Keepers

The royals smiled at the keepers. Aevum could hardly believe that they had done it. Especially Caels trial. They should have failed that one. "You will return to the cave shortly, where your powers will eventually be released. However there are things we must discuss first." Nocturne said, his smile beginning to fade.

"You all have questions regarding the trials correct? We will answer them here. But please make it quick, Equestria is falling apart from Discortunal's chaotic reign, and because there is no one controlling the elements properly." Alaria pointed out.

"Celestia and Luna are in constant danger. You need to protect them when you return. They are destined to rule Equestria, and only you can ensure that happens." Nocture added.

"Right, but the problem with that is that they are alicorns like you, thus they age much slower than us. They can't rule at their current age. Because of that, they won't be old enough for another couple thousand years. We'll be long dead by that point." Aevum put in.

Alaria chuckled lightly to herself. "I don't think that will be a problem, your true powers will fix that." She told them. Aevum's eyes widened. "Are you telling me we'll have the lifespan of an alicorn?" He said shocked. Nocturne nodded. "And more young timekeeper."

The four keepers exchanged a stunned glance, but Madia looked a little hesitant. "But won't it be rather... strange watching our family and friends grow old around us? That sounds very disconcerting." She said.

Aevum wanted to comment how she seemed to be talking like him with her big words, but he ignored it and waited for the royals answer.

"Yes, that is an upsetting fact you will have to live with, but along with your release of powers will come an everlasting protection on your family. They will become immune to all natural illnesses until they reach a certain old age." Alaria answered.

"How does that work?" Flain asked. Alaria just smiled. "We'll ask our father when we see him." She replied.

"Hold on, father? Who were your parents, and why do you speak like you both came from the same parents?" Aevum questioned. Nocturne laughed half heartedly. "That's because we did!"

"What my husband means is we both came from the same person." Alaria added before the four keepers could react. "We were not born like you, we have no direct parents. We were created." Nocturne joined in.

"You see when Equestria was first made, the one who made this world created us to govern and guide it." Alaria said to them. "So we consider him our parent for that, and call him our father."

"That makes sense, but I didn't know there was a creator..." Cael said half to herself. Alaria shook her head. "What else would it possibly be? A world as vast and complexly designed like this would have to be created by someone, or something. Especially those prophecies." Nocturne reasoned.

"Good point. But if this creator made you why doesn't he stop Discortunal himself? Why do we have to do it?" Cael wondered. "Because what sort of free and thriving creation would it be if the creator did everything for the created? He already set the base for you, now all Equestria's inhabitants have to do is live out happily and strongly." Alaria responded.

"How would anypony ever learn if they didn't face challenges and problems themselves?" Nocturne put in. Aevum saw the logic in that. After all, that was how all four of them had learned in the past with the trials.

"We learned the same way. If the creator fixed our problems for us then how good rulers would we actually be?" Alaria pointed out.

Flain nodded. "Not very good ones at that." He answered.

"Alright, so what about the trials. May we ask questions about those now?" Cael said moving on.

Nocturne nodded. "Go right ahead, we are more than willing to answer." He told her.

"Right then, so how come some trials seemed more focused on one thing than others? Some were far more physical and others were more mental." Cael asked right away.

"That's because some people are meant to be planners, while others are meant to be quick on the spot thinkers and fighters." Alaria replied quickly. "It's to ensure you're trained properly in your correct focus. Time and Dream are mental, while Space and Law are physical." Nocturne said as well.

"Law's a bit of an all around element though. Like the prophecy said; "not meant to be a fighter" was meant in more of a way that law should focus more on its purpose of order instead of battle." Alaria included.

"So there's a lot of complicated and confusing things about these elements and everything to do with them." Aevum said. "You don't know the half of it Aevum. You'll learn and figure it out over time." Nocturne responded.

"Okay then, what about the trial of space? The ponies there were all ponies we cared about, right?" Flain asked. Alaria nodded. "That was meant as a test for all of you. It tested how well your ability to know when things are and aren't real."

Aevum paused for a moment. "Wait... so they're all ponies we care about. Each one is based on an individual, like mine was my fathers, and Cael's was her sister." He clarified. "Yes, that's correct." Alaria answered.

Aevum turned to Madia. "The one copy was me, and it was connected to you..." He said to Madia. Madia smiled and blushed slightly. She turned away to avoid Aevum's gaze. Aevum heard Cael laugh slightly behind them. Nocturne chuckled lightly.

Aevum turned to them bewildered a moment, then finally turned back to Madia. "But you've only known me for a day, how can you care about me more than anyone else you've met already?" Aevum asked confused.

Madia giggled slightly as she turned back to Aevum still blushing a little. "Because, there isn't a single pony in Equestria that cares about me as much as you do of course!" Aevum's heart jumped as he realized the feeling was mutual.

He thought back to all the time's Madia had been in true danger. He had run to her side to help each time that he could.

"Besides, my family doesn't care much for me anyways." She also said. Aevum's eyes widened. "What?" He said. "They're too busy worrying about themselves and whether I'm sane or not than my well being." She explained.

"Aevum, from the moment you said you believed me about my visions, I knew you were different from all the other ponies I knew." She also added. Cael suddenly laughed. "I knew it! I knew that you were into him Madia." Cael said laughing.

Madia blushed again and tried to avoid Cael and her watchful eyes. "Ah leave her alone, they've been through a lot after all." Flain said to Cael. Cael rolled her eyes still smiling. "Relax Flain, I'm not making fun of her. I think it's cute really!" She responded half sarcastically.

Aevum smiled at last, and spoke. "Well, don't be embarrassed about it. I know I'm not, and I'm not entirely surprised either." He admitted.

Madia smiled warmly at Aevum and Aevum smiled back. "Hey, quick question, when traveling through dreams, did we actually have to hold hooves to do it?" Aevum asked curiously.

Madia looked at the ground embarrassed. "Well... not entirely..." She answered meekly. Everyone laughed. "I was scared when that one dream ended okay? I didn't know what would happen!" Madia tried to make an excuse.

"Don't worry about it, it's fine really." Aevum said to her.

"As nice as this all is, it's important we finish all the questions. You need to return to the real world soon." Nocturne said urgently. "There will be plenty of time to sort out affairs later children." Alaria said smiling.

"Ha! Affairs? Tell them to get married already!" Cael said jokingly. Aevum looked at her awkwardly as she laughed. "Don't take her too seriously Aevum, that's her personality." Nocturne said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

Aevum sighed as Flain went ahead and asked another question. "So, how will our powers be unlocked? Will it just happen once we leave?" He asked. "Not entirely. Once you are fully out of the trials the awakening sequence will begin, and there will be a short time where you will all be completely powerless. This is to prevent using your power while it's out of control. If you could still use your powers during the time they unlocked, you wouldn't be able to control them." Alaria explained.

"But, won't that be dangerous? Being completely without our powers?" Madia questioned nervously. "Yes, it will be dangerous, but it's a fairly short time period that it lasts. You'll feel more powerful than ever afterwords. Just watch out for headaches." Nocturne answered.

"Headaches?" Flain responded sounding a little annoyed. "Great, as if it was bad enough having a rip through the sky to cause that." Cael grumbled. "I understand why the tear would give you a headache, it is a hole in space after all." Nocturne put in. "Not surprised..." Cael said.

"So, what exactly will we be able to do when our powers are unlocked?" Madia asked the royals. "Well Madia, you'll be able to control your visions a little more and use thoughts to manipulate ponies. You can have total power over a ponies mind." Alaria answered.

"Flain will be able to completely alter things like gravity, light, sound and temperature at will without using much energy." Alaria also said.

"An example for Cael would be that she can teleport great distances with multiple ponies and objects with ease. You won't ever risk death teleporting again unless it's ludicrously far." Nocturne joined in.

"Finally, Aevum will have complete control over time. He'll be able to freeze specific objects and ponies in time and manipulate it around others. Time is easily lethal if used correctly." The old king also said.

"Woah, that's... ridiculous." Aevum said in awe. "Ha! Discortunal won't stand a chance then!" Cael said confidently.

Alaria and Nocturne exchanged a glance. Aevum wasn't sure if it was nervous, or unsure.

"Well, I wouldn't say that..." Nocturne said carefully. "You see, because of Discortunal's vast power and strength he has an incredibly powerful resistance to changes in the elements targeted at him or around him."

"In other words, your powers won't have nearly as much effect as they should against him." Alaria rephrased. Aevum's heart sank. "What? But how do we defeat him then?" Cael asked sounding angry.

"With great difficulty. Your powers will be far greater than ours were when we fought him. Discortunal has one weakness. His pride. It causes him to not always pay attention to what's happening around him." Nocturne told them.

"He gets caught up in his own boasting and gloating he becomes an easy target. It's just a matter of how you strike at that moment really." Alaria also said. "He predicts the more cunning and clever tactics, but if you come up with something really unique and smart then he won't see it coming."

Nocturne nodded in agreement. "He also completely overlooks the simple things, so if you do something simple he won't see it coming."

"That sounds... idiotic." Flain said pausing to think of a good word. Alaria smiled. "Everypony has a weakness somewhere, some or more obvious or more ridiculous than others." She pointed out.

Aevum sighed again. There was a lot of information flying around and it was difficult to grasp it all. "If you call this discussion a lot of information, wait until your powers are unlocked." Nocturne said sternly.

Aevum was getting tired of ponies reading his mind.

"When your powers are released, you will automatically be aware of each limit you break, the most noticeable being energy consumption. You'll be learning a lot at one time. That's why you'll likely get headaches." Alaria elaborated.

"How come you ended up here after you died?" Madia asked. "It was set like that for thousands of years. We just didn't know it. We were meant to come here to guide you after we died so you could all stand a chance of success." Nocturne answered.

"We learned a lot upon doing so. Prophecies, secrets and things hidden from us, and all about this worlds design." Alaria included.

"Ah yes, that reminds me..." Nocturne said his face turning grim. "We found one prophecy that worries us greatly. It's concerning the remaining members of the royal family."

"You mean your daughters?" Cael asked. "Yes, and the current captain of the guard." Alaria replied. "Anyway, we saw a prophecy foretelling that our daughters, Celestia in especially, would end up facing Discortunal himself." Nocturne pushed on.

"No, that can't be!" Madia said stepping forward. "They wouldn't be able to raise a hoof against him!" Aevum didn't need any special powers to figure that out. "Which is why we are so concerned. We have no idea what will happen through that prophecy, but whatever it is it could be very terrible. That's why we need to rely on you to protect them." Nocturne reasoned.

"Please, you must save them from Discortunal when that time comes!" Alaria begged. "We are powerless now, we can't even see what happens beyond this place. The only way we can communicate is when you four enter this realm through the gates." She continued.

"Gates? I'm assuming those are the places in the cave we stood on?" Flain figured out. "Yes, but you can take others with you. We'll be waiting here for you to bring our daughters safely after Discortunal is defeated." Nocturne told them.

"We would very much like to speak to our daughters while they live, and tell them many important things about us, their future and themselves even." Alaria said calming down.

"Don't worry, we'll bring them to you perfectly fine." Aevum promised. Alaria smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Aevum." She said.

"You mentioned something about the captain of the guard before. What was that about?" Cael asked. "According to prophecy he will be of great assistance to you. We aren't sure what, but he will do something to make your battle with Discortunal easier." Nocturne responded.

"How could he have any effect on the battle's outcome, considering how powerful Discortunal is?" Aevum questioned. "We can't be sure, but he is very strong and powerful. He isn't captain for nothing." Alaria answered.

"Right, so we should try to find him then?" Aevum offered. Alaria and Nocturne exchanged a hesitant glance. "Well, let's just say you won't have to worry about that." Alaria said. She seemed to be hiding something, but Aevum didn't pry.

"It's almost time for you all to return and awaken your strengths. There's time for you to ask one more question." Nocturne said.

"Aevum, you haven't asked much. Anything you would like to ask them about?" Madia said walking up beside Aevum. Flain and Cael nodded in agreement as they handed over the final question.

"Well, there is one thing I'm a little curious about." Aevum said. "What's that?" Nocturne urged Aevum to ask his question.

"Well, may I have a full explanation of how the false versions of our loved ones worked in Caels trial? There's something I need to be sure of." Aevum told the monarchs.

"Well, they are a special kind of pony which take on the appearance of the loved one of any pony nearby. They are a race known as changills and are very rare. They don't have their own appearances, they just mimic others." Alaria began.

"They have only a few special traits. They have patterns on their bodies and black faded ears, along with bright pure green eyes to make them different from the original pony they copied. Some know how to control this though and mask their unique features." Nocturne went on for his wife.

"The ponies are immediately connected to the loved one, and establish a connection with thoughts and mind. Ultimately it makes it so the changill will reflect the loved one's condition perfectly." Alaria then put in.

Aevum felt his heart stop for a moment. Fear and worry filled his mind as he realized what that meant.

"M-my father's copy... he died without me even touching him! It makes sense now!" Aevum stuttered. Alaria's eyes widened and that concerned look returned. "Oh my..." she said.

"We need to get back, now!" Aevum yelled turning to his comrades. They all nodded in agreement. "Your majesties, please send us back! Quickly!" Aevum asked desperately.

Nocturne nodded, a look of urgency on his face. "Right, beware of your delay though. Good luck keepers." He said quickly. "Please, remember us and make sure we are never forgotten." Alaria said, her eyes filled with sorrow.

"Don't worry, we'll see you again, and it will be with your children!" Aevum promised before the gray realm turned black, and Nocturne and Alaria disappeared.

"Close your eyes. You will fall asleep. When you wake up, you will be in the cave again, and will have become the keepers of Equestria." The royals said together.