Legends from Ages Past

Celestia crouched low to the ground, hidden behind a dense clump of shrubs. She wasn’t sure where her enemy was; somewhere in the clearing just beyond her hiding place, but each time she peaked out there was no one to be seen. Focusing her mind Celestia awakened her magic, the spell made her horn tingle slightly before plunging her senses into a heightened and frenzied state. Luna had taught her the spell many years ago when the two of them stayed up to listen to the world at night and all the hidden sounds shrouded in the darkness.

As she calmed her mind Celestia began to feel the world around her. A world that moments ago had seemed so quiet and desolate suddenly burst into life. Small animals were scurrying about in the bushes all around. Birds sat watching her from vantage points high up in the treetops. A deer was grazing no more than twenty feet behind her. The presence of Luna on the other side of the clearing was as clear as day, but no other pony was within several miles of them. Celestia let her spell drop. Peaking her head out slowly she look across in the direction of Luna but saw nothing. The scene before her appeared deserted once again.

Suddenly there was a thundering roar as a ball of fiery magic shot past just inches from her face. Celestia jumped up and reared onto her hind legs, casting her own counter-spells at her foe but there was no one there. She heard a quiet jingle behind her and vaulted into the air. The great wings that were curled at Celestia’s sides unfurled into magnificent white sails that carried her up into the air just as a second spell tore through the shrubs she was hiding behind seconds before. The branches began to smoke and the leaves crackled as the fire began to spread before suddenly being quenched. She banked left and flew through the smoke that lingered in the air, using it as cover before circling back around to the opposite side of the clearing. There she spotted Luna. Her horn was glowing blue as she tried to maintain the shield spell that covered her body, protecting her from being crushed by the tree that lay directly over her. Celestia felt anger boiling inside her at the sight of her sister so helpless and span in mid air. She flew directly towards their opponent and began to cast every spell she knew against him. Luna took this chance to leap out from under the tree trunk, allowing it to crash to the ground with a mighty crack as she too charged into the fray. As their adversary moved to dodge Celestia’s spells Luna focused and caught him in place using the roots of the trees, preventing him from escaping. He was pinned and couldn’t move but Celestia still had to veer upwards away from him as bolts of lightning thundered from the glowing horn of their teacher.

“Very good,” the trapped pony called out to the two sisters, “you have learned much since our last lesson! Now if you would kindly free me from these roots little one we can head back to your cottage and see if Rose needs a hoof with cooking supper.”

“As you say Beardy,” Luna said as she released him from the roots. “Perhaps next time you will let us use more potent magic seeing as you nearly incinerated my sister and crushed me under a tree?” Luna was drained from keeping the shield over her. Even standing was proving difficult for her as her legs wobbled from the stress her entire body had been put under.

“No,” he replied without hesitation. “You may have grown considerably since the days we all sat around the fire telling stories of heroes and legends, but you are still not strong enough. Did you not take anything from the tales of what befell those who pushed themselves over their limit? Most were consumed by their own power, and while some may have survived, they were misshapen and ghostly shadows of their past selves.”

After a short pause Beardy seemed to shift from their guardian back to their teacher. “Let us examine the lightning spell I used, it was not a simple case of focusing then releasing the magic forwards, no no no. At a basic level it would be possible for either you or your sister to summon a single bolt of lightning, but when you begin to add multiple bolts it becomes more complicated to weave the magics together. These spells require a more in-depth understanding of how magic works so that you can empower the spell in the way you want it to. Simply forcing as much of your willpower into the spell as possible will only cause it to become too powerful for you to control. Very few unicorns have been able to master the art of true destruction magics. For somepony like you Luna, It would be wise to rely on your wit and intelligence over brute power and raw energy. Even the smallest of pebbles when dropped in the correct part of a pool will ripple across its entire surface.”

As Luna and Beardy talked Celestia slowly made her way down towards them, descending gently like a leaf before fluttered her wings and touching down with a quiet thud in the grass.

“Sister, you have asked Beardy about this before so what made you think now was any different? You know that Mother would not approve of us using such spells either.”

Luna’s ears flopped backwards as she dropped her head. “It was a foolish question yes, but Iron Shield said he saw a group of soldiers flying The Order’s colours at the edge of the forest. If we do not learn more dangerous spells how can we protect ourselves from the likes of them? It’s not as if they will only throw novice spells at us.” She looked up at her big sister, searching for an ally in her case. “How can we protect Mother if we can’t fight off an attack from The Order? They have never bothered us in the past, but that is no guarantee for the future.”

“Little one you are right,” Beardy conceded as he let out a great sigh. “The Order has indeed been moving closer and closer to these woods. I heard the resistance have uncovered information that The Order are moving south carrying gifts to the Dragonlands to ensure they do not try to interfere with the The Order’s plans to release Discord. Dragons are a proud race who believe they are the strongest and greatest of all of our world’s creations. I doubt they would be happy to see a monster arise that could turn them into pigeons with a click of his fingers, but if that monster and his minions were to offer them mountains of jewels, gems and gold then an alliance could be formed.”

“Discord is locked away in the depths of Tartarus anyway. The Order does not have the strength to stand against Cerberus, or his army of Golden Retrievers! If anypony does escape the Retrievers will go out, bring them back and lock them up and that would be that,” sparked Celestia. She hoped this was the case at least. It was something she was so desperately hoping was true. If Discord was to walk free she had no idea how the Equestrian Resistance could stand against the Order then and the world would surely fall.

“Celestia please, remember what Rose taught you about controlling yourself.” Beardy raised an eye-brow as he continued, “You haven't gone back to your over excited ways from when you were just a filly have you? If you don’t control your emotions you allow anger, fear, doubt and sorrow to cloud your vision. If you have to make a decision that could save a pony’s life, you must do so with utter certainty you are doing the right thing. And do not forget that though the Order is full of wicked ponies, we know nothing definitive of Discord. Ancient texts from buried ruins across Equestria spoke of a demon like creature who wrecked havoc on the land yes, but none of them could agree on his personality. Some portrayed him as a demon worshiped by a cult of crazed Zephyrian Zebra; others describe him as a whimsical and mischievous creature who never caused blatant harm but instead relished in messing with the natural order of the world; there are even some ancient scrolls that say he is chaotic and meddlesome but only because of the loneliness hidden deep in his heart. For all we know, he may dislike the Order as much as we do.”

“No Beardy I haven’t, though I wish sometimes I could go back to being little to escape this civil war.” Celestia looked across the forest. She saw the tree the deer had chewed the bark off before being scared away by their fight. She thought about the words she had to say to make Beardy understand. “I merely meant that he was imprisoned before and has been subdued by the servants of Cerberus for all these long ages, so surely he can be again? Regardless of his personality, if he had to be imprisoned it must have been for a reason.”

The three of them began to make their way through the forest towards their cottage. Beardy was busy mulling over what Celestia had said as both girls awaited a response. He was an old pony, if the tales were to be believed he was a very old pony. His coat was grey and his mane and beard as white as the clouds. He wore a long blue cape and a tall pointy hat both of which were adorned with small golden orbs as well as multitudes of embroidered stars and crescent moons. Because he always wore his cloak whenever Celestia had seen him she had no idea what his cutie mark was, though she had no doubt it was related to his sheer prowess as a sorcerer. He finally answered when they came to a small stream they had to wade through and he was forced to levitate his cloak up to prevent it getting wet.

“Yes and no. You see he was imprisoned using magic that ponies do not posses. The Zephyrian Zebra with the help of the Shaman from both the Buffalo and Griffon tribes were able to subdue him then take him to Cerberus to be imprisoned. There is no pony magic I know of that would allow us to accomplish such a feat. To ensnare a Demi-God and trap him so his powers could not be used from within his prison. That is the kind of knowledge that has been lost to time. Though I do agree with you on both accounts, he must have been imprisoned for a reason, and the days when you were both young fillies were indeed a lot simpler.” He chuckled to himself, “I preferred telling you stories of the civil war rather than preparing you both should it find its way here, but this is how it must be sadly.”

With that they continued in silence till they were back at the cottage. Celestia looked over to Luna who seemed too deep in thought to have been listening to anything Beardy had just said. Hopefully he wont test her on any of it later should he get bored.

“But surely you know of somepony who could point the Resistance in the right direction should they have to defeat him?” Luna’s voice was sweet and gentle as she spoke, yet her eyes remained fixed on the path ahead of her. A calm but firm expression was across her face.

“I don’t think so little one. There are legends of how he will be defeated, or could be defeated should I say. One day you will learn more, and when you do, your world will change forever. Remember that each of our minds is telling us a story. A story that lays out before us how we want our lives will pan out, what roads we will follow and what choices we will make. But if something happens that means you must abandon your story, then you must learn to write it anew for yourself. You will understand soon I think. Yes, Freya has seen it in the stars. The time to tell those legends will be soon.”

A small cottage began to emerge through the gaps in the trees. A warm sensation crept its way through Celestia’s chest, it happened whenever she glimpsed the thatched roof and log walls of her comforting and peaceful home. Luna had sped up slightly, eager to get home and see their mother. The inner child within Celestia thought about charging ahead and shouting back, last one home is a rotten changeling, but she knew better than to act foolish in front of Beardy. The lecture he would give her was not worth the trouble, no matter how funny it would be. As they neared the cottage Luna gave way so Beardy could enter first.

“Thank you little one, you really do act like a princess sometimes.” Beardy chuckled again as he entered the cottage, the small bells on his hat and cloak jingled slightly as they hit off the door frame.

Once he was inside Luna turned to look at Celestia.

“Do you think Discord will break out, Sister?” Luna, who had not a moment ago revealed how keen she was to discuss this idea, now stood with a look on her face that meant even if you replied she was so deep in thought you would have to repeat your answer at least three times for it to sink in.

“Maybe, I guess time will tell. For now lets see if Mother needs any help in the kitchen.” Smiling at her sister, Celestia entered the cottage followed by Luna a few moments later after she awoke from her daydreaming to find herself standing alone outside. Honestly, she seems to switch from wide awake to sleepwalking within seconds, Celestia thought to herself.

The inside of their cottage was simple. The walls were made of dark brown logs, stacked one on top of the other and held in place with more that also supported the ceiling. The downstairs was dominated mostly by a single large room that extended out to the left of the entranceway. In the room an enormous wooden table was positioned in front of a yellow tinted window that looked out from the front of the cottage, the black mesh that held the window together made it look like a sheet of small yellow diamonds that shimmered as the sun shone threw them. A smaller table that Beardy always commandeered during his visits was covered in bags full of scrolls and ink that he always brought with him wherever he went. He was currently sitting in a chair, sifting through the bags for something and muttering to himself. Occasionally he would levitate a scroll out and add it to the pile that seemed to have accumulated on the larger table.A single scroll lay bathed in the yellow light coming from the window, a map of some kind showing Equestria at its centre with all the lands beyond her borders circling the edges of the parchment.

To the north of Equestria was the clearly marked Crystal Kingdom, a land now hidden behind a magical barrier that nothing could penetrate. Beardy had told her the tales of the Kingdom; stories of noble houses, vast armies of Crystal Ponies; of the great Crystal Wyrm’s that once ruled its skies; and of the day the Kingdom fell before the might of The Order and sealed itself away forever to protect its people.

In the north eastern corner of the map stood the mighty Eagle’s Head Mountains, home to the various but equally proud Griffon Kingdoms. Legendary warriors but poor diplomats, the history of the Griffons was plagued by endless wars and food shortages as well as the odd skirmish between them and ponykind. Being mountainous creatures, the Griffons had always depended on other nations to provide food for them and so as part of a peace deal a small client state of Equestria at the bottom of the Eagle’s Head mountains was created to provide food for the Griffons, as well as allow a constant military presence in the area for the ponies. Since the fall of Equestria, however, even this small nation had become yet another territory the Griffon’s fought over.

Celestia cast her gaze from the north of their world to the most intriguing place she knew of, Saddle Arabia. While the lands to the north of Equestria were predominantly snow capped mountains and rocky valleys, the lands to the south came in a myriad of flavours. To the south east lay the vast deserts of Saddle Arabia. Once the mightiest nation in all the known realms, Saddle Arabia stood as the pinnacle of civilisation. Since The Order had conquered Equestria, however, the mighty Sultanate had splintered into various nations all seeking to protect themselves now that their leaders had fallen during the siege of Canterlot nearly two decades ago.

“Celestia, I have noticed you have yet to see your mother since arriving back. Go and see if she needs a hand with any of the chores and when you return we can look at the map together if you would like.” Beardy had known she was staring longingly into the map, but allowed her that moment to dream. Living in a forest all your life and not being allowed beyond its borders brought on such a wanderlust that every chance you could get to imagine the outside world was a breath of fresh air for Celestia.

He could probably do every chore in the house at once with his magic if he was feeling generous and not be phased at all, Celestia thought to herself. She looked around the room now that her mind had been brought back here. There were paintings hanging from the walls, all of which had been made by Luna after she decided to look into other forms of art as well as singing. Rose had always been pleased to see Luna being so creative and so Beardy brought oils and paints whenever he came to visit. Some depicted what the world outside their forest looked like in Luna’s mind, while others showed the forest at night when Luna would stay up to listen to and stare out into the darkness she seemed to find perfect beauty in. Directly opposite the front door were the stairs that Luna had disappeared up earlier leading to the bedrooms, and to the right of it was the door to the kitchen.

“Do you need me to lend a hoof with anything, Mother?” Celestia asked as the warm smell of freshly cooked vegetable stew rose from the pot over the kitchen fire. The kitchen was a simple room, very similar to the main room Celestia had just come from. It had the same log walls, the same planked floor and the same tree trunk pillars that held the ceiling up. There was a small fire in the centre of the room and a stone chimney that came up around it like a tower housing some kind of magical treasure. Rose was currently stood up on her hind legs by the stone sink at the back of the room washing several dishes to serve the vegetable stew on. When Celestia was about to sneakily levitate some of the stew out and taste it Rose turned to come over and check on her cooking.

“No no sweetie, you and your sister go talk to Beardy. He will be tired after your lesson and from the journey to get here so I think its time you show him some of our family’s legendary hospitality.” The smile Celestia was met with filled her with that same sense of comfort and happiness that she felt when she glimpsed the cottage through the trees, and completely ignore the fact she had just been sent through by Beardy to help Rose only to be sent back by Rose to speak to Beardy. Rose’s smile was infectious and caused her to smile too before she nodded and left, but not before levitating up several cups and a pot of tea. Rose had always taught Celestia that the first thing you offer your guests when they arrive is a cup of freshly made tea to help them relax.

“Ah my dear how thoughtful of you,” Beardy said as he relaxed in his chair in front of the fire to govern over his nation of parchments.

“Think nothing of it Beardy, it is common courtesy,” Celestia said as she poured several cups, one for Beardy, another for Luna and finally one for herself. “I was wanting to ask you something Beardy,” she shot a glance towards her mother in the kitchen to make sure she was too busy to hear her. “I wanted to ask you if you were finally willing to tell me why our mother is an Earth Pony and we are, well, not.”

Beardy looked away from the parchment he had unravelled and turned to look at Celestia, “I have told you my dear, you will need to speak to your mother about your gifts if you want to know more. I do not know and no matter how much you pester me on the subject it will not make me suddenly know anything.” His frustrated tone left him as he closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. “One day you will get a chance to ask her. And like I said earlier, the stars say that day is soon. But she is your mother. If you have any doubts about that erase them and never let them take hold again. I have never met a mare with as much dedication towards her family as Rose. You are lucky to be able to call her family.”

“I know Beardy. It’s just odd that she is just an Earth Pony while we have wings and can use magic.”

“There is nothing wrong with being 'just' an Earth Pony, Celestia. Earth Ponies have the strength to farm the land and provide food for us all aplenty. Some of our lands greatest heroes were Earth Ponies who turned their strength away from the fields and orchards to instead fight the dangers that threatened their family and friends. Even the Crystal Ponies, who have been isolated from the rest of the world for nearly two decades, were predominantly Earth Ponies before they crystalised, with the exception of their noble families. Do not walk down a path that leads you to think of yourself as better than the other ponies around you simply because they are from another tribe and cannot do the things you can do. Pride is as much a vice as any of the negative emotions we have taught you to beware of. If you want to see the strength of the Earth Ponies you need only look at Iron Shield or his father, you can even ask him about his fathers adventures when he is here tomorrow.”

The thought of Iron Shield coming to visit them made Celestia’s heart quiver slightly. Not only was he a strong Earth Pony but he was an exceptionally handsome Earth Pony. She shook those feelings off and returned to the present moment with Beardy looking over the map she had been examining earlier.

“Sorry Beardy, I did not mean it in such a way. I am going to see what Luna is up to and ask her if she wants to join us,” with that she stood and made her way towards the stairs that led up to the bedrooms.

At the top of the stairs was a short corridor with a few more paintings on the walls and several cabinets with small-potted plants on them. The decor when coupled with the log walls and wooden planked floor truly made the cottage seem as old as the world itself. It wasn’t that it was falling apart or in ruin, in fact it was the complete opposite, but it did certainly feel like it had a lot of history to it. Luna’s room was the first on the left after the stairs. Celestia raised a hoof and gently knocked on the door.

“Luna, may I come in?” she asked the door, which a moment later opened to reveal a small Luna who had obviously been asleep. “You really need to stop staying up late reading and singing sis,” Celestia let out a gentle laugh as her sister made a face and stuck her tongue out, which just made Celestia laugh all the more.

“Don’t laugh, Sister! I prefer staying up at night, it is peaceful and… I can pretend the world is my own. No Order of Chaos, no Discord, no monsters and no civil war,” she said, her expression taking on a more somber look as her ears dipped. It was apparent that Luna really was constantly worrying about what was occurring in the world beyond their woodland home. Celestia couldn’t help but feel sad that her sister would worry about such things rather than enjoying the moment as she did.

“Don’t worry, one day all of that will surely pass. But for now, would you like to join me, Beardy and mother for some tea and to sit by the fire?”

Luna’s light blue hair was all messed up on the side she had been sleeping on, but she didn’t seem too concerned about fixing it. Instead the small blue Alicorn nodded, yawning as she left her room and began to head downstairs. Celestia focused her magic and closed the door to Luna’s room before following her downstairs.

* * * * *

Celestia was all flustered. She was running about trying to tidy up the parchments that Beardy had left everywhere from the previous night. She couldn’t let Iron Shield see a mess like this! The butterflies in her chest were making her confused. She wasn’t sure what to do next and was running back and forth between the kitchen and main room levitating up this and that trying to do too many things at once.

Rose, who had been awakened by the sound of industrial cleaning downstairs, came trotting down to find Celestia out of breath and with a look of sheer panic on her face standing in the middle of the room with every scroll and piece of parchment levitated up spread out across the ceiling in an attempt to hide them.

“Sweetpea, he won’t run away if the place is a little messy.” Rose’s smile settled Celestia for a moment but it was not a cure for all ailments, regardless of what many thought. “If you go get washed and fix your hair up I will tidy the rest for you.”

“But Mum I-”

“No buts dear, on you go now. I will managed to work out where Beardy wants his stuff kept and which thing can be put aside for later.” Rose gave Celestia a nudge towards the kitchen, “Go on, I asked Beardy to have a look at the pipes yesterday so it should all be working fine again.”

Celestia looked around frantically at all the mess that still needed sorted then dropped her head admitting defeat, along with all of the parchments that were on the ceiling when her spell stopped. She jumped back from the falling parchment as if she had no idea it was there, only to be hit on the head with a rolled up scroll, which just made her hang her head even lower with embarrassment.

“Ok Mother, I just don’t want Iron Shield to get a bad impression of me—us! I meant us!” Rose’s smile grew into a grin and Celestia blushed while she hastily left the room to hide in the kitchen.

The piping her mother had mentioned was actually an invention of Beardy’s. Because the cottage was built near an underground hot spring he had devised a system where a valve was opened and hot water could be drawn from the spring into the cottage to fill a bath. All in all this was much more pleasant than the cold baths they had been forced to endure while the piping was broken. Celestia focused her magic and opened the valve that was hidden under the sink in the kitchen. Once she heard the sound of the water running through the pipes beneath the floor she made her way towards the corner of the room where a door led to a small washroom. The room was dark and relied on another large tinted window to let light in, but when she opened it the light flooded to reveal the sun rising above the horizon, bathing the large bath that took up most of the already small room in a golden and red light. Closing the door behind her Celestia watched as the bath began to fill up with warm steamy water. Beardy had even been clever enough to create a small contraption that caused the water to stop flowing when it reached a certain level to prevent it overflowing. The bath was also of Beardy’s design and was actually a wooden bowl that had been carved out of an ancient and enormous tree and so fit with the decor of the house perfectly. It still had the bark on the outside but using his magic Beardy made sure it wouldn’t leak and would hold the water without rotting the wood. For some reason it was actually carved out by Iron Shield who wanted to help with its construction. Celestia always wondered why but presumed it was to give Beardy and Iron Shield a chance to catch up seeing as whenever Beardy visited the forest he always stayed with them. Besides, she didn’t mind having Shield around the house and occasionally indulged herself with the idea he wanted to help to be around her.

Thinking about Iron Shield set the butterflies off again in Celestia’s chest. He was such a handsome stallion and was only a few years older than her. Beardy had mentioned that she was lucky that the Iron Shield she knew was actually the son of the Iron Shield he had once known who would have definitely been too old for her. He also mentioned that Iron Shield’s father had actually been the representative of the Crystal Kingdom at the Golden Triangle before the Age of Chaos began. Iron Shield the Younger, as he was known before his father’s death, was actually half Crystal Pony and half Earth Pony, which Celestia always felt was rather intriguing and exotic. The only peculiar thing was his name. Most Crystal Ponies were renowned in legend for being named after precious gems and crystals, but apparently when Iron Shield the Elder had come to Equestria he adopted a more Equestrian name and named his son the same. Iron Shield the Elder had died before he had the chance to give his son a Crystal Pony name, and the fact his son took after his mother and was not crystalised showed how much of him really was Earth Pony.

Though the noble families of the Crystal Kingdom had mainly been Crystal Unicorns, House Snow from which Iron Shield was descended had been granted nobility during an incursion from the Changeling Swarm after a group of Crystal Ponies had rallied their friends and family together and charged ahead of the defenders straight into the swarm and refused to retreat. They managed to keep the Swarm at bay until The Crystal Army arrived leading to the Swarm being routed and sent back to their infernal lands. Since that victory the Snow family was raised up to a noble house and were granted the duty of protecting the Crystal Kingdom from all the threats of the outside world.

So not only was Iron Shield the son of one of the most influential and well loved ponies in all of Equestria from before The Age of Chaos dawned, but he was also part of one of the noble houses of the lost Crystal Kingdom. A lone survivor stranded on the outside world apart from his kin. Beardy had said that should he return to take his place amongst his kin that he too would crystallise and take on the names and titles of his house.

After she had finished dreaming of her shining stallion in even shinier armour Celestia began washing her hair and preening her feathers to look as perfect as possible for their coming guests, though Iron Shield was the one who needed to be impressed the most. Once finished in the bath it was a simple case of pulling a small lever at the side of the bath to open up a vent for the water to drain through. As she climbed out Celestia levitated over her white and pink bath robes, which had been a gift from Iron Shield and the others on her birthday two years ago, and left the bathroom to fetch Luna and command her to make herself presentable for Iron Shield.

“Everything has to be just perfect,” she mumbled to herself as she trotted through the kitchen into the main room to head upstairs.

“Well its good to see my present is not just a hanging wall decoration,” a voice said from behind her just as she turned to go up the stairs. Her entire body froze and each heartbeat felt as long as an age of the earth. Her head slowly spun round to where the voice had come from. At the table sat Rose along with Iron Shield. Both were looking over one of Beardy’s old scrolls that looked like a map, but that was of little interest to Celestia. Seeing Iron Shield’s face caused the butterflies in her chest to almost explode out and the grin on her mother’s face told her that it was just a little obvious. With a quiet little squee and a forced smile Celestia dashed upstairs to send Luna down for her bath.

“Hello little Luna,” Iron Shield said as Luna stumbled down the stairs yawning like a young filly who had stayed up all night. “I didn’t mean to embarrass your sister. I hope she forgives me.”

“Oh, she will, don’t worry, Shield,” Luna replied between yawns.

“Luna remember to be polite to our guest and not yawn in his face,” Rose chided, just as Luna walked straight into one of the two tree trunks that acted as pillars holding up the ceiling.

Both Iron Shield and Rose were laughing as Luna shook the drowsiness from her head and stumbled off towards the kitchen.

“Little Luna seems to be as cute and tired as ever I see. It seems that for a brief few moments after she is woken her mature and thoughtful self is replaced with a cute but somewhat daft filly. I still feel the need to apologise to Celestia when she manages to drag herself back down from her room.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you dear,” Rose said absentmindedly. “She will likely be too focused on not staring at you to remember about it.”

Celestia cursed under her breath. Thanks for that Mother, she thought as Iron Shield continued to laugh in the background. Celestia could feel herself redden at the thought of having to walk back down knowing that both of them will be watching to see what she does.

“Now Rose no need to make me the embarrassed one! From the stories I have heard of my father he would expect me to be a gentlecolt and apologise to the young lady. I will live up to his reputation no matter how little the injury I cause may be, as you very well know.”

Rose’s laughter drifted off slightly as the two of them became silent for a moment. “I remember your father give several speeches to the ponies of Canterlot before the civil war broke out—”

“Please Rose, careful what you say in case the girls hear you.”

Rose obviously hadn’t realised she was speaking out loud. “Sorry Shield. I got carried away thinking about those days. They will find out soon enough anyway. You know, you are the spitting image of your father. I can see why Celestia likes you seeing as I had a crush on him just like Celestia has—”

“Rose! Please!”

Though Celestia could not see him, Shield was beginning to sound as though he was blushing now more than Celestia had been a few moments before. Rose’s giggling only highlighted this all the more as Celestia closed her door quietly and began fixing up her hair. The butterflies that had been battering the inside of her chest had been subdued slightly as she had listened to the later part of their conversation.

Mother used to live in Canterlot, and more importantly she was there before the civil war broke out? How did she escape? The whole city was enslaved or burned alive during the attack from the Order. She surely kept the truth hidden for a reason. Perhaps I should have listened a moment longer to see if she said anything more. Celestia thought this over for a moment and once she was ready steadied her breathing and began the descent down the stairs to the judgement that awaited in the room at the bottom.

“Good morning Celestia,” spoke a voice from behind her at the top of the stairs when she was half way down. Celestia stopped so as to look back at the old pony who looked as though he had slept even less that Luna.

“Good morning Beardy, feeling a little bit like Luna are we?” Celestia grinned at the old pony who was both her teacher and one of her family’s closest friends.

“Now now Celestia, when you reach my age every moment asleep is a moment less to spend doing things that need to be done. And these days I have no shortage of things that need done, and neither do you judging by their conversation downstairs.”

The two of them descended the stairs and entered the main room where Rose and Iron Shield still sat at the long table. What Beardy had just said put Celestia on edge more than a little. The light that poured through the window seemed to freeze time momentarily as it’s beams shone in and reflected off Iron Shield’s armour. Celestia felt a flutter in her heart and the thought of her stallion in shining armour battling the agents of the Order. When Iron Shield saw them enter he stood up onto all four legs and gave a great bow to the old man.

“Starswirl the Bearded, it is an honour to see you are well.” Iron Shield kept his head bowed, if only to hide his grin. “Is it wise for an old man such as yourself to be up and about at this time? Shouldn’t you be saving your strength and stay in bed for a bit longer?”

“Strength! Need I remind you Iron Shield the Younger that even though you have inherited your fathers bravery and valour that it was me who led your father down the path to becoming the legend he is?” Beardy looked as though he was going to unleash all of hell on the Earth Pony in front of him but merely burst into hysterics. “What am I saying, I would love to still be in bed!”

Iron Shield raised his head again and the two of them shared a long laugh together. Watching them Celestia felt that this was right. Laughter was just as important a part of friendship as any other virtue, and these two ponies proved that. Their smiles were the smiles of true friends till the end.

“Come Beardy you must be thirsty, and you too Celestia,” Rose said as she beckoned the two of them over to the table. “Celestia if you would be so kind?” She tilted her head slightly in the direction of the tea pot and the cups that lay in the centre of the table. Without having to think twice, even though her mind was elsewhere pondering over what she had heard earlier, Celestia focused her magic and began pouring a cup for Beardy and another for herself while topping up both her mother and Iron Shield’s cups.

“Have you heard the news from the nearby villages Starswirl?” The tone of his voice seemed off. Celestia thought she could see a slight tinge of anxiety mixed with sorrow in the deepest corners of his eyes, she wanted to ask if he was ok but before she could Beardy spoke.

“Sadly yes. The Order have sacked the old citadel of Constampedeopal. Completely raised to the ground apparently. The Resistance has been forced back to Fort Pegathens as well as the ground fortress they have built beneath the floating city. It is their last refuge..."

Shield nodded. “Should it fall I fear that they will lose their only foothold in the region and be scattered to the wind.” He dipped his head slightly and closed his eyes, the sorrow that had been buried deep within his eyes was no longer hidden. He looked like all hope had left him, and that he knew something that she didn’t.

Celestia looked from his expression to the long black mane that hung loosely around his neck. Only the tiniest slither of his brown neck was visible before his coat was consumed by his mighty armour. She had seen it a few times before when she was a filly but not in many years had he ever had need to wear it. Over the years it had obviously been reforged to ensure it continued to fit him, she could remember the original set which had been forged by Angus for him as a coming of age present. Of course by highlander standards coming of age was younger than for the rest of them.

Celestia’s gaze continued down Shield’s back over the bronze shining metal and onto his flank where emblazoned on the armour was his family crest, which was the same as the cutie mark that lay beneath it. A circular wooden shield that was of such dark brown it appeared almost black. It had a silver ring around the outside and on top of it was the iconic silvery white snowflake of House Snow. A very simple snowflake for a very simple noble house. Beardy had mentioned that throughout history the future leaders of House Snow, who were destined to become defenders of the realm, had not only inherited the titles and duties of their forefathers but had also inherited the same cutie mark. Each heir would eventually be named ‘Commander of the Sentinels and Guardian of the Kingdom’ and was tasked with ensuring that no monsters breached the Crystal Kingdom. Iron Shield the Elder’s cousin was Lord of their house, though sadly most of their family were murdered in an ambush as they made their way to visit Canterlot to discuss the ongoing war against The Order. After that moment Iron Shield the Elder was no longer the Regent Lord and became the full fledged Lord of House Snow and in turn the right to lead his house passed on to Iron Shield the Younger. Since the defeat of Equestria and her allies Iron Shield had been cut off from his birthright which now lay hidden behind an impenetrable magic shield that hid the entire kingdom from the world. As Shield began to speak again Celestia snapped out of her daydreaming and focused on what he was saying while forcing herself to not stare at him.

“If the Order defeats the Resistance then our last hope of finding any allies will be lost.”

Beardy looked upon the colt while he thought of an answer. Starswirl the Bearded was the most powerful mage in Equestria and all the lands beyond its borders Rose had told her once, if there was ever a pony who could be inspirational in another’s time of need he was the one. His stories of the days before Equestria was formed were all accounts of the many paths he had followed in his life, as well as the many more paths he had put others on that led to some of the greatest heroes, legends and events in Equestrian history. Beardy placed his cup on the table and spoke with a tone that captivated Celestia like she was watching one of the ancient legends unfolding before her very eyes.

“My child, the Order might one day cast down the Resistance and leave us stranded. An island of pure mist in a sea of darkness and evil, with no friends left but each other. But, there will never be a day when hope ceases to exist. If you lose hope, it is because you choose to leave it behind rather than because it has left you.” Beardy eyes moved to gaze out of the yellow tinted window, through the many diamond shapes it was created from to the farthest horizon and beyond. “So long as somepony is willing to stand up against the Order and says so, hope will never be quenched.”

Iron Shield lifted his head at Beardy’s words, a look of determination had taken over him and he thumped a hoof down on the table. “Your right Starswirl, we are the Wardens of the Sun and Moon and we will stand by our virtues even in the face of Discord himself. For it has been seen in the heavens that he will be free soon enough and that we must stand against him.”

“Sorry the Wardens of what?” Celestia couldn’t control herself. She didn’t understand what she was hearing now and felt she had missed an entire conversation and everyone had somehow moved onto a new subject. Beardy looked over to Rose and then to Iron Shield who both nodded to him.

“Freya has seen it in the heavens. She, Nzuri and Angus are making their way here now. I spoke to Rose when I first arrived and she agrees it is time.”

“It is time we told you the entire story my daughter. Fetch your sister dear, the others will be here soon. When all are here we may begin.” Rose looked at Celestia with an alien expression. She was crying. Tears were forming in the corners of her eyes and slowly dripped down her cheeks and onto the table. Rose never cried. Rose had no reason to cry.

Celestia sat there a moment, time had frozen all around her. She did not know what to make of all this. After a moment that felt like eternity she stood up without a word and turned away from them without looking at any of them. Making her way to the kitchen she tried to block out her mother’s sobs. What could bring such a happy pony to suddenly break down into tears? But she would soon know it all apparently. Right now all she had to do was find her sister who, in true Luna fashion, was probably sound asleep in the bath and totally oblivious of what was being said in the room right next to her.