The Story of Highwind, As Originally Chronicled by the Lady Rubycast
When a stallion takes on the title and responsibilities of Brother Veritas, he forsakes all elements of his previous life. All titles, lands, and inheritances are declared forfeit. The stallion even forsakes his old name in favor of the moniker he takes up. It is a difficult life, particularly since the current Keeper of the Archives of Truth is forbidden from leaving the Archives with the sole exception being one single day in the whole of a year.
Of course, now that there are no physical Archives, that rule may need to be re-evaluated.
Across the centuries, those who bear the name of Veritas use their ‘free day’ in various ways. Some go get rip-roaring drunk and stumble back to Archives reeking of cheap mares and cheaper libations. Some take day trips to far and exciting places with the use of advanced teleportation spells. A select few have even married and maintained families by using their ‘free day.’
I imagine they must have the most understanding families in all the world.
As for myself, I tended to use my ‘free days’ to wander Canterlot and speak with anypony I might come into contact with. These chance meetings often became correspondences and friendships that lasted for years.
On occasion, they even tell me things that belong in the Archives.
Such was the case of the Lady Rubycast, a Canterlot noble whose family dates back to the city’s earliest days. In the course of our friendship, we discussed many things about our land’s history… and she helped to fill in a piece of one of Equestria’s great puzzles.
I would not venture to say that the love life of Princess Luna is public knowledge. Now, with that being said, the Princess of the Night has almost always been seen as a romantic figure since most passionate trysts traditionally tend to take place beneath her gleaming moon. Therefore, it is not a difficult connection to make that Luna would have and… interesting romantic history.
The Archives held testimonies from four of Princess Luna’s most notable suitors; Starswirl the Adept, Busara the Wise of Zebora, Esmeralda of the Crystal Empire, and the student Nevermore. Sadly, I was unable to get one of the most important testimonies, that of the sire of Prince Moon Shadow, before that stallion's unfortunate demise.
Ah well. I suppose we’ll never truly know what was going through the mind of ~~Prince Shining Armor~~ Captain Nightshade when he decided to father a foal with the Mare in the Moon herself.
In any case, I've decided to include the story of High Wind in this new smaller version of the Archives of Truth. The nearest I can figure, High Wind would have become Luna's lover quiet early in her rule as the Wonderbolts (which figure prominently in the tale) were founded well before the Zebra crisis that Luna and Busara set off.
This is the tale of High Wind, one of Princess Luna's numerous lovers over the centuries. It was told to me by my grandmother when I was still a young pony. I've decided that since the Canterlot Dramatic Society has withdrawn their support for my tragedy based on the old story, the tale should be enshrined forever in a place where it will be safe from the rigors of time.
As per your request, Brother Veritas, I am entrusting the tale to you. I hope it finds a home with the testimonies of the Night Princess' other lovers.
High Wind was a pegasus, born in Cloudsdale to simple factory workers Cloudy Specks and Dashing Snow not long after the city was founded. Just like most of his family, he had a coat the color of the sky and a mane as white as the clouds. His cutie mark was a white and black flag, a sign marking his love of racing. He was his parent's first child and had one little sister to call his own.
For years his family had been nothing but factory workers, either creating snowflakes, rainbows, or clouds. High Wind knew this life wasn't for him ever since he was a young foal, and his cutie mark proved it, but he wasn't sure what he wanted to do or become. Luckily his parents were supportive of him, wanting only the best for their child. They happily took him to the Cloudsdale races and used their meager earnings to purchase him books and other materials on his favorite sport.
Sadly they were both killed in a terrible factory explosion not long after his sister's birth. The siblings were sent to live with their maternal grandparents, who were not nearly as supportive of his dream as his parents had been. They were cruel and uncaring, and the next few years were spent in a malaise of misery and melancholy.
One day, several years after he had come of age, High Wind's life would change forever. Escaping from his grandparents’ house for a few hours, he flew to Canterlot. He had heard rumors of some event held in the castle's grounds where hoof-picked pegasi would race for Princess Luna's entertainment. This event would happen every month, but it was not open to the public. It was a private event that only royalty was entitled to watch in the castle's garden.
Security was light in those days and, after finding an opening in the fence that surrounded the garden, he hid in the hedges and watched. There were five ponies all lined up in a row, dressed in the same dark uniform. Princess Luna was seated on a throne on the sidelines, watching them from above. She slowly raised her hoof and when she lowered it the ponies flew.
High Wind watched in amazement as the ponies flew at top speed. They only flew a few times around a huge circle, but it was still amazing to him. The way they flew with passion, determination, and speed was like an art. He soon realized that this is what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. Every month on the same day he would sneak away from home and watch the ponies, which he later learned were named the Wondrous Flyers, race. He slowly learned each of the racer's names and who won the most, but what he couldn't figure out was how they became the private entertainers for Luna. It wasn't until a full year had passed that he would get his answers... and that was only after he was caught.
He had been watching from his usual spot when he felt a tug on his tail. He was pulled out from the hole with a small yelp by a Royal Guard. Before the young stallion could explain, a mare's voice spoke for him. It was Princess Luna, and High Wind was struck dumb at seeing her beauty so close for the very first time. When pressed for answers, he confessed that he had been sneaking in and watching the races for over a year. The young stallion's perseverance amused the Princess of the Night and she ordered the Guard to release him. After proper introductions had been made, Princess Luna shocked High Wind by inviting him to attend the monthly races as her personal guest.
In the days and nights that followed, High Wind and Princess Luna became close. He learned that to join the Wondrous Flyers, he would have to compete in a special race that was held only once every four years. Many would join, but only a few were chosen. The race was not only about speed, but also about guts, passion, and determination. High Wind was determined to win the race. Over the next four years he trained and visited Princess Luna every time he could escape his home at night. They would talk and joke for hours until the sun came up.
It wasn't long before High Wind fell in love with Princess Luna. He knew she could never love a regular pegasus like him, so it came as a shock when she accepted him as a lover. His days were filled with hardship and stress, but his nights were filled with the love and passion only lovers could understand. He was content with his life... until the fourth year came.
High Wind won the race, but what's more he knew he had showed all of the qualities it took to become a Wondrous Flyer. All of the stress from his grandparent's disapproval, the sting of their words, the sadness from being forced to work a job he hated, would finally pay off. He could quit the job at the factory and finally enjoy life completely with Princess Luna by his side.
When he didn't hear his name of those who would become Wondrous Flyers, he felt his heart break before panic rushed in. Why hadn't he been chosen? Why would he have to suffer another four years of stress before he could compete again? He confronted Princess Luna and her reasoning finally broke him. She told him that knowledge of their affair had become public knowledge and that she, in good conscience, could not place him among the elite without accusations of nepotism.
When pressed for why she had not told him earlier to save him from embarrassment, she confessed that she hadn't believed he would win.
High Wind felt something snap inside of him. All he felt was rage; rage at his parents dying and consigning him to a miserable existence, rage at his grandparents for dominating him and crushing his dreams... rage at everything!
He left Princess Luna without a word and made dark plans.
The next morning, just as the sun rose, he killed his grandparents in their sleep. He carefully cleaned himself before leaving for the castle. It wasn't unusual for the guards to see him and they said nothing as he flew into Princess Luna's bedroom, not knowing what he hid under his wing. He stalked up to Princess Luna's bed as she slept. His eyes were dull as he looked down at the alicorn he had once loved. Slowly he pulled the dagger, still sticky with his grandparent's blood, from his wing and raised it above his head. He felt nothing as his hoof plunged down, planning to stab her in her heart... but he did feel the magic aura that suddenly surrounded his hoof.
Princess Luna had awakened and now held him in her magic. The last thing he saw was the pain and betrayal in Princess Luna's eyes before he was hit with a blast from her magic.
He was placed where all the traitors of Equestria were placed at the time; in Canterlot Castle's gardens as a statue. Over the years he was forgotten, only remembered by Luna... and his sister who would later give birth to colt. The Wondrous Flyers were renamed the Wonderbolts not long after Luna's banishment and became more about acrobatic tricks rather than racing.
I've heard rumors, Brother Veritas, that the bloodline of High Wind the Betrayer continues to this day. One of the current Wonderbolt recruits is a mare called Fleet Foot, and I hear that she just might be High Wind's sister's great-great-great-great granddaughter.
An appropriate end to the tale, wouldn't you say? That somepony in the family finally made it where High Wind always deserved to be?
There is a statue of a pegasus in the royal gardens that's different from all the rest. He wears no armor, no uniform. He simply stands, scowling. There is no plaque and no identifying mark upon the stallion.
It's funny, but I've never been able to stare into his eyes for very long. They make me feel anxious and angry.
And brokenhearted.
The Doom That Came to Tambelon
A number of great civilizations have risen and fallen in the relatively short span of time that Equestria has existed in it’s current form. Saddle Arabia was once the pinnacle of modern civilization and scholars still debate just how advanced the original residents of Stalliongrad were in their prime.
Very little is written about the great city of Tambelon, stronghold of a long extinct race of rams. What we do have is this short bit of writing from Der Vermis Mysteriis by Sir Ludwing Prance, a compendium of some of the more… shall we say maddening? Yes. Maddening portions of Equestrian history.
There lays in the Frozen North, just at the start of the mountains that lead to the Crystal Empire, a rather peculiar formation. There can be found there a number of stone monoliths, crudely carved and spaced unevenly. They stand at various heights and have been scrubbed smooth by the elements over the centuries. They encircle an enormous silver lake that never ripples, not even when rocks tumble from the nearby mountains. It is a cold, unnerving, and unnatural place.
This place, this tomb that infects the hearts of the bravest ponies with the keenest sense of fear and unease, was once the great city of Tambelon.
Tambelon. The very name of the city conjures images of the greatness it once held so many years ago. High towers of polished stone that held magical academies and thousands of tomes of ancient and powerful magics. Tambelon, a city where knowledge was prized more than any gold or gems. Tambelon, where the scholars of forgotten civilizations passed through and added their own immense knowledge to the endless libraries the city held.
In the olden days of Equestria, magic was studied and watched over by a race of rams. Blue of fur and red of eye, they studied and catalogued the primal and ambient magics of this land all in the name of simple knowledge. When the nation of Equestria was founded, the rams sent envoys to the rulers with gifts of great magical relics and tomes of incredible and beautiful magic. The rams gave these gifts freely and asked for no gifts in return.
All they asked was to be left alone to continue their studies.
As time passed, a dark shadow fell over the city. A ram called Grogar was accused of dabbling in necromancy and seeking one of the Forbidden Magics; that of immortality. Grogar argued that his researches were necessary as rumors had already reached Tambelon that the ponies had new leaders; twin mares that had fallen from the stars and appeared to be beyond aging. The city’s high council brushed off Grogar’s claims that the ponies would inevitably invade them for their knowledge and advised him to leave. The necromancer left peacefully, but as he left the word DOOM was on his lips.
Grogar left, Tambelon prospered… and time would prove him right.
Drawn north by tales of a great city made of crystals hidden away in the mountains, ponies began to travel through the lands near to Tambelon. At first, the rams gave food and shelter to these weary ponies, trusting that their original agreement would be kept.
That trust would prove to be displaced.
The unicorn tribe that called themselves the Higher Race believed that they were entitled to the ram’s great stores of magical knowledge and research. When they were turned away at the doors of Tambelon, they went mad with rage and attacked. The battle lasted nearly a week and when the smoke at last died the invaders had made away with several tomes of ancient and powerful magic.
It was then that Grogar returned with a new promise; that he could keep the city’s secrets safe forever.
The city’s high council agreed and allowed Grogar to set up his laboratory in the city’s great central tower. There, assisted by an elder pony and a shifty-looking mule, he sealed himself away and set to work. He toiled for an entire year and when pressed for what he was planning, he would give no answer.
One quiet evening, on the eve of the winter solstice, pony travelers camped out on the outskirts of the city began to hear the tolling of a great bell from Tambelon’s central tower. As they watched, a thick silver fog began to fill the city. They could hear from the mist a calamitous noise and the screams of the rams as they were attacked by someone or something horrible. The ponies hid but they could not escape from the sounds of the nightmare. What horror had been called forth from the stygian abysses that could undo a race as well versed in the magical arts as the rams of Tambelon?
As the sun rose, the fog disappeared into the ether and the ponies beheld what had once been the great city of Tambelon. Where once rose elegant towers and academies of the magical arts there were now only the blank slates of black monoliths coated in some viscous slime of unknown origin. Where the great tower had once stood was now a silver lake that never rippled even when the curious ponies dropped pebbles and stones into it.
Of the rams there was no sign.
Doom had come to Tambelon, only it had not come from outside… but from within.
