Words are a powerful thing, or rather, they can be. Any piece of writing has an effect on us whether it is lines of ink spread across parchment, carved into rock or even simply keeping it inside your heart. Words are thought made manifest and can evoke emotion, cause change and even topple a civilization, and that is power and so some people write for power, it’s only natural.
That base desire to rise up and look down on the world from a lofty height, it is these things that make us what we are or this is at least a part of that need of wanting something better for ourselves and the society we dwell in, of looking at our lives and saying to ourselves, ‘what will I leave behind before my time comes’ for the most part, it is nothing permanent and time eventually forgets. However, for the rare and lucky few, we do something that is remembered for eons, perhaps even forever.
I am not that kind of writer, and I hope I never will be. Recognition is not something I crave as others do. I simply wish my writing to cause some level of change for somepony, maybe they learn something and keep it close to their hearts, or perhaps it gives them hope for the morrow.
For me, writing is something that allows me to keep a record of my feelings, and the events that occur in my day to day life, and to fix some of the things I remember about my past life in my mind.
It is all I can do in my current prison.
Here’s what I know. I woke up in an unfamiliar place with very few memories, and those were horrid visions of torture and magical experimentation. So far, my new captors have treated me better than those previous, but I am still a prisoner, nothing more than a glittering trophy in the keeping of a would-be Emperor.
He keeps me in his manor, I am allowed to wander around and do as I please, I am, however, always under guard. In the years I’ve been kept here I’ve learned that I am the only one of my kind here, in this world of ‘humans’ I’m all alone with no way back to my own world. I don’t even remember what my world was like. My only memories are of pain and fear as I was tortured, a mere foal.
They call this place ‘Rome’ the armed guards look familiar to me for some reason, their armor specifically. From what I’ve been able to see from my captors abode, ‘Rome’ is a prosperous city, a booming center of industry from which the armored fist of a nation reaches out to claim chunks of this world. The ‘humans’ are always wearing clothes, the only fur they have on their bodies that I can tell is on their head, mostly on the top, some of the men have fur that covers their mouths and a thin covering of fur on the visible portions of their arms and legs. The women are different, their manes are longer and better kept and their arms and legs lack fur of any kind but this seems to be the result of careful grooming.
These humans mystify me, they treat me as though I’m an impossible being yet some of their art features things that are just as unlikely in their perspective, and they claim to know nothing of my world yet they create art of some of the few things I can remember. I’ve seen them paint Pegasi and Unicorns, and they have legends of ‘Mythical beasts’ such as the Basilisk or Hydras...
I’ve seen other ponies, but they won’t speak to me, they just stare blankly and act like common beasts. The humans seem to just keep them around for transportation and I asked one of the humans tending to the ponies why they don’t speak.
He laughed and said that they weren’t intelligent, that they were just animals.
I don’t visit the stables anymore, I shudder every time I see their blank eyes.
The man in charge of this manor doesn’t speak to me often, nor has he expressed the desire to ride me like a common beast, as I’ve heard some of the other nobles have. When he does take the time to speak to me, it’s of inconsequential things, which is odd considering he's the leader of a nation.
Which is another intriguing concept for me, his only task as a ruler seems to be... well... ruling.
When I asked who raised the sun and the moon each day he gave me an odd look and just said, “Why, the gods do.” I don’t understand, they speak of gods as if they aren’t real yet they worship them on a daily basis, using their names in curses and blessings.
I want to go home, wherever that is, I just want to go home.
I can remember few details about my life, I’m an alicorn, my name is Aevum and I used to live in Equestria. I can’t remember my parents, only the image of other ponies standing over me as they performed their experiments and tortures, both physical and mental. What did they do to me? Why can’t I remember?
I can remember that the sun and moon are raised, but by whom I cannot say.
I wish I could go home.
o.o.O.o.o
Aevum placed the sheaf of parchment back on the desk and replaced the quill in its pot with her magic. She was too tired to write coherently. She left the desk, walking over to the balcony and looked out over Rome, brushing her mane out of her eyes with a hoof, the sight of it was beautiful in its own way, and lights glittered throughout the city like the stars in the night sky and the buildings soared to impressive heights in an artistic style.
Humans went about their nightly tasks in the streets below and soldiers marched in orderly patrols, yet Aevum could feel a palpable sense of... unrest... these humans didn’t live in harmony. Instead they waged war on each other for various reasons, wealth, glory, power, territory and even religion, she sighed, ignoring the archers on the walls. They were stationed there to ensure that she wouldn’t attempt to just fly away, not that there was anywhere to fly to.
Aevum focused magic into her horn and lit the nearby lamps with a burst of magical flame. The night was unseasonably warm and the breeze wafted gently from the nearby shore, and Aevum relaxed, leaning against the railing and taking in the sight.
She furrowed her brow in puzzlement, the city seemed much more lively tonight, more so than usual, and that’s when she saw the rioters. The citizens were fighting each other and she could hear their shouting in the faint distance.
The soldiers were trying to keep order but even Aevum, inexperienced as she was. could see that there were too many, even some of the soldiers had turned and joined the rioters.
What was going on?
She looked down as the sound of shouting echoed from the courtyard, there were several ranks of soldiers lined up in front of the house, and a man in full armor sat upon a horse and shouted into the cool night air.
“Julius Caesar is dead by my hand! Unbar thy doors, we hath come for the alicorn!”
Aevum's heart froze, Julius Caesar was dead, and the veritable army in the courtyard had come for her, and she had a bad feeling that they didn’t mean to keep her as a trophy like Julius had. She startled as one of the soldiers pointed up at her and shouted, “There! The abomination is up there!” Aevum yelped and leaped back from the window as several arrows clattered against the masonry.
“Kill it! Kill the abomination! Burn the palace down!” Aevum backed away further into the room as she heard the man shouting more commands indistinctly and then several fiery objects flew over the walls and impacted the palace. The wooden sections of the building quickly lit.
Aevum ran from the room and down the corridor, she had to get out of here, they meant to kill her.
Aevum released a telekinetic blast from her horn and blew a door off its hinges, running headlong into a veritable firestorm. The room was lit with an unnatural orange as everything flammable burned in a fiery maelstrom of unchecked power. Aevum put a hoof over her eyes to protect them from the wave of heat and she coughed as a thick cloying cloud of smoke overtook her.
She backed away from the burning room and turned around, seeing two soldiers approaching from the end of the hallway. One of them pointed at her and shouted indistinctly, drawing his sword as he did so. Aevum gave a yelp of surprise and quickly blasted the roof between them, causing it to collapse.
There was no way out but forwards now, she turned and slowly made her way through the burning room, desperately trying to keep her lungs clear of smoke as she carefully avoided the burning furniture.
She reached the door and tried to open it, it was locked, she pressed her shoulder to it and gave a firm shove. Failing to open the door with physical strength, Aevum focused energy into her horn and blasted the door apart, galloping through the hole she made and into the corridor beyond. She heard a whistling sound and the floor shuddered, throwing her to the ground as another boulder crashed through the wall, causing the roof to collapse partially.
Aevum enveloped the the debris in a field of magic and tried to lift the collapsed beam out of the way, but it was too heavy. She got down on the floor and crawled under it, trying to ignore the heat being given off by the burning wreckage and wincing as smaller flames singed her fur.
Aevum got past it and made her way to the other end of the hall, and nearly yelped in shock as she rounded the corner. Aevum quickly put a hoof over my mouth to stifle the sound.
There were a pair of soldiers breaking in doors and checking the rooms, moving down the corridor from her. She fluttered her wings in fear, whose side were they on? She didn’t know, but they had their swords drawn as they searched each room so Aevum guessed they weren’t friendly, but there was no other way past. Aevum had no choice but to follow them quietly, keeping out of sight in the rooms they’d already searched as she listened to their conversation.
“So what exactly are we looking for again?” said one of them as he kicked a door in, pulling back as a cloud of smoke burst from the room.
“Lord Antony said we are looking for an ‘alicorn’ said we’d know it when we saw it, by the gods he sounded like he hated that thing, whatever it was.”
The first man looked around in the empty room before coming out, “Yeah, but what is an alicorn? And why is Lord Antony still firing on the building while we’re inside?”
The other man shrugged and turned his back, allowing Aevum to sneak into the next room, she needed to get closer, “Don’t rightly know, but orders are orders, and we’d be executed if we disobeyed them...” Aevum took a step forward, wincing as she heard some glass crack beneath her hoof.
“...Shh! did you hear that? It came from over there...”
Aevum leaped out into the hallway and charged past them, knocking the two men off balance as she galloped down the hall, “By Ceres! What on earth is that thing!”
“It’s the alicorn! Get it!” she heard them running after her and dodged down another corridor, coughing as the smoke built up, maybe she could lose them if...
Another boulder crashed into the roof, collapsing part of it on top of Aevum, and she cried out as the beam struck her back, knocking her to the floor and driving the breath from her lungs.
The weight of the beam began to crush Aevum slowly, burning her at the same time, she cried as she tried to get it off with a combination of magic and physical strength, but her hooves just scrabbled at the unburnt sections of the heavy log and she couldn't concentrate her magic enough to lift it.
Aevum stopped struggling and stared up at the soldiers in fear as they towered over her, and one of them stomped his armored boot into her face...
o.o.O.o.o
Aevum was being dragged somewhere, she coughed weakly, clearing the last of the smoke from her lungs, “It’s coming to...” Aevum struggled weakly and was rewarded with a backhand across her muzzle, “Be still, beast!”
She felt tears beginning to wet her eyes as several pains became apparent.
The palace continued to burn behind them and Aevum could feel its scorching heat on her back, “Lord Antony! We hath captured the animal that Caesar was keeping.” Aevum looked up at the man, and he stared down at me with a look of disgust.
She was backhanded again and thrown to the ground, where she remained in silence, “What manner of creature art thou? Thou doth not even look to be of this world, creature. Answer!” Antony kicked her in the chest viciously, forcing the breath from Aevum's lungs, she gasped and whispered, “I just want to go home! Why won’t you let me go home?” he crouched down beside her, his boots scuffing the tile pathway as he did so, he grabbed Aevum's horn and yanked it about then extended one of her wings roughly, “What a marvelous trophy thee will make, I will hang your head on my wall as a testament to the might of the Romans.” He straightened and Aevum looked up at him in fear as he drew his sword.
Aevum glanced at the blade, It gleamed a bright silver in the light cast by the moon. She curled up as he raised it above his head, preparing to sever hers.
“Foul creatures! You will fall before Her might!”
There was an explosion of light and the ground shook, throwing the humans to the ground. Aevum winced and then looked up at the disturbance, something was hovering above them all, its wings beating evenly as it glared down at the humans, Aevum squinted at it, it was giving off an immense amount of light.
Aevum took this as her chance to escape, she scrabbled to her hooves and galloped towards the gardens, ignoring the shouts of the surprised soldiers as they fired arrows at the being above, Aevum heard Antony shouting from behind her, trying to reorganize his troops.
“The beast is getting away! Kill it quickly!”
Aevum felt a burning lance of pain as something struck her side and several more as the soldiers she galloped past made poorly aimed swings at Aevum with their swords. She ignored the pain and grit her teeth as she entered the garden, dodging between the larger trees in order to avoid the arrows that whistled after her. Aevum hid in a bush and cowered as arrows thudded into the soft wood of the trees around her. The barrage slowed and was replaced with distant shouting and brilliant flashes of light from the courtyard as the battle continued.
Aevum got up and made her way deeper, her vision beginning to blur slightly. Aevum brought a hoof before her eyes and saw a long gash, blood dripped from it in a steady stream and she lowered it to the ground again.
Aevum gave herself a small shake. Worrying about it now was pointless if she couldn't escape the palace grounds, she furrowed her brow. Aevum couldn’t hear the shouting anymore, only the calm sounds of night, she looked about in confusion, she didn’t remember this part of the garden.
She made her way forward and saw lights through the trees. She pushed through some bushes and saw a town of some sort, She didn’t know she'd left the palace gardens behind, in fact, there was supposed to be a wall here.
Injured and bleeding, Aevum stumbled down towards the town. Maybe one of the humans down there would be kind enough to help her, maybe not, but it was a risk she had to take.
The streets were deserted and there were few lights to brighten her path, one building in particular caught Aevum's eye, because it was the only one whose lights were still on. It looked like a tree, but that wasn't typical human architecture. Aevum was unsure, maybe it was a part of Rome she hadn’t seen yet.
She could hear music from inside, it was a joyous upbeat tune, and Aevum almost smiled at it.
She quickened her pace when she realized her vision was darkening. Aevum stumbled towards the door, struggling to stay on her hooves. She leaned against the door frame as the last of her strength began to ebb away, and she tapped her hoof against the door four times.
“Hello? Is anypony there? I need h-help...” Aevum collapsed across the threshold as the door opened, too weak to get up.
“Oh my gosh! What happened to her?! She’s covered in blood!” said one of them, she sounded like one of the nobles Julius would surround himself with.
“Girls. Look! She’s an alicorn...” Aevum felt herself picked up by something and she couldn't bring herself to struggle against it as she had long since closed her eyes and was about to give in to exhaustion. She hovered in the air, suspended by some kind of field as she was moved further into the room.
“Pinkie, have you got any bandages around? I need to stop the bleeding.”
Aevum heard a springing sound as someone bounced around and said in a cheerful voice, “Yeaha! I have bandage stashes all over Ponyville! In case of bandage emergency!” Aevum felt somepony place an appendage on her shoulder, not unlike a hoof.
“Okay, I’m going to take the arrow out now, I’m so sorry for this...” Aevum felt something quiver in her side and then cried out pitifully as it was torn from her in a blinding flash of intense pain.
“Pinkie! The bandages, I need to stop the bleeding! Rarity can you bind some of these other wounds?” Aevum felt some of the cuts on her body get wrapped in bandages as the first figure kept pressure on my side, “Of course, Twilight.”
“Oh my! Look at some o’ these wounds, it’s like somepony tried to dice ‘er up!” another of the figures asked, “Rainbow, I need you to figure out where she came from, it looks like she’s lost a lot of blood, see if you can backtrack to see where she came from.” the one called Twilight asked.
“Sure thing, Twilight!” Aevum heard the door open and close, “Oh how horrid! Who would do something like this to her!” Rarity asked as she worked to tighten the bandages.
“I don’t know, but I’m also interested in the fact that she’s an alicorn, this shouldn’t be possible...” Aevum struggled to pay attention as she felt herself slipping into unconsciousness from exhaustion.
“Yet here she is...” Aevum fell into the dark...
o.o.O.o.o
Aevum was floating somewhere, or sometime. She couldn’t see or feel anything but she could hear something...
Music...
It flowed around her and under her and through her, invigorating her soul and filling her up. It warmed her and chilled her at the same time. The notes had a familiarity to them, like a song she knew very well but couldn’t recall, she had heard this music before. The tone changed and the music spoke of loneliness and despair. Aevum cried as the music wrapped her in its aura, it spoke to Aevum and Aevum alone, a symphony of life.
Her life.
The tone changed again and she felt safe, there wasn’t anything to be afraid of, it told her, she would be safe here. Aevum's thoughts slowed and she calmed as she dozed in the spell of the song.
"I don’t think I could live like this..."
The tone of the music, paused for an instant and continued, the chiming notes assuring Aevum that time never passed here. She felt tired as she floated in the nothingness, listening to the music weave though her soul. It assured Aevum that she never need feel pain or loss again, or anything, she need never think or ‘be’, she could just stay here with the music forever and exist in a perpetual twilight.
‘But that’s not living...’
Aevum struggled weakly against the symphony. The tone slowed its pace and Aevum stilled as it calmed her, it assured her that existing was so much better than living. Aevum began to struggle more, panic waking her mind to the sudden danger she was facing. The music took a dark tone and she shivered as notes of cold washed through her.
"I can’t stay here! I need to go back! I must... I..."
The notes washed all thought from Aevum's mind and she stilled once more, the notes returned to their calming flow.
Thought returned to Aevum's mind slowly as the music receded from her like an outgoing tide, she didn’t know how long she had spent in that state, Aevum hadn’t been able to think while the music echoed within her mind.
The music held her and Aevum remained still as it washed around her, it penetrated into her mind again and searched her memories. Aevum struggled some, and she shuddered as a sudden wave of warmth coursed through her. The song held her securely in its spell and Aevum floated helpless in the empty void for what seemed an eternity. Had hours passed? Minutes? Years? Aevum couldn't tell, she couldn’t seem to think clearly.
Aevum slowly gathered her strength, she didn’t know what struggling was going to achieve, but patience was clearly getting her nowhere. She listened to the song, waiting for a gap. Aevum found it and began to struggle wildly, trying to wake herself from the nightmare. The notes screeched and withdrew from her in a blinding flash of white.
o.o.O.o.o
Aevum woke up gasping for air, more from fear than the pain her wounds caused her, and she whimpered when she became aware of her bodies pains. The arrow wound in her side burned and her vision blurred as the throbbing reached a crescendo.
The room was dark but for a bright strand of moonlight streaming through the window, Aevum looked down at the darkened bandages that covered parts of her body and touched a hoof to one, it was still wet with blood and she winced as a small lance of pain shot from it.
Aevum turned her attention to her surroundings, finding herself on a couch, laying on a thick rug, it too was soaked with blood. She felt a pang of fear as she remembered the night’s events, she had to get out of here, she had to flee!
Aevum tried to get up, whimpering as the muscles around her wounds pulled, “Hello? Are you awake?” Aevum stilled as somepony came towards her, she was oddly small for a human and she appeared hunched over. She couldn’t see her properly in the dark, “Who are you? Please don’t hurt me...” Aevum whispered fearfully. She drew away from her as much as she could, wincing as her muscles pulled on her injuries.
“Just lay still, nopony is going to hurt you... here, drink this...” she held a beaker of glowing pink liquid towards Aevum's muzzle and she sniffed it. The glowing mixture bubbled slightly and Aevum was wary of what it was, but she felt she could trust this person and so Aevum drank it, the liquid felt hot against her throat and the pain dulled to a minute throb.
“T-Thank you...”
“You’re welcome, It wouldn’t be nice of me if I just left somepony in pain... what happened to you?” she asked, Aevum still couldn’t see her clearly and the potion she’d just drank had made her drowsy, “T-They tried to kill me, those humans at the palace wanted to kill me...”
“Humans? I’ve never heard of them... I’m sure I might have a book on the subject somewhere, but I don’t know... wait... what palace, there aren’t any palaces in Ponyville. Are you saying you came from the ruins in Everfree Forest?” nothing she’d said had made sense, but Everfree Forest sounded familiar somehow.
“But... where am I? Who are you?” the figure giggled and placed something hard on Aevum's unwounded shoulder and she was shocked to see that it was a hoof, colored the same shade as her lavender fur, “My name is Twilight Sparkle, I’m the librarian for Ponyville, are you telling me you’ve never heard of Ponyville?”
Aevum gulped, Twilight was a pony. Unwelcome memories of torture came to the forefront of Aevum's mind and she pushed them back, not all ponies were like that. Were they?
She shook her head slowly, “No. I’ve been living in a human city called Rome for the past four years...”
Aevum saw a purple magical aura highlight Twilight's horn and then a candle and she became easily visible as she lit the candle with magic. Twilight was definitely a pony, her fur was lavender and her mane was violet with a streak of indigo and pink in it, it had been cut just above the brow line, probably so it didn’t get in her amethyst colored eyes.
“That’s odd, Rainbow Dash said she followed the trail of your blood to the edge of Everfree Forest...” Aevum was utterly confused now and whatever she had drunk made her too drowsy to think clearly. There was a pony right in front of her, but Aevum was the only one of her kind in the human world. She’d mentioned a town named Ponyville and she’d studied the maps Julius had at his palace and there were no towns named so. The gears in Aevum's head churned slowly, the only conclusion she could come to was that she was, somehow, back on Equestria, after all this time.
“I’m home... I found my way back home...” Aevum could no longer fight the drowsiness and she closed her eyes and fell asleep with a smile on her face.
o.o.O.o.o
Twilight Sparkle gazed at the alicorn with concern, the healing potion had done its job and she was once again asleep. She set about tightening the bandages that had come loose during her fitful sleep and changed the dressing on the arrow wound. She had no idea what humans were or where Rome was, but she was certain that the alicorn had come a long way.
She levitated the lit candle closer towards the alicorns flank, her cutie mark was that of a silver sundial on a bed of sand, she wasn’t sure what her special talent was but if the sundial was any indicator, it probably had something to do with time.
Twilight sighed and went back to her desk, either way, the alicorn would wake up tomorrow morning so she would have plenty of time for questions then, she only wished Spike was here so he could send a letter to Celestia, but he was camping with Sweetie Bell and her friends right now so she would have to wait until morning.
She rubbed her face with her hooves and gazed once again at the sleeping alicorn. She was larger than a normal pony, but smaller than Luna, and her mane was a light blue with a sapphire streak in it and her coat was a simple white. Twilight's thoughts ran in circles, she simply couldn’t be there, and there weren’t any other alicorns in existence as far as she knew.
Celestia would have told her if there were others... wouldn’t she?
A/N First off I'd like to apologize for the... wow, an entire month... heehee, uhm i have no excuse whatsoever... so, just sorry for the delay.
Secondly, special thanks to VDtheBrony for proofreading/editing/being awesome and patient. For now, enjoy this newest chapter and please, take the opportunity to criticize me in the comments, no matter how harsh the judgement.
(-O-) <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Aevum yawned sleepily and rubbed her eyes to get the sleep out of them, the sun was shining through the window and she gazed at it for some time, enjoying the simple warmth it brought to the room.
Home...
She looked down at the bandages that covered her wounds, they stilled throbbed dully, but for the most part she couldn’t feel them, all she could feel was a bit of soreness in her side, the stiffness of her muscles and the crusted blood clinging to her coat.
The smell of blood and sweat assaulted Aevum’s nostrils and she almost retched at the putrid scent.
She really needed to wash herself.
“Oh! Good morning, I hope you slept well after drinking that potion.” Aevum startled and looked toward the sound and saw Twilight. Aevum relaxed slightly, her immediate safety assured.
She stretched, feeling her bones pop, wincing as her muscles pulled against some of the larger gashes, and got up. Aevum looked down on the blanket she’d been sleeping on and gave a cry of surprise when she saw the amount of blood she’d lost; the blanket was almost completely soaked with blood and it dripped down the edges of the couch.
She turned towards Twilight with an apologetic look, “Sorry for ruining your couch...”
She waved a hoof at Aevum, dismissing the notion, “Don’t worry about it, it’s easy enough to clean and I just couldn’t let you sleep on the floor.” She levitated the book she’d been reading back in front of her and continued as if there was nothing wrong.
Aevum opened her mouth to reply, and then closed it slowly. There weren’t words that could describe her gratefulness or the true extent of joy she felt at finally being home. Even though her home wasn’t ‘there’ precisely, she was back amongst her own kind and that was enough. Unwelcome images of torture flashed through her mind and she grimaced.
Aevum noticed Twilight looking at her with concern and she guessed Twilight had mistaken the grimace for physical pain, rather than emotional.
“Thank you... words cannot express...” the mare before her smiled, and Aevum looked to the cover of the book she was reading. The book was fairly old, the bindings were a faded maroon with gold linings in the corners. What drew her attention however, was the golden unicorn head on the front. The book had no title, nor did it have any other indicators of its subject material, Aevum was about to ask Twilight a question when she noticed her stare.
“It’s about obscure Equestrian history, I’m trying to figure out... never mind...” Twilight’s words trailed off as she gazed at her body and Aevum returned her puzzled expression.
“I’m sorry, are alicorns not common on this world?” Twilight opened her mouth as if to answer, she closed the book and levitated it back down to the desk as she sighed. Twilight got up from the desk and approached Aevum. She leaned back slightly, it wasn’t that Aevum didn’t trust her, she just didn’t know her well enough to determine if she meant any harm.
Well... she did help me last night. If she meant to harm me, wouldn’t she have done so by now?
Aevum broke free from her reverie to find Twilight examining her flank, the mark that was depicted there to be more precise. It was then Aevum noticed that Twilight had a similar phenomenon on her flank, it was different from hers however and resembled a purple, six pointed star surrounded by five smaller silver stars.
“Your cutie mark closely resembles Princess Luna’s, but only in its general shape, not its subject...”
Cutie mark. Is that what it was?
Aevum didn’t know; there was so much she didn’t know. The purple mare that was now circling her was her greatest hope of finding out where she had come from and what had happened to her.
“To answer your question, No. alicorns aren’t commonplace here, while it’s not unusual for minor alicorns to be born from a union between a Pegasus and a Unicorn, they’re still ponies. True alicorns, however, are not Equian like the rest of us, the physical differences alone set them apart and their maturity is defined by their skill with magic... They are literally gods.”
She bit her lip and stepped back from her close examination of Aevum and gazed at her with a look of immense curiosity mixed with confusion.
“There are only three ‘True’ alicorns in the world that I know of and they’re all royalty... who are you?” Aevum averted Twilight’s gaze. She asked herself the same question every single day as she searched her meagre memories for any clue that could lead her to discover her identity, but all she had ever uncovered were memories of other ponies dressed in black, standing over her as they did unspeakable things.
Asides from those horrid visions all Aevum could remember was her time in Rome... and her name.
“I-I don’t know. I don’t remember much, I am... was... Aevum, I don’t know where I came from...” Twilight looked at Aevum with sympathy and it touched her heart. Nobody, not even Julius Caesar had shown her any kindness in her memory and while the Romans hadn’t outright hated her, recent events aside, they had never raised a hoof... or hand, rather... to harm her in any way.
Aevum opened and closed her mouth several times, trying to think of something, anything she could say that could express her gratitude. No words came to mind and she found herself drawing a circle on the floor with her hoof.
She looked up at Twilight to find that she’d come closer and was now examining her horn in closer detail. She seemed to have completely forgotten about Aevum’s teary response to her question about who she was and Aevum kept her head still as Twilight appraised the magical ‘limb’.
“...not as long as the others... in fact... not much longer than mine...” she stopped muttering and switched her gaze to Aevum and gave a sheepish grin.
“Sorry! It isn’t often I get to examine an alicorn up close and you are a unique specimen to be sure!” Aevum cocked her head to Twilight's somewhat amusing act of objectifying of her, as if she were no more than a potential pet.
Aevum noticed Twilights smile as she giggled and realized her ruse had worked. Twilight had gotten her to smile and now proceeded to release her own stifled laughter. Aevum’s joy didn’t last however as she became aware again of the state she was in and she then asked Twilight if she could avail herself of her bath house.
“Bath house? Huh... oh there’s a bath upstairs, it’s the second door on the left, take as long as you need Aevum.” Aevum thanked Twilight and went up the stairs slowly, trying to avoid moving her muscles as much as possible.
She opened the door Twilight had directed her to and looked around. It was unlike any bath house she had ever seen. It looked far more advanced than anything in Rome and Aevum wasn’t certain how to operate the object that was obviously a bath in the center of the room.
Aevum made her way towards the porcelain tub and examined it carefully, noting that it shared many similarities to the bathing tubs she’d used back in Rome, its shape being the first and foremost.
There was a drain to one side and a curtain that could be drawn around the tub to provide a modicum of privacy. She turned her gaze to an odd contraption that sat at the top of the tub, just above the drain. It was made up of three pieces of metal protruding from the wall the part in the middle was a shaped metal tube that ended in a curve that pointed towards the bottom of the tub.
The other two parts closely resembled knobs that the humans were fond of placing on their doors as a method of opening them. What caught her attention were little colored circles in the center of each knob, one was a sapphire blue and the other was a ruby red, the purpose of these knobs mystified Aevum.
She continued her examination and surmised that the tube was the method by which water was dispensed, and she figured that turning one of the two knobs would result in water being deposited into the tub.
Aevum prodded the knob with the blue circle experimentally and was reward with a stream of water exiting the metal tube. She put her hoof in the flow of water and smiled at the sensation of cold water running through her fur. Aevum prodded the other knob boldly and water flowed from the tube faster, steam rising from it steadily. She put her hoof under it again and sighed appreciatively as the heated water soaked her fur.
She carefully unwound one of the bandages from her foreleg and winced at the ferocious gash. The potion Twilight had given her the previous night seemed to have sped up the healing process, but she was still far from full recovery. Aevum began to unwind the rest of the bandages and inspected the other wounds, and found that they weren’t as bad as she originally thought them to be, most of them merely seemed to be flesh deep.
She stood amongst a heap of discarded bandages and gazed at the bandaging on her shoulder, every movement she’d made so far had brought a slight twinge from it. Aevum unwound it slowly and dropped the bandage to the floor with the rest as she gazed at the arrow wound.
It was by far the worst injury and blood slowly seeped from it. The fur around it was stained red and the flesh beneath was an angry red, but at least it wasn’t infected.
Aevum turned her attention towards the bath and turned the knobs to stop the flow of water, watching as the water calmed. The room had steamed up at this point and Aevum was content to leave it that way as it reminded her of the steam baths in Rome. She dipped a hoof into the water and, finding that the temperature was near perfect, slid down into the hot water, wincing slightly as the liquid enveloped and soaked her injuries one by one.
Aevum rested her head against the porcelain tub as the rest of her body remained immersed in the steaming water, slowly washing away the blood and dirt. Aevum shuddered as the water worked its way into some of the open wounds, and she tried to relax so the hot water could do its work.
Aevum closed her eyes, falling into a contemplative mood. She thought about last night’s events, but most of her memory of it was nothing more than a blurry mess of incoherent images and sensations. Antony had tried to kill her that night. He’d never tried to hide his dislike of her a secret and often threatened her but would he really commit treason just to end her life?
It seemed too far for one man to go on his own.
She filed the thought away with irritation. Antony was no longer a problem being on another world as he was. Still, Aevum couldn’t help but shake the feeling that if she could somehow get here, then the humans could too...
o.o.O.o.o
Twilight Sparkle skimmed through the pages of the book, frantically searching for any references to another alicorn. She groaned in frustration and slammed the book shut with her magic and dropped it on the table.
She paced around the room, her thoughts circling wildly.
“Celestia would have told me if there was another alicorn! I’m her personal student, she trusts me!” she stated the fact out loud to fix it in her head as the sounds of her hooves clopping against the floor woke Owlowiscious and he let loose an irritated hoot.
“Oh! I’m sorry Owlowiscious. I’m just frustrated, that’s all.”
The owl, now intrigued, hooted again in an inquisitive manner as he glided down from the rafters to perch on a small stack of books.
“She’s an alicorn, Owlowiscious, but she can’t be! There are only three in Equestria and one is only an alicorn minor! There’s no mention of ‘Aevum’ anywhere in this library, now I know that’s not saying much... but...” Twilight stopped and gazed out the window, where she could see Canterlot, the shining capital of Equestria, perched on the cliff side precariously.
“Princess Celestia...” Twilight swallowed hard as the truth slowly began to dawn on her, “She would have told me if there was another alicorn... she trusts me... doesn’t she?” she gazed over at Owlowiscious, who was now preening his feathers calmly. He noticed Twilight’s stare and gave another hoot.
“She’s definitely an alicorn, if her cutie mark is any indicator...” she looked up at the clock on the wall trying to judge how long Spike would take to get here. She had to send a letter to Celestia, to inform her if she wasn’t already aware of Aevum’s presence.
Twilight figured she could get a start on writing a letter to Celestia while she waited for Spike to return. She sat down at the desk and shifted the pile of books Owlowiscious had perched on to one side and took up a feather quill with her magic as she levitated a blank roll of parchment before her.
Dear Princess Celestia,
I’m not sure if you’re aware of this already, and I may be just telling you something you already know. However, last night while my friends and I were enjoying a slumber party, somepony appeared on my doorstep grievously injured and muttering deliriously. I didn’t notice it at first but she is an alicorn.
I am still struggling to grasp the fact myself but the evidence is clear. She has a light blue mane with a streak of sapphire and a white coat, and her Cutie Mark resembles a silver sundial over a bed of sand.
I am unsure what I should do, I’ve done my best to see that her wounds are treated and that she is comfortable but I am not a Doctor, and I’m not sure that taking her to the local hospital would be a good idea.
I just don’t know how to handle this; I need your help Princess.
Your Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle
Twilight set the quill back in its pot of ink as she leant her back against the chair. She had never asked Princess Celestia for help before, not once in all the time she’d spent as her personal student had she ever thought about it.
She was not qualified to deal with this kind of situation, both Aevum’s injuries and the fact that she was an alicorn!
The door to the library opened and Twilight looked over her shoulder as Spike walked in, “Spike! I’m glad you’re here. I need you to send this to Princess Celestia for me.”
Spike looked at Twilight incredulously, “Aww, common Twi! I just got home!”
“Spike.”
Spike let loose a defeated sigh, “Okay okay! Sheesh Twilight!” Spike took the scroll from Twilight's magical grasp and held it before his face, focusing his thoughts on Celestia.
‘Princess Celestia, regent of the sun... Celestia... Celestia...’
He blew out a stream of fluorescent green magical flame and burned the letter, watching as the ashes flew on an invisible wind as they sought out the Princess of the sun. Spike turned to Twilight, who now looked visibly nervous, “So what was that letter about anyway, another friendship report?” Spike began to clean up some of the mess his guardian had made while he was with the crusaders.
Twilight sighed and got up, beginning to pace and Spike gave Twilight a concerned look. The only thing that ever bothered Twilight was the threat of vague, impending disaster and when she got going, there was no stopping her.
Uh-oh! Something’s got her bothered...
Spike shifted his gaze around the pile of books he’d picked up and was about to tell Twilight that she needed to relax when she cut across him.
“There’s an alicorn upstairs, Spike.”
Spike dropped the books he was carrying in shock, “An alicorn?! Oh... is it Cadence? Luna?” Twilight threw Spike a dirty look and levitated a book before her, flipping through the pages with magic.
“No, neither of them. Her name is Aevum and... and well she turned up last night...” Spike was about to reply when he felt something build up in his chest and burped, a gout of magical flame burst forth and materialized into a scroll before him. Twilight caught it before it hit the ground and levitated it before her, unrolling the parchment nervously.
“Wait there. I am coming.”
Twilight flipped the parchment around, searching for more words, “T-That’s all it says, Celestia is never this brief I don’t unde...” A thought struck Twilight and she dropped the letter in shock.
“Princess Celestia... is coming here... now.” Twilight stood there for a moment, the gears in her head had stopped churning as she recovered from the sudden shock. Spike edged towards Twilight, “Twilight... are you okay?” Twilight glanced at the door, then at Spike, she had to get the town prepared for Celestia's arrival.
Now.
She galloped at the door and Spike leaped in front of it, arms splayed to keep Twilight in, “Twilight! The princess is just coming to check out this alicorn! You don’t need to throw a celebration!”
Twilight tried pushing past Spike but he stepped between her and the door at every turn, and she let loose a frustrated groan, “Spiiiiiike, out of the way! Princess Celestia could be here any minute!” Spike stood firm and refused to move.
“You really need to calm down Twilight! It’s not like Celestia will banish you to the moon for being a little disorganized!”
Twilight stopped and looked back over the library...
‘Oh no! The library is a mess! What am I going to do?’
Twilight began around, frantically levitating several books back into their places on shelves as she whined in anxiety, “Spike! Hurry up and help me! The library needs to be spotless before Princess Celestia arrives!” Spike groaned and picked up a few books, stacking them neatly before returning them to their proper shelves as he mumbled, “It might be easier if you stop leaving them lying around...”
‘KNOCK KNOCK’
Twilight dropped all the books she was levitating and stared at the door, her pupils the size of pinpricks and her left ear twitching. She gulped and opened the door to Celestia, “H-hello Princess! I, uh, it’s good to see you again...”
Celestia smiled and nuzzled her favorite student, “Twilight, you really must learn to relax, I’m not going to be mad if your library is a mess. I still remember what you were like as a filly.” Twilight blushed furiously as she, too, remembered the messes she’d left in the library. Mountains of books everywhere and a small purple unicorn filly in the middle of it all, muzzle buried deep within a dusty old tome.
“ehhehheh, uhm, well yes, I suppose so. Anyway,Aevum is upstairs in the bath and she should be down shortly.” Twilight led her mentor inside the library, still cringing at the state of it. She casually levitated a few and stacked them on tables, trying to keep some semblance of organization.
“It has been so long... I suppose I few more minutes won’t hurt...” Twilight turned towards the sound of her mentor’s voice, not quite catching what she said. She was about to ask the Solar Princess to clarify when Celestia cut across her.
“So Twilight. Tell me about Aevum...”
o.o.O.o.o
Aevum rubbed the fur of her leg over the mirror and wiped away the excess moisture, a pair of bright amber eyes framed by light blue hair gazed back at her. With an action born of long habit, Aevum levitated a brush and moved it through her mane, working out the knots carefully, wincing at each tug. Once she was done with her mane, Aevum lightly toweled herself off, carefully avoiding the gashes that dotted her body.
Aevum gazed over her wounds, realizing she didn’t have anything to bandage them with. She searched the cupboard below the mirror, feeling more than a little guilty at ransacking Twilight's home. She ended up reasoning that Twilight wouldn’t mind if she used the bandages to keep her wounds closed.
She wound the bandages around her wounds tightly, keeping them in places with small elastic clips. She finally came to the arrow wound and put some thought into how she would go about bandaging it. It was on her right shoulder, right over a large muscle group.
Aevum awkwardly went about looping the bandaging around her neck and over the wound tightly.
She clipped the bandaging in place and appraised her hoofwork. It wasn’t perfect but it would suffice until something more suitable could be arranged.
Aevum set about righting the bathroom, disposing of the used bandages and placing everything back in its proper place, thinking it would be rude of her to leave a mess for Twilight to clean up. Once she’d finished, Aevum left the bathroom to head back downstairs.
She pondered again what she would do now that she was back on her own world, she’d been in Rome for four years and she had no idea how long she’d spent as a captive. So she could safely assume she’d been missing for about four years, a long period of time to be sure, but not long enough for anypony to completely forget her.
Maybe Twilight could help her find out where she’d come from.
Aevum began descending the stairs when she heard somepony speaking, one of the voices belonged to Twilight Sparkle but she didn’t recognize the other, it did sound... familiar, though. The living room came into view and Aevum stood transfixed, staring at an alicorn like her, but she was different. Her mane flowed and sparkled in an invisible wind and she wore a crown and mantle, her hooves encased in golden horseshoes.
Aevums gaze locked onto the alicorn’s amethyst eyes, she couldn’t move, she was paralyzed by the gaze of the figure before her.
She felt something begin to uncoil from within the depths of her mind, thoughts and emotions unfolded and she stood, her eyes never leaving the regal alicorn’s.
The memories finally broke through and Aevum collapsed with the shock.
Aevum struggled and shouted as the figures tied her up, running a piece of rope through her mouth as they took her away, “Keep the filly quiet! You want to end up like the others?” Aevum struggled against the bonds as the ropes bit into her fur sharply, where was mother? They had strapped a piece of cloth over my eyes so she couldn’t see.
Aevum felt a wave of disorientation as she passed through some sort of energy field, she shuddered as her body passed through the wavering wall of magic. The ponies who’d kidnapped her threw Aevum to the ground and she curled up there, unable to see or speak.
One of them, the leader, shouted a command, “Nightfog! Shut the rift. We have what we came for.” there was murmuring around me as the strange beings conversed quietly amongst themselves.
Aevum remained still, her heart pounding in fear, she didn’t know who these ponies were or why they’d foalnapped her but she knew it couldn’t be for a good reason.
“This is just perfect... We finally have an Alicorn, now our plan can begin in earnest...” Somepony probed Aevum with his hooves, examining her wings and horn.
Somepony else approached and Aevum began to shiver, this one’s presence felt familiar, he had struck Aevum several times when she had struggled.
“Watch that you don’t remove the anti-magic collar, Doc, she’s a nasty little wretch.”
“I don’t think she is much of a threat to us, she is but a child.”
The other one growled, “I’m not willing to take that chance, Celestia was none too happy when we took her. You wanted an ‘alicorn’ now you have one, so sedate ‘it’ and get ‘it’ out of here.” Aevum relaxed slightly as the dark one left and listened intently as the ‘Doctor’ sighed.
She heard him rummaging around for something and she felt a prick in her back leg, her eyelids drooping almost instantly as she became drowsy.
o.o.O.o.o
Celestia stared down at the unconscious alicorn as she twitched in response to whatever dream she was experiencing and reached a hoof out towards her, touching her forehead gently. Celestia struggled to contain herself in front of Twilight, she was still a princess after all and she had an image to keep despite her relaxed approach to ruling.
“Uhm, well that was interesting.” Celestia looked over her shoulder at Twilight, she would have to explain everything to her faithful student soon.
But not now... not yet...
“Thank you for taking care of her Twilight, you’ve done a wonderful job, so I’m sure you won’t mind if I take it from here?”
“No. Of course not Princess, I only wish there was more I could do.”
Celestia carefully levitated Aevum onto her back, bringing forth a questioning look from Twilight. Her student knew she could have simply kept levitating Aevum with little effort and Celestia knew she would have to step carefully around Twilight for the time being.
“I know you have questions, my faithful student, but I’m sorry to say that I cannot give you the answers... at least not right now... I can only ask for your patience, I will explain everything to you soon.”
Twilight opened her mouth as if to protest, but thought better of it as her mouth closed, her inquisitive nature barely held in check. Twilight nodded solemnly and returned to her desk quietly and Celestia felt a pang of sorrow as she realized she’d caused a small rift between her and her faithful student. She could only hope Twilight would forgive her for keeping something like this a secret.
She looked over at the sleeping alicorn as she left Twilight's library and made her way towards the waiting carriage.
Yes, a big secret indeed. Nopony but herself and Luna knew of Aevum’s existence and she had, regrettably, kept that secret for three thousand years. It was a constant source of pain and guilt for Celestia and she’d done her best to rule over her little ponies despite her personal demons.
Perhaps... now that she had her daughter back... Celestia could finally forgive herself for allowing Aevum to be stolen in the first place.
o.o.O.o.o
The torch light flickered and danced across the walls of the dim hallway and Prince Blueblood walked at a leisurely pace, he had no better place to be, he was a Prince after all. The Unicorn Prince was close to the heart of the castle, not the throne room, but the structural center of the royal household, where its martial design was still prevalent even underneath the additions Celestia and Luna had made thousands of years ago.
These corridors were traveled by few during the day, as most of the nobility preferred to dally in the light soaked courtyards and gardens if they weren’t socializing in ball room or getting pampered by their servants.
Normally Prince Blueblood would be up there with them, exercising his superiority over all beneath him. Today, however, he was avoiding a certain mare he’d ‘supposedly’ offended the previous evening.
Really, all he’d said was that no matter how rich she was she was still the descendant of a peasant rock farmer.
Which was entirely true of course, he couldn’t imagine why she’d take offense at such a comment on her birth. In fact, she should be honored that he even knew of her family’s origins, royal attention was not easily garnered after all.
Still, the mare had a vicious streak and he did not wish to associate himself with an earth pony savage, no matter how large the mountain of bits they sat upon. So this was what he was driven to, scuttling around in these dank corridors like a common serving pony. He wrinkled his nose at the stale air and lack of any respectable level of lighting.
Blueblood didn’t notice the shadows in the corridor behind him deepening, nor did he notice that these shadows crept and stalked him as he moved, always maintaining a discreet distance.
The shadows could feel the hatred within the regal Unicorn, but it was hidden beneath a thick layer of propriety and a heavy sense of self-importance. He could not be taken at this time, but the shadows were patient, they had remained hidden and undetected in this castle for centuries not even the cursed sun goddess could see them.
The shadows stopped following Blueblood as he ascended a set of stairs and remained below in the darkened corridor.
Blueblood could be used in time.
And the shadows had all the time they needed.
All the time in the world.
