Chapters Prologue
What else are we supposed to do? Get up at the end of the day, beginning of our nights. We work endlessly trying to protect both equestria, and Lady Lunamaria. Pardon, Princess Luna. Both of these are tireless, daunting jobs. Most of the time, we have to protect the Princess from herself. She doesn't know much about Equestria any more, not after spending the past thousand years on the moon. No, it seems we've had to come in and protect her from her ignorance.
As if she were a child.
"Oh but Black Moon..." Luna pleaded, smiling softly. "You promised there would be no more diplomats, dignitaries, princes, kings..." She mumbled, counting the number of people in the room as she named of titles. "And... And... Ah, who cares. I wanna go on an adventure."
"No Princess." Black Moon, the current Chief-of-Staff, and Head, of the Lunar Brigade. "I'm afraid the last fiasco at Appleoosa has caused an uproar across Equestria." He continued, looking over his half moon spectacles, as he read a parchment just handed to him. "Your sister and I agree, that you shouldn't go on any... Adventures for a while."
"But..." Luna said, still pleading, as she looked away from the dignitary in front of her, to look at Black Moon. "But... I handled that Windego just like I said I would... It didn't do much..."
"If by much, you mean destroy half the Apple orchard, Kill seven-teen ponies, five of which were just foals, and ate half the livestock," Black Moon said looking up from the parchment, before handing it to Luna. "Then yes, it didn't do much."
"I said sorry didn't I?"
"Yes, you did." Black Moon sighed, shaking his head. "How ever, that doesn't bring back the ponies, nor does it get them their missing crop back."
"Right..." Luna sighed, before smiling as an idea came to mind. "Why can't we send food over to them? As a relief effort maybe?"
"There are some things you need to understand Princess Lunamaria." Black Moon continued, ignoring Luna. "The world of Equestria has changed a lot. There are thousands of more ponies now then from your time. I'd say millions, however due to the inaccurate census system of the time, it's a difficult subject. Because of this Luna each town, city, even fiefdom, needs all the food it can produce.
"Yes a wonderful idea, however there are some areas that produce an excess of food, such as the Apple family farm, however they produce enough extra for a small amount of people. Not to mention for their Apple Cider business." Black Moon sighed, shaking his head. "I'll tell you one thing, The Apple family Cider is one of the best I've had. But, that's beyond the point. The point being the feudal age of Equestria is ending, more and more power is being siphoned from Princess Celestia, and you as well."
"But, doesn't that mean..."
"Yes," Black Moon said, interrupting Luna. "The Canterlot Nobles are in fact the ones who have the real power in Equestria, Celestia and Your roles as Princesses are more of a honorary title now, and will do very little beyond letting you into things faster."
"Ma'am?" A Lunar guard said, walking up to them. "You have a visitor."
"Oh, can't it wait?" Luna asked, sighing as she rested her head on the arm of the throne. "I'm being lectured again..."
"No Ma'am." The Lunar guard said, "It's the Gryphon Diplomat Draken Claw, he also said to say that it was a matter of..."
"Did you say Draken Claw?" Luna said, her ears perking with interest. "The Draken Claw? One of the few ponies... er, Gryphons who've befriended me? That Draken Claw? I didn't know that Gryphons lived for more then a thousand years..."
"Ah no, that's not so." A large male Gryphon said, waltzing into the room, all while three other Lunar Guards were attempting to hold him back. "I in fact am actually Draken Claw the Twenty-second," Draken Claw said chuckling as he shook the ponies off of him. "It was my ancestor who you knew Mi'lady Lunamaria." He chuckled, holding up one of her hoofs and kissing it. "It is an honor to actually meet you."
"Oh, well at least somepony's still chivalrous..." Luna grumbled, glaring at Black Moon.
"Chivalry is an important part of life my dear." Draken Claw said chuckling. "Now, be so kind, as to tell these guards I'm not about to kill you, I'd hate to hurt them..."
"So what is it that brought you here Draken Claw?" Black Moon asked, watching the large Gryphon. They had since moved into the more private meeting area, as Draken Claw requested. "And why insist on meeting here?"
"Because of this." Draken replied, taking out what looked to be an old relic from some where in his clothes. "My researchers found this in an old ruin deep in the mountains. It's pony design is it not?"
"It is." Black Moon stated, taking the relic from Draken. "And it's old... We might not have anything on something like this. You say they found it in the mountains?"
"Yes."
"Well, it was smart of you to come to us about it." He sighed, examining the relic more. "I will have to look into this..." He chuckled, looking at Draken. "Would you mind if I keep it, while I look into what it is?"
"There will be no need for that Black Moon." Luna said, eyeing the relic. "I know what it is. I've seen it before."
"You do?" Draken said a smile on his face. "Or... you have?"
"Indeed," Luna said sighing. "It's an ancient artifact, ancient even from before my imprisonment." She continued, a soft nostalgic sigh escaping her. "There were, was, four of them in total. Each of them were owned by what were called Pillars. Both me and Celestia learned were taught by one such Pillar, he wore his."
"Ancient even to the Alicorn sisters..." Draken said smiling, as he looked at the relic. "It must contain so much power. Ponies would fight over that power."
"Indeed." Luna said nodding. "Which is why I'm asking you to return it to were you found it." She demanded. "And take one of my... er... guards, along with you. To ensure that it's been returned."
"That dangerous eh?" Draken chuckled, as he took the relic back.
"I would have liked to examine it a bit longer though." Black Night sighed, shaking his head. "Such an interesting relic, and from an age we know nothing about too."
"I know of your hobby Black Moon." Luna said, shaking her head. "You are a military stallion, and will attempt to use the artifact."
"So, which fine young gentlepony am I taking with me?" Draken chuckled, as he pocketed the relic.
"Hm... Take Raging Night with you." Luna said sighing s she looked around the room. "He's seemed stressed lately, and would benefit from getting out of Canterlot."
~~~ ~~~
"Oh, do come now Mr. Night." Draken Claw chuckled, as he sat upon the bed in his Hotel Room. "There was no need for you to follow me to my hotel room. It is not as if I'd run off an attempt to use a Pony relic. I've no need for them."
"Even so." Raging said, sighing as he stood at the door watching. "It is my duty, as given by Princess Lunamaria, to protect the Artifact, and prevent it's use."
"Well, it's not like I'd use it..."
"That is not what worries me."
"You think Sir Black Moon will attempt to steal it?"
"I do." Raging sighed, looking out the window before pacing around the room. "It is something he has done in the past. It worries me that Luna trusts his council, or that she trusts him long enough to let him in the building."
"So the Sir steals relics eh?"
"Yes, in the interest of studying them he claims. But, as the Princess stated,"
"There is a higher chance he'll try to use them." Draken said, finishing Raging's sentence. "Seems we're at an impasse then..." Chucking, he placed the relic in a small wooden box, before stuffing the box into the folds of the bed Raging was to sleep on. "There, happy?"
"Much." Raging stated, nodding softly before checking to see if Draken actually put the relic in the box.
"Not a trusting one are you Mr. Night?" Draken chuckled, as he sat upon the bed, yawning. "Well no matter, it's time for rest. We shall begin our daring quest to return the relic to where my people found it."
Author's Note
[Word of note, this takes place in an alternate universe where only season one, two, and the beginning of three have taken place.]
Chapter 1
"Not a trusting one are you Mr. Night?" Draken chuckled, as he sat upon the bed, yawning. "Well no matter, it's time for rest. We shall begin our daring quest to return the relic to where my people found it."
"Are you sure you heard something?" Draken Claw asked, having been woken up by Raging while in the middle of a pleasant dream.
"Yes," He replied, already on alert. "I heard shuffling. I fear someone might be here to try and take the Artifact while we sleep."
"Oh come now Mr. Night." Draken sighed, shaking a head as he laid back down. "This is an Inn after all, it makes sense you would hear noises, after all we aren't the only ponies here."
"Even so," Raging said, opening the blinds, flooding the room with light. "It would be better to take precaution. You never know when one of Black Moon's agents might try to come after us."
"Would they really try to steal from us while we are still in Canterlot? And in the middle of the day?" Draken asked, sighing. "I highly doubt that Mr. Moon would take such a risk."
"I suppose not." Raging sighed, shaking his head. "But I do not know what sort of risks he would take, nor what he plans."
"If I were Mr. Moon," Draken said, smiling as he turned to look for how to call for room service. "Then I would send either an Assassin to hunt us down before we reached the Temple, or a Tracker to follow us to said Temple and prevent us from completing our mission that way." He chuckled, nodding his head softly. "Or, you know... You could be reading to much into things and nothing will happen."
"I don't read to much into things." Raging said, glaring at Draken Claw. "And I also don't over think things."
"I didn't say that you did."
"You were thinking it."
"Was I?"
A hooded pony, appearing to be a mare, sighed. "That was close." She said, sighing as her horn glowed softly. "A bit too close for my comfort." She said, shaking. "I know he said that the mission would be difficult, but he never mentioned anything about a guard pony being a part of the group." She mumbled, shaking her head as she moved back to the lounge and the bar.
"Staying another night dear?"
"It would appear to be so..." The pony said, sighing softly. "Some Cider please?"
"Coming right up." The Inn's owner said, chuckling. "Honestly dear, you should take that cloak off sometime." He continued, as Raging Night and Draken Claw entered the lounge. "You'll look much prettier I believe." He chuckled turning to Raging and Draken. "Ah, good sirs, what will you be having at this fine hour?"
"It is definitely not a fine hour..." Raging sighed, rubbing his head with a hoof.
"I already told you that I was sorry dear Mr. Night." Draken chuckled, pruning one of his wings. "As I said, my wings have a mind of their own."
"Yes, well it would be best if you told that mind of theirs to not smack me in the head..." Raging said, glaring softly at Draken.
"Well..." The owner said, frowning slightly. "Then at the moment we find ourselves in, what would you like?"
"A slice of Moonberry pie perhaps?" Draken asked, smiling. "I heard that you people here sell it."
"Yes, Moonberry pie," The owner said, nodding. "Of course. And for you sir?"
"The same."
The mare sighed, watching the duo as the spoke. "This..." She sighed, shaking her head. "This is going to be an interesting day."
"This was a terrible idea..." Draken sighed, holding up what was left of his pie slice. "No one ever told me that Moonberries tasted so..."
"Sweet?"
"Yes, sweet. Thank you dear." He said, nodding at the cloaked mare who approached him. "And to what do we owe your approach for?"
"Just one thing really..." She sighed, shaking her head. "I over heard you two talking, You're heading into Gryphon lands?"
"Why yes." Draken nodded, smiling softly. "And to why, do we owe you asking that?"
"I would like to accompany you." She said, pulling her hood down. "See, I'm a bit of a scholar, and have heard that a rare book had appeared in Gryphon territory."
"Ah yes." Draken nodded, chuckling softly as Raging looked over the mare, almost glaring at her. "We do tend to get rare items, even books, at times. Come, come. Three is always better then two is it not?" He said, pulling both the mare and Raging into a big hug. "Wouldn't you agree Raging?"
2: The Long Game (Part 1)
Chapter 2
"I would like to accompany you." She said, pulling her hood down. "See, I'm a bit of a scholar, and have heard that a rare book had appeared in Gryphon territory."
"Ah yes." Draken nodded, chuckling softly as Raging looked over the mare, almost glaring at her. "We do tend to get rare items, even books, at times. Come, come. Three is always better then two is it not?" He said, pulling both the mare and Raging into a big hug. "Wouldn't you agree Raging?"
"No, I don't agree." Raging Night said, shaking his head at the scholar. "I'm sorry ma'am, but we're on a mission from Princess Luna and therefore taking on any..."
"Oh come now Mr. Night," Draken Claw interrupted, patting him on the back, chuckling at him. "We're heading in the same direction, might as well travel together, no?"
"Fine... but only until we reach Gryphon territory."
~~~ ~~~
Raging sighed, watching the mare that was traveling with them with a keen eye. At the moment she was softly humming to herself as the carriage they were in traveled along the road. It was a bit uncommon for ponies to travel to Gryphon lands, and so Equestria hadn't placed rails to the border yet, much to Raging's dismay. "Is it break time yet?" Draken Claw asked, lifting his head up a bit as he laid in his corner of the carriage, a few of the other members of the trip had backed as far as they could when they saw him. "It's been a bit and I'm starting to get hungry."
"Yes we can stop now." The driver of the carriage said, nodding a bit. "It's starting to get dark and we're still a few days away from the border."
"Oh good." Draken said smiling, looking towards the back, where all of the supplies were. "Then I shall find myself something nice to eat." He chuckled, as the carriage stopped.
"You there," A second cloaked mare said, approaching Raging as he sat a bit away from the other embers of their group. "You're headed deep into the Gryphon's territory aren't you?"
"What makes you say that?"
"Simple guess." She said chuckling a bit softly. "That, and I can read minds."
"I highly doubt that, you're cloak doesn't have the distinct unicorn horn bump, so you clearly aren't a Unicorn or a Alicorn, so you're either a Pegasus, or a Earth Pony," Raging said shaking his head. "Therefore you can't read minds."
"I can't read minds." The mare said, along with when Raging spoke the words. "Trust me, there are a lot more stranger things in the universe then most ponies know, wouldn't you agree Starseeker?"
"That's not my name..." Raging said, now glaring at the mare. "And how ever you came upon that name..."
"Shouldn't know it?" The mare interrupted, removing the hood of her cloak, revealing her rainbow mane, and distinct face half reptilian face. "Trust me Starseeker, there's more at play then you think."
"Who are you?"
"That's a secret. One you'll learn in the future, but not now." The Mare chuckled, nodding a bit. "For now, call me 'The Teacher.' " She continued, smiling a bit deviously.
"The... Teacher?" He repeated, blinking in confusion. "What an odd name..."
"It's odd yeah, but it's the name I must go by, history says so."
"History?"
"Well, the future for you, but let's not get into that... just yet."
"Fine," Raging said, sighing as both The scholar mare and Draken Claw approached them. "Say I believe you, say I agree that there might be more at play then I think, what do you care?" He asked, as she put the hood of her cloak back up when the two other member's reached them.
"Let's just say if you don't watch your backs, none of you will survive this trip." She answered, with a soft chuckle. "And that's not something I want." She said, before turning into smoke.
"Who... what... was that?" The scholar mare said, blinking a bit as she looked at Raging Night. "And what did she mean... we won't survive?"
"I don't know." Raging said, sighing. "And I don't care... did you eat enough?"
"Yes, I did." Draken said, chuckling a bit. "And quite frankly, as long as we make it to Gryphon lands, we should be fine."
Author's Note
The universe is a curious thing, twisting this way and that way, some times crossing over itself. See, time and space both are rivers, that flow in a never ending circle.~Deacon
3: The Long Game (Part 2)
Chapter 3
"Let's just say if you don't watch your backs, none of you will survive this trip." She answered, with a soft chuckle. "And that's not something I want." She said, before turning into smoke.
"Who... what... was that?" The scholar mare said, blinking a bit as she looked at Raging Night. "And what did she mean... we won't survive?"
"I don't know." Raging said, sighing. "And I don't care... did you eat enough?"
"Yes, I did." Draken said, chuckling a bit. "And quite frankly, as long as we make it to Gryphon lands, we should be fine."
"Are you sure?" The mare asked, a soft smile on her face as she looked between the two of them. "I heard that some bandits have appeared between the two borders, so..."
"We should be fine." Draken interrupted the mare, smiling as he put a claw on Raging's shoulder. "Mr. Night here is one of Princess Lunamaria's royal guards, so no pony short of a trained professional would be able to get past him."
"Oh, good..."
"Hero's always get remembered, but you know legends never die."
"Wake up." Raging said, shaking Draken Claw. "Somepony just tried stealing the artifact."
"What?" Draken asked, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "Are you sure? Is it possible that..."
"I injured them before they could get it. "He added, nodding a bit slower this time. "I had a feeling that they'd try something before we left pony lands."
"I see..." Draken said, nodding slowly. "Is that why you insisted on taking the longer route? Using a caravan instead of flying straight there?"
"Indeed." Raging said, sighing. "It's so that in something like this happens... Where were you?" He asked the scholar mare, as she walked back into the tent they resided in, a small injury on one of her back legs, which Raging glared at slightly.
"I... um..." She said, looking around nervously. "I had to use the restroom... And, got injured a bit walking back." She said, laughing a bit as she smiled. "That's the last time I try going out in the middle of the night..."
"I see..." Draken said, nodding slowly as he laughed a bit, while Raging continued glaring at her. "Well, it can be a bit hard to see outside at night, especially for us non-unicorns."
"We should get going." Raging then said, turning to pack his stuff up. "It will be dawn soon, and I want to get to the Griffon lands before nightfall, tonight."
"But, that would mean we wouldn't stop, even for lunch..." The scholar mare said, sighing as she gather a bit of her stuff up. "Besides, what about the rest of the caravan? This one is a bit larger then most, and it could use the extra security that a guard pony, such as yourself, would provide."
Raging sighed softly, as he shook his head. "There's nothing I can do." He said, looking up at the caravan's leader, as the twitching unicorn in front of the two of them breathed his last. "As you may know, what happened to him was an overdose of the illegal drug Ambrosia." He continued, as both the caravan leader, and the scholar mare nodded, listening intently. "As you also know, Ambrosia is a magic enhancer, and in small quantities can help abate the symptoms of Magic Deficiency, which is a serious disease that can be found in Unicorns. But, in larger quantities in has been found to cause hallucinations, and as evident, death."
"Yes, but... I screen all my workers before we left Canterlot, none o them had an Ambrosia on them." The leader said, nodding slowly.
"Could it be possible, that they already had taken the Ambrosia? With out realizing it?" The scholar asked, looking between the two. "I mean, I'm also a Unicorn so... If I was planning on either having someone take Ambrosia, or take it myself, and they, or I... Were going on a long trip, say to Griffon lands, I'd have them take it in the beginning of the trip, before anypony would notice. I'd probably use..."
"Some sort of catalyst? One that would delay the effects of Ambrosia?" Raging asked, interrupting the mare, which caused her to nod. "It's possible. In fact, it's even possible that the said pony planned on doing such a thing." He continued, sighing softly. "It is also possible, that I was the target."
"But, you aren't a Unicorn. You're a Pegasus, and wouldn't be effected by Ambrosia, right?" The caravan leader asked, looking at him nervously.
"No, even a small trace of Ambrosia is deadly to both Earth Ponies, and Pegasi alike." Raging said, sighing a bit softly. "It's entirely possible that they used just above the lethal amount to ensure who ever ate the contaminated food, would die."
"Hm... I'll have to look over all of our food then." The caravan leader said, shaking his head. "As well, test to see if any other ponies have Ambrosia in their systems. If either is true, then we'll dump the whole wagon, and head into a town for more food."
"That'll delay our voyage for another couple of days." Raging said, sighing. "But, every precaution is needed."
Author's Note
Another release at the same time as a Patreon Page release, but this is for the same reason as the A New Equestria release. That is, I completed this chapter a few months ago, before my impromptu hiatus, and never actually released them. I forgot to.
Chapter 4
"But, you aren't a Unicorn. You're a Pegasus, and wouldn't be effected by Ambrosia, right?" The caravan leader asked, looking at him nervously.
"No, even a small trace of Ambrosia is deadly to both Earth Ponies, and Pegasi alike." Raging said, sighing a bit softly. "It's entirely possible that they used just above the lethal amount to ensure who ever ate the contaminated food, would die."
"Hm... I'll have to look over all of our food then." The caravan leader said, shaking his head. "As well, test to see if any other ponies have Ambrosia in their systems. If either is true, then we'll dump the whole wagon, and head into a town for more food."
"That'll delay our voyage for another couple of days." Raging said, sighing. "But, every precaution is needed."
The scholar mare sighed a bit softly as she sat down in the tavern of the small town they found themselves in, smiling a bit softly as she drank some Apple Cider, one of the few drinks she actually enjoyed. At the time, she was waiting a bit away from the other members of the caravan, for the Caravan leader and Draken Claw to return, so they can announce by when they will be leaving. "You never said your name." Raging Night said, looking over her still with suspicion. At the time, her hood was down, so her red mane was finally in view. "I can't keep calling you 'scholar mare' now can I?"
"No, you're right..." She mumbled a bit, taking a sip from her mug. "I haven't told you my name yet, because you still don't trust me."
"How can I?" Raging said, a soft smile on his face. "Every day that passes, you seem more and more suspicious. After all, the same day you joined up with us, we were attacked by what I think was an assassin. As well, the Ambrosia."
"I'm a scholar under Celestia, I don't need Ambrosia. After all, you need a permit, and a prescription to get Ambrosia." The mare said, smiling a bit back at him, as she shrugged. "So, by that alone..."
"Legally."
"Excuse me?"
"You need those to get Ambrosia legally. By the amount that we found in the food, I doubt they went through legal channels to get their hoofs on it."
"So, you're implying Somepony is doing extremely illegal things to prevent you from doing your mission?" She asked, a slightly shocked look on her face.
"Indeed I am." Raging said, nodding slowly. "Now then, please answer my question."
"Of course," The mare responded, chuckling slightly. "I'm Suns... Sunny Meadow." She answered, shaking her head a bit as she spoke.
"Well then, it's a pleasure to formally meet you then Miss Sunny Meadow." Raging said, raising an eyebrow a bit.
Raging Night sighed a bit as he tapped his hoof onto the table a bit slightly, shaking his head softly. "What is taking them so long..." He mumbled a bit, as he looked around slightly. He glanced over at Sunny Meadow, who had just received the food she had ordered a few minutes ago. "They should have been back hours ago.
"Ah, don't worry." Sunny said, smiling a bit as she began eating her sandwich, "They're probably off getting more supplies for the caravan." She said, laughing a bit.
"Let us pray that is all they are doing." Raging replied, shaking his head softly as he spoke. "After that Ambrosia scare earlier, I fear the assassin may try and get more creative."
"Oh?" Sunny said, in an almost inquisitive tone. "And what makes you so sure that they'll try and kill you? I mean, I know you said you were delivering some artifact back to the Griffon lands, but will they not try and continue to take the Artifact? Why kill you? And besides, how is it that they knew you'd be in this particular caravan?"
"I know not how to answer those questions Miss Meadow, but I still have that suspicion." Raging said, almost avoiding her questions. "I worry about what Princess Luna refused to say about the Artifact, and if what little she did tell me of it, ponies would kill to get their hands on it."
"Is it really that dangerous?" Sunny asked, blinking a bit. "If it is, then why send a guard? Why not bring it back themselves?"
"Again, there are things about this that the both Princesses refused to tell even me, and it is those things that worry me." Raging said, his thoughts returning to that strange mare from a few days ago. She wasn't in the group of in the caravan, and so she was the one pony who was most suspicious at the time. As well, she had called herself a teacher, which only confused Raging even more.
"There is a lot in this world of hours we don't understand." Sunny said, smiling softly at Raging. "Even us unicorns don't know even half of what The Princesses know, even less when talking of Duke Sombra or Lord Discord."
Chapter 5
"Is it really that dangerous?" Sunny asked, blinking a bit. "If it is, then why send a guard? Why not bring it back themselves?"
"Again, there are things about this that the both Princesses refused to tell even me, and it is those things that worry me." Raging said, his thoughts returning to that strange mare from a few days ago. She wasn't in the group of in the caravan, and so she was the one pony who was most suspicious at the time. As well, she had called herself a teacher, which only confused Raging even more.
"There is a lot in this world of hours we don't understand." Sunny said, smiling softly at Raging. "Even us unicorns don't know even half of what The Princesses know, even less when talking of Duke Sombra or Lord Discord."
"Indeed." Raging said, nodding slowly at her words. "Especially seeing as both Duke Sombra and Lord Discord are members of Celestia's council of advisors."
"Yes, I know." Sunny laughed a bit more, as she took another swig of the Apple Cider. "Though, it's obvious what Lord Discord advises the sisters on, as he's the Archon of Madness."
Raging Night nodded slowly at her words, sighing a bit softly as he tapped his hoof a bit softly onto the table. "Indeed, though I'm not quite sure what all Duke Sombra advises the sisters on."
Raging Night sighed softly as he avidly looked around the caravan as it began it's moving towards the Griffon/Pony border again. He had sighed in annoyance when Draken Claw had finally returned with the leader of the caravan, so that they could finally make their way again. "All I'm saying is that it makes sense. Duke Sombra was a soldier before the Treaty of Crystals." Sunny Meadow said, as she continued their earlier discussion. "And back then it was General Sombra. He didn't become a Duke until Celestia granted him the central fiefdom that the old Crystal Empire used for it's Capital."
"Yes Sunny, I know." Raging Night said, sighing softly. "As you may know, being a scholar from Canterlot, the Night Guard, Princess Luna's personal guard, are required to take classes in the History of Equestria before they're allowed to take up the mantle." Raging continued, sighing again as he continued to look suspiciously at any shadow outside the trail.
"Yes, I did know that." Sunny said, laughing a bit softly. "It's the same as with the Solar Guard, Princess Celestia's guard."
"We're close to the border now," The Caravan leader said, looking back towards the group, eyeing the Sleeping Draken Claw with a bit of worry, "We'll be at the Border town in a couple more hours, beyond that I can't take you much further."
"That's fine, we'll probably be splitting up then anyway." Raging said, nodding slowly at the stallion, as he continued to look at everything around them. "We will be splitting up right? Me and Draken are heading to a dig in the Griffon Badlands, you said your destination was their capital, right?"
"Yes, it is." Sunny said, smiling softly. "Or at least, the current capital... they change it every few years..." She said, chuckling softly as she shrugged. "But either way, I can wait on my thing, it's not as important as your thing, and I want to be there to chronicle it."
"Is that so?" Raging asked, glaring again at Sunny Meadow. "And why is that? I know that chronicling important events is the job of the Canterlot Scholar's Guild, but is that really something you want to do?"
"Well, yes." Sunny said, smiling at him kindly. "History is something I'm interested in, and well... You and Draken Claw seem to be at the cusp of history, so I want to be there for the whole thing. I even have journal for it." She said, taking a small leather bound book out of her bag, as if to show it to Raging.
"That may be so, but still... I doubt that this mission will be that grand that it would need a chronicler. It's a simple delivery mission." Raging said sighing again. "Yes, I do admit that there is the danger of somepony trying to steal the artifact, or to kill me... but still, this mission isn't that grand."
"Well, I think it will be." Sunny said, smiling again at him, as she moved to pat him on the back. "You never know how things will go. You might uncover some grand plot to overthrow the Princesses, or maybe you'll discover some grand lost ruins from the Before Age."
"I doubt there's anything left to be discovered from the Before Age, many expeditions have crossed the world. So unless there is some subterranean kingdom that we don't know about, or something further into the Changeling's desert, then I doubt we'll find anything of the like."
"It was just an example Raging." Sunny said, pouting a bit as she did. "You really need to lighten up. Are all Night Guards like you? Taking things so seriously?"
"I wouldn't know." Raging said, glaring at her again. "I only know the few who are in my squad, not many else. And yes, we take our job seriously."
"I see... Well, it is nice to know that the guards take their jobs seriously, but..." Sunny said, smiling still. "You aren't guarding the princess right now, you can lighten up a little bit, can you not?"
Chapter 6
It is in the interest of the better pony to help those under them. It is in the interest of a businesspony to expand infrastructure to places with out, to bring civilization and order to those who do not have it.
Raging Night sighed softly as he looked over the small dig site around the ruins where Draken Claw's team discovered the artifact. He looked over it, from the cliff-face that many of the ponies dispatched rom Canterlot were digging into. He didn't exactly understand, but both Celestia and Luna had agreed with the tribal leaders of the Griffons that excavating the ruins, which according to Princess Luna, who had snuck out of Canterlot to follow Raging Night and Draken Claw, were indeed ruins of a Temple City from the Before Age. "So, what now then Mr. Night?" Sunny Meadow asked, smiling at the Pegasus. "We've been here for a few months now, and the ponies have uncovered a few pillars, and what looks like to be the entrance of a tomb complex."
"It seems we'll be here much longer then I had originally hoped." Raging said, sighing softly as he looked over the excavation site. Over the past few weeks, it had grown from a small band of four or five ponies, into a small town of 200 ponies and griffons. He didn't expect that many ponies to have gathered as quickly as they did, but upon the news of a new Before Age site having been discovered, many ponies had gathered in an effort to have their names put into the history books having helped unearthed the possible last remaining Before Age ruins. "The complex goes on for what the geomancers to believe for miles, weaving back and forth in a multi-leveled maze."
"It could take months to map out something that large..." Sunny said in a bit of shock. "Let alone discover what the Ancients needed it for. Have they found edges to the maze yet?"
"Not as far as I know." Raging replied, sighing softly again.
"Interesting..." Sunny said, before smiling. "Oh, I came up here to tell you they got the general store up and running. They even have a few casks of Apple Family Cider."
"Is that so?" Raging asked, looking down at the town that was slowly forming on the outskirts of the dig site. From his vantage point, he could see the entire valley before them, including the town. "I just might go and have some... I take it that the miners have all elected to go on break, to have some cider?"
"Yup." Sunny said, smiling as her horn began glowing. "I just came up to tell you about it, before they drank it all." She added, with the familiar popping sound following, indicating she had teleported away.
After she left, Raging sighed softly once again, as he looked around the valley once more. He wasn't worried about the dig site, or the town that was forming due to the dig site. He was more worried about the assassin who had tried killing him, and the Pegasus mare who seemed to be more reptile then pony. Both of these two ponies had since vanished since the Ambrosia was discovered, which worried Raging Night. Draken Claw and Sunny Meadow both insisted that he was being paranoid, and to relax. "I can't relax... not until the dig is done, and we're back in Canterlot." He said, before spreading his wings, and gliding down to the town.
Raging nodded slowly at the ponies he passed on the way to the general store, which he had heard was going to be run by one of the Apple families relatives. "If so, then that explains how they got their hands on a few barrels of the cider..." He mumbled to himself, as he used his wing to push the Appleloosa styled door open. This caused many of the ponies, some of which worked directly under Raging as Night Guards, to quiet down. "Don't worry, I'm not here to berate you on not working..." He said, sighing again.
"Raging's addicted to Apple Cider!" Sunny almost screamed out from one of the corners of the general store, which caused the entire room to burst out laughing.
"I do not..." Raging mumbled softly, as he slowly worked his way towards Sunny Meadow. "It's you that drank most of the cider we had on the trip here."
"I know," Sunny said, patting his back a bit, as she handed him a mug. "I just wanted to alleviate the pressure." She continued, giggling a bit. "After all, your probably the most strict sheriff anypony has seen."
"Would you stop calling me that? I'm not the sheriff of anything."
"Yeah, well tell that to the townponies, and the miners, and the scholars, and the..."
"I get your point Sunny." He said, sighing softly, as he shook his head. "Forgive me for wanting some semblance of order here while we worked."
Sunny giggle a bit again, taking a sip from her mug. "I get that Raging, I do... but seriously... you need to lighten up. We got here safe and sound did we not? The Relic is back where it belongs, and there's more then 200 other ponies here who's lives revolve around this site. You don't have to worry about any assassins or crazy psycho ponies anymore." She continued, writing a few things into her journal. "Am I wrong?"
"No you are not wrong Sunny Meadow." Raging said, admitting the fact to her. "It is true, that we made it here with out further incident, save for finding out that Princess Luna followed us here. And it is true that due to the increasing number of ponies, it will be harder to get artifacts away from here, in particular The Relic." He added, shaking his head. "Beyond that, I still have my job as Night Guard to keep the ponies in line, and to protect what ever spot the Princesses need me at, namely the Dig Site."
Chapter 7
Sunny giggle a bit again, taking a sip from her mug. "I get that Raging, I do... but seriously... you need to lighten up. We got here safe and sound did we not? The Relic is back where it belongs, and there's more then 200 other ponies here who's lives revolve around this site. You don't have to worry about any assassins or crazy psycho ponies anymore." She continued, writing a few things into her journal. "Am I wrong?"
"No you are not wrong Sunny Meadow." Raging said, admitting the fact to her. "It is true, that we made it here with out further incident, save for finding out that Princess Luna followed us here. And it is true that due to the increasing number of ponies, it will be harder to get artifacts away from here, in particular The Relic." He added, shaking his head. "Beyond that, I still have my job as Night Guard to keep the ponies in line, and to protect what ever spot the Princesses need me at, namely the Dig Site."
"Ugh!" Sunny exasperated, flailing her front legs a bit out of frustration. "Can't you just relax for five bloody minutes!"
"You know that is the one thing I can not do Sunny, and for good reason." Raging said, as a guard pony approached them. "Did you need something sir?" Raging then asked, turning to the guard after he coughed.
"Sir, Ma'am." The guard said, nodding to each of them. "The miners have requested Miss Meadow's presence at The Maze, they said they found something."
"Found something?" Sunny repeated, looking back at Raging, before looking up at the guard. "What did they find?"
"They did not say."
"Oh, I wonder what they found!" Sunny Meadow said excitedly, her and Raging Night neared the dig site. "Could it have been the entrance? I know we broke into the maze somewhere in the middle, which means we need to find the exit, and entrance. Maybe they found a tomb, or... Or maybe they found the lost capital of Raven-fjord." She continued, trailing on about the dozens of possible findings.
"Either way, they needed you." Raging said, interrupting Sunny's thoughts, which caused her to glare at him. "Which only means one thing. What ever they found, is from The Before Age. Last I checked, you said The Maze was created some time during the Discord Age, correct?"
"In the early days of his reign, yes." Sunny said, nodding slowly. "According to the age of the few wall murals we've seen, it would have been made just a few weeks after his coronation. This would have been before madness fully took control of him, and caused the ponies to rebel against him. In fact, according to some of the works, it seems one of Starswirlled's descendants were put in charge of the construction, hence why it's lasted as long as it has, or that it's a Three-dimensional maze that goes on for miles."
"And you think they might have hidden something inside the maze?"
"Well, they had to have done something to that effect, why else make a maze this large?" She asked, as they got to the entrance the diggers had made.
"Are you Miss Sunny Meadow?" One of the unicorn diggers, who was wearing the cloak that symbolized he was one of Celestia's Geomancers.
"That I am."
"Come with me then." He said, turning to enter The Maze. "And bring Mr. Night with you if he insists on following."
"What... What is this place?" Sunny asked, as she looked around the large chamber, that had skeletons of all shapes and sized scattered about. "It... It looks like a tomb of sorts, maybe some sort of Crypt."
"That is what we believe as well." The Geomancer said, nodding in response. "We broke into it after the readings showed empty space in the rock." He continued, before sighing. "The Crypt, much like the maze above us, goes on for miles. We estimate there is at least space for more then one billion dead here."
"One billion?" Sunny said, in shock. "But... But that's more then the current population of the world, at least, according to census." She said, looking around The Crypt. "And... And is The Crypt like The Maze above? Is it multi level?"
"No, Below this Crypt, The Maze returns."
"So then... this is just a floor of The Maze then?" Sunny said, blinking a bit softly, as sat down, examining one of the skeletons. "This is what, ten, maybe twelve floors down? So maybe about six or seven feet per floor.... And two feet maybe for the floor it's self... that means where anywhere from 80 to 90 feet below the surface. And seeing as we've yet to find the edges of The Maze... that means the maze could possibly go on for another hundred floors... This place is massive."
"And we have yet to find any indication as to it's purpose." The Geomancer sighed, shaking his head. "I do not think, hiding a Crypt this large, is the Maze's purpose."
"I agree, if it was, then the logical thing would for the Maze to end at The Crypt." Raging said, which caused both Sunny and the Geomancer to nod in agreement. "Then, that means, what ever The Maze is for, is further down."
Chapter 8
"No, Below this Crypt, The Maze returns."
"So then... this is just a floor of The Maze then?" Sunny said, blinking a bit softly, as sat down, examining one of the skeletons. "This is what, ten, maybe twelve floors down? So maybe about six or seven feet per floor.... And two feet maybe for the floor it's self... that means where anywhere from 80 to 90 feet below the surface. And seeing as we've yet to find the edges of The Maze... that means the maze could possibly go on for another hundred floors... This place is massive."
"And we have yet to find any indication as to it's purpose." The Geomancer sighed, shaking his head. "I do not think, hiding a Crypt this large, is the Maze's purpose."
"I agree, if it was, then the logical thing would for the Maze to end at The Crypt." Raging said, which caused both Sunny and the Geomancer to nod in agreement. "Then, that means, what ever The Maze is for, is further down."
It had been several weeks since the discovery of the massive crypt on the tenth floor of The Maze, and the diggers and Geomancers had yet to find any indication of a bottom floor. Many of the Geomancers in fact, had gone off, to the rest of the valley, to see if they could find any sort of sign or indication to what the purpose of The Maze was. As of yet, they had found none. And as the days had turned to weeks and months since the discovery of The Maze, with no end of it in sight, has begun to annoy both Raging Night and Sunny Meadow, as it seemed that their task would last till the end of their days.
At the same time, the town had grown to a few thousand Ponies and Griffons, and talks have begun of expanding the Equestrian Rail Network to the town, as a few precious minerals had been found in the Valley, which would help the rest of the Equestrian Empire expand in other areas, such as better infrastructure in border towns. At that moment, Sunny Meadow was looking over slaps of stone that some of the diggers had found around floor 35 in the Maze. "The floor is filled with them Miss." One of the Diggers had said, nodding at her. "Don't know what they for though."
"Yes thank you." Sunny had said as she took the few slabs the worker had brought up using her magic. She sighed softly as she poured over them, examining them to the best of her ability. This started just the previous day, and she was no closer to deciphering the text that seemed to be older then the text from the higher floors. "I don't get it..." She mused, looking over one of them. "Did it take them so long to build The Maze that their language and writing style had changed? How big is it, if something like that could happen..."
"Could it be, that there are two different groups?" A voice said from behind her, causing her to jump out of her seat.
"L-Lord Discord, h-hello..." She said, blushing a bit softly, smiling at him as she shuffled to clean up her desk. "If... If I knew you would be coming yourself, then... I would have cleaned up."
"Oh, it is of no matter." Discord said, smiling. "I only came to give out the Princesses decree, that as of today, The Maze, and the city surrounding the dig-site, will be under the Crystal Fiefdom, and therefore under the protection of Duke Sombra. I figured you got Celestia's letter detailing this, did you not, Sunset Shimmer?"
Raging Night sighed softly as he looked around the entrance to the dig-site, and in turn The Maze. Sunny Meadow's diggers had ran into a section of The Maze that had slabs that seemed older then the rest of the maze, which told Raging that there was more at play then a simple crypt or mausoleum. There as something dark and sinister inside the maze. And Raging Night felt it in his bones. A gut instinct that had kept him out of danger most of his life, and a skill that had been in his family since the forming of the Night Guard almost one thousand years ago, in a treaty between Celestia and Luna, to prevent a civil war that would likely have broken out had they not come to a compromise.
This of course didn't sit well with him. He knew something was in the Maze, but he didn't know what, what it's purpose was, or why it needed such a massive network to contain it. And this only made him worry. As he had the feeling ever since he saw The Crypt on the tenth floor. To Sunny Meadow and the Geomancers, it looked like any other Crypt, built to protect the dead. To him? He saw that several of the skeletons had died wielding weapons, and donning armor. To him, it looked like the end result of a massive battle, where thousands had died. To him, it looked like the ponies who made The Maze, were trying to keep something in and failed. To him, it looked like something dangerous enough that it killed the thousands of ponies keeping it in, and others out.
And that only made him worry even more.
Chapter 9
"Could it be, that there are two different groups?" A voice said from behind her, causing her to jump out of her seat.
"L-Lord Discord, h-hello..." She said, blushing a bit softly, smiling at him as she shuffled to clean up her desk. "If... If I knew you would be coming yourself, then... I would have cleaned up."
"Oh, it is of no matter." Discord said, smiling. "I only came to give out the Princesses decree, that as of today, The Maze, and the city surrounding the dig-site, will be under the Crystal Fiefdom, and therefore under the protection of Duke Sombra. I figured you got Celestia's letter detailing this, did you not, Sunset Shimmer?"
"Shhh!" Sunny Meadow said as Discord said her name, a name that signified she was one of Celestia's own personal students. "I... Don't... Please Discord, don't call me by that name when out in public." She said, pleading to him. "No pony here knows who I am, and I'd like to keep it that way."
"What, no pony knows your one of the only two unicorns to ever have the privilege of being taught directly by Celestia?" Discord asked, mockingly. "Why for shame Sunset, you should take great pride in having a wonderful teacher like Celestia."
"Shut up Discord." Sunny said, sighing. "We both know I've learned more from you and Duke Sombra then I have from Celestia or Luna, ever since they took Twilight in."
At this statement, Discord began to laugh excitedly, as he rolled around a bit, before taking his pony form. The form that most ponies in Equestria knew him to have. "Why indeed I have." He said, just as Raging Night, and a regiment of the guards behind approached them. "I take it those lovely guards will be to protect the ponies from me during my stay here monsieur Night?" He then said, in a mock French accent as he looked at the Pegasus stallion.
"They indeed are Lord Discord." Raging said, nodding slowly at him as he turned to Sunny Meadow. "Sunny, I need to talk with you, privately."
"Ah... that's the name..." Discord said, giggling like a school girl slightly, before floating off on a raincloud, causing the guards to chase after him.
"Sure, what for Raging?"
"Just something I've been thinking about."
"Not about that assassin again, is it?"
"Not this time... I think."
"Are you sure?" Sunny Meadow asked him, sitting at her desk in her office. "Are you really sure?" She asked again, looking over a few notes. "I understand how much you trust your gut Raging Night. And how much your fellow Nightguards, sorry... Shadow Guards, trust it as well, but what you are suggesting... if it's true, then we'd..."
"Need to shut down the whole dig, I know." Raging said, nodding. "That wasn't a grave yard we were looking at down there. Why would those ponies have their weapons drawn if it was? They wouldn't."
"And you think that they were trying to keep something out?"
"Or in." Raging added, sighing softly again. "From the looks of the area, and yes I've gone over this several times in my head, before you ask." He said, sighing softly. "From the looks of it, the ponies closest to the stairs down, were facing those stairs. And as we get further away from the stairs, the ponies had turned, turned towards any exit they could find. What does that tell you?"
"Well..." Sunny said, softly, shaking her head a bit, looking at the entrance they made to The Crypt. "Based off of studies of older civilizations, and how they took care of threats, it tells me that something came up from below. Using the only set of stairs we could fin for miles that is." Sunny continued, sighing. "That something spooked the ponies currently occupying the floor, spooked them heavily in fact. Enough that the ponies far away had time to run away, and the ponies close by sacrificed themselves to save as many as they could."
"Exactly."
"But, what sort of thing could do that?" Sunny asked, a nervous chuckle escaping her. "Lord Discord... he... he said the Crypt is older then even he is, in fact it was sealed already when he ruled Equestria."
Raging Night nodded slowly, sighing before he spoke. "Exactly." He said softly, looking at the entrance they made as well. "It worries me more that the Crypt was sealed even when Lord Discord ruled, which last I checked was roughly a thousand years ago. And he ruled for around five thousand years."
"Five thousand, six hundred, and seventy-two." Discord then said, popping up out of the ground. "And five months, two days, three hours, and seven point six seconds, if we want to be accurate."
"Actually, lord Discord, the official record says twenty-two days." Sunny said, blinking a bit softly, as Raging backed up in alarm.
"Oh, does it now?" Discord said, counting on his fingers, strangely having twenty-two of them. "Huh, I must have forgotten to carry the one."
A few hours later, Raging Night would be seen flying over the town, looking it over as he spotted a procession of troops approaching the small town. The flag-bearers were flying the flag of The Crystal Duchy, Duke Sombra's sigil. "Halt, what order of business do you have here?" He said, landing a bit away from them. "I am Raging Night, and by order of The Crown, I guard these lands."
"I am Green Hunter." The stallion in front of the procession, who wore the celestial guard armor. "And by order of my lord, Duke Sombra, I am here to assist in the guarding of these lands. And to act as his voice, in his stead."
"Then Hail, Ser Hunter." Raging said, bowing to the earth pony stallion, who bowed in return. "I am glad of the assistance, especially with some of the discoveries we've made of The Crypt."
"The Crypt?"
Chapter 10 Mystery Deepens
"I am Green Hunter." The stallion in front of the procession, who wore the celestial guard armor. "And by order of my lord, Duke Sombra, I am here to assist in the guarding of these lands. And to act as his voice, in his stead."
"Then Hail, Ser Hunter." Raging said, bowing to the earth pony stallion, who bowed in return. "I am glad of the assistance, especially with some of the discoveries we've made of The Crypt."
"The Crypt?"
"Yes, The Crypt." Raging Night said, nodding slowly once again. "Surely you were informed of what the town started up because of?" Raging then inquired, which caused both Green Hunter, and the few soldiers behind him to look about confused. "I'll take that as a 'no' then..."
"We were informed of the dig site yes, but not that there was a Crypt." Green Hunter said, sighing softly.
"Tell, me how many soldiers did you bring to garrison here?" Raging asked, looking the soldier ponies over a bit, his mind drifting back to what ever is, or was, inside The Crypt.
"Duke Sombra, my lord, has dispatched 500 of his Hussars, as well as a regiment of one thousand footponies." Hunter said, in reply to Raging's inquiry.
"So, a force of 1,500 then..." Raging said, nodding slowly. "Coupled with the 500 man militia guard, that some of the citizens have formed, including the two thousand or so miners... we have a force of roughly four thousand here... Granted only about half are properly trained... That should be enough to hold back any raids from the Griphons, but..."
"But?" Hunter asked, looking at Raging, a worried look on his face. "As you know, Duke Sombra's troops are the best trained soldiers in Equestria, there is nothing on, in, or above, the land that could combat a force as large as this one."
"In all my time serving The Lunar Guard, I've learned one thing..." Raging said sighing, as he turned to trot back to the town, along side Green Hunter. "It's the unexpected, and the unknown, that you need to prepare for. Not the expected, or the known."
A few hours later, after placating the initial shock the townsponies had upon seeing Duke Sombra's army marching towards them, and filing the papers needed in order to turn control of the town, and its surrounding areas formally to Green Hunter, and to Sombra Raging Night was sighing. As of that moment, he was no longer in charge of managing the Unincorporated fief that the dig site in avertedly created. Instead, he was solely incharge of watching over The Digsite, which since the discovery of The Undercroft, has made no progress. "There's something evil down there." One of the digger ponies had told him not a week earlier. "I can feel it in me bones, and me ma told me to trust 'em."
The other digger ponies shared the superstitious one's opinion, and he had no reason to disagree. "If there really is anything dangerous on the lower levels, then find the edges of the Maze." Sunny Meadow had told them, to no avail. "There has to be edges somewhere..."
"It's possible that there isn't." Draken Claw said, as he sat infront of Raging's desk, to Sunny's right. "My people, we tell stories of a grand palace. Where our last King ruled, before the Frost Plague took most of our people. His palace, it would go on forever, the tales say. A never ending Palace of..."
"We don't have time for your folk tales Draken..." Sunny said, interrupting Draken, which caused the gryphon to glare at her. "Now, I'm not saying they aren't true... Magic like that DOES exist, but... There's no magic in The Crypt, or in the Undercroft."
"Besides the residual magic, yes?" Raging said, smiling softly.
"No, there's no magic at all." Sunny said, a worried look on her face. "I had to bring the Geomancers back up to the surface every few minutes because of it. They were suffering from minor magic deficiency before I even noticed what was going on."
"Is such a thing possible?" Draken Claw asked, blinking in shock as he looked out the window, directly to the Digsite. "I thought that residual magic was impossible to get rid of."
"There is only two things that can get rid of Residual Magic." Sunny said, nodding slowly. "The first, is a massive spell circle, which requires the use of Residual Magic, and the second is..."
"Is what Miss Meadow?"
"Well... It's... a... It's..." Sunny began, looking around worriedly.
"She is referring to what is called a Soul Eater, Draken Claw." Princess Luna said, a bit angrily, as she approached the desk from the door of the office. "But, do not worry Miss... Meadow?" Luna continued, looking at Sunny a bit confused, before shaking her head. "I thought o that as well, after reading your report. I already checked, there are none in the area, nor have there ever been, recently."
"There hasn't... recently?" Sunny said, sighing softly. "That's goo... wait... Recently? What do you mean?"
"Look over the Crypt, there is evidence that a Soul Eater indeed did reside somewhere inside the Crypt, however... it was so long ago, that the magic should have naturally returned, as it's even older then those skeletons."
"Then, why hasn't the Residual Magic replenished naturally?" Raging asked, glancing at Luna again, as Draken Claw sighed, still looking at the Digsite. "If it really was that long ago, then why would it..."
"There must be something further down, or the Soul Eater is hiding from prying eyes somewhere near-by." Sunny said, interrupting Raging now, shaking her head again. "We need to find the edges, as the magic that Draken Claw spoke of, it leaves traces... Traces in the residual magic, which is gone."
"And that would break the enchantment."
Chapter 11
Sylph was a young Highlands pixie. Her family and entire colony of pixies served the Royal House of Greywood. She found herself flying around the small valley that her family called home. She knew of all the nooks and crannies in the valley, due to her curious nature, a nature that all pixies shared. But, there as still one place in the valley that she had visited. A small temple on one of the ends of the valley.
The Temple, called by many as 'The Land of Unending.' was forbidden to be entered several decades ago, when the Greywood family was granted ownership of the valley by the Ravenwood Empire. Many of the pixies from that time had already passed into the aether, but the one that was still alive, said that there were dark forces hiding inside the temple. That there was something hiding in it that couldn't be killed. And that is why several thousand warriors had been stationed outside the temple, to prevent it from leaving.
Sylph didn't know what was in the temple, but she was always curious enough to want to find out, and that is why on that particular day, when the guards closest to the temple were changing shift for the month, that sylph was hiding on the top of the Temple, waiting for when they would not be looking. She smiled as she saw her chance, the two guards facing the temple had looked away.
Sylph blinked softly as she looked around the Temple. The main floor of the area had simply been a staircase leading down to what looked like a maze. Sylph looked around in amazement, the entire area seemed to go on forever. She smiled softly, as she slowly landed on the floor, looking around the area. The walls seemed to be several feet high, much larger then the ponies that were guarding the area now, as well the few glyphs on the walls that she could understand, described things like 'hands'. Things that ponies clearly didn't have.
As she continued wandering, she found no evidence of anyone having been inside the Temple for ages, maybe even longer then when the Greywood family, took control of the Valley. This only confused her, as that would mean that the Greywood's had been lying to the pixies, and the rest of the Valley. It was then that her wings suddenly stopped working. And the air felt much heavier.
"And what is such a little thing doing here, waking me up with their magic?"
"Look over the Crypt, there is evidence that a Soul Eater indeed did reside somewhere inside the Crypt, however... it was so long ago, that the magic should have naturally returned, as it's even older then those skeletons."
"Then, why hasn't the Residual Magic replenished naturally?" Raging asked, glancing at Luna again, as Draken Claw sighed, still looking at the Digsite. "If it really was that long ago, then why would it..."
"There must be something further down, or the Soul Eater is hiding from prying eyes somewhere near-by." Sunny said, interrupting Raging now, shaking her head again. "We need to find the edges, as the magic that Draken Claw spoke of, it leaves traces... Traces in the residual magic, which is gone."
"And that would break the enchantment."
"Exactly!" Sunny Meadow said, smiling eagerly as Raging Night, ho only sighed. "See, you're learning quickly about this stuff Raging."
"I'm not learning about anything, quickly or otherwise Sunny." Raging said, sighing once again as he looked back over to The Crypt. "If something as dangerous as a Soul Eater is living near the city, then we need to know about it, for the safety of magic users, and anything else that might be in it's path."
"So, you're familiar with them then?"
"Only in theory." Raging said softly, sighing a bit softly again, as he shook his head. "I've read about them from past reports. And each of those reports talk of the damage they do, and that there's no real counter against them."
"So, if there is a Soul Eater near here, then we'll need to abandon the dig, until it leaves." Luna said softly, shaking her head. "Then I pray that the Soul Eater that was here, had already left ages ago."
"Indeed." Sunny said, smiling softly as a young soldier approached them. "Yes? What is it?"
"Ma'am... Sir... Your Highness." He said, nodding his head to each of them, after saluting. "Raging, you and Miss Sunny Meadow presence is required at the dig site... there is... a complication."
"A complication?" Sunny asked, raising an eyebrow as she did.
"There is something preventing the diggers and the geomancers from entering The Crypt."
"There what?"
"How strange..." Sunny said, as she looked at the strange, blueish white force-field that had covered the entire wall that they had dug into to find The Crypt. "This... this is not unicorn magic." Sunny said, her horn glowing a soft red, as she tried dispelling the field. "Nor... Nor is it Alicorn magic." She said softly, shaking her head slowly. "I... I have no idea what this could be from..."
"I do, however." Luna said, approaching them from behind, a soft angry look in her eyes. "This... This is the work of a Pixie. Highland Pixie to be precise."
"High... but they went extinct centuries ago." Sunny Meadow said, a shocked look on her face. "Maybe even around the fall of the Ravenwood Empire!"
"And that was more then 20 thousand years ago." Raging said, looking at the force-field. "Placing them at before The Crypt was built."
"But... why would a Highland Pixie place such an enchantment in the area? What is in The Crypt that would cause them to seal this place off with magic that not even Luna can dispel?"
Author's Note
Please see the blog I just put up.
12: An Unsettling Reveal
Chapter 12
"High... but they went extinct centuries ago." Sunny Meadow said, a shocked look on her face. "Maybe even around the fall of the Ravenwood Empire!"
"And that was more then 20 thousand years ago." Raging said, looking at the force-field. "Placing them at before The Crypt was built."
"But... why would a Highland Pixie place such an enchantment in the area? What is in The Crypt that would cause them to seal this place off with magic that not even Luna can dispel?"
"I do not know." Princess Luna said softly, a clear worried tone in her voice as she looked at the force field that covered the entrance to the crypt. "As young Raging has said, the highland pixies should have died out twenty-thousand years ago. It is possible however, that this wasn't done recently however."
"What do you mean?" Sunny Meadow said, a look of confusing on her face, before a shocked look of realization flashed over her face. "Are you... Are you saying that this might be something they did before dying out? That it's some last defense to keep what ever is in there, well... in there?" she asked, a look of both interest, and glee on her face as she once again, looked back at the entrance, before returning to looking at Luna.
"It wasn't!" A new voice screamed out, startling the group, causing them to turn and see the source. And when they did, they saw something that should have been impossible. Floating above the ground on, was a small humanoid creature, that could only be one thing. A Highland Pixie. "I made that barrier! My mother showed me how to! You... You shouldn't be going into The Temple! It's forbidden!"
"Impossible...." was all Sunny Meadow was able to say, as the others looked at the pixie with a confused look on their faces. They all stood in shock at the pixie, but it was Sunny who recovered the quickest. "Wait... you said Temple? Forbidden?" She said, looking at the pixie, a confused look still on her face, one that was slowly being replaced with a curious one. "We saw no signs of either of those things when studying the ruins of the maze, or the crypt level."
"Indeed little pixie." Luna said, the second one to recover, as she looked over the pixie with a scrutinizing eye. "Neither the maze itself, nor the things found with in, showed any evidence of either." She continued, her glare causing the pixie to shrink away a bit. "And you appear to be a Highland Pixie, which according to all records, has been extinct, for twenty thousand years. Care to explain this?"
"You..." the pixie began, before landing atop Sunny's back, who she had hid behind. "I... extinct? Twenty thous... but... But I only entered the Temple yesterday... I... I thought that you... You're not here to punish me?"
"Why would we be here to punish you young pixie?" Luna then asked, a soft smile on her face as she spoke. "Until now, we did not know that any of your kind still were alive. Though, I knew from the stories that your kind were long lived, I did not think that it was as long as this."
"We're not allowed in The Temple." The pixie then said, frowning a bit. "I... I was sneaking into it one day. I got passed the guards and was exploring it. I got lost when suddenly my... my wings stopped working and... And something found me." The pixie continued, shivering in fear. Something that Sunny felt, due to the Pixie sitting on her. "I... I ran out as soon as I saw it. Then... Then I saw you ponies, and I panicked... I thought that you were here for me, cause you found out... How could so much time pass with out me knowing?"
"Did you say your wings stopped working?" Sunny asked, blinking a bit, as she looked back, at the pixie.
"Y-yes... why?"
"Well, I don't know exactly... so it's just a theory right now..." Sunny said, before laying on the ground, smiling. "But, if your wings are anything like a Pegasus's wings, and function on ambient magic... then you must have ran into the Soul Eater that was trapped under the crypt."
"What's a crypt?"
"It's a large, artificially made cavern, that houses a populations dead." Raging answered, sitting down next to Sunny, as Luna watched, smiling. "There is one on what we call floor 10 of the maze."
"There wasn't anything like that back when I was exploring it..."
Sunny Meadow sighed softly, as she sat in her office in the town hall. She was looking over the notes she had gathered, after observing the pixie's shield. She and Luna had continued talking with the pixie, who she had learned was named Sylph, for a few more hours after Raging Night had to leave. Though he was no longer in charge of the town, as that was Green Hunter's job now as Representative of Duke Sombra, he was still the sheriff of the town, a job he preferred to ignore in favor of the dig.
Since Sylph had sealed it off, and was refusing to open it up again, this meant that the dig was halted. For now, he had to delegate the miners and geomancers who were on the dig, to other areas, namely the few areas of the valley that had proven to house minerals that the rest of Equestria needed desperately. The area around the dig seemed to be abundant in minerals that before, were thought to be scares.
Sunny Meadow smiled softly now, as she looked out the window in her office, seeing Sylph playing with a few of the young fillies and colts who lived in the town. A couple of them were pegasi, which meant that they'd be able to catch her more easily. This fleeting happiness only lasted but a few seconds however, as she returned to her notes. In particular, she was looking over the notes pertaining to the Soul Eater that Sylph had ran into deep in The Maze. The description she gave, was eerily similar to somepony that Raging had described.
A cerulean coated Pegasus mare, that seemed to have mutated into some bizarre half pony half reptile thing. This worried Sunny, on levels she never thought possible. If these two beings were one and the same, then that meant that the Soul Eater was not only still alive, but had broken free. The army that tried stopping it all those years ago, had completely failed.
Author's Note
I know it's been a few years since I've been on here, and I'm sure a lot of the old readers of this have either moved on to other sites, or completely forgotten about my works. So, for anyone who is new or may have forgotten, this takes place in an alternate version of Equestria.
13: The Aether Stone
Chapter 13
Sunny Meadow sat down observing the opening to the maze as ponies shuffled in and out of it, now that the pixie had finally removed her barrier on it. Sunny didn't know what to say however as she observed the worker ponies going about their day. It had been several weeks since the Highlands Pixie first showed up, and everyone was taking to it with a passion. Especially the unicorn and pegasi ponies there. Such a creature capable of magic and flight was something to applaud after all. But, more importantly, was the pixie's story. It made both Sunny herself, and Luna frightened. If it was true, then they needed to find out the mystery of the maze and the crypt as soon as possible. To find out how the ancient Ravenwood empire trapped the Soul Eater inside, so that no pony would be able to fall victim to it, before something disastrous happened.
She then slowly shook her head again, as she got up, heading towards the city, as Sylph, which was the pixie's name as she had come to know, flew over to greet her. "Hiya miss Meadow!" Sylph said, smiling at her, as she landed on her mane. "The townsfolk gave me something amazing! They called it apple cider!" She started rambling off, in her excited tone that she always seemed to have. "We didn't have Apple Cider back when I was born! It taste amazing! Granted, we didn't have a lot of things back then that you do now so I suppose that's a plus, but still... Apple Cider!" she continued, about to speak even more.
"Now, hold up Sylph." Sunny said, chuckling softly. "Don't forget to breath little one." she added, as Sylph took a deep breath, having said all that in a single breath. "There you go." Sunny continued, smiling. "Now then, I know you're still excited to see what you'd consider the future, but I need you to understand, a lot of the ponies here have jobs to do, okay?"
"Okay..."
"And you're telling me, what exactly?" Raging asked the pony before him. One of the geomancers who were in charge of exploring The Crypt, and of excavating mines for the minerals that resided in the rest of the valley. To his immediate right, stood Sunny Meadow, with Sylph resting atop her mane, as the Pixie tended to do.
"Ah, I'm not sure exactly sir, but..." The Unicorn before Raging Night said, his words rushed and breath heavy. It seemed like the Geomancer had ran to his office as soon as he could. "I... I'm not entirely sure how to put this. But, one of the Mines, on the far end of the valley, it's... we... Found an ore. At least... we think it's an ore."
"You.... think?" Sunny spoke up, interjecting before Raging could speak. "What do you mean you think? How can you not be sure if a rock, is an ore or not? Is that not what Geomancers are for?" She then asked, glancing from the Geomancer, to Raging, a full confused look on her face. "Right?"
"Yes, Miss Meadow, normally, us Geomancers have the purpose of digging out any ruins found in Equestrian lands, as well as surveying the land for any useful ores. It was us, who found the gold and silver mines that supply the currency production." The unicorn said, nodding in approval, as he frowned. "But, this.... rock that we found. A vein of it was found deep in one of the mines. We could not identify what, if any use the mineral could have as there is no other known source of it in records."
"And so, you came to us for.... why?" Raging asked, tapping is hoof on the desk, a mildly annoyed look on his face as he spoke.
"Well, you see, Sir Knight," The Geomancer now said, turning to face him once again. "We sent a few samples of the mineral to the forges, to see if it had any viable metals within. And... well..." The unicorn then said, before using his horn to magic a large rock out of his bag and place it on the desk. The rock had a soft sheen to it's dark colour, it's midnight blue shade seemed to suck up any light near it. Lastly, the rock seemed to have only partially melted, and had since cooled back to a rock. "It, the forges.... could not get hot enough to fully melt the mineral down. What ever it is made of, will need something..."
"I know what that is." Sylph suddenly spoke up, fluttering from atop Sunny's mane, down to atop the stone. "I know what this is. We used it in a lot of things. It isn't really viable for weapons, but it works wonders for structures. Especially ones that need to be sturdy."
"And... what did your people call it, Sylph?" Sunny asked the pixie, a look of bewilderment on her face, as she looked down at the mineral, while Sylph sat upon it. "You, had to have had a name for it, if it was that valuable.... right?"
"We did!" Sylph would soon reply, scratching her chin, as the pixie sat upon the stone cross-legged. "Um... we... Aether! Aether is what we called the metal, I remember that much..."
"Aether? As in one of the three lost metals of the Ravenwood Empire?" both Sunny and Raging asked the pixie, a confused on Sunny's face when she glanced at him. "What, we've already established that I have a good knowledge of History Sunny Meadow." Raging then said, a soft chuckle escaping him, as she frowned at him, shaking her head.
"I... I know I just... sometimes you surprise me just how knowledgeable of history you are." Sunny said, retorting back at him, chuckling as well. "Sometimes, you make it seem more like you're a dumb guard, just like the Solar Guards."
"And so you forget that I am a Lunarian under Princess Luna, not a day pony, like you." Raging responded, an almost flirty tone to his voice.