The Fall of Harmony

Chapter 3: Journey to a broken mind

5 days after the attack

Celestia entered her personal study taking a seat at the desk in the room and let a long sigh escape from her lips. It had been a long four days for her, Luna, Cadence, and Twilight, ever since the attack on the castle by Ruha and the increase in defense it has been harder to keep the calm with the close population. It also doesn't help that there have been no sightings of Ruha anywhere within the Equestrian territory.

As Celestia thought of this she slowly allowed the magic of the sun escape from her body letting the stress of the day seep out along with it. She only let a small amount of magic leave her through just enough for her everflowing rainbow mane deflate and turn into a light pink color. As this change happened the sun princess laid her head on her desk and let out a long sigh as she stared at a very old look journal that sat in front of her face.

She examined the journal that laid on her desk, Celestia knew that the journal was old, older than her by at least a hundred years but she didn't know exactly. The journal itself was made from the hide of a dragon, which made the book itself hard to destroy or damage without the uncounted layers of enchantments that have been placed on it by the owner when they had possession of the old book.

The last thing that could be seen on the outside of the book was a line symbol, most would think it was a dead or non-existent language, but Celestia knew what they really were. The symbols on the book where those of the ancient alicorn alphabet and the big letters on this tinny book, laying on Celestia spelled out AKMAR.

Celestia knew to most ponies that this was a weird name even for an alicorn but it was a normal name in the society that the alicorns once had, an alicorn society it had the meaning of being touched by the moon, a fitting name for one who had been born under the light of full moon or funny and cliche to those who really thought about it. Celestia and Luna changed their names once they joined the ponies of the old days when they were first forming Equestria. She once went by the name Celestial Radiance while Luna went by Lunar Expanse.

Celestia shook her head clearing out the old memories they were not important right now, what was important was sitting in front of her it wasn't here when she had left the room this morning mean that ‘Ruha’ had been here and he left a parting gift for her, again. She looked around her desk looking to see if he had left anything else that she should see, luck was with her as she saw a letter that was addressed to her and Luna though it used there old names which were peculiar.

Celestia took the letter in her magic and carefully opened it and begin to read it to herself

Dear Celestial Radiance and Lunar Expanse,

I hope that this letter and book find you in good health for I fear that if I kept them then they would not survive what I am going to do. It is too late for anyone to convince me not to do this and I look for no pity or forgiveness for what I do, but if you are reading this letter that means my plan failed and my contingency plan is in effect. I am going to need your help as crazy as that may seem, From what I have been able to guess and work out for myself is that if I fail mother and father will banish me for how long I can only guess but two thousand years is the best guess I can put out. Due to the war and the stress on them, it is the best guess. If I create and I fear that I am, that means that the darkness that has taken my mind and calls itself Ruha has spent two thousand years trapped with only himself and he has most likely gone mad, far madder than we already are. I ask that you kill us, show no mercy for we will not, don’t try to solve this like mother or father there is no hope for me I am lost to the shadow of the stallion I once was. One last thing for I end this letter, I have sent my journal to you so that you know why I am doing what I am doing so that you can see the pain that was given to me in the life that they made me live through. It is so you can see why I had to do what I did to the acorns and why I will not stop until the job is done. Remember even now as you read this the mad mind that is in my body will seek no mercy, love, or forgiveness.

With all my love,
You brother Akmar, Dated 9999 year UAR (under alicorn rule)

Celestia placed down the letter on her desk doing her best not to let the silent tears rolling down her face land on the paper. She let herself calm down over the course of a few minutes before she took a small scroll and placed it on her desk. Celestia dipped her quill in the ink jar next to her and wrote a small message, letting it dry before she rolled it and sent it off a blue hit took over the normal green as it travels out of the window and toward throne room of the castle.

Celestia waited for patiently after this and she didn't have to wait long as soon after a loud knock sounded through the room “you can enter Luna” Celestia said trying to keep the sadness out of her voice.

Luna opened the door and walked in the room with a pace that would have the Wonderbolts red with envy, “what is the problem sister” Luna asked “I came as quick as I could after I received your note”

“It is nothing to panic over luna” Celestia replied, “but it is very important that you read this letter” she held the letter in her magic passing it into Luna magic so that she could read it.

Luna took the note in her magic and put up to her face os that she could read the letter that had been addressed to her and her sister. It didn't take Luna too long to read the short letter, like Celestia she had to learn to speed read so that she could do thing more quickly and efficiently, but as she finished the note her reading seemed to slow down as she realized what the letter was saying and who it was from.

Luna looked to Celestia then back at the letter and the journal that had been placed on the desk and asked “Is the contests of this letter truly written by him sister is is this a trick set up by Ruha”

Celestia took the journal in her magic and opened it to the first page while answering “I do not know Luna but if this letter is true then we have a way to answer all of the questions and more right here in this book, we can finally find solid answers on what made our dear brother go mad”

Luna let out a small sigh “while that is true sister we don't know if we can trust this book with all the answers that we seek, we would have to take it with a grain of salt as they say these days”

Celestia nodded in agreement opening the book “of course sister but this a chance that we can not pass up, so let us read the first entry and judge from there” Celestia took a long breath then began to read from the first journal entry.

First journal entry

23 of fall 9443 UAR

Owner Ackmar

I had nightmares again about something that had happened to me when I was a baby, mother and father seemed not to worry and calmed me down before they put me to sleep again. Then this morning mother came to me with this book and said that it might help to keep my thoughts in this book, she even enchanted it to never run out of pages so I don't have to worry about running out of the room when I grow older and continue to write. I just hope that mother is right and that writing in this book will help ease the nightmare that I am having, when I ask all of my friends if they have any they all say not as much as me and they aren't as graphic ether, sometimes I wonder if I am normal.

Celestia finished reading “shall we continue sister”

Luna sat next to Celestia so that she could read the page to herself so that Celestia didn't have to read out loud and answered “yes let us”

Celestia flipped the page then her and luna read to themselves

second entry

24 of fall 9443 UAR

I had a nightmare again last night this one was just as bad as the others, I was in a room everything was blurry and I couldn't really hear anything. I was surrounded by what I think would be alicorns they were doing something to my body, it was like they were putting something on me then would come the pain. The horrible pain it could last even after I woke up from the nightmare, it was like my blood itself was burning me. It hurt so much that mother and father said that was screaming in my sleep. After mother came to comfort me I cried until I fell asleep next to her, I don't want a dream like that again. I just want to be able to sleep without waking up in pain or crying.

As soon as Luna finish reading she looked to Celestia “how old was Ackar when he wrote in this journal”

Celestia looked up in thought “let me think, I believe that Ackmar was banished in the nine-thousandth nine-hundred and ninety-ninth year of the alicorn rule, he was born in 9433 and these are dated 9443, so he is 10 years of age when he wrote these entries”

Luna shook her head her face showing a displeased expression “such a young age to have nightmares, these could have put him down the road that he is on right now, but I do not know for sure”

Celestia nodded in agreement to what Luna had said, she flipped the page and her and Luna read late into the night about the life of an alicorn that was doomed to fail from the start