Aged Eternal

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”