Ancestral Cycle #1: Freedom

The salty waves crashed over the deck of the small ship-again. Song groaned, tied the wheel to place, and went to go lengthen the sails. I’m no expert, He thought. But I’m pretty sure that I’m near the land. It’s been about three days. I’m actually glad I bought that food before I bought the ship. He looked at the horizon and saw a large storm and a fog forming. Damnit. Just to make my day worst.

Lightning struck, and Song felt his fur stand on end. His heart raced as he went back to the wheel. He noted that the wind seemed to be flowing right into the fog. Carefully and skillfully, Song brought out a compass and the map out, while steering, and calculated where he was. Song cursed, and said, “I didn’t want to be right, but it looks like there’s no other choice.” Song steered the ship right into the fog.

The storm was a lot fiercer than Song had thought it was.Waves suddenly became larger, the wind picked up, and the boat rocked violently. Song’s heart pounded and he could feel something wet on his cheeks amis from the rain. Remain calm, Song, The voice had returned to his head again. Do not let your mind open. Fear will try to swallow you up in this sea.

Once again Song listened. He took several deep breaths, but was still panicked. A large wave made the ship angle upwards to the stormy sky. When he came to the top of the wave, for a fraction of a second he could make on the horizon a large, black line: land.

A mighty roar erupted, and Song could feel the entire ship lift off of the sea towards the sky. The boat seemed to hang in the air, before angling towards the ground and plunging to the water. Song held tight to the steering wheel, and shut his eyes. As the boat crashed into the water, one thing was on Song’s mind: I didn’t even get to say goodbye to- The darkness engulfed him, and Song slipped into unconsciousness again.

***

The Keeper blinked, and she yawned, tears forming in her eyes. She lifted up her head off of her large desk, and saw it was cluttered again-many books were open and sprawled out before her. Sweet Census, She sighed and began to close the books she didn’t need. I fell asleep again. Life said I shouldn’t stay up late, but many of these things are confusing…  She then recalled the dream she had, were also confusing. Rain seemed to be in my eyes, but I could tell that I...wasn’t...me…. She stood for a fraction of a second, then everything clicked.

The Keeper ran into the her mass library, and shouted, “Shaaaaade!” A minute later, a sleek black dragon the size of a horse came in. He had purple eyes, and silver-tipped spikes. He was bigger than The Keeper, but the difference could hardly be seen.

“What do you need, Keeper?” The dragon’s rich voice responded, awaiting orders.

“Where in the name of Albion is the Book of Rev-” Something tapped her head while she was searching through books, and she turned to see a thick purple book attached to an iron claw; which was attached to a mischievous-smiling dragon's tail. The Keeper gave him a short glare, grabbed the book, which made Shade-the black dragon- to laugh hysterically.

“This is no laughing matter!” She scolded him, and headed back to her room- with Shade following. “And you should refrain from teasing. I might just do something that would've made you regret teasing me, like last time.” Shade instantly shut up.

“Come on, keeper! Someone’s gotta lighten the dark skies!” He was speaking metaphorically, but it seemed like a cruel joke.

The Keeper cocked a smile, taking the statement literally, and opened the book. “Oh, Somepony will.” She said once she stopped flipping through the book.

“What do you mean?” Shade asked, peeking over head head, his chin resting on her head as they both looked at the book.

She pointed to the words and said, “Here, let me read it, and see if it sounds familiar:

‘Kin of Your Kin

Light will send

The one of Note, and the one Anew,

Shall bring the world into one solid hue.’”

Shade snorted. “So what about it? Isn’t that the Prophecy from when Mistress Skyfire was alive?”

The Keeper jumped to her hooves suddenly, hitting Shade in the throat, and exclaimed, “Exactly! That means that the Prophecy is still working-”

She was cut off when the book began to glow a golden light and shake violently. Both The Keeper and Shade jumped behind The Keeper’s throne-like chair, shielding themselves just in case something happened. Light busted from the pages, and the pages began to flip fast on their own. Suddenly, everything stopped-the pages rested peacefully, the book didn’t shake, and the light died down.

The Keeper and Shade peeked out from behind the chair, and cautiously approached the book. She picked it up, and said, “L-Look!” Shade looked over The Keeper’s shoulder as she read the most interesting-yet fate changing-lines:

“‘The Colt comes by Sea,

He will heed to thy Millennial Plea.

He comes from the Sun,

Who against Nightmare has won.

His fur ripples like the Ocean,

His Power and Courage stronger than the Dragon Ten,

And his eyes shine as he listens and waits

For only his Wisdom will escape his Checkmate.’

The Keeper sat down, thinking. “This….is the most troubling of all Prophecies!” She said after what seemed like an eternity. Silently, she got up and began packing thick books into her bag.

Shade, uncertain, tapped his claws together. “Uhhh...Keeper? Are you-is there something wrong? it’s only a prophecy.” He asked as The Keeper trotted to the door. She stopped, looked to the side, and she said in a deadly serious tone, “Have General Winter order a Court Meeting. Now. Tell her that it’s the matter of a powerful pony falling into the clutches of Dark. It could determine the outcome of the war.”

“Anything yet?” The sudden voice made Star Blaze spin around-her scythe weapon in her hooves- nearly cut off a soldier’s head. The soldier knocked it aside with a three-foot long gold pole. When she noticed the scary-looking armor, she knew that the stallion was a soldier like her, and she saw the spikey gold and blue tail. When she noticed the sky blue feather earrings, she dropped her weapon, narrowed her eyes, and furiously hissed, “Cyclone Storm! You nearly scared the Echo out of me! Be glad I didn’t cut off your head!”

The pegasus chuckled and while moving his pole as if making a point, said, “But you almost did. You’re getting better.” He took off his helmet, and shook his static-like mane to get the knots out. He set his helmet next to him by a large rock that was on the opposite side of Star. “Why did you want me to come over here? I got the message from Kasai.” He said, referring to Star’s Sol-a spirit in the form of an elemental energy that allows all types of ponies and dragons to use enchantment.

She snorted, still mad at him, and looked out at the open plain. They were on a mountain passageway of the Thrae Mountain range. The plains before them were the Plains of Crimson, supposedly splashed with blood of war. “I-I thought I saw a platoon of twenty ponies dressed in Dark armor heading toward the Gulf of Serenade. I called you over here for back-up.”

“Ah. Are you sure?” He asked, straightening a bit and being more alert.

She nodded, and pointed towards the ruins of some architectural structure, and said, “That’s where I last saw them before I sent the message.”

“When?”

“Maybe an hour and a half before you got here. I watched them head towards the sea. They were heavily armored, and looked pissed.”

“Should we call for The Keeper? General Winter? I got a message saying I have to be at a Court Meeting, Lieutenant.” Cyclone said, noting Star’s rank: 1st Lieutenant.

She snorted and said, “The Keeper and Winter can wait. I want to know what they are looking for. I...I think it’s big.”

“Big as in size, or big as in…?” His voice trailed off, but he already guessed the statement.

“We’re going to wait it out, and that’s final.”

“Whoah whoah whoah! Who said you could order me around? I’m the captain here!” He said, raising his hooves in a what-the-heck kind of statement.

She glared at him,fire in her eyes, and said, “We are not leaving. The Dark Army has never been this close to the border. We can never know what they are planning if we don’t spy a bit.”

Cyclone rested and said, “Fine, fine. But I’m telling ya; I’m not going to get demoted because of your hunch.” They were both silent after that. Cyclone finally asked, “I...I hate bringing up the subject; but do you think this war will ever end?”

Star played with her scythe-a wicked curved blade with a spear head on the top, and a dragon talon on the bottom-and finally said, “One day I eavesdropped on The Keeper and Queen Twilight talking. Apparently, Skyfire’s daughter, Midnight Symphony and Zunar, her second husband, died. The son, according to The Keeper, was sent by Nightshade Star and a captain named Iron Fire took the colt to a 'place of Hope,' but they never made it.”

“So, the Prophecy was false?”

Star glared at him. “No, it wasn’t. Only the bodies of Iron Fire and what looked like Nightshade Star returned.” She looked back out to the plains

“‘What did the bodies look like’?”

Star nodded. “It was burned to a crisp. The only way The Keeper knew it was Nightshade was the amulet she wore, and her teeth. Life helped with the teeth.”

Cyclone rubbed his mane. “You’re just like The Keeper, y’know?”

Star looked back at him. “How so?”

He sighed. “You both believe some savior will come and rescue us from this Chaos and Darkness. It’s astonishing.”

“Don’t you believe somepony will?”

Cyclone was silent, and time passed on. Suddenly, Star quietly whispered, “Hey! They've returned! hand me your eyeglass.” Cyclone crawled right next to her, and handed her a small golden rod that was narrow at one end, and expanded out towards the other. She stretched it out, it expanding two feet, and looked through it.

“Well?” Cyclone asked after what seemed like an eternity.

“Well,” She replied, putting the eyeglass into it’s original form and handed it back to Cyclone. “The good new is they have returned,” She grabbed her scythe and crawled forward a little. “The bad news is that they have a prisoner.”

“Who?”

“I...don’t know. He’s got blue fur, but he’s not from around here.”

“What do we do?” He asked, then saw the way she looked at him and smiled mischievously. “I…..don’t like the way you’re looking at me.”

“We crash their twenty-pony party, of course. It’ll be a piece of cake! Just stay outta sight until I give the signal. Cause a diversion or something.” She said and began to crawl down the mountain. Cyclone sighed, and quietly took to the everlasting cloudy sky.

Star’s face went serious and began making her way down the mountain:fast, but quietly. She snuck up behind a large boulder at the base of the mountain. She peeked over the boulder. She was right- there were twenty changelings, and two were carrying the mysterious blue pony on a long rod. The pony looked unconscious, and Star hoped he wasn’t dead.

As if on cue, a rumbling sound was heard in the sky. When Star looked back down from the sky, the changelings all unsheathed their weapons and were looking at the sky. Star pulled out a crimson rod, and thought, Okay, Forge. Hopefully you updated Kasaifura….  She tapped the middle, and slid her hoof out in one quick motion. The three-foot rod extended six feet. on the end was something that looked like a square box. It folded out revealing a four-foot blade that curved down-resembling a scythe. On the bottom was a tipped blade like the top of a sword.

Star peeked back over, and felt her hoof ignite on fire. Keeping her flaming hoof out of sight, Star prepared to shoot the fire towards the sky, but then what happened next was too fast for her eyes. The stallion(who was tied up) managed to get his back right hoof untangled from the ropes. He planted it on the ground, and spun three-hundred-and-sixty degrees- even though it was just a pole, the pole spun with such force, that it ripped the throats of the two ponies that held him captive.

She cursed, and shot a large fireball towards the sky, and jumped on top of the rock. She jumped out and spun as she flew towards the small platoon. One of the changelings noticed her, and barked a command; just as Star decapitated him. Just as she did, another soldier came to her right with a broadsword and swung down. Star barely had time to cut, so she brought her scythe in front of her and the broadsword stopped on the scythe’s staff.

The soldier smirked, and the scythe broke in half. Star fell back, and the top of her scythe clattered away from her, leaving only the bottom half in her hoof. The soldier smiled with victory-until the bottom of the staff opened up and a blade shot out. Star yelled and stabbed the soldier in the throat, and he fell to the ground, blood leaking out.

Another soldier, not surprisingly a changeling, brought up a crossbow to fire, but Star opened her mouth and fire erupted out of it, burning the changeling. She fought a couple of more soldiers(some of them were changelings or bat-ponies), killing them, and then she stood there, panting. Suddenly, something hit her from the back, and she fell down. As she fell, she twisted to get a better look at her assaulter-it was the blue earth stallion that was tied up.

He pressed the curved blade-a scimitar-against her throat and shouted, “Who are you?! What do you want with me?! Why did you help me?!”

Gasping for air, Star gasped, “I-I was only….helping….you!”

The pressure lessened as the stallion became confused. “I-I don’t understand you-” He slumped forward, the blade falling from his grasp and to the ground, and he slumped against Star, unconscious. Star slowly shoved the stallion off of her, and saw Cyclone standing above them, his six-foot rod had shrunk down to four feet, and he was holding it in his mouth.

As Star got up, Cyclone's rod shrunk down to three feet, and Cyclone put it in it’s sheath-a small clip that was right by his right wing in his armor. “Who in the name of Census was that?” He questioned Star.

“I-I really have no clue, but I do know one thing:” She looked at Cyclone with a small gleam of hope in her eyes. “He’s from Equestria.”

***

Song opened his eyes and saw a white ceiling. How many times is this gonna happen?! He thought. Deja Vu, much?  He groaned as a headache entered his body, and he sat up-but went half way when heard heard a chink! He looked down and realized he was in chains. Almost instantly he began to yank on the chains, trying to break free.

Cool it, Song. The voice came back in his head. Listening yet once again, Song thumped his head back onto the pillow. He heard a door open to his left, and turned his head to see a white-furred unicorn mare with a sky blue mane and tail trotting in with a nurse’s uniform on. When she saw that Song was conscious, she stopped in her tracks, and all Song could manage was a, “Hey,”

The nurse took two steps back and called over her shoulder in a foreign language; “Custodes! Huc!” Two stallions trotted in, wearing what seemed to Song very deadly armor.

“Yes, Medicus?” One of them responded.

The nurse looked at Song, as if being suspicious, and looked back at the two ponies-Song guessed they were guards. “Dum ego istunc The Keeper.” The two guards nodded, and after the nurse left the room, the two guards stood together, shoulder be shoulder.

Song sighed lightly, and shifted his head back to where he could look at the ceiling. Calm, Song. There’s always a way out of everything. The voice said, and Song suddenly thought, Maybe I should have stayed in Equestria, and stay with Celestia. What was I thinking?!  Suddenly, the door opened, and a silver unicorn trotted in.

Song couldn’t get a good look, but he could see that she had a gold mane, and her blue eyes twinkled. Another pony trotted in-the one that Song had cornered-he still couldn't see what she looked like;thick scaly armor covered her body, a jaw-mask covered her jaw, and a pair of tinted goggles covered her eyes.

The unicorn stopped in front of his bed, and the black unicorn trotted to the side of it, and Song noticed that the black unicorn wasn’t  a unicorn, but an alicorn: the blue tipped wings with the gold made her more interesting. She pulled up a chair and sat in it. After studying him for a while, she asked, “Tu quis es?”

Song slowly shook his head, saying, “I-I don’t understand you….”

The alicorn looked a little surprised. “Oh, Equestrian, I see. You’re from Equestria right?”

Song literally almost replied with a sarcastic comment, but nodded instead. “Uh, yes! I am! May I ask how do you know Equestrian Common?”

The white unicorn trotted forward a bit and explained, “It is required for all colts and fillies to learn Equestrian as much as they learn….” She tried searching for a word.

“-Sulvanian. Twilight would beg to differ, but she’s not present in this room.” The black alicorn said to Star, then looked back at Song. “I’ll repeat my question: W-”

Song beat her to it. “Who are you?”

The alicorn glared at him, and irritably said, “Fine. My alias is The Keeper, my true name is unknown. What is your  name?”

Song suddenly remembered about his cloak. “My-My journal! I brought my journal with me, and it was in my inside pocket in my cloak!” He looked around the room and saw his cloak on the wall.

Interested, The Keeper went over and inspected it. “There’s no journal in here,” She looked back at Song as if he was a liar.

Song’s eyes widened. “Damn Captors!” He shouted. “One of them must’ve gotten away!”

The white unicorn said, “Impossible! Cyclone and I made sure that they-”

The Keeper interrupted, “Hush, Star Blaze!” She turned her attention towards Song. “What was in the journal.”

“Very, very important information.”

“State your name, now!”

“What does my name have to do-?”

“Now!”

Song raised sighed heavily and said, “Fine, fine! My name is Song Tune! Happy?”

The Keeper’s eyes dilated, her eyebrow raised up, and she whirled to Star. “Order a search infantry to find that journal! And while you’re at it, tell General Winter to authorize an emergency Court Meeting!” Star put her left hoof across her chest, and The Keeper returned it. Star then quickly left the room.

The Cartographer barked an order to the guards, and they unchained Song. The Keeper began to talk to the guards, but Song wasn’t really paying attention. Something brushed past his neck, and he whirled around to see what-or who- it was. He felt something hit his hoof, and looked down to see a folded paper lying next to his hoof. Curiously, he reached down and picked it up. He opened it, and realized it was the part of Celestia’s and Luna’s diary he ripped out.

Suddenly, he was aware of The Keeper next to him. “What’s that?” She asked. Song noticed that they were alone in the room, so he just handed the paper to her. She read it, and Song swore he could hear her heart stop. She trotted to the door and said, “Come with me.” And kept trotting. Song was confused for a moment, but he trotted after her.

They walked into a large hall, and Song stared up in amazement-the ceiling was decorated, but it was at an unbelievable height. The Keeper raised an eyebrow and said, "Do you fancy Dragon Architecture?"

"Never seen it, but it takes the breath away." Song replied.

The Keeper didn't even bat an eyelash at the architecture. “If you think this is amazing, just wait until-” She stopped short, and said in a sad tone, “until we get our old castle back…” She continued trotting without another word.

The Keeper led him through the labyrinth of halls and the eventually came upon two great doors: One side completely made of pearl, and the other onyx. Song noticed the six “pillars” in the hall were actually statute dragons of different jewels. He also noticed that the hall had many symbols-all looking dragon like.

Beyond those doors lies the Dragon Queen. The younger one, that is.”

“Dragon Queen? As in...”

“Yes, Song. An actual Dragon Queen. She’s been ruling this Kingdom for about...900 centuries? I lost count honestly. Anyways, I’ll be translating for her because she prefers to speak...Sulvanian.” She chuckled.

“Sulvanian?”

“Yes. The dragons speak Sulvanian, as do the ponies. Sulvania translated to Equestrian means ‘Ancestor.’”

Song thought, then said, “So through complications...this is the Land of Sulvania?”

“You catch on quick.”

“I had a great mentor and friend.” She snorted, and Song couldn’t help but ask, “How long have you been around?”

The Cartographer was silent. “A few millenniums, give or take. I remember meeting Queen Elysia when I was little. That’s probably the only memory I have.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ll explain later. Now, you need to look...presentable.” She fixed Song’s mane and tail with her magic, and got rid of all of the odd marks on his coat. “Now, you do what I do, and say what I tell you to say. Shall we?” She asked him, and he nodded slowly. As they approached the door, two dragons that were standing on their hind legs-who had spears crossed in front of the door- un-crossed the spears and let The Keeper and Song in the doors.

Inside, Song was too impressed to believe what he saw. Everything shone-literally made up of jewels and gems. There were six stained glasses: three on the left, and three on the right. Song gasped in awe and looked at each and one of them;

The first one on the left was a white female dragon with gold eyes that looked old and wise. She held a book in one claw and looked like she was reading it. The one next to the white dragon was a dark blue female dragon with blue spikes and purple eyes, who was looking at the moon. The one next to that was a female dragon who was green with light green spikes and blue eyes. Flowers and plants were growing all around her claws.

Song looked on the other side of the room and noticed the first glass had a fiery crimson male dragon with orange spikes. His eyes were completely erupted in flame, and he looked intimidating. The one next to that was a crealuen dragon with blue spikes and white eyes, and he had some weird water flowing around him. And the last one was a black dragon with silver spikes and blue eyes. He had a lightning scar over his eyes, and flashes of lightning behind him.

“I take you have a liking in dragon art,” A voice said to Song’s left. He jerked his head to the front of the throne room: He just noticed the rather large blue female dragon sitting on an amethyst stone next to a larger gold throne. She was laid-back on the throne, her right claw curled into a fist under her chin.She was a shade darker than Song’s fur, and had black tipped spikes and purple eyes.

Song didn’t speak, until The Keeper nudged him. He nodded. “I...enjoyed the gigantic column sculptures outside the door.”

The dragon repositioned herself and sat properly on her throne. “Excellent. I am Queen Twilight of Dragonvale. Now, may I ask who you might be?”

The Keeper bowed, and motioned for Song to copy her. He did, and responded, “The name is Song Tune, ma’am.”

She chuckled and said, “Such manners, such manners! I enjoy creatures with manners like yours!”

He nodded, then asked suddenly, “May I ask: who are those dragons? The ones in the stain glass?”

Twilight looked at them, as if she knew them personally. “They are the dragons’ version of the Ancestors. The white dragon is Astria, Ancestor of the Day, and the blue one is Twilight, Ancestor of the Night. The green dragon is Faro, Ancestor of Life, and the fiery dragon is Scintil, Ancestor of Fire. The sky blue dragon is Serenade, Ancestor of the Water, and the lightning-looking one is Welkin, Ancestor of the Thunder.”

Song sat down, looking at all of the dragons. One of the dragons caught his attention. "Wait...Twilight? Does that mean you're-"

"An Ancestor? My, you are courteous and smart! Indeed, I am the Ancestor of the Night."

Song looked at each of the details in the stain-glasses. “Who are the Ancestors...really?”

Twilight put her claws together, thinking of how to say things. “The Ancestors...are, well, Ancestors. Legends say that the Great Goddess Faust created the dragons to keep a Chaotic World in order. They are Great Dragons capable with magic far more than any creature can comprehend. Much like Celestial Beings, which are what ponies call the Alicorn Princesses. The Ancestors are based on elements of this world, and all, save two, haven’t been around for millenniums. We have some information in the library.” Twilight said, waving her claws around while explaining this. Song nodded, and Twilight asked, “Would you mind telling us your story?”

Song nodded and told them everything from the time Celestia gave him his new assignment, up to where he killed the changelings. He described everything that he has learned, and heard. “And if you could kindly hand over my journal, if you've found it, I would be happy.”

“Journal…?” Twilight asked, her expression grew serious. She looked at The Keeper, who shrugged.

“Yes, yes. It was small enough to fit in my robe. It was a journal of some royalty-”

“Royalty?!” Twilight said, her eyes widening in surprise.

“Yes, yes. Some royalty’s name was...Requiem? I would have to-”

Everypony and dragon jumped in the room when Twilight’s claw curled into a fist and slammed on the arm of the throne so hard that it cracked a bit. “'Some Royalty?' Do you realize the power in that name?! He brought peace to a civil war by showing up! And that journal! Do you know how long we have searched for that priceless journal?! Do you?! This war is unbalanced!! Imagine the destruction caused by one stupid colt!”

Song was offended. He wouldn't let some Queen in an unknown country tell him the same thing everypony had told him his whole life. "'Stupid'? Who do you think is the one who thought to ask my friend to cast a spell on this?! Certainly not you!"

Twilight opened her mouth to object that statement, but The Keeper interrupted by jumping to her hooves and raising her voice. “My Resheklin! He didn’t know how valuable that journal was! He-”

Twilight didn’t want to hear it. She continuously slammed her claw on the arm and shouted furiously in her language. Eventually, the arm broke and landed to the floor with a loud Thud! She calmed down, and with her other claw, she leaned on it and put her head in it. “Leave,” She quietly said. “All of you.” Everypony and dragon quietly left the room, and the doors shut loudly behind them.

Outside in the grand hallway, The Keeper spoke to the ice pegasus. “General, we need a Court meeting right away. This is an emergency.” The pegasus nodded, and flew away. The Keeper looked back at Song, only to see him with an expression saying, you-better-explain-now. “I know, I know...an explanation is needed.”

“You think?”

The Keeper began walking. “Come, I’ll explain everything.” They walked down the hall, and she began her explanation. “Let's start back at the Time of Creation. There were two forces that existed in all universes: Evil and Good. In our universe, as the legends foretold, the keepers of good and evil were two mares; Malevolent and Clarity. Malevolent and Clarity have been battling for a very long time, and it was one time that Malevolent would actually win when she appeared."

"The Goddess that twilight spoke of?" Song asked.

The Keeper shot him a look and said, "Yes, now stop interrupting me. Now, The Goddess Faust came forward and brought with her her Wisdom, Courage, and Strength, and cleaved two pieces from each of the beings. From Clarity she created our world, and sustained life with one piece and the other she created the Ancestors: Dragons of Old. With the other, she created the balance of Good and Evil, and she didn't know what to do with the second piece-until she found out a terrible truth. Malevolent had found a place made entirely from the Evil and Hatred from the all Universes and Dimensions called the Resontia, and was using said place to unbalance the war. So, naturally, Faust did the unexpected: she made a being that would control the Resontia and keep Malevolent from entering. His name was Penumbra Obscurum, the Ancestor of Darkness.

"As time passed on, the land forms were all created into one giant land form that Faust called 'Pandora'. Faust needed all races to be equal, so she created what you now know as the Alicorn Princesses, Princes, Kings, and Queens. They each are in charge of a daily thing in life, whether it to control the Sun or Moon, the seasons, the emotions, you name it. Anyways, back to what I was talking about. There was no time, and faust's last wish was for everypony to have a life-which meant time. So, a pony was selected and given the job to rule as Timekeeper. Around the same time, and terrible thing happened; Malevolent had influenced Penumbra somehow, and he had turned into a demon for the thirst of power. He began to rage war on the Ancestors, and by using the Resontia and its creatures, he had the upper claw.

"Astria and Twilight, along with two Celestial mares, searched the land far and wide for the ancient tool that Faust used to create Penumbra out of Malevolent: The Reaping Tool, as I call it. They approached penumbra with said weapon, and continued to attack him.  The two Celestial mares, who were quite young at the time, used the Sun and the Moon's magic to hold Penumbra down as Astria drove the tool into Penumbra's heart. from there, Penumbra dissolved into nothing and the portal to the Resontia shut.

"The leader of the Ancestors, Census, decided to split the Reaping Tool into twelve parts, and separated six of them throughout the land. The most powerful six, where given to another Celestial Being to hide himself, but his whereabouts where unkonw at that time-until he makes an appearance in Equestria."

“Uh-huh,” Song said, thinking. “These six elements that were given to this Celestial Bieng...are they similar to the Elements of Harmony?”

“Elements of...Harmony…?”

“Yes. Back in Equestria, six friends came together and defeated Nightmare Moon with the Elements of Harmony.”

“You didn’t mention the Elements of Harmony part…”

“True. Now, what’s this ‘war’ Queen Moonstar keeps talking about?”

The Keeper was silent. They continued to trot forward, and she finally spoke. “Over a thousand years ago, in a south continent, lived two sisters. They-”

“Created a kingdom, which was destroyed by a chaotic beast, and Luna went a bit crazy, gathered up colts and fillies, and brought half of them here? I’ve heard that story before.” Song interrupted.

The Keeper sighed with relief. “Well, that saves a long explanation.” She cleared her throat and said, “Where did you leave off on the story?”

“They established a Kingdom and brought peace to the land.”

She nodded. “The first King’s name was Requiem. He wedded to his wife named Melody.” Song saw something spark in her eyes. “They brought music to the land, and they prospered for a long time. When Nightmare Moon was sealed generations later, there was a ruler named Ensemble. He had found an ancient orb from the Time of the Ancestors-at least I think so-that had a little power left in it from when it was originally used.

“He had showed it to me, and despite my warnings, he kept the orb. Blinded by the evil in it, the orb had influenced his mind to evil thoughts. Ensemble created a staff to power the orb, but that was his second mistake. In the middle of one of our grand festivals, an all-out attack was launched on our city. Ponies fled here, with the help of the two Ancestor sisters, Astria and Twilight, and made it safely. We believed that the one who attacked the city was a Fallen Ancestor by the name of Penumbra, who has lost his Ancestral privileges and is now named Dark. Apparently being stabbed in the heart with the Power of Strength, Courage, and Wisdom isn't going to keep the damned creature dead.” The Keeper sighed.

“I highly doubt this 'Dark' is that same creature as Penumbra.” Song commented as he was looking at the interior of the castle.

The Keeper raised an eyebrow. "And how do you suppose that?"

Song shrugged a bit before saying, "I mean, look at it-you have this all-powerful Ancestor who nearly destroyed the world. It took all of the Ancestors and Celestial Beings' powers to hold him down just so that he can get stabbed in the heart. If that so-called 'Dark' is Penumbra, I'm pretty sure this war would've been over as soon as it started." The Keeper had never thought of it. Before she could say anything, Song asked, "Where are we going again?"

That distracted The Keeper more than it needed to. “To the Court Room. There’s an emergency Court meeting for the Court Infantries and Captains.” She explained. "We usually have one every three months, unless we're at a crisis. Like now for example." Song nodded, and they trotted in silence.

They soon came to two giant amethyst doors that shown in the sunset. They were wide open, and when Song and The Keeper walked in, Song realized how big the room was. In the middle of the room was a large round table, with seventeen seats at it-all of them were filled, except three of the far end. Unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies sat in the chairs, and Song noticed that two bat-ponies and a dragon as well. The Keeper caught him eyeing the dragon. "Easy, he's on our side." She whispered. "You'll soon learn a lot about Sulvania."

Song noticed that everypony and dragon (they were talking to one another in their own language) had stopped talking and were looking at Song. The Keeper cleared her throat and said in the I language, "Sit si Song Tune. You liw dif tou ohw hin si noos." She trotted around the table to the backside with Song following her. She pulled back a chair and sat in it, saying, “Esalp kaep Equestrian Common.”

Song was standing next to her-probably looking dumb- and suddenly a voice said, “Yors I ma etal. I dah ot ekat fo a melbor.” Song looked to see a crimson dragon the size of a horse come in wearing black armor. Unlike most dragons he had seen, this one was walking on his hind legs-like Twilight Sparkle's assistant.

The ice blue pegasus from earlier called to him, saying, “Lieutenant Solar! That’s not an excuse to be late!” She was sitting by an empty seat to The Keeper’s right.

The dragon sighed and quickly took his seat next to the empty seat to The Keeper's left. "Why are we speaking Equestrian?" He asked as he sat down.

"The Keeper ordered us to. Now look presentable!" Winter scolded. The dragon put his claws up in a fine-fine gesture, and he was quiet.

The Keeper,  who was looking through a book, brought he hoof up(catching Song's eye) pointed at the seat to her right and simply said, "Sit." Song looked at the chair, which unlike the others, was amethyst and decorated with jewels and designs. Not sure of what to do, Song awkwardly pulled the chair back, sat in it, and scoots forward.

There was a chorus of gasps that came from everypony and dragon around the table. They all began murmuring, and a silver unicorn with a white mane stood up and said, "Keeper! That chair is for-!"

"Yes yes," The Keeper said absent-minded. She waved her hoof, as if dismissing an idea or question. "I know exactly where he sits. All in good time, things of knowledge will come to pass." They all settled down.  She set the book down and looked at Song. "Tell us your story before we progress."

Song stood up awkwardly, a bit nervous, and began his explanation. He started with his birthday, how he got the journal, and then to the accident. He told of his recovery, the strange translation that happened in the journal, and how he found out of the land northward(he didn't say anything about Voidus, however). After he was done, he sat down in silence. The keeper stood up to begin her explanation.

"You all remember the Graves of Innocence, no?" They all nodded, except Song. "Sixteen years ago, on that stormy night, Queen Nightshade Star and I had been notified of the town's attack by the Dark King's minions. We rushed over to the town as quickly as we could, know not what-but who- was in that town. As you know, all of the villagers were dead.

"What you were not told, is that out of 2,345 inhabitants, one grave were unaccounted for. When the Queen and I arrived at the town, and after searching for a long time, we found one small, helpless colt-lying between two dead bodies.” There were more gasps around the table. “That is correct,” The Keeper nodded, raising her hoof. They were all quieted, and The Keeper continued.

“Yes, the Prophecy of Newlight explains that the colt would be found lying in his Ancestor’s Blood. Due to the sudden arrival of the Dark King, Queen Nightshade and an unnamed soldier went to the southern sea to take the colt to a safe haven-but Queen Nightshade mysteriously died and the soldier was never seen or heard from.” She got up and began walking around the table.

“The colt, as I well remembered, had fur like the sea, his eyes filled with Hope, and his mane was like the stormy sky. The Queen was the only one that knew his name. When I asked her, she had told me what it was.” She looked straight at Song Tune, and he recognized those eyes, the moon and the sun. “It is the same as the stallion who is sitting at this table-Song Tune.” Every eye went to Song, and every jaw went slack. Song’s heart raced as The Keeper knelt and exclaimed, “All hail Song Tune, one of Prophecy, the heir of the throne! Nagai ō raibu!”

A chorus of cheers went up, all sounding the same, and all echoing with promise:

“Nagai ō raibu!

Nagai ō raibu!

Nagai ō raibu!”

***

“Sister,” Luna’s calm voice brought Celestia to the present.

“Yes?” Celestia asked, a bit distracted.

“Art thou thinking of him?” Luna asked.

“I don’t know who you’re talking about, Luna,” Celestia responded, not wanting to give away who she was thinking about.

Luna gave Celestia a are-you-kidding-me? look, and said with annoyed tone, “Sister,”

Celestia sighed, and another scroll appeared before her. She read it, and learned more from what Twilight had sent her for the day. “Yes, Luna,” Celestia said, annoyed. “I try not to think about it, but I cannot seem to get my mind off of him. I need to know that he is safe.”

“Why doth thou think of him?” Luna asked, and the thought never really occurred to Celestia. Luna saw the troubled look on her sister’s face, and coughed, saying, “Shall I make reservations for Princess Cadence’s Wedding?”

Celestia nodded, and looked out the balcony window. Luna turned around, sighed lightly, and trotted out of the room. A tear trickled out of her eye as she thought, Song, you better be okay...wherever you are,

***

“Concentrate, Song!” The Keeper shouted at Song again. He snorted in annoyance. It had been a year since Song found out he was royalty. Since then, The Keeper had taught Song every little thing she knew of Sulvania-but Song knew she was hiding something. Within the first four months, Song had learned not only of the gruesome history(they called it Nightmare Blood), but learned of the weapons, the people, the culture, and the magic. Speaking of which, Song had been training in the ways of all sorts of magic-spells(ones he could handle), Dragon Alchemy(the hardest, but rather easy for Song, strangely), Rune Magic, and now, Elemental Magic.

“Concentrate!” The Keeper yelled again, and Song almost lost his balance his balance.

“What kind of training is this?!” Song yelled back. He was suspended on a platform on a stalactite, his hind hooves crossed under him. He was training for the basic six elements: Earth, Water, Sky, Fire, Shadow, and Light. He’d only mastered four of them in a year. All that was left was Sky and Light.

“Song! Concentrate!” The Keeper shouted for a third time, and Song lost his balance. He plummeted to the ground head first, and closed his eyes, readying for impact.

It never came.

He slowly opened his eyes, and realized he was upside-down;floating in air. The Keeper glided down and landed. “Congratulations,” She said in a mocking tone. “You have mastered the Sky element.” Song laughed, enjoying the moment. “But sky levitation only lasts a couple of seconds.” He fell on his head.

“Ow!” He complained as he rubbed his head. He got up and looked at The Keeper. “What’s next?”

“Take a break. Then you study. We still need to uncover a lot of stuff.” She said, stretching her wings. She began to trot to the cave’s entrance.

Song sighed, and looked off to the sunset. You’re thinking of her, aren’t you? The Voice was back.

Well, yeah. I wonder if Celestia’s worried about me… The Keeper stopped in her tracks, and she looked troubled. “What’s wrong?” Song asked, getting to his hooves.

“I just got some information from Captain Reap Horn. He’s captured an intruder, who happens to be requesting your name.”

“An intruder? Requesting me?” Song asked, a bit confused. He thought of anypony, but nothing came.

The Keeper nodded. “Yes,” She paused, as if listening to something, and looked at him. “He says his name is Voidus. Voidus Shadehoof.”