Chapters The wind kicked up suddenly startling the wanderer awake. How long had he been asleep this time he thought lethargically. A century, maybe a millennium? 'Not that it mattered.' He thought to himself. There was a time long ago when he kept track of such things, but that time was long past. He sat hunched over with his arms braced firmly on his knees and his hands cupping his chin as he stared into the thick blizzard raging around him. What little he could see was a flat empty waste land devoid of any landmarks.
A familiar pain lanced his chest, but was quickly suppressed.
'What good would such an emotion do me now?'
He briefly entertained the thought of picking a random direction simply walking until he once again tired of it. Seeing the tediousness of such a whim set him squarely back on the path of apathy.
'Maybe another nap.' He thought, 'this time I may get lucky and never wake up.'
The wanderer closed his eyes once again welcoming the release of darkness followed quickly by dreams of a time long ago when his journey was not so lonely. The balm of the past washed over him as he once again saw fields of lush grass and colorful flowers. He could hear faintly the laughter of children as they played in the warm spring mourning so long ago.
Then he was in a vast ruined city.
Smoke billowed from windows while fire lept through the streets. Gun shots rang out followed by screaming, only to be drowned out by concussions of deafening artillery mercilessly raining down from the sky.
A sudden flash of blinding light in the distance silenced everything.
Once again the wanderer awoke, only to find himself floating through a dark void punctuated by twinkling starlight. Though it was impossible to draw breath it hardly mattered to the wanderer as he'd long ago stopped breathing, thinking it was a waste of energy.
He felt regret for his decision, knowing that he may never be able to to enjoy the air of his home again. The planet he'd watched over for so long was now gone he reasoned, laid bare and rent asunder by the dying sun he'd sadly missed the final moments of.
That meant that his slumber had lasted billions of years this time, maybe the next time he woke he would see the end of the universe.
'Would I then be released from this endless journey?' He seethed bitterly.
His sudden agitation gave way to another wave of apathy causing him to close his eyes once more, and give himself again to the peaceful embrace of dreams.
It was with irritation the wanderer had woken up this time.
He could feel the intense heat even through the vacuum of space. The light of the violent galaxy venting powerful gamma rays at him was blinding. Rolling in the weightless void to get a view of his surroundings he was surprised to find the void of space dominated by similar violent young galaxies.
The wanderer could only stare slack-jawed with horror as he pieced together the truth of his surroundings.
He had slept through the end of the universe and into the infancy of a new one.
A convolution of silent laughter consumed him followed by fitful weeping. After what seemed like centuries, he wore himself out and fell into a dreamless sleep which he vastly preferred then to the enticing illusions of the past.
The wanderer awoke once again unable to breath. Not the most foriegn experiance at that point, except for the pressure that seemed to press him from all sides.
When he opened his eyes he found complete darkness. His first thought was that he'd drifted into a black hole and paled at the thought of spending the rest of eternity in the black prison.
His despair was mounting and threated to overcome him until his sense of touch told him the truth of his predicement. It was damp, a chilled wetness that seeped into his very bones.
For the first time in what he could only guess was billions of years he exercised his power.
Willing his body incorporeal, he passed through the press unhindered, sure to keep the pull of gravity below him. As he slipped free of what he now recognized as rock he was met with a brightness that temporarily blinded him.
After a few seconds passed his eyes adjusted and he stared wide-eyed at the scene before him.
Rolling hills and sweeping grass land swept out before him caressed lovingly by the life giving rays of a noon-day sun. Even from his perch high on the last of a range of mountains that dominated the view behind him, he could feel the warmth of the nurturing light.
As familiar as these surroundings seemed, the wanderer found something very wrong about its similarities to Earth.
The more he pondered this the more perplexed he became.
Willing more of his power awake he could sense a another familiar presense, though one he hadn't felt for tens of milleneum before the fall of human kind.
Power. Godly Power. Besides his own.
Looking to what he determined was north-east based off the magnetic field, if that basic logic could be trusted, he saw a radiant light coming from the distance. The power it radiated filled him with both trepidation and nestalgia.
He felt a pull in his chest he had thought lost to the ages. He was curious.
Calling on the oldest of his powers he lightly ascended into the air held aloft by expertly controlled up drafts. With one final look to the fields below his perch the wanderer took off at what he considered a meandering pace, content to watch the landscape rolling slowly below him.
With his power awakened he set it too work scouring below him for any and all information about this hauntingly familier world.
Some distance ahead he could feel the presence of life forms. Letting himself fall below the cloud cover he focused on his vision, enhancing it to view the life forms up ahead before deciding to get closer. What he saw excited him.
Buildings and other signs of civilization doted the flatland in the distance. Around the town he could make out rich forests and the tilled earth of farmland.
After a half an hour of flight he was over his destination.
Deciding on discretion he focused on the light from the sun, willing it to bend around his body and making him invisible.
He landed lightly in an alley way that lead into what he suspected was a market place. Striding purposefully to the main street, confident he was undetectable to more mundane senses, he couldn't help but stop and stare. Instead of a village of humanoids he found the streets populated by brightly colored ponies of varying hues.
The pastel equeans seemed to communicate verbally, though the wanderer couldn't recognize the language.
It was fluid and complex, a far cry from the ponies of his old world that could only whinee or nhay.
He stood there marveling while ponies went about there daily business at the market. Walking over to a busy stall he stooped over one pony, for he was almost two heads taller than the dominutive equines, with a brown coat and mane bartering with the stall owner with what looked like coined currency.
The wanderers' head reeled trying to cope with the strangeness of this world. He needed a name to fit to this place, but could find no sign that might tell him this towns name, not that he would have understood the sign anyway. Having no other option he dipped into the mind of a nearby pony with a blue coat and pink mane that looked almost like frosting.
Before he could concentrate however, he found himself looking at what looked like cupcakes printed on her flank. Looking around he noticed all the ponies in the market place had a picture on their flanks.
Quickly putting that aside for later he focused again on a nearby pony. Gently he turned her thoughts to where she was.
She looked around herself visibly confused. Realization came next to her face, then as if she had been rather foolish she blushed before resuming her window browsing.
The wanderer had a name but couldn't make sense of it. Desiring a translation he dipped into yet another ponies' mind this time referencing words with images and concepts. Finally he got his answer.
'Ponyville?' He thought, confirming that what he gleaned was an accurate translation.
His curiosity sated for the moment he reluctantly lifted lightly into the air and was once again airborne.
He looked again to the north-east, the light he saw was still there, it's gentle yet radiant glow was closer and was outlined in the distance by a castle ornately situated on the side of a sheer cliff.
The wanderer wondered how these ponies could have mastered such a feat of engineering. As he flew at a steady pace toward the castle his thoughts began to wander back to the ponies who's minds he'd touched. These ponies had kind souls and he could tell their sense of community was strong. No matter how deep he gazed he could find no hate or violent nature of any kind.
'This race....' He thought hopefully, 'might just succeed where humanity failed.'
Shaking himself from the darker thoughts that came with the reminder of his failure, he became pleasantly aware he would be at the castle in a few minutes. Except it wasn't just a castle as he had thought earlier. It was a city.
He couldn't help but be impressed by the scale of the construction. The architecture was detailed and flawless. Alabaster marble had been shaped in a way that no tools could possibly presume to. This, he realized, had been shaped by magic, powerful magic.
He focused again on the radiant glow. He found it was coming from the tallest tower of what could only be called a palace. It occurred to the wanderer then that the one he sought my well be the ruler of this realm.
He looked down at himself considering his appearance for the first time.
The cloak he wore was grey, having long lost its true color, and heavily worn. His robes were similarly grey and in taters. And from head to toe he was covered in dirt from being entombed in the earth for who knows how many millennium.
"a few changes will have to be made..." he thought, allowing his power to flow fully. Restoring his appearance to match the measure of his existence.
Princess Celestia moved with grace down the spiral stair case of her tower. While the guards of the palace could be heard long before being seen, Celestia hardly made a sound as she moved with practiced poise toward one of the many castle gardens.
The sun sank low on the horizon casting long shadows over the ornate white marble walls.
She would once again need to perform both the duty of setting the sun as well as raising the moon, and while it had been this way for centuries she couldn't help but feel a stab of loneliness as she raised the moon.
The same moon she had imprisoned her own sister on. An exile that in just under two decades would be broken.
And then what?
She could no longer wield the Elements of Harmony and she knew that her sister would not forgive her either. That left her with only one choice. The mere thought of it made her quail inside
"Princess." said the guard stationed at the entrance to the garden curtly as he came to attention.
"Sargent Silver Lance, I think I'll be fine by myself tonight." Celestia said warmly.
The guard looked like he was about to argue that he should stay, but a warm yet firm smile from his princess told him that in no way was this debatable.
"Aye your highness," he said, saluting smartly before leaving to ponder how the princess knew his name, this being the first time they'd spoken.
When Silver Lance was out of earshot Celestia gave a short bemused chuckle.
She had long ago made a game out of memorizing the name of every guard in the palace, the looks on their faces were priceless every time.
The rumor going around was that they thought she was all knowing and could see all there was to know about a ponies' life simply by looking at them. There were mind reading spells of course, but none that could glean more than surface thoughts without causing damage to the mind, as such these spells were kept deep in a secret vault in the royal library. After all, she would never teach anything that had that kind of potential to cause harm.
Letting go of the thought, she focused on the matter at hand and trotted lightly into the garden.
Alone once again she fell quickly back into her earlier mood, and with practiced ease lowered the sun below the horizon while simultaneously raising the moon to set it on its celestial journey across the sky.
The long shadows of the palace became pools of impenetrable darkness and the glow of the moon covered the alabaster marble in a blanket of deep blues.
It was a cool night of early spring, still clinging to the last vestages of winters chill.
Her subjects would be settling into bed soon, leaving her to her lonely thoughts.
'This is what Luna must have felt,' she thought, guilt settling next to loneliness in her heart.
Princess Celestia stared into the moon in deep thought before she realized there was another soft glow of light in the garden.
The wanderer saw the surprise plainly in her beautiful features and marveled yet again at how expressive these equines were.
He had once again become invisible before landing soundlessly in the garden, taking his time to try and come up with a way to communicate with the noble creature. He couldn't help but see the irony that humanity had been succeeded by creatures that had dominated their early fairy tails.
She was a tall delicately slender alicorn with a coat that put the walls of her alabaster palace to shame, and an etherial flowing mane and tail full with the colors of sunrise.
Curiously, there was a mark on her flank as well, this one was a radiant sun.
This close to her he could now easily tell she was the source of the power he'd felt. An immortal like him, and when he saw loneliness in her soulful eyes he'd dropped his invisibility, unconsciously seeking to comfort her.
Celestia's surprise held her from taking action against the intruder. She had been present at the beginning and knew every form of life, but she had never seen such a creature.
Standing on two legs it was almost as tall as her, excluding her horn, and showed no signs of fur.
She was at a complete loss as to what it could possibly be. It almost exuded light from its pristine white robes and shock white mane, both, like her own mane, flowed without so much as a breeze in the crisp night air. The creatures eyes were a piercing sky blue that glowed with fey light. And she could not deny that, for all it's strangeness, it was majestically beautiful by any species standards
"Who are you?" The question came unbidden and only eliciting a look of confusion from it.
Realizing this wasn't the most accurate question to obtain the answer she sought, she refrased the wording, and therefor the meaning, of her inquiry.
"What are you?"
The confusion on the creatures face shifted to concentration as it looked deeply into her eyes.
She could feel a presence in her mind and was about to force it out, but noticed it was a respectful, gentle probing, focused on the words she'd just spoken.
It opened its mouth as if to speak but no sound came out. With what appeared to be strained effort it took in a breath, as if it had never before had the need to breath.
The second attempt at speech only elicited a long incoherent wheezing sound.
It's lack of ability to communicate brought a pained look to its face. Then, exploding violently in her head with what seemed like a thousand voices each with a different language, it spoke directly to her mind.
Through the cacophony she prepared her magic to strike but stopped, seeing the concern in its features. It was trying to be understood but knew not how to speak her language, in fact it seemed to have forgotten how to form words with its voice at all.
At last the cacophony passed and she heard a single word she understood.
"Please." The word formed clearly in her mind.
As she tried to make sense of the word the creature took a step forward and she was immediately on guard.
"Please." The word again coming unbidden to her mind, this time more gently.
The creature held out it's hands in a disarming manner and took another step, this time more slowly.
Carefully it walked forward until in was only two paces from her and reached out. Celestia's first thought was to throw up a barrier but quickly suppressed the urge. This creature wanted only to be heard and she accepted the hand as it was placed on her head.
It's presence was now fully in her mind, and while it probed every available memory of verbal speech, it stayed respectfully away from her personal memory's, even though through the connection she could feel its curiosity.
She was curious herself.
How could it dig so deep into her mind and yet there be no discomfort that normally came from such efforts? In fact it was like a warm breeze washing over her, leaving her unharmed and refreshed.
At last the wanderer opened his eyes and took a step back, taking in a calm breath no longer straining with the effort.
He recognized the trust the alicorn had placed in him. By allowing him to touch her mind she had shown him a kindness he fully intended to repay.
"Thank you." He said as he felt his heart warm, grateful that those had been his first spoken words in eions.
The smile that graced the creatures features didn't stop at his lips, (she was now certain it was a "he" after hearing him speak) even his eyes seemed to smile.
A long silence past between them before Celestia realized he was waiting for her to ask him her questions from earlier.
Quickly she regained her regal bearing thinking of the questions she wanted answered first.
"My name is Celestia, would you give me yours?" She asked, trying at least to be civil before asking more obvious questions.
"My charges called me by many names, but the truest of these is Ehecatl.". He said thinking for a moment before continuing. "In one of my charges languages it meant "wind", but then again I was called that too. There were many words for the same concept in my home."
Ehecatl's face was almost unreadable as he spoke.
"Very well then, Ehecatl..." Celestia said trying to gauge her guest as she asked the next question. "...What are you?"
"A good question." Mused Ehecatl as a tinge of melancholy filled his voice. "The truest answer I can give is that I..." His expression became distant as he looked for the proper words "...am you. Though if you mean my appearance than I am human."
Celestia was stunned into silence.
Like her?
Was this a being like herself, an immortal destined to bare witness to eternity?
"Why have you come to my realm, Ehecatl?" She asked finally, deciding that finding out this immortals intentions was more important than her personal questions.
"I... don't know." said Ehecatl, who appeared to be mulling something over in his thoughts. "I think I've been here all along, buried deep underground. I'm not even sure how long I slept this time." He paused for I moment in confusion, "you said "your realm". Where am I?"
Celestia gestured for Ehecatl to follow her. He obeyed and followed respectfully behind her.
Moving quietly down the darkened corridors they passed several royal guards some of which looked about to attack the strange intruder. However, seeing the calmness by which their princess lead him, they settled back to their posts casting worried glances after the pair as they proceeded.
After climbing the spiral staircase to her personal quarters, and many reassurances to her quarters guards that everything was alright, Celestia stood in her darkened room with her strange guest.
"Over here please." She said as she lead Ehecatl to the terrace. Her horn glowed as she willed the moon to shine even brighter.
"This..." She began, waiting for the moon to shine at its brightest, illuminating the vast landscape as effectively as a sun rise,"...Is Equestria."
Ehecatl watched the sunrise from the balcony of one of the palace's guest rooms. He hadn't had the chance to use it however, as Celestia and he had been up all night in deep conversation. Though she had answered many of his questions about Equestria, he felt that the questions he had answered about himself were sorely inadequate as Celestia seemed more confused as the night wore on. There was just too much to explain in so little a time.
He couldn't hope to give the full account of humanity's rise and subsequent demise at their own hands in one night. Still, it felt like his duty to at least share his experience with the young goddess of this world. She could learn something from their talks that may avert a similar fate.
As peaceful as the Equestrians seemed, he knew that if life continued to grow conflicts would ensue.
More than anything, he wanted this peaceful world to remain as it was now.
Hearing a knock, he pulled himself from the sunrise and returned to the main room of his quarters.
"I'm sorry to disturb you, but breakfast is ready," said a maid as she opened the door, making way for a cart with silver platters laden with food.
She took a sharp inhale when her eyes settled on the occupant of the room. Her eyes went wide and started to roll as she fainted.
With a thought Ehecatl caught the collapsing filly and gently levitated her to the couch across from him. He was content to let her sleep as he calmly moved to retrieve the cart.
Wheeling the cart in front of the bed, he noticed an ornate gold rimmed mirror across the room. His image played along its surface and he realized how otherworldly it appeared. Deciding a human was strange enough for this world's inhabitants, he forced his appearance to be more subdued. His robes and hair no longer flowed and his eyes no longer glowed with fey light.
He nodded his approval as he sat down to enjoy his first meal in a long while.
"Uuuggghhhh... Wh-what, where am.... What happened?" moaned the maid as she slowly recovered.
"Careful, you just had quite the experience a few minutes ago and fainted."
"Oh," She said trying to steady herself as she got off the couch, "That's not like me at all, I'm sorry to have inconvenienced you."
When the maid rounded the cart to fully apologize, she nearly fainted again at the sight of the speaker.
Reacting physically this time, Ehecatl reached out and steadied the weak kneed filly.
"I did say to be careful." he joked. A smile now playing across his face.
The strange creature's warm countenance reassured her as she gave a cautious smile in return. She was quick to recover this time and looked ashamed at her lack of professionalism.
"I'm terribly sorry sir! The Princess asked me to bring you breakfast and whatever else you may need."
"I'm fine for the moment. Breakfast was delicious by the way." He said motioning to the empty platters.
"Oh! Silly me, I'll just take those for you." said the maid as she wheeled the cart toward the door. "If you need anything else just tell the guard by the door and he'll come and fetch me."
After she closed the door quietly behind her, Ehecatl couldn't hold himself back any longer and burst into a fit of good-natured laughter.
He could imagine Celestia giving the maid instructions to mind a foreign dignitary, intentionally withholding any details, and sending the unwitting maid to fetch her guest's breakfast.
Celestia, it would seem, had an unexpected mischievous side to her.
Sergeant Silver Lance strode purposefully down the corridors of the palace toward the barracks. He was in a sour mood despite the disciplined mask of indifference that he wore while on duty.
After the Princess dismissed him from his post he had chosen to patrol the hallways for an hour before returning to wait out the rest of the night. It wasn't until he was off duty that he heard of the intruder that had confronted her in the palace gardens.
He had failed his sacred duty.
At least that's how the sergeant saw it, and nopony could convince him otherwise. It mattered little that her majesty had ordered him away. Even if his superiors wouldn't blame him, he was going to demand he be punished for dereliction of post.
Rounding the last corner to the barracks, Silver's pace broke as he spotted a familiar face standing casually off to the side of the barracks' arches. His carefully maintained mask faltered as he shot the smartly dressed unicorn a look of disgust.
"Well, it certainly is an honor that you would grace this lowly guard with your presence councilor." Silver sniped with as much venom as he could muster.
"Oh you give me to much credit sergeant." quipped the unicorn sarcastically, "I simply came to see the face of the pony who put our Princess in so much unnecessary peril."
Iniquum Edict was both a royal adviser and an old foalhood rival of Silver Lance.
While they had never gotten along when they were young, their rivalry had grown into something closer to bitter enemies after following the paths of their chosen professions.
Iniquum saw the royal guard as a dead end career where one made little difference to the realm, and Silver saw politics as little more than a game for the power hungry to advance themselves with petty lies and half-truths.
The violet unicorn, taking advantage of the silence as the pegasus guard reigned in his anger, continued his verbal assault.
"Just imagine what would have happened if it had been a zebra agent!" He declared dramatically, pauseing to measure if his words had the desired effect.
They did.
Silver's tenuous hold on his anger slipped, locking the counselor with a glare of open hostility.
"Mock me if you must counselor, but your bigotry is an insult to what Equestria stands for!" as Silver finished, the guards that had patiently watched the exchange from their post at the barracks entrance took a few threatening paces forward, their eyes locked on Iniquum.
The counselor was no foal. If a fight broke out, the royal guard would not help him.
"My! So sensitive today. Very well, I'll leave you to your punishment then." He quipped with a sneer as he turned to leave.
'Damn him!' Silver seethed.
That blasted sneak always brought out the worst in him. Worse still was the counselor's political stance on foreign affairs.
A growing sect of aristocrats and politicians were becoming increasingly paranoid of their neighbors at the border. They were convinced that the zebras, gryphons, and even the dragons were all somehow conspiring against Equestria. Though it helped that the main voice of opposition was the princess herself, lately it seemed that she wasn't focused on the court, like her mind was elsewhere.
Silver had never been to a session of the royal court, but it was the center of much gossip in the barracks.
"Uh, sergeant?" a voice called, snapping him out of his thoughts.
The private that spoke looked at him questioningly until Silver noticed he was still positioned with his wings extended aggressively in the direction that Iniquum had left.
He quickly righted himself and passed under the arches to the barracks without a word.
Books and tomes of various sizes floated from one end of the royal library to the next, gathering at a central point around Ehecatl, where they opened and flipped through their pages as he scanned their contents.
He had started out mundanely enough, sorting through the massive shelves without success before losing all patience. What he was looking for needed to be found before the next time he spoke to Celestia.
There was a slight snag in the form of reading, that however, was resolved by asking the librarian to sound out each character until he could connect the words to script.
The aged librarian had at first been a little shaken playing host to such a strange creature but he seemed to have a passion for teaching and soon forgot any physical differences they had.
Despite the vast amount of literature he had scanned, Ehecatl could find nothing remotely related to myths or religion. From what was he read, it could be assumed that it was generally accepted to worship Celestia as a goddess, but there was nothing on origin or creation, a constant subject of contemplation in any civilization he had ever known.
'Maybe ponies aren't as predisposed to curiosity as humans were,' he thought, absently flipping through another tome about some fairy tale of great evil returning after a thousand years or some such nonsense.
There was only one possibility he could think of for the lack of a creation myth in a species that was ruled by a living goddess.
'She's hiding it from them.'
Ehecatl could think of at least one reason to hide such a relevant fact to history. A mix of sympathy for Celestia and sadness at the failings of his fellow gods in the creation of humanity rose above his curiosity, leaving him in no mood to continue his fruitless search.
He would just have to ask her tonight.
She had asked for his company during the raising of the moon. Seeing the loneliness lift from her delicate features into a warm smile of gratitude when he had accepted her offer only made the question he was going to ask that much more difficult.
Even that, however, was not as audacious as the favor he planned to ask her as well.
The air whirled with movement as the books levitated hastily to their original homes, clearing the room of the sea of knowledge that had crowded its halls.
As he slowly moved away from the central point of the library an aged grey tome with a gold trimmed cover caught his eye. Gently, it floated into his hands.
He worked his fingers over the embossed gold letters of the tomes title, "The Legend of Grey Mane".
It was still mid morning and he was in no hurry. With a thought he ascended lightly into the air, landing in a reclining position on the ledge of a skylight carved into the sloped ceiling.
He spent the rest of the day reading about a mythical thief named Grey Mane, whose life and adventures were said to span thousands of years. The earliest of these myths dated back some thirteen thousand years according to the author.
It was no simple work of fiction, but a collection of similar folklore shared between many cultures. Some of these tales stretched plausibility to its limits, saying that the legendary thief could steal the stars themselves.
This did little to deter him from reading farther, as he preferred such fanciful tales to the bland, predictable nature of non-fiction.
From one side of the world to the other, across seas and oceans, Grey Mane stole one marvelous item after another. From the ruins of ancient cities, from the hands of powerful rulers, from the forgotten hordes of mighty dragons, no treasure was safe from him.
So wrapped was he in the epic, he failed to note the passage of time until the sun was low enough to cast creeping shadows across the tome's pages.
Reluctantly, he dropped from his perch to the library's floor.
He alighted silently and placed the book on a nearby desk for the librarian to sort and set off to the gardens where Celestia had asked to meet him.
The halls of the palace were awash in the varying hues of amber graced by the setting sun as he made his way to the meeting spot. The guards followed him with their eyes, the air of caution thick about them as he passed.
Walking under the entrance arches he could now take in the truly inspired beauty of the palace gardens.
The lush trees and bushes, embraced in the golden colors of dusk, were cultivated in such a way as to balance the vitality of nature with the graceful, magically carved marble architecture of the palace. Situated as an over-sized balcony, the gardens ended abruptly at the lip of a sheer drop lined with marble railing, the view from which encompassed the entirety of the city below and beyond to the panoramic sight of hundreds of miles of plains, woodlands, and mountains.
The effect of such a vast oasis of greenery seemingly floating above a city built from the side of a mountain was truly breathtaking.
Standing at the railing, watching over it all, was Celestia. Her mane, full with the colors of sunrise, flowed slowly with an intangible breeze that defied the the strong winds whipping about her.
Ehecatl took his position beside her without a sound.
Giving him a quick glance she returned to the task at hand.
He watched her out of the corner of his eye as she performed a duty he was all too familiar with. More than anything, he wanted to know what she was thinking at this exact moment, but was respectful enough to not attempt gleaning her thoughts.
Instead, he waited patiently as the sun dipped below the horizon, its light lancing the sky with swaths of color in its final moments before giving way to a cooling darkness illuminated by the pale light of the moon.
"You were almost late." she muttered, breaking the silence in a mock sorrowful tone.
"Sorry." he replied, too deep in his thoughts to realize the prod for what it was.
"You're brooding too much."
"You're one to talk." he said more accusingly than he had intended to. He had meant it as a joke but his own pain had twisted it. "Sorry."
"You've only said three things so far and two of them have been "sorry". You're not off to a very good start." she joked with a light chuckle, attempting to lighten the mood.
"Sor-" he began before cutting of the apology with a sharp caugh.
"You're right. I came here tonight to ask you something," he put his hands on the railing, leaning out as he gazed intently to where the sun had set.
"Funny, I thought you came here tonight because I asked you to," she remarked with playful accusation.
The smile she won for her prod was short lived as he became somber again with eyes still locked on the horizon. His voice was strained when he asked.
"Who was it?" His question was only met with a confused silence before he clarified.
"The sun and moon. Did you know them?"
When he turned to face her the look on her face seemed a map of contradicting emotions. First was surprise, followed by pride, guilt, then pain and sadness, ending in loneliness.
"How do you know this?" her playful demeanor had evaporated replaced with a cold, expressionless stare.
"Then it's true..." reasoned Ehecatl, his thoughts distant.
He didn't even register the sudden change in her voice, or her question, just the confirmation of the truth.
"Did you love them?" He already knew the answer, but he needed to hear it.
Her cold stare melted with the blazing heat of anger few in existence had ever witnessed from the normally gentle goddess.
Ehecatl felt no fear.
He had faith; Faith that Celestia and he shared the same pain, the same loss, and believed she had felt the same from him.
The fires behind her eyes dimmed as she calmed herself, but did not vanish.
"I did."
"Were they close to you?" he asked when she failed to volunteer anything further.
"My mother and father they-" she paused, attempting to collect herself, "They sacrificed everything for this world, and the rest of the alicorns followed their example. Now it's just me..."
She had kept the truth hidden from everypony for nearly a millennium but so much already lay exposed. "...and my sister."
"You have a sister? She wasn't mentioned in the archives." He reasoned that if Celestia was worshiped as a living goddess while her sister wasn't even mentioned that only left a few possibilities, none of them good.
"And for good reason, she turned on our subjects and myself in a bid to gain control of Equestria. I had no choice..." her voice caught in her throat as she gazed at the moon in a mix of guilt and longing. The equine-like pattern etched into the surface of the silver disc made the ending to her story painfully obvious, but he kept his silence, waiting for her to continue.
"After I banished her, I forbade anypony to speak of her and put the torch to all official records that same night. I wouldn't have been able to contain the information if it were not for her physical transformation. Those outside the palace that were unfortunately caught up in our battle couldn't recognize their princess. She had become a monster to be passed down as a fairy tale made to frighten young foals." once again she paused, worry lining her porcelain features.
"Now her time in banishment is almost over and without control of the one thing that can stop her I'm left with the choice of watching my world burn or fighting my sister to the death."
The despair written plainly on her face, but whether she knew it or not, her eyes were focused, not wistful or distant. There was hope there.
An unbearably long silence passed between them as Ehecatl absorbed the story. The wind of the crisp night now seemed frigid, buffeting the walls below the ledge of the garden, sending strong drafts up the walls.
It was then that the machinations of a plan started to form in his mind. It was possible to serve both their ends if it worked.
"Celestia, I have a proposition for you," he began, his words immediatly catching in his throat as he saw the fragile hope that was only a small flicker a moment ago flare into a raging inferno.
The intensity of her gaze almost forced Ehecatl to take a step back.
He held his ground.
"If I told you I had a way to insure your sister was returned to you, but it would come at a heavy price, what would you say?"
"Name it." Celestia replied without a moments hesitation.
In all his endless wanderings there was only one thing Ehecatl wanted more than anything. The one thing he could never have, since he'd failed his duty to mankind.
"It will require a large portion of your power..."
Ehecatl's face betrayed none of his mounting fear as he steeled himself to intone the final, ultamite price to be extracted.
"...And my life."
7 years later....
At the top of a peak in a mountain range far removed from Equestria's heartland a foal waited for the sun rise while doing something a foal of his age normally did. He was contemplating his place in the world. Unlike the foals his age in the village below he felt like he didn't belong here. Even his name, Sage Quill, didn't seem to fit in with the village of his birth. It was a hard, desolate place high up in the mountains of northern Equestria.
The settlers that had come here on an expedition for the crown centuries ago had named it Boulders Rest, aptly so for its abundance of rocks and little else. They had stopped here on their expedition when they had discovered an abundance of iron and copper in the region. The village was established later as a mining town and to this day still was.
Everypony in Boulders Rest had a job related to mining the mountain, well, everypony but Sage.
He was the only unicorn besides his mom in the small village. His father, Stone Shod, was a quiet, gruff earth pony who seemed to grunt more than talk, and his brothers had just as much personality and were just as talkative. Normally they only talked to him when they wanted to poke fun at him for being a weakling. Not that it wasn't true, when he was a waneling he was always sickly, and though he had recovered and was now healthy, his body had been weakened considerably. Even the color of his coat and mane only added to his fragile image, both were shock white and seemed to glow with pale light when the sun hit them just right.
Only his eyes appeared to possess strength. They were the brightest sky blue and the effect they had with his monochrome appearance was striking.
When Sage had realized he couldn't be usefull as a mining pony he had set to work trying to find a way to use his magic to help the miners. His mother had been so happy the day he came and asked her to buy books on magic from the caravan that came through town quarterly to take shipments of metal to Canterlot. He'd learned a lot about magical theory, but he found performing anything more than his innate telekinisis was far to taxing for a unicorn his age.
The mist surrounding the high reaches of his perch slowly gave way to the morning suns enkindled warmth, parting the grey curtains to reveal the vast peaks and deep dales of the Crystal Mountains, farther to the north than even Sage's remote home. Even after seeing the spectacle his entire life it's effect was not diminished. In fact, it only made his wonder grow thinking of the possibilities that lay just beyond the horizon.
He had often fantasized of adventures to far off lands, of heroic battles and ancient mysteries just waiting to be solved. Boulders Rest didn't have a well stocked library but what few fantasy novels there were he had read countless times.
"I wonder if their awake yet!" he said to himself excitedly, shaking off his reverie.
Last night he heard the news of a family of unicorns that had come in with this quarters caravan. And even more than that they had come with their foals, one he heard, was around his age. He was so excited he had trouble sleeping and woke up early, galloping up the steep incline to his favorite perch.
With the sun at his back he trotted back down into town to ask for the travelers at the inn.
The town was alive with activity reserved only for the promise of trade and news that the caravan brought. Sage had to dodge and weave through the crowd of caravan hirelings hard at work unloading the heavily laden carts. The freshly churned mud of the main road was littered with large crates and barrels of supplies the mining town would need in the coming winter months.
Pushing his way through the throng he caught sight of the tavern just ahead. Excitement lent his stride more speed as he evaded the busy workers. Upon opening the wooden double doors and entering the tavern Sage found a large ashen earth pony behind the reception desk giving him an annoyed look that told him to keep his enthusiasm in check. He would try but didn't think he would be all that successful.
"Hey, do you know what room a family of unicorns might be staying in?" Sage asked with barely contained excitement.
"And why would they want to see you kid?" asked the innkeeper grumpily.
"Aw, come on! I just want to play with them!"
"Look kid, that family is some well to do Canterlot types here on business. They don't want to be bothered by some local." stated the innkeeper.
"I don't want to bother them! I just want to make some friends!"
"Oh you do? How wonderful!" Came a voice behind Sage.
He turned around to find a white coated unicorn mare with a white and purple streaked mane smiling at him intently. The innkeeper, taken aback by the sudden intrusion, simply went back to his business.
"Um, yes mam I do." Sage said with some trepidation.
"Well if you look around outside I'm pretty sure Shining took Twilight off somewhere to play guard captain again." said the smiling unicorn with a glance out the window.
"Thank you mam, I'm gonna go find them!" Sage called back already half-way out the door.
He was already out of town again when he realized he had no idea where his potential new friends could be. It didn't matter though, he knew all the best spots on the mountain so it was only a matter of time before he found them.
Hours had past since his search started and his weak constitution was causing him to tire. He had checked all the likely areas he could think of. The only places left were hard to get to, or dangerous paths that skirted cliffs. This only caused him more worry as the sun was slowly consumed by the heavy autumn mists. Soon it would be impossible to see the ground in front of his hooves let alone the many precipitous drops that had claimed the lives of many wayward climbers.
Sage was contemplating going back to town to check the inn again when he heard a high pitched scream forcing him to pick up his pace. While there were many accepted dangers that came with living high up in the mountains, from falling off cliffs to avalanches, the scream he heard was not of surprise, but horror.
A second scream echoed off the cliffs around him.
He was making good time over the rocky terrain but his breath came in quick rasps as his fortitude failed.
Finally rounding a rock face onto a narrow trail cut from the cliff he found the source of the terror filled cries. A purple unicorn foal cried out again as a larger white unicorn colt fought off a rabid diamond dog almost two heads taller than himself.
"Twili, RUN!" the colt yelled futilely over his shoulder
He was doing well but a second, smaller diamond dog had circled around the two combatants and was hungrily closing the distance with the unicorn foal.
Fear gripped Sage like he'd never before known. He wanted to help her but one look at the rabid canine sent jolts of terror up his spine. Its drool pustulated from behind rows of jagged teeth coated in a seething white foam.
Sage mustered all his courage, refusing to lose two friends before he even met them. shaking himself violently he began taking step after slow step.
His hoof scraped the ground as he forced himself forward. Thinking a diamond dog had snuck up on her the foal turned with a start toward her would be attacker.
She locked eyes with his, and the fear in her eyes changed to a desperation for help. He tried to envision all the stories he'd read of heroes overcoming evil until they were all that filled his thoughts. Closing his eyes in an attempt to shut out his fear he became aware of the sound of hooves clopping and the wind rushing over his face. By the time he opened his eyes he was already half way to her in a full gallop.
Behind her the rabid diamond dog raised it's claws to down the foal.
"TWILIGHT!"
Sage barreled into her, knocking her aside towards the wall of the cliff as the claws came down. His vision jarred with the impact and he hit the ground hard, blasting the air out of him.
His side was awash with white hot agony and any breath he recovered escaped as weak whimpers as he tried to regain his senses.
His vision focused again to find the foal backed against the rock face with the diamond dog inching closer.
Looking around for anything to-he didn't know what-just anything to slow the beast down. A rock sat a few feet from where he laid. With effort that almost caused the crushing blackness to close around him, he lifted the rock with telekinesis and hurled it at the bloodthirsty animal now only inches away from its frightened meal.
It struck true to the beasts head, causing it to whimper in pain.
Spinning to face him with barred teeth, the diamond dog gave a low growl followed by a bloodcurdling howl. Sage locked it with what he hoped was a defiant stare knowing that his end was near.
His gaze shifted to Twilight as the beast was almost over him, 'at least I remembered her name' he thought sluggishly as he slowly lost consciousness.
The breath of the deranged creature stank as its jaws moved for his neck when a streak of white slammed into its side sending it sailing over the edge of the ravine.
"Twili! Are you alright!" called an exhausted Shining.
'Huh... Funny how I'm remembering names now....' thought the barley conscious Sage.
"I'm fine big brother-!" Twilight managed between sobs, "-b-but (sniffle) what about him!"
"We need.....to.....town.....as......." Shining said in seemingly disjointed words as Sage's adrenaline ebed and the darkness finally took him.
.................................................................................................................
"This isn't some magic trick where I wave my hand and everything becomes fixed, there will be consequences! Consequences neither of us will be able to foresee! You have to be sure!"
"I am sure."
...............................................................................................................
Night Lily trotted from one end of the waiting room to the other at a frantic pace. Dispite what she had told her husband the fatigue was taking its toll on her. Her midnight blue coat seemed to be paling and her platinum mane, usually so meticulously cared for, hung off her shoulder in tangles. She didn't have to look in a mirror to know that bags had formed under her eyes, but such trivial things were unimportant compared to being here when her son woke.
Two days had passed since her son had been carried back to town horribly maimed by a beast that had attacked him and two other young ponies while playing outside town. The guards at the gate had taken him to Redcross, the only practicing doctor the town had.
As far as doctors went he was talented, but the lack of a hospital in Boulders Rest forced him to practice without relying on the advanced medical equipment that many towns took for granted. Even with his best efforts her son would have died twice of infection in the first twenty-four hours if not for the large quantities of antibiotics brought by the caravan for the winter months when fevers in young foals ran high.
He had informed her that Sage's immune system was the weakest he'd ever encountered in a patient, and told her to prepare for the worst before rushing back to the operating room to deal with another post-op complication.
She rounded the table at the end of the waiting room and was about to make another round when an exhausted Redcross made his way through the double doors from the operating room. He didn't look much better than herself and his face was drawn as he prepared to give her news of her son.
"Mrs. Lily, you might want to sit down for this." His voice full of apprehension.
"Oh Celestia! You can't mean-!" She choked as two days of tenuous hope crumbled beneath her sobs.
"What? No Mrs. Lily your son is going to recover!-" He waited for the news to sink in before continuing, "-but your son will carry scars the rest of his life as well as light nerve damage on his right side."
"Is he awake?"
"He is, but he's very weak so please keep it shor-" He was interrupted by a teary eyed hug from the relieved mother.
"Thank you so much doctor, for saving my son!"
Redcross let the fatigue of the last two days fall away as her relief and joy washed over him, this was why he became a doctor.
"It was no trouble at all. Now you might want to clean yourself up a little before you see him, no sense in worrying him after he just woke up." He suggested as he pulled himself free of the hug, "I'll go inform your husband of his recovery. If something happens call for the nurse, I'll be back shortly."
Wiping her eyes as he walked out into the night she turned to the doors of the operating room more than ready to see her son. She found him sitting up in his bed staring out the window next to him intently, as if his gaze could pierce the night and mist to far lands beyond.
Hearing her hoof steps he turned to face her but quickly winced with pain as the motion pulled his stitches taut.
"Ow! Hey mom!" He called cheerily all the same
He appeared paler than usual but other than that he seemed his usual self. She could have cried from joy, but held it in, not wanting to worry him.
"What have I told you about wandering outside of town!" She had switched seemingly from the worried mother stage to the disciplinarian stage in an instant now that she was sure her son was safe.
"I uh, well I was-" He floundered for an excuse to avoid his mothers wrath as she closed the distance to his bed.
Her face relaxed when she stopped at the side of his bed wrapping her fore hooves around him gently so as to not cause him discomfort.
"You're grounded as soon as you get better" She whispered as she broke into a fit of tears.
They stayed like this for several minutes before he nudged her away. She was reluctant to let him go but she knew he had to be getting uncomfortable in the awkward position.
"Mom, where's Twilight and Shining?" He asked as he laid back down in his bed.
She was only confused for a moment before she connected the names to the two that had brought him back to town.
"Oh honey, I'm sorry but they're already gone. The caravan couldn't wait or they would get snowed in at the passes to the south." She saw the shadow cross his features and hastily added, "-but they left you a letter dear, it's right here."
She levitated the letter off of the nightstand and realizing he was to weak to use magic, opened it and held it out for him to read. The time passed slowly as he worked his way down the lengthy message, but by the time he finished he was smiling ear to ear.
"Mom, I'm going to Canterlot!" He proclaimed, beaming with enthusiasm.
"Of course dear, you can send letters to your new friends at the post offi-WHAT!" She nearly shouted as her mind processed what her son had said.
"Go then." Came the gruff response from the door as Sage's father entered the room.
He was a stocky stallion with a chestnut coat, a dark brown mane with grey patches, and emerald green eyes that seemed to bore into whatever he looked at.
"Don't you encourage this!" Lily warned.
"Why not? He's obviously made up his mind, 'bout time if you ask me." He stated matter-of-factly. "Honey, he's been goin' in circles tryin' to figure out what he's gonna do with his life, and now he's finally made a decision for himself and your gonna say "no" without hearin' him out?"
Sage was shocked to hear his dad say so much in one sitting, never mind the fact he was the one supporting him and not his mother. He had no time to think on this, however, as his mother was looking at him expectantly.
"I want to enroll to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns and become a diplomat so I can travel the world. I can study all winter before the next caravan comes and take it to Canterlot in the spring and apply for the entrance exam when I get there. Twilight says it's the best school in Equestria and I really, really want to go, please mom!" He explained while putting on the biggest puppy dog eyes he could manage in his shape.
Night Lily was too busy wondering how she had raised her son to have such mature dreams to respond. She looked from her son who was using that face she was so weak against to her husband who simply raised an eyebrow at her and let out a sigh of defeat.
"Fine, but you better study all winter, I'll be watching you. If you don't, your not going. Is that clear." She conceded with a hint of a smile.
"Crystal." Sage affirmed, his own smile only growing wider.
....................................................................................................................
"You have to catch the signs. The Fates may reign chaos on this world and I can't tell you what the future may hold. In order to limit the damage I can only look at the event we intend to change."
Of Invitations and Foreshadowing
(This is the last major time skip, I swear...)
16 years later....
Shrouding darkness filled the nooks and corners the lone candle's light failed to reach in the office of Iniquum Edict. The unicorn himself was filled with a similar darkness, one he dared not look directly at for fear of what he might find. He believed in his path with all his heart, but the guilt weighed on him all the same.
Guilt?
Why should he feel guilt for sending a gift of goodwill to his contact in Zebrica?
The medallion had wanted to be sent.
Wait, why did he have a contact in the zebra tribes? They were the enemy. A spy perhaps? He couldn't remember. Nor could he remember why he had sent the only thing his father had ever given him.
A series of violent headaches forced him out of his introspection before he could scratch the surface of his questions. The clock above his mantle piece chimed, signaling the time as one o'clock in the morning.
It was well passed time he found respite under the covers draped over his couch. He could have slept in the family mansion but found his every return to the place haunted by the ghost of his father. Never had a word of pride or approval passed his late fathers lips.
As a young colt this had upset Iniquum to no end, leading him to ever greater accomplishments in order to garner his fathers favor. He had to admit, however, that it was this very temperament that had seen him to the heights of power and wealth he now enjoyed, but even this was but a stepping stone to even greater accolades.
What he now sought was to change the very foundation of Equestria.
He had started small, with a few of his fathers old acquaintances, gathering favor until he had become the leader of his very own political faction within the royal court.
The isolationist factions' purpose was to push laws and policies that brought Equestria closer to a self-sustaining state without relying on foreign resources.
The progress was slow going thanks to interference from princess Celestia at every turn. The faction itself was only a front. A temporary seat of power that served to mask Iniquum's true motive. Only his closest advocates within the faction had even an inkling as to his hidden agenda.
Let no pony say it was heresy, or the actions of one with no respect for his goddesses. He loved princess Celestia and princess Luna with all his heart, but he saw the inadequacies of their rule.
As beings who had seen the rise and fall of centuries beyond count they saw the country as unchanging and beyond threat. Of that they were sorely mistaken. Even with the last two years of crisis upon crisis they still would not acknowledge the growing fear that preoccupied the thoughts of much of the royal court.
He would have been lying if he said he wasn't suffering from the same unexplainable anxiety that seemed to permeate all of Canterlot.
He looked again to the inviting blankets of his make-shift bed. With an exhausted sigh he made his way over to them. It was only a week until the royal wedding, he thought wearily.
He had layed down and was pulling the covers over himself when he looked out his west facing window to cast a weary eye to the translucent glow of the force field surounding the capitol. Mabey some celebration would bring an end to his unease, and Canterlot's as well.
It was with these thoughts that he fell asleep into fitfull dreams of a shadow that stalked him, staying just out of sight. It taunted him, making its presence known while it tore at the edges of his mind.
That same night, hundreds of miles away from Iniquum's office, a pegasus express courier was flying post haste for the port city of Manehatten. With the largest airship port on the coast of the Sea of Dawn's Passage, it served as the hub of all trade with the countries across the vast eastern waters.
The parcel she carried that night was marked with a golden stamped insignia, signifying the package was to be delivered with the highest priority.
Despite the warmth of the summer night, a chill traveled down her spine and raised the hackles on her withers. There was something almost unnatural about her delivery tonight. Like a great bird of pry was stalking her, gliding in silence, invisible amongst the clouds.
More than once she had thought she saw movement in the corners of her periphery only to find that nothing was amiss.
In the parcel the medallion stirred, coming out of its meditative state. It had sensed earlier in the night that its thrall had started to break free of its influence and had to reassert it's will over him. Reaching over such a long distance telepathically was difficult, and it left the eldrich artifact feeling drained.
It had chosen its current thrall because of his intelligence and ambition but it made him willful and hard to control. Soon it wouldn't matter if he broke free. The malevolent being within the artifact teemed with anticipation. When it made the shores of Zebrica its real work would begin.
The sun crept over the window sill of a musty study, revealing a piled mess of scrolls, and tomes stacked haphazardly all over the floor.
A small mountain of books in the corner of the seemingly unoccupied room shifted as the morning suns light spilled over it. This was followed by a string of muffled expletives from the pony buried beneath.
A few seconds of silence fell over the crowded room before the pile was enveloped in a light blue field of telekinetic magic and lifted into the air.
"Oh sweet Celestia, I'm alive!" The owner of the study managed between fits of coughing as he stacked the levitating books into yet another dangerously tall pile instead of filing them back onto the shelves that lined the room.
He found that when he shelved his books in an orderly manner he could never find the book he was looking for.
It was this same system that had nearly killed him the night before when he had passed out while deep in his studies of gryphon hierarchy and it's effects on international trade, and rolled into one of the many towers of books.
The resulting collapse dropped a particularly heavy tome of contemporary tax laws squarely onto his head, making this the second headache the frustrating book had givin him.
With the immediate life threatening crisis now behind him the groggy unicorn made his way carefully to the other side of his study.
His desk was situated against the wall just under his window and like the rest of the room, was a mess of parchment and scrolls. At the top of the center stack was a letter written in meticulous horn script. The lines of practiced cursive belonged to his intellectual rival and long time friend Twilight Sparkle.
"Intellectual rival" might be taking it a bit too far, but since most of their correspondence quickly became scholarly debates, he felt the idea held some merit, though they were from vastly different fields of study.
Her primary focus was on the study and application of modern magical theory, but her grasp of almost every conceivable subject never failed to impress. His own field was centered around the study of foreign cultures and relations, though he dabbled in the application of an ancient form of magic the zebras had perfected that used glyphs to control and execute spellcrafting, in fact, it was in this type of magic that his cutie mark had originated.
Lately, he had taken to bouncing ideas off of Twilight instead of his contemporaries. Their investment into the current politics of the royal court colored all their views on global relations and besides, she always seemed to possess a unique take on things that he and his colleagues didn't have. This was probably due to her personal studies assigned to her by princess Celestia.
Next to the letter and his half written response was an unopened piece of mail. It had arrived a few days ago but he had been far to busy to open it then. The letter opener next to his writing quills glowed with a blue aura as it ascended toward the similarly floating envelope. Inside the envelope there were two letters the first of which was adorned with the royal seal. His breath caught as he frantically opened the letter, wondering how he had failed to give this message proper attention.
Dear Sage Quill,
You have been formally invited to the wedding of princess Me' amore Cadenza and Shining Armor, Captain of the royal guard. The festivities....
He skipped the pomp that most formal letters had and scanned for a date. He found it.
"IT'S TODAY?! What time is it?!" his head swung from side to side frantically searching for a clock.
It was eight-thirty in the morning and the ceremony didn't start till later that evening, plenty of time to prepare he reasoned. With this he calmed quickly, but still berated himself for such a large oversight caused by his lack of awareness. The second item in the envelope was a personal letter from Twilight.
Dear Sage,
Enclosed is an invitation to my brothers wedding. I don't know how he forgot to send you one, but since I'm managing the details of the celebration I took the liberty of adding you to the guest list. I apologize for the late notice and hope to see you there.
Your friend,
Twilight
Exceptionally short and informal for the Twilight he knew, he also couldn't help but notice telltale signs in her horn writing. His studies into diplomacy had led to a number of techniques that allowed him to gauge the mood of others. There was an emphasis in the curves of her letters that showed she put added weight on her quill when forming them, a sign of intense stress, though she was probably just swamped with the work that came with planning and managing a wedding.
Deciding to get some fresh air before the wedding he made his way to the door, weaving, and at some points, climbing over his self imposed mess. Beside the door his experimental leaf green cloak hung on the coat hanger. It was his most successful product from his studies into zebra glyph magic. Sigils of protection were painstakingly woven into the fibers of the cloak, invisible to the naked eye. He had tried to pitch the idea of using the process to make more effective armor for the Equestrian military, but had been shot down on account of the cost and time it would take to outfit everypony. On top of that, there was the issue that it was a limited use. When the cloak ran out of sigils it was rendered useless until a meticulous ritual spell was used to recharge it, and offered no protection on its own.
With a yank of his teeth he drew the cloak over his back, concealing the long scars etched into his side, as was its secondary purpose. He hooked the leaf shaped clasp with his magic and opened the door, setting off down the hallway of the palaces' research wing.
In a different wing of the palace a pegasus guard captain was wading through a mountain of paperwork. The guards workload had tripled since the barrier around Canterlot had gone up. His desk was littered with complaints from business owners and nobles, worried that the severe restriction of access to the capitol would adversely effect trade. In other words they were worried their investments were in danger of losing profit. He was disgusted at thier attempt to conceal thier selfishness and couldn't imagine a more useless waste of time than to reply to the pompous lot, nevertheless it was his duty to allay these fears. And then there was the planning of the weddings security detail. Why his fellow captain Shining Armor had to have his wedding at such a time as this was beyond him.
'Mabey he did it to get out of this nightmarish paperwork', he mused.
Silver Lance rubbed his head with his forehoove in an attempt to prevent his headache from getting worse, to no avail. He had so much work to do and not much time to do it in, having been invited to the wedding as well. His dress uniform was freshly pressed and hung from his open closet door, a reminder of his ever looming deadline.
With a sigh he pushed the parchment he had been using to pin a letter on away and moved to a window that overlooked the sprawling city below the palace. Canterlot looked just as peaceful as it had through all the decades of his service. The only noticeable difference was that instead of the azure sky, the morning was dominated by the glowing violet barrier that would deter all threats from outside the city.
If only the current crisis was all he had to worry about. He tried not to let his mind wander down the path so many in the royal court had taken, the facts, however, were there. There had been more national crises in the last two years than in the last two centuries, but that was no reason to see enemies where there were none. The political group of isolationists he had spent nearly twenty years fighting at every opportunity had an explosive increase in support. Their paranoia was reason enough to fear for the future of Equestria, and any reassurance he had taken in the return of princess Luna that the power of the crown would grow stronger had all but disappeared when he had performed an inquiry as to the opinion of the court where the wayward princess was concerned.
The majority of nobles didn't see princess Luna as a political power yet, and it didn't seem that was going to change anytime soon, even princess Celestia's power was in question. Her failure to stop both Nightmare Moon and Discord, instead sending a group of fillies in her stead had considerably weakened her position. No pony, noble or otherwise, would dare say it openly, but Silver's intelligence reports confirmed the rift in Equestria's power base. In these reports he heard a recurring name as well.
"Iniquum Edict." just saying his name out loud made Silver's skin crawl.
The sneak had done well for himself over the years. Though only a minor noble, he had risen through the tangled ranks of the political arena on cunning alone, to sit squarely at the head of the isolationist faction.
He shook himself vigorously, forcing the bile in his throat back down. This was supposed to be a day of celebration and here he was rapt up in his dark thoughts. Looking once again at his pristine dress uniform he decided to end his work early today, and went to unfolding as he prepared to don it.
Of Grim Tiddings and Interludes
The sun was already high in the sky as princess Celestia prepared for her nieces wedding. Despite what should be a joyous day, the sun goddess found herself worried.
Her beloved student had destroyed the wedding rehearsal and accused her niece of the crime of brainwashing her brother, but this wasn't what she found herself worrying over. Since the rehearsal, Twilight hadn't been seen or heard from.
A brush, rapt in golden aura, levitated from her dresser as she turned toward her mirror. She could only sigh with dismay when she saw the look on her own face. There were no wrinkles or lines of any kind, but despite that her age showed clearly in her features.
'You have a lot to think about.' Her last words to Twilight came back to her with the same harshness as when she'd said them, cutting off the tearful pleas of her student.
She still did not believe her niece capable of what Twilight accused her of, but that didn't absolve her of the guilt she felt at leaving her pupil alone with the rejection of her loved ones. It was a failure as a mentor she would have never thought herself capable of making the day before.
No matter how misguided Twilights accusations might have been it had been clear she was distraught and needed guidance not scorn.
Her sister had said as much afterwards.
Luna's recent growth as both a pony and as a ruler surprised Celestia. Since Nightmare Night in Ponyville, her sister had started to become more active, taking on her duties with more energy than even before her banishment.
She could only thank Twilight for that she knew.
"At this rate Luna should be running the country instead of me," she said to herself with a half-hearted smile that refused to find its way to her eyes.
She dearly wished Luna could keep watch over Canterlot during the wedding, but she had sent her sister to Manehatten late last night to investigate a dark presence that had projected a telepathic wave in Canterlot's direction nearly a week earlier.
Under the circumstances she had been unable to spare any of the guard let alone her sister to investigate, but the telepathic emanations had felt vaguely familiar.
This feeling had persisted until last night when she had suddenly made an alarming connection to a creature she'd met once before. Decades ago, the human god, Ehecatl, had touched her mind with similar effect, but where the alien deity's telepathy had been gentle, this presence had been persistent, malicious even.
'This couldn't have happened at a worse time,' she thought as a shadow crossed her features.
The last thing she needed to add to her growing list of problems was fate's revenge for her decision to follow Ehecatl's plan when it had already come at such a high price.
Nopony knew of what had happened or what it had cost her, nopony but her sister, and she intended to keep it that way. No good could come of rumors.
Requesting extra guards to patrol the streets of Canterlot during the wedding ceremony had not been solely for the benefit of caution. For the first time since Luna's rebellion, Celestia found comfort in her stalwart defenders.
Even though she was still more powerful than most of the guard combined, she just couldn't afford to draw attention to her weakened state.
It was with this thought she stopped brushing her mane, only briefly registering that she could not remember when she had started, and turned a weary eye to her balcony window.
Beyond the curtains, lilting gently in the afternoon breeze, the purple glow of Shining Armor's barrier flickered ominously.
She startled when a light, but insistent rap issued from her door.
"Sorry to disturb you princess, but it's time," came a dutiful voice she recognized as her personal attendant's.
"Thank you Feather Touch, I'll be out in a moment," Celestia replied instantly, but kept her eyes locked on the protective barrier.
It was a sign, a frightening one, symbolizing the changes slowly taking place throughout Equestria.
The winds of that change blew through Canterlot that afternoon, disguised as a pleasant autumn breeze that would herald the coming of winter.
'Why does it always turn out this way?'
Silver Lance was working hard to keep his frustration in check. It seemed that every time he took to the public without his armor he became bogged down by nobles and bureaucrats asking for favors.
His armor must have made him too intimidating to approach, and not for the first time, he found himself reconsidering wearing it to the wedding, decorum be damned.
The halls of the castle were crowded with wedding goers, passing the time before the celebration by wandering around the castle grounds, something not normally allowed.
Silver grimaced as he recalled his argument with princess Celestia on that very subject.
He'd served the princess for almost twenty-seven years, and yet he still couldn't fathom how she always won their arguments without so much as raising her voice. Even the royal guard's grizzled old quarter master, Whetstone, who still caused some of the recruits to literally piss themselves when they brought back their weapons in less than perfect condition, could have learned a thing or two from the deceptively soft-spoken monarch.
The crowd of guests only got thicker as he neared the gathering hall being used as the weddings' chapel, and was passing by the statue garden when he heard his name being called from somewhere in front of him.
"Captain!-Captain Silver Lance-oh, excuse me-," called a disheveled looking unicorn trying to work her way through the throng of compressed bodies, "I'd like to ask you a few questions!"
"of course you would," mumbled Silver under his breath, thinking she was just another gossip hound looking for some juicy half-truths about the secret courtship between Shining Armor and his bride-to-be.
He could only scoff at some of the outlandish rumors flying every which way throughout the castle.
Could nopony just accept that maybe they were in love, but their public positions made an open relationship impossible?
Despite his reservations about the topic, he waited for her nonetheless, standing still in the sea of moving bodies.
She managed to squeeze through the last of the crowd but lost her hoofing in the process, staggering forward with exaggerated motions.
The unicorn managed to give a short yelp before her balance gave out and fell forward, only to stop abruptly as she collided muzzle-first with Silver's chest. The impact was made all the more jarring by Silver's solid build, that didn't so much as yield an inch from the collision, and left her disoriented for a spell.
Silver cocked an eyebrow at the clumsy mare as he steadied her with a hoof.
"Are you ok, miss....?" He left the question open for her to fill in the rest as she came to her senses.
"um-oh! Oh my, I'm terribly sorry captain- its Verity..." She paused for a moment to find her balance again, " It's-uh, a pleasure to meet you, but... you can let go of me now."
Silver hadn't noticed how close she was to him until then. He abruptly took a step back, failing to hide the reddness that filled his face.
He cleared his throat in an atempt to ease the embarrassing atmosphere.
"So, you wanted to ask me something?"
"Huh?-Oh right!" Verity nearly shouted as the blush on her cheeks disappeared and her eyes started to burn with an inner fire.
'Oh, boy here it comes.' Silver groaned Inwardly, waiting for her to go off on a long string of love-gossip related questions.
"Captain Silver Lance-," she began, her earlier clumsyness replaced by focused professionalism, "-I have it on good authority that your the stallion to talk to if I needed any dirt on a certain faction within the royal court that's pushing for isolationism."
She let the statement stand as Silver sucked in a sudden breath. That wasn't what he had been expecting at all.
He immediately went to work sizing her up, curious as to whether she was a potential ally or a spy, or just in over her head.
Verity had a coat the color of parchment and an unkempt mane of wavy auburn hair that hung over one side of her face. It only took one look at her eyes to see the conviction in them.
"Come with me," said Silver, looking around to make sure nopony passing by had takin intrest in thier exchange.
He made his way out of the crowd, toward the arches that led to the statue gardens. Verity followed quietly behind Silver as they trotted through the gardens in search of a secluded place to discuss matters.
Silver found a suitably isolated spot at the far end of the garden in a corner where the railing of the garden met the castle proper. His eyes passed briefly behind Verity to insure they were not followed as he turned to meet her eyes.
He let out a sigh before starting, his feelings a cross between being anxious to learn what the mare knew, and annoyed that the politics of the royal court wouldn't even give him a single day of respite.
"Ask what you will, but first I need to know more about who you are, and why you want this information. It's not the safest part of Equestrian politics." He hoped he succeeded in keeping the suspicion out of his voice. "Also, I would like to know who this "good authority" is."
"I'm sorry captain, I can't reveal my sources-for their own protection," Verity apologized quickly before beginning her explanation, "I'm a freelance journalist thats... let's just say I have a personal stake in the dismantling of the isolationist faction, and more importantly the discrediting and imprisonment of its leader-".
"-Iniquum Edict," Silver finished, unable to keep the emotion out of his voice, "and what makes you think I have the information to help you do that?"
"Well..." there was tension in her voice as she debated what she could tell him, "you've been their most stubborn opposition for almost two decades-besides princess Celestia herself, and I've received corroborating reports that suggest you've launched numerous under-the-table investigations against them."
Silver's eyes narrowed dangerously. "If such investigations did occur," he began, putting great emphasis on "if", "and they were successful, Iniquum would already be behind bars and we wouldn't be having this conversation, so I fail to see the point of you asking me for something to use against him."
"Oh just-", Verity stuttered, becoming flustered by the roundabout way thier talk was going, "-just look, I need someone I can trust, and as far as I can tell your the only one who isn't in their pocket and still seems to give a damn! It's like all of Equestria is too afraid of foriegn invasion to care about corruption in our own government!"
Silver would have been the first to admit his shortcomings in the field of espionage, but he liked to think he was an excellent judge of character, and despite his earlier judgment of her intentions he found himself liking Verity, his assessment of her however, would have to wait.
The last he'd heard, princess Celestia still held a firm group of supporters set on opposing the isolationists. If he was the only one she could go to then the situation had deteriorated much more than he had expected.
He needed an outside sensor, somepony Iniquum wouldn't be able to connect him to.
Verity was such a pony, and one armed with the particular skill set Silver was looking for, such a fortuitous coincidence.
Silver hated coincidence, but he wasn't one to look a gift pony in the mouth.
"If I were to believe you, what would you propose?"
Verity's face lit up before it settled back into a state of professionalism as she spoke, "first, I'd like to exchange information with you-not here of course, somewhere out of the way. I also need you to promise-", she paused and glanced down at her hooves, "promise me I'll have the protection of the royal guards," with another quick pause she leaned in closer, her voice barely above a whisper, "there have been... disappearances."
The revelation solicited a deep grimace from Silver, hiding his genuine shock.
Had Iniquum really stooped to such a level? Questionable politics were one thing, kidnapping was quite another.
'And if their performing renditions...'
Silver quickly shoved the disturbing thought away in disgust. A xenophobe like Iniquum couldn't possibly go through with extraditions, it wouldn't fit with his views on isolationism.
He focused his attention back to Verity who was studying his reaction intently.
"You have my word that no harm will come to you." He meant it.
The world of politics forced him to question, and on occasion break his rigid code of honor. He'd skirted the law in several areas to keep tabs on the undercurrents of the royal court, but the one iron clad rule he would never break was his word.
Silver felt that to do so was to become what he was fighting against, for his sake and Equestria's that could never happen.
Verity visibly relaxed at the certainty in his voice and offered him a grateful smile.
"Thank you captain," she breathed as she drew forth an envelope from her saddlebags, "this letter will tell you the location of our meeting spot. I trust you'll be discreet about all this."
"Of course."
Verity turned with a smile to leave, "then have a good time at the wedding."
Silver was slightly takin aback by that, "you're not staying for the ceremony?"
"No, my business here is done," she said with a wink, "and I have some digging to do."
With that Verity left. Silver watched her leave, taking his leave to return to the crowd when she was out of sight.
He wore a mask of detached calmness the rest of the way to the wedding chapel, all but hiding the frantic thoughts trying to force their way to the surface.
A cool breeze moved gently through Sage Quill's mane and ruffled his cloak as he quietly enjoyed the brisk autumn afternoon.
He loved the onset of winter in the capitol. The cold reminded him of home, and more specifically the frigid mornings he'd spent at his favorite perch on the cliffs that stood sentinel over the ruggedly beautiful north lands. And though in truth Canterlot's winters were warmer than his homelands summers, he still found it profoundly refreshing.
He stood on the suspended marble walkway that connected the research wing to the rest of Canterlot castle.
The proudest day of his life had been two years ago when he'd crossed this very walkway to take his place as an official diplomat among his fellow alumni.
He hadn't been sent on any deplomatic missions yet, but he spent the time keeping his mind sharp, and expanded his studies daily: economics, politics, philosophy, language. If it was foreign in nature he consumed it greedily, ditermined that if one of the seasoned diplomats needed an assestant he would be the obvious choice.
It was one of these senior diplomats that had waylayed him as he tried to leave the research wing earlier that morning.
Professor Golden Wheat had insisted on showing him one of the souvenirs she'd brought back from her latest trip to Zebrica.
In truth, it hadn't takin much insisting to divert Sage from making his way to where the wedding was to be held, and when he'd found out what the professor had wanted to show him, it insured that his attention would be rapt for hours.
He could still see the cold precession of the zebra contraption in his thoughts. That steel could be molded into such a functional weapon was both wondrous and terrifying.
Golden Wheat had said the zebras called it a "flintlock pistol". A weapon that used an explosive refined from saltpeter to fire metal projectiles at high speed, piercing all but the thickest armor.
She was quick to reassure Sage that it was just a prototype, and not something in common circulation.
The high shaman had gifted it to her personally as a token of goodwill and without the consent of the Shura: the ruling council of elder shamans in Zebrica, each representing their respective village or city.
Sage hadn't needed to hear the professor's lecture to understand the importance of that.
While the high shaman had final say on all foreign affairs, it was still expected to seek the counsel of the Shura in matters pertaining to state secrets.
The hours after that had been spent in the instruction of maintaining and operating the weapon. Though Sage was far more interested in how it was crafted, and more importantly if the creation of such a weapon had met with any friction from the culture of Zebrica itself.
He just couldn't see a culture so grounded in a tradition that embodied oneness with nature accepting such a thing-
"-Sir?"
-and being a shamanistic society one would think tha-
"-SIR!"
Sage was snapped out of his thoughts by a guard who had apparently been calling out to him for some time.
He recognized the guard, being one of the few among the stoic soldiers to show any personality while on duty. Even with her sky blue coat hidden by her armors enchantment she was immidiatly discernible from the other guards.
"Oh, lieutenant Winter Frost! Sorry, I was leagues away," Sage apologized as he trotted over to the agitated mare.
"Maybe you should be more aware of your surroundings," she suggested, cocking an eyebrow in exasperation.
"And maybe you should stop having such an ironic name," he shot back, matching her expression.
Winter Frost held her agitated countenance for a few moments before bursting into laughter. Sage was hardly put off by the sudden change in her personality, having expected it, and grinned back at her.
"Well Sage," she began as she brought her mirth under control, "what brings you out of your cave this month?" She joked before her eyes went wide in realization, "Wait! It's not the wedding is it?!"
Sage gave her a nod of affirmation.
"I didn't think you were into those kind of things. You know, since you're always so focused on your studies. Thinking about having on yourself one of these days?" She asked, giving Sage a playfully suggestive wink.
"Firstly lieutenant, your too old for me. Second, your husband would kill me," Sage answered, winking back, "how are the twins doing by the way?"
Winter's feigned expression of hurt at the first comment evaporated as her favorite topic was brought up.
"Oh their just bundles of energy, those two! You should have seen little Windy yesterday. She managed to crawl her way out of her crib and was almost to the front door before I caught her." Her coy smile was replaced by one of genuine warmth reserved solely for doting mothers.
Anypony that knew Winter Frost's daughters, North Wind and Cloud Wisp, would call "bundles of energy" an understatement.
Sage had met them once, and that one occasion was enough for him to swear never to have foals. He adored them, but doubted he was possessed of the energy to keep up with them for more than an hour at best.
"It's great to know you and your family are doing well. Your foals are lucky to have you as a mother. Now I have a wedding to not be late for, so I'll see you later tonight I'm sure."
Sage turned to leave but Winter shifted in his way with a smile.
"You never told me how you got invited to a princesses' wedding Sage," she chided, her coy smile returning, "Who could you possibly know to get invited?"
"Did I never tell you?" Sage was honestly surprised he'd not told her before, "I've known Twilight and Shining since before I even came to Canterlot. Twilights harder to get in contact with these days but I still try to keep an eye on Shining for her- OH HORSEAPPLES!"
"What!?" Winter gasped, surprised at his outburst
"I've been too busy with my studies to find out about the wedding, and if Shinings been too busy to even send out invitation..." Sage paused, contemplating the conclusion, "She's going to kill me."
Sage cringed at what Twilight might do to him and made a mental note to avoid her until he could tell if she was angry with him or not.
"Whoa whoa, back up," Winter started as she waved her hoof in his face, "Twilight and Shining? As in Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor, national hero and captain of the royal guard!?"
She stared at Sage, eyes wide as she tried to console the image of Sage Quill, social recluse, and two of the countries most famous ponies knowing each other.
"Ok, one of these days you're going to have to tell me how that happend. I'm a little hurt you never told me," she joked as she moved out of Sage's path, "now get outta here. Don't wanna be late to such an important event."
He smiled at her as he passed, "thanks, I'll see you later tonight."
"Damn right you will, and then you'll tell me all about it."
