Aged Eternal

Chapters

Legends Awake, Part 1
Legends Awake, Part 2
Legends Awake, Part 3
Legends Awake, Part 4
Interlude: Luna's Lament

Legends Awake, Part 1

Once upon a time, there was a magical princess. She lived in harmony with her friends in the kingdom of the two celestial gods, and in fact began her trials as a simple unicorn, studying under her mentor to learn of magic and peace. As the princess' prized student, she learned many different and wonderous things, however that alone did not truly fulfill her destiny. Her mentor, aware of many imminent threats to their kingdom, sent her to find six mystical objects of great power. Little did she know that her true mission was to find harmony with five other ponies, and in that harmony, friendship.

After many trials and tribulations, facing great foes such as the banished Night Queen, the Entropy God, the Deciever and many more, she awoke to her true destiny, as the land's princess and avatar of harmony, friendship, and magic. She and her friends grew closer and closer as the years went on, becoming her greatest advisors and aspects.

Loyalty, a rainbow-maned pegasus of fierce speed and agility brought her words to many a place far and wide, and was ever the first to respond to her calls for aid.

Honesty, an Earth pony of fair mane and orange pelt, provided her with the truth she needed to rule her subjects. Fair and true judgements were her namesake, and finding the hiddens depths of situations her talent.

Kindness, a pegasus of pink and yellow, provided comfort and care to all. Ever was she there with a kind word, an open ear, and a shoulder for troubled souls. Yet there was a fierce side of Kindness, which proved strong under even the toughest of trials.

Laughter, the pinkest of all earth ponies, helped spirits soar. Understanding the need of seriousness, yet nevertheless able to bring joy and wonder to all from the smallest foal to the oldest mare.

Generosity, a dazzling unicorn of purple and white, saw to it that all recieved kindness when needed, and paid back for it a hundredfold from her self. Never one to simply do what was needed, she strived to provide what was desired as well.

The Princess was the final of the six mystics, embodying Friendship and her own talent of Magic. She was the guiding force of the six, the one who maintained and kept such different and opposite natures aligned with peace and harmony. Under her and their reign, the kingdom entered a golden age of lasting peace and creativity.

Alas, such times were not to last. For a Princess is an everlasting force of nature, and as time passed her friends aged, and one by one, died. Slowly, the ever-cheerful princess grew grim, and melancholic. Distrust between ponies sparked and fostered, and the golden age grew to an end. The Celestials, aspects of Sun and Moon, tried all they could to break her melancholy, but could only offer temporary relief from the grief, having grown accustomed to such immortality many millenia prior. At the fall solstice celebration, in the last year of her final friend's life, she and her friend retreated into her castle to wait for the end in isolation.

No pony could enter, such was her grief and want of privacy. Weeks passed, and a soft Twilight fell on the friendships of all, neither broken nor enhanced by the lack of her presence. Until, many months later, she emerged for one night. From her balcony she addressed all who had gathered to listen, her expression stoic and immobile. She recounted the last words of her last friend to them all, a solemn vow invoked of the Pinkest of Laughter, and all that entailed.

Her final friend, with mysterious powers long unexplained, provided a chance of hope with her prophecy: "There will come a time of great need in our Kingdom, my friend. And at that time, our natures shall rise again in the form of new ponies. Harmony will return to this land, and free all from the wave of darkness unknown. On the hundredth and seventy-second day of the thousandth year, one shall begin a journey of discovery, and rekindle the Magic of our rule. I promise you this, my friend. Have faith, and remember, Smile!"

Her proclamation finished, she turned amidst a muttering crowd, and returned to the depths of her castle. The gates, barred. The windows, shuttered. And the princess, withdrawn from all. And so the years passed, and slowly, the princess faded from memory, and the special spark she brought forth in all flickered, and died.

Chapter One:

"flickered, and died...." echoed Smoky Moonlight, her nose stuffed into the pages of an ancient book of tales, the Harmonic Prophetic. She'd found it hidden way in the back of the city's library, filed under T for some reason or another, and had taken it home to peruse at her leisure. "Well! Octavius, take a note. 'Dear Mystical Empress of the North, I have discovered an incredibly important piece of information regarding the foundations of our nation! It is of the utmost importance that we act on this at once! Your loyal subject, Smoky Moonlight.' There, did you get all that?"

She looked over to the corner where a stuffed plush owl lay tilted against an inkpot and a stack of paper. Sighing, she went over and picked the doll up, holding it to her face. "Look at me, talking to a stuffed animal like I'm some filly. Y'know Octavius, sometimes I wish I lived in the times of ancient princess' and evil threats. At least then some of the mares my age wouldn't call me 'crazy' for believing in old prophecies." She set the doll back onto the stack of paper, and moved back to the book.

As she was about to turn the page, she heard her mother calling from downstairs. "Smoky, you're going to be late! The wagon's almost here!" shouted her mother, looking out the window towards the road. Giving a yelp of surprise, Smoky stuffed a bookmark in between the pages and tossed the book into her saddlebags, rushing to get ready for school.

She stomped down the stairs, giving her mom a quick "Bye! See you after school!" and bolting out the door. Out on the road of her neighborhood was the school wagon for Ponytown Central High, the school she went to along with most of the other kids in town. Most cities like Canterlot and Manehatten used wagons run on magic, but Ponytown had started as a small Earth pony village, and so the bus driver was a stallion named Crossing Guard who pulled the wagon to school.

Waving good morning to Crossing, Smoky hopped into the back of the wagon and shuffled to the very front, finding an unoccupied spot to sit in. Getting comfortable, she opened up one of her schoolbooks from her saddlebags, and got in some last-minute studying for her first class of the day, Astronomy.

As the wagon rumbled down the road, passing other pony-driven wagons and carriages as it worked it's way towards the center of town and the high school, a single point in the sky far above softly twinkled.

"Now, who can tell me what this formation of stars is called?" asked Brite Night as he turned back to the class. Smoky was sitting in her Astronomy class with a sizable group of other mares and stallions, waiting for the bell to ring for next period. It wasn't that the class was exactly boring, per say. It was just that she'd already memorized all of the known constellations and celestial bodies when she was just a filly. The night sky had always fascinated her, and knowing what the names of certain parts were had been just another obstacle on her path for knowledge.

Still, this class was one of the required electives for going into Advanced Celestial Studies next year, and if she could pass that course there was always the infinitely minute possibility that one of the Celestials would choose her as their student. This hadn't occurred in over seventy-five years, since the death of Lunaria's last student Night Owl. It was many a filly or colt's dream to become the personal protege of a Celestial, as that was guaranteed to place you in the highest circle of wealth and power in the nation.

Of course, almost nopony had any chance of ever becoming one of those chosen few, but that never stopped anypony from trying to garner the attention of the Rulers of their land. In fact, despite not having been seen in person for over two centuries, it was well known that they still oversaw the most important decisions in their nation, delivering their will through Noblesse Oblige, the Prince of the Realm.

"Nopony? Smoky, how about you?" Her wandering thoughts were jarred back to the class by Brite's sudden question, and she stalled for a few moments to recollect her attention back to the board. Nervously, she answered "I-It's known as the Crystal Gem, sir. It's one of the northernmost constellations you can view from here. Even I can barely see it through my telescope at night." There were a few snickers as somepony commented "Nerrrd" in a false whisper, but Brite simply nodded.

"Indeed. It is also a very special constellation, added to our night sky to record the destruction of a terrible force of evil millenia ago. At least, according to most historians from the Capital. Still, as only the Night Princess knows exactly why she adds them, it's as good a theory as any." Brite nodded, and turned back to the board. "Now, how about this? I'll give you all a hint, it's known as the Prankster by young foals..."

As the bell rang to signify the end of first period, Brite began to wipe the board and spoke some last words to the class. "For your homework tonight, try to spot and record at least two of the constellations we saw today. We're scheduled for clear skies tonight, so it should be very easy to spot these formations. That will be all!"

Smoky shuffled out into the hall, pressed by the masses of students around her. She'd already decided which constellations to study, and was thinking of how best to present the information tomorrow. She could write a long report, but many of the other ponies hated to read that much. It wouldn't help her social life to be known as the mare who took an entire period to explain a star. Maybe if she used a slideshow...

Lost in thought, she accidentally bumped into another student and crashed to the floor. "Oh, sorry. I wasn't really paying attention" she said, trying to stand back up. The pony she'd bumped into snorted, rolling her eyes. "Riiight" the pony said, getting up. "Alright there, airhead. Try not to do it again, y'hear. I can't afford an injury what with the semi-finals next week." At that the mare turned and went on her way, stowing her wings behind her.

Smoky shook her head. Crashing into the best athlete pegasus in the school, Defiant Bolt, who would have guessed. She recieved a couple of rough shoves from the ponies who followed behind her, angrily staring at smoky until she backed against the wall. "You're lucky you didn't hurt her, bookworm. She's way too important to get injured now. Stay away from her, egghead." Having delivered their threat, the group moved on, trailing behind Bolt like a string of ducklings.

Smoky stumbled towards her next class, shaking her head. As she left, neither she nor Bolt noticed their flanks softly pulse with light that faded after a few moments.

"... soon..."

Defiant shook her head as she passed through the hall, steadily ignoring the swath of groupies that followed behind her. In all honesty, she hadn't meant to snap at the poor mare. She'd had a terrible day so far, oversleeping and missing her morning practice. Then, as she'd rushed to school she dropped her homework into a mud puddle, completely ruining it.

If she failed to turn in that essay on flight dynamics, she would risk being inelegible for the WeatherBall semi-finals in a few week's time. She slept through enough of her classes as it was, and one more F would bring her below the required grade level for after-school sports.

It wasn't her fault she was always tired. As a high-activity athlete, she was constantly excersizing early in the morning and late in the evening. As such, school was the only place she had the free time to catch up on some Z's. Still, there was a bright light at the end of this particular tunnel.

As the bell rang for next period, she sidled into her study-hall classroom and looked towards the rear of the room. Past all of the loud mares and colts, tucked into one side was another pegasi, quietly studying a book and occasionally flinching at a particularly loud noise.

Defiant quietly shuffled to the back, and sat in the desk next to the strange mare. Pulling out a notebook, she doodled to pass the time.

After a few minutes, a soft murmur emerged from her left. Turning to the indigo mare, Defiant quietly said “Hello, Moonlit. How are you today?” Moonlit turned back to her desk, and more soft mumbles floated to Defiant.

“Well, I'm glad you're feeling better. The Polts are pretty uncomfortable, especially around this time of year. Next time, try to get the vaccine before the season starts, okay?” Defiant shook her head, softly smiling. Only Moonlit would forget an important vaccine because she was visiting the Night Garden instead.

After another couple of minutes, Defiant started to speak again. “It's been pretty aweful for me today. I missed my morning practice, and then would you believe it, I dropped my homework in the mud. Total bad luck!”

Moonlit nodded, issuing some comforting whispers. Defiant shrugged, and said “I know, I know. I'm sorry you waited so long for me to show up, but the dang clock wouldn't ring this morning. Oddest thing too, I just got it fixed yesterday. Trickster take the darn thing to Tartarus.”

With a soft gasp, Moonlit gave a couple of scolding mutters, giving Defiant an urgent look. Defiant snorted, adding “I'm not afraid of that old superstition, Moon. Besides, why would some ancient God of Misfortune actually take interest in one of us? Old mares tales, like the idea of a spontaneous music number.”

Sighing, Moonlit turned and reached into her bag, pulling out a sheaf of papers with her wing. She passed them over to Defiant, mumbling a few encouragements as she did. “You had a copy of the assignment on you, Moon? Sweet! I can rewrite it now, a-w-w-esome!” Defiant gave an exclamation of cheer, pulling out some blank parchment and a pen.

Sticking her tongue out and focusing on the paper, Defiant quietly said “Thank's Moon. You always have exactly what someone needs to help them out.”

Moonlit Shy turned back to her book, a small smile gracing her features.

And as they both focused on their work, the marks on their plots briefly sparkled

“they... come...”

Moonlit Shy was no stranger to silence. After all, hardly anypony could understand a word she said, excluding of course her friend Defiant. Still, the quiet of the Night Gardens was special in a way that not many could understand.

Despite it being the middle of the day, inside the Garden was dark, and a soft sky of sparkling stars lit the room. Various exotic fauna and flora filled the area from wall to wall, and often the Herbology class would spend entire periods studying one particular specimen or another.

Moonlit was in one corner, still reading her tale. Sure, it was a trashy paperback of a romance novel, but it still provided some semblance of a story, and that was enough for Moonlit. Besides, some of the... raunchier... scenes were quite entertaining.

As she enjoyed the solitude of the gardens around her, a pair of mares slowly crept up to her side. One of them coughed quietly, and Moonlit turned towards her.

“Ah... Hello there.” The first speaker was a unicorn, of terra-cotta colored skin and blond mane. Moonlit searched her memory, and recalled the name. One Sculpted Charm, the school's premier artist. Even at the high-school level, her works had been featured in various artist journals and magazine articles.

Despite the fame, she was one of the kindest and hardest working mares around. She never forgot a pony's birthday, and always brought some small gift to help them celebrate. Such a caring pony was the kind that only came around once a century or so. Still, she was trying to get her attention for something.

“Well, dear, I was hoping to, uh, deliver a package, as it were.” Sculpted gulped, and gave a quiet chuckle that sounded vaguely strained. “A certain mare asked me to hoof-deliver it to you, and I just couldn't say no.”

Her friend snorted, shaking her mane and looking slightly bored. “'Course you couldn't. Not a single request this one could deny in the world, don'cha know.” Speaking directly to Moonlit, she introduced herself.

“Name's Terra, Terra Gambit. And this here's my friend, Sculpted Charm. Now, seein as she's kindly come all this way to deliver some stranger's gift, could ye be a dear and accept it?” Terra pushed Sculpted forwards, motioning her to hand over the box.

Sculpted snorted and said “Fine, fine. Honestly, you can be so pushy sometimes. Here you are, my dear.” Setting the rather plain box at Moonlit's feet, she gave a small smile and turned back to Terra. “Honestly, are you trying to frighten her? At least show some resp...”

Their voices faded as they started to walk away. Shaking her head, Moonlit uttered an impossibly quiet “thanks” and opened the box.

A loud SQUEE! of delight echoed through the Garden, causing almost every pony to turn their head towards the culprit.

Moonlit could care less, squeezing the stuffed dragon plushy in her arms tighter and happily laughing. As they walked away, Terra and Charm both smiled, neither noticing as Moonlit and their own's flanks shined.

“...Almost...”

As the last bell rang for the end of the schoolday, a shadowed figure watched certain mares make their ways to the carts that would bring them home. Softly counting on a beaded bracelet it wore, it mouthed “one, two, three, four... and five.” Nodding its head, it turned and vanished into the shadow of the darkened school.

As the figure retreated into the darkness, a single spot was glowing on its rear, growing brighter before vanishing into the dusk.

Smokey studied the stars, carefully charting their exact locations and brightness. Finally turning to the last constellation of the night, she scoured the skies for the Crystal Gem. She looked once, frowned, and swept her telescope around again.

No matter how hard she looked, she couldn't see the Gem anywhere. It had vanished.

And her flank shone brighter than before, unseen to the frantic mare who desperately searched the sky above.

“It... is time”

“Cryyystaaaals”

Legends Awake, Part 2

Chapter 2:

Smokey was exhausted, and it showed on her face as she readied herself for school. She'd spent most of the night scouring the sky for the missing constellation, to no avail. Constellations didn't just disappear; If there was going to be a change to her sky, the office of the Diarch Nocturnus would issue an announcement so that the nation's astronomer and constellation-seekers would not be unduly panicked... kind of like how she was right now.

Sighing, she made her way through the school gates and towards her first class. No matter how much she wanted to avoid it, she was going to be late turning in her assignment. She hated being late about as much as she hated coffee, and now she was about to have the condition of the first, and was drinking plenty of the second. She almost ran over a yellow stallion as she stuffed her bag into her locker and dashed to Brite Night's class.

Skidding into the classroom, she looked around frantically before noticing something strange: Brite Night was nowhere to be found. The board simply said "Free Period" and most of the class was talking, reading, or playing around. She was curious as to why Professor Brite was missing, but took the opportunity to rest and finish the rest of her assignments. After all, no need to look a gift-horse in the mouth (though, that saying never really made sense to her).

Outside the classroom, the yellow stallion finished stuffing a paper into Smokey's locker, and snorted to himself in amusement. The game, after all, was afoot.

Defiant Bolt was furious. Someone had stuffed a note into her locker threatening to reveal her 'big secret' to everyone at school unless she met the coward at the City Limits tonight. She couldn't understand just how someone had discovered her hidden activity, but she'd show the pony that dared to threaten her a what-for, on her pride as the School Champion!

Across the school, similar occasions of outrage broke as 4 other mares discovered similar notes in their lockers, and each one vowed to bring trouble to the snooping, insidious pony that made light of pony's weakness. On the school roof, however, that same yellow stallion from earlier in the day kept a silent vigil towards the sky. Dark times ahead were coming, and though he regretted his actions he knew they were necessary.

It was 8 in the evening, and already the sun was creeping towards the horizon as the nation prepared for the daily shift. The streets of Ponyton were quiet as Moonlit Shy made her way towards the City Limits sign. She was terrified that whoever the mysterious pony was that stole Typhoon would hurt or tear him somehow. She'd always wanted a dragon plushy, and now just when she'd finally had one it got stolen. It just wasn't fair.

She drew closer to the City Limits sign, posted right on the edge of the Everfree Forest. The ancient stone wall that had once helped to protect Ponyton from the wild beasts of the Everfree was crumbling in the distance. Nowadays, a complex spell matrix would alert the Guard to any attempts of the beasts inside to escape, or encroachment of the zone towards the city. She still couldn't understand why an ancient edict prevented the taming of the forest, after all it would be so much easier to discover new flora in a place that embodied wild nature itself.

Regardless, she softly trotted into the last street of the city, the sign looming above her. In its shadows she saw a shadowy figure, and drew back into herself. This was for Typhoon however, and she kicked herself into a gallop towards the figure. "Give him baaaaack!"

She nearly slammed headfirst into the figure, who swiftly took to the skies to avoid her assault. A voice rang out from above her, and she stood in shock as she recognized the sound. "Moonlit?! What the HAY!" Defiant Bolt swept down and landed in front of her, a look of disbelief on her face. This was the least likely pony she'd ever suspected to have written the note.

As they stared at each other in confusion, several more mares trotted up. Smokey, Terra, and Charm all emerged from the shadows around the sign, each looking about as confused as everyone else. "Umm... did any of you receive a note asking you to show up here... or else?" Smokey didn't know most of the mares around her, but each of them seemed to have been expecting someone to arrive, and none looked like a pony that would sleaze around or sling mud in a pony's face.

Slowly, each one nodded their heads, and Smokey let out a sigh of relief. If this was just some harmless prank to make folks visit the edge of the city, then there was no way anyone knew of her secret pastime. "Well, it appears that this has just been some sort of giant prank. I say we all call it quits and head home, what do you think girls? After all, there's nopony else here to-"

"Not quite, Miss Moonlight. I'm afraid this is no joke, nor prank. I have gathered you all here for one reason." At the sound of the voice, Smokey spun around and discovered that a single spotlight on the sign was now illuminating... a Dragon Plushy? As she stared in disbelief, Moonlit cried out in alarm.

"Typhoon! Get down from there right now Mister! You are in so much trouble, I don't believe this!" Her loud outburst had Defiant and Terra staring in awe. They hadn't even known she could speak louder than a calm whisper, at least not until now. Moonlit began to turn red as she realized just how loudly she'd yelled. She couldn't help herself sometimes, which was why she so often made the attempt to be quiet. It was rude to yell at ponies, after all.

A chuckle emanated from the toy as smoke began to billow around it. "You have yet to begin your disbelief, whisperer! For it is not some simple toy that has gathered you together, but me, the Dark Shift!" At that final exclamation the smoke burst outwards and cleared, revealing a hooded pony standing behind the doll. It gently grabbed the toy in its mouth and leaped from the sign, landing a few feet away from the group. It turned back and bowed, before tossing the toy onto Moonlit's back.

The figure drew back its hood to reveal an Earth Stallion, bright yellow with a pink mane that clashed horribly with his coat. Upon his fetlock was a bracelet of colored beads, and as the girls stared at him he swiftly pawed through them until he hit one he seemed to be looking for. "But my friend call me Circus. Lets see... the quiet, the artist, the accent, the booky, and the sportster. Yup, with the clown that makes six. And I'm the clown!" He turned and seemed to realize that they were staring at him. "Oh, right!"

He reached into his mane and shook out a rolled up parchment, which he then unfurled to show to the girls. "Have any of you seen this? I seem to have lost mine." Smokey stepped forward, taking a moment to look at the picture and gasped in surprise.

"That's the Crystal Gem constellation! It went missing from the sky just the other night. What... did you do that?" Smokey was beginning to become angry at the thought of someone altering the beautiful night sky, and Circus was quick to correct her. "Nothing of the sort, madam. In fact, I'm impressed you noticed! I only was looking because the Pie asked me to. It's probably not important, but since it came from the Pie..."

Charm and Terra tilted their heads together as Circus began to ramble. "Do you think he realizes that he has apparently been taking advice from a, pastry, I guess?" Charm was trying not to snort at the thought, and Terra softly shook her head.

"Ah figure he'll catch the feel of it eventually, but gosh if it ain't a real killah. He seems as loony as a snow-struck owl in the dead of a northern winter, that one." Terra snorted and nodded at Moonlit. "Didn' we meet that one yesterday? If I'm not mistaken." Charm looked and nodded, thinking hard. "Indeed, that's the same pony. Curious."

The ongoing conversations were abruptly halted as a high-pitched whistling filled the air. Everypony perked their ears, and as one they looked to the sky. High above, a shimmering point seemed to slowly be growing larger, and within moments was reaching the glow of the city's light. Slowly the object drew closer and closer, and with a resounding BANG seemed to smash into, and then through, a shimmering barrier that appeared at the impact. Within moments, every streetlamp in the city grew ten times brighter, and a keening wail began to fill the air. One after another house lights began to flick on, and soaring pegasi filled the air.

"What in... does anypony have any idea what the buck is going on?" Smokey was practically shouting as the group covered their ears to avoid the loud siren on the sign above. Most of the group shook their heads while Circus was muttering and moving beads on his bracelet. After a few moments, Charm screamed and pointed above them. Several more object were hurtling towards Ponyton, and each left a gaping hole in the protective magic above.

"We should really get somewhere safe. I don't want some space rock slamming into my head." Defiant said, and gave Moonlit a shove to get her to her feet. "Come on, there's a train station just a few blocks away we can hole up in." The rest of the group shrugged, not having any better ideas, and began to follow bolt. They'd made it several blocks without incident, until they came upon a street that had a massive crater in the middle.

Nearby a member of the local Guard noticed the group of young mares, and trotted over. "You ladies best be getting inside. Not sure what's going on, but some crazy black rocks are causin craters all over the city. Get along now, get!" He turned back and went to the edge of the crater peering in and rubbing his mane in disbelief. As the group turned to continue on their way, they heard a cry of alarm from the guard.

Turning around, they watched in horror as a black crystal shot out of the crater and hit the guard's flank. He groaned in pain, and then terror as the crystal began to spread over his body. Eyes wide, Charm gave a shriek of horror and softly fainted onto Terra, who grunted and hefted the collapsed mare onto her back. "I don't I know jes what's goin on der, but I think we'd best find him some help real quick-like, eh guys?"

Within moments the guard was completely covered in black, and froze in place. With an eerie creaking noise, the figure turned back towards the group, and opened its maw wide. Circus' eyes shot open, and he slammed into Moonlit, sending them both tumbling to the side. "Hey, what's the big idea bub!" Defiant growled, before stopping short as a stream of black crystals spewed from the creatures mouth and impaled the spot where they'd just been standing. "Oh, buck."

"Run!" Circus shouted, helping Moonlit up and on her way. The group dashed down a side alley, and took several sharp turns. As they passed openings, they saw numerous ponies also fleeing in terror from a growing army of black crystal figures. Each time a pony was hit, they too became one of the figures and joined in the fight. Most of the group was terrified, and within a few minutes had made their way to the Train Station.

Bursting through the doors, they saw a make-shift barricade and several Guardsmen and civilians hiding behind it. "Quick, get over here!" a Guard yelled, waving them into the station's platform area. "Are any of you hit?" he asked, looking them over. They shivered and shook their heads. "We're ok, I think" Smokey said, looking around. A nearby train was building up steam, and the guards were helping several civilians aboard.

"We're sending children and mares first, so hop on quickly please. Once you get to the City, find the Guards barracks and tell them what's going on here. I'm sure they'll send the Royal Guard. Don't worry, we'll all be ok." The guard tried to smile, but froze as the front doors began to bang and bulge inwards, under assault from the outside. "Quick, get on!"

With not even a moment to lose, the group jumped onto the train and entered a compartment, even as it began to pull out of the station and pick up speed. As it rolled over several of the figures and out past the city limits, Smokey looked back and saw an image that would burn itself into her mind: Her home town, alight with alarms and spotlights that one after another blinked out as the valiant defenders fell. She shivered, and drew closer to the unlikely group that had by sheer coincidence been close enough to the edge of the city to escape.

As thoughts of her parents entered her head, she began to softly weep. This was not how she'd expected the day to go at all, and suddenly she was feeling very foolish for even considering wanting adventure and action. Not if this was how it really was.

It had been half an hour already as the train made its way as quickly as possible to the capital city. Most of the ponies aboard were softly weeping or trying not to think of the ones left behind, but a small group had cornered a certain yellow-and-pink stallion in one of the compartments. "Alright Circus, what's going on. Why did you gather us together? I think we deserve an explanation." Smokey had just about enough of the strange behavior of the stallion, and wanted to get to the bottom of what exactly was going on.

Circus, who had revealed his full name to be Circucious del Shift, gulped and gathered his thoughts. "Ok, so first off I want you all to know I had no idea what was going to happen tonight. Pie didn't mention anything about a shower of space-rocks, or evil pony-crystal-creatures." He gulped and took another deep breath. "Look, I gathered us all together because my great-great-great- many more times great- grandmare left a series of instructions to our family." He raised his fetlock and shook it, causing the bracelet of beads to rattle. "I'm supposed to gather five other ponies who best represent some ancient group of superheros or something, and I had just finished figuring out who was the perfect match when Pie started to speak to me."

He got a series of head-tilts and exasperated looks, and rushed to explain. "Pie is a voice that certain ponies in my family can hear, at times. Supposedly she's some great ancestor who was the sister of one of the superheroines, and helps communicate her wishes from beyond. What I can tell you is that she sounds as exciting as gravel, and doesn't say much to anyone." He snorted at that, and sighed "Believe me, I've tried to get her to laugh. It's impossible I tell you. Anyways, she started to blabber on about some missing stars or something, and described the picture I showed to you. That's as much as I know! I just wanted to be a superhero, okay? It sounded like something exciting and new, and I didn't think any of, of THIS would happen."

He lowered his eyes and scuffed the floor with a hoof. The others looked between themselves, as if asking if they really believed his story. Surprisingly, Defiant stepped forward and set a hoof on his back. "I believe ya, bud. It sounds crazy, but I believe ya." She snorted, and looked back at the others, before sticking out her hoof. "So, who want's to be a superheroine? Cause if it means we get to kick some flank and save our city, I'm all for it."

One after another, the group nodded and stuck their hooves into the middle. Circus shifted and gave a look of relief, before a smile broke out on his face and he slammed his hoof down onto the pile. "Aww yeah! We need a super-cool group name now. How about, the Serious Six? The WonderPonies? Maybe... Circus's Supers?" He manged to get a smile out of all of them, though they made sure to shoot down every terrible suggestion he made. As the sun finally set to west, a bright full moon rose above the eastern hills, and the train drew ever closer to its destination.

In the far distance, a bright sparkle was in the air as several more meteors silently drew closer to their next target: Cantropolis, Capital City of Equestria.

Legends Awake, Part 3

Chapter 3:

As the train pulled into its station at Cantropolis, a small crowd of refugee ponies led by the one Guard who'd come along began to disembark, making their way towards the Guard Barracks at the far edge of the city. A smaller group of ponies pulled away, discussing what they were going to do amongst themselves. "Look, all I'm saying is that Pie said the Guards never did much for the Heroines in their time, and they're not likely to do much now either. We need to go right to the source if we're going to get help." Circus was quite animated now that things were back on track for his hero idea.

The rest of the group wasn't so sure it would be that easy, especially since they had no proof of their claims. "What makes you think that we'll even get into the Castle, let alone see one of the Diarchs?" Smokey asked, raising an eyebrow. "After all, they rarely see anypony besides government officials and city mayors. It would take some real convincing to get to them, and I'm not sure we have that kind of time." Moonlit and Charm nodded their heads at Smokey's point, while Bolt just gave a grunt and kept her eyes to the sky above.

"Umm. Act'ally, I think I might have a solution to that, 'chaknow." The group turned and stared at Terra in surprise, who scuffed her hoof in the dirt. "My folks are on the Council. I kinda have a pass for the guards, and that can get us in the gates, at least." She looked embarrassed and quickly went back to Sculpted Charm's side, resuming her post with her friend.

"Oh. Uh, well, I guess that solves one problem, then." Smokey gave her a hard look, wondering just whose daughter Terra was, to have a pass into the Castle of the Capital. "Well, once we get inside, if we can make our way to the Night Court we can try to let the Steward know of our problems. I'm, not sure he'll believe us, but... " she trailed off, looking slightly downcast.

"It's a better idea than relying on the Guard to mobilize in time, that's for sure." Charm gave Smokey a reassuring glance, and confidently strode onwards. Despite her private doubts about the whole situation, if she could help inspire these ponies to save their town, well, who was she to refuse the task? Besides, surely the Princess' Stewards was a reasonable pony. And perhaps good looking, too...

As they reached the gates of Cantropolis Castle, they saw a small phalanx of Guards outside the doors. A guard gruffly announced "No common rulings tonight. Move along please." Terra strode up and pulled him to the side, reaching into her saddlebags to pull out a paper. He read it, then stiffened and saluted. She spoke a few more words, and trotted back to the group. The guard waved his men aside, and formed them into salutes as well. "Have a good evening, ma'am. Pass along my greetings to your Mother, ma'am."

As the group entered the castle foyer, most of them were picking their jaws back up from the ground. "W-what was that? That wasn't just some pass, was it?" Smokey stared at Terra, who smiled softly and said "Well, like I said, meh folks are on the Council. It's just that my mum's also a Colonel of the Guard." Everypony except for Sculpted Charm stared in disbelief, while Charm simply chuckled and pushed them onwards.

"She hardly gets to see them though, you know. They're always busy here, and she doesn't like to take advantage of their reputations." Charm sighed at that, thinking of all the times she could have gotten into THE Cantropolis Castle with her friend. As they continued on, Terra shot her a grateful look and added "Except when I really need to, 'course. Still, I'd be grateful if you guys didn't mention it to nopony back home, mkay?" They nodded one by one, and shortly found themselves outside a tall and imposing door, decorated with paint to appear as the night sky.

"Alright everypony, this is it. Behind these doors lies the Night Court. Are you all ready?" Smokey looked around, seeing firm looks of determination around her, and raised a hoof to knock.

Professor Brite Night, Ponyton High instructor and local Astrologist, had just rounded the corner towards the Night Court after a long and stressful meeting of the Royal Astrologists Guild. They'd called an emergency meeting earlier that day to discuss the disappearance of the Crystal Gem constellation, lacking any notification whatsoever from the Office of the Nocturnus. After finally having decided on a course of action, they'd selected Brite to deliver their findings to the Steward during Night Court.

Imagine his surprise when as he turned the corner, he discovered a group of his students standing right outside, with one Smokey Moonlight right about to knock on the door. "Ms. Moonlight! What in the name of the Nocturne are you DOING here? Where are your folks? Did you come here all by yourself!" As he spoke, she froze and turned to look at him in surprise, the others staring in confusion.

"Professor Night! What are YOU doing here, sir?" She stumbled over herself as she rushed to see him, relief and anxiety showing on her face. He snorted, and said "I believe I asked you the question first, my dear. Who are your friends there? Is that, Ms. Bolt? And Terra and Charm? Even Ms. Shy, too!" Moonlit Shy, having been startled by the Professor, was currently hiding beneath Defiant. Who, living up to her name, was giving him a challenging look.

Smokey took a breath and began to explain: "Sir, it's terrible! There were meteors from the sky, and black crystals, and they attacked a pony and turned him into crystals too! They kept spreading all over the city, and we barely were evacuated in time!" She had to keep herself from sobbing as the mental image of that guard pony returned, whimpering in pain as the black crystal spread across his body. Professor Brite stared down at her, a look of confusion and shock on his face.

"What? Calm down my dear, and try to explain more clearly. What is going on, what crystals?" He put a comforting hoof on her shoulder, and tried to get her to face him. To the side, Bolt stepped forwards and said "It's true Professor. We all saw it, and we were lucky to make out of their when we did. If we'd been at home in the middle of town, well..." He turned to look at her, then sighed and let Smokey go.

"If what your saying is true, we'd best get inside right away. It may even be connected to the disappearance I was going to report as well. At the very least, we can see if they can send some pegasi to recon the town. If you girls are making up stories, however..." He shook his head and trotted to the Night Court's door. "Well, here we go ladies... and colt." At that remark Circus stuck his tongue out at him an pulled an eye, making a very, attractive, face.

The Royal Night Court of the Diarch Nocturnus was one of the most important legal courts of the land, the only one of it's level ever since the Day Court had been suspended by her Sister. Princess Selena Lunaria, once commonly known as Princess Luna, sat on the cushioned throne of the upper dais, looking out over the vast Court she ruled. Normally, she would leave the Court in the hands of Noblesse Oblige, the sister's trusted Steward, and concern herself with the matters of the night sky and the dreams of the very young. Tonight, however, she had decided on a whim to attend the court and give a few rulings.

She wasn't quite sure why, but she had an uneasy feeling ever since this morning. Last night had seen her distracted by an influx of terrible nightmares, so bad that she'd barely had time to raise and lower the moon. By the time the sun rose she was so exhausted that she slept most of the day away, and had only an hour before woken up enough to hold court. The youth of the nation were troubled tonight, and that always spelled trouble.

As she prepared to call for the next supplicant, the doors at the far end of the room burst open, and a collection of ponies entered in rather a hurry. She raised a single eyebrow at this display, and subtly motioned for the guards to stand ready. It had been years since there had been a pony crazy enough to interrupt court, and the last time it occurred she'd found a pony interesting enough to become her personal student. There were too many of them for a situation of such to occur tonight, but she could offer a few moments before the guards threw them out.

"Steward! We come bearing terrible- PRINCESS!" The tallest stallion of the group ground to a halt, struck by surprise. In moments, he'd entered a very deep bow and pulled the group down with him. "A thousand pardons, your highness!" He spoke with only a slight tremor of fear in his voice. She was tempted to call him out on it, but her attention was grabbed by the group of young mares and a single stallion that had followed him. Her eyes widened slightly as she counted one, two, three, four, five, and finally six ponies all huddled together.

Briefly, a flash of another group of ponies entered her mind, and she held a hoof to her head. It was patently impossible, of course. It was merely a coincidence that six ponies of the same age and distribution of species had gathered. Her treasonous mind continued to note that they had gathered bearing terrible news, on the eve of a time when trouble was brewing and she felt uneasy. Seeing that the guards were about to haul them out, she held up a wing.

"HOLD. Let them speak." She bellowed, using the traditional Canterlot (or was it Cantropolis now, she supposed) Voice to freeze them in their tracks. The room dropped to the ground, everyone except Noblesse giving her a deep bow. Her nephew, however, leaned over to her and asked "Auntie? Are you well?" in a very low whisper. She subtly nodded her head, and looked to the old stallion of the group.

"Er, uhm, well, your highness..." Professor Brite coughed, keeping his head down but speaking loud enough to be heard. "It's, uh, Ponyton, ma'am. Apparently, it's under attack. By meteors, and uh-"

"Stop. This is nonsense, your majesty. All of our cities have the most sophisticated defense shield known, based straight on the Empress' First's abilities. There's no way some simple meteors could penetrate it." Noblesse coolly interrupted the professor, giving a snort of derision. This seemed to infuriate Bolt, who stood up and looked directly at him.

"Look buster, he's telling the truth. These rocks went straight through those fancy shields of yours like they were a sheet of paper! And what's more, if you'd let him finish, you'd have heard that they spawned these evil looking black crystal things. They take over ponies and make them into creepy black things! So chew on THAT!" Defiant harumphed and folded her arms, hovering slightly to keep her emotions in check.

At her statement, and unexpected reaction occurred. Princess Luna reared back in shock, a whinny of fear escaping her mouth. This stunned Noblesse so badly that he couldn't say a word in response, looking with concern at his aunt. "B-b-black crystal you say?" Luna gave an exclamation of shock, before shaking her head and charging her horn. The group from Ponyton huddled together, afraid she was about to lash out at them with her magic.

Instead, a bolt of energy shot from her horn into a decorative moon above the door to the Court. Upon being hit, it did not shatter but instead released a deep gong, which began to spread across the halls of the castle. It was joined by more gongs that began to ring constantly, and Luna leaped to her hooves. "GUARDS! TO ARMS! TO ARMS!" With that exclamation, the court became a flurry of activity as Royal Guards bolted from the room towards the armory of the Castle. Her personal guards swarmed around her, forming a shield of ponies around her. The sky outside became incredibly bright as it seemed every star in the night sky grew that much brighter.

"Auntie, calm down! What is the meaning of this!" Noblesse Oblige stared at the somewhat panicked looking Princess, beyond confused. He had never seen her act in this manner, and that alone caused him to worry for her sanity. He turned back to the group of ponies below and bellowed in anger. "What have you done! What is this nonsense that you've conjured?"

Despite the intimidating atmosphere, Smokey stood up tall and faced him. "It's the truth. I don't know why she's become so panicked, but we had to warn someone." She looked back at Circus, and whispered "Circus, is that Pie of yours saying anything? Anything that could help?"

He mumbled, looking at his beads and frowning. Suddenly, he froze. After a few moments, he began to move again, but this time seemed excited. He moved towards the Princess, who was directing a squadron of guards to take defensive positions in the Castle. "Excuse me! Princess? EXCUSE ME!" he shouted, avoiding a shove from one of her personal guards. She turned and stared at him, almost seeming to peer into his soul. "WHAT?" The force of her rage nearly blew him back, but he held his ground.

"I'm supposed to mention... well, it's kind of silly, since I've never heard of this before, but it's something called... 'EE-OH-AICH' if that makes any sense. EOH, I wonder what that could possible mean..." He turned around, puzzled. Everyone On Haybales? Every One Hungry? He really had no clue. Behind him, the Princess had frozen in her tracks.

"Loony! Princess Looony!" A bright pink mare with a faded mane bounced through the halls of Canterlot, annoying several guards who were trying to catch the intruder. "Huh, they must be new. Oh well! Luunaaaaa!" Finally, she came across the royal princess in her quarters. The princess was brushing her teeth, and had a look of frustration plastered across her face.

"What is it, pink one?" Luna asked, internally sighing at the antics of an ancient friend. The Pink mare took a deep breath, and set her hoof on the shoulder of the Princess. Luna, startled, sat down on the floor.

"Look, Luna my friend. I'm getting old, I'm sure you know. I've only lasted this long because of all my wonderful friends and descendants, but the show can't go on forever. I'm worried for Twilight, and for the kingdom. Without her, without the elements, some big meanie could come along one day and cause real trouble!" Pinkie gave a small giggle, and then sighed. "Don't worry Loony. I have a plan, a super-awesome-fantastic-cool plan to help out with that. But it'll take a long time. All YOU need to remember, are the letters E, O, and H. Oh, and a mane that's my color too! That's how you'll know!"

She dug around in her mane, and pulled out a map. "When they come, send them riiiight here!" She pointed to a spot on the map, in the section labeled 'Everfree'. "Once you do that, they'll take care of the rest. Until then, never forget: Smile!" With that last remark, she pulled her own tail and a blast of confetti shot out of her mane. When it had finally settled, the pink pony was nowhere to be found.

As Luna returned to the present, she looked down at the group of ponies, talking amongst themselves with concern. Circus Shift gave her a wink, and performed a daring cartwheel back to the group. She looked behind her, to a small door set behind her throne. The entrance to the Hall of History, with it's ancient stained glass windows, had been sealed and abandoned for centuries. Turning back, she conjured an image of a Pinkie's Smile, and levitated the professor to the side of the group. Before he could exclaim in surprise, she charged her most powerful teleportation magic, and blasted the Six with it. A bright flash filled the hall, and everyone turned to stare at the smoking crater where just moments ago five young mares and a young stallion had been talking.

Exhausted, she slumped against the dais. At her nephew's questioning expression, and Professor Night's terror, she tiredly announced. "Fear not. It was simply a teleportation. This will be no place for children, not when the menace arrives." She lay down, and rested her head between her hooves. Celestia forgive her if she had sent those young ponies into trouble, but she knew better than to question the pink one's foresight. She was, after all, under a Pinkie Promise to help her.

A soft gust of wind filled the hall, and a faint "forevvverrrr" filled the hall, freaking out many of the ponies and causing Luna to bury her head deeper, even as the first of the meteors began to impact the city's shields. Overhead, the moon's glow filled the earth with light, allowing six scared ponies to see in the forest around them that they so suddenly had appeared in.

Legends Awake, Part 4

Chapter 4:

Smokey Moonlight was panicking. They had all been huddled together, trying to figure something out in the Night Court of Cantropolis. A bright burst of light had filled their eyes, and the faint smell of burning ozone filled their noses, and they were somewhere else. The only thing she could think of was a teleportation spell, but she couldn't figure out for the life of her why they had been sent here, of all places.

Luscious greenery surrounded them, tall trees and creeping vines all around. It was nighttime, yet it was as bright as day. And above them drifted grey clouds, unchecked by any sort of weather control. She had only ever read of one place that had this sort of atmosphere, but the Everfree Forest had been forbidden to all ponies for a long time. Why, then, were they here now? Especially on a night such as this, with some terrible dark force attacking Equestria?

She looked around to check on her... colleagues? Fellow ponies? She wasn't quite sure what exactly they were, but she did know one thing: She was worried for them. Terra and Charm were huddled together to one side, whispering softly and trying to take in their surroundings. Moonlit was huddled with Bolt, trying to keep a low profile from the entire forest, as ridiculous as that sounded. And Circus?

Circus was curled up in a ball, softly whimpering. As she stretched her ears, she could faintly make out a few words. "Not at all... didn't want this... why us?" He seemed to have been terrified by the unexpected teleportation for some reason, and she trotted over to give him some comfort. Idly, she wondered why she ever wanted adventure in the first place, if this was what she could expect from it.

"Hey now Circus, it's alright. We're all ok, see?" She tried to pat him on his shoulder, and he shied away. She frowned, and said "Hey, get it together! We need to figure out what to do from here, if we're all going to find our way back to civilization!" She had hoped the stern tone she used would get through to him, and for a moment he stopped rocking, and shakily stood up. She figured it would have to do, and looked further around the clearing.

"Hey guys, over heyah!" Terra waved the group over to the edge of the clearing, where a large stone plinth stood. On it was inscribed some words, and they squinted to make out the weathered script in the bright moonlight. "To all who would bring Harmony back to this land, simply follow the signs of Friendship to the Trials that await." They took a few moments to try and puzzle that one out, before Moonlit let out a gasp.

"O-over there! What's that?" Her voice was quiet, but firm as the rest of them turned to look where she was pointing. Nearby the edge of the clearing was a simple stone sculpture in the shape of an apple, with a path through the woods becoming visible. As they trotted over to investigate, Circus nervously moved close, and read its inscription: "The First Trial: Honesty" He said, regaining some of his former excitement. At his words, the apple sculpture shimmered, and the image of a pony wearing a stetson appeared above it, gently wavering to their eyes.

"Honestly Pinkie, why the hay do we even need ta do this... is this here thing on? Dangnabit!" The voice of a pony emerged, a southern drawl peeking through. The group glanced around, and then stared at the magical image. "*cough* Aheem. I am the Element of Honesty, but y'all can call me Applejack. Before you stand the first trial of Harmony, the Walk of Truth. Once you begin, y'all have to make it to the end. If one of ya is deemed worthy, the Elements will bestow upon them the Necklace of Truth, a powerful magical... Pinkie, do ah REALLY need to say all this here? Ah mean, really, it's embarassin!" The view of the pony shook up and down, as if the recorder was nodding yes. Applejack sighed, and put a hoof to her face. "The things ah do fer friendship... Look, lets cut to the chase. Walk the path, face the trial, and be *honest*. If one of you can do that to the satisfaction of the elements, you'll be chosen as the new Element of Honesty. Alright Pinkie, lets wrap this up."

The image flickered out, and the group looked at each other. "Elements of Harmony... Could they be related to the Tale of the Dusk Princess? One of her mystics was known as Honesty..." Smokey tried to puzzle together some connection, and while she was thinking Circus brought a hoof to his head and face-hooved. He turned and said "E-O-H, of COURSE! EOH stands for the Elements of Harmony! This must be what Princess Luna sent us here for, we're going to find the Lost Elements!" Circus began to bounce around the clearing in joy.

"Now wait just a minute!" Charm raised her voice, and stopped Circus in his tracks. "Why would a Princess of the Realm, the Foal Defender no less, send 6 young ponies to find some mystical 'lost elements'? Why not send the guard, or come collect them herself?" She was a little excited at the idea of finding an ancient artifact, but someone had to give this group a reality check. Terra and Bolt nodded, and Circus stopped hopping with a sad look.

Moonlit gave a quiet cough, and said "I think it's because... well, Applejack did say something about the elements choosing their bearers, didn't she? Maybe we're supposed to become them." Everyone turned to stare at her, and she cringed. "Or, perhaps not." Smokey stepped forwards toward the path, and said "Well, regardless of whether or not we have to find these artifacts, this path seems to be the only safe way out of here. Lets get going!" They huddled together once more, and began to trot down the path.

Defiant Bolt was uneasy. Once they'd stepped onto the path, it had gotten dark and hard to see. Strange whispers seemed to echo around them, and the group had slowly drifted apart. Passing under a branch in the way, she found herself all alone, with everything growing darker as she went. Suddenly, a bright point of light appeared ahead, and she galloped towards it. As it grew closer, she found her environment shifting until she was galloping through the halls of Ponyton High, faceless crowds of pony all around her.

She stopped short and looked around. Everywhere she glanced, she saw colts and fillies on their way to classes, or hanging by their lockers. "Moon? Charm, Smokey, Terra, anyone?" She called through the halls, but no one responded. A group of mares trotted over to her, and began to speak.

"Oh look, it's Mrs. 'Captain of the Team' herself! What, you don't have practice today? After all, that's what you seem to be best at. Playing sweaty, athletic games until late at night." One of the faceless mares sneered at her, and she shrank a little under their relentless verbal assault. "So uncouth! It's no surprise she never found a colt to date. Who would want to date a mare with more muscles than them?" The group tittered, and Bolt found herself growing angry.

"So what?" she screamed, flapping her wings and rising above them. "So what if I like to play sports, and WIN? I've accomplished more here than you posers ever will! I'm a respected athlete, captain of the team and a fantastic player as well! I don't need a colt to get in my way!" She huffed angrily, but the halls began to fade and the group of mares suddenly towered over her, giants in size.

"Oh, so sad. Such a butch, manly pony. All alone until the end of her days. No time for love, or appearances. Nopony wants to be around such a, gross, individual." They sneered, and she found herself quivering in a void. They were touching towards her most secret hobby, one she'd never shared with even Moonlit. If anypony on the team found out, she'd be ruined! If any of the other classmates heard a breath of it, she'd be laughed out of the school! It was terrible!

To her side, another figure began to appear. The scene shifted once more, and Bolt found herself in the past. It was middle school, and she had just finished her lunch period in the girls room of the school. She had said she was going to get in some more practice outside, but in reality... She'd been practicing applying makeup. 'Oh no... not this.' she thought vainly, as the scene continued.

A giggling group of mares, the ones who had considered themselves super-popular and fashionable, burst into the bathroom in a herd, chattering away to themselves. Suddenly, the sound stopped, as they discovered Bolt at one of the sinks, lipstick all over her snout. They stood shell-shocked, before one began to giggle. Another snorted, and suddenly it was all out laughter. Hot tears of shame burned Bolt's eyes as she frantically wiped at her face with a wet cloth, before the laughter grew too much for her. She burst out of the bathroom in a blaze of speed, and zoomed through the halls of the school until she made her way outside.

She had hid under the bleachers the rest of the day, and called out sick the next day. It was all over the middle school by Friday, and she'd been so miserable she begged her folks to change schools. Ponyton had been happy to receive such a fantastic player, and she'd left any attempts to pretty herself alone, unless she was in absolute privacy. But the scene did not change. She remained under the bleachers, softly weeping to herself.

"H-hello?" A voice called out to her, and she lifted her head, frantically looking around. A young, dark filly stood next to her, looking at her with concern. 'Smokey?' she thought, even as her mouth asked "What do YOU want?" The young Smokey cringed, and looked away. "I-it's just, you seemed unhappy. Did something happen?" Despite her fear, the younger Smokey still asked, trying to be friendly.

"It's nothing. I'm FINE. Go away" Bolt's voice yelled, causing Smokey to cringe away once more. 'I don't remember this part of the day... did this really happen? I shouldn't have been so mean.' Defiant was slowly recovering from the shock of her past trauma once again, and found herself wishing she could recall this day better. The young Smokey got a resolute look, and stood. "I'll go away then... but my mama once told me something: If you stay true to yourself, bullies can never win against you. It doesn't matter what they think, as long as you know in your heart that you're being yourself." Her voice quivered but stayed strong. Once she had finished, she slowly trotted away, head and tail hanging low.

Bolt was speechless. She had ignored the strange pony that day, wallowing in her embarrassment until she'd let it ruin her confidence in herself. She focused entirely on athletics after that, not caring what others thought of her appearance, or even considering having a special somepony. The scene faded to just her, crying and dejected and alone, and she felt a fire burning in her chest. 'No more... I can't be embarrassed to be me any longer! I am Defiant Bolt, and I CAN look beautiful! I CAN dress in style and I CAN do whatever I please. Let them laugh at my attempts! I am who I am, and nopony can tell me otherwise! I AM MYSELF, AND THAT'S THE TRUTH!"

A white void engulfed her, and in the blink of an eye she found herself back in the group of ponies. They were standing at the edge of a ravine, and everyone looked decidedly uncomfortable. She felt a strange calm come over her, and a heavy weight settled on her neck. She looked down to find a golden necklace around her neck, an empty socket dangling in the middle. As everyone adjusted to the shift in locations, she caught Smokey's eye, and gave her a grateful look.

Smokey stared back at her, puzzled, and raised an eyebrow. Her eyes drifted down to the necklace, and she gasped in surprise. "Well, I guess that solves one trial. Look at Bolt!" The group turned at Smokey's announcement, and gave a few excited murmurs. Most of them still seemed uneasy for one reason or another, but Charm sidled up and offered her a congratulatory hoof-shake. She warmly said "Congratulations, Defiant Bolt of Honesty. I hope you were unharmed during your trial? I don't think I quite enjoyed mine..."

Bolt snorted and muttered, "Yeah, that's an understatement. Still, I learned something about myself from it, and that's what is important." She looked at the necklace and idly rubbed it, reflecting on the trial. She couldn't have figured out what she had been feeling without Smokey's words from long ago. Still, why had Smokey been in the middle school in Detrot?

As she stood thinking, the rest of the group looked towards the ravine ahead, and Circus bounded ahead, stopping by a rope bridge "Over here guys! There's another stone-shape-thingy over here!" His yell brought the rest of the group over, and Bolt dropped the ideal wondering. There were more important things to worry about right now.

The group examined the new sculpture. It was of a lightning bolt, and beside it stood a somewhat rickety rope bridge that spanned the gap of the ravine. Smokey stepped forwards this time, and read out loud "The Second Trial: Loyalty". At her words, another glowing hologram appeared above the sculpture, and in it they could see... the underside of a cloud? "Dashie! Get down into the shot! We're filming!" a bright and excited voice yelled from the the recorder to the cloud above. "Nah, don't wanna. 'Sides, the trial of Loyalty's easy as cake! It'll happen, and the pony that's picking up after me'll know it right away." At this, the other voice loudly sighed, and said "Fine Rainbow Dash. But they'd better be able to get it, or I'm blaming YOU." At that, the image disappeared.

The group looked at each other, and Bolt felt the urge to repress a chuckle. "Well, uh, I guess we just... go over the ravine?" Smokey was puzzled by the lackadaisical nature of the supposed former Element of Loyalty, and the group shrugged. Sculpted Charm and Terra led the way, and the rest followed close behind. As they neared the center of the bridge, Charm scoffed and said "Really, there's not even a gust of wind to shake us. Is this REALLY one of the challenges? Seems a bit, blase if you ask me." As if in response to her words, a loud *CRACK* echoed through the canyon, and everypony froze.

"Uh... whoops?" Charm offered, before the boards beneath her and the rest gave way. Everypony except for Terra lost their footing, and grabbed onto the side ropes in sheer terror. Charm had both hooves over another board in front of her, but the group behind Terra was in a chain holding onto Smokey, who was in turn holding onto one of the guide ropes in terror. "Helllp!" Everypony screamed, and Terra froze.

To her left, the group of newer ponies she had met dangled by a rope over a lethal drop. To her right, her best friend and most trusted companion scrambled for purchase on a slippery board. She couldn't decide what to do, and as the moments ticked past, the screams grew unbearable to her. All of a sudden, Smokey looked right at her and piped up "I can hold on! Save Charm first, we'll be ok... I think." She gave a weak smile, and slipped another inch on the rope. Terra looked left, and right, and left again.

She decided to have faith in her friend, that she could hold on long enough. With a grunt of effort, she carefully treaded the boards over to the group on the rope, and grabbed Smokey's saddlebags with her teeth. She braced herself, and willed strength into her legs. With a mighty groan, she heaved on the bags, and slowly pulled the group back onto more solid boards. Falling back with a shout, she collapsed on the bridge for a moment, and caught her breath.

Unexpectedly, a pony slammed into her from behind in a brutal hug. She turned and saw Sculpted Charm hugging her for dear life, eyes wide. "It's ok, I'm ok, thank Solaria!" She was panting herself, and sweat streaked her sides. Terra returned the hug, and whispered "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I just couldn'..." Charm broke her off in the middle of the sentence, saying softly "Couldn't what? Watch a group of ponies die? You know me, and you trusted I could handle myself. That took more courage than I needed to save myself, you know." Charm stood tall, and added a bit louder "Besides, I'm no damsel in distress. I can handle myself, thank you very much!"

At that, Terra snorted, and rolled her eyes. They both began to giggle, a high-pitched giggle of relief. The rest of the group gave them a few moments and recovered from the ordeal as well, catching their breath and giving Terra a 'thank you' from each. They eventually reached the other side of the ravine without incident, and as they stepped off at the far end a flash of magic surrounded Terra. When it faded, a golden necklace hung on her neck, with another empty socket. Another magical hologram appeared to the side, and they finally saw the face of Rainbow Dash. She looked a little smug, and winked at the camera recording her. "Told ya, Pinkie. It's a lot easier than the other elements, in some ways. Take care new-me!" With that, she began to chuckle, and the image faded away.

With two of the missing Elements now on their side, the group continued onwards along the path ahead. In the far distance, a looming crystalline structure broke the horizon with an abrupt emergence.

And as meteors continued to streak by overhead, the distant city of Cantropolis was burning, a dark and sinister blaze on the horizon.

Interlude: Luna's Lament

Interlude A: Luna's Lament

[All credit for the Song and Lyrics goes to Ponyphonic, and I highly recommend the animation by Warpout. Here: Lullaby for a Princess]

Luna was tired, upset, and fearful. Just moments ago she had sent six young foals into the depths of the most forbidding wilderness in the kingdom, and now her city was under attack by an ancient foe. Around her guards rallied, orders were given, and plans made. But all she could do was think back to an older time, to a familiar tune that had comforted her in her youth.

Fate has been cruel and order unkind

How can I have sent you away?

The blame was my own; the punishment, yours

The harmony's silent today

To her side, her nephew stood tall and proud, making decisions in the blink of an eye, and coordinating a response even faster than her sister once could. Her sister, who even now was sleeping a dreamless sleep in the tallest tower above. She had not emerged, but to raise the sun, for over six centuries now. Her withdrawal had deeply affected her subjects, even if she couldn't see it herself.

But into the stillness I'll bring you a song

And I will your company keep

Till your tired eyes and my lullabies

Have carried you softly to sleep

Alicorns were vital to ponykind, as much so as the pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies themselves. They embodied the very essence of their kingdom, in a way that was both physical and magical all at once. She herself had been removed from her little ponies for over a millennia, and in her absence they had stagnated. She was the embodiment of the night, of change and excitement. Without her presence, change was slow and painful, and in that millennia very little had changed in the kingdom of Equestria. The night sky had remained exactly the same, without any new additions or changes.

Once did a pony who shone like the sun

Look out on her kingdom and sigh

She smiled and said, "Surely, there is no pony

So lovely and so well beloved as I"

Now, in kind her sister had been removed, and that comforting stability that ponies enjoyed was ruined. Change happened too quickly, and often ponies failed to be polite or courteous to each other, in too much of a rush to complete their daily tasks. The warmth that had pervaded the kingdom grew colder every day, and the unity of the towns was shaky, at best. Rarely did anypony care what happened in another city, so concerned were they with their own problems.

So great was her reign and so brilliant her glory

That long was the shadow she cast

Which fell dark upon the young sister she loved

And grew only darker as days and nights passed

And even longer than her sisters absence was that of Twilight Sparkle. The Princess of Friendship and Magic had removed herself over a millennia ago, and without her the friendship of anypony was shaky at best. Often were older ponies stabbed in the back by those they had thought allies, all for personal improvement. Kindness turned to Contempt. Honesty to Rudeness. Loyalty to Apathy. Generosity to Selfishness. Even Laughter had become Mocking. And Friendship? Magic?

Lullay moon princess, goodnight sister mine

And rest now in moonlight's embrace

Bear up my lullaby, winds of the earth

Through cloud, and through sky, and through space

Friendship was simply gone. Magic was weaker now than it had been in centuries, teams of Unicorns required to perform spells that were once commonplace. Without the invention of magical batteries, their society would have collapsed long ago. Now, unicorns simply channeled their raw energy into storage, to allow complicated matrices to do the spellwork for them. There was no art in it, no talent. If she could have cared, Twilight would be screaming her head off.

Carry the peace and the coolness of night

And carry my sorrow in kind

Luna, you're loved so much more than you know

Forgive me for being so blind

But Twilight did not care. She hadn't care about anypony ever since she'd lost her last, closest friend. And Luna thought that was unacceptable. She had ruled for centuries in their absence, consoling first her sister, and then her niece Cadence from their own loss of their dearest pony. At least Love was alive and strong in the kingdom, for Cadence ruled in the north. Even the loss of Shining Armor so long ago had not kept her from her duties for long, because she truly loved her ponies.

Soon did that pony take notice that others

Did not give her sister her due

And neither had she loved her as she deserved

She watched as her sister's unhappiness grew

Cadence... Luna hoped that she was alright. This assault, these crystal ponies of dark magic, would only bring back terrible memories for her. She would retaliate with excessive force, to destroy any shred of this pony's foul, foul magic. And Luna could not blame her, for even as she strengthened the warded shields above she could feel the impact of the crystalline growths. They tore away at the magic, drilling through layer after layer to pierce the heavens above and fall upon her ponies below.

But such is the way of the limelight, it sweetly

Takes hold of the mind of its host

And that foolish pony did nothing to stop

The destruction of one who had needed her most

She would not allow it. Her sister may be melancholic. Her niece may be miles away, in her own trouble. Her first and most precious friend may have locked away herself in a castle, but she would rule in their absence, so that they might one day return to an intact kingdom to rule. She had hope that the six ponies she had sent on, descendants of the original Elements of Harmony, could come through for her.

Lullay moon princess, goodnight sister mine

And rest now in moonlight's embrace

Bear up my lullaby, winds of the earth

Through cloud, and through sky, and through space

After all, her sister had prepared for her return in much the same way, selecting a young and ill-prepared group of ponies to take up the mantle for the kingdom. For many centuries had one aspect of the elements or another returned, and each time they brought stability back to their kingdom for a short while. Never before had all SIX returned, and already together to begin with.

Carry the peace and the coolness of night

And carry my sorrow in kind

Luna, you're loved so much more than you know

May troubles be far from your mind

And forgive me for being so blind

She finished her work on the shield above, and stretched. Standing, she made her way over to Noblesse Oblige, and looked over his orders. She nodded her approval, and sent him to the armory to gear up. That had perhaps been one of the most unexpected aspects of Twilights early reign: Her nephew Prince Vladimir Blueblood, 52nd head of the Blueblood Line, had grown up. Seeing the writing on the wall, he changed centuries of tradition and renamed the line Noblesse Oblige, as a reminder of the obligations the royal family had to everypony.

The years now before us

Fearful and unknown

I never imagined

I'd face them on my own

He'd become the kindest, honest, and most generous noble of the decade, and his line had continued that trend to this day. When her sister collapsed and retreated, his line took up the position of Steward of the Princess, and was to this day the only set of ponies that could visit her after sun-raise and sun-set. Even she did not dare intrude on her sister after the last occasion, having lost a good portion of her mane to a fiery blast.

May these thousand winters

Swiftly pass, I pray

I love you; I miss you

All these miles away

She finished attiring herself in her own armor, magically summoned, and led a large group of lunar ponies into the night sky. Below her, a train pulled into Cantropolis station and from it poured forth a wave of black. Smirking, she summoned her favorite battle horn, and led a charge towards the intruders. Blasts of crystal flew through the sky, and she dodged and weaved with incredible skill as the adrenaline of battle began surging through her veins.

May all your dreams be sweet tonight

Safe upon your bed of moonlight

And know not of sadness, pain, or care

And when I dream, I'll fly away and meet you there

Sleep...

High above the city, a pale alabaster pony looked down upon her sister, and then up at the shield above. She felt no emotions, no fear or alarm, and slowly turned away from the window and back into her chambers. The soft sounds of an ageless tune wafted up through her winow, and suddenly a pang of something struck her. She took a moment to revel in the first feeling she'd experience in decades: Concern. She was concerned for the safety of her sister, who had once again foalishly led a battle from the very front. She paused, and turned back to the window. In her sisters distraction, the shield above had continued to weaken even as it was blanketed in black crystalline meteors.

She took two steps forwards, and added a sizable portion of her own magic to the shield above, a golden glow shimmering over the navy blue above. Drained from the unexpected exertion, the moment of feeling and concern passed and she once more collapsed onto her cushioned bed. Her thoughts grew hazy and her mind wandered, drifting back to more pleasant times, over one thousand years ago. A purple unicorn with a star cutie mark looked up at her, awed and curious. Her most prized student...

And far away, a group of ponies discovered a strange crystal castle, nestled deep in the depth of a wild, dangerous, and ever free forest.