A peaceful dusk settled over Canterlot as Celestia lowered the Sun and raised the Moon. The ponies were settling into their beds, the guards on duty changed out to a much smaller crew, and Celestia herself withdrew to her quarters. It was going to be another peaceful night in Equestria….Or so they thought….
Celestia sighed, looking up at the moon, a tear forming in her left eye as she stared at the shadow of her sister imprinted on the front. She closed her eyes and turned away, trying to keep down her most painful memory. Her hooves glided across the balcony into her room, which was kept neat and orderly for her. As she climbed into her bed, her mind briefly thought about how agonizing every night had been for her to raise the moon. It had been something Luna had always took pride in, but after she was banished, most ponies didn’t care.
That’s what pained Celestia the most, seeing her ponies acting so cruel when so much had been done for them. For a moment, Celestia wondered how they would react to Luna coming back to Equestria after several years. Would they shun her, or would they accept her as the Princess of the Night again? Celestia shook her head, thinking too much about it would drive her crazy. Nestling into her bed, she was about to fall asleep, but a mental alarm went off in her head. One of the magical sensors had tripped, and something had just arrived.
Swiftly, Celestia rose up out of her bed, instinctively casting divination spells to search for sources of great magical power. Had her sister broken free early? She scanned Canterlot frantically, but she didn’t find any sign of her sister. Sighing, she was about to dismiss the spell, when she saw something curled up in the middle of one of the alleyways near one of the alleyways.
It was a newborn unicorn, sleeping alone and unattended on the dirty path.
“Guards!”
The foal was swiftly brought into the Palace, though it took a lot longer than it should have. Celestia heard hushed, cautious whispers coming from the guards that were bringing the newborn to her. They were clearly uneasy about something. Smiling comfortingly at the guards met her at the front door, she gingerly took the unicorn from the Pegasi captain who picked him up. Celestia scanned the foal for any injuries, but found none. There was nothing wrong with him! His black coat and white mane were slightly dirty from the alleyway, and his Cutie Mark-. Celestia immediately stopped. The newborn already had a Cutie Mark?!
Now she knew why the guards were so uneasy: nopony had ever been born with a Cutie Mark, especially nothing like this one! The Cutie Mark showed a rocky landscape, with a white pillar of light dominating the center, shadows dancing around it. Yet it still stood out, clear as the sun. Celestia turned her head to a servant who had brought several blankets. Setting the foal down carefully, she turned to the guards, who were still uneasy about something.Dismissing them with a nod, she went back to the newborn, who stirred, but did not wake. She smiled, before speaking to the servant who had brought her the blankets.
“Take him to the infirmary, he can rest there for tonight.”
She bowed, “Of course Your Majesty, what do you plan to do with him after tonight?”
Celestia thought about it for a moment,”Don’t worry, a newborn like this must have a loving home.” The servant bowed again before carrying the foal away. Celestia withdrew back to her quarters, and prepared a scrying spell to determine if the foal had any parents. She poured water into a bowl, then released it into the liquid. Celestia was honestly expecting to see a drunken pony or a foul tempered mare. Instead, tye water stayed transparent. There was no brief flash, no vision….Celestia stepped back away from the bowl. This newborn had no parents? That was impossible! She looked into the bowl again, and this time a scene appeared.
A cloaked pony of an unidentified gender trotted through the Canterlot Streets at dusk, completely unnoticed by any other pony. It wasn’t in a hurry, but every now and then it would look behind it, which gave Celestia a clear view of the mask it was wearing beneath its hood. It was a skull mask, but unlike the ones that were worn for Nightmare Night, this one was real. Yet, nopony that was out ever looked in its direction. The pony continued walking, arriving at the alleyway where the foal was sleeping. The moon was swiftly rising high in the air when the pony opened up part of its cloak and produced the newborn unicorn. It carefully laid it down on the cold stone floor of the alley before straightening up. Slowly, it turned and stared right at Celestia, allowing her to see its red eyes before vanishing in the water that was swiftly changing to its normal transparency. Celestia was shocked and somewhat bewildered.
A few minutes of walking later, Celestia was at the infirmary, staring at the blissfully unaware unicorn. The servant on duty did not ask any questions, but she was still curious. Celestia closed her eyes, then cast a detection spell, similar to the ones that her paladins used, but much more amplified. After witnessing the scene in her divination, Celestia was not going to take any chances. As her spell washed over the foal, Celestia was at war with herself inside over what she was going to do if she found anything in the unicorn. However, she soon sighed in relief as the spell found nothing malevolent inside the newborn. She left the infirmary, ever so grateful that she wouldn’t have to make another choice like the one she did with her sister. Of course, a new problem had arisen, but Celestia solved it fairly quickly. This foal didn’t have a loving family, and some married ponies didn’t have the luxury of having kids. So tomorrow morning, she was about to make two ponies very, very happy.
The next morning, after raising the sun and lowering the moon, Celestia trotted slowly to her throne room, mentally steadying herself for all of the political squabbling that would greet her. That is, unless her guards had carried out her instructions, but it didn’t hurt to be prepared. Taking a deep breathe, she opened the doors with her benevolent smile on her face.
The room was empty, save for two Solar Guards, and a couple near the throne. As Celestia neared them, the couple bowed as she took her seat. With a slight tilt of her head, the guards saluted then left the room, to give the three total privacy. The couple stood up, an earth pony with a pickaxe Cutie Mark, and a pegasus with a garden Cutie Mark.
“Your Majesty, it’s an honor to be here.” said the pegasus. His wife nodded in excitement.
“My messenger told you everything?” Celestia asked. The two ponies nodded vigorously.
“That’s wonderful, but I must tell you a couple of things first before I release the foal into your custody.” The two ponies nodded, waiting intently. Celestia hoped that they wouldn’t be turned away from this, but she had to tell them.
“This newborn foal was found with a Cutie Mark.” She told them. She watched their faces, shock, confused, and maybe a little bit afraid.
“He has a Cutie Mark already?” The mare asked, bewilderment plastered on her face.
Celestia nodded, then spoke reassuringly,” Yes, but it’s quite alright, He is just a special unicorn.” This seemed to calm them down for the most part, as Celestia generally had that effect on her ponies.
Celestia showed them to the infirmary, where the mare squeed about how cute the foal looked. As the couple cooed over the baby, the servant on duty quickly informed her princess that the newborn was perfectly healthy, despite having been deposited on an alleyway. Celestia nodded and thanked the servant as the stallion gently picked up the foal, who was still sleeping through all the noise.
“Thank you Princess Celestia.” The mare smiled,”You have no idea how much this means to us, since I can’t…..” Her voice broke, but she regained her smile as she took the unicorn from her husband and nestled him on her back.
“It was my pleasure, I enjoy bringing happiness to my ponies.” Celestia replied. “Take good care of him.”
The mare nodded,”We will.” She promised
The couple left soon after, bowing and thanking Celestia, their gratitude music to her ears. This was what she loved, seeing her ponies eager to love. It was what made being immortal worth while…..
The rest of the day went by fairly quickly. The nobles came in, bickered, squabbled, and attempted to seduce each other. It was a boring process, especially for the ones that thought themselves suitors for Celestia. This usually brought an eyeroll whenever nopony was looking. Of course, whenever she turned them down, this brought the whining, the guards, and then the whining through being restrained. Whenever she had a little bit of free time, Celestia would think of the couple that she had helped. That usually brought a smile to her face as she returned to finish the Sun’s Court.
After she lowered the sun and raised the moon, Celestia was about to retire for the night, when she felt a huge surge in magical power coming from one of the buildings in Canterlot. The ground rumbled as Celestia dashed for the nearest balcony. An orange glow pierced the dark sky, coming from one of the houses in the lower section of Canterlot……
A few minutes earlier
“I just don’t know what’s wrong with him!” the pegasus cried. The foal that Princess Celestia had given them had been completely healthy, at least for the first five hours. That was when the unicorn had started to cough up blood and begin to cry. On top of those problems had been the fact that his Cutie Mark had started to disappear and his coat had started to fall off. Both of the new parents had immediately called for Celestia, but had been put aside since their Princess was busy because of the nobles in court. So they had to send for a doctor, but when the described the problem, they were asked if they were pulling some kind of prank. Finally, one of them sent a nurse over, who was at the moment attempting to cast a healing spell on the foal, with appalling results.
“Why is it getting worse?!” She shouted as the foal kept spewing blood, it’s breathing slowing down rapidly. The pegasus’s husband rushed in, carrying towels on his back. The pegasus took the towels from him and placed them around the foal unicorn, replacing the blood splattered rags that had been placed before. There was one thing that was bugging the three ponies though. The foal had been coughing up blood for several hours now, and yet it always produced the same amount with each cough. How was he not dead? The foal coughed up another mouthful of blood as the nurse gave up on her healing spell. She turned back to the new parents and was about to tell them that she had no idea what else to do, when everything turned pitch black. A few seconds later, a spine chilling voice hissed from the shadows.
Go Now! Dispose of the witnesses, We cannot waste anymore time!
The darkness vanished, leaving the ponies there wondering what had just happened...Then the floor beneath erupted upwards as lava poured up to consume them, while strong winds and water also rushed in from unknown sources. Needless to say, the entire house was completely obliterated within seconds, and yet the earth rumbled, lava spewed forth, water streamed, and the wind blew around its collapsed structure. Ponies were now waking up to see what the noise was all about, and they would gaze up at wonder as a pillar of light shot upwards from the wreckage of the house, stretching all the way to the sky, making it visible to onlookers for miles,
In the center of the pillar of light, resting on the destroyed floor, staring with it’s blank white eyes at the destructive elements that was surrounding it, was the foal unicorn, no longer crippled with it’s mysterious sickness.
Author's Note
WOW! That was a long hiatus. Sorry about that. I will most likely start back up on The Guardian whenever I can find the next chapter I stored for it. I'm not too sure about the Burning Void, since I lost most of the work for it. Also, I plan to do an Elder Scrolls story as well at some point.
Celestia stared at the unharmed foal, who had only minutes ago had been in the center of an elemental disaster. At the moment, the small unicorn was sleeping blissfully in a mound of blankets, completely oblivious to the hustle around him. Several doctors were checking his vitals, casting various spells that scanned for anything out of the ordinary.
Celestia was completely baffled at how the filly had survived a disaster like that completely unscathed. From what her guards had told her, the foal had been at the exact middle of the disaster when it happened, only inches away from his former parents’ stone corpses.
“Your Majesty?” Celestia turned toward the unicorn doctor that had addressed her, momentarily tuning out her train of thought.
“Is he going to be okay?” She immediately asked.
“Well, yes but…” The doctor hesitated, then continued,”That’s what the problem is.”
While she was overjoyed to know that the foal was okay, she was curious about what the doctor had just said.
“Continue.” Celestia replied, a little firmly.
“From where the guards informed me that they pulled the child, then by all means, this one should be dead, or mortally injured at the least. Not to say that I’m not glad that at least one pony survived, but my professional opinion is that…”
“Is what?”
The doctor gave her a grim look,”This is not an ordinary foal.” He gestured her over to near where he stood. The doctor cast a spell, and it showed the skeletal structure of the dozing foal. Almost immediately, Celestia could tell something was wrong.
Instead of the normal white hue of bone, the skeleton gleamed with an unnatural metallic blue hue.
“According the Royal Guard Blacksmith, this metal is some form of admantium, one that is light and flexible.” The doctor explained, “Yet that is not even the half of it.”
The image faded, and the doctor tapped the sleeping child’s left forelimb.
“Please don’t be alarmed about what I am going to do Your Majesty.” Levitating a scalpel with his magic, the doctor moved it over to the forelimb.
“Before you start, tell me so there is less of a chance of me being alarmed.” Celestia ordered, her curiosity tempered with caution and concern.
“I am going to make a large incision, and hold it open to show you what I am talking about. Don’t worry, as long as the foal doesn’t wake up, he should be fine.” He replied, carefully setting the blade against the lower part of the forelimb. The doctor slid the blade, waiting until he had made a cut two inches long before raising the blade vertically. Keeping the tip in the cut, he gestured with his hoof at the wound as he gently peeled the skin back.
Celestia peered close, and saw an inky black substance coating underneath where blood, muscle, and tissue should have been. No blood was seeping out, probably because of the substance, However, as Celestia peered closer, she found that hairlike strands of the substance had lashed themselves to the peeled back skin, and were trying to force it back to its original place.
“What is that?” She asked the unicorn, who was now trying to keep the tip of the scalpel in place as half of the strands were now actually pushing the blade away.
“It seems to be a form of regenerative magic skin, most likely placed soon after birth by somepony….At least, that is what we guessed anyway.” He grunted, as the strands actually forced the blade up. Giving up, he pulled the scalpel away, and the substance closed the wound shut in two seconds. Sighing, he put the tool away and focused his magic on the foal’s eyelids, gently lifting them up to reveal the blank white pupils beneath.
“He’s blind?!” Celestia gasped.
The doctor nodded,”As far as we can tell, yes. After we did several magic scans on the foal, we discovered that his eyes are attached by metal piping and strands of odd materials that didn’t show up like the rest of the metal when we checked his skeletal structure for damage.” Releasing the eyelid, the doctor turned to face Celestia again.
“I’m going to assume already that we are going to find more. Rather than further keep you from your duties, I will simply give you the full medical report in a few hours.”
Celestia nodded, knowing full well that she had to still run the courts for the day, and she was already late. Turning away, Celestia headed out of the infirmary and towards the throne room, doing the best she could to mentally prepare herself for the day ahead.
The day went by fairly quickly, since Celestia had a lot to ponder. Retiring to her chambers after her duties, Celestia sat in solitude to think. While she was glad that the foal was unharmed, she was still shocked about what she had heard from the doctor. A metal skeleton, a regenerative black substance under the skin, and eyes that served next to no purpose? These were the least of the thoughts that plagued her mind, since now she was also faced with another problem: Who would take him in now? Celestia knew that a few of the servants in the castle as well as some Royal Guards who had brought the foal out of the disaster would not be able to resist gossiping about his miraculous survival and strange anatomy to the other ponies in their life.
Briefly, Celestia thought about sending the child to an orphanage, but quickly dismissed it. If no parent would adopt him, then what reason would an orphanage have to take him in? Now she only had three options: Send the foal to Ponyville, force and orphanage or family to take him in, or raise the child herself.
Almost immediately, Celestia ruled out the first and second options, since a detachment of Royal Guards was being sent to deal with the monsters that had been raiding from the Everfree Forest. It probably would not be the safest environment for the foal for a while. There was also the issue of rumors spreading to Ponyville because of that. The second option was not going to happen, since Celestia would never force anypony to do something they didn’t want to. So that left only one option left. Celestia sighed. The final option was not going to be easy, While most of her subjects would be fine with this, as they saw her as a god, the majority of the nobles wouldn’t stand for it, especially if it cut into court. They would most likely view the child as a threat to their political power. Still…
Celestia found herself walking swiftly towards the infirmary yet again. She arrived, briefly musing over raising the child in secret. Arriving, she nodded to the mare on duty there as she bowed. Stopping at the bed holding the baby unicorn, she found that he was awake, and staring at her with his blank eyes. She sat down next to the bed, the foal’s head following her movement. He can see….But how?, Celestia thought.
Celestia’s horn glowed, and a beautiful golden light encompassed the foal, who showed no reaction. The spell she was casting targeted the pony’s soul she was casting it on, and would bring up a general image of it. Celestia had also modified the spell to inform her of any evil influences over the soul. In her mind, the image began to form swiftly, but what she found perplexed her.
The image that appeared was of the unicorn, with a brilliant white soul, but had threads of different colors attached to it. These threads spiraled off in different directions, one thread was rainbow colored, another was more like a metal cord than anything else, and the other two were both jet black. Curious, Celestia shifted the scope of the spell to follow one of the threads. Choosing one of the black threads, she followed it until she reached its end. She found a sphere, matching the thread’s color almost completely, except for the bright symbol in the center. It glowed bright blue, and surrounded the sphere in its glow. At first, Celestia wasn’t sure what it meant, but as she kept looking at it, she noticed a few things.
The first was that the blue aura stretched down the thread, but was only faintly visible at that point. The second was that the aura around the sphere seemed to expand and contract in certain areas, Almost like something was trying to free itself. The final thing, the one thing that disturbed Celestia the most, was the fact that red eyes bared in hatred would flash across the sphere every couple of minutes. Moving her focus away from the sphere, she followed the other threads to see what was at the end of each one. The rainbow colored thread had an amorphous blob consisting of shifting elements at the end, the grey one had a ring with several square ridges on the outside, and the final black one ended in absolutely nothing. However, all of the shapes had the same symbol and aura around it.
Celestia ended the spell, having seen enough. From she could gather from the spell, was that the unicorn was connected to three objects or creatures, one of them obviously malevolent. However, the other two that she could see didn’t seem to represent malevolence or benevolence. Celestia looked at the foal, who was staring back at her, a small smile present on it’s face. However, it wasn’t the smile that caught Celestia’s attention. No, it was the look in the newborn’s eyes which despite being milky white, still managed to convey a message of loneliness and despair.
A look that Luna had often given her many times before…..
Without even realizing it, Celestia had pulled the newborn into a tight hug. The faol squirmed for a second, but slowly nestled into her embrace. She looked the newborn in his eyes, and leaned down to whisper in his ear.
“I’m not going to abandon you.” She soothed,”Not ever.” The foal smiled, and nuzzled her cheek affectionately. Celestia closed her eyes, having thought up a name for the child already. It fit his Cutie Mark and, to a much darker extent, the column of light that shone from the elemental disaster:
Beacon
Several Years Later
“Mom, are you sure I can do this?” Beacon asked, worriedly. Celestia and her son were sitting near the entrance of the palace, waiting for the two Royal Guards to arrive to escort him to his entrance exam.
Celestia nodded,”Of course, but I thought you were looking forward to this?”
Beacon shifted nervously on his hooves.”Well yes...but now that it’s actually time for me to take it, I just...:”
Celestia smiled. Even though he had gone through some rough years, with the nobles either threatening or trying to pressure him into winning his favor, he was always worried about normal things.
She frowned, remembering the first year that she announced she was taking in the child. During that day alone, she had received over several hundred complaints and arguments as to why she shouldn’t have adopted him. Most of these, were unsurprisingly, the nobles. Over time, the general public of Equestria did come to accept Beacon, mostly because there really wasn’t anymore destructive incidents. The noble houses on the other hand, took a lot of convincing. Even still, some of them kept up the complaints. How Beacon could keep a level head for a colt his age, Celestia had no idea. However….
“Mom?”
Celestia shook herself out of her thoughts. Beacon had just asked her what he should do to pass the magic test to enter her school.
“The instructors will tell you what they want you to do.” Celestia replied, “But I need to warn you now, they might ask you to complete a more difficult task because you are my son. Now, it doesn’t matter if you succeed or fail, because I will still love you.”
Beacon nodded, calming down noticeably quickly,”Okay, that makes me feel a little better.”
The palace doors opened, halting anymore conversation as the two Royal Guards assigned to escort him arrived.
Celestia nuzzled her son, “Good luck today sweetheart. I love you.”
Beacon nodded, smiling brightly at her as the two guards led him away. “I love you too!” He called back as the doors swung shut.
Beacon arrived at his mother’s school, unable to admire the structure since the guards were in a hurry. The halls were mostly empty, since it was fairly early in the morning. In fact the only other ponies that were there were the exam overseers, a young lavender unicorn mare, and her parents. The family stared at him for a few seconds, then bowed as he passed. Out of both of these actions, only the bowing really bothered him now. The staring, not so much.A couple of years before, this would have bothered him. Now, it was just a common occurance. Still, after looking at himself in one of the many mirrors in the palace, he couldn’t really blame them. When compared to most ponies, he was the odd one of the bunch. His milky white eyes and metallic blue hooves were the typical cause of most staring, but beside having a physical strength that could smash through walls and being exceptionally powerful with magic, he was mostly normal.
“Prince Beacon?” Beacon turned to the blue unicorn mare wearing an overseer’s uniform was standing in front of an exam room. “This way sir.” The guards escorting him saluted and took positions outside the door as he went in.
The room had white walls decorated with banners depicting the sun, with several rows of seats in the back, a chalkboard at the front, and a small empty pedestal in the middle. Two other unicorns, a stallion and another mare, were seated in the back rowk. The blue mare took her seat in between the two, while Beacon moved to the empty pedestal.
After a few minutes of silence, the blue mare spoke,”Prince Beacon, are you ready to begin?” Beacon nodded, mentally prepping himself for whatever test they could throw at him. The blue mare gave him a very smug grin, which sent a shiver down his spine.
The mare levitated a large rock over to the pedestal, but did not put it down,”I want you to make our magic stop working.” She told him, never losing her smug smile. The rock was immediately surrounded by two other auras from the other unicorns.
“How am I supposed to do that?” demanded Beacon, now a little pissed off.
The mare shrugged,”You’re the one being tested here, unless you want to lose admission to the school, then I would make it happen. Of course, you can always give up…”
Beacon rolled his eyes. Mother had warned him that they might test him harder than the others, but this was ridiculous! How could he make a unicorn’s magic cease to work? Beacon’s eyes closed as began to rack his brain for a solution. There was no way he was going to give up, not by a long shot, but….An idea popped up, but was quickly dismissed. There was no way he was going to use dark magic for that. Not ever, since Mother taught him how corrupting it was. There had to be another way though!. Beacon ground his teeth in frustration, but stopped.
He felt something, building up inside of him. It sure didn’t feel like magic, but something told him to allow to charge. What was it though? Beacon felt his body heat up, and he glanced at his left foreleg. His eyes widened in alarm as he saw his bones through his glowing skin. The instructors were now staring at him in horror, except for the blue furred mare, although she did look a lot less smug now. Beacon flinched as he felt the energy rush straight for his horn. The and there was the sound of stone smashing from somewhere in the building, but Beacon didn’t pay to much attention to it. He was too busy wondering why the energy was now surging in his body again. His vision went white and his ears started ringing as the energy was released.
When his vision cleared, he saw that the room was still intact. The only difference?
The rock was on the pedestal.
Grinning at the three instructors, who were sitting slack jawed at him, Beacon walked forward until he was a few feet away from the rows of seats.
“Did I pass?” Beacon asked. The blue furred mare shook herself out of her stupor and glared at him. Turning to the stone, she stared at it intensely, sweat starting to appear on her head. Finally she stopped and looked at Beacon with shock. The other two overseers attempted to move the rock themselves, but ended up the same.
“Y-You….passed.” She stuttered, completely baffled.
“Thank you.” Beacon a smug smile on his face as he left the room.
The two guards were not outside, and the only thing Beacon sensed were traces of powerful magic. Had something happened? Beacon’s panic was significantly subdued when he sensed his mother nearby. Sighing in relief, Beacon walked over to the room where he had sensed her and went in.
Inside, was his mother, his two escort guards, the unicorn family he saw earlier, and four overseers that looked pretty shocked. The lavender unicorn filly was admiring her flank, which had a Cutie Mark in the shape of a light reddish star surrounded by white stars. She looked just about his age! Celestia turned and smiled at him, ushering him forward with a hoof.
“Beacon, this is Twilight Sparkle. She’s going to be learning with you in school here.” She told him, her loving smile never wavering. The lavender colored filly looked at him, a little nervous.
“Hi…” She half mumbled, half whispered.
“Hello.” Beacon replied, a little nervous himself. One of the four overseers brought over a bag containing the textbooks for Twilight and set them next to her. Almost immediately, Twilight lost her antisocialness and dove into the bag, pulling out the class textbook immediately. Beacon was a little curious himself, so he looked at the page she was reading.
“Oooh, advanced transmutation spells!” Beacon gasped. Twilight turned her head and looked at him with surprise.
“You know transmutation?” She asked.
He nodded,”Yep, I know a few of them, along with some advanced shielding spells. Want me to show you?”
Twilight sprouted a grin that stretched across most of her face as she nodded.
The two of them began to talk about spells and the inner workings of them. Celestia and Twilight’s parents smiled at the two.
“I think Twilight’s found a friend.” Her father said. Celestia nodded.
“Yes, I believe she has.” Celestia replied, smiling a little broader.
Author's Note
Sorry for the delay. I write pieces of this at a time, and sometimes I have to rewrite them myself( I do not have an editor to send this to) to see if I can make them better. Please comment on what you thought of it below and if I can fix anything in it. Now to get started on the next chapter: The Mare in the Moon.
“-and Harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since.” Twilight finished, moving onto the next page of the book. The picture of the Elements of Harmony intrigued her. There were six gems of different color, surrounded with a ring of patterned gold.
“Hmmm, Elements of Harmony, I know I’ve heard of those before.” Twilight mused, tapping a hoof on her chin in thought.
“But where?” She wondered.
“So I’m going to Ponyville this year to help set up the celebration of the Summer Sun Celebration?” Beacon relayed back to his mother.
Celestia nodded,”Yes, I figured it might be a good time for you to leave the political strife of the courts for a little bit, and makes some friends.”
“But...I already have friends!” Beacon protested, not wanting to leave his home.
Celestia chuckled,”Besides Twilight, can you tell me who else you have been hanging around with in the library?”
“I…..” He stuttered.
Celestia nuzzled her son affectionately,”Twilight will be going as well, so you’ll have someone to talk to while you get settled for the time being.”
“Really?” Beacon asked, losing some of his reluctance. His milky white eyes seem to glow a little bit.
Celestia nodded,”Yes. I believe it’s time for her to start to make friends as well.”
Beacon frowned. It seemed like a fairly weak reason for his best friend to go. There must be a different reason for Twilight to be going, though he wasn’t complaining. Having another pony to talk about spells, and other subjects was a relief to him. They both had different views on spells and history, which led to some pretty good debates between the two.
Beacon’s pondering was interrupted by a letter flying in, via dragonfire. Immediately he know from the tint of the coloring that it was Spike, Twilight’s assistant baby dragon. His mother opened it up, frowned, then teleported it away.
Beacon was surprised. He had never seen his mother do that to one of Twilight’s letters before. Perhaps his friend was just as reluctant to go as he was? Celestia produced a quill and paper, wrote a rather long response, and then sent it away. Turning her attention back to her son, her smile returned.
“Beacon, it will only be until the Gala comes around. Don’t worry, if you feel like you need to talk to me, just send me a letter and I will write back immediately.” She soothed.
“Well…..Okay Mom, I’ll go.” Beacon gave in. Until the Gala didn’t seem too bad. Plus he had Twilight to talk to as well during that time. It wouldn’t be that bad.
“Thank you. The carriage to take you and Twilight is by the northern barracks entrance. I have told the mayor of Ponyville to expect you to be there, but she told me that she didn’t have anymore available housing since Twilight took the library, but I told her you could make one yourself using your magic.”
Beacon nodded in agreement. If there was one thing he had become unrivaled in with magic, it was mastering the primal elements of the world. Making a simple house would be a fairly easy task for him.
“I’d better get going. I love you Mom.” Beacon sighed, still not wanting to go. Celestia wrapped her wings around her son and pulled him into one last hug.
“I love you too, and I’m proud of you for going.” She whispered in his ear before they broke away. She gave Beacon a motherly kiss before he broke into a gallop towards the barracks, his face starting to get red.
Celestia watched him go, the spell she had secretly cast on him taking effect. The spell would allow her to moniter her son’s soul, and its connection to those things. IF there was any disturbance, it would let her know. Celestia closed her eyes, and left Beacon’s room. The reason she was sending Beacon to Ponyville was to test to see if her sister’s return would have any effect on those things that orbited his soul. IF anything should happen, then Twilight and the Elements would be there to step in. Celestia had faith in her student to protect her son should anything happen. If all went according to her plan, her sister would be returned to normal, and she gain valuable information about the objects around Beacon’s soul, since normal examinations revealed nothing, even to a goddess like herself.
“Stay safe my son….” She whispered.
“-so I’m sending you and Beacon to supervise the Summer Sun Celebration in this years location: Ponyville.” Spike read aloud from the letter. Twilight sat towards the left side of the golden chariot, her front hooves hanging off the railing as she grumbled inaudibly. Beacon was to the right, admiring the changing scenery as they flew. He never been outside of Canterlot before, so this was fairly new to him. At times he would gawk at the rivers, different trees, and noticeable wildlife. Unlike Twilight, Beacon was now enjoying the trip. HIs mood brightened considerably more when he saw the town. It was completely different from the city! The houses looked rustic and cozy with their design and-was that a bakery made of CAKE?!
“And, I have an even more essential task for you to complete: Make some friends!” Spike finished with a flourish.
Beacon heard Twilight groan as they began to descend. While he would have shared that groan with her, he had never experienced ponies that were not the nobles of Canterlot, so perhaps he could open up a small amount for the time being anyway.
“Look on the bright side Twilight, the princess arranged for you to stay in a library! Doesn’t that make you happy?” Spike pleaded, trying to put his friend in a good mood. Then a thought crossed his mind,”Say Prince Beacon, where are you going to stay?” he asked.
Beacon turned his attention to the small drake,”Probably close by, though I will have to find ample to room to build my house after all the celebration is over.” He replied, inwardly looking forward to the chance to show off what he learned to do.
Spike laughed,”Oh yeah, I forgot that you could do that now. I can’t wait to see it for myself!’ Beacon smiled. Spike had always been excited to see new spells being performed by both him and Twilight.
“Actually Beacon, after we finish checking to make sure the celebration is ready, could you meet me in the library? I need you to help me with something important.” Twilight had turned away from the ledge, and was staring at him with an expression that betrayed a little bit of hopefulness.
Beacon nodded,”Of course Twilight, what is it you need my help with? He asked, a little curious.
“Oh she believes that some old prophecy about Nightmare Moon’s return is about to come true tonight.” Spike immediately responded before Twilight could answer.
Beacon did not reply, feeling something build up inside of him…..His vision went red for a second as he felt whatever it was charge up an incredible amount of not magic, but power, however it quickly dissipated. His vision refocused on Twilight, who was looking at him expectantly. He had to respond quickly, he could think about it later.
“Why would you think that prophecy would come true?” He asked her, raising an eyebrow.
Twilight huffed,”Because I read about it the ancient book of prophecies! It wouldn’t have been in there if it wasn’t going to come true! Beacon, you believe I’m right, don’t you?”
Beacon briefly mulled over this. As long as he had known Twilight, she had always been obsessed with being right about everything factual and magic. Whenever she found a source was wrong, she went searching for a different one. If she had pulled the prophecy from the book Spike had mentioned, then….Perhaps she was right. However, Beacon wondered how somepony would miss something like that.
Beacon gave her a small smile and nodded,”Yeah, I believe you Twilight.”
“Really?!” Spike sputtered, shocked.
Beacon nodded, but was cut off from proving belief by the chariot landing. Twilight hopped off and thanked them both before turning back to him.
“Don’t worry, I won’t forget.” Beacon assured her before she could say anything. Twilight smiled and nodded in agreement before turning away from the chariot to leave. Beacon closed his eyes as he listened to Spike plead and ask her about making friends. The only things he learned were a shy, “Hello…” followed by a loud gasp. Getting off the chariot, he nodded to the guards, who bowed respectfully, then headed towards the town center, where he saw a group of Earth Ponies discussing something.
The town center was fairly noticeable, since it towered over the rest of the structures. A large tower dominated its center, and a darkish tan Earth Pony mare with a grey mane and glasses was speaking to other Earth Ponies with construction hats. One of the Earth Ponies, a red stallion who towered over the rest, nudged the grey maned pony and gestured to him. The mare turned around, her eyes widened, and she hastily bowed.
“Prince Beacon, it is honor to meet you.” She spoke with the voice of somepony moving past their prime.
“The pleasure is mine.” He replied,”I assume you are the mayor of Ponyville?”
She rose, nodding,” Yes I am Your Highness. My name Is Mayor Mare.”
Beacon smiled,”Nice to meet you. How are the preparations coming along?” He asked, a little anxious to speak to Twilight about Nightmare Moon.
“I’m sure that you will be pleased with what we have planned.” Mayor Mare answered, pride seeping into her voice. “We have spared no expense for this celebration! If you will follow me Your Highness, I will show you some of what we have planned.” She turned towards the other Earth Ponies,”Get the materials for what Princess Celestia requested and meet back here. I”ll give you further instructions when I’m done.” The Earth Ponies nodded and left down one of the main streets of Ponyville. Mayor Mare turned back to face him.
“Right this way Your Highness.” She beckoned him to follower her.
“How are you liking Ponyville so far Your Highness?” The mayor asked them as they trotted along the streets, ponies bustling back and forth, chattering excitedly, and some pointing Beacon’s way.
Beacon chuckled,”Considering I have only been here for about five minutes since I landed with my friends, I would say that it is definitely interesting.”
Mayor Mare arched an eyebrow,”Really?” She inquired.
Beacon nodded,”Yep, i’ve never been outside Canterlot before, so Ponyville is an entirely new experience for me. I will admit though, I was fairly reluctant to leave home at first.”
Mayor Mare laughed softly,”That’s something natural that everypony must go through at some point.”
“Indeed..” Beacon agreed swiftly,”Though most ponies may not admit to those feelings so quickly.”
“It’s only natural, but I’m sure that you did not come here to discuss reluctance and homesickness. “
Beacon smiled and straightened himself a little as they walked,”You’re right. How is the preparation coming along?”
"We have our finest ponies overseeing most of the critical components of the Celebration and we have spared no expense to make sure that the Summer Sun Celebration in Ponyville will be the most memorable. The-" At this point, Beacon partially tuned out the mayor. He needed to mull something over, and now was as good as time as any. He wanted to know about what he had experienced on the chariot. What had happened? Where had that build up of power come from, and why had his vision reddened? Was it the name Twilight had mentioned earlier? Nightmare Moon?
Almost immediately, Beacon's vision reddened and he felt that surge of power once again. Except this time, he glimpsed something, but only for an instant. It was some form of creature, bipedal, and completely made of the four classical elements, but the image faded before Beacon could gather any more about the creature.
"-best. Don't you think Your Majesty?" Mayor Mare cheerfully asked him. Beacon mentally shook off his shock. She had just finished rambling on about her finest ponies being in charge of the celebration, and had just asked him if he thought so too.
"If you have that much faith in your ponies, then I would have to say yes." Beacon nodded, a little shakily.
"I'm glad you agree!"The old mare seemed to brighten even more before she stopped and gestured to the area in front of her,"Here we are."
Beacon's eyes widened. They were still in the town, but in one of the more open areas in it. A few ponies with hardhats were waiting for them nearby, a wide assortment of building materials nearby. Beacon understood immediately: This was where his house was going to be made.
"Now, the letter from the Princess told us that you would be taking care of the house building yourself, and the only thing you required being made was a door. I was unsure of what she meant by that, so I had these ponies gather the materials just in case." The mayor explained.
Beacon smiled,"That's very generous of you Mayor but I don't need the materials. I'll be able to make the house with my magic." Taking a step forward, he cast a spell that did a brief analysis on the area before him. There was some animal life in the area, but fortunately, it was mainly underground. So that meant.....
Stepping forward, Beacon closed his eyes and concentrated. Calling on his magic, he felt its surge around himself and light his horn as he called on the four classical elements....and brought them into the area for construction.
WHUMPH!
The construction ponies and the mayor jumped back in alarm as a boulder larger than a house appeared out of nowhere. Before they could even twitch, water spouted upward from the ground nearby, flowing against what would be normal for a geyser. The water streamed around the rock and split itself into four streams of equal sizes before stopping just over the house.
By now, more and more ponies had arrived to watch the elemental marvel that was taking place directly in front of them. This quickly turned into fear and astonishment as the four floating streams of water reared back, and shot forward at an impossible speed at the giant boulder. Pieces of rock were flung away from the boulder as the water cut through it, Normally ,these bits of shrapnel would have collided with the flesh of the gathered ponies, but before it could connect, it was stopped and set down gently by winds that had begun bellowing around the site. Slowly, the fear that some had in the display faded, and they began to stare at awe in the spectacle as flames began to dance around the structure. The water's furious attacks ceased, and the geyser that sprouted it vanished, pulling the lasts of its waters in with it. What was left was a stone house, of equal size to the houses around, just without a door and windows. The latter, was fixed almost immediately as the winds that had shielded the crowds from flying shrapnel seem to collect sand out of nowhere. Both the dancing flames and the now sandy winds all converged on the house, engulfing it in a whirlwind. What should have happened was a glass dome should have been made, but instead after the elements dissipated, the only things formed were windows.
Beacon sat down, as the crowd began to cheer in admiration. None of the ponies here had seen a unicorn put together a house with that kind of magic before. However, he didn't hear any of this, nor notice it. What he was seeing, was an inky black void, darker than the blackest cavern. The only sound he heard, were terrified screams, but even they were faint, but they were getting louder. Fear and panic seized him, fear of the unknown and everything that came along with it. These emotions rose within him, until something arrived within his vision. Two eyes, one white, the other crimson, opened up in front of him. The only sound he heard, was the screaming, and it felt like who ever it was was right in front of him, like the eyes were.
Not yet, he isn't ready and the seal is too strong on him right now. The eyes faded, and Beacon was assaulted by the noise of the ponies behind him who were yammering about him.
"I have never seen anyone perform magic like that!" the unmistakable voice of the mayor chirped behind him,"And you don't even look tired!"
It was true, unlike the last few times he had manipulated the classical elements, this time he felt no waves of exhaustion building up inside him. In fact, he felt like he had just finished resting a peaceful nap!
"I don't....understand." He whispered to himself, less about the lack of exhaustion, and more about the vision he just had. What were those eyes? Who was talking? What did the voice mean by he wasn't ready? Where-..
Beacon nearly doubled over as pain lanced through his mind and through his body. His vision went red, not from pain or anything like that. No, it was rage, barely restrained, and enough to consume-.
Celestia dropped the papers from her magic grasp, sensing an alarming build up of raw power. Her eyes widened as she felt its source coming from her son Beacon, and the spell she had cast on him was going insane. Composing herself, she closed her eyes and focused in on the spell. Celestia was greeted by the image of Beacon's soul, which looked no different. The three objects orbiting his soul? They had moved, but at least the seal upon them was keeping-
Celestia gasped and released the spell. Something was affecting the barriers that kept the entities at bay. Could it be-
"Your Majesty?" Celestia turned towards the speaker.
"The chariot is ready to depart to Ponyville for the celebration Your Highness." The blue furred pegasus informed her. Celestia nodded in acknowledgement. This meant that it was time for her to lower the sun. The movement of the entities around her son's soul still bothered her, but she knew that she was already heading to Ponyville. Celestia just hoped that she would get there before Nightmare Moon broke free....
In Ponyville, the sun had already gone down soon after Beacon's spectacular magic display. Beacon himself was heading to the library, where he had promised to meet with Twilight. To his surprise, no pony was following him there, even after he built his house. To give credit where it is owed, the mayor did help clear some of the crowd away, telling them that there was going to be a party later with a pony named Pinkie. Which basically gave him some time to think about the vision and the pain that had pierced his mind as he slowly trotted to the library.
These emotions, they... they burn! It gnaws at my being! Why is this happening?! Beacon winced as pain lanced through him again. I can't take much more of this....maybe Twilight will know. I just have to ask her after we discuss the prophecy thing. Beacon, stopped walking, finally hearing the noise coming from within his destination. The library was a tree, with a house carved into it. A door was at its base, with a balcony hanging overhead to the left. Windows were placed a little spontaneously around the structure, standing out very clearly from the thick bark. Each of the windows glowed with light from the inside, and shadows moved around distorting it. The noise coming from the library, was music, and the excited babbling of other ponies.
Is this...where the party is being held? Beacon wondered before going inside. He knocked at the door, and almost fell over as it was instantaneously opened the moment his first knock landed. He was greeted by a pink blur, who seemed to be under the effects of some strange language spell...Or she was just talking way to fast for him to understand. Recoiling away, Beacon finally saw the pink blur stop moving and talking long enough for him to see what it was. It was an Earth Pony mare, and she was obviously very hyper about something. Her mane was a bit darker than her fur, but it was just so....so poofy! It defied everything he had seen at Canterlot!
"Youdon'ttalkmuchdoyouthat'sokaycuzIcantalkforbothofusI'm-" The pink mare's babbling was lost on Beacon as he went inside, putting "Crazy Talking Mare" under an "Ignore" list. Inside, dozens of ponies were laughing, playing games, and eating. Not something you would expect in a library. Looking around at the assorted ponies, he managed to catch a glimpse of Spike coming down the stairs on the far side of the room, with a very tired and cross Twilight following. Pushing his way through the crowd, he met them both at the bottom of the stairs.
"Beacon!" Twilight gasped, then composed herself,"We need to talk, upstairs. Thank you Spike, for letting me know he was heading here."
"Um...well actually Pinkie was the one who told me he was coming in..." Spike admitted, smiling weakly.
"How did she know that I..." Twilight started, but Beacon waved a hoof in front of her to refocus her attention.
"Twilight, weren't we going to talk about the prophecy?"
"Yea but.....Nevermind, come on upstairs, it's too noisy with all those crazy ponies down there. "Twilight grumbled, heading back up. Beacon followed her, not blaming Spike for wanting to stay in the party. He was still a child after all, dragon or not.
Upstairs in the library was clearly made for living, with a small kitchen, a table and a bedroom tucked off to the side. Twilight had gone over to the window next to the bed, and was staring up into the night sky.
"-the stars will aid in her escape..." She murmured, almost as if she was in a trance. Curious about what she was looking at so intently, Beacon walked up beside her and looked. His eyes grew wide at the stars that were slowly moving towards the moon, with the image of a tall unicorn's head now visible upon it. Twilight seemed to notice this and turned her head to face his.
"Do you see them?" She asked softly.
"So she really is coming back then." He responded, now feeling alarm building up within him.
"To bring about eternal night, unless we find the Elements of Harmony." Twilight responded, moving away from the window and bringing out a book, which Beacon recognized as the Ancient Book of Prophecies.
"The Elements of Harmony?" Beacon asked,"What are those?"
Twilight seemed surprised,"You don't know about them?"
He shook his head,"No, this is the first time I have actually heard about them."
An Hour Later
"-and those are the Elements of Harmony and why it is imperative that we find them!" Twilight exclaimed.
Beacon rubbed his eyes, the lecture Twilight had just given him had somehow made him exceptionally drowsy,"Okay, I understand now, but was the hour long lecture really necessary?" He complained.
Before Twilight could respond, Spike came upstairs with a lampshade on his head.
"Hey Twilight, Beacon! The Celebration is about to start!" He called, sounding a little too happy.
"I'll keep an eye on the moon, if anything happens, let me take care of it." Beacon assured her, even though he still had doubts himself. Now that Twilight's lecture was over, he was still worried about what had happened later that day. If something like that should happen when Nightmare Moon showed up....Beacon shook his head. He couldn't afford to think like that, especially now.....
Twilight filed into the Town Center behind the other ponies, who were all busy admiring the decorations, or whispering rumors to each other. Beacon had been called away, the mayor wanting him to have a special place for the ceremony. Spike was riding on her back, taking in the scenery, not a care in the world.
"Isn't this exciting?!" The pink Earth Pony called Pinkie exclaimed right next to her, making Twilight take a couple steps away from her.
"Areyouexcited,becauseI'mexcitedi'veneverbeensoexcitedinmylife!WellexceptfortimethatIsawyouwalkinginthistownandIwent *gasp* butImeanreally,whocouldtopthat?" She babbled on, never stopping to take a breath at least once. Any further dialogue was thankfully cut off as five birds began to sing in a heralding fashion, the shy yellow pegasus pony Fluttershy conducting them.
A spotlight appeared from the top of the building, traveling all the way down, stopping for a moment on a balcony above that was covered by curtain before arriving on ground level, centered on the mayor.
"Fillies and Gentlecolts!" She proclaimed throughout the congregation of the town, "As mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!" The gathered ponies around Twilight began to cheer wildly, but her attention was focused on the moon. As the mayor went on, Twilight saw the stars that had been moving towards it vanish, along with the Mare in the Moon's face. Ignoring the mayor as she continued, Twilight looked around for Beacon, finding him on the balcony covered by curtains, nearby the white furred unicorn Rarity. His gazed moved to her and he nodded, smiling softly. Despite him assuring her that he would take care of it, Twilight wasn't so sure. He was a powerful unicorn, that was certain. But this was Nightmare Moon, the pony that had originally moved the moon, a goddess! How would he be able to face her?
"-Princess Celestia and her son Beacon!" the Mayor roared out with glee. Rarity pulled the curtains apart and Fluttershy's birds sang in a dramatic fashion to match. Everypony craned their necks or reared up to see their beloved princess. However, soon this turned into confusion, because what they saw was something they did not expect.
There was no pony behind the curtains!
"This can't be good.." Twilight said to herself. Nervous murmuring broke out as the mayor attempted to calm everyone down. Pinkie Pie burst out into what Twilight decided to deem "fits" and claimed that she loved guessing games. Rarity on the other hand, came out from checking in the room below, Beacon not coming back with her, stating every pony's worst fears.
"She's gone!"
"Oooh, She's good!" Pinkie whispered to Twilight, amist the gasping ponies, then gasped at the balcony.
A swirling mist of ominous dark blue was building itself up, causing Rarity to back away from it. Beacon, was still nowhere to be seen. The mist began to form itself into a large alicorn shape.
"Oh no.." Twilight whispered, watching the alicorn's pitch black skin, light blue armor, and swirling star mane finish forming. "Nightmare Moon." Spike took that oppurtunity to promptly faint and fall off her back.
"Oh my beloved subjects!" The Mistress of the Night spoke, with a pleasant voice, "It's been so long since I have seen your previous little, sun-loving faces." She ended with a hiss.
"What did you do with our princess?!" Demanded the mare Twilight recognized as Rainbow Dash. The pegasus attempted to charge Nightmare Moon, but was pulled back by the Earth Pony, Applejack. Nightmare Moon started to chuckle, but Twilight heard someone interrupt what would have turned into a villainous laugh.
"Yes....What did you do with my mother, Nightmare Moon?" Demanded Beacon, who held a calm expression on his face as he emerged behind Nightmare Moon.
"Mother..." Nightmare Moon's expression turned vicious as her long horn flared up with magic. Twilight watched as the evil alicorn picked up her friend and throw him over the edge.
"You'll find out boy, because I'll send you TO HER!" Nightmare Moon howled at him, blasting a powerful spell from her horn. The crowd gasped as the Prince was swallowed up by darkness from the spell. Twilight put a hoof over her mouth, as the darkness began to shrink....But that was when the scream came.
This scream was not one of pain, hopelessnes, or even despair. This one was of rage....pure, and simple. The darkness that had surrounded Beacon immediately vaporized in the explosion of a light of blue, green, red, and white. However, that light soon turned black, then finally grey before it vanished.
Beacon stood unharmed in the place where he had been thrown and then blasted. Only this time, he was a little different. His coat seemed to be alive somehow, with it shifting from a rock texture, to fire. His mane also seemed this way, as it went from wisps of wind, to streams of water. The unicorn's eyes now had irises, each one replacing the whiteness of his pupils with brown, blue, white and red. His hooves seemed to bend the very space around him, making it shimmer.
Nightmare Moon looked surprised, but that quickly turned into a disgusted scowl as Beacon spoke.
His expression was calm, but his voice betrayed barely restrained fury as he demanded.
"Answer.... The.... Question."
Author's Note
Sorry for the delay, I had to completely rewrite this chapter over and over again. Just couldn't decide where Beacon should have gone at first. If any of the characters seem OC let me know please.
Enjoy my longest chapter yet, and please tell me in the comments how I can make it much better.
Next Chapter: Změna. First of the Sealed
