Fire Emblem: Equestria

The Worlds and their Secrets

A Friendship is Magic Story

Created By: TheHiddenOne

Chapter 4: The Worlds and their Secrets, Part 1

The morning sun rose over the horizon, it's gentle rays of warmth and light bathed the land in an almost motherly fashion, gently coaxing the residents of the castle to wake up and face a new day. Fortunately for Adrian, he was well rested, and woke up without too much fuss.

He slowly propped himself up on the headboard of his rather comfortable bed and wiped the gum from his eyes, giving his stiff arms a stretch. To his side on the nightstand was his pistol and the medallion, along with a small glass of water to banish the morning dry mouth. He swung himself to the side of his bed, popped several more joints, stood up, and swung open the curtains, taking in a breathtaking view of the small island Midnight Castle overlooked. The sea looked like a warm, welcoming blanket of blue, with an occasional breath of wind softly disturbing it's calm shore. On the horizon he could make out the western edge of Equestria, their ultimate goal. A small sense of despair came upon him, and he wondered if the land, as enormous as it was, could ever be reclaimed.

He reached over to the nightstand and retrieved his glass of water, and as he drank, he noticed strange ships in the harbor of the small town. Their hulls took on a peculiar golden color, their sails were the purest white, purer than any he had seen. Truly, they were the most beautiful ships he had ever laid eyes on, and his heart was warmed at their sight, as if seeing his brother after he returned from his service in the military.

At the same time, the ships struck a chord in his mind, tugging at his memory. He had never seen a sea-worthy wooden ship in person; with the mass production of steel some two hundred years ago, no one ever used them. Adrian grunted in annoyance: the ships would bother him for the rest of the day until he remembered. He took a small sip of water from his glass and heard three soft knocks at his door.

"Come in, it's unlocked," he called, not taking his eyes off the white-gold ships. The door slowly opened, and a maid quietly trotted in.

"Good morning, Master Adrian," She greeted, a polite smile on her face. "How do you feel?"

"Well rested, yet a little stiff," he answered, stretching his body and twisting his back, giving small groans of pleasure as he felt every joint pop back into place. "And please, call me Adrian. 'Master Adrian' makes me feel a little spoiled. No need for formalities." He said, smiling. The maid returned his smile and nodded.

Adrian pointed out to the white-gold ships. "Who do those ships belong to? They're certainly no pony ship I've seen, and Humans stopped using wooden ships some two hundred years ago in favor of stronger steel ships..."

The maid walked to his side and looked in the direction Adrian was pointing. She looked for a brief second, then turned to Adrian, an incredulous look on her face.

"Sir, have you never heard of elves?"

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The seas calmly parted around the white ships as they sailed into the port. From the lower deck of the lead ship, a small filly emerged, wearing a green cloak secured with a leaf brooch. Most ponies would suffer from a sudden HNNNG attack at first sight, but this filly was no ordinary filly.

Because he had with him pipe and weed.

He sat down in a hammock found near the bow and lit his pipe, content in enjoying the morning with a nice smoke. As he lay down, his cloak slipped off, revealing his cutie mark: A golden ring around a glowing sword.

Frodo Baggins was certainly no filly, and hadn't been one for twenty years. He was a full grown, respectable hobbit, thank you very much.

He readjusted himself in his hammock and closed his eyes, enjoying the sea breeze on his body. He would have dozed off, too, were it not for the approaching hoof-steps of a dear friend of his

"Good morning, Gandalf!" said Frodo, and he meant it. The sun was shining and the sea breeze was very cool. But Gandalf looked at him from under long bushy eyebrows that stuck out farther than the brim of the shady hat he used to wear.

"What do you mean?" Gandalf asked. "Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?"

"All of them at once." said Frodo.

There was a moment of silence between the two good friends, and they broke out into laughter at the absurd moment between them. "Ah, I remember the first time i said such words over sixty years ago," Gandalf said, chuckling at the memory. "I said them to your uncle Bilbo, on the day I offered him to join on our expedition to the Lonely Mountain!"

"Yet there was no laughter between us! I, for one, believe he was quite absurd." A voice called from below deck. Slowly, another pony emerged, his body aged many years, but his mind sharp as ever. His cutie mark was similar to Frodo's; a golden ring surrounding a great red dragon, a solitary mountain it's background. His name was Bilbo Baggins, and were his story to be told within these pages we would be here until next winter, for he would talk and talk and talk until your ears fell off.

Behind him came another pony, strangely tall for his kind. He bore many handsome features, of which there are too many to list here, and carried himself as if he were a lord. His cutie mark was that of a crossed sword and bow. A ring was also featured in the ensemble, a golden band emblazoned with a sapphire, and a strange leaf background, which is known as Althelas, a healing plant. This was Lord Elrond Halfelven, a great leader of the Noldor, and a great friend of those gathered on the deck.

The four friends gathered together on the deck and shared small talk between each other, reminiscing of ages gone by.

Elrond told them the tale of Feanor, the Crafting of the Silmarils, of Morgoth's treachery and stealing of them, and the eventual fall of Morgoth at the hands of his father, Earendil the Mariner.

Gandalf also told stories of the First Age, though he was not there to witness it. He told primarily of Beren and Luthien, and how they stole one of the Silmarils Morgoth had forged into his black crown. He also told of Hurin Thalion and his son Turin Turambar, and the great tragedies they both suffered. He also spoke of an ancient prophecy, that Morgoth would escape his prison in the void and be re embodied. "But fear not!" Gandalf said. "Mandos, the Valar who spoke this prophecy, said that in Dagor Dagorath, the Final Battle, Turin, son of Hurin, shall emerge from his halls, and will slay Morgoth with his black sword, and that would be his final end."

"Arda would then be broken and remade, and the Silmarils will be recovered out of the Air and Earth and Sea. Feanor will take them to Yavanna, the Valar responsible for the growth of all things, and she will break them and with their fire rekindle the Two Trees. The mountains of Valinor will be leveled, so the light of the two tree shall spread all over the world. The Elves will awake and all their dead rise, and Eru Iluvatar, the creator, will have their purpose fulfilled."

"But what of Men?" Bilbo asked. "Will they share in this light as well?"

"I should hope so, Frodo," Gandalf said, pausing for a quick puff of his pipe. "But I cannot be sure. Mandos spoke only of the Elves, and mentioned no Man in names, save only for Turin." There Gandalf finished his tale, and there was silence for a while between the four friends, pondering the tales that were shared between them, and of the eventual fate of Men, and what might befall them.

"How sad," Frodo said softly, thinking of an idea.

"What troubles you, Frodo?" asked Gandalf, his brow perking up in interest.

"Lord Elrond, you said that Morgoth, once called Melkor, was greatest of the Ainur in strength and knowledge. What caused him to become so foul and twisted?" He asked.

Elrond paused, his eyes closed in thought. "To tell you the truth, I do not know. No one, save the Valar and Iluvatar himself know of the cause, though I do remember rumors saying that before the great Music that forged Arda, Melkor searched for the Flame Imperishable, venturing into the Great Void, where he was alone for a very long time."

"Then that must have been where he first started to fall, in the void." Frodo concluded.

Another silence between them as they thought upon this new information.

"Do you think it's possible Melkor could be redeemed?" Frodo asked.

Were it not for the centuries of patience and restraint, Elrond would have mocked the notion, but instead he raised an inquiring brow, his eyes filling with a touch of disapproval. Bilbo, however, scoffed at the notion. "Someone that evil is better off rotting in his prison," he declared.

Gandalf, however, was not too convinced. "It would require retrieving him from the void and giving him a body, while keeping his spirit chained by Angainor... It would also require him to be in the presence of pure light to wash away his darkness, and to heal him of his first time in the void. There would be many trials before this could be done, but it just might be possible."

Elrond chose this moment to speak his mind. "It is not our place to think of such things," he said. "The Valar would have to consent to this, and the only power above them is Eru Iluvatar himself. I, for one, do not believe Iluvatar would consent to such a thing. "

Frodo disagreed. "I think he would."

Elrond gave him his full attention. "And why, Frodo Baggins, would you think that?"

Frodo gave him an incredulous look. "Iluvatar is the Father of All, and that would make Morgoth his son. Is it not natural for a father to want back his son?"

At that moment, a strange feeling came upon Frodo. Someone, or something, was smiling upon him.

_________________________________________________________________________

Adrian had found himself in the Great Hall of Midnight Castle, feasting on a breakfast of eggs, bacon, hash browns, and oatmeal. He had noticed these strange parallels between the pony daily routine and those of humans. Perhaps there is some sort of explanation?

He took his chair and tray and sat in a corner of the room, away from his friends to think about the information the maid had given him. Elves? In Equestria? The very notion was insane. Elves were bipedal beings, like him, and were the fairest of all beings, and yet the ponies speak of them as if they are a daily appearance. Normal, even! He could not wrap his head around such an idea.

"Why are you sitting here alone, friend?" A voice asked him.

Adrian turned to his left, and came eye to eye with his host, a great and beautiful white dragon named Naga, the Lady of Midnight Castle and protector of all those who lived on the shores of the island. Had Adrian not heard her coming, he would have flipped his shit.

He swallowed the egg he was munching on and downed it with water. "Your maid told me of elves. Elves! Here in Equestria! How is that possible? Unless you have certain parallels in this land that correspond with what Earth's definition of Elf is..."

Naga shook her head. "No, Adrian. There are no Elves in Equestria. Never have been, until now."

Adrian turned his head to Naga. "What do you mean, 'until now?"

Naga did not answer at first, a frown on her face. "Adrian," she began, "have you ever heard of the word 'dimension' before?"

Adrian raised an eyebrow. "Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?"

Naga smiled. "It has everything to do with everything! In each dimension of the universe, a handpicked few are given knowledge of all the others. I truly envy you, Adrian. You are from the Prime Dimension, Earth 01, the origin of all the others, and the one all the others are based off of."

Adrian's face morphed into that which one may wear when confronted with something that is so utterly incomprehensible you can't help but go 'what?'. It looked remarkably like a fish.

Naga chuckled. "Let's start at the beginning. In the beginning of time, out of the void arose the One Being. He is known by many names, to you folk he is known as Allah, Yahweh, or God. Here, he is known as the Divine One, or Creator. And in another, he is given a more grand name: Eru Iluvatar, The All Father. With me so far?"

Adrian could only nod.

"When the Creator emerged from the Void," Naga began, "he first made his servants, the Angels, and Heaven, where they live. He then created Earth, your world. He made exactly according to his wished, and was satisfied with his work. Many, many, many long ages passed, and one day, he sent an Angel, the identity of whom is not known, to an author by the name of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. With the Creator's blessing, the Angel gave Tolkien a mysterious power, one that to this day no one really understands. The year the Angel visited Tolkien was 1937, the same year he published a book known as The Hobbit. After The Hobbit's grand success, Tolkien wrote a sequel, often published in three parts, in 1954."

"The Lord of the Rings!" Adrian said abruptly.

Naga smiled. "Exactly. The Lord of the Rings is one of, if not the, most famous book ever written in Earth's history. And that, my friend, is when the Blessing the Creator bestowed upon Tolkien went into effect. The book became so popular, and so well loved, that it created a dimension, one where the stories of Tolkien came to life and took on a form of its own."

Adrian's eyes filled with a mixture of shock, disbelief, and excitement. "Unbelievable! To think that we humans actually created another world..."

"It seems unthinkable, doesn't it?" Naga asked rhetorically. And Middle-Earth wasn't the only universe created this way. Other notable examples include the United Federation of Planets, Alagaesia, the Star Wars Galaxy, and even Equestria. We owe our entire existence to your folk."

Suddenly, a great weight came upon Adrian's shoulders, threatening to take him out of his chair and throw him to the ground. It was the weight of responsibility, and it nearly crushed him. Naga gave him a paw to steady himself.

"It seems like a great responsibility, doesn't it? Being a member to the race of Humans responsible for creating alternate universes? Do not worry, Adrian," She said. "The burden of creating a world is not on your shoulders. Rather, it is the burden of ensuring that Equestria becomes a happy world, as it should be. For even though we are worlds apart from each other, evil lurks in each and every one of them, and it could ensnare those worlds at any time. This evil could not be defeated by the actions of the inhabitants of this world alone, so that's why you are here."

"And what of the elves?"

Naga pondered the question a moment. "To tell you the truth, I don't really know why Elves would be here. There is something known as The Wall that separates every dimension from itself, keeping evil from bridging the gap from one universe to the next, and it's notoriously strong, and there's... no... way... Creator preserve us!" She whispered in shock.

"What? What's wrong!?" Adrian said, putting an arm around her.

"The Wall between worlds was erected by the Creator himself as a shield! The only one who can break down The Wall is Him alone. The only way Discord could break it down, or at least create holes, would if he had found... the Flame Imperishable."

Naga bowed her head, a single tear ran down her face. "Amanaisal... what have you done?" She whispered, in a voice too soft for Adrian to hear.

"Waitasec, what's this 'Flame Imperishable'?" Asked Adrian. The term was frighteningly familiar to him, just as the White Ships earlier were. Another piece of Middle-Earth?

Naga looked straight ahead, into the fire at the opposite end of the room. "There was... another book Tolkien wrote. A third book, that held within information concerning the history of Middle Earth, most of which during the First Age."

Adrian looked into the fire as well. "A third book? Never heard of it." he said.

Naga scoffed. "That's because it was published posthumously. After he died. The book was titled The Silmarillion, and it held the first mention of the Flame Imperishable. According to the book, Eru Iluvatar used the Flame to create the Ainur, the World, and its inhabitants. If I remember correctly, he then sent the Flame into 'The Heart of the World', and this gave the world the ability to 'Create'. Discord must have somehow taken a small ember of it with him, but how?"

Suddenly, an idea found its way into Adrian's head. "I don't know how he took it," he began, taking the bronze medallion, the Fire Emblem, out of his coat pocket, "but I think this is it." He finished, presenting the medallion to her.

Naga's pupils dilated and her eyes widened. "H-how did you come upon this!?" She all but screamed.

Adrian's arm, which was still around her shoulder, brought her head in close to his and discretely pointed toward Celestia, who was currently engaged in an eating contest with Harcos, Arran, and Strelok.

"She said she recovered the Medallion from Canterlot's vaults, not too long after Discord's successful coup. She used the Medallion's ability to 'Create' to send it to 'someone worthy' to aid the Dawn Brigade in their cause. And, since I'm here, it chose me." He said, with a sense of finality.

"I see..." Naga whispered, taking a few moments to collect her thoughts. "Then it seems you are meant for a great destiny after all, Adrian."

Adrian withdrew his arm from Naga's side and laid the medallion in his lap. He was silent for a few long moments. "When I first came here," he began, "all I wanted to do was find a way home. I woke up in a forest clearing, with no purpose, and nowhere to go. Then, a voice came to me, telling me to make my way toward Mareheim, and that all would be revealed when I got there. Damn voice, always leaving shit out..."

Adrian looked up from the medallion and straight into Naga's eyes. "I know where this voice is: Canterlot's dungeons. This voice is my only ticket home. I've already made an enemy of the current ruling power, so this is my choice: I swear, for good or ill, I will take part in this Rebellion, over through Discord, and return this land to peace."

"And afterword, you will return home?" She asked.

Adrian nodded. "Look around." he said, gesturing to the Great Hall. "I am the only one of my kind in this world, and, no matter how beautiful it is, or how many friends I make here, I will not belong. I have to return home, if only to be with my kind again." He said solemnly.

"And besides, it's not like I can't come back." He smiled, and held up the Fire Emblem. "When all is done, and the world is right, give this to Celestia. Tell her to call upon me, should Discord ever return from whatever hell we send him to." The two friends shared a smirk between them.

At that moment, the doors to the Great Hall slowly swung open. Adrian turned his gaze to the door, and locked eyes with Hugo Weaving (ahem!) Elrond Halfelven.