“We called it the Traveler, and its arrival changed us forever.” Princess Twilight said to nopony in particular as she began her weekly ritual. On the table in front of her lied old pictures in addition to the usual maps and charts.
Next to her balcony was a complex array of nested circles, which had been motionless for years. From the corner of her eye she could see what had become a reminder of hope, the great orb floating above the Crystal Empire. The last safe place for ponies.
She continued with her ritual, forcing ancient, painful memories into the front of her mind.
“Great cities were built on Mars and Venus. New princesses ascended to oversee our beautiful worlds. Mercury became a garden which flourished under Applejack and Fluttershy’s care.”
Tears began streaming down her face as she looked at the ancient picture of her and her friends. It had been a long time since they were all together, and even longer since they were all so happy. She wanted to stop, but Twilight knew she had to continue. She couldn’t forget her friends.
“Pony lifespan tripled. It was a time of miracles. We stared out at the galaxy and knew that it was our destiny to walk in the light of other stars -- but the Traveler had an enemy.”
Twilight began to collapse as memories bombarded her. She watched as Spike, by then a full grown dragon, fought off a group of Fallen so that she, Dash and Rarity could get Pinkie to safety. She could remember the moment she heard his last roar as an Archon stabbed his chest, reaching in with two of its hooves to rip out his heart.
Time stood still as Rarity froze before turning back toward Spike. Magic exploded from her horn in a fire of emotion as she fought off the dragon’s killers.
As Twilight boarded the transport ship she looked back. Rarity was lying against Spike, her purple mane resting on his lighter scales.
Rainbow ran to the pilot’s seat and began to pilot the vessel. She knew it was too late for either of her friends.
Coming back to the present, Twilight forced herself look around to ensure the room was empty. Nopony could see their last princess sobbing like this.
“A Darkness, which had hunted it for eons across the black gulfs of space. Centuries after our Golden Age began, this Darkness found us.”
Another memory took over the Princess. She had just received the report of the Vex’s attack on Mercury. Immediately the faces of Applejack and Fluttershy came to mind, and Twilight knew her friends wouldn’t leave until everypony there was safe. She gave the order to Dash and Pinkie, who immediately departed to save their friends.
Twilight never would have allowed the mission if she had known that she would lose four friends that day.
Barely able to stand, Twilight placed one hoof on the desk and pushed herself up. She knew she was being hurt by century old experiences, but she couldn’t help it.
After that day she was alone.
“And that was the end of everything.” She said, finishing her testament to the lost Elements.
And though she had said the eulogy countless times over the years, this one ended differently. For as she said the final words she began to hear a faint screech, as the long-dormant metal array in front of her began spinning for the first time in decades.
Recovering from her shock, Twilight realized what the spinning circles meant. Looking out at the Traveler, she smiled for the first time in a century, and added a new line to her ritual.
“But it was also a beginning.”
Twilight walked out her study, wondering what could be happening. She hadn’t felt the Traveler speak to her, as there had been no familiar tingle in her horn. As far as she could tell there was no change in the great sphere, but something had to have happened. The equipment used to detect the Traveler’s surges of energy was much more finely tuned to its frequencies than her horn was, so it is altogether possible that the Traveler was finally waking up. Whether it was finally active or not, something big was about to happen.
Perhaps it had to do with the recent surge of Guardians recently. Ever since the Traveler sent out its Ghosts centuries ago, Guardians had been slowly finding their way to the tower. But in the last year the flow had changed. For months no new Guardians arrived, and the ponies of the Crystal Empire began to lose hope. The Crystal Heart was beginning to lose power, and the Fallen had definitely noticed. A few managed to find their way into the wall, but the Guardians who defended the Empire made short work of them.
Luckily, just before the Heart gave out, the tide turned. When all seemed lost a surge of new Guardians entered the Empire. In these last two months more than twenty Guardians arrived in the city. The Crystal Ponies, who had done all they could to prepare for the coming breach in security, were happy to turn their stockpiled weapons over to their new protectors.
Since then the surge of Guardians has returned to its normal trickle, but it was enough to reignite the hearts of the Crystal Ponies. Twilight hadn’t seen them this involved in the war effort since Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor gave their lives to protect the Empire.
But even that surge of Guardians had not been enough to awaken the Traveler.
Occasionally the Traveler gave off bursts of magic. They usually coincided with significant events, like when Celestia released her energy, sacrificing herself so as to ensure that the sun would continue to rise and set each day. This had warranted a release of energy from the Traveler, which filled Celestia’s lifeless body and transformed her corpse into the first statue in the Hall of Guardians. She now stood with the appearance of life, a frozen figure whose mane still flowed as if the wind blew it at all times.
Over the years more relics had been added to the Hall of Guardians. 200 years ago the Tree of Harmony was relocated to the Hall, incase its power could ever be wielded again. Twilight personally oversaw the mission. That was the last time Twilight had left the Empire.
She hadn’t left the Empire in nearly 200 years. The realization hit her like a charging Cabal. Twilight Sparkle, one of the most powerful ponies on the planet, had been hiding in the Empire while she sent others to their death for two centuries.
She felt a twinge of guilt before remembering what would happen if she was lost to the Darkness’ forces. She was the last princess, and the only pony connected to the Traveler. She had to stay safe.
This brought her back to the reason she had begun wandering the Tower. She waved to Tess, a Crystal Pony who deals with special orders for Guardians, before looking out at the Empire below her and the Traveler above.
“What made you wake up?” She asked the great orb.
Author's Note
For those of you who know about the game, Twilight plays the role of the Speaker. For those of you who don't know about the game I encourage you to go and research it. Just search "Destiny the Game."
At this point all of Twilight’s friends are dead, as well as the other princesses (Yes, Luna is dead too. I couldn’t find a way worthy of showing her death, so it’s left out for now). But any Guardians out there know that Ghosts search for dead who can wield the light, so who knows which ponies may turn up. (Hint hint)
Check back sometime during the week of the 9th for the start of an adventure.
