Harbinger Rising

Big Macintosh slowly rolled his head to the side, his muscles stretching until there was a significant sounding CRACK. It had been a very long day for the big red stallion, up before the sun rose and only now getting home long after the sun had set. He hated being away from his family for so long but there was so much work to do on his growing farm. Most days he tried to get home in time for supper but today just hadn't worked out. By now he knew everyone else would be asleep, at least they should have been, so his movements through the house were as quiet as possible. Leaving his yoke by the door once it was closed, he breathed out a small contented sigh. Tired as he was, he was just glad to be done for the day.

Dinner had been left out for him and Big Macintosh smiled to himself when he walked into the kitchen. They would never let him go hungry even on the days he came home too late to eat with everyone else. Tonight he was too tired to even think about food, though. He put the meal into the icebox, yawned and headed for the stairs. It was then that he heard her voice drifting down to him from the floor above. It was sweet, soft, and so very tender that it made him pause just to listen.

Baby mine, don't you cry

Baby mine, dry your eyes

Rest your head close to my heart

Never to part, baby of mine

Little one when you play

Don't you mind what you say

Let those eyes sparkle and shine

Never a tear, baby of mine

If they knew sweet little you

They'd end up loving you too

All those same ponies who scold you

What they'd give just for

The right to hold you

From your hooves to your nose

You're not much, goodness knows

But you're so precious to me

Cute as can be, baby of mine

Big Macintosh climbed the stairs quietly. At the end of the hall the door to his bedroom was cracked open just a bit and a light flickered to cast little moving shadows on the wooden floor. Poking his head into the room he found Fluttershy on the bed they shared together, a little red pegasus colt snuggled up close under her chin with an unruly orange mane and tail. He yawned sleepily and though Fluttershy's eyes were closed, she smiled and continued to hum. If there was any sight that could make the stallion feel better after such a long, hard day of work this was it. He wanted nothing more than to go crawl into bed beside her and hold them both but there was still one more thing to do before that could happen.

He turned away and headed down toward the other end of the house. Another door was cracked open and a light was still on, but he passed this door to head for one that was dark. Big Mac pushed it open slowly and poked his head in. The small room was decorated with hoof-drawn pictures taped to the walls, a small bookcase filled with different books, a nightstand and a little bed against the wall. On quiet hooves he walked to the bed and peered down at the lump of blankets the moved only slightly in the cadence of deep breathing. A tail of pale orange, a buttery yellow and hints of gold stuck out from the side of the bed where the covers didn't reach, and though there was little else to be shown of the body he could also see plumage from a wing so pale a yellow it could have been white. Smirking, Big Macintosh grabbed the covers in his teeth and pulled them up over the motionless body, then left to head for the door he'd passed earlier.

This room was much the same as the previous, though there were charts and writings taped to the walls instead of childish drawings. A larger bookshelf stood against one side of the wall not nearly as full, and random notebooks, hair ties and ribbons lay scattered around he floor. On the bed lay a yellow pegasus with a dark red mane and tail, streaks of light pink running through unruly curls. With her chin resting in her hooves, her attention was on a magazine laying open before her.

“You're still up?”

She whipped her head around, turquoise eyes wide in surprise. “Daddy!” Quickly, the young mare closed the magazine and shoved it under her pillow. “I didn't even hear you come in! Did you see me an' Mama left supper out for you?”

“Eeeyup.” Big Mac walked farther into the room and glanced purposefully at the pillow. “Morning Glory, do you have any idea what time it is?”

“Um...” Her gaze slide sideways before she fixed her father with a wide, innocent grin. “No?”

“Past your bedtime.”

“Aw, c'mon, Daddy!” Glory collapsed dramatically onto her pillow. “It ain't like I got school to worry about in the morning.”

“Maybe not,” Big Mac agreed, “ but you do have other responsibilities.” His green eyes went to her cutie mark, a cracked speckled dragon egg with reptilian wings on either side of it.

Glory looked at her cutie mark as well and sighed. “I know, I know.”

“How're things goin' at the rookery?”

Looking down, Glory shrugged. “Okay I guess.”

Big Mac sat and lowered his head to try and catch his daughter's eye. “Just okay?”

“We had an egg hatch this mornin'. I think it was too early. The little guy was just too weak.”

“Dragon or gryphon?”

“Dragon.”

With a sigh of sympathy, Big Macintosh kissed the top of Morning Glory's head. “I'm sorry, darlin'. I know it ain't easy when you lose one.”

She lifted her head and smiled sadly up at her father. “That's why I'm up. I can't sleep. Every time I close my eyes I see his little body.”

“C'mere.” She scooted closer to the edge of the bed and Big Macintosh wrapped a strong foreleg around her, holding her close to him. “You got a real important job, Glory. Not just anypony could work with mother dragons and gryphons, an' they wouldn't trust just anypony with their young. I know you love it and it's your special talent, but I know there's heartache that comes with it.”

“I talked to Mama about it some,” Glory admitted, resting her head under Big Mac's chin.

“If anypony'd understand it would be her. She help any?”

Glory nodded. “Yeah. I think it's just somethin' I gotta work through on my own though.”

The stallion smiled to himself. Morning Glory was barely fifteen but there were times he would have sworn she was a full grown mare. She was intelligent, insightful, and one of the most headstrong ponies he'd ever known, something he often blamed Applejack and Apple Bloom for. But he could not have been more proud of his daughter. And she could not have him any more wrapped around her hoof. It was the joke of the family that Glory could get away with just about anything as far as her father was concerned. If she'd ever really taken advantage of that it could have been a problem but Glory never beat around the bush when it came to what she wanted. Big Mac just had a hard saying no to either of his daughters.

“I love you Glory. You know that?”

“Love you too, Daddy.”

“Try an' get some sleep.”

“I will.” They parted but not before Big Macintosh placed one more kiss atop her head. Smiling, Morning Glory watched her father leave before plopping back down on her stomach and pulling her magazine free. It wasn't anything scandalous but she was always a bit embarrassed about looking through the old fashion magazines they had at the library for borrowing. Clothes and jewelry had never been her thing, she worked in a hot cave where she sweat through her coat most days, but it was nice to look at how life had been before she was born. Things seemed easier somehow, more superficial. She'd heard many stories about the famous Rarity and the unicorn's love of everything fashion. She knew how much her mother and her mother's friends had loved Rarity, and what an important role she'd played in equestrian history, but something told Glory that she wouldn't have really gotten on well with her. There were far more important things in life than looking good.

After a time her eyelids began to droop and she closed the magazine for the last time, setting it on her nightstand. With a whisper of breath she blew out her lantern and crawled under her covers. As was customary every night she said silent prayers to thank the Creator for her day, for everything she had, and the family she knew she was blessed with. And as was also customary every night she began to fall asleep before her prayers were even finished.

CREEEEEAAAAAK

It was a sound that would send most fillies screaming but Morning Glory groaned quietly and covered her face with a foreleg.

Clip clop, clip clop. Little hooves crossed the wooden floor in a tell-tale rhythm before they pressed down on the side of the bed. “Morning Glory?” came a high pitched whisper. “Are you awake?”

“I am now.” The elder sister rolled over onto her side to stare into the big green eyes of her little sister. Her tri-colored mane was a mess and hung about her face and head in tangles that hid all but the tip of her little horn. Glory lifted up the corner of her blanket and nodded. “Come on.” Not needing any further invitation the little filly climbed up onto the bed, her tiny wings flapping until she was up and snuggled under the covers. Glory tucked the blanket back down around both of them and sighed sleepily. “Solara, you have to stop doin' this.”

The small alicorn frowned sadly and looked up at her sister. “I know. But I had a bad dream.”

“That's what Mama an' Daddy are for, silly filly.”

“But they have Bailey Sweet in there.”

“He's still a baby, he ain't gonna care if you go in for snuggles.” Solara offered no rebuttal, only snuggled closer to her big sister. Despite her initial annoyance at the all too familiar intrusion, Glory smiled and wrapped her forelegs around the little filly. “Wanna tell me about your dream?”

“Princess Celestia ate me for supper.”

Glory bit down on a giggle and hugged Solara tightly. “That's the third time this week. Sugar, you know she won't eat you, right?”

“I know,” the filly whined. “She's too nice to eat me.”

“An' she loves you almost as much as Mama does.”

“I don't want Princess Celestia to be my mama.”

Glory nuzzled her sister. “She doesn't have to be. It's your choice. If you don't want to be her successor then you don't have to be.” Pulling back slightly, Glory moved down on her pillow so she could rest her forehead against Solara's and look her in the eye. “Lara, nopony would think any less of you, not even the princess.”

“I know.” Solara looked at Glory with worry in her expression. “I don't think I'm princess material.”

“An' why not?” Glory huffed. “I happen to think you'd make a great princess! 'Sides, think of all the cool stuff you'll get to do! You'll have ponies waitin' on you, answerin' to your every beck an' call. You'll get to raise the sun each mornin' an' see everythin' that happens with all your little ponies.”

Solara's withers lifted and fell in a shrug. “Maybe. But then you wouldn't be my sister anymore.”

“I will always be your sister,” Glory promised. “I'm always gonna be here for you, Lara. Ain't nothin' gonna change that ever. Hear me?”

“Yes.” The pale filly gave a quiet sigh, then gasped as her eyes went wide. “I almost forgot! Somepony's throwin' stones at my window again!”

Glory snorted. “You're gonna have to work on that accent if you're gonna be a princess.” She kissed Solara's forehead before pulling the covers back and climbing over her to make her way to the window. Careful to be quiet, she nudged the shutters open with her nose and leaned out to look around. A smirk tugged at the corners of her lips and she rested her chin in her hooves to watch the pegasus stallion down below. He was a dark navy blue with a mussed mane and tail of an even darker blue and white. On his flank was a white crescent moon that was partially covered by a gray cloud.

“Hey, dummy,” Glory called in a quiet voice. Eyes the color of sapphires darted toward the sound and Glory chuckled. “I switched rooms, remember?”

“Whoops.” He gave a crooked half grin that only looked slightly apologetic. “Sorry.”

“Don't apologize to me, apologize to Solara.” He inhaled as if to get ready to belt out an apology and Morning Glory waved her hooves. “Not now! Geez, Dark Cloud. One of these days you're gonna get me in so much trouble.” Ducking back inside, Glory looked at her sister still under the covers. “I'll be back in awhile, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Cover for me if Daddy pops back in?”

“I always do.”

With a grin, Morning Glory climbed up onto the window ledge and jumped into the air, her wings flinging wide to catch the current of the night winds. Dark Cloud spread his own wings and quickly joined her in the sky. Together they flew away from the farm and from the dotted lights of Harmony to fly toward the Coltorado Rockies where Canterlot Castle was nestled into the mountainside. Even in the dark they could see dragons coming and going from their own settlement far on the other side of the mountains. Their forms were so massive that it was impossible to miss them or mistake them for the gryphons that took up the rest of the mountain caves. Some of the dragons were nocturnal and it was these that came and went in the dead of night.

Without a word to one another the two pegasai headed for a specific spot, an outcropping on a curved portion of the tall mountains that made a wide flat ledge that faced Canterlot from several thousand feet away. This platform was usually dark and unoccupied most of the time. It was not a good place for a gryphon nest because of the fierce cross winds that blew during storms, and dragons preferred their caves. But for ponies seeking a secret place to meet it was perfect. Tonight the outcropping was not entirely dark. A fire had been built and as the two pegasai drew closer they could see another pony already waiting for them. “Looks like Wild Hope beat us,” Glory said, tucking her wings in to descend.

“Of course she did,” grumbled the stallion.

Wild Hope looked up when she heard the other two approaching, heavy-lidded rose hued eyes reflecting the firelight. Glory landed first and embraced her, always happy to see her best friend. When Dark Cloud landed he glanced toward the castle behind them. “They're going to see the fire, you know.”

“They always see the fire.” Morning Glory shook her head and moved closer to the flames to get warm.

“You worry too much, Cloud,” said Wild Hope. She brushed long rainbow colored waves from her face and smiled at him, draping a pale blue wing across his withers in a sisterly side embrace. “Besides, your mother is the princess of the night. I have a feeling she's known about us meeting like this for a long time.”

“If she has she's never said anything to me about it.”

Wild Hope laughed quietly. “That's because she's being nice. Come on.” She retracted her wing and joined Glory by the fire. Dark Cloud shrugged and did the same.

“How's your mom, Hope?” Glory asked. “For a mare who's known for being all over the place I haven't seen Rainbow Dash much.”

“That's because she can hardly move these days without my dad making a big fuss or the boys being under hoof. Dad told me once that Mom never wanted any kids and soon enough she's going to have her fourth!” Hope smiled to herself, her gaze held captive by the flickering flames. “I hope it's a girl. Not that I don't love Palette and Aero but a little sister would be nice.”

“It ain't always nice,” Morning Glory argued.

“Having little brothers isn't always nice, either,” giggled Hope. “Just wait until Bailey Sweet gets a little older. You'll see.”

“Aw, Bailey'll be fine. He's too sensitive to be rough an' tough like Aero an' we know he won't be like Palette.” As soon as the words were out Glory gasped and looked at her best friend, eyes wide. “I'm sorry, Hope. I didn't mean nothin' by that.”

Graciously, Wild Hope gave a small smile. “I know. It's all right.” Clearly wanting to change the subject, the pale blue pegasus looked across the flames at Dark Cloud. “What about you, Cloud? Since we're talking about siblings, how do you like having an older brother? Neither of us knows what that's like.”

The stallion shrugged. “It's cool, I guess. Pipsqueak's always been an awesome brother. You know he dominates at hoofball, hence his cutiemark.”

“Hence,” Glory echoed teasingly.

Ignoring her, Cloud gave his customary lopsided grin to Wild Hope. “Pretty sure he's going to ask Dinky to marry him soon.”

“I love weddings,” sighed Hope.

“It's about time we had some excitement around here.” Morning Glory ruffled her feathers. “I always hear about all these adventures Twilight an' all the others went on an' almost wish somethin' like that would happen to us. You know, just to stir things up a bit.”

Hope shook her head. “Things were different back then. Ponies haven't seen enemies of that magnitude since the Harbinger War. That was back when the Elements of Harmony still existed and were needed to help protect the world. Our biggest threat these days comes not from unknown entities but from small moments of disharmony among the different races and ourselves.”

Dark Cloud frowned. “I wouldn't mind an adventure or two. It would be cool!” He thought a moment, grinning. “What if the Elements still exist and they're just waiting somewhere to be found again? Maybe they were meant to be passed down to the next generation but something happened to them when the war broke out!”

Blinking, Morning Glory's brow furrowed. “So you're sayin' because my mama had the Element of Kindness, I'd have the same one?”

The question made the stallion chortle. “Uh, no! If anypony had the Element of Kindness it would be Hope.”

Glory's ears flattened. “Beg your pardon?”

“Seriously,” Cloud continued, unaware of Glory's irritation, “sometimes I think you two were switched at birth. Hope is gentle, sweet, caring, compassionate and beautiful like Fluttershy and you, Glory? You're-”

“I'm what?' the mare growled, getting to her hooves. “Abrasive, irritatin', hot-headed an' brazen?”

Now Cloud looked a little uncomfortable. “Well...yeah.”

“An' certainly not beautiful.” Angry now, Morning Glory spread her wings and took off into the night leaving a very confused stallion looking after her.

“I never said that,” he muttered, scratching his chin. He looked at Wild Hope in defeat. “Why is it she ends up hating me at the end of every single conversation we have?”

Hope gave him a sympathetic smile. “Because somehow or another you manage to insult her.”

“I didn't say she wasn't beautiful!”

“You didn't have to.” She sighed quietly. “You've got to learn to be a little more sensitive, that's all.”

He frowned. “Well I don't want her to think...”

“What? That you like her? Celestia forbid!”

“It would change our friendship!”

“Not if she felt the same way.” Hope shook her head. “You two make love so complicated.”

Cloud recoiled. “I never said I loved her!”

Smirking, Hope nudged him with a wing. “Once again, you didn't have to.”

The stallion groaned and ran a hoof over his face. “I'll never win.”

Once again seeking to change the subject, Wild Hope sat beside Dark Cloud and nodded in the direction of Canterlot. “How are things at the castle?”

Cloud shrugged lazily. “Okay, I guess. There's some big meeting tomorrow. I heard my mom and Aunt Celestia talking.”

Raising a brow, Hope looked at him. “What kind of a meeting?”

“Dunno, but I think Gorlois and Synge are going to be there, too.”

“The gryphon king and the dragon queen?” Hope blinked, impressed. “The four rulers. I wonder if that means a second alicorn has been born somewhere.”

Dark Cloud shrugged again and moved a hoof over the ground in a light scuff. “I don't think so. Pip and I would know. I mean, I would hope my own mother would tell me if her successor was born and the clock was ticking down her last days. Besides, do you think they'd meet with the dragons and the gryphons because of it?”

“Well a new equestrian ruler would be working closely with them as well. It would make sense to involve them in the process.” Hope looked in the direction Morning Glory had disappeared. “Maybe Solara's made her decision.”

“I'm such a foal,” groaned Cloud, making Hope laugh quietly.

“Go say you're sorry.”

“What if she throws something at me like she did last time? I had a knot on my head for a week!”

“And you deserved it.” Playfully, Hope nipped at his ear. “Go get your brother's hoofball helmet and then go say you're sorry.”

With a growl, Cloud poked a hoof at the cutiemark on Hope's flank, a heart with wings on either side. “You and your stupid peacemaking talent. Fine, I'll go. But if I end up in the hospital you better come visit me and bring me comics.”

“I promise,” the mare laughed, then shoved her friend playfully. “Go!” She watched him take wing and chuckled at the sigh she heard before he flew away. Now alone on the rocky shelf she stayed where she was, eyes trained on Canterlot. Though it was late there were still lights blazing in windows all throughout the capital city. The things of royalty and everything that went with it were never things she'd really concerned herself with even when her mother wasn't pregnant and still leading the royal guards. Still, this meeting sparked a certain amount of curiosity within her. Like the others there were definite moments of longing for something new and exciting to happen. Being the first foal born after the Harbinger War, she'd been raised on stories of adventure and danger all her life. Morning Glory and Dark Cloud had been born shortly after and they heard all the same stories growing up together. It was why the three of them were so close. Too close, she sometimes felt.

With a deep breath in she turned and pulled a bucket full of rain water from the shadows. Tipping it so the contents spilled out over the blazing fire, a thick smoke lifted into the inky night sky as the flames died down. Canterlot looked watery and surreal through the haze, almost otherwordly. And then there was a distinct flash of magenta magic on the highest balcony of the castle. Wild Hope jumped through the smoke and narrowed her eyes, straining as though she could possibly see the unicorn she knew the magical burst belonged to.

“Why would Twilight be at Canterlot at this hour?”

As welcoming at Princess Celestia was, Hope knew it would not be polite to simply drop by and she wasn't nearly as crafty as Dark Cloud or Morning Glory when it came to spying. Or Jubilee for that matter, Pinkie Pie and Braeburn's eldest. She could easily go home and mention something about it to her mother who would no doubt figure out some way to get some information, but Hope knew if she got her mother riled up about anything her father would not be happy. Besides, Dark Cloud was right when he called her the peacekeeper. She didn't rock the boat, she was the one to still the waters. It would be best to just forget she'd even seen anything and ignore her curiosity. If something was going on that she needed to worry about she would find out in due time.

Once the bucket was set back to where it belonged the pale pegasus extended her wings and took to the air to head for her home among the clouds.