Prologue: Dreams and Disasters
Once upon a time, in the magical floating city of Cloudsdale, there was a sad little trio of sisters. Their names were Midnight Blue, Sky Blue, and Vivian Blue. They lived in a small cloud home, nearby the Rainbow Factory. Despite being near this "source of joy", the three of them couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor souls who had to work there. All of them, even the youngest, Vivian, knew what went on in the real Rainbow Factory. It was operated by a Cyberpony named Hate Seed. He was responsible for the deaths of many ponies, and the conversions of many more of them into his own kind.
The Cyberponies, like the Windigoes before them, didn't have emotions, but they had the knowledge of them and used them against the ponies. Unlike the Windigoes, the Cyberponies didn't use the ponies' own negative emotions against them, but instead used logic. They believed themselves to be invincible, despite having seen some of their own kind killed. They had but one goal: To convert everypony to their kind. And who better than the Blues to be their next victims?
I hope Midnight will come back to protect us. Sky thought to herself. Vivian and I can't do this alone. Sky sighed as she stared longingly out her glass-free window, thinking deeply about her heartfelt wish to see her mother and father again... but she knew that her parents were the last folks she'd ever see... everypony from Cloudsdale, (save for the Blue sisters) even Mr and Mrs Blue, had already been converted. What's taking her so long anyway?
Midnight, being a former Rainbow Factory worker, may or may not have already been converted to a Cyberpony... or a pile of ashly dust. The very thought of it made Sky start to bawl in tears. Suddenly, whilst lost in thought, Sky felt a hoof stroking her mane and knew, without turning around to look, whose hoof it was. "Are you thinking about Midnight?" that familiar, sweet, and innocent filly voice asked Sky.
"Of course I am, Viv." Answered Sky, her words barely comprehensible due to the despair she was wallowing in. "Aren't you?"
"How could I not, Sky?" Vivian answered, a hint of sadness in her voice. "You know I miss her just as much as you do... but that's no excuse to cry about her. Is that what she would have wanted? Crying may be an important way to calm you down, but it's not exactly gonna solve the 'where is Midnight' problem. We have to take action."
"How can you be so sure of yourself at a time like this?" Sky asked Vivian. "We have no leads on where she is, and even if we do find her... what would we do then? Viv, this is the end for us Blues. Our whole family is gonna either be dead... or worse. It's only a matter of time before..."
Vivian interrupted Sky's pessimistic remarks and exclaimed loudly. "SKY... CLOUD... BLUE!!! LISTEN TO YOU! I KNOW THINGS AREN'T EXACTLY THE BEST FOR OUR FAMILY... OR ANY FAMILY, FOR THAT MATTER... BUT THAT IS NO EXCUSE TO THROW IN THE TOWEL WHEN THE BEST THING TO DO IS LOVE, HOPE, DREAM, IMAGINE, AND BELIEVE!!! THINGS WILL GET BETTER, TRUST ME! WE WILL FIND JOY! WE MAY NOT HAVE CLARITY OF THIS SITUATION, BUT WE WILL GET WHAT WE DESIRE! HOW CAN YOU GIVE UP ON ALL PASSIONS??? ANSWER ME SKY!!!!!!"
That yelling of Vivian's snapped Sky out of her moping and wallowing... "You could have deafened me, Viv!" Sky responded, her sorrow switching to anger and her newborn rage made obvious with her tone. "But you're right. You know, you're very wise for such a young filly." Sky's tone changed again, suggesting that the anger had died and been replaced with a neutral, unnamed emotion. Somewhere betwixt joy and sorrow, definitely an emotion, but one that hasn't been felt many times and thusly doesn't have a name... unless tiredness counts as an emotion. "I'm going to bed. You should too, Viv. Maybe we'll get a message in our dreams that will tell us what to do."
"That's what I've been trying to tell you, Sky." Vivian calmly told her sister, as though all the rage in her previous outburst had been sapped and replaced by a newfound calmness and tiredness. "Lulu will tell us something important. She's never been wrong before. Why should she start now, when she's the only one we can truly count on now?"
Lulu, what a cute nickname for an almost-all-knowing deity like Lucilia. Sky thought to herself as she drifted off to sleep. She didn't even need to get into her cloud bed, comfortable as it was... just the very reassurance that Lucilia, the Blue family's spiritual guide, was watching over her was all she needed to feel comfortable. And as Sky drifted off to sleep, Vivian did the same. And in their sleeps, they shared a dream.
In this dream of theirs, the two Blue sisters saw their trusted guide, Lucilia. Even though she was over nine thousand years old, her beauty stayed young. She was almost angelic in appearance, with her silken-white fur, her dove-white feathers on her wings, her luscious golden mane and tail, and her dazzling sky-blue eyes that glimmered in the starlight. Her entire body had a supernatural shine, and, as a spirit, she maintained these beautiful features all throughout her afterlife. "Salu, Sky. Salu, Vivian." Lucilia spoke in a kind and calming voice that would turn random words of gibberish into pure poetry. "I believe you are here to ask me for advice about your absent sister, Midnight?"
"She's not absent, Lia!" Sky snapped at the spirit. "She's in our hearts... or mine at least. I'm sorry for snapping at you, Your Holiness."
"Sky, being a spirit is no laughing matter." Vivian whispered to Sky. "Lulu has an important job, guiding us... and she does it with grace... please just give her the courtesy of listening to her."
"I understand how you feel, little ones, but really... if you follow my instructions, all will be well... if not... you'll suffer the same fate as your parents." Lucilia said, her tone changing from sweet to stern but remaining kind all throughout her speech. "I understand that this information might scare you, but you need to know it. Fear may be a negative emotion, but it is an important one nonetheless. It's linked with love, and oftentimes, the two emotions are sources for each other. For instance, if you love someone, you're more than likely afraid to lose them. And because you're afraid to lose them, you try to protect them. Like Midnight. She may be absent from this dream, but she is not absent from our hearts and minds. Likewise, if you're afraid of something, you're going to bond with someone else who fears it, thusly creating new love out of old fear. Do you understand this, my little ponies?"
"I do." Vivian replied.
"I don't." Sky replied. Understanding the science and magic of emotions was never her strongsuit. "But I can understand that we need to learn something from you in this dream and apply that knowledge to reality. I don't believe in patience, so can you please hurry up and teach us?"
"Certainly not, Sky." Lucilia snapped. Even her snapping sounded calm and tranquil. "Patience is a virtue, and you must learn to believe in it, or else there will be a lot more for you to worry about than the Cyberponies." The beautiful charm in her voice had finally faded, and Lucilia showed the Blues a vision inside a spiritual crystal ball. The ball was crystal clear, and surrounded by ebony flames that were cold to the touch. The crystal was beautiful, but its beauty was of the sinister nature, and thusly not to be taken lightly.
As if the crystal ball engulfed in dark flames wasn't ominous enough, the actual vision within the ball showed a trio of dark figures, all of them evil for their own special reason. The Blues immediately recognised one of them: Hate Seed, the current leader of the Cyberponies. The other two were not recognised, but equally terrifying, despite their differential appearances: One of them was a dark-grey unicorn with a crooked, curved, crimson horn, ruby-red eyes, and an emotionless expression on his face. The other one was inside a cloud of mist that was different shades of red, as if it were a gaseous form of blood. Though his actual body was hidden, his cloud of blood-mist gave the impression of something sick and twisted, not to mention sinister.
"Who are those creeps?" Sky and Vivian asked Lucilia simultaneously.
"Those creatures are more than just creeps, children. They're pure evil, and nothing can save them... not even love. Hate Seed, well... you already know his story, but I'll tell you again in case you forgot. He was once known as Fate Seed, a young unicorn who would give anything to see the future... but when he finally got his wish, he regretted wishing for it. He saw his own father's invention, the Cyberponies, become corrupt. He thought he could make them good again by reasoning with them, so he let them 'upgrade' him into one. And then he lost all emotions, including love, desire, and even hope. And although he had no emotions of his own, he got the new name 'Hate Seed' when he no longer had control of his own fate."
"As for the other two..." Lucilia continued, her voice now more grim than beautifully charming. "The dark pony is Shadestar, Sombra's son. His one dream is to avenge his father's death by bringing Twilight Sparkle and her friends to dust. His hatred for the Elements of Harmony, along with his love for his father, has made him more powerful than most ponies... but you have something he doesn't: honor. You can defeat him as long as you follow your own morals."
"As for the blood cloud..." Lucilia kept on speaking, for she most certainly wasn't done with her message. "that's covering up a villain known as Dilunius. He is called this because, as you'd be able to see if he wasn't covering himself, he has two heads, each of which is shaped like a crescent moon. Di for two, Lunius coming from Luna, which means moon. He can manipulate minds and trick people into believing anything... ponies from a couple centuries ago recognise him, and that's why he hides himself. If Luna saw him in this dream, she would try to kill him, for there is no possible way to reform someone as deformed as Dilunius. Of course, if he dies in his own dream, he wakes up in reality."
Lucilia paused briefly before finally asking the Blues "Do you understand what you're up against now?" After seeing them nod, she continued. "The Legion Of Relentless Darkness, or LORD, is a force to be reckoned with... and its members are more than just the three leaders... all of their subjects and minions are in it too... if there's any advice I can give you, it's to be careful who you trust. Luna once said those words herself, also in somepony's dream."
"You know, Lulu?" Vivian asked. "You talk a lot... but that's what I love about you. Your advice keeps us safe, even when we're in danger."
"I agree" Sky replied. "Although it wouldn't hurt to explain the situation in briefer messages, would it? Patience is hard, especially when you're anxious to get things over with, like me... but thanks anyway for the advice... even if it was mostly warnings instead of lessons. I guess if you're not gonna teach me, I'm gonna have to develop a learning tactic and use it to teach myself."
"You are a wise pair of ponies, little ones..." Lucilia complimented the fillies. "and with time and experience, your wisdom will grow. Know that just as you two have faith in me, I, too, have faith in you. Now, farewell, children, and may the stars forever light thy path."
And with that final message, Lucilia was gone, and the Blue fillies woke up from their dream of guidance.
Author's Note
I begun rewriting Starlight Sorrow. I'm sorry, but I haven't saved the original. The new one will be more well loved by me, and thus the other people who love it as much as I do will be better friends with me. I'm making this story a bit more... "me" than it was before. And that means changing the story because, and I quote, "We all change, when you think about it. We are different people, all through our lives. And that's OK, that's good. You've got to keep moving! So long as you remember, all the people, you used to be." If you don't like it, click that dislike button. If you DO like it, click the like button. I don't care what the rating is, as long as it's honest.
Three Star Points to whoever is the first to find a particular similarity between the old story and the new one. (Such as the presence of a certain character, and of course, Sky Blue doesn't count, and neither do the other Blues. Words I used to describe certain situations will also be counted, as long as the wording is exactly the same or almost exactly the same as in the original...) If you haven't read the original, ignore the hunt for Star Points... If you're wondering what they're for, Star Points are an EXP-like system I use. Earn 100 and you level up, which gives you certain rights and privileges depending on what level you reach. Most of these rights and privileges involve me, or your friendship with me... or my stories. Or your presence in my stories. (If your OC is in my story, he or she might get noticed.) I'll also give you some Star Points for any references you can find. (Such as the title of the prologue being a song by Owl City, of course, I won't count that one.)
Chapter I: Pegasus With A Broken Wing
Sky slept that whole night, even if she didn't exactly enjoy the advice she got from Lucilia, she accepted it anyway. She felt a tingle in her wings, as though they were telling her to fly at that very instant. Lucilia told me that just because fear is negative doesn't mean I have to ignore it. Sky thought to herself. It's OK to be afraid, so long as I still get done what it is that I need to do despite my fear. And that she has faith in my sister and me. I believe I'll be safe if I just go for a quick fly. So it was that Sky flew out the window, simply disregarding her fear of the Cyberponies, which she now knew were not the main problem.
Once Sky was out the window, she started to do her flight routine, a series of simple tricks that she used to hone her skills and still fly stylishly and gracefully. Sky spent a lot of her time flying ever since she learned how, so she was one of the best fliers in all of Cloudsdale... but not the best. Flaming Thunder was a dream within a dream within the heart of Sky Blue's wings, as well as on the wings of her heart. Just barely out of reach, she believed... What I wouldn't give to show you my true feelings, my Flamie. But she knew that as powerful as her crush was, it was just that: a crush. The only way it could become anything more was if he felt the same way. No matter how hard I try, I know you're not into me... But I'M the one who loves you, NOT her. Can't you see that she's just USING you for your feathers? I guess it's true what they say: Love is blind, and even WITH the clarity it provides, nothing can let you see through it.
While Sky was caught between daydreaming and convincing herself to stop daydreaming, she lost sight of her own flight pattern. While she was still following the routine: Triple loop, figure eight, shaping a random cloud into a lyre, (her favorite musical instrument... for some reason) and ending off with making it snow from the cloud, no matter what season it was... the place she was in while doing this routine was somewhere she would only be if she was distracted from her flight: A cumulonimbus cloud-covered patch of sky known as the Electric Field, directly below the Rainbow Factory. She saw one of the grey menaces emitting snow, meaning her routine was successful, but... at what cost? She couldn't even feel the pain in her left wing until she realized that it was inside a cumulonimbus cloud and thusly being shocked repeatedly by lightning. All of this pain made Sky lose consciousness, and as she fell physically from the sky, so to did she fall into a deep slumber. In this sleep she began to dream. It was a dream that could only be triggered by such intense pain as that which lightning causes.
This time, Sky was in a place she had never seen before: a lovely meadow with a patch of daisies, into which she fell and strangely felt no pain. Right... this is just a dream. Sky thought to herself. I only feel what I want to feel, so long as I have control over it... which should be as long as I remember that this is a dream. Stay lucid, and stay fly. That was one of the first things Lucilia told me, in my first lucid dream. Strangely enough, though this dream was indeed lucid, Sky didn't have complete control over it. Her wing still hurt from the lightning, and there was nopony there to help her... until she imagined that there was someone. I may not have complete control over it, but I do have some control over this dream. That's a relief... but who is that strange pony coming towards me?
"You must be Sky Blue." The strange pony spoke, his voice sounding old and gruff despite his colt-like figure. "I was told that we would share a lucid dream... this must be it. I'm not surprised."
"Who are you and how do you know my name?" Sky asked the strangely-garbed, strangely-voiced young pony.
"I am Shaded Ash, agent of the Emergency Vitality Agency, or EVA for short." Shaded Ash replied. "Our agency's mission is to make anyone who dreams of immortality become immortal and fulfill their dream. We use natural magic to accomplish this mission. I am not at liberty to discuss this further until I learn more about you. What I know already is vague and unsatisfying knowledge."
"What do you know about me, Shady?" Sky asked. "Other than my name, I mean?"
"Well... a spirit told me something about you." Shaded Ash answered, not seeming to acknowledge the nickname that Sky called him. "She said you were willing to learn, but lacked the patience. Her name was..."
"Lucilia?" Sky asked. "That's the name of the spirit who guides my dreams."
"Well, then..." Shaded Ash replied, a little bit skeptical as to why two young ponies would have the same spiritual guide. "So I guess we're not the only ones. Neither of us. I guess we weren't really meant to meet until now. Dreams are funny like that. You think you know what your imagination's doing, but the more you think about it, the less it affects you. Other things have a different kind of influence: They affect you more when you think about them more."
"Well, anyway, Shady... why do you think you came to me?" Sky asked, hoping he came to help her with all this LORD fighting business. "Did Lia warn you about the LORD?"
"The Lord of what?" Shaded Ash asked.
"I'll take that as a no." Sky Blue's face drooped in sadness as her last shred of hope was struggling to survive. "Have you heard of any strange evil forces around where you're from? I completely forgot to ask you until just now, but... where are you from?"
"Evil forces?" Shaded Ash asked. "Like... the Darklings? They're a race of darkly colored earth ponies who wear midnight blue cloaks with occult symbols stitched on them. It's why I'm dressed like this:" Shaded Ash lifted his cloak up to his hoof and showed it to Sky. It was indeed midnight blue, the same colour that her sister was named after, and the "occult symbols" were just a few pentagrams and crescent moons, hardly occult. "To disguise myself as one of them. Why did you mention evil anyway? Did we get different warnings from the same spirit?"
"I guess we did." Sky agreed. "Anyway, you still haven't answered where you're from, Shady."
"I'm from a land you've probably never heard of. It's called Feria." Shaded Ash replied. "I've traveled far from my old home in search of a new one, for the Ferians, my own kind, have turned against me."
"That's awful!" Sky exclaimed in rage. "Why would they turn against you? What did you do that made them think of you as evil?"
"It's a long story." Shaded Ash answered. "I hope you don't ask me that again... it's better kept secret. Do you feel that? The warmth of the sun at dawn? I think it's high time we woke up."
Sky was beginning to forget that she was dreaming. Part of her wanted to wake up, to meet Shaded Ash in real life, maybe, but part of her just wanted to stay in the Dreamscape, dreaming endlessly and taking a permanent hiatus from reality. She decided to listen to the dream Shaded Ash, and so she thought to herself: Reality is an illusion, and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, there was a flash of golden light, as a heart-shaped, gold-coloured, extra-shiny crystal appeared before them. Sky felt an instinctive response telling her to touch the heart, so she did... and at the same time, Shaded Ash touched it. Then the two of them woke up.
After waking up, Sky was next to the real Shaded Ash, who was no longer wearing his cloak. He was a dark grey earth pony with sky blue eyes like hers, and a midnight-blue-and-black striped mane. The two ponies were still touching the miniature crystal heart, but it was citrine and dull rather than golden and shiny. Sky's wing was no longer broken, as if the crystal had used its magic to heal her in her sleep. The crystal's magic might have also done something about Shaded Ash's getup, either that or he merely dreamed it on and it came off when he woke up.
After a few minutes of silence, Shaded Ash broke the silence with an inquisitive remark. His voice had changed, and he now sounded a bit more gentle than the gruff voice Sky was used to. "Is that... an Aurora Heart?"
"A what?" Sky asked, never having heard of the Aurora Hearts and wondering just what they were.
"An Aurora Heart." Shaded Ash repeated. "A heart made of Starlight Crystal. It has magical properties in the Dreamscape, and these magical gems affect reality in different ways, depending on who touches them. I thought they were only existent in a Ferian legend, but I guess they do exist outside of Feria... and the legend about them is true. Legend has it that if the six hearts are united and borne together, the bearers shall become invincible for the next twelve days and eleven nights."
"Invincible, you say?" Sky asked, a hint of hope and enthusiasm in her voice. "If we, and perhaps some new friends we met along the way, could be invincible... we'd be able to defeat all the enemies Lucilia warned us about. Though something tells me that the other five won't be as easy to track down as stumbling upon them by accident, like this one. We should hurry the search, lest the Darklings or the LORD find them."
"You're probably right, Sky." Shaded Ash agreed. "Let's start looking... but they're a lot easier to find in the Dreamscape, so let's look instead for something we can find... while we're awake. We should hold onto this one, and take it to the local clarist."
"The local what?" Sky asked.
"Clarist." Shaded Ash repeated. "Clarists are Ferian seers that can see the future, present, and past using crystals. If this is indeed an Aurora Heart, a clarist would be able to know."
"This isn't Feria!" Sky exclaimed. "It's Equestria! We don't have any clarists in this kingdom. Maybe one of the princesses can tell us what the deal with this heart crystal is... but where are we?" Sky had just begun to take in her surroundings, and they were completely different from what she had been used to in the sky. Even though Sky had visited Ponyville before, she hadn't seen any ground-based territory that had so much plant life. She surmised that she must be in the Everfree Forest. "Nevermind, don't answer. I know where we are... but you've probably never heard of it."
"Try me, Sky-B." Shaded Ash said. "I've heard of a lot of places I'd never been to, having researched Equestria extensively before coming here."
"Then maybe I don't have to tell you..." Sky said, teasing Shaded Ash ever so slightly. "But I'm going to anyway, just to make sure that you know: It's the Everfree Forest."
"Ah, yes." Shaded Ash replied, completely unsurprised by Sky's remark, as though he really did already know. "This forest is the home of the Castle of the Two Sisters, the Tree of Harmony, and a haven for naturally chaotic magic and plants and beasts who thrive on it. It's also the gathering spot for a wide assortment of magical items, such as that heart that we recovered. Speaking of which, have you any idea what we should do with it?"
"Actually... I do." Sky answered. "There's a zebra named Zecora... she's something of a witch doctor, which is a term I hope you know the meaning of, because there's no time to explain it."
"I don't, but I think I'll know what you mean when I see her." Shaded Ash replied. "Lead on, my friend."
Sky, not knowing what part of the forest she was in, didn't know which way to go in order to find Zecora. She took off, her wing feeling better thanks to that crystal, and she saw, from the sky above the forest, a clearing, which had a familiar hut and decorations around it. "It's this way," she said, pointing her hoof in the general direction. "Follow me." And the two of them went onward to Zecora's place, which didn't take them very long.
Author's Note
Four Star Points for each reference you're the first one to find. You get one if you're not the first, but you can only earn Star Points for each reference once. Have fun, and I'll give you the Star Points in a PM, so as not to ruin the surprise. I really appreciate you reading my stories, that's why I give you the points.
