Chapter 1: My Life As I Know It.
Day 1). [A New Friend]

Today is my fifth birthday! Although mother or father couldn't get me a present, they still did! It was an old journal (The same one I'm writing in right now), but it was still a journal. Telling mom and dad goodbye I left the house for the market hoping to get some food for my parents.

Much to my dismay the market was practically empty, but I did manage to get some free food as gifts for my birthday. On my way I ran into the Pie family who, as always, were collecting their tools and getting ready for yet another season of Harvest which I thought was weird as the Autumn Harvest only ended a few weeks ago. The market was small in Old Town and whatever they sold was rarely below 5 bits. I was examining the stalls when I accidentally walked right into another colt.

"Ow, watch where you're going!" He said.

"Oops, sorry. I didn't see you there" I replied.

The pony gave me a long look, "Really? Or is it that you were too distracted by the market stalls" He then sighed "You're a resident of the Slums I'm guessing?"
"
Yeah I am, but...how did you know?" Even as I said this I began examining him: He was a young colt, around the same age as me, he had a grey flank along with a black-gray mane, and most importantly I noticed that he had no cutie mark along with royal gauntlets on his front legs.

The colt yet again stared at me "You look like you lived in the Ever-Free forest all your life and we're not even close to the forest so it's obvious that you're from the Slums" Even as he said the word "slums" a large frown spread across his face "I can't imagine how bad it must be to live there. I've heard all sorts of stories like how you eat food that's completely rotten or how that only the richest ponies can afford a house. Is it true?"

I sagged as he said what I knew was the truth "Yes, it's all true. Except for the houses. We just "borrow" any abandoned houses we can find; it's really tough living out here because every day is a fight for survival. And ever since the famine hit Equestria things have begun to get even worse here than they already were. But enough about me, where are you from?" As soon as I said this he grew nervous and started to blush a little.
"
Uh, I'm from, uh....Canterlot" He winced as he said this "My name's Greyson Shade, I'd prefer it though if you would just call me Grey"

I gave "Grey" a smile "Okay then 'Grey' it's nice to meet you. My name's ___"

Grey gave me a brief smile (I guess he rarely smiled) "Alright. So, why did you come to the market?"

I facehooved "Well, obviously to buy some food for my family. It's my birthday and they sometimes give out reduced prices" And even with my 2 bits that I saved up, I still had managed to buy enough food for the week.
"Ah. Well, happy birthday then. I might as well give you a gift for the occasion" Grey then took out a book called "The History Of The Southern Regions" and, much to my joy, he handed it to me. "Take good care of it. It's a very valuable book that was pulled out of production several decades ago on account of the war with those Islands."
I stared at the book in wonder. Ever since I could read (If only a little) I have always loved books, and now in my hooves I held one of the rarest books in all of Equestria. I slowly opened the book and saw that it was practically in perfect condition. I do not need to say this, but I was speechless, "...Th-thank you Grey. You have no idea how happy this makes me."

Suddenly I felt a hoof on my shoulder "I can see that. In fact you're crying. You might want to wipe those tears away."
I slowly did wipe away my tears, and suddenly I hugged him. "Thanks Grey." He then hesitantly pushed me away "You think you can stop by my house for dinner?" I asked. Grey considered it for a moment then nodded .
"Yeah, I think I can stop by for a little bit. Not too long though, I need to be back in Canterlot before dusk." And with that final word we left for my house. It didn't take as long as it should have thanks to Grey helping me carry all the food. For the next 2 hours we talked and laughed the day away until it was time for Grey to go. He promised that he wold stop by sometimes, but it might take a while. He said that something was happening and that all the Guards were getting nervous and jumpy, so Grey thought that it would be better if he hung around Canterlot to make sure that everything would be alright.

"Don't worry ___ I'll be back in about 2-3 weeks. I'll see you again soon buddy. Good bye!"

And with that farewell he left for Canterlot. I then went to my room and cleaned up my bed and got ready to go to sleep. It is there where I am writing this journal, but it's getting to be late so I'd better go to sleep.

(Day 3. [Research, Results, and more Questions]
This morning was nice as always, but one thing was different today: I had a book to read and a journal to write in. In case I needed to remind myself of what was written in the book I decided to copy down the most important parts:

"The Southern Islands are a mysterious group of islands just south of Equestria. The islands have not been explored nor seen in a long period of time because of their location as well as the great number of sea monsters that populate the area of the ocean that surrounds the island. The island is also not accessible by air due to the strange air currents that are all around the islands. The island itself is also not visible from a distance because of a strange, but thick which should not be present because of the air currents. Any attempts to access the island by underground tunnels was thwarted due to mysterious creatures that either caved it sections of the tunnels or attacked the tunnelers."
I was surprised by the amount of ponies who wanted to go to the islands, and I was even more surprised by the strange conditions of the island which were almost as if something or somepony did not want anyone on the island.

*Knock Knock Knock*

Hearing the knocking I quickly trotted down the stairs and opened the door to see a grinning Grey "Hey ____ , guess what I found!"

I thought for a moment before I replied "I don't know...Another book?" Grey gave me a short nod.
"Yup. I thought you might be interested in it since you were so happy about that book I gave you two days ago."
He handed me yet another book. This book was more damaged and looked as if it was assembled from several other books. I opened it and flipped through a few pages as I noticed that some had a few detailed sketches and bios for the Southern Islands.

"You have no idea how hard it was to get that" said Grey "I had to practically beg my father so he'd get it for me. He said that these books were released in minimal quantities because of something about...The Royal Family not wanting to let it become too...well-read."
"Weird" I muttered as I found a sketch of a strange sharp piece of metal. The listing next to it called it "darke-steele". 'Sharp as a freshly cut piece of glass, and as hard as a brick covered in stone.'

"So do you want to head out to town and maybe check out the bridge?"
Setting the book down I started to walk down the stairs before giving Grey a quick look "Yeah sure. Why not?" we then headed out the door.

*A few hours later*

It took us a while to get to Shinedown Bridge because we stopped at several stores along the way to check out what wares they had.

"It sure is pretty huh?" asked Grey.

I looked at the somewhat murky water and at the setting sun "It's kind of a 50/50 thing here Grey." Nearby a pony passed by us pulling a carriage full of plants.

Grey gave me shrug "I don't know. It's not like Canterlot out here. It's much more...Peaceful and run-to-ground than all shiny and bustling. Out here there are all kinds of pony who are content with living their lives, while back home, all those ponies only wish to get to a higher social status, become closer to the Royals and nobles, or just become more rich despite being already very rich."

"Huh, I thought you would like it there more than here. Now that I think about it, why haven't you mentioned your father yet?" said I.

Grey barely glanced at me before he started to kick at the ground. "I'm not very...Close with my family. My mother died when I was younger and my father is usually busy with his duties."
Grey picked up his satchel and turned toward me and gave me a slight nod "Time to go. It's getting late."
I feel as if I offended him somehow, but Grey didn't really want to talk on the way back home. Once I got home I began to look through the book again until I found a most curious symbol.

Close to the symbol was the entry calling it an Element. It looked as if more was written, but the page was ripped off. A small paper was folded near the it and upon the piece of paper was written:
"They're looking for me! The Royals are after me! But they're not alone! I must hide it! If they find it...Oh I can't even begin to think of what would happen! But what if someone finds this book!?! I must warn them! If anyone reads this then please, please hide this book!" On the back of the note the word "Exile" was written.

The note confused me, what did the Royals have to do with anything? Why should I hide this book? But, to be safe, I hid it under my hay bed beneath a rotting floorboard and what did the term Exile had to do with anything.

I just hope that Grey can help me make some sense of this.

Day 4). [And so the story thickens]
Today Grey decided to take me to Canterlot to look at it and to see how the "higher" Ponies lived. Along the road Grey told me that the real reason that we were heading there was to look up the author of that book and what he meant by that message.

"It's important that we find out what happened to him and what he meant by that".

"But why?" I asked.

Greyson waved his hoof for transport "Because it's the first time that I heard of something involving the Royal Families, Nobles, and plots. Usually the Nobles just to topple each other and get in favor with the Royal Families so they get richer or more famous, but trying to silence a writer for something like this? No. There's something weird going on here and I want to find out."

A carriage stopped by and we walked into it. "But why did you have to take me? And why today?"
Grey slowly turned toward me, his expression bored "Because you always wanted to see Canterlot and because today the guard is going to be occupied at the Assembly. This will let us look around more easily. I decided to have one of my friends come with us. She may be a Noble, but we can trust her."

"A mare?" I asked "But...Why not somepony strong? In case we have to run?"

Grey chuckled "Rose is tough enough to help herself and us if we get into trouble. She's quite skilled at magic. Especially plant magic. You ever see huge vines come out of the ground to ensnare somepony?"

I was shocked, I didn't even realize that Unicorns could be so powerful! Around Old Town all the ponies could barely do floaty magic. But even with Grey's statement that "Rose" could help us, I still wondered what kind of good could plant magic do- "Poison Joke" said Grey abruptly. "What?" I asked.

'Poison Joke. It's a plant that Rose tends to use. It's a plant that can cause certain ailments to appear. A pony who liked being strong might wake up being weak or a Pegasus who loved flight might wake up with unusable wings. Rose stuffed some Poison Joke in the chambers of the guards who would be on duty today. That'll prevent us from being caught." Grey reached into his pack and pulled out a scarf which he put on "Better dress up. It's going to be cold. The Pegasi decided to bring the icy winds a bit early this year."

With that piece of advice Grey closed his eyes and sat back in his seat completely silent. Feeling that he didn't want me to bug him I decided to look out the window and see what the surroundings were like. There wasn't much to see because of the cold winds which had stripped the trees bare and grey and left the earth chilled and shrubless. Somehow, I always thought that Canterlot would be bright and full of life, but instead my first visit was very desolate and sad. Reminding me too much of home I decided to get some rest before we left for the Castle.

The outside of the Castle was much better than the outside of Canterlot since it was surrounded by pretty flowers and lively folks, but whenever I walked by someone they would always give me this mean look as if they thought I was some dirty animal. Ignoring them I instead focused on the entrance up ahead until Grey held up a hoof.

"Wait. This is where Rose agreed to meet us."

"So is Rose her real name?" I asked.

"No. Some ponies like me and Rose have family names after our real ones so we just shorten them. And she doesn't like being recognized as a member of the Draconis-"
"WHOA WHOA WHOA!" I interrupted "Draconis?!?! She's a Draconis?!?!"
Grey glared at me, but before he said anything, a mysterious and enthralling voice came from the tree next to us "Yes. I am. I prefer though, to not be recognized as one of the Draconis and I would like it if you would not mention it too much." Steadily, the most beautiful pony I have ever seen, walked out from behind the tree. She was an elegant white with a fair pink mane.

Grey's glare slowly turned into a smirk as he looked at Rose "White with pink huh? I'd thought you'd pick another color."
Rose annoyingly turned with a swish before turning her head slightly in Grey's direction "Well changing my color isn't easy when I'm nearly dead from exhaustion from all my studies. Now then. We'd best get going. Shall we?" And with that she began to trot toward the entrance.

Grey lifted my jaw up with a smirk "Heh, real charming. Now let's get going before you turn to Ashes."

The library was split into several wings/sections each named after a certain famous pony or named after what they held. Rose led us into the Cartographer section where we began to look around for anything that was similar to the book that I had. After an hour of searching we found nothing else except an old book underneath a bunch of scrolls. The book was strangely different from most of books in the way that it had a slight indent in the middle.

"...Great. Just great..." Muttered Rose "A royal insignia is needed to open this."

Grey frowned "What? Why would we?"

Rose stared at the book until a faint pink glow shook it "See? It's guarded. High class magic. Real high class."
I grabbed the book and examined it. Huh. It wouldn't open. I shook the book a little bit. It wouldn't even open a bit. I turned to Grey "Think you can do anything with it?" Grey shook his head.

"Nope. I don't think I can."

I turned to Rose. She was being strangely quiet. Then, she spoke up "Maybe we should take it. Maybe...Maybe your friend
should take it Grey."

Grey looked at Rose shocked "Are you serious!? But...But...But this is like a dream of yours? You always pursued stuff like this and now you're giving it up?"

Rose nodded "Yes. If it weren't for him then we wouldn't have found this book in the first place. I think we can trust him with something like this."

She handed me the book "If you ever find a way to open it, then find me as soon as you can. Understand?"

I gulped, but gave her slight nod and smile "Yes ma'am."

There was a slight rumble as we were walking out. I noticed it since we entered Canterlot, but now it seemed closer "What's that?" I asked.

Grey frowned "I don't know...It almost sounds like a-" Suddenly an explosion occurred behind us!
"RUN!" Screamed Rose! We ran as rocks began to fly by us and next to us. I turned to Grey "WHAT'S HAPPENING?!? WHAT'S WITH ALL OF THIS!?!"

Grey's eyes were filled with fear. "I DON'T KNOW! THIS SURE DOESN'T SEEM LIKE IT WAS PLANNED!"
I heard a strange cracking and barely managed to turn around before I saw a large rock flying toward me. Moments before it hit me I heard Rose scream out to me "GET AWAY!! MOVE!!!"

Then everything went black.

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Day 9. [A Healer's Touch and the Myst of the Mountains]

I woke up to to a bright light and a headache. Groggily, I looked around and saw my journal and (Torn) backpack lying on a box next to me. I blinked a bit. The light was really getting to me. Suddenly I remembered what happened. The book, the library, the blast...And Rose. Grey. My friends. Where were they? I looked around a bit, but all I saw was a white room. It was damaged as some of the paint was peeling off of the walls. The roof had some holes in it, but it was otherwise a lot like the walls. The room was empty besides a few boxes and a table with what looked like medicine and tools. I think. There were two windows behind me and a lantern focused by a piece of glass was above me. Where am I? Weakly attempting to stand I instead fell to the ground with a thud. My legs could just not support me. It was only then that I looked at them. They were covered in bandages. The door opened behind me and a large blue mare with a lightish blue mane walked in, looking angry, surprised, and grim. Without a word she raised me using magic and set me on the table. Behind her I noticed a young mare walk in. She was cute in the way that she was so shy. She was blue with a light blue mane that had light green tips at the end. She looked at me with concern from the doorway. The older mare grimaced as she looked at me.

"Nice to see you're finally up." A small tube with a light at the end floated next to my eyes as the Mare examined me. "Hmm...Eyesight is fine. Response is good." She lowered the tube. "He looks fine. Sierra? Get me a bottle of spring water. Our 'guest' needs something to drink." The younger mare nodded before she ran off.

I focused more on the mare before me. She was large, and strangely similar to the stallion I had seen earlier. She turned her sharp gaze toward me and gave me a slight smirk "Heh. Good to see you're memory is still functioning well."

"Wha-What?" I stuttered.

Her smirk turned to a grin "Speech too. I was worried for a moment that you went mute."

"Who-who are you?" I asked.

She walked out momentarily, and then returned with a chair in which she sat in. "My name is Myst. Myst Blue. That mare you saw earlier is my pupil. Sierra Myst. And yes, she is my daughter."
I looked around for a bit more, "Where are my friends?"
"They're resting. When they brought you in I thought they would pass out right there. They carried you from Canterlot to here you know."

"Yeah. I remember a bit. I remember the rock that hit me." I answered. "What caused that...Explosion?"

Myst Blue's smile faded as quick as it appeared. "That, my youngling, is a mystery to even me. In case you're wondering, sadly, a lot of ponies were hurt during the raid."

What? The raid? "Wha-What do you mean by raid?" I said.

Myst slowly levitated the Equestria Daily showing a group of ponies attacking Canterlot "These, might, be the ones who attacked Canterlot. Or so the news says."

"Might be the ones?" I questioned.

"Yes. Indeed. I doubt that a bunch of raider-ponies would suddenly attack a city like Canterlot like that and even use magic bombs. I think that this was done by someone else." Even as she said this, I heard the sound of hooves down the hall. "Clip-Clop, Clip-Clop, Clip-Clop." Myst turned toward the hall "And here's my assistant. Finally."
Sierra entered the room and shyly gave me the drink without a word. I heard more hoof-steps down the hall again as I drank the water. It was strangely good. Rejuvenating even. It felt as if the water washed my pain away and gave me strength. "Whoa that was good." I muttered. Soon my friends walked in. Rose remained by Sierra. Silent and cool as ever. Grey dashed to my side and looked me over.

"Heh. Nice to see you're still alive. You've been unconscious for nearly a week."

A week! I was stunned. What would Mom and Dad think! Were they worried! Would they look for me?!?

"And don't worry. Sierra over there told your parents that you were here after a small "accident" at Canterlot. They should be alright."

Phew. gave a sigh of relief. With most of fears and worries put to rest I almost felt more at ease. Almost.

"What happened to you and Rose?" I asked.

Rose interrupted Grey and walked up to me "We were fine. Mostly. But you were near death. Practically dead. You're lucky that Myst has the Healer's Touch or else you would be dead."
Dead? Dead? No wonder my friends were so worried.

"Even stranger" said Rose "That book we found began to glow after you got hit. We even managed to open it and read it a little bit after Sierra helped us. It closed though as soon as you were okay. You have any idea why?" Rose then began to stare at me as if I knew why.

"No. I don't." Rose gave me a slight nod "I had to be sure" she said. I pondered for a moment. If the book opened up, then what did they find in it? "So what'd you guys find? In the book I mean."

Grey answered my question "Not much. Most of the pages were blank. The ones that weren't though told us something at least. They mentioned the Southern Islands a LOT and how the Noble Family tried to invade them a few decades ago, but they failed. It also mentioned something about a group of ponies and their "Evil leader" who were defeated by another group of ponies back then" As Grey mentioned the second group of ponies I noticed Myst slightly wince and lower her head. Did she know what Grey was talking about "-And so on. It seems that the author was hunted down and captured and tried for treason 5 years ago. He was Exiled to the Islands, but the boat never made it there. It seems that it was destroyed on the way there mysteriously."

"And that's all it said?" I asked. Grey gave me a short nod. "Yup." He then turned to Myst and Sierra "So since ___ is awake, is he okay enough to travel?" Myst looked up abruptly and began to ponder for a bit. "Yees. He should be okay enough to travel, but take it easy." She left for a minute and brought a few vials:

"Here" Myst gave the vials to Rose "Give your friend these every hour or whenever he feels weak. They should help him and speed up his recovery. Just give him a small swig." Rose nodded and put the vials in my bag. My friends then left to gather my stuff as Myst and Sierra left me in my room alone.

"Thank you. For everything and more. Thank you Myst and Sierra"

It was time for us to leave so I said farewell to the healers. Sierra blushed, and Myst just smiled at me "It's just nice to have -mostly- conscience visitors for once. And thank you, younglings, for the payment." She nudged Sierra forward lightly. "Um...Um...It-...It was our ple-pleasure to help you." Sierra stuttered.

As Grey and Rose began to leave after saying good-bye, I gave a quick hug to Myst and Sierra, who blushed even more, "Thank you both again." I began to go after my friends until I heard Sierra call after me "Wait!" She ran up to me and moved forward to hug me, but instead she just put her hoof on my shoulder and smiled slightly, "Stay safe" as she put her hoof on my shoulder I felt a strange spark occur. What was that, I would wonder, Sierra left back to the hut (I was surprised to see a hut near the building we were just in). "You coming ___?" Called out Grey. Turning around I limped after my friends and so we began our trek home.

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Day 11). [Attack, Attack, Attack Old Town] This morning was peaceful as always, but that peace would go away very soon. Around noon an army of ponies in black metal appeared and lowered their metal thingies and suddenly a rain of black fire was shot at us! I was so scared that I ran for my closet and hid there. From outside I heard screaming and thuds all around. Suddenly everything turned black as I hit my head. When I finally woke up and looked outside...What I saw there scared me so much. There were ponies everywhere just laying on the ground as a pool of red formed around them. The Canterlot Guard was there looking around and helping whatever ponies could move. It was there that I saw my friend Grey. I quickly trotted out my door to talk to Grey, and I didn't even think about my parents. When I got there I saw a tall stallion in black and grey armor talking to Grey.

"Are you okay?" The large stallion asked Grey.

Grey gave him a tired look "Yes, yes I am. I only just got here after the Brotherhood soldiers left so there was no way they could've got me. You don't need to be so concerned. I frowned as I heard this. The Brotherhood? Who were they? Why did they do this to Old Town?

The stallion merely grunted and walked away to look at some of the broken buildings. After he left I walked up to Grey "Hey Grey."

Grey jumped a little bit before he turned around to face me "Oh. Hey ___. Do you know what happened here?

"No. Not really. I fell asleep in my closet.

Grey stared at me for a long time "You...Fell...Asleep...During the attack." He gave a sigh "Did you hit your head?"

"Yes I did."

"There you go. Now we solved this. I think you want to know who they were?"

I gave him a nod "Yes, I really want to know who they were. Why were they attacking us?"
Grey pointed toward a beaten bench "It's better that you sit down. It's going to be a lot to take in." So we both proceed to sit on the bench "First off, they are called the Brotherhood. They are a group of...Well, I don't really know. Nopony told me much about them. Next, I have no idea why they attacked Old Town. There's no point, but no one knows much about the Brotherhood. Not even the Queen."

I was confused by what he said. Why didn't anyone know anything about them?

"It's impossible to say when they are going to come again. Unlike most ponies, all of them can cast magic. He took out my book and opened it to page 32 (Where did he get it?). Inside was the picture of a tall pony in black, spiky "armor". "They all wear armor and those things they used, we call them "Shadow Guns" since they fire off magical bolts made of Shadows. They can practically go though anything."

Suddenly, I remembered my home. If these bolts could get through even stone then they could've hurt my parents! I then dashed toward my house and looked in the kitchen. Both my parents were hurt quite a bit.

"MOM! DAD! ARE YOU OKAY?!?" I ran to their side and slowly shook them "Come on! Wake up! Please!" Slowly Mom's eyes opened and she looked at me "___! Are you okay?"

"Yes I am mom, but what about you and dad?"

My mother waved her hoof at me "Pshhaaw, we'll be fine. You're the only one who matters"
After checking on dad to make sure he was alright, I helped mom and dad up (Grey also helped me as I couldn't carry them both without help) and we left our broken home and instead took refuge in an old dusty house down the street on the left. The home was different in the way that it didn't feel like home, but we still stayed there for the rest of the day. Grey came by later and began to help me and my parents. When I asked Grey if my family could go back home, he said that it would be a while before they repaired it. He then promised me that something like this wouldn't happen again for a long, long time.

Soon, The Queen, and both of the Princesses, came down from Canterlot, with their Mother, to look at the damage that had been done to our homes.

"Oh my! What happened here!?"

I turned and saw the young princess known as Celestia. Her sister, Luna, went after her, trying to not draw attention to herself. The Queen herself stepped off of the chariot and with grace, much unlike her daughter's, the queen then slowly walked down the street as quietly as she could. The Queen surveyed the town, her face a mixture of shock and sadness.

"Who could've done this? Shade? Come here."

The same Stallion in black and grey armor came from behind one of the building and stood next to the Queen.
"You called my Liege?" Even as he said this his eyes slowly turned until they faced me. He gave me a slight flick of his head as if to say "Go". Not wishing to anger the mysterious pony, I walked away.
As I walked through Draconis Alley I began to hear a strange fluttering sound. As I turned the corner all of a sudden I heard a bright, cheerful voice rang out from above me.

"Watcha doin?" I looked up and saw a light green Pegasus grinning at me.

"Huh? Who're you?" I asked.

The Pegasus frowned "Aww, come on. No fair, I asked first!"

This pony, I thought, is very weird. "I'm just walking around. Enjoying the view." The Pegasus stared at me.

"What view? The only things around here, are broken building and dusty old alleys. What are you really doing around here?" It questioned.

"Well this is home. Can't I walk around, and enjoy myself?" I replied.

The Pegasus paused before abruptly flying away.

"What a strange pony." I said to no one in general.

After 6 o'clock, I began to make my way home, all the while hoping that nothing bad would happen. The trip was long and rough because of the broken homes and all of the wood lying around. All around me I saw homeless ponies that lay in the streets, hungry, hurt, and thirsty. No matter how much I wanted to, I knew that I could not help them.
By the time I got home the Canterlot guards and the Queen had already left. My friend Grey stayed behind to help us fix up our home. From him I learned that the name of the Stallion was Shade and that he was the Lieutenant of the Black Guards. The Black Guards were a group of very strong and skilled ponies who would defend the royal family to the death. They also traveled across Equestria and a couple of other nations to see how things were doing. The Black Guards were also part of the 6 Guardians who were, without doubt, the best of the best. Grey then told me that the Sand Guards were coming to old town in a week in order to help us repair our town. Because it was very late , Grey decided to sleep over at our house for the night.

I began to think about what happened today and what happened at the library. Were they somehow connected? Were these ponies looking for the Bastion? I didn't know. All I knew was that my life was never going to go back to the way it was. As mom said "With time must come change". I guess it was Time for my life to Change. I still wondered if somehow I wasn't the only pony out of a group to be chosen to have the book. That maybe, maybe I meant to. But I am getting sleepy so I'd best stop worrying.
And with this final sentence I close my journal and lay my head to rest for the night.

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Day 12). [Night Prowling]

It was barely midnight when Grey woke me up.

"C'mon ___, we gotta get moving."

"Huuuh?" I groaned as Grey shook me awake. His large grey eyes were staring at me in concern.

"Good. You're awake. C'mon we have to move now."

"wh-what happened?" I stuttered "What's the rush?" I looked outside "It's not even daytime yet!"

"Of course __. But listen to me, we have to move NOW. It's urgent, and if you don't get up off of your lazy flank then we'll be in huge trouble...And not the kind involving harsh words."
I stared at Grey in confusion. Though he was my best (And only) friend and I trusted him, I still didn't understand why he wouldn't explain what was going on. "Grey. Explain what's going on. Now." I demanded.
Grey remained silent as he tossed a rope ladder down my window and quickly slid down it. Despite my better judgement I decided to follow Grey down and follow him to wherever he was going.

"Heh, I knew you'd have to follow. Tough to resist the lull of adventure huh?" Grey smirked "Still, we're already 2 minutes behind. Best get moving."

I followed Grey for a while. We went down winding streets, long, dark alleys, climbed tall broken buildings, and swam across frigid streams until we finally reached Draconis Alley.

"...Are you kidding Grey?!? We could've walked down here so easily!" I shouted

"SHHH! Quiet! Do you want so people will hear us? No. You don't. So quiet down. Besides, I thought we'd take the long road for fun." whispered Grey "Might as well fill you in. While you were prancing about the streets, I was working hard trying to figure out what went down here today. After a bunch of eavesdropp-"

"Whoa whoa whoa" I said "Why were you so curious about his? And why did you bring me down here?"

Grey gave a deep sigh and rolled his eyes "This is a very serious matter, and Draconis Alley is a safe place. I have a friend looking out for us in case any guards come by. For your first question, that is because ever since the Library accident I began to look around for clues about what happened until I accidentally came across some scrolls that had all these weird symbols! Before and after the library, several more places towns were also invaded. The Nobles even tried to cover it up. When I asked around for how long the were there I found out that The Brotherhood ponies barely spent a minute in any place!

I was stunned. "What!?!? You mean more places were attacked? Why were they there for so little?"
Grey gave me a slight nod "Yup. But in Old Town they took longer. So ___. Be careful. They're dangerous. And I don't think they're done looking for whatever they want just yet."
I fell backwards. Stunned as I was, I could still understand what Grey was saying. The Brotherhood was going to attack again. And I couldn't do anything at all about it. "Grey?"

"Hmm?"

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked.

He momentarily looked at the sky before he said "Because I'm leaving tomorrow. Dad doesn't want me around Old Town after the attack" Suddenly I realized that the big stallion was Grey's dad "And I think that something big is going to happen soon. Why else would the Brotherhood start attacking all these places at the same time that the Canterlot Guard began doing a "Routine Inspection" like they did today? I think that they're both searching for something, and as soon as one of them find whatever they're looking for...Then things will get bad. Bad for everyone and not just for the other faction"
I thought for a moment "You think they're after the book?"
Grey shook his head "I don't know. Maybe they are, but why would they attack other places? Something doesn't add up here..."

Suddenly I heard a familiar flapping, "Um, Grey? What's that noise?"

Grey grimaced "That would be my lookout. And it looks like he has some news for me." He then turned toward me and gave me a quick hug "Stay safe ___. And if you find anything weird. Get as far away from it as you can" After a quick brohoof, Grey began to run down the alley as the familiar flapping noise seemed to follow after him.

I lay in the alley for a while before I went home trying to deal with all that happened. It took me a while, but I finally managed to make it home as I attempted to deal with everything that happened today. In one simple day my life was flipped upside-down and over.

Torn Pages

Rainbow Dash's mind was flooded with questions at what she had just read. She never could've thought that this journal was like this. It...Told a story. It seemed the more she read, the more she questions she had. Furthermore, why was the colt's name scratched out wherever it appeared? Desperate for more answers Rainbow Dash opened the book again to where she last stopped, but in it's place all she saw was evidence of ripped out pages and a blank page in front. Dash quickly leafed through the journal, but none of the pages had any writing on them. Slowly she felt the same presence that she did when she first entered the room "Go back to the end..." whispered a mysterious voice that seemingly came out of nowhere. Hesitantly, Dash went back to the first blank page and slowly a soft skritching noise began to emanate from the book: "Skritch Skritch Skritch" slowly letters began to appear on the page until they spelled out "FIND THE LOST PAGES". Rainbow Dash abruptly dropped the book in surprise. She leaned over it as the letters began to disappear. Again, the noise resumed until a new message was spelled out "LOST PAGES" "OLD TOWN" "DARK MOON RISING "
The presence receded again as Dash picked up the book and she, determined to learn its secrets, flew off for Canterlot.

*Elsewhere*
*A pair of silvery eyes open in a black room*
*Slowly a thin smile forms under the eyes*
"Soon."

Author's Note

Whohoo! Finally done! After weeks of being finished then making additions and edits I finally finished it today! I was hoping to upload this yesterday, but my browser wouldn't let me. I really hope you enjoy this chapter as it is so far the best one I have written (And that's not saying much...). I am still working the character names so expect edits to this chapter in teh future. Furthermore, I may also change the chapter a bit (Maybe) so it will fit in better withthe next chapter which, sadly, will not be released for some time due to a variety of pressing projects, and some work that I need to finish. Hope you like this chapter as much as I did writing it!

-Ashe S. Black.