The Dark Defender: False Historyby Lord King CocoonChapters01 - The Mysterious Documents02 - The Foreverfree Empire03 - Dreams04 - Preparations01 - The Mysterious Documents~History is written by the winners, but history is also written by sinners. Though what is known is in the light, there are parts of history kept out of sight. Nobody questions the ruler of the sun. But that’s because the moon isn’t that fun. But there are documents that one will find, and change their preconceptions of what she had in mind. The history of the princesses are beyond what you’d dream. Because Luna is not as she may seem. This is an untold tale brought to light. A tale about the truth of the princesses of day and night.~ The Dark Defender: False History Twilight Sparkle had chosen to leave Ponyville for a few days. She had gone to Las Pegasus to see what their libraries had. Lately, things have been a bit boring. The last major attack on Ponyville and Equestria itself was over five years ago. And there haven’t been any friendship problems lately to deal with either. So out of boredom, she chose to travel. When Twilight arrived at the Las Pegasus library, something didn’t feel right about the Librarian. It wasn’t a bad feeling. Just off. And there was something familiar about the librarian that Twilight couldn’t put her hoof on. He was an older pegasus stallion with a muted purple coat, maroon mane and tail, and piercing red eyes. “Hello, dear traveler. Princess Twilight Sparkle if I’m not mistaken, am I right?” the librarian greeted, his voice holding a hidden wisdom that came with age, “May I ask what brings you here?” “Oh, well, I had some time to spare and wanted to see what other libraries had to offer,” Twilight said, avoiding revealing that she’s just bored, “I’ve already read all the books in my library and wanted to see something new.” “In other words, you were bored and wanted something to occupy yourself,” the librarian said bluntly. “Wait, how did-” “Your words betray your intent,” the librarian said, cutting Twilight off, “First allow me to introduce myself. You can call me Solanales. As for how I knew your intent, you mentioned reading every book in your library. So either you have a small library, or you have a photographic memory and can take in allot of information in a small amount of time. Or perhaps the Hayscartes’ method.” “You know about the Hayscartes’ method too?!” Twilight exclaimed, “I find it a great way of studying.” “It is. I also find it a great way of immersing yourself in a work of fiction,” Solanales agreed, “But as I was saying, you also mentioned that you have time to spare and wanted to see what other libraries have to offer. I deduced that because you take in information quickly, the fact that you’ve read all the books at your library, and the fact that you have time to spare, that you are in fact bored. The fact that your mind can take in information as quickly as it does also implies that the information can pass through just as quickly. Being able to take in information that quickly means that you can be bored just as quickly. And with time to spare and no extra books, and seeing as there have been no immediate threats to Equestria that you needed to take care of, that’s how I deduced that you are bored.” Twilight just stood there, her mouth agape. This random pony that she just met was able to so easily deduce that the reason for her visit was boredom. “I’m older than I look, and have had time to learn certain tells about other ponies that can in fact say allot about them,” Solanales said, breaking the silence as he went to get a few books from the shelves, “So what did you have in mind? It seems that you like to use your mind to make your own deductions. So perhaps some mystery novels? Maybe some Sherclop Pones? Or perhaps you’d like something along the lines of a comedy, like the Scootertrix series. Or perhaps something more sci-fi, like Adventures in Time and Space. Or perhaps…” There was a glint in the librarian’s eye as he realized the best reading material for the purple mare. He then went into the back room and came back out with an old tome and some old scrolls, “You’re the type that likes to learn and educate yourself. I have historical documents that you may not be aware of.” “I know all about the history of Equestria,” Twilight stated, “What good is learning something new about history if there’s nothing new for me to learn?” “Because what I have will change your view of the history of Equestria, as well as things you may not know about the princesses,” Solanales said, his tone becoming more ominous, “The fact is that the history you may know is not what it seems. I trust this knowledge to you, because you have a desire for knowledge. I will entrust these documents to you if you so desire. Just know that you may not think of the princesses the same way after reading these documents.” “Is that a warning or a threat?” Twilight asked suspiciously, “And why would Princess Celestia hide information like this from me?” “Most likely because she’s afraid of what you’d think of her,” Solanales said. Twilight was apprehensive about how the demeanor of this librarian changed. However, her curiosity about what the documents had to say was the stronger force in her mind. Taking the documents with her, as well as the other books that were offered to her, the librarian watched as Twilight left the library. After a few moments, the library then turned away with an almost sinister smirk, “What will you do when your own protege learns the truth about you and Luna?” he asked before vanishing into thin air. Starlight Glimmer and Spike were taking care of the castle while Twilight was gone. But off of the side of the castle, they had built a new public library in the years after the original Golden Oaks library was destroyed in Twilight’s battle with Tirek. The library may have been at the edge of town. But Ponyville was small enough so that you were within walking distance from anywhere in town. Though Ponyville already had a school run by Cheerilee, Twilight also opened up her library as a place to teach as well. But unlike Ponyville Elementary, it’s not required learning. It’s mainly a place to help little colts and fillies learn their skills. Eventually, the Cutie Mark Crusaders chose to use it as their base of operations to help blank flanks find out what their special talent is, and help others relearn what their cutie marks meant. “Yeah, Twilight’s out of town for a few days. She wanted to travel to see what books she can add to the library that she doesn’t already have,” Sweetie Belle said to a visitor who wanted to see Twilight. “In other words, she got bored,” Scootaloo said bluntly. “While yer here, would ya like ta leave a message fer Twilight fer when she gets back?” Apple Bloom asked. The trio had grown more mature since they were fillies. Apple Bloom became more muscular thanks to her work on the farm. Her mane and tail were tied at the ends similar to Applejack’s, but generally looked the same. And with Rarity’s help, she converted her old bow into a scarf that she always wore. Sweetie Belle also appeared much the same. Though with older age came a much more attractive mare. Perhaps she was inspired by her sister in that sense. The key difference is that Sweetie Belle’s beauty was more on the seductive side, which would often get her the wrong kind of attention. She was hired as a part time model with Photo Finish. Her contract said that if she was given every other week off to be with friends and family, and that Photo Finish would use her image to promote Rarity’s fashion business, she would do whatever she’s told without question. As for Scootaloo, she let her mane and tail grow out. However, her lifestyle took an impact. For starters, her wings never fully developed. So she couldn’t get a job that requires pegasi to fly. Without a job, she couldn’t pay rent. She currently staying with Apple Bloom until she can get back on her hooves. At first, Scootaloo refused the offer, her pride getting in the way. But Apple Bloom’s stubbornness counteracted her pride, changing it from an offer to a demand. But while Scootaloo was at her low point, she did…things…that she was so ashamed of, she couldn’t bring herself to tell her closest friends. However, it was a secret that she couldn’t hide forever. But that’s another story. “Well, maybe you can help me find a book,” an orange unicorn filly said. It was Pumpkin Cake. Pumpkin was very intelligent for her age and loved learning, which made her one of Twilight’s favorites, “I wanted to find a medical book so I could learn more about my brother’s condition.” “You mean his congenital analgesia?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Yeah, that.” “Well, Ah don’t know if there’re any books ‘bout yer brother’s congenal…congeninal…algnesia…yer brother’s condition. But Ah’m sure there’s somethin’ here talkin’ ‘bout it,” Apple Bloom said, having trouble saying the name of the condition, “Ah think there’re some medical books over here.” As Apple Bloom went over to a section of the library, Spike, who had been listening in, came in and gave Pumpkin a book, “Apple Bloom isn’t that great at organizing,” Spike said, “She means well. But I doubt she’ll find any medical books in the historical fiction section.” The mention of Apple Bloom’s organization skills gained a chuckle from Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. After taking the book, Pumpkin thanked Spike and headed back home. “Shouldn’t you two go get Apple Bloom and tell her it’s taken care of?” Spike asked. “She’ll figure it out,” Scootaloo said, “Eventually.” As Apple Bloom was searching through the books, there was one that caught her attention. It didn’t look any different than the other books, so there was no reason for it to stick out. But for some reason, it seemed to draw her attention to it. As she began to reach towards the book, she thought she heard a voice. This distraction caused her to return back to reality, realizing that she was never reaching towards the book…and that the book wasn’t even there in the first place. She also realized she was in the wrong section, though she had forgotten what she was looking for for some reason. She walked back to the entrance to the library where the others were. “Did any of you hear a voice?” Apple Bloom asked. The others just shook their heads. Thinking it was just her imagination playing tricks on her, Apple Bloom motioned to Scootaloo to head back to Sweet Apple Acres. After the two had left, Sweetie Belle turned to Spike, “Is Apple Bloom feeling okay?” She asked in confusion, “It’s like she didn’t even notice Pumpkin wasn’t here.” “It’s like she didn’t even remember Pumpkin was here in the first place,” Spike added, “I know that Apple Bloom isn’t known for her memory. But she’s never just blatantly forgot something like that. And why’d she just leave like that without any explanation?” “I don’t know,” Sweetie Belle said, “And did you see the look in her eyes? It was almost as if she wasn’t all there or something.” “Maybe she’s being overworked,” Spike suggested, “After all, she has been taking on more responsibilities at the farm ever since Granny Smith died. And with her also taking Scootaloo in, that probably adds more to her workload.” “I’d look into it. But I have to start my week of work tomorrow, and I have to get my stuff ready,” Sweetie Belle said, “But can you tell Twilight that I said hi?” “Sure thing, Sweetie Belle.” At Canterlot castle, princess Luna was standing on her balcony, a troubled expression on her face. She was focused on something, but what it was is unsure. Noticing this behavior, princess Celestia went to check on her sister. This behavior had been going on for several days now. “Is something wrong, Luna?” Celestia asked as she walked up to her sister. “To be honest, I don’t know,” Luna said, “For the past few days, I’ve been sensing something.” “What is it that you’ve been sensing?” “That’s the thing. I don’t know. I don’t even know how I’m sensing what I am. It’s as if I just know there’s something out there. Something that feels…familiar. Yet at the same time, it feels foreign,” As Luna spoke, her expression seemed to become more and more distressed. Not from negativity, but from confusion. What she was sensing was like trying to remember a dream, knowing you had the dream, yet not being able to remember the dream. “Something familiar yet not. Sensing an energy that isn’t there…No, it couldn’t be,” Celestia thought out loud, “I’ve got to look into something.” With that said, Celestia excused herself, seeming rather distracted. “What will your subjects think of you when they learn the truth?” Author's Note The name ‘Solanales’ is in fact the higher classification of a plant. Credits to whoever can figure out what plant it is. Congenital Analgesia is in fact a real condition, also know as “Congenital Insensitivity to Pain”. As the name suggests, it’s the inability to feel pain. I gave Pound Cake this condition to explain why he’s always being destructive. This is intended to be a reboot of my original “The Dark Defender” and “Project Cyba” series, taking place 5 years after the Season 6 finale. 02 - The Foreverfree Empire“Come on, Ecko. I know you don’t like going to the doctor. But it’s for your own good,” Fluttershy said as she attempted to coax a young filly to follow her out of the cottage. The filly was gray…just gray. There wasn’t more to say about the filly other than she was a gray pegasus filly. Her mane and tail were somewhat unkempt, but resembled Fluttershy’s mane and tail somewhat. She also had Fluttershy’s kind and gentle eyes. Though her eyes themselves were not normal. Her eyes had no pupils and were just a gradient of grays, becoming white where the pupils should be. Ecko was born without the ability to perceive sight. But it wasn’t her blindness that was the strangest part. The strange part was that to compensate for her blindness, Ecko was born with the ability of echolocation. Twilight theorized that perhaps this was caused by some residual magic from when Fluttershy had become Flutterbat. “But why don’t other kids my age have to go to the doctor as much as me?” the gray filly questioned, apprehensive about leaving the cottage. “It’s complicated. But because your brain is unable to process sight, it means your brain is different. We don’t know how this will affect you in the long run,” Fluttershy tried to explain, “It’s one thing that you can’t see. But you’re echolocation means that your brain can process what most ponies can’t. Again, we don’t know if that will have an affect on you in the long run, since ponies aren’t supposed to be able to see sound.” “But I can’t see sound. I’m blind,” Ecko said with a hint of sarcasm. The change in her tone was so evident that Fluttershy could hear her smile, “You know what I mean,” Fluttershy sighed in frustration. As much as she loved her daughter, the only other pony who frustrates her this much was her brother, Zephyr, “You use sound as an alternative to sight. Besides, you shouldn’t be able to hear a smile, yet I could hear your smile.” “So does that mean you have the reverse of echolocation?” Ecko asked, walking up to her mother, no longer apprehensive of going to the doctor. Fluttershy just rolled her eyes, knowing that was one thing Ecko couldn’t detect with her echolocation. Echo was still young. Still at an age where her mood can turn on a dime. And Fluttershy will sometimes have to use that to her advantage. It’s a case where patience is a virtue. After what felt like a long train ride home, Twilight returned to her castle. She was greeted by Spike and Starlight Glimmer as always. But her focus was on the documents she’s been given by that strange librarian, Solanales. She wasn’t sure how much she’d trust him. But if there’s something about Equestria that she doesn’t know about, she wants to learn. Starlight and Spike were confused when Twilight just passed them by with little more than a nod and wave. But they knew Twilight well enough that it most likely meant she had something to read and wanted to get started right away. Up in Twilight’s room, Twilight put away her stuff before getting straight to reading the documents. Solanales’ words echoed in her head… ‘What I have will change your view of the history of Equestria, as well as things you may not know about the princesses. The fact is that the history you may know is not what it seems.’ Was it possible that the true history of Equestria was not what is taught in schools? Twilight wondered why Celestia would lie to her subject about something like that. But then she remembered something else the librarian said… ‘Just know that you may not think of the princesses the same way after reading these documents.’ Was it possible that the princesses had secrets to their past worse than the Nightmare Moon incident? But even if that’s the case, the past is in the past, and what matters is who the princesses are now…right? Twilight was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn’t realize that she was subconsciously stalling for time out of worry of what she may learn. But one more thing came to mind that the stallion said that was more than just stalling… ‘I trust this knowledge to you, because you have a desire for knowledge.’ How did he know that she had a desire for knowledge? Finally, her mind had nothing more to stall with and she opened up one of the scrolls. It was in fact a map of Old Equestria. Or to be more accurate, it was a Pre-Equestrian map. It was written in an ancient language, referring to Pre-Equestria as Liberum In Aeternum. Twilight had to check another scroll that was magically enchanted to translate ancient languages into modern Equestrian. The name given was loosely translated into ‘Foreverfree Empire’. “Foreverfree Empire?” Twilight questioned, “Is that what Pre-Equestria was called? And does that make the Everfree Forest somehow connected to Pre-Equestria?” Twilight was becoming giddy at learning something new. Twilight saw that the capital city of the Foreverfree Empire was located right where the Everfree Forest was now. It was called Civitas Solis, or ‘City of the Sun’. In the center of Civitas Solis was Templum Solis, or ‘Temple of the Sun’. Checking a modern map of Equestria, Templum Solis was in fact the old castle ruins. “Wow, that castle existed before Equestria! This is so exciting!” Twilight chimed, “And all this information just from a map!” Twilight would study the map more later, perhaps if the other documents referenced a location. So she opened up the tome she was given to her. Thankfully, the language was written in modern Equestrian, or at least modern compared to the ancient language of the map. The History of Queen Sol Caelest and her Children “I’ve never heard of a queen Sol Caelest before,” Twilight said, “If this is the story of her and her children, could the children be Celestia and Luna?” The only way for her question to be answered was to continue reading… It was the second era of Equestria, the era of the queen’s rule. The newly crowned queen Sol Caelest had taken the responsibility of raising and lowering the sun and moon. It had been an exhausting task for the unicorns of Civitas Solis to continue to raise and lower… “Wait, I thought it was Celestia and Luna that took on the rolls of raising and lowering the sun and moon,” Twilight realized. She knew that before the princesses came to Equestria, the sun and moon were raised and lowered by groups of unicorns. But it was Celestia and Luna who took the responsibility though, not their mother. At least, that’s what Twilight thought… …It had been an exhausting task for the unicorns of Civitas Solis to continue to raise and lower the celestial bodies. But the queen had learned to bind her magic with them, making the task second nature to her. Luna was standing on her balcony once again, curious about that foreign yet familiar sensation. It was getting late and was about time to raise the moon. Reaching out with her magic, she grabbed the moon and lifted it above the horizon. Luna turned around to head inside. But instead, she was met by a strange pony, “Your life is a lie, Luna,” the pony said. “What is the meaning of this?!” Luna demanded, “Who are you?!” “Your memories are not your own,” the pony said, motioning towards the moon. Luna turned around to see that the moon wasn’t there. She attempted to reach out with her magic again. But when she did, she found nothing. The moon was there, but her connection to it was gone. Luna turned back to the mysterious pony for an answer. But the pony was replaced by Nightmare Moon… Luna shot up in her bed, a cold sweat on her brow. It was a new moon tonight, and Luna tended to have strange dreams during the new moon. But this seemed different. She couldn’t put her hoof on it though. But before she could think any further about it, a young filly walked into her room. She was an orphaned changeling filly. Or to be more accurate, a changeling/pony hybrid. Her mother, Chrysalis, had been experimenting on changeling eggs as a way to create a breed of changelings that didn’t have to feed on love by infusing pony DNA into them. But ever since Thorax had shown that Changelings don’t need to feed…as well as overthrowing her rule, the project was scrapped. However, one of the eggs she experimented on was a success…mostly. She was a ghostly white filly with a straight navy blue mane and tail with emerald highlights. She also had a unicorn horn. What would make her stick out among ponies was her dragonfly-like changeling wings and her silvery changeling eyes. And her ability to take the form of others didn’t allow for her eyes and wings to change. So she wouldn’t be able to hide among ponies. Thorax had intended on taking the hybrid filly in. But when Luna came and saw her, Luna tended to bond with the filly. And so Thorax allowed the hybrid to stay with Luna. “Mommy, I had a bad dream,” the hybrid filly whimpered, “Can I sleep with you?” Luna smiled. The filly was at such a young age when Luna took her in that she basically imprinted onto Luna as if she were her mother. And seeing as Luna did basically adopt her, it wasn’t a wrong assumption. Luna patted on the bed, “Of course, Dax,” Luna said. The filly, Dax, jumped up onto the bed and snuggled up next to Luna. Luna would help to comfort Dax. But Dax being there may also help to comfort Luna, as the dream she had still laid heavy on the back of her mind. What could it mean? Loss of control of the moon, Nightmare Moon’s appearance, a strange pony who felt foreign…but familiar. Luna would think about it later. Right now, Dax needed her attention. Celestia was in the throne room dealing with some issues. It was getting late. Luna had already risen the moon. Normally, Celestia would be in bed by now. But she couldn’t help but wonder about what it was that Luna had been sensing recently. She had an idea of what it was, but didn’t want to believe it. But at the same time, she wanted it to be true. Celestia was conflicted. And the dream that Luna mentioned earlier didn’t help her mood. As Celestia was lost in thought, Someone barged into the throne room. The guards came chasing after the intruder. But they kept getting deflected by magic. The intruder was a stallion with a maroon mane and muted purple coat. It was the librarian from Las Pegasus. As the guards attempted to grab him again, they were all frozen in place. Or rather, time was frozen. “Hello, princess,” Solanales said, venom in his voice when saying ‘princess’, “It’s been awhile since we last saw each other.” “What is the meaning of this?!” Celestia growled with an uncharacteristic ferocity, “Who are you, and who do you think you are?!” “You’re emotions betray you,” Solanales said in a calm yet cocky tone, “Your words say that you are unaware of who I am. However, your ferocity says that you know exactly who I am. But perhaps you aren’t just playing dumb. I’ll give you a moment to let your conscious knowledge catch up with what you’re subconscious already knows.” It took a moment. But a look of realization came to Celestia’s face. “What is the meaning of this?” Celestia asked in a much more calmer tone, “And what are you doing here?” “I assume the first question is intended to ask why I’m here. To answer that question, it’s simple. I just want a few ponies today to just be aware of the lies you’ve spread. Specifically about me…or rather, what’s not about me,” Solanales explained, “Changing history is one thing. But completely erasing somepony from history can really get under that somepony’s skin. As for why I’m here…it depends. Perhaps I wanted to see you face when you learned that your protégé will learn the truth about you. Of course you could order her to stop and hand over the documents. But then you’d show your true colors and reveal that you are in fact a higher rank than her. If you asked her, I’m sure she’s loyal enough to do as you ask. But then her curiosity will eat away at her until she asks for it back. And if you let her read those documents, she’ll learn the truth anyway. There’s nothing you can do that won’t reveal your true colors. There is one thing you could do. But you haven’t done it in over a thousand years. “Then again, maybe I just came here out of nostalgic sentiment. As I said, it’s been a while,” Solanales said, his tone going from ominous to playful, “But then again, you should know better than to think I’m actually here.” Solanales then evaporated into a cloud that flew out a window. But before the cloud left, Celestia heard the a disembodied voice, “We’ll meet again.” Suddenly, time resumed and the guards who were stuck in mid-air fell to the ground, “Hey, where’d he go?” one of the guards asked. Thinking fast, Celestia came up with an excuse, “I teleported him away from here,” Celestia lied, “He won’t be bothering us again for a while.” Celestia had successfully convinced the guards of her claim, allowing them to leave without concern. But then she felt something in the pit of her stomach. A sensation that she previously thought she had become desensitized to a thousand years ago…guilt from telling a lie. “Apple Bloom, is everything okay?” Scootaloo asked, “Ever since we left the library, you’ve seemed out of it.” It took a few moments for Apple Bloom to get her thoughts together, “To be honest, Ah don’t know,” Apple Bloom said in an almost worried tone, “The last couple of weeks, Ah’ve been havin’ strange dreams. Ah still don’t remember what the dreams were about. But Ah remember feelin’ out of it afterwards. As if Ah were disconnected from my body.” “So what you’re saying is that you had another one of those dreams?” Scootaloo asked. “Ah don’t know. Ah’m not sure what happened,” Apple Bloom said, “While we were at the library, Ah think Ah had one of those weird dreams while Ah was still awake.” “You had a dream while you were awake?” Scootaloo asked. “That doesn’t make any sense. I mean, I’ve heard of daydreaming. But that’s not the same as an actual dream.” “Don’t you think Ah know that?!” Apple Bloom snapped. But then she calmed down, “Sorry ‘bout that. Ah guess this dreamin’ thing is just gettin’ to me. Ah honestly didn’t mean to yell.” “I thought I was the one who needs help getting through a tough time,” Scootaloo said with a slight laugh, “Why haven’t you told anyone about these dreams?” “Ah didn’t think much of it,” Apple Bloom said, “Ah didn’t think it was an issue. And since everyone seems to think Granny’s death was causing stress fer me, Ah started to believe that mahself. And it’s hard to talk about dreams when ya can’t remember what the dream was ‘bout.” “So, you can’t remember any of the dreams?” “No…well, the one Ah had at the library Ah kinda remember,” Apple Bloom said, “Ah remember reaching for a book. But it was strange. It was almost as if Ah were seein’ things from my own eyes as well as from the perspective of the book. And then Ah thought Ah heard a voice sayin’ my name before Ah snapped out of it. That’s when Ah realized Ah never reached fer any book, and that the book wasn’t even there.” Author's Note In case you haven’t figured it out, I was using Latin as the ancient language. “Liberum In Aeternum” actually translates into “forever free”, which is why I said it loosely translates. If I had actually translated the full “Forever free Empire”, it would translate to “liberum imperium in saecula”, which as you can see is a bit long. And I had to translate “forever” and “free” as separate words. “Civitas Solis” and “ Templum Solis” are direct translations of “City of the Sun” and “Temple of the Sun” respectively. As for the name “Sol Caelest”, that’s derived from “sol caelestibus”, meaning “heavenly sun”. As for who she is…no spoilers. 03 - DreamsApple Bloom woke up suddenly. She had become used to waking up from having strange dreams, since it’s been happening alot recently. However, this time was different. Even though she was used to waking up from strange dreams, and even being able to remember that she had strange dreams, what she wasn’t used to was remembering her dreams. The images were fuzzy, not being able to recall what she had seen. But she could remember details about what she heard. Like any dream, the memories were fading already. But there were key details that stayed with her. Mention of a hive mind, assimilation, a changeling king, and a ‘next phase’. The memories were still vague. But compared to previous dreams, she actually remembered these few details. Apple Bloom’s mind was distracted when she heard something from the bathroom. It was the sound of somepony throwing up. And she knew exactly who it was, seeing as this wasn’t the first time. Apple Bloom went into the bathroom, confirming what she already knew. Scootaloo was at the toilet vomiting. She trotted over to Scootaloo and began rubbing her back, “Stomach wake ya up again?” “My stomach came later,” Scootaloo said, shaking her head, “What woke me up was a bad dream.” This got Apple Bloom’s attention, “A bad dream?” “I dreamt about…that…again,” Scootaloo whimpered. “Ah think we both need some comfort,” Apple Bloom said as she hugged Scootaloo, “Ah also had a dream. Ah don’t know if it was a bad dream. Ah jus’ know that it was disturbin’.” Luna opened her eyes to reveal that she was in the ethereal plain. The plain that she uses to enter the dreams of ponies. But what was she doing here? She didn’t make an attempt to enter a dream. ‘How much of what you remember of your life do you think actually happened?’ A disembodied voice asked. “Who’s there? Show yourself!” Luna shouted in a combination of anger and fear. She couldn’t understand where the fear was coming from, “What kind of question is that?” ‘A very valid question. And one that I bet you will get wrong.’ The voice said. ‘I’m curious as to why you’re avoiding the question.’ “We do not avoid questions!” Luna insisted, “And you do not have the authority to make such accusations! If you’re not aware, I am the princess of the night, princess Luna!” ‘I know exactly who, and what you are. The question is, do you?’ The voice asked. ‘And if you’re not avoiding the question, then why haven’t you answered the question yet? Is it possible that you may be afraid of the answer? To be more specific, what do you remember of your life before you met with the Elements of Harmony?’ “We do not understand the meaning of this line of questioning,” Luna said, “But We will answer your questions. Before I returned as Nightmare Moon, I was banished to the moon for 1000 years because of my own jealousy turning me into Nightmare Moon. Before that, I ruled side by side with my dear sister. Together, we brought the day and the night. And we used the Elements to seal away Discord. We’ve also helped seal away king Sombra. Other than that, we generally lived a normal life.” ‘Just as I thought. Your memories were falsely created based off of actual events.’ The voice said. ‘Even if you were who you believed you were, I can confirm that your memories of becoming Nightmare Moon are not your own.’ Luna wasn’t sure what to think about this claim that her memories were false. What was more disturbing was that in the back of Luna’s mind, there was a part of her that believed these claims. “Why do you hide in the shadows? Show yourself!” ‘In time, I will show myself to you. In fact, I already have once. You just woke up before you had a good chance to see me.’ The voice said. ‘But at the moment, I don’t think you’re ready to know who I am. But just as a pointer, what I will eventually tell you is also what Twilight will learn. But in short, Celestia has been lying to you, as well as all of Equestria. Until next time, perhaps you should take into consideration what the true purpose of the Tantibus is.’ Luna still didn’t know what to think. “Wait, before you leave, tell me how you’re able to enter my dream.” ‘The same way you can. You’re not the only one gifted with dreamwalking abilities.’ Luna sat up in her bed. Somewhere in Equestria, there was another dreamwalker. And this concerned her. But her thoughts were silenced when she heard small hooves walking into her room. It was Dax. “I had another bad dream,” Dax said. Luna’s thoughts about her own dream took second place at the moment. Luna patted at her bed, “Come here, Dax,” Luna said. She was becoming concerned about these bad dreams that Dax is having. And it disturbed her that for some reason, she couldn’t enter Dax’ dreams, “Tell me what your dream was about.” Twilight had become a bit obsessive compulsive about learning this new information about Equestria, this alternate history. She was known to pull all nighters before when studying. And this was no exception. Twilight still didn’t know who Queen Sol Caelest was other than being the princesses’ mother, has yet to find anything relating to princess Celestia, and that princess Luna had a twin brother named Nightshade. Why has Celestia never mentioned a brother? Queen Sol Caelest ruled Liberum In Aeternum with an iron hoof. Though her laws were just and fair, the punishment for breaking those laws were less than fair. The penalty for any illegal action was death by exsilio solis… Twilight once again translated. This time, it made her hair stand on end to see what exsilio solis translated to. Death by ‘banishment to the sun’. At least her laws were fair. This however was a problem, since these punishments were decided before nullo diligitur,… Once again translating, Twilight saw that ‘nullo diligitur’ translated to ‘trial by jury’. …resulting in many ponies never being given the chance to defend themselves, and many innocent ponies being executed by exsilio solis. It was fifty years before the flaw in the queen’s legal process was brought up. There was a case where a pony was executed. However, Princess Luna had witnessed the crime take place. And she saw that it was the victim that was executed, not the law breaker. The actual guilty party had stolen an art piece from a museum and planted the art piece in someponies home, accusing them to be the thief. And the fact is that this pony had been causing crimes and placing the blame on others for years, sending several innocent ponies to their deaths. Princess Luna told Prince Nightshade about it, and together, they told Queen Sol Caelest. And with this new information, the true criminal was caught and punished. But the prince and princess had seen the flaw that the current system created. Seeing as their mother had a higher authority than them, they couldn’t just overturn their mother’s system. However, they were still rulers of the land and did have a say. And even though they couldn’t convince the queen to stop exsilio solis, they could add their own system. This system that was set up had become nullo diligitur. Nullo diligitur wasn’t a perfect system, since innocents could still be wrongly accused. But it did drastically lower how many innocent ponies were wrongly punished. And though Queen Sol Caelest was irritated that her children created their own system without her consent, it was a system that worked. And she was proud of them for wisdom. Twilight had never realized just how scary it must’ve been to live in those times. Not only did you have to fear breaking the law, there was also a time where you had to fear being accused of breaking the law. With this new system in place, a whole new government was enacted… Twilight continued reading to see this government would be called Equestria, and with the size of the Everfree Empire as big as it was, it couldn’t all be governed from one place. So Luna and Nightshade split from each other and the queen in order to disperse the government ruling. After splitting up and governing their own areas, this also created a rift between the three pony nations. Earth ponies were drawn towards Prince Nightshade, who was strong willed and understood the value of hard work. Pegasi were drawn towards Princess Luna, who was a free spirit and understood the value of togetherness. And unicorns were drawn towards Queen Sol Caelest, who understood the value of power. This divide cause Liberum In Aeternum to be separated into three separate governments, each having different values. Author's Note This chapter ended up being shorter than I had wanted. But I had run out of dream ideas and had wanted to update, since it’s been longer than I had wanted since my last update. 04 - PreparationsAt Fluttershy’s cottage, Fluttershy was putting some food in a picnic basket to get ready for a family get together, though the get together wasn’t just for her family. It was a multi-family get together for the families of all her friends’ families. Of course Discord was involved too… “Why are you packing for the picnic now? The picnic isn’t for another two days.” …even if his involvement was only to play the part of the Peanut gallery. “It never hurts to be prepared ahead of time,” Fluttershy said cheerfully, “You should try planning ahead sometimes.” “What’s the point of planning when you can have anything you want at the snap of a talon?” Discord said before snapping his talon and summoning a life sized Fluttershy plushie. “And what kind of example would that set for Ecko?” “Fine, I’ll try it your way.” With that said, Discord summoned a tray of cookies before dramatically falling down in mock pain, “Oh, the preparation! It hurts!” Fluttershy tried to keep a straight face. But she couldn’t help but giggle at his antics, “You don’t have to do any planning right now. I just don’t want you making Ecko think planning ahead isn’t worth it.” “But two days just for a picnic?!” Discord exclaimed, “I think you’ve been friends with Twilight for too long.” “Perhaps,” Fluttershy said as she poured the contents of a teapot into a pitcher with ice, “But part of it probably has to do with being a mother. Being a parent is a lot of work. And so it helps to have some planning skills.” “Which you got help with from Twilight,” Discord added. Ecko then came down the stairs with a proud look on her face as she trotted up to her mother, “Mommy, I packed the picnic blanket like you wanted!” “That’s great, honey!” Fluttershy praised. Ecko then squeaked in shock when her mother’s voice was coming from the left of her. With her echolocation, she saw the figure of her mother standing in front of her…and a second form of her to the left of her by the table. Seeing as the voice came from the other Fluttershy, Ecko hesitantly reached forward. When she touched what was in front of her, she realized that that Fluttershy was just a plushie. Discord then began cracking up in laughter…figuratively and literally. “What is he doing back here? And why now?” Celestia had asked herself as she had paced back and fourth in her room, “I thought he was gone for good! It’s been over a thousand years since I’ve seen him last! Of course I never expected him to forgive me after all these years. But what drew him here now? Was it Luna? No, he would’ve sensed her arrival years ago.” “Aunt Tia, is something wrong?” Celestia was so focused on her own musings that she hadn’t noticed Dax come in, “Mom’s been worried about you recently. And I’m starting to worry too.” Celestia looked down at Dax, a tear forming in her eye. Celestia always felt a twinge of guilt whenever she saw the young hybrid changeling. She reminded her of the secrets of her true past that she’s only recently started thinking about again. “I’m sorry to worry you, Dax,” Celestia said with a sigh, “I have had something on my mind lately. But I promise it’s nothing to concern yourself about.” Though her words were true, they were also deceptive. Even if Dax or Luna wanted to help, there was nothing they could do. “Okay!” Dax said cheerfully before heading out. But she stopped for one final question, “We’re going to Ponyville for the picnic in a couple days, right?” “Of course we are!” Celestia replied with a cheerful laugh. With one last smile, the hybrid changeling trotted out of the room. Celestia then gave a sigh once she left, relieved that, at least for the moment, she didn’t have to make excuses. But then something occurred to her, “He wasn’t drawn here because of Dax, was he?” A dark figure was lurking in the Everfree on his way to the castle of the two sisters. But he got sidetracked as he saw a Zebra picking herbs. The figure took the form of a dark red miasma and hid in a bush to watch. As he got a closer look, he saw that the herbs she was taking had no nutritional or medicinal value. But Zebra’s were known for their potion making skills. He recognized the plant as aetate grass, a mildly poisonous grass. “Come out and show yourself to me! Otherwise leave and let me be!” The zebra called out, “I know you’re there in that bush! Will you come out now, or shall I give you a push?” ‘How’d she know I was here?’ The figure thought to himself before replying, “If you know I’m here anyway, is it really necessary for me to reveal myself?” Because of his miasmic form, the voice seemed to be part of the wind itself. “There’s no need to hide if you’ve been found! Come out from the darkness and stand your ground!” “If you insist, I’ll come out and stand my ground. But it is the darkness to which I am bound,” the figure said, mimicking Zecora’s rhyming. The miasmic form left the cover of the bush and went into the shadows to take solid form. He then stepped out of the shadows to reveal himself. He was a large black alicorn with a dark red mane that seemed to flow like an ethereal fire. His eyes were a piercing red with slitted pupils like a cat. Seeing this new figure startled Zecora, “Nightmare Moon?! No, that is not you. But her power is what yours is identical to. How can it be that you exist, when the elements’ power should resist?” “Nightmare Moon…so, is that what mother has named the Tantibus?” The dark alicorn questioned, “It’s fascinating what you learn in history…” “…But the truth is not what we see,” Zecora finished in rhyme, “My clan’s history has been passed down every century, and eventually made their way down to me. A tale gets taller each time it’s told. But the core of the story stays true and bold.” “If not documented in writing, memory is not a reliable source of events that have happened millenia ago,” the alicorn said calmly, “But if it holds a glimmer of truth, then perhaps the past is not lost after all. The alicorn was about to leave, returning to his main focus. But what Zecora said next stopped him in his tracks, “If what the stories say is true, then what happened to Luna can be blamed on you.” What happened next happened to fast for the eye to see. But the next thing the zebra knew was that she was being held up against a tree with a magical aura around her neck ready to squeeze if she said the wrong thing. He then looked at her cutiemark, “I should’ve known you were a member of the Rana clan!” He growled. “Are you really going to judge me, based solely on my family tree?” Zecora asked, struggling, “Didn’t you support trial by jury? Or do you desire to judge me in a hurry?” “What reason would I have to trust what you have to say?! You’re a Rana!” the alicorn growled, his eyes glowing with rage as he tightened his magical grip around the zebra’s neck. In a hilly field (where there was plenty of soft grass), a couple of colts where wrestling with each other, both having the desire to become a member of the EWE. The first was Sweet Apple, a purple unicorn with a short but fluffy red mane and blue/green eyes. Although Sweet Apple was younger than the other colt, he could easily take on a pony older than his opponent. Although, so could his opponent. The other colt was a cream colored pegasus with a brown, short, slightly spiky mane, with brown eyes to match. He was Pound Cake. His ability to take on older opponents was for a different reason than because of Sweet Apple’s Strength. Pound simply didn’t let pain stop him…because he felt no pain to begin with. His congenital analgesia prevented him from feeling pain. This explained why he was constantly destructive as a foal. He had a desire to test his limits, not having the ability to be aware of said limits. He couldn’t feel pain, which often earned him many visits to the doctor. Off to the side was Pumpkin Cake, who was reading the book she took from the library. She wanted to learn more about her brother’s condition and see if there was any way to cure it. Though she doubted that the doctors would lie about there not being a cure, she still had hope. If nothing else, at least she got to learn more about it. As Pumpkin read, another pony approached. It was Ecko, who needed to get away from Discord for now. Though he was fun at times, there were other times where he simply made things awkward. “Hi, Pumpkin,” Ecko said, causing Pumpkin to jump out of her skin, “Oh, sorry.” After catching her breath, Pumpkin replied, “Don’t be sorry. It’s just that you’re so quiet on your hooves. I swear you could walk through a forest with several twigs and dry leaves on the path, and I bet you wouldn’t even make a sound then.” She then realized she went off on a tangent, “Sorry about that. Is it too late for me to say ‘hi’ back?” “Well, you just did, I guess,” Ecko said with a chuckle, “It’s not that I try to be sneaky. It’s just that I am. Sometimes, if I didn’t know I were a pegasus, I’d probably believe I was a unicorn who was subconsciously creating a silencing spell on my hooves.” “Well, pegasi are naturally lighter than other races,” Pumpkin said, “But there’s just something about you and how silent you are that seems almost unnatural.” See Ecko lower her head in shame made Pumpkin reevaluate what she said, “I didn’t mean that in a bad way! I just mean there just seems to be something special about you!” “Whether I’m weird, special, or just different, I just sometimes wish I wasn’t,” Ecko said, “Sometime I wish I was normal and could just blend in with the crowd. Even when I don’t use my echolocation, I can still feel ponies’ eyes looking at me like I’m different. Sometimes I feel like they think I’m a creature from the Everfree Forest or something.” “Considering that your mother has a stare that almost seems supernatural, she can talk to animals and understand them, and was able to…befriend Discord,” Pumpkin said, reevaluating her original intent to use the word ‘tame’ to describe Discord, “Perhaps there is some otherworldly aspect about you that was inherited.” “Have you ever seen my mother get angry?” Ecko asked. “No.” “Well, if you have, you’d realize that that is otherworldly,” Ecko giggled. “The idea of you mother getting angry is otherworldly in my opinion,” Pumpkin said jokingly, “I just hope she doesn’t find out about us talking about her getting mad.” “Well maybe I would be able to sneak away unnoticed before she knew I was involved,” Ecko said. “And leave your best friend all alone to deal with her?” “I’m sure I can make new friends.” The banter between the two continued, leading from angry Fluttershy to making new friends to, for some reason, cupcakes. Eventually, the conversation lead to the reason why Ecko was here, and how she needed to get away from home because of how embarrassed she was about thinking a plushie was her mother. Pumpkin giggled at the idea, but immediately apologized. Their conversation was interrupted when they heard a sickening thud. The two fillies turned towards the wrestling match, where Pound had been thrown into a tree with the force of Applejack bucking an apple tree. Sweet Apple ran up to Pound, worried that he may have hurt him…before reconsidering that idea. The fillies ran to Pound, also worried that he may unknowingly be injured. However, Pumpkin was more worried, since unlike Ecko, she could see the multiple bruises. “Don’t worry, I’m fine,” Pound said confidently, not feeling any pain, though he was starting to feel a throbbing in his side where he hit the tree. “Fine?! That impact sounded like it could’ve broke you in two!” Ecko exclaimed with a sense of panic in her voice. “And don’t tell me you’re fine when you have all of those bruises!” Pumpkin added, only adding to Ecko’s own panic, “We should take you to the doctor to make sure there’s no internal damage!” As much as Pound wanted to protest, he couldn’t ignore the throbbing in his side, or the panicked look in Ecko’s eyes, “Well, I guess if I’m to train to become a wrestler, I should do it when I’m in my top condition,” Pound said, too prideful to drop the tough colt routine. But there was something in the tone of his voice, something only Ecko would’ve picked up on, that was like he was saying to her, ‘I’m sorry I scared you’. This was a common occurrence between the two, where Pound would say one thing, but mean something else, and Ecko being the only one to pick up on the hidden meaning. This also creating a misconception with Ecko, since she would always smile or blush (or both) at what he said, leading others to believe Ecko had a thing for the tough colt act.
01 - The Mysterious Documents~History is written by the winners, but history is also written by sinners. Though what is known is in the light, there are parts of history kept out of sight. Nobody questions the ruler of the sun. But that’s because the moon isn’t that fun. But there are documents that one will find, and change their preconceptions of what she had in mind. The history of the princesses are beyond what you’d dream. Because Luna is not as she may seem. This is an untold tale brought to light. A tale about the truth of the princesses of day and night.~ The Dark Defender: False History Twilight Sparkle had chosen to leave Ponyville for a few days. She had gone to Las Pegasus to see what their libraries had. Lately, things have been a bit boring. The last major attack on Ponyville and Equestria itself was over five years ago. And there haven’t been any friendship problems lately to deal with either. So out of boredom, she chose to travel. When Twilight arrived at the Las Pegasus library, something didn’t feel right about the Librarian. It wasn’t a bad feeling. Just off. And there was something familiar about the librarian that Twilight couldn’t put her hoof on. He was an older pegasus stallion with a muted purple coat, maroon mane and tail, and piercing red eyes. “Hello, dear traveler. Princess Twilight Sparkle if I’m not mistaken, am I right?” the librarian greeted, his voice holding a hidden wisdom that came with age, “May I ask what brings you here?” “Oh, well, I had some time to spare and wanted to see what other libraries had to offer,” Twilight said, avoiding revealing that she’s just bored, “I’ve already read all the books in my library and wanted to see something new.” “In other words, you were bored and wanted something to occupy yourself,” the librarian said bluntly. “Wait, how did-” “Your words betray your intent,” the librarian said, cutting Twilight off, “First allow me to introduce myself. You can call me Solanales. As for how I knew your intent, you mentioned reading every book in your library. So either you have a small library, or you have a photographic memory and can take in allot of information in a small amount of time. Or perhaps the Hayscartes’ method.” “You know about the Hayscartes’ method too?!” Twilight exclaimed, “I find it a great way of studying.” “It is. I also find it a great way of immersing yourself in a work of fiction,” Solanales agreed, “But as I was saying, you also mentioned that you have time to spare and wanted to see what other libraries have to offer. I deduced that because you take in information quickly, the fact that you’ve read all the books at your library, and the fact that you have time to spare, that you are in fact bored. The fact that your mind can take in information as quickly as it does also implies that the information can pass through just as quickly. Being able to take in information that quickly means that you can be bored just as quickly. And with time to spare and no extra books, and seeing as there have been no immediate threats to Equestria that you needed to take care of, that’s how I deduced that you are bored.” Twilight just stood there, her mouth agape. This random pony that she just met was able to so easily deduce that the reason for her visit was boredom. “I’m older than I look, and have had time to learn certain tells about other ponies that can in fact say allot about them,” Solanales said, breaking the silence as he went to get a few books from the shelves, “So what did you have in mind? It seems that you like to use your mind to make your own deductions. So perhaps some mystery novels? Maybe some Sherclop Pones? Or perhaps you’d like something along the lines of a comedy, like the Scootertrix series. Or perhaps something more sci-fi, like Adventures in Time and Space. Or perhaps…” There was a glint in the librarian’s eye as he realized the best reading material for the purple mare. He then went into the back room and came back out with an old tome and some old scrolls, “You’re the type that likes to learn and educate yourself. I have historical documents that you may not be aware of.” “I know all about the history of Equestria,” Twilight stated, “What good is learning something new about history if there’s nothing new for me to learn?” “Because what I have will change your view of the history of Equestria, as well as things you may not know about the princesses,” Solanales said, his tone becoming more ominous, “The fact is that the history you may know is not what it seems. I trust this knowledge to you, because you have a desire for knowledge. I will entrust these documents to you if you so desire. Just know that you may not think of the princesses the same way after reading these documents.” “Is that a warning or a threat?” Twilight asked suspiciously, “And why would Princess Celestia hide information like this from me?” “Most likely because she’s afraid of what you’d think of her,” Solanales said. Twilight was apprehensive about how the demeanor of this librarian changed. However, her curiosity about what the documents had to say was the stronger force in her mind. Taking the documents with her, as well as the other books that were offered to her, the librarian watched as Twilight left the library. After a few moments, the library then turned away with an almost sinister smirk, “What will you do when your own protege learns the truth about you and Luna?” he asked before vanishing into thin air. Starlight Glimmer and Spike were taking care of the castle while Twilight was gone. But off of the side of the castle, they had built a new public library in the years after the original Golden Oaks library was destroyed in Twilight’s battle with Tirek. The library may have been at the edge of town. But Ponyville was small enough so that you were within walking distance from anywhere in town. Though Ponyville already had a school run by Cheerilee, Twilight also opened up her library as a place to teach as well. But unlike Ponyville Elementary, it’s not required learning. It’s mainly a place to help little colts and fillies learn their skills. Eventually, the Cutie Mark Crusaders chose to use it as their base of operations to help blank flanks find out what their special talent is, and help others relearn what their cutie marks meant. “Yeah, Twilight’s out of town for a few days. She wanted to travel to see what books she can add to the library that she doesn’t already have,” Sweetie Belle said to a visitor who wanted to see Twilight. “In other words, she got bored,” Scootaloo said bluntly. “While yer here, would ya like ta leave a message fer Twilight fer when she gets back?” Apple Bloom asked. The trio had grown more mature since they were fillies. Apple Bloom became more muscular thanks to her work on the farm. Her mane and tail were tied at the ends similar to Applejack’s, but generally looked the same. And with Rarity’s help, she converted her old bow into a scarf that she always wore. Sweetie Belle also appeared much the same. Though with older age came a much more attractive mare. Perhaps she was inspired by her sister in that sense. The key difference is that Sweetie Belle’s beauty was more on the seductive side, which would often get her the wrong kind of attention. She was hired as a part time model with Photo Finish. Her contract said that if she was given every other week off to be with friends and family, and that Photo Finish would use her image to promote Rarity’s fashion business, she would do whatever she’s told without question. As for Scootaloo, she let her mane and tail grow out. However, her lifestyle took an impact. For starters, her wings never fully developed. So she couldn’t get a job that requires pegasi to fly. Without a job, she couldn’t pay rent. She currently staying with Apple Bloom until she can get back on her hooves. At first, Scootaloo refused the offer, her pride getting in the way. But Apple Bloom’s stubbornness counteracted her pride, changing it from an offer to a demand. But while Scootaloo was at her low point, she did…things…that she was so ashamed of, she couldn’t bring herself to tell her closest friends. However, it was a secret that she couldn’t hide forever. But that’s another story. “Well, maybe you can help me find a book,” an orange unicorn filly said. It was Pumpkin Cake. Pumpkin was very intelligent for her age and loved learning, which made her one of Twilight’s favorites, “I wanted to find a medical book so I could learn more about my brother’s condition.” “You mean his congenital analgesia?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Yeah, that.” “Well, Ah don’t know if there’re any books ‘bout yer brother’s congenal…congeninal…algnesia…yer brother’s condition. But Ah’m sure there’s somethin’ here talkin’ ‘bout it,” Apple Bloom said, having trouble saying the name of the condition, “Ah think there’re some medical books over here.” As Apple Bloom went over to a section of the library, Spike, who had been listening in, came in and gave Pumpkin a book, “Apple Bloom isn’t that great at organizing,” Spike said, “She means well. But I doubt she’ll find any medical books in the historical fiction section.” The mention of Apple Bloom’s organization skills gained a chuckle from Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. After taking the book, Pumpkin thanked Spike and headed back home. “Shouldn’t you two go get Apple Bloom and tell her it’s taken care of?” Spike asked. “She’ll figure it out,” Scootaloo said, “Eventually.” As Apple Bloom was searching through the books, there was one that caught her attention. It didn’t look any different than the other books, so there was no reason for it to stick out. But for some reason, it seemed to draw her attention to it. As she began to reach towards the book, she thought she heard a voice. This distraction caused her to return back to reality, realizing that she was never reaching towards the book…and that the book wasn’t even there in the first place. She also realized she was in the wrong section, though she had forgotten what she was looking for for some reason. She walked back to the entrance to the library where the others were. “Did any of you hear a voice?” Apple Bloom asked. The others just shook their heads. Thinking it was just her imagination playing tricks on her, Apple Bloom motioned to Scootaloo to head back to Sweet Apple Acres. After the two had left, Sweetie Belle turned to Spike, “Is Apple Bloom feeling okay?” She asked in confusion, “It’s like she didn’t even notice Pumpkin wasn’t here.” “It’s like she didn’t even remember Pumpkin was here in the first place,” Spike added, “I know that Apple Bloom isn’t known for her memory. But she’s never just blatantly forgot something like that. And why’d she just leave like that without any explanation?” “I don’t know,” Sweetie Belle said, “And did you see the look in her eyes? It was almost as if she wasn’t all there or something.” “Maybe she’s being overworked,” Spike suggested, “After all, she has been taking on more responsibilities at the farm ever since Granny Smith died. And with her also taking Scootaloo in, that probably adds more to her workload.” “I’d look into it. But I have to start my week of work tomorrow, and I have to get my stuff ready,” Sweetie Belle said, “But can you tell Twilight that I said hi?” “Sure thing, Sweetie Belle.” At Canterlot castle, princess Luna was standing on her balcony, a troubled expression on her face. She was focused on something, but what it was is unsure. Noticing this behavior, princess Celestia went to check on her sister. This behavior had been going on for several days now. “Is something wrong, Luna?” Celestia asked as she walked up to her sister. “To be honest, I don’t know,” Luna said, “For the past few days, I’ve been sensing something.” “What is it that you’ve been sensing?” “That’s the thing. I don’t know. I don’t even know how I’m sensing what I am. It’s as if I just know there’s something out there. Something that feels…familiar. Yet at the same time, it feels foreign,” As Luna spoke, her expression seemed to become more and more distressed. Not from negativity, but from confusion. What she was sensing was like trying to remember a dream, knowing you had the dream, yet not being able to remember the dream. “Something familiar yet not. Sensing an energy that isn’t there…No, it couldn’t be,” Celestia thought out loud, “I’ve got to look into something.” With that said, Celestia excused herself, seeming rather distracted. “What will your subjects think of you when they learn the truth?” Author's Note The name ‘Solanales’ is in fact the higher classification of a plant. Credits to whoever can figure out what plant it is. Congenital Analgesia is in fact a real condition, also know as “Congenital Insensitivity to Pain”. As the name suggests, it’s the inability to feel pain. I gave Pound Cake this condition to explain why he’s always being destructive. This is intended to be a reboot of my original “The Dark Defender” and “Project Cyba” series, taking place 5 years after the Season 6 finale.
02 - The Foreverfree Empire“Come on, Ecko. I know you don’t like going to the doctor. But it’s for your own good,” Fluttershy said as she attempted to coax a young filly to follow her out of the cottage. The filly was gray…just gray. There wasn’t more to say about the filly other than she was a gray pegasus filly. Her mane and tail were somewhat unkempt, but resembled Fluttershy’s mane and tail somewhat. She also had Fluttershy’s kind and gentle eyes. Though her eyes themselves were not normal. Her eyes had no pupils and were just a gradient of grays, becoming white where the pupils should be. Ecko was born without the ability to perceive sight. But it wasn’t her blindness that was the strangest part. The strange part was that to compensate for her blindness, Ecko was born with the ability of echolocation. Twilight theorized that perhaps this was caused by some residual magic from when Fluttershy had become Flutterbat. “But why don’t other kids my age have to go to the doctor as much as me?” the gray filly questioned, apprehensive about leaving the cottage. “It’s complicated. But because your brain is unable to process sight, it means your brain is different. We don’t know how this will affect you in the long run,” Fluttershy tried to explain, “It’s one thing that you can’t see. But you’re echolocation means that your brain can process what most ponies can’t. Again, we don’t know if that will have an affect on you in the long run, since ponies aren’t supposed to be able to see sound.” “But I can’t see sound. I’m blind,” Ecko said with a hint of sarcasm. The change in her tone was so evident that Fluttershy could hear her smile, “You know what I mean,” Fluttershy sighed in frustration. As much as she loved her daughter, the only other pony who frustrates her this much was her brother, Zephyr, “You use sound as an alternative to sight. Besides, you shouldn’t be able to hear a smile, yet I could hear your smile.” “So does that mean you have the reverse of echolocation?” Ecko asked, walking up to her mother, no longer apprehensive of going to the doctor. Fluttershy just rolled her eyes, knowing that was one thing Ecko couldn’t detect with her echolocation. Echo was still young. Still at an age where her mood can turn on a dime. And Fluttershy will sometimes have to use that to her advantage. It’s a case where patience is a virtue. After what felt like a long train ride home, Twilight returned to her castle. She was greeted by Spike and Starlight Glimmer as always. But her focus was on the documents she’s been given by that strange librarian, Solanales. She wasn’t sure how much she’d trust him. But if there’s something about Equestria that she doesn’t know about, she wants to learn. Starlight and Spike were confused when Twilight just passed them by with little more than a nod and wave. But they knew Twilight well enough that it most likely meant she had something to read and wanted to get started right away. Up in Twilight’s room, Twilight put away her stuff before getting straight to reading the documents. Solanales’ words echoed in her head… ‘What I have will change your view of the history of Equestria, as well as things you may not know about the princesses. The fact is that the history you may know is not what it seems.’ Was it possible that the true history of Equestria was not what is taught in schools? Twilight wondered why Celestia would lie to her subject about something like that. But then she remembered something else the librarian said… ‘Just know that you may not think of the princesses the same way after reading these documents.’ Was it possible that the princesses had secrets to their past worse than the Nightmare Moon incident? But even if that’s the case, the past is in the past, and what matters is who the princesses are now…right? Twilight was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn’t realize that she was subconsciously stalling for time out of worry of what she may learn. But one more thing came to mind that the stallion said that was more than just stalling… ‘I trust this knowledge to you, because you have a desire for knowledge.’ How did he know that she had a desire for knowledge? Finally, her mind had nothing more to stall with and she opened up one of the scrolls. It was in fact a map of Old Equestria. Or to be more accurate, it was a Pre-Equestrian map. It was written in an ancient language, referring to Pre-Equestria as Liberum In Aeternum. Twilight had to check another scroll that was magically enchanted to translate ancient languages into modern Equestrian. The name given was loosely translated into ‘Foreverfree Empire’. “Foreverfree Empire?” Twilight questioned, “Is that what Pre-Equestria was called? And does that make the Everfree Forest somehow connected to Pre-Equestria?” Twilight was becoming giddy at learning something new. Twilight saw that the capital city of the Foreverfree Empire was located right where the Everfree Forest was now. It was called Civitas Solis, or ‘City of the Sun’. In the center of Civitas Solis was Templum Solis, or ‘Temple of the Sun’. Checking a modern map of Equestria, Templum Solis was in fact the old castle ruins. “Wow, that castle existed before Equestria! This is so exciting!” Twilight chimed, “And all this information just from a map!” Twilight would study the map more later, perhaps if the other documents referenced a location. So she opened up the tome she was given to her. Thankfully, the language was written in modern Equestrian, or at least modern compared to the ancient language of the map. The History of Queen Sol Caelest and her Children “I’ve never heard of a queen Sol Caelest before,” Twilight said, “If this is the story of her and her children, could the children be Celestia and Luna?” The only way for her question to be answered was to continue reading… It was the second era of Equestria, the era of the queen’s rule. The newly crowned queen Sol Caelest had taken the responsibility of raising and lowering the sun and moon. It had been an exhausting task for the unicorns of Civitas Solis to continue to raise and lower… “Wait, I thought it was Celestia and Luna that took on the rolls of raising and lowering the sun and moon,” Twilight realized. She knew that before the princesses came to Equestria, the sun and moon were raised and lowered by groups of unicorns. But it was Celestia and Luna who took the responsibility though, not their mother. At least, that’s what Twilight thought… …It had been an exhausting task for the unicorns of Civitas Solis to continue to raise and lower the celestial bodies. But the queen had learned to bind her magic with them, making the task second nature to her. Luna was standing on her balcony once again, curious about that foreign yet familiar sensation. It was getting late and was about time to raise the moon. Reaching out with her magic, she grabbed the moon and lifted it above the horizon. Luna turned around to head inside. But instead, she was met by a strange pony, “Your life is a lie, Luna,” the pony said. “What is the meaning of this?!” Luna demanded, “Who are you?!” “Your memories are not your own,” the pony said, motioning towards the moon. Luna turned around to see that the moon wasn’t there. She attempted to reach out with her magic again. But when she did, she found nothing. The moon was there, but her connection to it was gone. Luna turned back to the mysterious pony for an answer. But the pony was replaced by Nightmare Moon… Luna shot up in her bed, a cold sweat on her brow. It was a new moon tonight, and Luna tended to have strange dreams during the new moon. But this seemed different. She couldn’t put her hoof on it though. But before she could think any further about it, a young filly walked into her room. She was an orphaned changeling filly. Or to be more accurate, a changeling/pony hybrid. Her mother, Chrysalis, had been experimenting on changeling eggs as a way to create a breed of changelings that didn’t have to feed on love by infusing pony DNA into them. But ever since Thorax had shown that Changelings don’t need to feed…as well as overthrowing her rule, the project was scrapped. However, one of the eggs she experimented on was a success…mostly. She was a ghostly white filly with a straight navy blue mane and tail with emerald highlights. She also had a unicorn horn. What would make her stick out among ponies was her dragonfly-like changeling wings and her silvery changeling eyes. And her ability to take the form of others didn’t allow for her eyes and wings to change. So she wouldn’t be able to hide among ponies. Thorax had intended on taking the hybrid filly in. But when Luna came and saw her, Luna tended to bond with the filly. And so Thorax allowed the hybrid to stay with Luna. “Mommy, I had a bad dream,” the hybrid filly whimpered, “Can I sleep with you?” Luna smiled. The filly was at such a young age when Luna took her in that she basically imprinted onto Luna as if she were her mother. And seeing as Luna did basically adopt her, it wasn’t a wrong assumption. Luna patted on the bed, “Of course, Dax,” Luna said. The filly, Dax, jumped up onto the bed and snuggled up next to Luna. Luna would help to comfort Dax. But Dax being there may also help to comfort Luna, as the dream she had still laid heavy on the back of her mind. What could it mean? Loss of control of the moon, Nightmare Moon’s appearance, a strange pony who felt foreign…but familiar. Luna would think about it later. Right now, Dax needed her attention. Celestia was in the throne room dealing with some issues. It was getting late. Luna had already risen the moon. Normally, Celestia would be in bed by now. But she couldn’t help but wonder about what it was that Luna had been sensing recently. She had an idea of what it was, but didn’t want to believe it. But at the same time, she wanted it to be true. Celestia was conflicted. And the dream that Luna mentioned earlier didn’t help her mood. As Celestia was lost in thought, Someone barged into the throne room. The guards came chasing after the intruder. But they kept getting deflected by magic. The intruder was a stallion with a maroon mane and muted purple coat. It was the librarian from Las Pegasus. As the guards attempted to grab him again, they were all frozen in place. Or rather, time was frozen. “Hello, princess,” Solanales said, venom in his voice when saying ‘princess’, “It’s been awhile since we last saw each other.” “What is the meaning of this?!” Celestia growled with an uncharacteristic ferocity, “Who are you, and who do you think you are?!” “You’re emotions betray you,” Solanales said in a calm yet cocky tone, “Your words say that you are unaware of who I am. However, your ferocity says that you know exactly who I am. But perhaps you aren’t just playing dumb. I’ll give you a moment to let your conscious knowledge catch up with what you’re subconscious already knows.” It took a moment. But a look of realization came to Celestia’s face. “What is the meaning of this?” Celestia asked in a much more calmer tone, “And what are you doing here?” “I assume the first question is intended to ask why I’m here. To answer that question, it’s simple. I just want a few ponies today to just be aware of the lies you’ve spread. Specifically about me…or rather, what’s not about me,” Solanales explained, “Changing history is one thing. But completely erasing somepony from history can really get under that somepony’s skin. As for why I’m here…it depends. Perhaps I wanted to see you face when you learned that your protégé will learn the truth about you. Of course you could order her to stop and hand over the documents. But then you’d show your true colors and reveal that you are in fact a higher rank than her. If you asked her, I’m sure she’s loyal enough to do as you ask. But then her curiosity will eat away at her until she asks for it back. And if you let her read those documents, she’ll learn the truth anyway. There’s nothing you can do that won’t reveal your true colors. There is one thing you could do. But you haven’t done it in over a thousand years. “Then again, maybe I just came here out of nostalgic sentiment. As I said, it’s been a while,” Solanales said, his tone going from ominous to playful, “But then again, you should know better than to think I’m actually here.” Solanales then evaporated into a cloud that flew out a window. But before the cloud left, Celestia heard the a disembodied voice, “We’ll meet again.” Suddenly, time resumed and the guards who were stuck in mid-air fell to the ground, “Hey, where’d he go?” one of the guards asked. Thinking fast, Celestia came up with an excuse, “I teleported him away from here,” Celestia lied, “He won’t be bothering us again for a while.” Celestia had successfully convinced the guards of her claim, allowing them to leave without concern. But then she felt something in the pit of her stomach. A sensation that she previously thought she had become desensitized to a thousand years ago…guilt from telling a lie. “Apple Bloom, is everything okay?” Scootaloo asked, “Ever since we left the library, you’ve seemed out of it.” It took a few moments for Apple Bloom to get her thoughts together, “To be honest, Ah don’t know,” Apple Bloom said in an almost worried tone, “The last couple of weeks, Ah’ve been havin’ strange dreams. Ah still don’t remember what the dreams were about. But Ah remember feelin’ out of it afterwards. As if Ah were disconnected from my body.” “So what you’re saying is that you had another one of those dreams?” Scootaloo asked. “Ah don’t know. Ah’m not sure what happened,” Apple Bloom said, “While we were at the library, Ah think Ah had one of those weird dreams while Ah was still awake.” “You had a dream while you were awake?” Scootaloo asked. “That doesn’t make any sense. I mean, I’ve heard of daydreaming. But that’s not the same as an actual dream.” “Don’t you think Ah know that?!” Apple Bloom snapped. But then she calmed down, “Sorry ‘bout that. Ah guess this dreamin’ thing is just gettin’ to me. Ah honestly didn’t mean to yell.” “I thought I was the one who needs help getting through a tough time,” Scootaloo said with a slight laugh, “Why haven’t you told anyone about these dreams?” “Ah didn’t think much of it,” Apple Bloom said, “Ah didn’t think it was an issue. And since everyone seems to think Granny’s death was causing stress fer me, Ah started to believe that mahself. And it’s hard to talk about dreams when ya can’t remember what the dream was ‘bout.” “So, you can’t remember any of the dreams?” “No…well, the one Ah had at the library Ah kinda remember,” Apple Bloom said, “Ah remember reaching for a book. But it was strange. It was almost as if Ah were seein’ things from my own eyes as well as from the perspective of the book. And then Ah thought Ah heard a voice sayin’ my name before Ah snapped out of it. That’s when Ah realized Ah never reached fer any book, and that the book wasn’t even there.” Author's Note In case you haven’t figured it out, I was using Latin as the ancient language. “Liberum In Aeternum” actually translates into “forever free”, which is why I said it loosely translates. If I had actually translated the full “Forever free Empire”, it would translate to “liberum imperium in saecula”, which as you can see is a bit long. And I had to translate “forever” and “free” as separate words. “Civitas Solis” and “ Templum Solis” are direct translations of “City of the Sun” and “Temple of the Sun” respectively. As for the name “Sol Caelest”, that’s derived from “sol caelestibus”, meaning “heavenly sun”. As for who she is…no spoilers.
03 - DreamsApple Bloom woke up suddenly. She had become used to waking up from having strange dreams, since it’s been happening alot recently. However, this time was different. Even though she was used to waking up from strange dreams, and even being able to remember that she had strange dreams, what she wasn’t used to was remembering her dreams. The images were fuzzy, not being able to recall what she had seen. But she could remember details about what she heard. Like any dream, the memories were fading already. But there were key details that stayed with her. Mention of a hive mind, assimilation, a changeling king, and a ‘next phase’. The memories were still vague. But compared to previous dreams, she actually remembered these few details. Apple Bloom’s mind was distracted when she heard something from the bathroom. It was the sound of somepony throwing up. And she knew exactly who it was, seeing as this wasn’t the first time. Apple Bloom went into the bathroom, confirming what she already knew. Scootaloo was at the toilet vomiting. She trotted over to Scootaloo and began rubbing her back, “Stomach wake ya up again?” “My stomach came later,” Scootaloo said, shaking her head, “What woke me up was a bad dream.” This got Apple Bloom’s attention, “A bad dream?” “I dreamt about…that…again,” Scootaloo whimpered. “Ah think we both need some comfort,” Apple Bloom said as she hugged Scootaloo, “Ah also had a dream. Ah don’t know if it was a bad dream. Ah jus’ know that it was disturbin’.” Luna opened her eyes to reveal that she was in the ethereal plain. The plain that she uses to enter the dreams of ponies. But what was she doing here? She didn’t make an attempt to enter a dream. ‘How much of what you remember of your life do you think actually happened?’ A disembodied voice asked. “Who’s there? Show yourself!” Luna shouted in a combination of anger and fear. She couldn’t understand where the fear was coming from, “What kind of question is that?” ‘A very valid question. And one that I bet you will get wrong.’ The voice said. ‘I’m curious as to why you’re avoiding the question.’ “We do not avoid questions!” Luna insisted, “And you do not have the authority to make such accusations! If you’re not aware, I am the princess of the night, princess Luna!” ‘I know exactly who, and what you are. The question is, do you?’ The voice asked. ‘And if you’re not avoiding the question, then why haven’t you answered the question yet? Is it possible that you may be afraid of the answer? To be more specific, what do you remember of your life before you met with the Elements of Harmony?’ “We do not understand the meaning of this line of questioning,” Luna said, “But We will answer your questions. Before I returned as Nightmare Moon, I was banished to the moon for 1000 years because of my own jealousy turning me into Nightmare Moon. Before that, I ruled side by side with my dear sister. Together, we brought the day and the night. And we used the Elements to seal away Discord. We’ve also helped seal away king Sombra. Other than that, we generally lived a normal life.” ‘Just as I thought. Your memories were falsely created based off of actual events.’ The voice said. ‘Even if you were who you believed you were, I can confirm that your memories of becoming Nightmare Moon are not your own.’ Luna wasn’t sure what to think about this claim that her memories were false. What was more disturbing was that in the back of Luna’s mind, there was a part of her that believed these claims. “Why do you hide in the shadows? Show yourself!” ‘In time, I will show myself to you. In fact, I already have once. You just woke up before you had a good chance to see me.’ The voice said. ‘But at the moment, I don’t think you’re ready to know who I am. But just as a pointer, what I will eventually tell you is also what Twilight will learn. But in short, Celestia has been lying to you, as well as all of Equestria. Until next time, perhaps you should take into consideration what the true purpose of the Tantibus is.’ Luna still didn’t know what to think. “Wait, before you leave, tell me how you’re able to enter my dream.” ‘The same way you can. You’re not the only one gifted with dreamwalking abilities.’ Luna sat up in her bed. Somewhere in Equestria, there was another dreamwalker. And this concerned her. But her thoughts were silenced when she heard small hooves walking into her room. It was Dax. “I had another bad dream,” Dax said. Luna’s thoughts about her own dream took second place at the moment. Luna patted at her bed, “Come here, Dax,” Luna said. She was becoming concerned about these bad dreams that Dax is having. And it disturbed her that for some reason, she couldn’t enter Dax’ dreams, “Tell me what your dream was about.” Twilight had become a bit obsessive compulsive about learning this new information about Equestria, this alternate history. She was known to pull all nighters before when studying. And this was no exception. Twilight still didn’t know who Queen Sol Caelest was other than being the princesses’ mother, has yet to find anything relating to princess Celestia, and that princess Luna had a twin brother named Nightshade. Why has Celestia never mentioned a brother? Queen Sol Caelest ruled Liberum In Aeternum with an iron hoof. Though her laws were just and fair, the punishment for breaking those laws were less than fair. The penalty for any illegal action was death by exsilio solis… Twilight once again translated. This time, it made her hair stand on end to see what exsilio solis translated to. Death by ‘banishment to the sun’. At least her laws were fair. This however was a problem, since these punishments were decided before nullo diligitur,… Once again translating, Twilight saw that ‘nullo diligitur’ translated to ‘trial by jury’. …resulting in many ponies never being given the chance to defend themselves, and many innocent ponies being executed by exsilio solis. It was fifty years before the flaw in the queen’s legal process was brought up. There was a case where a pony was executed. However, Princess Luna had witnessed the crime take place. And she saw that it was the victim that was executed, not the law breaker. The actual guilty party had stolen an art piece from a museum and planted the art piece in someponies home, accusing them to be the thief. And the fact is that this pony had been causing crimes and placing the blame on others for years, sending several innocent ponies to their deaths. Princess Luna told Prince Nightshade about it, and together, they told Queen Sol Caelest. And with this new information, the true criminal was caught and punished. But the prince and princess had seen the flaw that the current system created. Seeing as their mother had a higher authority than them, they couldn’t just overturn their mother’s system. However, they were still rulers of the land and did have a say. And even though they couldn’t convince the queen to stop exsilio solis, they could add their own system. This system that was set up had become nullo diligitur. Nullo diligitur wasn’t a perfect system, since innocents could still be wrongly accused. But it did drastically lower how many innocent ponies were wrongly punished. And though Queen Sol Caelest was irritated that her children created their own system without her consent, it was a system that worked. And she was proud of them for wisdom. Twilight had never realized just how scary it must’ve been to live in those times. Not only did you have to fear breaking the law, there was also a time where you had to fear being accused of breaking the law. With this new system in place, a whole new government was enacted… Twilight continued reading to see this government would be called Equestria, and with the size of the Everfree Empire as big as it was, it couldn’t all be governed from one place. So Luna and Nightshade split from each other and the queen in order to disperse the government ruling. After splitting up and governing their own areas, this also created a rift between the three pony nations. Earth ponies were drawn towards Prince Nightshade, who was strong willed and understood the value of hard work. Pegasi were drawn towards Princess Luna, who was a free spirit and understood the value of togetherness. And unicorns were drawn towards Queen Sol Caelest, who understood the value of power. This divide cause Liberum In Aeternum to be separated into three separate governments, each having different values. Author's Note This chapter ended up being shorter than I had wanted. But I had run out of dream ideas and had wanted to update, since it’s been longer than I had wanted since my last update.
04 - PreparationsAt Fluttershy’s cottage, Fluttershy was putting some food in a picnic basket to get ready for a family get together, though the get together wasn’t just for her family. It was a multi-family get together for the families of all her friends’ families. Of course Discord was involved too… “Why are you packing for the picnic now? The picnic isn’t for another two days.” …even if his involvement was only to play the part of the Peanut gallery. “It never hurts to be prepared ahead of time,” Fluttershy said cheerfully, “You should try planning ahead sometimes.” “What’s the point of planning when you can have anything you want at the snap of a talon?” Discord said before snapping his talon and summoning a life sized Fluttershy plushie. “And what kind of example would that set for Ecko?” “Fine, I’ll try it your way.” With that said, Discord summoned a tray of cookies before dramatically falling down in mock pain, “Oh, the preparation! It hurts!” Fluttershy tried to keep a straight face. But she couldn’t help but giggle at his antics, “You don’t have to do any planning right now. I just don’t want you making Ecko think planning ahead isn’t worth it.” “But two days just for a picnic?!” Discord exclaimed, “I think you’ve been friends with Twilight for too long.” “Perhaps,” Fluttershy said as she poured the contents of a teapot into a pitcher with ice, “But part of it probably has to do with being a mother. Being a parent is a lot of work. And so it helps to have some planning skills.” “Which you got help with from Twilight,” Discord added. Ecko then came down the stairs with a proud look on her face as she trotted up to her mother, “Mommy, I packed the picnic blanket like you wanted!” “That’s great, honey!” Fluttershy praised. Ecko then squeaked in shock when her mother’s voice was coming from the left of her. With her echolocation, she saw the figure of her mother standing in front of her…and a second form of her to the left of her by the table. Seeing as the voice came from the other Fluttershy, Ecko hesitantly reached forward. When she touched what was in front of her, she realized that that Fluttershy was just a plushie. Discord then began cracking up in laughter…figuratively and literally. “What is he doing back here? And why now?” Celestia had asked herself as she had paced back and fourth in her room, “I thought he was gone for good! It’s been over a thousand years since I’ve seen him last! Of course I never expected him to forgive me after all these years. But what drew him here now? Was it Luna? No, he would’ve sensed her arrival years ago.” “Aunt Tia, is something wrong?” Celestia was so focused on her own musings that she hadn’t noticed Dax come in, “Mom’s been worried about you recently. And I’m starting to worry too.” Celestia looked down at Dax, a tear forming in her eye. Celestia always felt a twinge of guilt whenever she saw the young hybrid changeling. She reminded her of the secrets of her true past that she’s only recently started thinking about again. “I’m sorry to worry you, Dax,” Celestia said with a sigh, “I have had something on my mind lately. But I promise it’s nothing to concern yourself about.” Though her words were true, they were also deceptive. Even if Dax or Luna wanted to help, there was nothing they could do. “Okay!” Dax said cheerfully before heading out. But she stopped for one final question, “We’re going to Ponyville for the picnic in a couple days, right?” “Of course we are!” Celestia replied with a cheerful laugh. With one last smile, the hybrid changeling trotted out of the room. Celestia then gave a sigh once she left, relieved that, at least for the moment, she didn’t have to make excuses. But then something occurred to her, “He wasn’t drawn here because of Dax, was he?” A dark figure was lurking in the Everfree on his way to the castle of the two sisters. But he got sidetracked as he saw a Zebra picking herbs. The figure took the form of a dark red miasma and hid in a bush to watch. As he got a closer look, he saw that the herbs she was taking had no nutritional or medicinal value. But Zebra’s were known for their potion making skills. He recognized the plant as aetate grass, a mildly poisonous grass. “Come out and show yourself to me! Otherwise leave and let me be!” The zebra called out, “I know you’re there in that bush! Will you come out now, or shall I give you a push?” ‘How’d she know I was here?’ The figure thought to himself before replying, “If you know I’m here anyway, is it really necessary for me to reveal myself?” Because of his miasmic form, the voice seemed to be part of the wind itself. “There’s no need to hide if you’ve been found! Come out from the darkness and stand your ground!” “If you insist, I’ll come out and stand my ground. But it is the darkness to which I am bound,” the figure said, mimicking Zecora’s rhyming. The miasmic form left the cover of the bush and went into the shadows to take solid form. He then stepped out of the shadows to reveal himself. He was a large black alicorn with a dark red mane that seemed to flow like an ethereal fire. His eyes were a piercing red with slitted pupils like a cat. Seeing this new figure startled Zecora, “Nightmare Moon?! No, that is not you. But her power is what yours is identical to. How can it be that you exist, when the elements’ power should resist?” “Nightmare Moon…so, is that what mother has named the Tantibus?” The dark alicorn questioned, “It’s fascinating what you learn in history…” “…But the truth is not what we see,” Zecora finished in rhyme, “My clan’s history has been passed down every century, and eventually made their way down to me. A tale gets taller each time it’s told. But the core of the story stays true and bold.” “If not documented in writing, memory is not a reliable source of events that have happened millenia ago,” the alicorn said calmly, “But if it holds a glimmer of truth, then perhaps the past is not lost after all. The alicorn was about to leave, returning to his main focus. But what Zecora said next stopped him in his tracks, “If what the stories say is true, then what happened to Luna can be blamed on you.” What happened next happened to fast for the eye to see. But the next thing the zebra knew was that she was being held up against a tree with a magical aura around her neck ready to squeeze if she said the wrong thing. He then looked at her cutiemark, “I should’ve known you were a member of the Rana clan!” He growled. “Are you really going to judge me, based solely on my family tree?” Zecora asked, struggling, “Didn’t you support trial by jury? Or do you desire to judge me in a hurry?” “What reason would I have to trust what you have to say?! You’re a Rana!” the alicorn growled, his eyes glowing with rage as he tightened his magical grip around the zebra’s neck. In a hilly field (where there was plenty of soft grass), a couple of colts where wrestling with each other, both having the desire to become a member of the EWE. The first was Sweet Apple, a purple unicorn with a short but fluffy red mane and blue/green eyes. Although Sweet Apple was younger than the other colt, he could easily take on a pony older than his opponent. Although, so could his opponent. The other colt was a cream colored pegasus with a brown, short, slightly spiky mane, with brown eyes to match. He was Pound Cake. His ability to take on older opponents was for a different reason than because of Sweet Apple’s Strength. Pound simply didn’t let pain stop him…because he felt no pain to begin with. His congenital analgesia prevented him from feeling pain. This explained why he was constantly destructive as a foal. He had a desire to test his limits, not having the ability to be aware of said limits. He couldn’t feel pain, which often earned him many visits to the doctor. Off to the side was Pumpkin Cake, who was reading the book she took from the library. She wanted to learn more about her brother’s condition and see if there was any way to cure it. Though she doubted that the doctors would lie about there not being a cure, she still had hope. If nothing else, at least she got to learn more about it. As Pumpkin read, another pony approached. It was Ecko, who needed to get away from Discord for now. Though he was fun at times, there were other times where he simply made things awkward. “Hi, Pumpkin,” Ecko said, causing Pumpkin to jump out of her skin, “Oh, sorry.” After catching her breath, Pumpkin replied, “Don’t be sorry. It’s just that you’re so quiet on your hooves. I swear you could walk through a forest with several twigs and dry leaves on the path, and I bet you wouldn’t even make a sound then.” She then realized she went off on a tangent, “Sorry about that. Is it too late for me to say ‘hi’ back?” “Well, you just did, I guess,” Ecko said with a chuckle, “It’s not that I try to be sneaky. It’s just that I am. Sometimes, if I didn’t know I were a pegasus, I’d probably believe I was a unicorn who was subconsciously creating a silencing spell on my hooves.” “Well, pegasi are naturally lighter than other races,” Pumpkin said, “But there’s just something about you and how silent you are that seems almost unnatural.” See Ecko lower her head in shame made Pumpkin reevaluate what she said, “I didn’t mean that in a bad way! I just mean there just seems to be something special about you!” “Whether I’m weird, special, or just different, I just sometimes wish I wasn’t,” Ecko said, “Sometime I wish I was normal and could just blend in with the crowd. Even when I don’t use my echolocation, I can still feel ponies’ eyes looking at me like I’m different. Sometimes I feel like they think I’m a creature from the Everfree Forest or something.” “Considering that your mother has a stare that almost seems supernatural, she can talk to animals and understand them, and was able to…befriend Discord,” Pumpkin said, reevaluating her original intent to use the word ‘tame’ to describe Discord, “Perhaps there is some otherworldly aspect about you that was inherited.” “Have you ever seen my mother get angry?” Ecko asked. “No.” “Well, if you have, you’d realize that that is otherworldly,” Ecko giggled. “The idea of you mother getting angry is otherworldly in my opinion,” Pumpkin said jokingly, “I just hope she doesn’t find out about us talking about her getting mad.” “Well maybe I would be able to sneak away unnoticed before she knew I was involved,” Ecko said. “And leave your best friend all alone to deal with her?” “I’m sure I can make new friends.” The banter between the two continued, leading from angry Fluttershy to making new friends to, for some reason, cupcakes. Eventually, the conversation lead to the reason why Ecko was here, and how she needed to get away from home because of how embarrassed she was about thinking a plushie was her mother. Pumpkin giggled at the idea, but immediately apologized. Their conversation was interrupted when they heard a sickening thud. The two fillies turned towards the wrestling match, where Pound had been thrown into a tree with the force of Applejack bucking an apple tree. Sweet Apple ran up to Pound, worried that he may have hurt him…before reconsidering that idea. The fillies ran to Pound, also worried that he may unknowingly be injured. However, Pumpkin was more worried, since unlike Ecko, she could see the multiple bruises. “Don’t worry, I’m fine,” Pound said confidently, not feeling any pain, though he was starting to feel a throbbing in his side where he hit the tree. “Fine?! That impact sounded like it could’ve broke you in two!” Ecko exclaimed with a sense of panic in her voice. “And don’t tell me you’re fine when you have all of those bruises!” Pumpkin added, only adding to Ecko’s own panic, “We should take you to the doctor to make sure there’s no internal damage!” As much as Pound wanted to protest, he couldn’t ignore the throbbing in his side, or the panicked look in Ecko’s eyes, “Well, I guess if I’m to train to become a wrestler, I should do it when I’m in my top condition,” Pound said, too prideful to drop the tough colt routine. But there was something in the tone of his voice, something only Ecko would’ve picked up on, that was like he was saying to her, ‘I’m sorry I scared you’. This was a common occurrence between the two, where Pound would say one thing, but mean something else, and Ecko being the only one to pick up on the hidden meaning. This also creating a misconception with Ecko, since she would always smile or blush (or both) at what he said, leading others to believe Ecko had a thing for the tough colt act.
