Verve

Umbra’s horn illuminated the stairs down in a glowing green aura, joined by two tail lanterns and a Seraph’s Mage Light - to help brighten the looming dark. Twinkling fireflies helped spark life into the overhanging trees and thick stone walls, a cool breeze of dewy air reaching them as their journey brought them down deeper into the earth.

Bird song echoed in the far distance, chitters and squawks of critters that broke out in their musical tunes. Hidden at the edge of disaster, the beauty of this strange tomb still stood, a pillar against the end of the world.

There was little to say, as glowing mushrooms and green moss sunk into the wood, a blooming life that gave way to the wilds below. Onwards down they trekked, a brilliant light reaching to meet them.

Into the sun once more, they stood at what used to be a wide cave system deep below the ground - but now, it embraced the cleave through the earth, a wave of glowing magic intensifying the atmosphere to the point of it shining blue once again. Trees and life grew more tame and controlled, a bubbling brook - from a river above perhaps, trailing down through a stream and across the standing stone of a great grave. A memoir to a deer long past.

It was adorned in wood and gold, untouched by time - but thriving with life. Its back rested on a maple tree that shot high into the sanctuary - branches high supporting the roof, its leaves green with the essence of summer.

Dozens of birds nested in its branches, the bloom of life and trees strong enough to bear their kind for generations to come. They sang in beautiful melodies, humming a tune to the memory of the Cervine who now rested here.

The surreal beauty of this place, a testament against the end - brought calm to their hearts, as the seven souls approached the grave.

“Welcome,” a familiar yet relaxed voice called. Behind the gravestone, an elegant, pure White Tail deer, translucent in his ethereal form - stepped into view. His coat was an innocent cherry cream flecked with brown and gold, his antlers bearing red leaves upon the tips of his many, many points - like a swaying canopy. His soft voice sounded like the forested winds he once called, holding a hoof to his chest. “I am Trilvanos… but in another life, I was Lord Mapleheart. King to the old Autumn Court, before the collapse - the cataclysm of the Star’s might. I ruled these lands, long before the time of ponies and their kind - and now, I protect these wilds to prevent yet another travesty from seizing more innocent lives.”

“Lord… Mapleheart? You - you’re Aster’s father?” Celestia gasped; she knew this name now. A name which eluded her in the past - the former King, who perished two thousand years prior. Though her education on the matter was short, as the White Tail weren’t intent on sticking around pony kind… she still knew of him. The deer had been proud of his lineage, after all, and spoke highly of the great leader before her - and these very same words reached her old teacher, Starswirl the Bearded.

“Indeed, I am. Though you met me as a nature spirit - I am nothing more than an old buck, holding on to the remnants of a world he once loved. I asked to speak to you here, to give you the truth - the story of my kind, and the memory of one who cherishes you. Dawn Caller, Sun Bringer - Solar Queen… Princess Celestia. I have many words to say, as they are very well my last. Please… heed them.”

His eyes turned to the infinite void of stars - faint behind the blue atmosphere of his grove, but ever present in the shadows. He did not speak for a while, only stare - the words growing in his mind like the roots of his old trees, far beyond.

“Long ago, before the world was split in twain - I ruled comfortably in these once thinner forests. When the trees were still pleasantly short, and the will of my kin still strong - I looked over the full breath of the world, onwards beyond the void you now call ‘the Edge’; as in my time, great lands still thrived in its place. A mare much like you, Celestia, with a red mane and gallant wings - used her magic to shelter her kind far beyond. She was a powerful ruler, who encompassed all traits of pony kind - horns, wings, great strength, and a beautiful heart.”

He raised his ethereal hoof, as a red cardinal fluttered to sit upon his ghostly body. Surprisingly, it could rest comfortably on his leg - the sheer power of the former King shining even in his death.

“Upon a distant mountain, in the far Western Wilds of the Wood, your kind lived in harmony. Yet it was not to last - as all great things do, it came to the end of something worse. You see, in this time - Equis, as it’s called, held great power. And power would draw less kind hearts to seize it. A monster from beyond the stars sought to claim the souls of these kind ponies, for their spirits hold a great light. Much like I do now.”

He gave the bird a nuzzle with his elegant snout - letting it fly back to its nest. Mapleheart’s shoulders slumped, sighing. “Your mother, Celestia. Of you and Luna both. She stood against the tide of ‘the Entity’. She called upon her kind to evacuate - to travel ever East, as the eldritch laid claim to their former empire, Starlight’s Peak. A great quest, to flee death itself - and in my open arms, they found shelter. But the last to escape its touch, was your mother, yourself, and your Sister. But not without a terrible curse being laid upon Luna.”

“You see, the Entity is a disease of envy, and thrives off suffering. It craves life, it hungers for the sweet taste of it. Where there is cold and pain, it grows outwards to the light, to drain it, to suck its beauty. And it does so by strangling the very spirit out of its victims. The Great Queen Astra, in her haste to save her kin - was late to the bedside of her youngest foal. Luna herself, your Sister.”

The King turned now to face the party. “It embedded in her a seed, which would grow and blossom. Queen Astra escaped, clutching you both - but bearing mortal wounds. Ones that even with my great healing power, I could not mend. The bile of the Entity was simply this strong. Her kind fell upon my doorstep, but with it came disaster. The tendrils of the Entity sunk into the Earth, growing thick - and deep, rooting itself to the core of Equis. Queen Astra was left with no choice but to act.”

He approached Celestia now - towering over her, proud and tall as the King of Old. “Using the power of Sun and Moon both, she channeled into her Ember a powerful magic. Pure and unfouled by dark, she traveled to the heart of Starlight’s Crest - which the Entity now called home. And there, she ignited her Ember into a blazing flame - ripping the celestial bodies from their orbit, and detonating with her half the world. Her magic billowed backwards, forming the new sky we rest under today. Nearly all life was lost, as far as here - as coarse magma scarred and churned the lands to sunder. The Entity was cast into the dark of the Shadowfell, where it bidded it's time - weak and destitute. And your mother… she was lost to the stars.”

He placed a cloven hoof to her chest, his green eyes - much like Aster’s - shining. “An up and coming wizard by the name of Starswirl the Bearded, offered to raise you both under his care - and travel ever East to be free of our lands, so that we may heal. But alas, without a ruler to guide them - your kind split at the seams, forming three factions. In the recovering forest I now call the Deepwoods, a small tribe of Pegasi stayed to make their home in the boughs far above. The spirits of the trees, under the deep rooted influence of the Entity, struck out upon them in revenge of their trespass - killing many, and driving the woods into the dark. A land beyond, the great spiders sunk webs over the forested homes of intelligent Unicorns - and consumed them all, as they tried to carve wine and food without the aid of the strong backed farmers. Unwary Earth Ponies settled still, farther beyond - and perished in a great flood. The still thousands left converged into the land you now call ‘Equestria’, named as such after the great quest to find shelter there. This news reached me, as my kind found this ledge we were now perched upon inhospitable.”

“My age and stress had taken my life, and with my death - my Son rose from the ashes. The White Tail needed a new home. And with the dangers lurking in the shadows - they travelled through risk and peril to reach Equestria. I can sense the world through him, the blood bond we hold shining bright - as he gazes over my deer with love and honor.”

“To not challenge the growing Equestrian ponies to war, our arcanist channeled the magic of the Feywilds - vanishing from the world and into the forests unknown. This would be their home, and soon - their magic bound to it, acclimated by the curious power around.”

“By the time you were young and growing, Starswirl had raised you to believe whatever hopeful story he had for the disaster, as ponykind sought to cleanse the memory. From there, it’s history as you’ve acquired - as my eyes can not see beyond the world of the Feywild, the trees of my forest, or through my Son’s blood. Had they not worked together - the Entity, still empowered from the draining life, would have likely fractured the seams of the fabric of reality, and billowed forward under the tide of the looming, unbalanced magic of disorder.”

“And the very world as we know it…” Celestia whispered, shock shaking her to her core. Everything… her life, it made sense now. It even explained why her mane was pink - or red, when empowered. She was born in her mother’s image.

Mapleheart withdrew his hoof, nodding. “Indeed. And the corruption of the Entity grows farther still. I feel it in my roots; despite your mother’s best efforts, the creature dwells in the shadows. The ponies who failed to escape the Entity’s influence, had the very life and love drawn from them - becoming chittering creatures of the dark, the Umbrum. And just like the Entity, they fear the light - and want nothing more than to overwhelm it, to crush it beneath their shadowy hooves. And they will do anything to accomplish this, to suck the very soul out of a pony - to make them much like they are, husks of their former selves, obedient to the spreading darkness. It would take a momentous force to restore even a single Umbrum’s being. Thus, the Crystal Ponies were smart - and built a ward against the entity, to fend off the shadows and keep them at bay.”

All eyes slowly turned to face Umbra, save Oarkin - who had no idea what any of this meant, or what was going on to begin with. Umbra didn’t know this about herself - but it all clicked. She really was a pony at heart. An Equestrian, through and through - and the Umbrum corrupted her. Arin’s light had been enough to restore her soul, and make her whole yet again. Changed - but whole.

“The Nightmare - deep down, she still carries the light. If the Entity’s corruption has her, you need only touch it to draw it free - and break her from her binds. Time is short. If the light of the sun vanishes beyond the horizon for the final time, the veil of the shadowfell will weaken enough for the Entity to escape. Not only will the world fall under eternal moonlight, but the dark will seek out the last remnants of life in the snow - and strangle the very magic from their embers. None will survive, not even the moon-drunk monster that had claimed the throne.”

“Then we have no time to waste.” Tempest nodded, standing tall against the tide of looming shadows. “The very world is at stake. Nightmare Moon’s hold is strong - but not unbreakable. We only need to touch the light within. Thank you, Lord Mapleheart. For everything you’ve done for us; from saving us from the dark, to revealing the secrets of the world.”

“And yet I have more to give. Princess Celestia, I have walked these woods for thousands of years. But I believe that now, they no longer need a guardian. I have a request, if you will grant it.”

The Princess, still recovering from the completed story given to her, turned to face the old Forest King once more. He closed his eyes, a flash of green light swirling around his hoof. In his grasp, he held a crystalline purple flower; formed of pure amethyst and emerald, it gleamed brightly in the light, showing the expert craftsmanship of the finest precision.

“When I died, my Son left this gift upon my grave. A gift I gave him when he was born. Please. Return this to him. I had it cut from the most beautiful of gemstones, to fit upon his ear - a sign of who he was. And I feel as if he may have forgotten his roots. It will remind him. Remind him that a ruler cares not just for his deer, but for the world at large.”

The Princess delicately accepted it in her faint, pink magic. Holding it to her chest as she looked once more upon the old King. Waiting for more words.

“...I am ready to move on now. I know my deer are in good hooves. Celestia, it’s time for the old grove to see its final twilight. I have just this left to give.”

He leaped gallantly onto the stony grave of his tomb, green eyes falling over the gathered party. “May the leaves line your path ever onwards, along the path of the stars. Use it well, Princess.”

A blast of billowing wind knocked Arin, Tempest, Umbra, Pumpkin, and Vee off their hooves and feet - Oarkin raising his arms and bravely standing his ground, even as the sheer power pushed him away from the Solar pony.

The once great Trilvanos, who basked his leaves in the sun for three thousand years - swirled all of his stored solar energy forward into the morning mare. Celestia rising from the ground as light coalesced inside her chest - a brilliant gleam of magic shining through her heart. Her wings spread wide, embracing the call of the dawn’s light - her mane and tail billowing as energy coursed through her veins. With a brilliant, radiating burst of power - the world flashed white, Celestia gliding delicately to the floor unaided by her powerful wings.

Her pink mane billowed in regal waves, now a deep, rich red - her eyes shining with the magic of the old Forest King’s gift. Her horn’s golden magic sparkled once more, her power brimming at max capacity - ember strong and luminescent in her chest. Without the touch of Harmony, her mane shone ruby red - a change she was happy to see.

In absolute wonder and awe, she felt the click of flame in her chest. The ageless sun of magic welling within her. She raised her eyes to thank the kind King, who had given so much - but… he was gone.

“Mapleheart?” she asked, an eerie silence hanging in the air. The birds had stopped their songs, as the plants around them had shifted to the soft orange of autumnal hues - dead leaves falling to the floor. The sky had turned to its usual black, the atmosphere thin once again.

The great maple tree behind had its leaves fall entirely red - the Summer’s breath coming to an end. In the dirt over the stone of his grave, several small aster flowers bloomed - the autumnal flower thriving in the end of life.

No response came to her call. Mapleheart’s spirit was no more.

Feeling her power restored, and sorrow in her heart for the sacrifice he made to restore it - the Princess approached the grave. Her wing slid forward, exposing the long, pristine feathers that graced her. With a pluck of her teeth, she withdrew a flight pinion - which she then rested on his grave in a sign of respect.

“...I’m grateful, old Thinker of Thickets, Bearer of Boughs. Your gift will never be forgotten.”

With that, she turned back to the party collecting themselves - Vee didn’t bother, of course, her legs sticking straight up in the air like a goat. Somepony would get her. Probably.

“Thank you. All of you. For standing by my side, in this terrible disaster. I promise you, the darker the night - the more brilliant the dawn.”