’s smile faded, and he sighed. Octavia tapped his shoulder. “Don’t be depressed, Song. I want you to be happy. I’ll ask the nurse if I can play my cello for you later, alright?”

Song nodded, and Octavia went to the door. “Hey,” Song said, she turned around. “I-if anything happens, can you watch my violin for me?”

Octavia nodded, and said, “Song, nothing bad is going to happen to you. But I’ll keep it for you.” She walked out the door, and was gone.

Song had many friends who visited him throughout the day: Frost Sound-an old friend from Canterlot who was now training as a guard- came by and played a song on his guitar for Song; Snowwy managed to visit Song, but wasn’t allowed to give him coffee like she planned to; Silversoldier, a guard who he had met when Song was a colt; Caramella, a mare who occasionally traded with Bon-Bon(a candy seller) and a great friend of Song brought him sweets, but the nurses took them; and many other ponies that he had met in both Canterlot and Ponyville.

The last visitor of the day(before the Gala started) was none other than Princess Celestia herself. “are you feeling better?” She asked him, and he slowly moved his head up and down. She smiled kindly. “That’s wonderful.” She noticed the tear in his eye and asked, “Is something wrong?”

Song shook his head, and then asked, “Celestia…..I’ve never known, but why do you pressure friendship on me?”

The question caught Celestia by surprise. She thought about it, then remembered the incident with Nightmare Moon. “Well, I believe that when friends are made, the connection between them is strong. Friends can be the only thing that gets you through the Darkest of times.” She nuzzled his head, and said, ‘Sleep well, young one. You will need it.” She walked out of the room, leaving Song to ponder the words she had spoken.

The Seas roared with excitement. The Storm ahead raged on, beckoning Song to go into it. Song panted as he readied the sails and turned the ship straight into the fiery rampage.

The scene flashed, and Song noticed he was in the heart of the storm.Suddenly, the boat slanted upward, as if something was moving it, and launched into the air. Time seemed to slow down as two golden-yellow eyes opened in Song’s vision.

It chilled Song to his bone, and he could feel his fears welling up. It seemed to smirk at him, then time resumed. Then a black creature-resembling something like an enormous dragon- breached out of the waves, heading for the boat with it’s jaws agape. A voice echoed in Songs head as the dragon collided with the boat:

“I will diminish your light, little one.”

Song opened his eyes quickly, only to find himself back in the hospital room. He listened, his ear twitching, then finally called out, “Okay, okay, you can come out now. I know you’re there.” A movement in the shadows caught Song’s eye, and a black unicorn in a black trotted forward.

 “Fascinating,” The unicorn breathed. “Nopony has ever detected me before. How did you figure it out?” The unicorn asked, and sat on something black.

Song sighed, “Please, with your aura blazing like that?” He turned his head to get a better look at him. The unicorn’s cloak disappeared in black wisps, and Song noticed the purple eyes first. Then the black and purple mane and tail, and the purple spider cutie mark. “Who are you?”

The unicorn responded, “I have a better one: What do you mean by ‘aura?’”

Song rolled his eyes and shot back, “What do you mean?” Song already figured about his unique ability. “I-I can detect a magical aura, and yours is fairly strong. Stronger than a royal guard’s, but weaker than the Princess’.”

Again, the unicorn breathed, “Fascinating.” He paused, then said, “The name’s Voidus. Voidus Shadehoof, Prince of Shadows.”

“Song…..Song Tune…” He looked at him, then asked, “If you’re a prince, then where are your wings?”

Voidus laughed quietly, then said, “The name ‘Prince’ is like a title.” Song’s eyes shut in pain, and Voidus asked, “Woah, are you alright?”

He slowly nodded, then said, “I...I would be fine if you would just turn your aura down. It’s giving me a headache.”

There was a long moment of silence, the Voidus rubbed the back of his head and slightly chuckled. “I-heh- don’t know how. Sorry. I-I’ve never really had to.”

Song thought, then said, “Ever tried imagining a valve deep within your sub-consciousness?”

“A valve?”

“Yes, a valve. Like one to a faucet. Imagine it, and close it. You need to have a clear mind, and a good focus, like you would for teleporting.”

Voidus nodded and said, “Okay, I think I get the jist of it…” He closed his eyes, and concentrated. Minutes passed, and Song’s headache began to fade. “Did it work?”  He asked.

“Yup. It helps a lot when you’re in the presence of an enemy, or a monster, or-”

Voidus interrupted. “how did you know that?”

Song was silent, then responded, “Well, I’ve been studying magic since I was little…”

“An earth pony studying magic?”

“Is it against the law?”

“No…”

After a long moment of silence, Voidus asked, “Where did you learn of your physical abilities?”

“My what?”

“You know, when you were chasing that changeling. When you jumped that impossible jump across the chasm! I’ve never seen an earth pony do that before.”

“Song thought, then said, ”Well, I did train since I was a colt with one of the guards, so I guess I picked it up from them.”

Voidus nodded, then noticed the small journal lying on Song’s bedside table. “Hey, what’s this?” He picked it up and opened it.

Song sighed and said, “Nothing. It’s just a journal filled with blank pages. I’m still trying to figure out-” Song stopped in mid-sentence when Voidus showed him the journal filled with writing.

“Then why is there writing?” Voidus asked.

“I-I….that wasn’t there before. He thought, then asked, “Do you mind if you hold it for me? I can’t hold it myself, cause….” He looked down at his body. Voidus nodded and held the book to where Song could read it, and Song noted that the words in an ancient language, one that was unfamiliar.

He was about to tell voidus to put it back, but the letters began to float off of the page. They began to prance around the book, and then started to swirl around his head, making it hard for him to see. They then seemed to go into his eyes, leaving him in a world of dark.

***

Song opened his eyes to see a beautiful sunset before him. He looked down and realized he was sitting in a wheelchair, and he was on a balcony. Where in the Land of Equestria-

“The nurses moved you out here to get some fresh air,” A familiar voice said, and Song looked around, confused. The voice said, “Down here.” And Song looked down, but all he saw was his shadow. Two purple eyes appeared, and Song jumped.

“What the-?!” Song began, but a long black thing came out of his shadow and covered his mouth.

“Shhhh…” The eyes whispered. “It’s me...Voidus. Don’t yell. I don’t want Celestia to know I’m here.” Song’s shadow rippled, and Voidus slowly melted up out of it. He looked behind Song, and then went and quietly shut the balcony doors.

“....Why don’t you want Celestia to know you’re here?” Song asked suspiciously.

Voidus coughed, sat next to Song, and said, “Let’s just say there have been some….conflicts between us. More or less.”

After some silence, Song said, “Okay, you need to answer some of my questions.”

“Sure thing. Fire away.”

Song tapped his hooves, and suddenly realized he could move. “Uhhhhmmm...how did you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Melt out of my shadows.”

“Oh! That. Um...I did say I was the Prince of Shadows. I can physically change into a shadow. I-uh- can’t tell you where I learned that from, for it’s against our law.”

“Whose law?”

Voidus snapped his snout shut. “I shouldn’t have said anything.” He kneaded the ground with his hooves.

Song coughed. “So...what happened when I...passed out?”

Voidus smiled. “I thought you’d never ask.” He inhaled, then said, “Well, when I was showing you the book, you just kinda closed your eyes and passed out. So, I checked to see if you had a pulse, and you seemed fine. So I just left. The next day, I was lurking in the shadows when I overheard a conversation between a nurse and Celestia about you. It seemed you were in some sort of coma.”

“Coma?!” Song exclaimed, confused. “How long was I out?”

“Two days.”

Song stared at the burning sunset in disbelief. “I-I’m sorry for interrupting. Please continue.”

Voidus huffed. “Anyways, so I halfway investigated, but nearly got caught by a guard. Twice. Then nearly got caught by Celestia herself.” He shuddered. “But, apparently you caused quite the discord when you woke up in cold sweat.”

“When I...woke up? I-I don’t remember anything after passing out.”

Voidus thought, then said, “Did you wonder that there could be a possible ‘translation spell’ involved with that journal?”

“Yeah,” Song said. “But, I didn’t think there would be good ponies who would understand-”

“Whoah whoah whoah,” Voidus said, putting a hoof to Song’s mouth and said, “That’s not true.” His shadow melted up and formed into a stool, and he sat in it. He looked up a little, as if dreaming, and said, “There’s this pretty mare that just moved into Ponyville the day that you chased that changeling. She has a nice purple coat, a pretty mane, ooh and she’s a unicorn!” He suddenly blinked, and came back down to Equestria. “Oh, sorry” He turned slightly red and continued. “Anyways, she’s the town’s newest librarian, and she is super smart, and the translation spell would be like drinking water to her.”

Song shrugged. “I’ll check it out when I head back. Will you be in Ponyville when I return?”

Voidus just shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ll have to check up on my-” The balcony doors opened, and Song looked over to see Celestia walk out on the balcony. Song looked back to Voidus quickly-only to find that he wasn’t there.

Celestia sat next to Song. “I see you are wide awake,” She breathed, and Song just nodded. “Are you feeling better?”

Song nodded and raised his right hoof. “I can move everything, except I can’t feel my bottom half. What happened?”

Celestia looked at the sunset, and her horn glowed. The sunset began to go down and Celestia seemed disturbed. “Uh...well, the nurses checked on you, and they realized you were healing faster than anything they’ve seen before. I recommended that they took you outside to get fresh air.”

Song looked over at the other tower, where Luna’s room was. He had a feeling Celestia was telling the truth, but not all of it. He tapped his hooves as if to say something, then asked, “Did anything...interesting happen when I was out?”

Celestia cocked her head, and said, “No...not that I know of.” She looked away from Song, and thought, How foolish of me. Not everypony will accept the magic of friendship. She opened her mouth to say something, but then a shadow loomed over them in the moonlight.

Celestia looked up to see Luna gliding from her room to Celestia’s balcony. “Sister!” She called delightfully. She landed gracefully on the balcony railing, and stepped down. She smiled brightly and said, “I hath finished raising the moon.” She noticed Song was awake, and dipped her head in acknowledgement, saying, “Oh, Song! Thou seemest to be awake! How art thou on this lovely night?”

Song yawned, his hoof over his mouth, and said, “I-uh- am a bit better. The bat-pony poison is healing better than expected. Any leads on why?”

Luna shook her head. “‘Tis is extraordinary. Perhaps it is just the way thy body is.”

Song decided to change the subject. “Well, Luna. It seems you’ve grown accustomed to your daily routines. Are you enjoying it?”

Luna nodded and said, “Yes, I find it fitting.” She looked at Celestia, then asked, “Speaking of which; Sister, shouldn’t thou go to bed? Thy sun does rise early.” Luna chuckled.

Celestia lightly laughed and said, “Yes, Luna. Thanks for reminding me.” Luna nodded, spread her wings, and flew back to her room. Celestia got up and said, “I’ll have one of the nurses come and get you.” She went to the balcony doors, paused, and looked over her shoulder. “Song, I have to tell you something…” The silence told Celestia to continue. “I-I would like for you to come back to Canterlot. Back to the castle. I think it’s for the best.”

Song closed his eye, and even though Celestia couldn’t see, tears trickled from Song’s eyes. With a normal voice, he asked, “C...can you give me a month? As soon as I return to Ponyville.”

Celestia nodded and said, “I’ll give you one month, starting when you return to Ponyville.” She left, closing the balcony doors.

The tears dried on Song’s face, and he glared at the moon, as if it was all the moon’s fault that this entire dilemma happened. He cocked a smirk in his mouth, and thought, One month. thirty-one days for me to solve the answer to the Tomb.

***

        Within two weeks, Song had regained the ability to walk, balance, and he then went through a “therapy” to learn how to walk again. By the end of the two weeks, Song had recovered fully and was ready to return to Ponyville-and his one month countdown started. He had said goodbye to a good nurse-whose name was Tender Heart-to his old friend Frost Sound, Captain Silver Soldier, and other guards he knew. he finally said bye to a stolid Celestia, and a I’m-not-trying-to-look-like- I’m-gonna-cry-but-I-could-probably-use-a- hug Luna, and was finally on the train, reading the journal that had somehow translated into Equestrian Common.

        After three weeks of reading, studying, and drawing diagrams, Song now sat in his desk in his basement-staring at the journal. What secrets do you hold, Sulvania? Song thought, then flipped through the journal. Again. When he couldn’t take it anymore, Song threw the book at the wall in frustrated. For the fifth time. He thought of back when he tried showing it to Celestia, just five weeks ago.

“I cannot read it. It is an old language that is unfamiliar to me,” She had said. When Song attempted to show it to Luna, she simply shook her head-but Song could tell she was hiding something bigger.

        He read maybe half of it(it was a magic journal, so Song didn’t know how long it was), but there was two things on his mind: “Sulvania,” and “Land northward.” He already discovered an interesting secret of Luna: a story of how she took hundreds of colts and fillies to make another Kingdom-it didn’t take a detective to put two and two together to see the connection between “land northward” and the colts and fillies of “Mother Night.”

Wait! Song thought, remembering what Voidus had mentioned to him. That pony! The librarian! She might be able to help me! With excitement, Song threw on one of his cloaks, slipped the journal in his pocket, and trotted outside.

        As he trotted towards where the building that was a tree-he remembered that was the library because he’d visited it so many times before-he was greeted with “hellos” from numerous of ponies. Nothing’s changed in Ponyville  He smiled and trotted to the treehouse door. He knocked, and waited patiently.

The door opened, and Song met eyes with a smiling purple unicorn’s. She had a dark purple and light purple mane with a tail, and purple eyes. She asked, “Hello, and how may I help you?” Song looked at her, and could’ve sworn he saw her somewhere. Suddenly, yet another sensation came upon him, but this one was overwhelming: almost as powerful as a-

Song shook his head and said, “Yeah. I-uh….need help on some….research.”

She nodded, understanding, and opened the door wider for him to come in. “Sure! I’d be glad to help!” She turned around and trotted inside. After he shut the door, Song turned around to see a fairly good-sized room lined with bookcases, and filled with books. It wasn’t big, but it might have what he needed. She stepped around some piles of books and said, “S-sorry if it’s a bit messy…” She then went to one of the bookcases and looked back at Song. “What kind of research?”

He thought about it, then asked, “Maybe ‘land northward’? Or ‘Sulvania’?”

The pony nodded and yelled, “Spiiiiiiike! Come here, I need your help!” From upstairs, a voice responded, “Coming, Twilight!” As Song wondered where he heard that name from, a baby Equestrian dragon came down the stairs. He was purple with green spikes, and green eyes.”What’s happening?”

Twilight(Song guessed that was the unicron’s name) said, “We are looking for anything pertaining to the words ‘land northward,’ and ‘Sulvania’ for this….” Spike was already searching as Twilight looked at Song.

“I-uh-oh! Song. I’m Song Tune.” He said, and sorta kneaded the ground.

Twilight blinked. I knew he looked familiar! His gray muzzle is gone!  She stammered, “S-Song Tune? Weren’t you the colt that was wandering the castle while I was in Celestia’s school?”

That’s

Song looked away and said, “I...don’t like to talk about it.” Twilight nodded, and got up to help Spike.

She and Spike came over with stacks of books. Twilight said, “Spike has all of the books based on ‘land northward,’ and I have a few books on ‘Languages.’ Why? because Sulvania sounds like a foreign language to me.” Song grabbed a book, and him and Twilight quietly read the books.

After a couple of books, Twilight said, “Aha! Here we go!” She looked up and down at the page as she talked. “Here, ‘Sulvanian’ is an old dragon word used to describe a higher form of power, like the one who raises the sun, and the one who lowers the moon-Princess Luna and Celestia.”

“So like, godly? Royally? What?”

“Try Ancestral. Dragons believed these Ancestors are the ones who created the land. They are considered children of the night because they always seem like dark creatures.” She said, showing him the book.

Song zoned out after the words ‘children of the night.’ I know how to find the answer! The one place where I got myself into this mess! He then realized Twilight was trying to get his attention. He then asked, “Oh, sorry! What were you saying?”

She sighed, then asked, “I said, ‘do you think you’ve figured it out?’”

Song nodded. “Yes! And I know exactly where to look!” He looked around, as if wanting to help her clean up.

She noticed it, and laughed, “Oh, no!” She waved her hoof as if shooing him away. “It looks like this place all the time! You go find your land” She laughed like it was a joke.

Song chuckled, and excused himself outside. He waved goodbye, then his smiling face turned serious, and headed in the direction of the place that got him into this: the Everfree Forest.

***

        When Song had reached the ravine, he noticed the bridge was fixed. I wonder who fixed it? He wondered when he crossed it carefully. When he trotted inside, he noticed how destroyed and ruined the castle looked. No wonder they abandoned it… He thought, and found the library. He saw the books, and began his search. Let’s see...’Ancestors’...’land northward’...’Sulvania’...’translation magic’...

        It was now deep within the night, and Song pretty much didn’t find anything worth looking for, and went through about half of the library. He did however, find a rare spell on Translation Magic- it would prevent anything or anybody not worthy to the book, paper, scroll from reading it. Frustrated, Song went, “Grah!” and threw the thick book he was reading behind him. It wen Thunk! and the room rumbled.

        Song jumped up, worried and whirled around behind him to see what he hit. A part of the wall slowly opened like a door, and Song cautiously walked forward to see what it was in it. Inside, were a few more bookshelves, and it looked like an office room to Song. But he didn’t care about what the room looked like-all he cared for was the interesting book on the pedestal.

        He slowly walked in, and looked back to see if there was anypony there. Realizing, he face-hoofed and sighed. Idiot. Nopony has been here for decades.  He trotted up to the book, and blew the dust that was on it off. He read the title, and found it interesting: Diary of Two Sisters.

“A diary?!” Song whispered, both surprised and excited. “This has to be the diary of Princess Celestia and Luna, so there has to be something about the land northward!” He found a cushion, and sat in it to begin reading. He didn’t find anything useful, until near the end of the journal.

“‘Tis had been decades since the sealment of Discord. Hath not I took proper care of My Children, I feared our Kingdom wouldst hath fallen. The Children I sent North are far out of mine Sister’s grap. The others lie within my domain-but my Sister will never know where.

~Princess Luna

“Found something interesting, did you?” A familiar voice behind Song,  he drew his hidden blade, jumped up, and turned around to confront the voice-only to find it was Voidus.

        “I...guess. It’s confusing.” Song said, his blade slowly went back into it’s sheath. “I found a diary that belongs to Celestia and Luna,bunt it reveals little of the ‘land northward.’ How did you even know I was here?”

        Voidus sat on his shadow-literally- and snorted, “Please. Nothing passes through my forest without me knowing.”

        Song nodded slightly, then asked, “So, what did you want to talk to me about?” When he saw the confusion on Voidus’s  face, he said, “You said you were going to tell me something back at Celestia’s castle.”

Voidus then remembered. “Oh! Right. So what’d you uncover from the diary?”

        “Well, something about her ‘Children,’ but I read almost the same thing in my own journal. I’m still lost.” He sighed.

        Voidus leaned back, and said, “Well, I’m from a Tribe that knew of that certain incident…there was a childhood story that was always told, called the Tale of Origin.” Song’s ears perked, and Voidus continued.

        “Many, many moons ago, like over a thousand years’ worth of moons, a discorded beast came to Equestia seeking it’s mystical power. His name was Discord, the Lord of Chaos. The Princesses of the Land, Day and Night, fought against Discord with ancient relics-from an unknown source-called the Elements of Harmony. They successfully sealed the beast away, but it left the Kingdom in a weak and desiccated state.

“The Younger Sister, after seeing what the destruction and chaos did to the ponies of the land, proposed that she would make a new Kingdom where they could rule the Night. But the Older Sister Objected, for she feared that the Kingdom would tear in half. The Younger, despite her Sister’s warnings, decided to go behind her back and do what she thought was best for the Kingdom.

“Some how-unknown to us- the Younger gathered hundreds, possibly thousands of fillies across the land. She gathered them up, and they were known as the Children of the Night; and she was their Mother Night. The Younger one told her children of her plan, and set them into two groups, unbeknownst why.

“She sent the first group to an untouched land far in the north, out of the Sister’s grasp. The Second? Here in Equestria, to prove that the Older Sister was blind. Or so we thought.”

“‘Or so we thought?’” Song echoed.

Voidus nodded, and coughed. “Well, Celestia figured us out somehow, and my entire Tribe was destroyed. By her, the one who believes in peace.” He said it bitterly, as if he wanted to…

Song shook that feeling off, and thought, Celestia wouldn’t do that...would she? Song rubbed his shoulder and asked, “Do you know why she did it?”

Voidus shrugged, and said, “I-I don’t know why she did it...she just did.” He pulled out a piece of folded paper from his shadow, and said, “A pack of Timberwolves found me and took me in. This is all they found when they discovered the…” His voice trailed off, and Song nodded, understanding.

Song took the paper,and unfolded it. On the paper was a map of the entire world. Song noticed at the top of the paper was a large landmass circled in red(Song hoped the red wasn’t what he thought it was). Next to it, also in read, said, “The Land Northward?”

“That’s where I think the first group went. I’m not for sure, but I’m sure you are convinced. I was meaning to check it out, but I have a pack to take care of…” His voice trailed off. He then asked in a serious voice, “Do you think...you can-”

Song didn’t hesitate. “Yes. I need to go there. It seems to be attracting me. I-I think… it’s fate.”

Voidus then said, “So, you’ll do it?” He held his hoof out, ready to accept the offer.

Song touched his to Voidus’s and said, “You got it! I promise!”

***

Broad Rail didn’t look up from his morning newspaper when the bell above the door jangled. Nor when a pony trotted up and ask, “Could I buy your fastest ship? It needs to be as small as possible.”

Broad, a peach earth stallion with light brown hair, chuckled as if what the stallion asked was a joke. “You best have some gud dough on ya, ‘cause it’s gonna cost ya-” he stopped talking when he heard heard the sound of a bag full of coins being tossed onto the counter. He looked up and saw a fairly large bag of coins with some coins spilled out on the counter. Behind the bag of coins was a blue earth stallion with gold eyes, and the white and gray mane. The weed that Broad was chewing on dropped out of his mouth when his jaw went slack.

The stallion, with a stolid face said, “I’m pretty sure that’s enough to buy three.”  Broad reached for it, but a flash of silver showed beneath the stallions cloak-Broad realized it was a hidden blade. “I’m not threatening you or anything, nor am I a fugitive. I just want to make sure we’re on the same page.”

Broad nodded and said, “The-uh...smallest fastest ship I have is a ten-pony ship, but she’ll do.” He pulled out the registration form , but the pony shook his head.

“No. Don’t put my name on my registration form. You can have all of the money if you follow what I have to say. If anypony comes around asking for me, deny my existence. Understand?” The pony was dead serious.

Broad nodded quickly and said, “Well, ah at least hafta know ya name. May ah ask what it is?”

Song Tune looked out to the rising sun, and said, “My name’s Song. Song Tune. and I’m heading to a Land of Enchantment.”