Silence hung over the Everfree, broken only by an almost inaudible whispering coming from a small ruined hut in a forest clearing. Inside the hut, a white alicorn bent over a small Pegasus, lying on a bed of moss and ferns.
“Save my child, I beg of you,” the Pegasus breathed, her eyes glazing over. “She is in the Ponyville Orphanage, watched over by a cruel headmistress…” Her voice trailed off. She let out a final breath, and was still.
The alicorn closed her eyes with a gentle stroke of his hoof. “I will.”
A twig snapped in the entrance, and the alicorn whipped around. A black unicorn stood in the doorway, his red eyes glittering with hatred.
“Reuben,” He hissed, spitting out the name like a foul taste in his mouth. “At last, we see each other face to face. Mayor of Ponyville eh? You’ll wear a different chain.”
“Before you say another word, Grelax,” the alicorn replied with a hint of desperation in his voice. “Before you lock me up like a slave again. Listen to me, there is something I must do.”
He flicked his gold and silver striped tail at the Pegasus’ body. “This mare leaves behind a suffering foal, and there is nopony but me who can intervene. In mercy’s name, three days are all I need. Once the filly is safe, I will return, and we will settle our differences.”
Before the unicorn could say a word, Reuben took off, ascending through a hole in the roof, and headed toward Ponyville. Behind him, the unicorn yelled after him. "I WILL FIND YOU REUBEN! YOU HAVE NOWHERE TO RUN, NOWHERE TO HIDE!"
Landing in front of the orphanage, he walked inside, and emerged 20 minutes later with a newly adopted, rusty orange Pegasus filly following close behind.
“Can I call you Daddy?” she asked.
“Yes my dear, you can,” Reuben answered, lowering his head to nuzzle the filly’s dark purple mane. “Also, you never told me your name.”
“Oops, I forgot. I’m Scootaloo!” the filly announced. “Thank you for rescuing me from that horrible place.”
“Of course Scootaloo.”
“Where are we going?” Scootaloo asked excitedly, after they had walked another five hundred metres.
Reuben was about to answer, when he caught a flash of white light in the corner of his eye. He turned around, expecting the unicorn from before to be launching a spell. Instead, a mark appeared on his flank, a symbol he had only seen in a very old tome he had once read. A golden circle and star on top of each other, with six different coloured hexagonal gems arranged in a pattern: One on each of the star’s points, and one larger gem in the centre of the star.
Scootaloo gasped. “You got your cutie mark!” she exclaimed.
Suddenly, a voice sounded in Reuben’s mind. “Reuben… You are the Spirit… of Harmony… Come to the castle… of the Two Sisters…”
“Reuben?” Scootaloo sounded worried. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, my dear,” Reuben replied hesitantly. “I must go to the Everfree Forest. Stay here.”
“I’m not leaving you now,” Scootaloo said, fear grappling with determination in her eyes. “I don’t care about the danger. Besides, where would I go?”
Reuben realized she was right. “Come with me then, but stay close to me.”
As the two of them approached the castle, the voice called out to Reuben’s mind again.
“Reuben… approach the stone orbs… in the center… of the castle…”
“Follow me Scootaloo,” Reuben said. “We’re going inside.”
Reuben entered the castle, with Scootaloo, trembling, at his heels. The alicorn stallion and Pegasus filly walked through the ruined courtyard and into the main hall, their hoofsteps ringing out on the cracked stone floor.
As they neared the stone orbs, a thread of white light snaked out of the empty podium in the center of the altar, and wove around Reuben’s legs, rooting them to the ground. Before he could say anything, the light jerked back, and Reuben tumbled towards the stone pedestal.
“Reuben!” Scootaloo just managed to grab Reuben’s tail between her teeth, but was jerked along with him with a screech of surprise. The two of them landed in a heap on the podium, where an orb of white light surrounded them, slowly fading to a stone orb twice the size of the others.
As Reuben lost consciousness, the voice spoke once more. “You will be awoken… when the sisters… are reunited… and the elements… are found…”
500 years later…
Deep within the Everfree Forest, shrouded with the cloak of night, lay the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. Out of the relative silence, the sounds of galloping hooves could be heard echoing out on the weathered cobblestones.
A flash of multicoloured light suddenly sliced through the darkness, joined by a voice of despair.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
The rainbow light changed to white, and flashed like lightning, then, just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. Another light appeared on the horizon, an orb of radiant sunlight against the darkness of night. The sun rose swiftly, making up for lost time, and dispelled the shroud of eternal night.
Soon after the sun’s reappearance, a company of two alicorns, one white as snow with a pastel mane, the other midnight blue with a mane of night, as well as six smaller ponies, two pegasi, two unicorns and two earth ponies, exited the castle and walked across the ruined bridge.
Once across, the white alicorn’s horn shone with a golden radiance, and in a flash of light, the group was gone.
Back in the main hall of the castle, the only remaining orb shuddered on its pedestal, a large crack zigzagging along its smooth surface. It rolled off the pedestal, and came to rest about a metre away.
Sealed within, Reuben and Scootaloo both heard the voice again.
"Reuben... Spirit of Harmony... awaken... your time has now come..."
"Awaken..."
"Daddy? Daddy?!" A distant call roused Reuben. "Please, open your eyes Daddy!" Reuben cracked open his eyes to see Scootaloo peering down at him, despair dissolving in her eyes and being replaced with relief. "Oh, thank goodness! You're awake."
Reuben groaned as he staggered to his hooves and looked around. The castle looked much the same as it had before they were sealed, with the exception of the longer and thicker vines and creepers. The orb they had been sealed in now lay on the cold stone floor, split into two pieces to show a hollow interior.
"Reuben..." The voice sounded again. "Spirit of Harmony... hearken now..."
"Daddy?" Scootaloo said, puzzled. "Can you hear that voice?"
"Yes I can, darling," Reuben answered. "I thought it was just in my head."
"Reuben... listen to me now... travel... to Canterlot... speak with... Princess Celestia..."
"Are we going to Canterlot?! That's SOOOO cool!" Scootaloo bounced around her adopted father, seemingly none the worse for 500 years sealed inside a stone ball. "When are we leaving?"
Reuben stood on his hind legs and stretched before falling back onto all fours. "I think we should get settled in the nearest town before we go on any great adventures. I know a place near the border of the forest where we can rest up before leaving." Scootaloo nodded excitedly, and fluttered onto his back. Reuben looked over his shoulder, and gave the adorable pegasus filly a nuzzle before trotting into the castle courtyard, spreading his wings and taking to the skies.
Landing at the house he mentioned, Reuben was shocked at first to see the place almost in ruins, then remembered that he had been gone for 500 years.
"Is this it?" Scootaloo scoffed as she hopped off Reuben's back. "This place is falling apart!" A window shutter fell to the ground with a crash, as if to accentuate her complaint.
"No-pony has been here in centuries, Scootaloo," Reuben explained patiently. "It just needs a few repairs, and it'll be as good as new."
"I'll help too!" Scootaloo announced, perking up immediately. "Maybe I can get my Cutie Mark in construction and repairs!"
"Maybe you can, my dear," Reuben chuckled. "Maybe you can."
He walked into the house, returning a few minutes later with a red metal box full of tools and nails. "We'd best get started."
About 5 hours later...
"I'm tired!" Scootaloo gasped as she flopped down onto the grass next to the newly repaired front door. "And we've only finished the first floor!" How long will the rest take?"
"I wasn't expecting to finish the whole thing today," Reuben replied, sitting down next to her. "We've done enough to keep us comfortable for tonight."
"And I STILL haven't got my Cutie Mark!" Scootaloo said, looking forlornly back at her blank flank.
"Don't worry, darling. These things take time." Reuben glanced over his shoulder at the sun, alarmed to see that it was setting. "Wow, I hadn't realised that we'd been on the job for so long."
Scootaloo said nothing, instead giving a huge yawn and resting her head on her front hooves. Reuben smiled at the cute sight before him, and levitated the sleepy filly onto his back, and walked carefully inside. He rested her gently on the floor, and walked back outside, returning a moment later with a pile of moss and ferns. Reuben placed the moss on the wooden planks, and lined it with ferns until the assembly resembled a nest that wild cats sometimes built for sleeping in. He levitated Scootaloo onto the moss, and curled up around her, the sound of the filly's gentle snoring lulling him slowly to sleep.
Author's Note
So far, no-one has gotten the reference from Chapter 1, so I will leave that position blank for now. There is another reference in this chapter, so rack your brains for the answer!
Reuben opened his eyes, blinking hard. His surroundings were unfamiliar, and the soft undulating of solid objects told him that he was in a dream. A series of sounds reached his ears, and it took Reuben a moment to realise that he was hearing music. He got to his hooves, and walked hesitantly across the grassy plains, towards the source of the music.
As he crested a hill, Reuben stopped dead in his tracks. Stretching out below him was a huge crowd of bipedal creatures, clustered around a stage not unlike those in Canterlot. There were three more bipeds on the stage, their eyes glowing red.
However, the crowd's attention was not directed towards the bipeds on stage, but rather to the crest of the next hill across from Reuben. Seven more creatures were standing in front of a strange device, singing and playing instruments. Reuben tried to make out their faces, but was too far away.
Suddenly, a flash of light emanated from the group of creatures on the hill, and a multicoloured stream of light shot into the air, forming a grey cloud that slowly turned into a spinning orb of blue light. As Reuben watched, massive wings unfolded from the orb of light, and Reuben was able to make out the words of the song that the bipeds were singing.
Got the music in our hearts,
We're here to blow this thing apart,
And together, we will never,
Be afraid of the dark
The orb of light dimmed, and revealed a gigantic, spectral blue Alicorn, who reared up on its hind legs, flailing its hooves in the air
Here to sing our song out loud,
Get you dancing with the crowd,
As the music of our friendship
Survives, survives,
Survives!
The Alicorn slammed its hooves down, and a tightly focused beam of multicoloured light flared down upon the three bipeds on stage. With the sound of shattering crystal, and a final flash of pure white light, the alicorn vanished, and the dream began to fade around Reuben. As darkness finally closed around him, he heard the mysterious voice once again.
When kindness, laughter, generosity, honesty and loyalty come together... accompanied by the sparkle of twilight and the shimmer of sunset...
only then will the Spirit of Harmony come forth, and Friendship's true power be revealed...
Reuben woke with a start. Upon seeing the nest of moss and ferns, and Scootaloo still sleeping peacefully, he breathed a sigh of relief. Reuben began to ponder upon the dream, but fatigue soon overtook him, and he once again lowered his head, and fell asleep, his head and neck curled around the filly.
Author's Note
I am so sorry for the huge hiatus between chapters. I was stuck editing another story, and I am still in school. On another note, congratulations to He Who Reads Ponies, who got the reference to the Warriors book series from the last chapter. There is a reference in this chapter as well, but it is so blindingly obvious that... well, yeah.
