The Lord of the Ponies: The Friendship of Equestria

Ch.7 The Account of Isildur

"PONYVILLE! AHHHHHHH! APPLES!" screamed the creature Gollum, as he was held down in a vat of boiling water by a group of Changelings.

The Dark Lord heard this answer, and was pleased. Finally, his Ring was found.

"What does my Dark Lord command?" asked Queen Chrysalis, who, like the The Great Eye, was situated on the spire of Barad-dûr.

"Release the Ringwraiths. Send them to Ponyville, and tell them to find the Apple that carries it. They'll know what to do." commanded the Dark Lord, a fiery intent laced in his commonly malicious tone.

"It will be done... my Lord" Queen Chrysalis bowed, and retreated to the fortress of Minas Morgul.

***

The massive ebony gates of Minas Morgul opened, and out rode 9 ponies. They wore cloaks of black night, and their faces were undetectable from under their hoods. They rode off with a single, infallible mission: to find the One Ring for their master, and to kill whoever carried it.

***

Twilight arrived at the gates of Canterlot castle, and was soon ushered inside by the two armored ponies standing guard. She galloped towards the Archives, hoping that whatever Granny's ring was, it was documented somewhere in the vast, forbidden tomes and scrolls of Canterlot's Archives.

Twilight soon met with Princess Celestia, a towering white Alicorn with a flowing green, blue and pink mane and tail. The lavender Unicorn had told Spike to warn Celestia about her sudden need for the Archives, and it seemed both did not disappoint.

"Hello Twilight, how are your studies coming along?" asked Celestia; a genuine smile illuminated the Alicorn's complexion.

"They're going good Princess, but let's not stand on ceremony here. You know why I am here," stated Twilight, who hoped to not waste any time, as a helpless filly's life hung in the balance .

"Yes, I know what you seek." Celestia slowly scanned her environment, like what somepony would do if they knew they were being followed.

"Follow me. We must make haste before we are seen!" Celestia then took off in a gallop, which Twilight followed, with difficulty, considering the size differences between the two mares.

Twilight followed the Princess as she hastened deeper into the more secretive portions of the Canterlot Archives. The two ponies then came to a dead end, a solid brick wall staring them in the face.

"And what's supposed to be here... a secret door?" patronized Twilight, hoping this to not be an enormous waste of her time.

"Yes, Twilight. That's exactly what this is," answered Celetia. The regal Alicorn's horn glowed a blinding gold, then subsided. The effects of the Princess' magic left a door shaped hole in the wall in front of them.

Twilight cautiously stepped forward, peering into the darkness. There was a winding staircase, which went on for what seemed like an eternity.

"Everything you're looking for is in there," Celestia gestured her horn towards the hole in the wall, "But be warned Twilight Sparkle. Whatever you read or see in there, you are not to tell anypony...understand?" the Princess' question wasn't just rhetoric, it was threatening.

"Cross my heart and hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye." Twilight enacted the sacred Pinkie Promise, which forever bound her to her promise.

"FOREVER!" yelled Pinkie Pie, who popped out of a nearby vase.

"Pinkie... how did you get here?" asked Twilight, curious to her friends most recent random act.

"Silly Twilight. I'm Pinkie Pie, and I can pop up wherever I want." Pinkie Pie hopped from the vase, and bounded off towards the entrance of the Archives, leaving both Twilight and Celestia stunned.

Celestia recovered from her shock, and she gestured to Twilight one last time.

"Any who, I'll hold you to your word. I'd hate to have to exile my favorite student to the moon." the Princess departed, slowly trotting off with a smirk.

Twilight descended into the darkness of the Archive's most secretive region. The lavender mare illuminated her horn as to give herself more light to navigate. Upon reaching the end of the stairs, Twilight found herself to be in a massive stone atrium. Shelves stocked to the brim with books and scrolls lined the walls. Each shelf had a letter above it, most likely for alphabetical indexing. Twilight made a beeline for "R", hoping this secret archive had information on Rings of Power.

Twilight levitated all the files in front of her, and began scanning every document, hoping to find something relatable to rings. Parchment whizzed by her, and with each irrelevant document, her hope grew. Maybe the ring that Granny Smith possessed was just a plain old magical ring, nothing more, nothing less. Eventually, a well aged piece of paper caught her eye, and she slowed down just to read the text on this very special record.

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            The Year 3434 of the Second Age

Here follows the account of Isildur, High King of Equestria and the finding of The Ring of Power

It has come to me. The One Ring. It shall be an heirloom of my kingdom. All those who follow in my bloodline shall be bound to its fate for I will risk no hurt to The Ring.

It is precious to me...

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Twilight's heart skipped a beat. She'd heard a twisted creature and her own best friend say their ring was "precious". It had to be a coincidence, it just had to be. So, to hopefully prove her point, she continued reading.

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Though I buy it with a great pain. The markings upon the band begin to fade. The writing, which was as clear as red flame, has all but disappeared.

A secret now that only fire can tell.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Twilight read the inscription, and sadly, she understood the language. Fear gripped her; her focus failed. The papers which she so carefully levitated, fell to the cold hard floor with a loud *thud*; a representation of her dashed hopes. She now knew that Apple Bloom was in terrible danger, if what was written on this parchment was true.

"Apple Bloom!" Twilight hastened to somewhere she could teleport, hoping that it wasn't too late... for Apple Bloom's sake.