And They Shall Know No Fear

The cold was the only thing I felt. Enveloping my whole body, as if I were drowning in an endless ocean. I sank deeper and deeper to the bottom. Into the void! But the strange thing is, I didn't suffocate, I didn't choke, I didn't panic trying to swim to the light. Conversely. I was drawn to the darkness of the depths. Without any hesitation, rejecting the light, I began to swim deeper into the pitch-black void. I didn't feel weak or lack of oxygen, I didn't need them. I felt like I had a huge power inside me that I hadn't fully realized yet.

I can't say exactly how long I swam. It was difficult to keep track of time without having an idea of the time of day. But at some point, the emptiness of the depths ended. And chaos ensued. Clad in ultramarine-colored armor, holding a sword decorated with dark rubies in my muscular hands, I, like hundreds of creatures like me, went into battle. We fought.

In a terrible snowstorm, we climbed snow-capped mountains to an unknown destination. There were creatures that had never been seen before, land-based, flying, land-based, capable of turning into both at the same time, with beaks and fangs. They furiously rushed at us, but we hardly felt their blows, they simply could not penetrate our armor. Their swords shattered into small pieces just from the contact with our armor.

All our actions were precise and precise, as if we knew in advance where and how to strike and where our opponent was going to hit us. Our movements, despite our height and mass, were light and smooth, graceful. We easily defeated our enemies, sometimes one blow was enough to smash the head of any of them. We also used our wings and horn to dodge and shoot back, and put up shields to protect our allies. We all felt great affection for each other, as if we had been very close for a long time before we met. We didn't ask each other for names, we didn't need to, and we didn't have time, because the battle was raging.

More and more creatures turned against us, and soon they were replaced by shapeless monsters from nightmares. Multi-eyed, with many tentacles, big-headed, big-mouthed, they tried to scare us with their whole appearance, to put us to flight. But we didn't know fear! We walked and flew forward, despite the cold and the cold. All of us, both mares and stallions, were called to the very top of a huge cliff. None of us could say exactly what it was, but none of us had any doubts that it was all right.

The days gave way to nights, the nights gave way to days, and we all continued to fight and move towards the goal. And now, this moment has come. After destroying the last creatures on our way, we discovered a huge stone castle ahead. It was a real fortress decorated with flags and standards with a crescent moon sign. There were ten standards in total, as well as flags, and each had its own number from one to the tenth. Suddenly, the doors began to open and an unbearably bright light began to dazzle us from inside. Even the helmets on our heads couldn't filter out the brightness enough to see anything. But before we could do anything, darkness enveloped me in its cold embrace again and I opened my eyes.

This time I found myself in an ancient city with one-story buildings made of sand and clay. The place was very deserted and hot even at night. In the light of the full moon, in some rags and a black cloak pulled over it all, I hid in the shadows from passing creatures. Judging by the golden armor and weapons, they were guards, and if there are guards, then there is a palace that they are guarding. And I was right. There was a huge pyramid-shaped palace in the center of the city. it had a lot of windows and balconies, and the familiar crescent moon flag was flying at the very top, and I was drawn to it by an invisible force, again.

I moved stealthily and unnoticeably along the roofs of the buildings, since almost all of them were built close to each other. In some places, I still had to go downstairs, hiding behind carts that contained all kinds of fruits, clothes, and much more. And over time, I began to notice my brothers and sisters, with whom I had stormed the mountain a few minutes earlier. They were also dressed in rags and cloaks and were following the pyramid. And that's when I finally got to see their faces, just like they saw mine. We were like two drops of water, mare with mare, stallion with stallion, as if we were molded from the same mold.

There were more and more of us by the minute. And the time of day favored us well. At night, everyone slept, only single patrols of the guards conducted a tour of the assigned territory. Armed and dangerous. We were unarmed, so we decided to fix it. As we cut down the guards' patrols, we took away their weapons, gradually arming ourselves more and more. The creatures in the dog masks were like babies to us, none of them could resist us. Even the largest of them were knocked out with a single blow.

We didn't use words. We communicated using combat gestures, I can't say how we knew them, the important thing was that we acted quietly. I understood everything my relatives explained to me, just as they understood me. We were getting closer and closer to the goal, and the last stage was more difficult. From the city, the pyramid was surrounded in a circle by a decorative high fence with barbed wire, then seven hundred meters of the royal garden with not very tall bushes of plants of various colors and sizes.

As expected, there were a lot of guards, but that wasn't the main thing. Among the ordinary guards, there were armored giants that exceeded even our not small size. Each of us understood that the available weapons could not penetrate their armor, even if we wanted to. Of course, with our strength, we could easily switch from stealth to open combat, as in the first battle, but something inside us spoke of a clear refusal to start the meat grinder. It was as if in our hearts we longed to complete the test stealthily and quietly, just as we had begun.

As one, we rushed forward, hiding behind bushes and in all possible shadows. We didn't noticeably bypass the patrols and outposts using all our innate skills. At some point, we all discovered our ability to transform into a living shadow. Although it was a temporary force, it helped us to enter the palace unnoticed. Everything inside seemed to be made of gold, except for the curtains and some types of furniture. Huge corridors, the ceilings of which were supported by massive columns, stretched into infinity. An unprepared person would get confused here, but not us. We knew in our gut where we needed to go, which corridor to go through, and which room to enter.

And now we are at the threshold of the throne room. The sentries standing at the huge doors were killed when some of us threw guns at them. Ready for anything, we slowly began to approach the doors as they began to open, blinding us with the same unbearable light.

Once again, I found myself in a different place. This time it was a room barely lit by dozens of candles. Huge shelves filled with thick books stretched from floor to ceiling. There was a fireplace in the center of the room, three meters from which, to the left, a creature lay impressively levitating one of the thousands of books with magic. It didn't seem to notice me, until a certain moment. It was a four-hoofed creature with dark blue fur the color of the night sky. Her mane fluttered like a piece of space, even though it wasn't windy inside and the windows were closed.

I couldn't fully see her face because of the book, but with each slow step, fragmentary passages began to appear in front of my eyes. One by one, they showed me the life of this... pony... Formerly a princess who guards dreams, and now a retired mare. In all this flood of memories, I saw her sister too. A white mare with a mane the color of the northern lights. Their gatherings together, the coronation, quarrels, reconciliation, anger, resentment, sadness, remorse... I could feel her anger towards her older sister in my gut. Her envy, which turned into a thirst for attention and love. Their brief duel, exile, and reunion after a thousand years of separation.

Finally, my presence did not go unnoticed, and with a loving smile, the pony whose name was Luna put the book down on a nearby table and got up from the sofa and came over to me. I just froze, unable to take even a step, because she had my face... It was only at that moment that I realized that it was the other way around, that I had her face. And all the warmth I felt in her presence was the result of our blood connection. She's my mother, and I'm her daughter!

"Don't be afraid, my child," she began the dialogue. "You, like your brothers and sisters, have reached me, which means that you have all coped with the test!"

I looked around uncomprehendingly. "Have we passed the test?"

"Yes, dear!" there was genuine joy in her voice. "As soon as you were all old enough, I used my powers in the dream world to begin your training! And you did it all! None of you were killed or injured! That in open combat, that hiding in the shadows!"

"Wait!" I was collecting my thoughts. "You're saying that we've all passed your test, but... Where are my brothers and sisters, then?"

At the same moment, a whitish magical aura emanates from our creator's horn, enveloping the room. The bookshelves surrounding us disappear, and in their place appear thousands of glass fragments, in which it was easy to see the same picture as mine. Slightly perplexed, we all began to approach the glasses, peering into the faces.

"So are you present with them now?" to which my mother nodded at me with a smile. "But how?"

"Nothing is impossible for the princess of dreams, dear daughter... Just like for all of you!"

"The former princess... mom..." I corrected her, embarrassed, noticing that we all did the same thing.

"Attentive and punctual! How proud I am of all of you..."

It seemed like the whole situation was going to make her cry.

"You can't even imagine, my children, what achievements await you ahead! Bound by constant training, both in dreams and in reality, you will become the defenders of Equestria! Along with your cousins from Legiones Solaris..."

"Legiones Solaris?" I interrupted my mom uncertainly, causing only some confusion on her face.

"Oh, yeah... My sister Celestia's children... I assume you've already seen excerpts from my past?" I nodded. "In that case, you know that I still have my evil side. Nightmare Moon..." I nodded again, silently. "Unfortunately, it sits inside each of you too... This tragedy did not escape the children of Celestia either... Poor things are also suffering from an entity named Daybreaker!"

"But in that case, if Daybreaker and Nightmare Moon are so dangerous, then why did you create us? What if we, your creations, succumb to evil too?"

"Because there was no other way out, my child!" my mother replied, and her horn immediately started to burn again.

The world around us was on fire. Canterlot, the capital of Equestria, a beautiful city with a thousand-year history, lay in ruins, and the ponies who inhabited it lay dead on its blood-soaked streets. What I saw caused me not shock or fear, but anger and rage. With all my heart, I wanted to find the culprit of this tragedy and tear him to pieces. And luckily for me, he showed up on his own. A huge monstrous shadow with eyes burning like the mouth of a volcano and huge wings slowly began to approach us. My first thought was to protect my mom, no matter what the cost.

With righteous anger, I rushed to meet the monster and, knocking him on his back, began to beat him with all my might right in his face. At some point, the horn on my head glowed white, and without realizing it, I annihilated it completely. The nightmare disappeared as if it had never existed. The sun was shining, and the ponies were alive and enjoying a wonderful day in the pristine Canterlot.

"A terrible beast, isn't it?" Luna came up to me. "In fact, it's no scarier than, well, let's say fire. But what I've shown you is nothing more than the foreseeable future. And in order to prevent it, Celestia created Legiones Solaris and He inspired her with this idea...

As soon as I got up, a figure dressed in golden armor appeared in front of me, blazing with the power of the sun, he surpassed me by several heads holding a flaming sword in his hands. His facial features were flawless, like those of a God. With his whole appearance, he showed power and might.

"He had many names, but now he is known as the Emperor of Mankind!" my mother continued. "This creature belonging to the human species is the ruler of an entire Galaxy, a million planets, a thousand star systems! His will is steely, and his power is absolute!"

"And why did he decide to help us?" I turned back to her.

"Because the enemy he has been fighting for twelve thousand years now wants to enter our world! He called them the Gods of Chaos! Each of the Gods represents something terrible! Khorne is the epitome of war and blood! Slaanesh - thirst for pleasure and suffering! Nurgle is the grandfather of plague and disease! And Tzeentch is the lord of intrigue, secret knowledge and deception!"

"But we also have our own God of Chaos!" I declared loudly, remembering the figure of the twirly draconicus from my mother's memories.

"That's right, honey, Discord is our friend, but his powers won't be much use, because he's made of the same energy as them! That's why we created you! You are our spear, with which we will defeat our enemy! Yes, we won't be able to destroy even one of these Gods, let alone all four! But at least we can stand up for ourselves! For Equestria! Save and preserve defenseless ponies from Galactic-scale threats!"

"And... What will happen to us when all this is over?" my question clearly surprised my mother. "If we are created for war, then what will happen to all of us when this is all over?"

"We will live as a family..." Luna came up to me, and I instinctively got down on one knee, as if I had been programmed to do so. She hugged me, gently and with all her love. "A big and friendly family... I, Celestia, and you are our beloved children!"

"But what if we go against each other, as you once did?"

"This will never happen!" tears trickled down her cheeks. "I promise!"

"If you love us all so much, then we all have names! You couldn't just assign us a specific number, could you?"

"I would never number my children like cattle! When creating each of you, I put the name assigned to you into your genes! And you know him very well, don't you, my child?"

The words of our creator echoed in my mind. Word. One simple word started to sound in my head, as if someone was whispering it to me. At that moment, I was finally convinced of the correctness of everything my mother had told me. And the name she gave me very clearly characterized our blood relationship.

"My... My name is Selena!"