The Everfree forest was a dangerous place. Ask any pony and they tell you this. With a wild life that could render you petrified, envenomed or worse, you would do well to not doubt the truth. But despite all the cockatrice, manticores, hydras, dragons, serpents and scary-faced foliage, never once did any pony believe that the place was evil.
Until now that is.
The sound of galloping echoed in the night air of the forest as three ponies ran for all their worth in the dense undergrowth, in the deepest, thorniest parts of the Everfree forest. Further and further in they went where no normal pony would dare hope to tread. It was a small wonder no creatures of the night had taken them for a late night meal.
"We need to hurry." Emerard Glow galloped into the forest, his horn aglow with the green light of his magic. In whispered tones people spoke of how green magic was such an evil. The changelings used it, even demons and evil dragons. Now he understood why, it was all that person's fault. This green coat and mane he was born with was all because of the hex that hung over his family. A hex he had brought low on him.
"Don't worry. I'm right beside you." A grey pegasus cyclops flew low and close. His focus was straight ahead, looking with his one good eye, his other lazy eye hiding within his eye patch. He was now ahead of Emerald by a few hoofs signalling to him with his golden tail where to swerve and turn in the dense forest.
"I won't let you down." A lilac coloured earth pony followed close behind. He galloped with two legs to make up for the deficiency of his wheeled-chaired hind ones. His forelegs burned with the effort but he kept up, making utterly sure the glow of the unicorn was ever within his sights.
For my family...
For my brother...
For my sister...
They ran and refused to stop.
"This is where they went then, pupil?" Scarlet Rose cantered to the edge of the forest. Her red mane flowing about her like an angry crimson flame. And in this darkness, her black coat gave way even more to the idea.
Letting her apprentice's horn glow she let the mare move ahead. The way she wore her hat and cloak of moon-stars directed the light downwards and forwards into a focused beam. She illuminated the path the three colts took. In the mud and dirt a set of glowing hoof prints and a pair of smooth grooves marked their way.
"These grooves confirm my brother's involvement, mistress." Lilac Dreams was scared to believe it but mayhaps the truth did speak to her. Mayhaps her brother was a cultist of Discord. She looked back to see if her mistress acknowledged her words but already she had turned away, barking her words. Lilac looked just in time to see Scarlet's twin tailed cloak kick up with the sudden turn, revealing the infamous bloody red rose on her flank.
"Guards. On formation. If we encounter trouble on the way, I want a series of two-pony rear guards ready so that we are not to be delayed." Scarlet spoke and the guards saluted in answer. Lilac stood beside her mistress while the guards formed an loose encirclement. They would swerve and turn in the woods like starlings, breaking and reforming formation when needed as they made their way to the ritual grounds. They were ready to go, a look from Scarlet's crimson eyes told Liliac what to do next.
"Horns aglow! March!" Lilac commanded with uncharacteristic authority. The six other unicorns in the group ignited the light in their horns and without losing a beat they all began their gallop.
It was the beginning of a new era for Equestria. News of Celestia's coronation spread throughout the land and everypony was in jubilation to such a momentous occasion. For the first time in Millennia the soon to be Queen Celestia has decided to restore the alicorn monarchy. No more will she be in collaboration of rulership with the now festering bigoted nobility. And by princess Luna's boundless approval, no more will Celestia rule Equestria under a co-ruler. The Queen of Equestria has arrived and the promise of a new age of prosperity was inevitable.
Everypony who's any pony would say so.
This was a time of radical change and reformation. Unbeknownst to all but three Equestrian souls, it was in fact a period of re-establishment. Ceres the herald of the late queen mother would concede that Celestia was the more worthy heir under a few conditions. For her crimes of remaking the history of their kingdom, for causing unnecessary conflict and for damning her own sister for her crimes, Celestia had to redeem herself by returning Equestria to how it was.
Luna, understanding that the people would not exactly react well to merely hearing the truth that their beloved sun goddess was a liar and a fraud, recommended a compromise.
Much in the way the current Equestria had been founded, Celestia would slowly restore the kingdom through her own invention. The educational system, teaching in various transitional stages the true history of Equestria. A thousand year renaissance that will switch what is known as legend back into fact.
And this all started with the re-founding of the religion of harmony. The Church of harmony was but the firs of her intended restorations.
-
Emerald glow wondered the afternoon lit streets of Canterlot. He was making a beeline, trotting along happily along the castle road. He loved going to the gardens and looking at all the statues. The place just seemed to draw him and tempt him for reasons he couldn't fathom. And yet there he would be, staring at statues, for hours on end, bored out of his mind. For a friday afternoon, the streets were quite scarce of activity as everypony had been ordered to attend a city wide ceremony. It was in celebration for something Celestia did or something, but he didn't care. In fact, barely anyone did, most ponies just took it as an excuse to have a city wide day off.
The sound squeaky wheels sounded in the distance behind him and Emerald's happy canter had slowed to a trot. As if on cue, the sound of the wheels intensified as the pony behind redouble his efforts to catch him.
"Hello Wheeler." Emerald said as his friend pulled by. He didn't look too pleased with me.
"What?" I said as he just quietly glared while be plodded along, his wheels still squeaking.
"What do you mean what? Shouldn't you be back at school? Lilac was looking to teach you magic today." Lilac dreams, wheeler's beautiful big sis. The best magic teacher Emerald money can buy and here he was going off to stare at some statues. The ever responsible little brother probably went out by his own initiative to find me and drag me to that dumb class.
"I hate those lessons, I hate this magic stuff." I really did, for years now I'd been a unicorn without magic. That fact was what made me and wheeler such close friends. This common ground that we were the shame of our families.
Born as an earth pony, wheeler was not the son Lilac and his parents dreamed of. And also born with crippled hind legs, he wasn't much of anything to anypony. He had to watch as his sister grew up as a prodigy of a magical scholar, teaching and learning through years paving out a prestigious career. While acted as his pitiful excuse of an assistant. And then there was me, born as a unicorn with no ability to wield magic in a family of long established mage scholars. The moment we met each other, we were fast friends, sharing similar pains and frustrations.
I hated the fact that this sudden ability to learn magic and not only that, complex and highly advanced magic, had us splitting apart. Wheeler's jealousy just barely steaming away under the surface as go out in the world, probably becoming the greatest unicorn of the age. His words, not me.
With no retort from him and me having no desire to continue the conversation, we continued into the gardens.
"Draconequus. He has the head of a pony and a body of all sorts of other things." I read the sign in front of the statue aloud. So this was the spirit of chaos and disharmony, aptly self-named Discord. I just loved that look of surprised in that horrid looking face of his.
"It says he's a horse dragon, but isn't a creature with parts like his technically a chimera?" said Wheel putting a hoof to his chin, his egghead mind once more looking for an excuse to scream our conspiracy theories.
"What's a chimera?" Nothing like playing dumb, to frustrate him out of his ramblings. Secret histories and ancient government/religious orders made to exist in the shadows to get rid of evil, what nonsense. Why would the Equestrian goverment bother? The elements of harmony deal with everything and Celestia is old enough to recount Equestrian history directly from her memory.
"Whatever, Emerald. Obviously you want to make out with that statue than let my sis teach you a thing or two. So I'm gonna go tell her that you're not coming." I really shouldn't have told him about how I liked Lilac dreams, he seems to take so much joy teasing me about it. Especially when my older brother ha eyes for her already.
"You should go home before it gets all dark, and the romantic starry sky gets you doing something you might regret." Out of principle I stuck around until I couldn't see him leaving anymore. And by his request I headed straight home, to learn more of this stupid magic stuff.
-
Hotshot read the letter over and over but no matter how many times he looked it over the words didn't change. There was no denying it, things have been decided and he knew what he had to do. He flexed his wings and felt the air churn with each flaps as he slowly levitated into the air and then down again on his bed.
"Hotshot!" He turned his head to the door of his cloudy room. Crashing through in a puff of cloud was his brother, wings buzzing with activity like a changeling on coffee. In his excitement he crashed here and there. Hotshot had long since learned to not have anything that isn't solid stand in his room since his brother would eventually break it.
"What is it?" At the sound of his little brother's voice he found the direction he needed and trotted over to him. Hotshot stared as each of Slapstick's wandering eyes. For a pegasus, derpy eyes was a severe illness. But he more than made up for it with a great sense of hearing. If anything he was the one that deserved this, this, honour. He could out fly any pony if he could follow the sound of them.
"I made it bro, I'm gonna be a wonderbolt thanks to you."
-
"Scarlet rose. I have heard the news. Congratulations." Celestia said. The throne room wasn't too busy that day and so she was prepared to receive a long established friend.
"Yes, from now on I'm a full paladin of the Order. I aim to never disappoint." Scarlet rose was in her signature twin tailed cloak. She had it made specifically to hide her cutie mark from prying eyes, ashamed of what it meant to hold the family's bloody rose cutie mark. She was not evil. She was an inquisitor of the Church of harmony, one of the greatest forces of good in all of Equestria. This had to prove that she wasn't evil.
"I don't doubt it. Ceres has indeed a good eye for talent. How is the high paladin doing?" Celestia hadn't seen her lover in nearly six months. Not a single visitation, a word from a letter or even a whisper in the wind had hinted of his well-being. If absence made her heart any fonder she'd be mad.
"Ceres continues to investigate the changelings and it seems his goal may need more time before he can return with any degree of success. As such, with my training complete. He has nominated me to act as head of Inquisition in collaboration with princess Luna. He has also requested that I choose a pupil to further increase our numbers." A whole order, a whole religion and the only official members was the royal family, the grand master and his only pupil. Early days were early days. Ceres was adamant that only the best could hope to fight against the cult of Discord.
"I see..." Celestia resisted the urge frown at the news of further parting. "Have you chosen this pupil?" Celestia said, trying to keep a business-like demeanour.
"Her name is Lilac dreams."
