Chapters Looming skyward, more imposing and beautiful than the very mountain upon which it was founded, stood Canterlot. The sky was clearer than even the great desert wasteland, but the sun refused to be so unforgiving. A small trickle of travelers, visitors, and trading caravans moved along the road beside the great railway. While the railway was certainly faster one particular traveler, being who he was simply couldn't stand the noisy things. Thus on the great road he had hid himself away, tucked amongst the multitudes of ponies.
The being's cloak and hood covering his entire body and masking all his features as it hovered mere millimeters above the ground. As cloaks went it was nothing overly special, at least not to the untrained eye. The were small swirls of green adorning the tattered brown, but they were so faint as to be almost indistinguishable or simply mistaken for stains.
Steadily they all moved forward, now following the slowly sloping road upwards towards the gates. The guards paid none of them any heed. Equestria had been at peace for so long that even the changeling invasion hadn't completely shaken their passivity and trust. At least not the solar guard's that was. If he had come at night the lunar guard would most certainly have stopped him, they were always far more protective.
Things being the one way and not the other, he simply passed through while the sun shown brightly through the noon-time air. The shadowed eyes and mouth twisted harshly at the lack of security in the capital, while it suited his purposes perfectly it was simply sloppy work.
His hooves carried him along the winding pathways and between the many merchant's shops and villas. The smallish brown case bouncing slightly against his side when he finally stopped. The instrument inside made no sounds, as it was padded and the case had been hoof-made specially for that singular instrument.
A tranquil path led forward to the doors of the palace, and a small line led inward, where the sun princess was holding the day-court. She would listen to the troubles of every pony who came, no matter how petty they might seem and pass judgement. Just as her sister presided over the night-court. Occasionally they would postpone one and oversee the day or night court together, as was the case today.
The cloaked figure waited patiently for those before him to have their say. Then at last his turn had come. He felt more so than saw the disapproving gaze of both princesses upon him.
"My little pony if you do not remove your cloak our guards will not allow you to approach further." To emphasize Celestia's point the guards moved into a slightly more defensible position. They managed to maintain looks of peaceful calm.
"My reasons for the cloak are my own, and it is unnecessary for me to be closer to speak with your majesties." The figure's voice rang out from his shadowed features.
"While it is slightly unusual, as you say your reasons are your own. We shan't take that away from you unless we art threatened." Luna spoke up, some of the old language still occasionally slipping out. "What is it you bring before the court?"
The figure let the hood fall back far enough to expose his grin as he began his tale.
"Long ago, after the fall of discord, Equestria was ruled by your majesties much as it was today. The solar princess in all her glory was the protector of magic and the shining day, a beacon to which all Unicorns could look. The lunar princess with her humble grandeur cared for the honest night and twinkling stars, a serene sky through which pegasi took wing.
"Yet it was not the same, for Equestria was not ruled by merely two sisters." Celestia and Luna sat shocked on their thrones as the pony before them recited tales they had thought buried and knowledge recorded only in the deepest sections of the archives. "It was at first a Triarchy. The gaian princess was the most unique and powerful of the three, for she ruled over the earth from which all life had sprung. She was the guardian of the generous valleys, laughing oceans, kind forests, and loyal deserts. Together their rule brought about harmony to all the lands of the world.
"But a great evil rose up from the void between the stars, and only she was strong enough to face it. So she took to the sky and the stars beyond and waged a great battle with the creature. And while she must have defeated it, for it never did return, she was lost to the eternity of the beyond. In her grief the lunar princess let herself fall into the hooves of another evil, and was banished to the moon.
"Both Sisters had thought their beloved eldest was gone for good, but a spark had been left behind."
The two princesses froze in their thrones and listened with rapt attention as he continued to speak. The guards shifted uneasily and one made to move forward to send the strange crazy pony on his way. He was stopped when a large deep blue wing blocked his path of travel.
"My mother knew she would not return, and left me to take over for her when I was finally ready. After so long it is good to finally meet you dear aunts." His cloak billowed off as his wings extended to their full length, and his horn glowed as he flung it aside. "I am the only son of your sister Terra. My name is Jord." His vine-like mane and tail billowed behind him, as he released the shrinking spell and rose to a height equal of the princesses. His Cutie Mark was a green and blue orb - recognizable as equestria to only the three of them. "I have come to claim my place amongst the Triarchy, and rule as my mother would have wished. Alongside the only remains of my family." He smiled warmly.
A silence spread slowly over the whole of Canterlot, as word spread. Only one phrase passed through everyone's head. 'Change was coming.'
Author's Note
I had writers block on my other story so I wrote this little thing. Not entirely sure where its going yet so suggestion are very much appreciated. I do know i want to make the story flow easier and have more description than 'Rebirth Through the Planar Divide".
The cover image is by YellowBoots on deviant art. If he wishes me to take it down I will do so as soon as I receive his message.
The idea came to me when I realized 2 things.
Of the Third and a Second...
Lyra Heartstrings sat on a bench. She did not sit upon her haunches or lie along it as a normal pony would, rather she had her spine to the bench's back. Her hind legs dangled in the air and she seemed content. She sat much in the way a human would - as if something so ridiculous could actually exist - but she had never heard that word. In fact there was a simple logic and curiosity to her posture. Why did the bench have a backing if it wasn't meant to be used in such a way? Wouldn't a slab have made much more sense to the ways a typical pony would relax upon a bench anyway? These were thoughts such as Lyra had on any day whether sun, rain, or blizzard. Perhaps her constant thoughts and actions involving the everyday were why so many ponies thought of her as 'a little off'.
There were just so many things in their world which didn't make a lick of sense to her. Take for example doorknobs which are difficult to operate without magic but are still far more widely spread then the ease which is a handle. You just push down on it with your hoof, nothing complicated involved. Or perhaps another example is needed, in such a case why not look upon books, stairs, the handles on mugs, swords, bows, balloons... there really wasn't much in the way of hoof-friendly devices and tools. So she thought upon it and wondered if perhaps they had been modeled after something from days gone by.
Regardless of her reasons behind her actions, and stepping around the issue of her own sanity, the way in which she sat probably saved her life that day.
"Watch out!" Screamed a familiar rainbow blur as it rocketed past mere millimeters from her snout and just about her lyre. If she had been sitting normally they would likely have both been dead. As it was though Dash merely found herself buried in a puddle of mud, apologizing profusely to a very irate rarity who was shaking her in the air with magic. Mud had plastered itself all over Rarity's coat, and just after the spa as well. None of you should try to understand why she was thus angered, after all such an event did involve a mud bath, a second one was hardly an issue, possibly a bonus in fact.
The two passed by Lyra as she sat on the same bench silently thanking the universe for her own uniqueness. She only caught a snippet of their conversation but it piped her curiosity.
"I'm telling you I just heard it from Twilight. There's a new Alicorn in Canterlot."
In fact it was less curiosity and more a savage greed for knowledge about this shocking revelation which led Lyra to follow them on their way to the Library where the others were waiting. Rainbow had brought a cloud and washed them off as they walked.
Spike greeted them at the doorway and quickly ushered them in. But paused at the sight of Lyra following behind. "I know this is a public library Lyra but could you possibly come back at another time? There's a personal issue they need to work out." Spike was never the best at lying under pressure.
"Unless the new Alicorn is Twilight I'm not leaving little guy." His mouth hung open in surprise as she walked past him and into the main room. The other girls looked at her as she cleared her throat and spoke a bit louder. "I overheard Rainbow telling Rarity about what happened." The girls glared at Dash for a second before Twilight beckoned her over to join them.
"All the letter says is that before he is introduced to Equestria officially, the Princesses want us to meet him. Then there's just a post script saying. 'have spike burn the letter when everyone's there.' " Spike obviously didn't need further invitation and promptly tore the letter our of Twilight's hooves before sending it away via green flame. "Spike wait till i ask-..." A flash of light blinded them all before 2 familiar and one most definitely new Alicorn stood amongst them. The 7 of them gasped and bowed, while spike merely blinked an cocked his head at the newcomers.
"Rise my little ponies, there are no need for formalities among friends. That means you as well Lyra, I haven't seen you since you graduated the academy." She smiled down at all of them, making the mistake of pausing long enough for Luna to flank in.
"Greetings friends! I wish we could stay longer but there's a lot to do incorporating our dear young nephew here into Equestria."
"I may be your nephew Luna, but after those thousand years of exile I think you'll find I'm the older of us two." He smiled snidely at Luna.
"Is that true dear sister? Is he truly older then we?" Celestia nodded her head in ascent, yes. Luna then employed the full power of the royal Canterlot voice, focused into a single word, "BUCK!".
"Language Luna! in front of the elements no less" Celestia somehow managed to look scandalized, while Jord, rainbow, and Pinkie laughed at Luna's outburst. "Twilight, friends I would like you all to meet Jord. He's the current representation of Gaia, and will be ruling alongside us in the future."
"But Princess!" Twilight intervened.
"No buts twilight." Celestia said, causing both Pinkie and Lyra to snicker for some reason. "Equestria was originally a Triarchy between the 3 heavenly bodies, and if harmony is to truly return it must be so again. I had placed all my hopes in you elements restoring what once was, but now some of that burden can be lifted away." In turn the ponies too turns introducing themselves, Fluttershy uttering a squeak from behind the couch when Rainbow said her name.
"As Luna said we cannot stay long, I'll answer any questions you send me in your letters however. Goodbye everypony." Celestia and Luna whisked themselves away in a cloud of starlit and a flash of brimstone. Jord paused before following, looking at the instrument in Lyra's hooves. A grin creased his face.
"If it isn't too much trouble Lyra I would greatly enjoy hearing you play. I was never one for the softer melodies and instruments myself, but I still enjoy their music." Lyra smiled slightly and nodded. With the whole room watching Lyra began to play.
While everyone wore a smile by the piece's end, Jord's was the largest. He was obviously lost in thought, but came out quickly after everyone turned to look at him questioningly. He turned to Twilight.
"It is my understanding that you are Celestia's protege, am I correct?" He asked. Upon seeing Twilight's acknowledgement he continued. "Was there some sort of ceremony to inaugurate you as such? Any sort of special papers needed signing and such?"
"Yes actually, I had to sign a few waivers and the like. But there wasn't any real ceremony other than a private one with my family and the Princess." She hesitated. "Why do you ask." Jord ignored her question and turned back to Lyra.
"In that case, I'll need to ask Celestia to find the appropriate forms for you dear Lyra. I'll see you in Canterlot this time next week." With a flash of green he left the 7 ponies and young dragon. All with their mouths open in shock. All eyes turned to Lyra just as Twilight tackled her.
Author's Note
It was so tempting to troll everyone and just put "Lyra Heartstrings sat on a bench" as the whole chapter. XD
how does 'meet in person' translate?
Also feel free to replace the music Lyra played with this music instead , it may be a different language and Lyra, but it still fits.
The look of shock on Twilight's face couldn't be adequately described, In fact it seemed like it was laced with another emotion. But the shock so vastly overpowered it that nopony could tell what it was. That was where the issue arose as Twilight tackled Lyra. The girls yelled and rushed to stop her, as Lyra tried to quickly summon a shield against the most powerful unicorn in Equestria, even though she knew it would be useless due to that very fact.
Twilight reached her before her shield erupted outwards, only stopping the other girls from helping by mistake. Lyra closed her eyes and waited for whatever Twilight had in mind as the purple mare's forelegs wrapped around her neck and squeezed... softly. Then her friends slowly stopped their frantic beating on the shield as she began to cry.
"Lyra, I'm so sorry. We spent so much time together at school, you were my closest friend." She buried her head in Lyra's fur, her body shaking. "I forgot about you for so long after I made my new friends here. I never had time when you came over to see me, so we drifted apart." She pulled back and looked through watery eyes at the mint-green mare. "I tried to talk to you again but I never had the courage. I just hope you can forgive me for my past mistakes, and with your new Apprenticeship we should be spending a lot more time together again."
Lyra was speechless. Her and Bonbon had both been sure that Twilight had stopped seeing them because she didn't like them anymore. They had never thought that she would regret leaving them behind. With barely a conscious thought Lyra pulled her closer and returned the hug.
"Everything is gonna be fine Twilight. You now I could never stay mad at you." She lowered the shield, and Twilights friends poured in. They all joined in the hug content to stay like that for a while. Then an explosion lit up the library.
"You know what this calls for? A Party!" Somehow Pinkie pie had disappeared and now stood with the Party cannon in the doorway. Confetti, streamers, and balloons covered the room. A large cake sat on a central table, along with a punch bowl and some muffins. Pinkie stood behind it, and not in the doorway (as everyone was sure to check).
7 days later [-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]
"Remind me again why you need all these clothes? We don't wear them very often... where did you even get these?" Bonbon stared down at the bags on the floor, all fully packed with Lyra's belongings, on the shop floor.
"I've always had them Bony." One last bag levitated out of the room and settled on top of the other three, this time just a simple lyre case.
"Why?" She had never been very into clothes, and had never been on the best of terms with Rarity because of it. They tolerated eachother's presence but they would never be true friends.
"Parents didn't want me leaving unprepared I guess." She snorted. "Don't ask me what they must have thought they were preparing me for, I've long since stopped trying to figure that out." Lyra's parents lived in Manehattan, they had been long since retired after publishing a series of books Lyra had never really gotten into. Still if everyone else enjoyed the tales who was she to say otherwise?
"Do you really need to go?"
"Yep, Prince Jord requested me personally." Lyra's bore a little smile as she walked out of the room.
"It won't be for very long will it?" Her eyes were almost pleading. "I don't want you gone for long." She began pouting and crossed her forelegs over her chest. They had grown close over their years together and Bonbon couldn't stand to be apart from her marefriend for very long.
"If its more than a week I'll take a few days off to come back and visit Bonbon." Lyra tilted her head as her eyes started to go the way of Derpy's. "Why aren't you coming again?"
"Because someone needs to run the shop Lyra." Bonbon nagged. They both knew it wasn't entirely true, they could afford to close up shop for a few days, but since they didn't know how long Lyra would be gone, it was the only real option available to them.
"Why not just let Pinkie Pie watch it?"
"Because she works at Sugarcube Corner."
"So?" Lyra gazed out the window at said corner. "Its not like candy and baked sweets are exactly rivals you know. Besides its Pinkie we're talking about, shes our best customer."
"Sure am!" came a mumble from the taffy barrel. Followed closely by the sound of munching and a rippling wave from the top taffies.
"See?" Lyra turned to the barrel. "How many you having Pinkie?"
"I actually bought the barrel, bits are on the counter." A grinding sound came from the bottom of the barrel. The it fell silently through a hole in the floor. The pink mare poked her head out of the hole and sealed it up before she pulled her head back down again. Lyra and Bonbon found themselves staring at the spot for a few minutes before finally working up the nerve to speak again.
"So not Pinkie?"
"Eeeenope." Bonbon responded imitating a certain member of the apple family.
"Oh hey Twilight you coming too?"
"Yah, I figured we could spend some time together on the train." Twilight smiled. "Oh and Vinyl offered to let us join them in their room for the trip."
"Oh they're going too?"
"Yes, actually it was Jord's idea." Twilight levitated a small flyer over to Lyra, letting her own green magic grasp it. "Its for some kind of competition I guess. All the musicians of Equestria have been invited to compete, not sure why though."
"Huh, you don't think hes going to have me compete as well do you?"
"You think you could win?"
"Well yeah, my music comes from the heart and soul unlike most of today's bands."
"Then you'll be fine either way." She smile reassuringly. "Now come on lets get on before it leaves us behind,"
The train wasn't the usual one that Twilight and her friends caught, it had come from much farther along the track. Bringing Ponies from all across the realm of Equestria in answer to Jord's summons. Rather than the more colorful steam train they were used to, this was a black and blue monster. It had been commissioned by Luna herself as the first overnight train upon the tracks. Luna was for anything which helped boosts her subjects opinions of the night - whether she realized all it accomplished was allowing them to use up less of the daylight for travel - or not. It still made ponies feel better about her in general. Jord was likely taking the brunt of their mistrust and misplaced hatred at the moment anyway.
They stopped after a few cars and opened their door just as the train started moving again. Vinyl and Octavia sat amidst there already. Vinyl's seat was covered in a disarray of solar batteries, amplifiers, and her personalized mixing setup. Octavia's seat was far more organized, as all she had was her cello.
"Lyra good to see you girl, we haven't played together in ages. How come I don't see you at the club anymore?" Vinyl smirked. "Was it because little Bony didn't approve of her cold bed?" She then proceeded to laugh her flank off while Lyra turned a very unnatural shade of pink.
"Oh Vinyl there's no need to be so crude. Though if your relationship with Bonbon is going somewhere I'm terribly glad for you Lyra." Octavia interjected before Lyra could lash out at Vinyl. "Vinyl and I finally got married a few weeks back actually. It was a private affair - I insisted - we still haven't gotten up the nerve to tell everypony yet."
"I knew! I was there." A flash of Pink yelled from alongside the train before disappearing from view. Vinyl stared after it and glared playfully over at Octavia.
"I told you we should have just invited her Octy. She came anyway, probably her party sense, or maybe her pinkie sense tingled."
"It was actually my pinkie wedding sense!" said the same pink blur from before. It flashed white, likely because she had begun to smile. "Just give the world and I'll trow you guys a big shebang. Same goes or you and Bonbon, Lyra."
"Just go home Pinky!" Twilight sighed.
"Okie Doki Loki, Bye!" The blur once again disappeared from view, and the group settled in for the long ride with Ponyville slowly disappearing into the distance and Canterlot suspended majestically upon the horizon.
[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]
"We're here everypony." Twilight nudged Lyra awake as the train rolled into station. The group stepped out into a crowd larger than the entire town of the population of Ponyville.
"Right this way Ms Sparkle and Heartstrings." A guard beckoned them to follow as he made his way towards the Palace. The crowds would have parted before him like wheat if they hadn't been so excited. Everypony in sight seemed to be a musician of some description with instruments ranging from voice to drums, and lutes to banjos. The guard stopped when the crowd gasped and refused to move any further, too distracted by something.
The guard motioned that they may as well watch the proceedings since they were stuck for the present. Twilight and Lyra almost gasped themselves as they saw a now familiar green Alicorn hovering off to one side of the crowd, surrounded by a contingent of both lunar and celestial guardsponies.
"I have called you hear today because since my mother's departure from the land, one of the world's most beautiful and powerful magics has been forgotten by Pony kind. To my knowledge I am the sole remaining guardian of this power. Just like any power it has the potential to be abused, which is why I seek three apprentices to pass on this gift for the time being. One of those has already been chosen and goes by the name of Lyra Heartstrings."
"As for why you in particular have come, it is because of your music and your sense of heart. You will be testing your skills against," An old red-wood guitar was elevated from out of the group of guardsponies. "Myself." The crowd gasped again. "But first I will give you example of this magic's power."
[url=As Jord began to play] and the words of the song left his mouth, nothing happened for a few seconds. Though the Ponies weren't about to say anything to a Prince. Suddenly though as he began the second verse a glittering wind swept forth and washed around everypony present. The non-pegasi gasped as wings of gossamer sunlight erupted forth.
Twilight couldn't help herself as she and Lyra hovered into the air, closely followed by Vinyl and Octavia. The four friends laughed as the music washed over them. All the air around Twilight was filled with unicorns and earth ponies soaring through the air, as if they had been flying all their lives. The pegasi reactions were mixed it seemed. Many were helping their friends along, but others were glaring around in distaste.
As the song ended and the wings began to fade everypony got back to earth long before the wings left entirely. They all turned as Jord cleared his throat. "Let the auditions begin."
Author's Note
Longer chapter yay!
for those interested:
Any song recommendations?
Also R&R
