Prologue of a Promise

That's when I knew they were right.

At the dawn of Terra, Lady Faust, the goddess of Harmony and Light, and Lord Erebus, the god of Chaos and Darkness, united their powers to stabilize the nascent universe. Upon completing their task, Terra emerged as a unique planet, capable of supporting life like no other, thanks to its magical mantle and core.

As Terra flourished with diverse species, the descendants of Faust established the Alicorn Kingdom, with King Solaris and Queen Polaris reigning from the throne. Meanwhile, the descendants of Erebus, the Draconequus, chose to live independently, indifferent to the structured ways of the Alicorns.

Soon, a conflict erupted, known as the Ancient Alicorn War.

Both Lady Faust and Lord Erebus observed the growing friction between their descendants and feared that their war would destroy the world they had created. To prevent this, they bestowed gifts upon the inhabitants of Terra.

Lady Faust created the Elements of Harmony, powerful artifacts designed to ensure that everyone could live in Harmony. These elements; Generosity, Kindness, Laughter, Honesty, and Loyalty; combined to enhance the Element of Magic, which our mother goddess called the Magic of Friendship.

We, the Alicorns and our allies, harnessed the potential of these gifts. By adhering to the path of Harmony and embracing the teachings of coexistence, we were able to thwart the followers of Chaos. Their vision of so called freedom, which we saw as selfishness and destructive disorder, was ultimately defeated.

That's how the history books tell it. But I, Solaris, when I was heir to the throne, just a young prince and soldier, never considered it a war. To me, it was a judgment of the gods.

When I woke up that day, I could never have imagined that I would be staring into the eyes of a female Draconequus. I was breathing frenetically beneath her. Her lion head was sweating, and I could feel the drops on my face, forgetting how close our faces were. We were just staring at each other, her eagle wings covering the two of us without energy after the struggle we had together.

We spent a significant amount of time together. Now that I think about it, I truly wonder if our paths could have taken different routes. If things had been different, could we have been friends as our beliefs claim? Could we have known each other better? And as that friend told me, could she have been my better half, my soulmate? Well, I do not know. Those answers will never be discovered, and of course, Polaris wouldn't want to know.

I couldn't ask anything about it, as I could feel her lion's claws on my neck. After leaving a piercing wound, my spear on her chest finally finished her off. This is a war, after all.

I couldn't bear to hold it any longer. Pushing her to the side only drove my spear deeper into her. Her blood flowed from the wound, soaking through her war armor and bathing mine. The next thing I knew, we had changed places, but nothing changed between us.

The lioness Draconequus kept her gaze of hatred fixed on me, penetrating my soul. I must admit, her will was stronger than mine; she never let go of my neck. She tried with all her might to continue, but even with her heart pierced, she couldn't. And I looked at her, never taking my eyes off her.

I could see how she never lost the will to finish me. I never knew when her arms gave way. Her conviction impressed me so much that I didn't notice her lying limply on her back, her wings drooping on the ground. For a moment, I thought she might do something at the last second. I knew her race had snake-shaped tails, but she had already lost hers before seeing me. I remembered it when it was all over.

She, a true warrior, wearing what my friend called Mughal leather armor, stared at me. While I, a prince in my Roman armor according to him, trembled as I held the spear. It wasn't until that moment that I realized how cowardly I was.

My friend was right. The children of a world of peace will never understand those born from war.

I never believed in those words. But how could I? I was born in a different world than the one they grew up in. They constantly fought to survive in their world, while I never had to. If I had listened and learned better, I might have avoided this so-called war.

We were not at war with the Draconequus. I didn't feel it when that Draconequus attacked me because I never fought her from the beginning. War requires two sides, not one.

I was not at war with her, nor with her people, nor were my people at war with them. It was the Alicorn High Court and the Draconequus Primes that were at war. It pained me when the light in her eyes went out.

No matter how long I remember standing there, I can't recall how long I stood over her body, still holding the spear to her chest while my blood dripped from my neck and chest. I didn't want to let go of my weapon. Although it wasn't my first time taking a life, her death had a greater impact than I imagined. It showed me how different we were, and also how similar we didn't realize.

In that moment, I understood the true cost of this conflict. We were not them. We were merely caught in the crossfire of their war. They were not fighting for us, but for themselves.

On this battlefield, amidst their battle, I realized I wasn't doing anything meaningful. When it dawned on me that I couldn't save anyone there, I fell to my knees and cried.

I was supposed to be doing what a prince would do for his kingdom, but I never asked what the kingdom truly wanted. I arrived hoping to prevent the conflict, unaware that the Alicorn High Court had convinced the Elements of Harmony to use their magic for a spell.

They called it land reclamation, but for the Draconequus, it was confinement and gathering. Although the Elements of Harmony offered us a better option than fighting, it didn't mean the Draconequus agreed to be turned to stone.

Naturally, they were going to respond. This lioness Draconequus was trying to save those she could, and all who accompanied her clashed swords with us.

That is when they— "Luna."

"Eep!", I exclaimed, quickly closing my father's diary when I realized I had been caught. But I knew I was in trouble; it was his voice, after all. I turned to him. "Father! Hi! Well, this is not what it seems."

"If you mean that you didn't come into my study, make a mess, and that you're not reading my diary... well, it's not what it seems. But what do you think?", my old father said, entering with his cane.

At his words, I looked around and saw that I had indeed made a mess in his study in our castle. Feeling guilty, I realized that continuing to hide the book behind me was unnecessary. "Okay. I admit that I was caught red-handed. But I was doing some research when something crossed my mind. And—"

"And didn't you think to ask me first?", he continued, walking around with his cane, using his magic to pick up and rearrange his books while reading some of them, checking what I was researching. For being an old white-furred Alicorn stallion with a greyish-red mane, he was still magically strong. "You are not trying to take shortcuts to increase your magical core, are you?"

"What?! DAD!", I couldn't believe he said that. "Just because Celestia had her ascension party doesn't mean I'm desperate.", I was angry because he thought about that topic like the rest.

But he saw more than that. "Hehehe~ I'm sorry, my daughter. I was joking to make you comfortable with me. Can you tell me now why you are really desperate?"

I was surprised that he knew. But I was an Alicorn filly at the time, while he was around 60, according to our subjects. Apart from his leg wound, it didn't show that he was an old king with nearly a thousand years of age. He was still a wise king. I wished I hadn't fought with my sister and wasted his last years with us.

At that time, I was not myself. No, I was a different 'I' altogether. Even in his last days with us, my eyes were on my sister. I was focused on what I wanted and lost sight of what my father wanted. He had hopes for Discord's redemption, and he was devastated when we brought Discord back in stone that day. And with what I read up that day, I should have known.

In the end, all this is just an old memory. All I can do now is remember what happened next.

Embarrassed, I pondered what to say. It was something I still couldn't say out loud, even today. "Don't take this the wrong way— It's not that I'm thinking about it, but... I'm curious about a pony we've met. But it's not that I have any weird motives and........ I am interested in having my own Knight. There, I said it. Happy?"

My father refrained from laughing at me. Between us, he was supposed to have been my Knight when I was little. Admitting this in front of him felt too much like confessing that I was in love with somepony. Would he be happy knowing who I'm in love with now?

That's why it was strange when he said he didn't know. "Okay, I'll accept that my little Lulu is in love. But does this interest in your 'Knight' have anything to do with Discord's servant? The same one who appeared at Celestia's party? The same friend who played with you, Celestia, and Discord?"

"Yes. Since that day, Discord has abused his servant and has been bothering us for weeks with his jokes, pranks, and—why did you say it like that?", I stopped dead when I noticed my father's tone.

"Because those two announced themselves to the entire castle with Celestia chasing them.", he said, having already arranged the room and put all the books back in their places. "I don't know if you want to join them. I think your sister will appreciate your help, especially since she can't control her new alicorn magic."

BOOM. Only when I was out of his diary could I hear the chaos those three were causing.

"Hmm. That was heard near here... Are they in the garden?", my father went to the nearby window to check. "If you hurry, maybe you can stop them from destroying your mom's garden. And with that, stop your mom from destroying the castle."

I knew he was smiling while I was complaining. "SIGH... If only those two could freely admit their stupid love. I'm on my way.", that's what I said, but I stopped at the door.

I was irritated with my sister and her clown, and that clown's clown, not realizing I had the diary with me. But it stopped me when I raised it to my face and thought about what I had read. I could finish reading it later, or I could ask to borrow it, but I chose to leave it behind.

And then I asked him, "Father... you once told us that you knew many cultures that no longer exist today. Where did you hear the word 'Yami'?... Do you know what a Yami Tool is?"

While I went back inside and left his journal on a nearby table, my father continued to turn his back to me as he checked the garden. From that moment until now, I never knew what kind of face he had when I mentioned the Yami Tools, or what he thought when he didn't answer me.

All I knew was that it triggered something in his mind. But I was a filly who obeyed her father, so I didn't ask why the silence or why his face was the same every time he replied.

The same happy eyes and smile turned to me, as if my question didn't affect him. "Sorry, my daughter. I can't tell you anything about the Yami Tools."

"Princess?"

"Hmm?!", Luna woke up from her daytime sleep and turned to her Captain of the Royal Night.

"Princess, although I'm impressed that you're an expert at sleeping standing up with your eyes open, this is not the time for a recovery nap.", Captain Azure Breeze, formerly Wind, pointed out while standing next to her.

"Sorry. SIGH... I let my mind wander back to an old memory.", she said, rubbing her eyes to shake off the little insomnia she had. "Please, tell me that nopony noticed."

Luna had not yet gotten used to her new life since being purified by the Elements. While she had already recovered some of her magical strength, her physical body and mind still needed to adjust to her new home. She might have taken a nap after some pending work with her night guard force last night, but she wasted time instead of using a teleportation spell to try to memorize her sister's castle, now their castle. On this moment, she paid for her mistake by attending the funeral scheduled for that day.

Along with her Captain of the Royal Night, Captain Star Gazer of her magic squad, and Sergeant Glade, Luna stood not far from the funeral as a coffin was placed in the Canterlot Cemetery's Memorial Garden.

All the ponies who attended the funeral were saying goodbye to the empty coffin. They were accepting that the Chief of Espionage, Secret Gadget, was dead and lost forever.

Unknown to everyone, Gadget had a subordinate who followed his activities, including his living status. This agent was not in the records of the militia, the princess's army, or the royal guard system. This agent had only one mission, help Gadget to report his disappearance. And with it, his death.

This agent appeared at the castle gate with a letter of confirmation and Gadget's last reported mission. When the conditions were met, and the agent, who knew Gadget well, delivered the news. Princess Celestia and all those close to him finally got an answer to their question. Today, all these ponies gather to say goodbye to Gadget, a friend, ally, and son.

Wearing a simple black dress and a black sun hat, Luna came to show her respect, even though she had never met Gadget. Luna watched from behind as a mother and her pregnant daughter cried over the coffin where Gadget's body was supposed to be. It hurt Luna to see this; it reminded her of her father.

Seeing the grieving family, Luna felt a pang of empathy. She was understanding their pain very well. Her father's absence was becoming a constant shadow over her life. Now, having recovered, she knew well what she had missed. She often wondered what he would think of her now, how he would advise her after she had failed to avoid becoming prey to her desires.

As the ceremony continued, Luna silently vowed to honor her father's memory by being the leader he had always believed she could be. She would carry his teachings with her, striving to make him proud. Not the monster she had become when she was infected during his final years.

Her captain, dressed for the occasion along with Star and Glade, stood behind her. "Don't worry. Anypony who hasn't seen a good example of sleeping with their eyes open won't notice. Also, your hat hides the expression you just made a moment ago."

"Uh... Is that so?", was all she said as she lowered her hat further. She wasn't ignoring her sister's speech or any of the other guests, including Fort, who refused to sit with his wife like everypony else.

Luna didn't want anypony to see her expression as she thought about Gadget's disappearance and death.

'I already checked my cult, even the reports that Gadget was handling before his disappearance. I even used my fog clones to check his latest whereabouts and still got nothing... Heh. Like last time. I have no proof, but I will never doubt it.'

Under her sun hat, Luna wore a serious expression, her eyes showing determination. She wasn't content to show it with just a small grimace. She wasn't angry with her thoughts; rather, she was motivated not to fail this time.

'With the disappearance of Fire, one leader of my cult, it is proof enough for me that the two of them being out of this world is not a mere coincidence. I may not know Stellar Spell's past, but I know that what he did as Fire and with Gadget makes sense to me. Both were targets of the Yami System. But why? And how to prevent it happen again?'

Luna managed to relax her face before adjust her sun hat as she returned to the funeral. She saw that her sister had finished her speech, and it was time to bury the coffin with photos and personal items from Gadget's relatives.

As the funeral progressed, Luna and her group remained in the background. She wasn't surprised when her sister began walking towards her. Celestia, also wearing a simple black dress, had finished her duties for the moment and joined her.

Both sisters stood side by side, paying their respects at the funeral. Only when it was over and the ponies began to leave did Celestia finally speak to Luna. "Luna, be careful in your next move. I wish I could do it myself, but I think you are the most qualified pony to handle this."

"Thank you, sister. I hope I can bring justice, but our justice may mean nothing to them," Luna replied, turning to leave so Celestia could attend to the remaining guests.

Before departing, she made a solemn vow. "The Yami Legion has made their move... now it is our turn to respond."

Author's Note

Hello to all my wonderful readers from the first book, and a warm welcome to new readers joining us on this journey! As a new writer, I am thrilled to share that the story is finally taking shape. Although time is tight, I am dedicated to bringing you a compelling narrative.

I hope you enjoyed my first book and are excited for what's to come. The second book is currently in progress, and I am using a new method to ensure that each chapter is complete before uploading.

Thank you for your support and patience. I can't wait for you to dive into the next part of this adventure!