Loyalty of Sand

Prologue

Many years ago, before Equestria was formed and ponies even brought into existence, there were four alicorns. They were a family: a mother, a father, and their two daughters, Celestia and Luna. The mother, Lumina, took charge of the light while her husband Niger ruled over the darkness. They lived in a wild land, fraught with danger at every turn. Plants grew on their own power, tangled and unruly, and the clouds moved themselves causing strange and deadly weather patterns. The animals governed themselves in a brutal fashion. If one was too weak to survive nopony would be there to help it and it would simply die.

Yet the world was not without its beauty. Some creatures, such as the Phoenix, gained favor with the alicorns and became their pets and were loyal to their masters. One day the king and queen took it upon themselves to subjugate the realm before them and bring peace to its unhappy creatures.With a down feather from a Roc bird they created pegasi, swift and proud, and granted them wings that they might soar above the ground and have power over the clouds.Taking an enchanted piece of glass, they formed the unicorn, graceful and fair, and granted them the power to raise and set the sun and moon until their daughters grew old enough to take on the responsibility.A simple piece of hard soil was used to create the earth ponies. Plain at first sight they proved to be dedicated and powerful, a force to be reckoned with. They were responsible for producing the food that all needed to live.The land was quickly brought to order with their help, but dangers still lurked. Monsters like the changelings brought deception and anger into the ponies’ lives and wars broke out as they slowly took over the land. A spell was created to reveal who was who they claimed to be and who was a changeling, but still they could not weed out all the changelings. A new type of pony emerged looking like a pegasus but striped like a zebra. Slowly she fought her way through the ranks and took charge of the armies. The vast majority of the changelings were driven to the badlands under her control.The king and queen saw this and granted her eternal youth and life as well as a handpicked patrol with the same privilege on the condition that she guard the borders between the badlands and civilized land and kept the changelings in their grounds. They also gave her a horn, entirely without magical properties, as a weapon to be used only in desperate times. When asked her name she replied that she was called Amber Sands.For several centuries she and her guard kept the borders safe. But it was a lonely existence, cut off from the rest of the world. Unless a filly or colt wandered too far and had to be returned nopony could leave for the changelings fought with an unmatched fury, longing to be freed from their wretched home.

Chapter 1A winged zebra sat alone in a dungeon. Really it wasn’t so bad, Celestia kept them clean and sunny. But it wasn’t the dungeon that depressed the pony.The door opened and a guard poked his head in. He stared with curiosity at the fallen warrior. Her eyes were the color of amber but they were sorrowful, repentant. This was Amber Sands, the Princess of War. She didn’t seem terrifying with her mane and tail a disheveled mess and dust in her fur. She seemed worn and haggard. He cleared his throat. “You have an audience with Celestia.”Amber Sands looked up as if she had just noticed him. Wordlessly she rose to her feet and walked through the door. Was this truly the Princess of War? How could it be that a fighter like himself would come peacefully to her punishment?They walked through the white hallways into the throne room. The sun had finished setting and Celestia appeared to be ready to go to sleep. Princess Celestia gave him an acknowledging nod. “Thank you, Shining Armor. Guards you are dismissed for an hour.”The doors shut behind the guards and Amber Sands was alone with the ruler of Equestria.Celestia looked down at the pony before her. She towered over her, even sitting on her throne. She filled the room with a sense of command that could not be denied. “Princess Amber Sands, look at me.”The zebra reluctantly obeyed. “Yes, my lady?”Celestia sighed. How should she do this? “Oh forget all this regal stuff. Come over here. Care for a banana?”Amber Sands shook her head.“Hm. You don’t like bananas. Interesting. Sister, it has been too long. We have so much to talk about! Blueblood has definitely inherited your pride, no offense, but Cadence has your grace and beauty…” Amber was her sister only because Celestia had decided such on a whim in her filly days.The zebra gave her a confused look. “Have you come merely to tell me how much my children have taken after me and- and Camelot? And I’m not beautiful or graceful, you know it.”“You still haven’t found Camelot?” Amber Sands shook her head. Celestia sighed. “I suppose I have to get back down to business now, don’t I? You have terrorized Equestria for several months now. Why did you do this?”Amber Sands tried not to look down. “Discord,” She said. “I was fighting the changelings and he came up to me. He- he said that I was fighting without reason. The changelings were far more powerful and a few always slipped past me. That you were cruel by giving me an impossible task. Why should I do this job and still receive no thanks from the ponies I defended? He told me that I should go and be powerful like a thousand changelings, be respected for a change. And- I believed him. I wanted to believe him. I chose to believe him.”Celestia sighed. She knew Discord’s charm too well. “What am I going to do with you, Amber Sands?” She wondered.“To kill me would be just, m’lady. So many more have died at my horn-”“No!” The ruler leapt out of her throne. “I could not do that. I am in your debt, do you remember? Not to mention you are my sister. I couldn’t end your life. I will send you to Ponyville with my sister. I think she will be able to relate with you better than I ever could.”The prisoner’s shackles fell off her feet. “As you wish it, my lady.” The pegasus was secretly relieved. Celestia had chosen to be lenient. Amber knew she didn’t deserve it.“But that is not all,” Amber Sand’s heart sank. Perhaps she wasn’t being forgiven quite so easily. “You are no longer Princess Amber Sand until you can prove yourself worthy of the title. You are to go by the name Amber and,” Celestia’s eyes widened. “Sister, where has your cutie mark gone? And what about your horn?”Amber shrugged. “My horn broke a long time ago. I filed the stump away. My cutie mark  left while I was corrupted. I don’t even remember what it looked like. That’s why I took to wearing a cloak. An adult with a blank flank? Awkward.”Celestia gave her a strange look. “You don’t remember your cutie mark? I remember it clear as day, as well as when you got it.” She yawned. “Sorry, I’m growing tired. I'm usually in bed by now. I will lend you a cloak and send you on your way. You will meet Twilight Sparkle. I believe she will help you make some new friends who will in turn help you by being a good influence. They might even help with your Cutie Mark.” Celestia whispered in her ear. “I hope that when you feel ready you will come back. I have so much to say. Luna!” She shouted. Amber grimaced. Her “sister” had forgotten to move her mouth away from her ear.The Princess of Night flew in through the window like a bird coming to roost in its nest. “Wouldn’t it have been easier to take the door?” Celestia arched an eyebrow.Luna snorted. “It might be so if thou had not assigned the guards to bar the door.”“I never-”“Therefore, I chose to think outside of the metaphorical box. Come on Amber, let us go.” Amber looked at her sister in confusion. Why was she using such archaic speech? At least she was not using the royal Canterlot voice.“Hold up.” Celestia yawned. “Just where are you going?”“To Ponyville of course.” Luna replied. Then she realized her mistake.“And how, Luna, did you know what I needed you to do and where you were needed before I even asked a favor? Have you been eavesdropping again?”“Thou accuse me of spying? Thou art wrong. I,” The princess searched for an excuse. “I merely overheard.” She tossed her mane stubbornly. “And besides, is she not as much my sister as your own?”Celestia laughed wearily. “Of course. I do not blame you; she is your sister too. I suppose you will want to be on your way.”____An hour later the sisters of night and war departed. They flew for a mile or so before one spoke. “So, Amber, has Cadence seen you yet?” Luna asked.Amber nodded. “She has. I was not sure if she would still want me as a mother.”“Did she?” Luna turned to face her sister.“Surprisingly, yes.” Amber didn’t particularly want to talk. There was too much to think about.Luna looked at her closely. “There’s something different about you.”Amber flattened her ears. “Yes, I suppose there is. My horn is broken and I don’t have a cutie mark. Thanks for reminding me.”“No, it isn’t that. It’s… it’s your mane! It’s flat!”Amber glanced up at her mane. She hadn’t paid much attention to it lately. “Oh. Well.”“Spitfire always styles her mane the way you used to. She really does admire you, Amber. Now I wonder,” Luna mused. “Maybe you’re like Pinkie Pie. When she is depressed, her mane becomes straight like yours. Celestia told me.”“Yes, well, while I couldn’t be more interested in the latest pony fashion styles, is there anything else you need to tell me? Celestia said you might be able to relate better to me. What did she mean?”Luna looked away, her cheeks turning a pale shade of pink. “You don’t have to tell me.” Amber quickly added.“No, I do. I can’t hide this from you or anypony who asks. Let’s sit down over there by that oak tree.”Amber looked down where her sister pointed and wondered why she had to stop to hear this. She knew that Luna had been sent to the moon for a thousand years, but Celestia had been too upset to tell her why. “What could I have missed?”Luna sighed. They had now landed. “I will tell you now. It is a long story, and I am not proud of what I did, but it is one that needs to be told.“I was the youngest filly, but you already knew that. You also know that I ruled the night as I do now. And for years, I was content to do my duty. The night was cool, and beautiful. The stars never left the sky as long as I was there. I wanted to share this gift with everyone in Equestria.“But I soon noticed that the gift was not wanted. The ponies shut their eyes to what I knew was beauty; they ignored my calming darkness. They slept through the night. They never appreciated what I did.”Amber was starting to understand what Celestia had meant. Nopony ever gave her a simple thank you for keeping their skins on their bodies. In fact, she was pretty sure that very few knew of her existence. She could never leave her job for anything. Until now. Celestia had sent the best of her elite forces to hold the changelings at bay.The funny thing was Amber was the eldest of the sisters. She had been born during the dark times of Equestria, even before the Windigo kind drove the ponies to inhabit Equestria. Wild creatures, satyrs, minotaurs, Timber Wolves, Changelings, and worse roamed free, terrorizing the ponies. Her parents began training her for battle the day she received her cutie mark. They believed that she was to be Equestria’s protection. But she had been noticed noticed. She had eventually corralled most of the creatures into the Everfree Forest, but the most intelligent ones, the Changelings, had been banished to their own barren land. Harsh? Perhaps, but not compared to what they had done to the ponies.“I grew bitter. I resented Celestia for receiving the better realm, I was angry that nobody appreciated me. Bit by bit I turned into a monster, literally. My mane and tail became spangled like the night sky and transparent. I could change its length and I could use it to lift things without a levitation spell. But it didn’t stop there. My coat turned darker until it was black as the night, but without any stars, just the moon for my cutie mark. My eyes shifted and changed until they were a dragon’s. I became Nightmare Moon.“I was pleased with the change to say the least. I would force the ponies to notice me, and they would see that my realm was every bit as beautiful as Celestia’s. In a sense, I would outshine Celestia herself. She tried to help me, to bring back the real me, but it was too late. So she tolerated my moodiness and let me be. But that wasn’t enough. Not for Nightmare Moon. Finally, I refused to bring the moon down from the sky. Celestia begged and pleaded but my heart was stone. So she harnessed the Elements of Harmony. We used to use them together, but now she was forced to use them alone. I was sent up to the moon I loved so much for a thousand years.“But I did not change for the better on the moon. I grew even more bitter and went over the events of that day until they became my sole thought. I completed the change to Nightmare Moon. It came with power beyond belief. Dark power. Evil power. I now lived for revenge and to bring eternal night to Equestria.“On the thousandth anniversary of my banishment the stars helped me out of my stone prison. I was free to take

Equestria. I had been watching Celestia over the years. She had sent her star student, Twilight Sparkle, to Ponyville to stop me. It was the Summer Sun Celebration, to commemorate Celestia’s work, specifically the one thousandth anniversary of my banishment. That fueled my anger.

“She and five friends wielded the Elements of Harmony once again. But now there was a sixth Element. Magic. Her pupil had created the spark despite my best efforts. They stripped me of my powers and I was restored. I was a filly again. I repented of my past rebellion, and Celestia miraculously forgave me. That’s really all there is to say.”The sun was now rising in the east from Canterlot. “I have a question.” Amber looked up at her older sister. “How come you talk all medieval around Celestia?”Luna laughed. “I find it easier, but Celestia is the only one who understands what I’m saying. Language has a tendency to change over a thousand years.”The sisters watched the sun rise together. Luna was no longer resentful of its beauty and light, but she said that it hurt her eyes, even at this early stage. “We had better hurry to Twilight’s house. Come on, I’ll race you!”Amber wrinkled her nose in confusion. Race? They hadn’t raced in years. But when Luna began running Amber couldn’t resist the challenge.____Twilight Sparkle opened her eyes to a new day. She smiled with pure delight and looked over at a baby dragon sleeping in a basket. “Come on, Spike, it’s already 7:00 in the morning. That means that we have thirteen hours left to spend. I already have my schedule planned out.”Spike blinked sleepily and stretched. He scratched his scales and blinked again. “Twi, you need to loosen up a bit. Do you really have to plan out every day of your life?”“Of course. How else would I know what to do when?” Twilight picked up her schedule. “For example this afternoon I will go to Sugar Cube Corner from 1:00-2:30. How would I have known that if I hadn’t had my schedule?” The purple mare grinned in triumph. She loved being right.“I don’t know, make the occasional spontaneous impulse?” The dragon grumbled. He had been up late the night before after eating an entire tub of ice cream. “Besides, didn’t you decide not to make any more agendas?”Twilight had not actually promised that, just no more late night pacing. “Spontaneous impulse? That could lead to disaster! If I didn’t have everything planned who knows what could go wrong?” Twilight’s eyes widened in horror and slight confusion. “How do you do that anyway?”Spike gave her an irritated look. “Observe.” He pasted a ridiculously happy grin on his face. “Hmm, it’s a lovely day out. I think I will go sit on the porch until I feel like eating breakfast.” He opened the door. Nothing had gone wrong as of yet. He walked outside the door, turned around to face Twilight, and grinned. “And now I think I will tap dance.” Actually, he was quite good at it. He didn’t fall off the porch. So far so good. “You see Twi, nothing bad happened. I just made a spontaneous-”

“Twilight Sparkle! Thou art awake!”

The force of Luna’s Royal Canterlot Voice blew him backwards into the house, slamming him into Twilight. “Let me see that schedule.” He groaned.

“It is good to see you once again, dear friend!”

Luna rushed into the house and tackled Twilight. “I mean, it’s good to see you.” She blushed. In her excitement she had reverted back to what had given the ponies their first impression. A tall, annoyed looking zebra in a cloak followed behind her begging her not to use “the voice.” Twilight wondered why she was wearing a cloak in the middle of spring.“Yeah, well, good to see you too, Luna. Who’s your friend in the cloak?”“Come on, sister.” Luna encouraged the stranger. The black and white pony stepped forward and pulled her cloak off with her teeth to reveal a sight that Twilight had never seen. A winged zebra. She had never seen a pony that tall, and by an adult age they invariably had found their special talent. Twilight’s mind immediately began forming questions. Was she some new breed? Where was she from? Was she from the place that Zecora had come from? How did she break her horn? But before she could ask any questions, Luna yawned and interrupted her thoughts. “Excuse me, but if thou- I mean you do not mind, might I depart? The sun has finished rising and I grow tired.”Twilight smiled and gave her assent. Luna took off through the window and left them in peace. The zebra commented that she seemed to enjoy going through windows; it was the second time she had seen her do that.“So, what’s your name?” Twilight laid her first question down.“Amber.”“Not Princess?”“No.”“How old are you?” Twilight realized her breach of etiquette too late, but the stranger took no offense.“Very.” She shrugged.“And yet you are not a Princess?”“I was not an alicorn to begin with. I was given a horn without magic to use as a weapon.” The zebra kept any emotion out of her voice.Twilight was immediately curious about who had given her the horn and why, but was beginning to wonder if Amber would ever answer with more than two sentences. “What were you in charge of?”Amber’s eyes began taking a distant look. “Honorable war.”“Can you tell me any more than that,” For a war Princess Amber wasn’t particularly bold. “Or are you just shy?”For once, the librarian couldn’t even think up any more questions. She just sat and stared at the newcomer, which made Amber very uneasy. Would she hate her after all she had said? She had wanted a home so badly. Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be. Only a fool would welcome war into their home. Perhaps Discord would do that, and they were sworn enemies.The dragon walked in carrying a tray with two bowls of soup and two sandwiches. Maybe the pony was a fool! Dragons were dangerous. This one was only a baby in a… lacy pink apron? Never mind that, he would grow up someday and he would be a killer. “Twilight! I brought you lunch.” He called. He didn’t sound evil like the ones she had met, but it was probably all a disguise. He had fooled the one she might call a friend! She charged him, her mind going back to the Dark Days of Equestria.