Fallout Equestria: Desperados V3 (Bonds of Platinum)

Fallout: Equestria

Desperado’s V3: Bonds of Platinum

Ch 28, Blood of Platinum, Part 3.

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Focusing my magic into my pipbuck, I reactivated its spell matrix, and immediately had Order bouncing around in my hud. Its cartoonish image Looked distressed and confused.

Ignoring Order for now, I attempted to use the pipbucks telekinesis spell to grab my combat knife and cut myself free. This proved… difficult, as the spell wasn't responding correctly, and I only managed to grab my own cheek. It was clear that the anti-magic pulse had scrambled the spell matrix, and possibly everything needed to be rebooted, if not recalibrated.

“Order!” I command. “Get a grip and cut me loose. I lost control over the spell matrix.”

Order regained control over itself, giving a determined look, “Yes my… @%#%%@#$%##$%###@$$... ERROR!!!!!!”

“Shit.” I said with a sigh. Then I felt Alpha pull at my binding, lifting me up by then. “Ahh, careful girl!” I pleaded.

My world became a blur as the Nightstalker then violently shook me around in the air. Whipping around like a chew toy, I then felt myself get thrown into the air, legs somehow free, then I began to fall.

The landing was much softer than expected as I landed on Alpha, and after catching my breath and letting the world stop spinning, I scratched her behind the ears. “Not exactly what I expected, but if it works. Good girl.”

Standing up on the stone floor, I looked over at the now dead priest, a chunk of his throat missing, and blood splatter all around him, and a lot of Alpha's face. It made me very glad that Star managed to make friends with Alpha and her pack, as this was a level of violence that regular nightstalkers were too small to do on their own. Though I imagined the venom they had made such violence unnecessary.

My eyes then drifted to the exit, and how it didn't exist anymore. We had planned for Purity to get away with her prize, but not for us to be left trapped inside the tomb. But at least I wasn't taken with them, a fait I didn't want to entertain in the least.

Alpha let out a yip as she pawd at the entry to the vault.

“Right, they must be trapped there.” I breathed, and trotted over.

Deactivating the barrier and trotting in, I was immediately tackled by a blur of purple hair. “Thank Celestia, you're okay! I thought we lost you.” Fizzy cried out.

“We also thought that we were going to die in here if you had.” Lair said as she sat on top of a bloodied priestess. “And the last thing I want to do is end up cannibalizing this tainted bitch.” The priestess let out a moan of pain, in which Lair slapped her. “I'm guessing we're still trapped though?”

I nodded. “They took the torch.” I said.

Lair sighed. “Thought so. And before you ask, no, it's a bad idea to trust this bitch to use slip teleportation on us. Tartarus is both very far away, and from what my uncle has told me, very dangerous to teleport to or from.”

She got up and trotted over to me. “And I doubt this bitch would even help us, too loyal to the cause to even be convinced.” Lair then whispered in my ear, “best to let her go, and send ponies to come and get you.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “You sure?”

Lair shrugged.

Watching the priestess slowly get up, her eyes were bloodshot and drool dripped from her mouth. It was something I remembered very well, how the Corp Bridge would always get back up, but madder and more ravenous each time. She then glared at us, Lair blocking my line of sight of her. “You think you won!” The mad mare screamed. “Victoria knows where you are, and she will claim you!”

Her horn glowed with power, magic forming around her, then she was gone with a pop.

*POP!*

An inside out pony then appeared in her place, only to then to liquify and splatter all over the ground.

“The fuck!” I gasped.

Lair nodded knowingly. “Thought so, she must have bounced off a magical barrier. The moron.”

“Ohh, so that's why papa always told me that teleportation was dangerous.” Fizzy said as she looked away from the mess.

“That and those who practice slip teleportation tend to not know all the protective spells required for safe teleportation. Without a partner, you can teleport into stuff, or in this case, turn yourself inside out when bouncing off other more powerful magic.” Lair said as she looked over at one of the alcoves. In it was a rather pissed off looking mare. “We also got lucky that all the magic here quickly returned.”

Ashwood was yelling at us but it seemed the barrier was blocking even sound.

“Small blessings I guess.” I said, relieved that the vampire was still trapped. “Let's get out of here.”

The vampire bangged on the barrier, looking like she was pleading. I almost pitted the ancestor of mine, but I had enough problems as it was, and didn't need even more to add to it.

We all quickly returned to the undercroft, where Fizzy gave Alpha a big hug. Lair trotted over to where the exit was, confirming that we were in fact stuck. And I went and found Orders drone body, powering it, but with Order rebooting, it wasn’t going anywhere.

Trotting back, Lair didn't look happy about our situation, but she didn't look hopeless either. “So, time to look for an alternative exit then. And if there is a pony to ask about that, it's our missing mare.”

“Missing?” I then face hoofed. In all the confusion of this, I had completely lost track of Magnificence. “Wait, how did Mag do that?”

“Maybe like how Azure does?” Fizzy suggested.

“Perception blocking. It would make sense for a witch to know such a spell.” Lair added as she looked over at the entry to the archives. “And she did have the opportunity to sneak off into a restricted place.”

Sighing, I trotted over to the entryway, the arcano-tec here still scrambled, but the ancient barrier was activated. “Even if she's not in there, we may still find a way out inside.” Placing my hoof on the pedestal, the barrier gave way, and we all entered.

Inside was a large library, with shelves holding books and scrolls alike. Artwork of regal unicorns hung on a nearby wall, some I recognized as my ancestors, former prince and princess of Equestria.

I then froze, seeing my own portrait next to that of my mother and siblings. “H… how?”

“Magic of course.” Magnificence said as she trotted over. “The royal archives track all the direct descendants of Princess Platinum, and store the information here.”

I glared at Mag, anger welling up. “You dare! You snuck off and let those bastards dedicate this tomb! Why? What's so-”

“Everything! All this is more important than some trophies of the past.” Mag yelled. “Everypony here is a recognized member of the royal family, their lives recorded for prosperity. Just think, we can find your family now, and those thought lost. We can even… we can even speak to the dead here.”

“What?” I whispered. “speak to… but how?”

Somehow, from under her big hat, I could tell that Mag looked ashamed. “That I don't know, only that you can.”

Lair trotted past me, and over to my portrait, and pulling out and opening a book stored under it, She then let out a whistle. “Who's Pyrope?” She the asked.

Embarrassment shot through me as I rushed over and snatched the book, placing it back. “Don't go reading through other ponie’s history!”

My eyes then drifted over at another portrait, this of a young unicorn filly in a maid outfit, who looked a lot like my sister, Silk. “That's…” trotting to it, I read the name under the portrait. “Cashmere.”

Taking her book I quickly flipped to the last page, reading to myself. “As an apprentice maid being trained to work under the royal family… was given to Flintlock Hoof as a gift from her daughter.” My heart almost stopped.

“Isn't that filly supposed to be a princess?” Lair asked.

I shook my head. “She's my sister's bastard, she shouldn't have been recognized, or been allowed near the royal family. Or so my mother told us.” Unless Queen Gilded Gold was lying to us… and protecting her from sister Silver

My eyes then drifted to another portrait, this of a baby, a colt. “Indicolite.” It had to be Rare Pearl's son, and taking the small book, all I had to read was the first page. “First royal born in Equestria in the last two hundred years… protected by Orthrus, along with his mother princess Rare Pearl.”

I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that at least some of my family was safe. But I feared for Cashmere, who didn't even know she was a princess. Still, I at least had an idea of where my family was. Putting the books away, I trotted to one more shelf.

“You sure, you want to keep doing this? I mean, we do have all day.” Lair asked.

“Just this last one, I need to check.” I drew Silk's book, checking the last page. In it, she was listed as Red Steel's hostage, safe, but a prisoner. With a sigh, I put the book back. “Elder Magnificence, you said that we can speak to the dead here. Why don't we go and do that.”

“Sounds like necromancy to me.” Lair said with concern in her voice. “Then again, we are in Tartarus, so anything is possible.”

“I can't say for all the royal family in Equestria's history, but Majesty once told me that they never dabbled in necromancy. She didn't explain why, but it sounded like it was some sort of pact, or promise. Anyways, such magic damages the soul, and twists it into something disgusting.” Mag told us.

Lair nodded as she trotted deeper into the archives. “Sounds exactly how Uncle explained it to me. Then I expect this speaking to the dead to be something… not as dark.”

We all then followed, with Fizzy getting close to me. “Say Harp, I know you're not, but… are you okay?”

“I… I could be better.” I told her. “It's just a bit overwhelming to tell the truth. This isn't just my family history, but my family itself.” glancing at the portraits, some I recognized as descendents of Majesty, but others I didn't. Possibly the descendants of Majesty's siblings? “But not just that, the other books and scrolls here, what lost knowledge might be kept here. All the good that can be done.”

Fizzy didn't look so sure. “Or harm.”

I was a bit confused by her remark. “What do you mean?”

She shifted her eyes about, then took a deep breath. “What if this place is like the Vault? Like, ya know, filled with dangerous stuff. That mirror they took, it felt a lot like my book, and… well I…”

“You feel it here too?” I asked.

Fizzy nodded. “And a lot of it. I'm no mage like Willow or Mag, but I can feel it. There's dangerous books here hidden among the rest. And they're hoping we set them free.”

“Cursed books you mean.” Lair said. “For a place like this, that checks out.”

“The Light Bringer had such a book in her possession for a short time.” Magnificence said out loud. “The information about it is vague at best, but her friends say that she left the book with the Goddess, along with a balefire bomb. Who knows if it survived. Still, such books are known to affect a ponie’s mind if they are not properly protected or attuned to it.”

I felt out with my magic, but pulled back when I felt eyes on me, oh so many eyes.

“There's more than books here princess Harp.” Mag said with a chuckle. “Whoever is maintaining this place are certainly not robots.”

“Likely Breezies.” Lair guessed. “They often inhabit strange magical places far from the hooves of ponies. Making pacts with powerful and ancient things for protection, and dutifly doing the duty they are given. Or so I've been told, I've never met one myself.”

“Neither have I. Since the dropping of the bombs, Breezies have become more myth in Equestria, though I feel that has started to change since the triggering of the Gardens of Equestria.” Mag said as we stopped at what must have been the middle of the archives.

At the center was a pedestal with an orb floating above it. Powerful magic pulsed from the orb, almost beckoning me to it. There wasn't anything malicious from it, just power, and a void. No, the orb was the void, it wasn't an orb.. it was all too familiar, and dreadful.

“What is this?” Lair asked, looking very concerned.

Even Mag grimised. “I… don't rightly know myself.”

“It's a hole in time.” I told them. “I've seen it once before, but this is smaller and… stable?”

I don't know why, but I reach out to it, as though drawn to it.

“Harp sto-” I heard Mag call, but everything went silent.

I was still in the Royal Archives, but everypony was gone? “Mag? Lair, Fizzy?” I called out, my voice echoing wildly.

“Weird isn't it. But don't worry, it's not them who vanished, but you. If only for a fraction of a second.” Spoke a mare with a thick and refined Canterlot accent. “Oh, and you're safe, this place is just out of sink with time. That's all.”

Looking around, I found a mare on the other side of the orb. She was dressed in a formal suit skirt, common among Canterlot elite, pre-ministry. Though her suit was sparsely decorated with dazzling gemstones, giving her a very regal look. The mare herself was a pale pink unicorn, her mane and tail was a light blue with a pearl white streak through both, and styled up in curls much like my own, but far better looking.

My heart practically stopped right there as my jaw went slack, she let me stair for a long moment as I then remembered my manners. Bowing low to show the difference in our status, I greeted my ancestor. “It's an honor, Princess Majesty.”

Majesty didn't look pleased, and I worried that I had done wrong. Has the greeting changed over the past two hundred years, or maybe my attire is offensive? Maybe I wasn't the pony that was meant to be here!

“Seriously, why are you so stiff, we're family after all.” Majesty said as she trotted over to me. Looking at me, she raised an eyebrow. “Now you're… unusual. I take it that a political marriage happened with the Zebras.” She said with a sigh. “At least that means the truce will be finalized and peace talks will start.” She then reached out, placing a hoof on my vest. “And I guess Arras kept up his biker club, that's so like him. I wonder how bad the scandal is going to be though. I know he's going to be so pissed off at me for not telling him sooner.”

“Scandal, truce?” I said in confusion before covering my muzzle. Were out of sink with time, meaning this is Majesty from the war. And the truce? Or was it a cease fire? “Prin… Majesty, how long has the war been going on for you?”

“Almost ten years now, why?” Her questioning eyes slowly widened, and I could tell she was realizing something very grim. “How long did the war last, and who won?”

I let out a sigh, a long and tired sigh. “Twenty years, Majesty, and nopony won. Well, nopony but the cockroaches that is.”

I watched as the color figuratively drained from her face. “T… twenty years?” I nodded and she clenched her jaw. “Why, how? It took us two years to write the cease fire treaty, and get the Zebras to the table. You know how many nobles I had to literally slap around to get their signature on that treaty? The concessions we had to make, and the power our family had to surrender, all to end this damn war!”

Majesty was hyperventilating at this point, and had to force herself to stop and calm down. Once she was breathing normally again, she looked me in the eyes, “and you're saying, in the end, we still fail? What in auntie Celestia's name happened?”

I nodded. “I believe it was the LittleHorn massacre. The school run by Princess Luna” I told her. “It… caused everything to spiral out of control.”

Horror crept onto my ancestor's face, but she took a deep breath to regain control of herself, then let out a long breath. “Then maybe there's hope. Once I'm out of here I can contact their admission, see if it can be closed down until after the peace treaty is signed. If not, then increase the security there, that should prevent any attacks.” A smile then crept onto her face, but one full of doubt. “Now that has been… noted, please tell me all about you, and… well, why are you like… this?”

Ya, it must be jarring to see a decent of hers like this. “Well, first off, there aren't any zebra ancestry in me, it is a holdover from my father, who received gene treatment. . .”

I began to lose myself, telling Majesty everything, from Stable 50, Queen Gilded Gold, and eventually how it all fell apart. Through it all, Majesty lissined with not just shock and horror, but with great fascination. “And then I was thrown into the time space distortion.” I told her, holding the spot where Berenice had stabbed me with her spear. “where I then ended up in the Equestria Wasteland.”

Majesty clearly didn't like the sound of that, placing a hoof on my shoulder. “It must have been difficult, living through all that. But, here, it can be changed, I'm sure of it.”

“What is this place even about?” I finally asked.

She smiled wide, a sense of pride radiating off her. “This here is a paradox bubble, a place outside of time and space. A true treasure of our family, made by Clover the Clever herself. But don't ask me how she did it, I don't even think Clover knew exactly what she was doing when she made this. That or she's forgotten how she did it, ghosts rarely remember things correctly. As far as I could figure out, she was attempting to make a way to talk to her future self without making a time loop. Unfortunately, you can only use this once, and you can only talk to the previous user and the next, never yourself. Which means, if I am unsuccessful at changing the future, then nopony will be here for the next two hundred and twenty two years.”

We both sighed at that revelation. “Wait, but if you do change the future, what will happen to me?”

Majesty shrugged. “Can't say, the previous user said that only the next user will know if things changed, but even then it's unknown. I only came here to further my study on time magic, Celestia telling me that my answer can be found here. So far I only received more questions than answers. Oh, and nearly getting bitten by that vampire.”

“Ashwood, she nearly escaped on my end too.” I said, feeling common ground with Majesty. “That said, will she return to the painting?”

“Eventually, it's the only thing maintaining her youth without the consumption of blood. Oh, and don't go thinking she has any arcane knowledge worth learning, turns out she was a magical flunk out, and that's why she turned to blood magic and vampirism. Such an embarrassment to the family in so many ways.” Majesty told me.

I then realized that she may have answers to a few questions of mine. “Oh, I need to know how to get out of here without the torch, and what exactly is the Lake of Diana?”

She looked at me for a long moment, then at the harp poking out of my saddlebag before face hoofing. “Let me guess, a descendant of Lancelot finally came to claim it.” I nodded. “Let's see, if I remember correctly, it's blessed by the Olympian goddesses of love and was protected by the Fye up until given to Lancelot, so to aid in his journey. It enhances the user's charm, making others trust them. Not completely, but enough to easily manipulate them if the pony is relatively cunning. I don't know the myths all that well, but before Lancelot, it was used by kings and queens in the age of myths to keep ponies under their tyrannical rule. Fortunately, Lancelot's son, Galahad, managed to defeat his father in a duel, and take the mirror. He presented it to Princess Platinum as part of his dowry to her. Since then, the mirror has been down here, so that it can never be used again.”

Something didn't sound right about that. “Wait, a dowry… no… no you don't mean that-”

“Yes… our family's are tied.” Majesty said with a sigh. “That said, as for a way out without the torch, just play a sorrowful tune on your Harp, it should call somepony that can open the door for you. At least that's what my mother told me about the harp. It’s a powerful and ancient magical tool after all, made for appeasing powers greater than us.”

I breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that Arras gave me the harp… wait? “Majesty, you said something about a scandal, and it involved Arras. Is that why you gave him your harp, right?”

Majesty looked nervous for a long moment, clearly thinking about it in her head as she tapped her hooves together. “Right, about that. I guess since everypony is long dead in your time, it doesn't hurt telling you. Well, Arras and I… we had a thing. A thing that resulted in me needing to disappear from the public eye for nine months.”

My eye twitched at that. “You, and Arras… together?” She nodded. “And you… had a baby?” She nodded again. “And he doesn't know?”

She nodded her head one more time. “I was hoping that once things had settled down, I would tell him. Nopony would care about a royal scandal if they're all celebrating the end of the war. Anyways, he's a decorated war hero, even if he denies it.” Majesty trotted over and gave me a hug, filling me with warmth that reminded me of my mother. “It's subtle, but I can tell, you do have his eyes.”

I was left in shock, absolute shock.

Letting me go, Majesty trotted back to the orb, and looked over at me one more time. “Harp Melody, my descendant, I will try and save our family. Try and give us, and Equestria a better future. And if I fail, I'll leave the rest to you. If I fail, I'm deeply sorry for the failure you have to live in.”

“No!” I shouted. “Even if you fail, you're not a failure. I mean, I'm here after all.”

She smiled back at me, tears welling up in her eyes. “Yes, yes that is true isn't it. Even if I fail, you'll exist.” She then touched the orb and vanished.

In Majesty's place was another unicorn mare, roughly my age. She looked a lot like me, if I jad Silks figure. She had a pale pink coat, but her hooves and muzzle were a light pale blue, with the same colored spots along her body, looking like bubbles. She wore a navy blue dress, and had a large red ribbon in her two toned blue mane that was dressed up in a single long drill. Weirdly, the magic she gave off was almost identical to my own, meaning that she had to be a mirage pony.

The mare's eyes opened wide as she saw me, and trotted over with excitement. “Grandmother! You look, like, so young!” she then gave a very excited hug, as I cringed.

Was this my granddaughter, and why did she talk and act like Fizzy.

“Like, oh my Celestia! When they said something super special was down here, I didn't know it was this.” Letting me go, she gasped as she looked me in the eyes. I was a little shocked to see that her eyes had two different colors in them, they were both a vibrant blue at the center, but green around the edges. “So that's what your eye colors look like, I've, like, always wondered that.”

Getting some space, I decided to cut to the chase. “Before you do anything else, who are you, and why are you here?”

The young mare blushed in embarrassment. “Oh, like, sorry.” She then gave me a very well rehearsed curtsy, low enough that she placed herself lower then me, but not so low to disrespect herself. “I'm your granddaughter, Melody Harmonium. And I… well… I snuck into the tomb.”

I face hoofed at that last part. But her name, it was a beautiful name. “Since you're here, what can you tell me about the future? You're currently in a paradox bubble. You can only use it once, and you can only talk to those who've used it before you and after.” I informed her.

Melody actually looked rather excited. “That's, like, totes amazing! Even though you said time magic is impossible, yet, like, this exists.”

I… didn't like the sound of that at all.

“But, like, sorry grandmother, I can't say much about the future. Because, like, I haven't been there yet.” my frustration started to grow, but then Melody winked at me and chuckled. “Sorry, I, like, I couldn't help it.” She then took a deep breath, and her accent switched to that of Canterlot. “From what I know, things are going to get… dark. Just by seeing you, The war in the west should be in its early stages, and you're going to head straight into its heart of it. There isn't anything that can be done to end it quickly, or peacefully. But so long as you don't lose hope, there will be an end to it.”

The war in the west? “You mean with the Equalists, right. It's that bad?”

She nodded. “I guess I can tell you this much, since you're going to find out sooner than later. But the Equalists have allies, otherwise they would have never regained the numbers they lost on the islands. Oh, and, please don't be so mean to Auntie Ruby, it's… not fair to her to punish her for what her mother and father did.”

“Red Steel and Silver Crescent?” I asked, and Melody nodded. “I'll… think about that.”

I then slowly trotted up to the young mare, and gave her a hug. “Well, at least I know there's a future. And that's all I need to know to not lose hope.”

Letting her go I trotted to the orb. I then froze for a moment, realizing something. “How do you not know what my eyes looked like?” I asked as I stumbled back.

“Got you!” Fizzy cried as she cushioned my fall.

“You okay, Harp?” Lair asked.

I nodded as I got back up. “I think I now know what they meant by talking to the dead.”

Mag trotted over, her body language clearly nervous. “Tell me, what did you see?”

“The orb, it's a paradox, a place outside of time and space… I met Majesty there, then my own Granddaughter.” I told her.

Mag rushed to the orb, touching it, but nothing happened. “Why, then tell me why It's not working?”

“Because it is a gift to the royal family, only for the royal family.” A wispy voice of a mare spoke, she was translucent, draped in a sabby brown robe and hood, with a wild and green mane obstructing the rest of her face. “A mere copy made of a tree sapling is not permitted to the secrets bestowed upon them.”

Power erupted from Mag, “you dare!”

A wave of magic rushed from Mag at the ghostly mare, but with a flick of the other mares horn, the magic was rendered harmless. The mare grimised at Mag. “Do not presume to think you can harm the dead, even then, I will not permit you from damaging this sacred place I built for my friends.”

Worry crossed Mags muzzle. “You… your Clover the Clever!”

Clover nodded. “Yes, I was once known by that name. Now I am but a warden of the royal archives. And as it's warden, I ask you to leave.”

“Wait, but there is so much to learn here. Can we not stay a bit longer?” I asked the spirit.

“Princess, I am afraid not. Maybe another day, but that day isn't now.” She told me.

I was about to argue, but Fizzy trotted between us. “Miss Clover, I, like, thank you for letting us stay this long.” She then turned to smile at me. “Let's go, I believe we have someplace else we need to go.”

“I agree.” Lair said. “Powerful spirits rarely ask nicely more than once. Best not to test them.”

Looking at the legendary spell caster, second only to Starswirl the Bearded, I could only nod back to my friends. I had so many questions, yet, I doubted I was worthy of a single answer. “Okay, let's go.”

“That easy?” Mag spoke up. “You're giving up like that! When there's so much to learn here?” The once wize and indomitable witch now felt like just another lost pony in the wasteland, desperate to find their way in this world.

I looked at Mag, now seeing just another aged ghoul. “Yes, that easy. We have already overstayed our welcome here, and I have already learned that staying longer still will only invite tragedy.”

Again, Mag's monstrous magic flared up, only to die back down. “Alright… I guess I've already got my answer. Maybe I already knew it all along.”

We watched as Mag trotted on ahead of us, her color seemingly a bit less.

As we trotted off ourselves, Clover then spoke up. “Wait, before you go, know this. Blood may be thicker than water, but it is your bond of friendship that matters the most. It is a form of love, and that love will give you strength. That is something in which Starswirl never quite grasped. My descendant, and the descendant of my dear friend, remember this well. No matter how dark things get, you will still have each other.”

Clover then faded, vanishing just as suddenly as she appeared.

“Personality, I'll choose my sword over the power of friendship.” Lair said with a chuckle.

I chuckled as well, “why not both, as I've learned, nothings better than an armed friend watching your back.”

“Can't argue with that.” Lair agreed and we then trotted off.

Our feelings of wonderment quickly came to an end as we came to the entryway, where Mag waited for us. From the walls were brown and crooked vine like appendages growing their way in.. The plants oozed with ancient magic, giving off a feeling of domination and spite.

“Is that, like, supposed to be happening?” Fizzy asked.

“This could be why the spirit wanted us to leave.” Lair suggested.

I trotted over to Mag, asking, “do you know what this is?”

Mag reached out and touched a root, and quickly retracted it, her hoof seemingly aging rapidly in that split second. “I… know this magic. It feels different, but it must belong to a Tree of Life. But how, why?”

This gave me a bad feeling, a very bad feeling.

“Then let's find out why it's growing through the walls!” I said as I opened the barrier and trotted through.

I was then left in shock, the undercroft had become covered in the vines, tuning the dark and gray timb into a lush green forest. Above us was like a forest canopy, and at the center of it all was a tree in front of the gates of Hades, it a gnarled and withered looking birch tree. Sitting at the base of the tree, on a gnarled growth that resembled a throne, was a remarkably beautiful and thin mare. She had an off-white coat and gray hooves, along with a long and wild gold and brown mane and tail. On her body were swirls of blue paint which I could feel magic radiate from them without even feeling for it.

Several vines reached out and picked up the dead priest, invading his body as they pulled him to the mare. “Hello, my descendant.” The corps spoke as the mare reached her hoof in my direction. “Come, come to me, and tell me what has become of this world as I slept in stone.”

Alpha appeared, placing her body between me and the mare, growling viciously. Petting the Nightstalker, I knew that whoever this is, she was dangerous, very dangerous. “I am Harp Melody, member of the Equestria royal family. If you are my ancestor, name thy self, and why were you seald down here.

The corps of the priests was then dragged to the tree, where a mouth opened up to eat him. The mare just looked at us, irritation on her face, but then spoke. “Tha còir agad fios a bhith agad air m’ ainm. ’S e a’ Bhean-uasal Draiocht Beithe La Fay, Banrigh na Coille Fay, a tha na riaghladair còir air a’ chidhe!”

When we clearly didn't understand, she then spoke again. “Feumaidh mi do theanga ghutural a bhruidhinn, gu math ma-thà! Thy name is Lady Draiocht Beithe La Fay, Queen of the Fay Woods, an rightful ruler of ponykind!”

That name! It was mentioned on the door to the tomb. La Fay, the one who orchestrated the fall of our homeland before Equestria over a thousand years ago. As well as my ancestor.

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