To Build a Bridge

by AHurdOfBronies

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Human, Princess Luna, Original Character, Adventure, Princess Celestia
Length: 1867

The story of the first and only elf to ever be in Equestria.

A mage interested in understanding both unicorn and alicorn magic, Alexandros is the only elf who left his homeland, The Elven Kingdoms, to go to Equestria. Besides wanting to live with the ponies, there were several reasons why he ran away from his home, many of which he had not told anyone about.

He arrived on the western coast of Equestria, and at the same time when Discord had attacked, before Celestia and Luna stopped him. Alexandros traveled towards the center of the land, and found himself entering a strange, perplexed environment, created out of Discord's chaotic manipulation. He saw Celestia and Luna just as they were using the Elements of Harmony, and hid himself to observe them without being seen. Noticing their regal attire, he figured that they were both rulers of some sort, and slipped away to find their castle after seeing them turn Discord to stone. He wanted to meet the two alone within their castle as a proper introduction, and to ensure that they were the first ponies to ever see him, as he believed the only way to introduce the elven race to ponies was through them.

Published 2015-02-06 11:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2015-02-06 11:40:01 UTC

Foundation

I pushed past a few more branches, plants, and ferns to find myself at an opening, and it was there that I noticed a castle looming in the distance. A typical stone castle, much like the ones I saw back home. In fact, for a split-second there I thought I was back home, traveling across the foothills and exploring all the castles built in the highlands. Seeing much of the same in Equestria, it makes me wonder how we had not discovered this land any sooner. Not only that, but I wonder if, back in ancient history, these lands were once connected to each other. Both have the same type of environment, we're really not that far away from each other as I thought...

...They just had to... I know it...

After making my way to the path that leads to the front entrance, I traveled up to a cross bridge hovering over a large trench, possibly the widest and deepest one I've seen so far. Something caught my attention, however... actually, two things: First was a light blue glow emitting within a cave at the bottom of the trench, and second was a set of stairs, which were rather strange and seemingly out-of-place, that led there. Those two princesses most likely wouldn't get back here very soon, giving me some free time, so I decided to check it out.

As I reached the bottom of the stairs and approached the cave's entrance, the light coming from within grew brighter, making it harder to tell what it was coming from. Whatever was glowing sure did take up a lot of room. Just a few feet away from the mouth of the cave, and it finally started becoming clear to me what this glowing monolith actually was. Right when my foot first entered the cave, my motion came to a sudden halt.

I stood there, completely stunned, gazing up at it in awe.

...It...

...It can't be...... There's no way it could...

......The Tree of Harmony......

...but... how?

In all my years of studying elven legend, there was only one thing that I was sure of more than anything else: The Tree of Harmony was either in the Elven Kingdoms and we simply haven't found it yet, or it was in Equestria. I was almost certain it was the latter, and from this very moment, it was confirmed. Setting out to this land, finding it was certainly an item on my checklist, though I wasn't expecting to find it this quickly. And there it was, standing in all its glory and majesty.

But there was something missing.

"...Wait a second. Where are the Eleme-?"

I froze. My mind and body were paralyzed as images of the encounter I had witnessed just moments ago appeared in my memory. Those objects the two were wielding....How had I not recognized them right then and there?

"...THE PRINCESSES!"

That... was loud. My hands suddenly covered my mouth, and I turned to the entrance, fearing someone might have heard me. Seeing as there was no one there, I shifted my focus back to the empty tree.

I literally could not believe this. Someone had taken the Elements out of the Tree of Harmony! AND THEN USED THEM! Using the Elements of Harmony requires not only a high level skill in magic, but some kind of inner-connection between the Elements themselves and the user. But that means...

...

...That means that those two, rulers or not, are just the ponies I was looking for: The only ones who can help me.

And I was going to meet them at their castle.

Luckily enough, there was no one around when I ran out of the cave and up the stairs. I needed to make my presence known only to the alicorns; I can't let any other pony see me. All I had to do was find a way to their throne room, but with the castle guards scattered throughout the halls, from what I would expect, accomplishing this task would not be as easy as it sounded.

Taking a step back and circling along the outer perimeter, I scanned the castle for entrances, looking for the one closest to where I believed their throne room was. I spotted a vacant balcony on the side of a large part of the structure, and decided to take my chances and go with that one, but not before whipping up a transparency spell just to play it safe. It only took me a few seconds after to follow up with a channeled teleportation spell, and I landed right on the balcony's floor.

As it turned out, I didn't need my transparency spell at all, as I didn't see anyone within the castle, let alone a single guard at his post, when I made my way from the balcony to the throne room. It was just a few hallways until I came to a set of doors, leading to a large hall with two thrones at the very end.

The moment I stood staring at the two thrones was the moment I realized these ponies were truly our equals. Our physical being is the only thing that separates us. If these ponies have the same magical capability as we have, as what I saw those two alicorns using against the draconequus, then perhaps we could teach them how to use our magic. For those two, it certainly shouldn't be a problem.

That's when I heard the doors open, and soon after, a collective gasp behind me. I turned around to face the source of the sound.

There, standing within the doorway, were the same two alicorns from before. I knew they were the rulers of this land... I could tell from their regal outfits when I saw them fighting against the draconequus. They stared at me with a remarkable expression, as they have never seen someone like me before. I walked up to them and spoke.

"So, you must be the rulers of this land, I presume."

The dark blue one started to speak. "Who... Who are you?"

"My name is Alexandros. I come from the land known as the Elven Kingdoms. I'm guessing you two have never seen one of my kind here before."

Then the white one spoke. "We've seen many species of creatures in Equestria, but we've never seen anything like you at all."

"I understand. I am the only elf who has ever sailed east of my homeland, after all."

The alicorns seemed intrigued, turned to each other briefly, then back to me. "I am Princess Celestia, and this is my sister, Princess Luna."

"Princesses, huh?" I was surprised that they didn't have a king or queen. Nevertheless, I welcomed the idea.

"Indeed," Luna said. "We are also the ones who raise and lower the sun and the moon for our subjects."

Ohhhh... So it's them.

"And you do a fine job of it, too," I said to them in an assuring manner. They looked at me, slightly bewildered. Perhaps they didn't realize that each day and night, the elves waited for the sun and the moon to appear from the horizon and rise up into the sky. At first, it wasn't at the perfect spot, but it got better over time to the point where we were content with it. "The elves thank you for lowering both into just the right spot so that we may have a night and day as well." I tried to make it clearer for them, and I could see from their expressions of realization that I had.

"So," Celestia began. "What brings an elf such as you to Equestria?"

"Well, Celestia and Luna, you may not know who we are, and we elves may not know very much about you, but I see our two kinds as equals, both excellent in magic. I assume you are two of the best magic-users there are, especially after seeing what you did to that draconequus. Very impressive to say the least." They smiled. "By the way, who was that?"

"His name is Discord," Celestia explained. "He is the mischievous spirit of Disharmony, the one who turned all of Equestria into his chaotic playground."

"I see. With all the trouble he was causing, it is clear why you had to use the Elements of Harmony against him."

Luna raised an eyebrow. "You know of the Elements?"

"Of course I do," I said to them. "All the elves, or should I say only the scholars, know about the Elements of Harmony. In elven legend, the Tree of Harmony maintained the balance between all who surrounded it. The elves who have heard of this legend have tried for ages to seek it, but they could never find it. Some had even given up the search, saying that it was lost forever, but I knew I could find it."

"Is that why you came here?" Celestia asked me.

"Well, no, not really," I admitted, just remembering that I still haven't answered her question of what brought me here. "The reason I came here was to live among the ponies in harmony. After reading so much about you from our most ancient tomes, I wanted to learn more." My gaze shifted downward as I lowered my head. "The thing is... I'm not so sure of where to go, now that I'm here. I don't really have a place to stay."

Celestia and Luna nodded to each other, coming up with a solution. They looked back at me with a warm expression.

"You're always welcome to live here."

"With us," Luna added.

"Really?" I clasped my hands together in gratitude. "Thank you!"

"You're very welcome," Celestia responded, happily. "But, if I may ask, why did you leave your homeland? What about the other elves?"

What you call other elves, I call cowards.

"None of them wanted to come with me since the sea I crossed was forbidden waters. The only reason they called it that was that none of them ever came through it."

"Won't you miss them?" Luna asked.

"I will miss them, and maybe they'll miss me." Thoughts of my family started to fill my head again. Why didn't they go after me? Would they really let 'forbidden waters' get in the way of them trying to bring me back? Would they really let me go like that?

"What if something happens to them?" Celestia suggested.

"They'll be fine," I assured them. "They'll always find a way to pull through... even without me..."

...Well that was a lie and a half... I knew there was really no telling how they were going to fare given their situation.

There was a long silence. My gaze on them finally broke after a moment, and I started to walk out onto the nearby balcony. They followed and stood beside me, looking up with me into the starry night sky.

I took a deep breath, thinking heavily of the future.

"...For now, we can only hope the other elves will join us."

Author's Note

If this story leaves you with unanswered questions, don't worry. They will be solved as I release more updates. :twilightsmile: