But Not Forgotten

by SilverDawn97

Rating: teen
Tags: Romance, Adventure, King Sombra, Tragedy, Princess Celestia, Dark, Sad, Princess Luna, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Colgate
Length: 52321

For some of us, heartbreak leaves us angry and upset. For others though, all we want is a chance to say goodbye...

When the souls of three deceased humans are guided towards new life and second chances in Equestria, they unwittingly fulfill a prophecy over a millennium old, and set in motion a series of cataclysmic events that will leave the Solar Empire shattered and Equestria in tatters. Only by confronting their pasts and banding together with friends both new and old can they find the hope that will allow Equestria to survive. But nothing can prevent the tragedies to come...

Published 2013-04-22 20:40:02 UTC
Last updated 2014-08-21 17:51:01 UTC

Prologue: Moving On

Prologue: Moving On

Now that I have finally found the light at the end of this long, dark tunnel, I have only one regret when I look back at the choices I've made. I regret that when I said goodbye, I never meant it as such. I meant for that last goodbye to change her heart, not to cut off mine. If there is even one more thing I wish to do in the years that remain to me, I wish to see her one last time. Not to beg she change her mind, not to question her decision, not even to tell her all the pain I've felt because of her. No, I want to see her again so that I can apologize for everything I put her through, and apologize for not listening to her sooner. For in the end, she was right all along. We were simply never meant to be together, no matter how much my heart told me otherwise at the time. I was never meant to love her, only to befriend her.

Looking back, it was my friendship with her, however short it was, that opened my eyes to the world around me, and showed me that the path I had been treading would end only in pain and misery. In the end, it was her friendship that saved me from a fate worse than death. When I told her I loved her, she said that she just wanted to be friends. She was right when she told me we were simply not meant to be, and yet I still ignored her, still tried to win her heart even after she told me it belonged to another. I know now that it hurt her every time I told her how I felt, and I know it broke her heart every time she said no. It didn’t break her heart because she loved me however. It broke her heart because she loved everyone. She was the single kindest and most compassionate person I have ever known, and I saw the pain in her eyes every time she was forced to tell me that my love for her was misplaced. She hurt herself trying to protect me, just as I had tried to protect her when I left.

In the end, it was that painful decision to leave my true home behind that finally broke my heart and soul. In those last few days of packing and saying goodbyes, I just sat there silently, unable to accept that I was leaving behind everything I had ever known. Despite the comfort of my family, I felt completely alone, cast adrift in a sea of uncertainty and pain. When I finally arrived in my new “home”, the only thing that ran through my head was that I had succeeded; I would never see her again. And it was that thought that finally killed me. I was a dead man waiting to die, going through the motions of life waiting for something to put me out of my misery. When I resumed my education at school, I went back to my old ways, putting on a mask of false happiness to protect those around me from the storm raging inside my soul. I made friends who meant nothing to me at the time, other than a means to distract myself from the pain. I thought I was lost, never to be found again. But I was wrong. My friends' troubles wore away at my shell of pain, providing me with this need to help them, to try and make their lives better, even though my own life no longer meant anything to me. By helping my friends, I developed an actual bond with them, and one by one, they found their way into my heart, slowly waking me up from the nightmare I had been living.

It was then that darkness made its move. The crushing depression struck suddenly, and completely overwhelmed me. I very nearly died once and for all that day, pushed beyond my limits, unable to hold onto what little hope I had left. It was then, in my darkest hour, that a faint light shone through the shadows. I had known her for some time, but I had never truly recognized how I felt when I was around her. When I was with her, I felt alive again, like my burden of pain and guilt had finally been lifted. It was then, in my darkest hour, that I remembered the only other person who had ever made me feel that way. It was her; the memories of the one I loved... The one who broke my heart. She had saved my life, had been the only other person who had made me feel this way before. And so I stood up. I shook off the darkness one last time, and I walked onwards towards this new light. I’m still walking, but I now know that I have left the darkness behind, once and for all. And so, now that I have found a future to walk towards, I am left shedding my regrets of the past.

But there is still one more thing left for me to do. One thing left for me to say to her, before I leave her behind forever. The last thing I will say to her will be “Goodbye. Goodbye, and good luck”. Then, and only then, will I be able to move on. And yet still I wonder sometimes, “What happens if I never get to say goodbye? What happens if I pass on from this world without seeing her again? What will I do then?”

Chapter One: A Chance to Say Goodbye

Part One: Echoes of the Past

“I have often wondered what Heaven will look like. I have wondered even more who I will see there. I can name only two people who I know for absolute certain will be there: The friend who saved me, and the friend I’m trying to save…”

Chapter One: A Chance to Say Goodbye

As the cold wind blew through my hair and tears rolled down my face, I wondered if I would see them again in Heaven. It was my fault he had come, and my fault she had been in danger in the first place. Now they were both dead, and I would soon follow. It felt somewhat ironic that this was how I would die. I had always dreamed of flying, and now here I was, falling out of the sky to the ground below. I might have let out a chuckle if I had been the only one to die that day. But I wasn’t. Instead I had let the one who I owed the most in this world fall to her death, and allowed our murderer to bestow the same fate upon my best friend, the one who had volunteered to help me tie up this one last loose end. If only I had remembered who else laid in wait at the place I once called home. If only I had remembered my own father, the man who broke my family and soul, the man who had just now broken the two friends I owed the most in this world. And now here I was, the final victim of my final mistake. As the ground rushed up towards me, one last thought ran through my head: “Please, let me see her one last time. Let me have a chance to tell her I’m sorry. Let me have a chance to say goodbye.”

As I closed my eyes, I never felt my body hit the ground. I never felt my soul break free of my body and continue to fall. I never saw the two other souls that fell alongside me fall through the clouds, and into the flowery field that waited below…

Luna had never felt so alone before. As she walked among the flowers, she remembered how she had spent her youth in that same field, frolicking alongside her dear sister. If only things had remained that simple, that innocent… But now things had changed. Even after returning from her banishment on the Moon, even after her sister had said she would never be alone again, she walked alone. Perhaps her sister would have kept her promise if she had not been so engrossed with teaching her student about the “Magic of Friendship”. A “Magic” that Celestia refused to share with her only sister. Luna looked up at the night sky, allowing these dark thoughts to flow through her mind for the first time since she returned to Equestria.

At that moment, Fate reached a crossroads. She could either allow Luna to give into her negative emotions, emotions that sprang from her own heart this time, or intervene and guide her back to the light. Fate chose the latter. As Luna gazed up at the stars she had put in the sky that very night, something caught her eye. Three falling stars. Three stars that she had not put in the sky. Three stars that, by all rights, should not even exist. She stood there in that field of flowers, transfixed, sensing as the stars suddenly changed course. No longer were they simply falling stars. Now, she recognized them for what they truly were: Three lost souls falling to Equestria. Three lost souls that were coming towards her.

As the first star collided with the ground, Luna swiftly galloped towards it, desperate to save whoever had just fallen from the heavens she thought she knew so well. As she galloped, she felt the ground shake as the other two stars landed, marring the beauty of the field of flowers. When she reached the first crater, she was shocked by what she saw: A young tan Unicorn with a curly brown mane looking to be in her mid-teens, curled up in a ball. Checking the other craters, she found two more young ponies in them, a young gray Unicorn with a crimson mane, and a serene look upon his face, and a young white Pegasus with a bright cyan mane, quaking in fear of some unseen horror. After making certain the three of them were uninjured, she quickly sent a telepathic message to her sister, telling her to send one of the royal Pegasus carriages to her location.

After sending the message, Luna sat down among the flowers and began contemplating what had just happened. Before she could begin to think too deeply however, she heard a gasp come from one of the craters. As she neared the crater where she heard the gasp, the one containing the white Pegasus, she was shocked by what she saw. The young Pegasus who had been unconscious only the moment before was trying to crawl out of the crater, albeit unsuccessfully. When Luna tried to help him up, all he did was look her in the eyes, and gave her a request. A request that shook Luna to her core.

“Please… Save her… Save her… And let me die…”

When I woke up, a single thought ran through my head: “I have to save her”. I found myself lying in an earthen crater, but that didn’t matter. I found myself struggling to climb with hooves I had no idea how to use, but that didn't matter. All that mattered was that I protect her, even if it meant my own death. As I reached the edge of the crater, I saw a strange face above me, silhouetted by the light of the Moon. The last thing I said before losing consciousness was “Please… Save her… Save her… And let me die…” Little did I know that at that moment in time, my greatest wish had finally come true: I would finally be able to apologize for everything I had done. I would finally be able to say goodbye. All I would need to do was remember who I was. And more importantly, who she was to me.

“Are you mad?!? ‘Send them to Ponyville’?!? Sister, they fell from space! They should be dead! And you want to send them to Ponyville?!?” Luna shouted. After arriving back at Canterlot and explaining what had happened to her sister, Celestia left to think for a few hours, before returning to Luna with the decision that she was going to send these three strange ponies to Ponyville, where Princess Twilight and her friends could learn more about them. “Luna, I know you want to keep these three safe, but if they truly did fall from the sky, then there are forces at work here that not even you or I can interfere with. You know the prophecy just as well as I do. We must try discern whether they are our saviors or our destroyers, before the predictions come to pass.” Celestia retorted. “Besides, if anypony can discern their intentions, it is Twilight and her friends. These three might be friends themselves, and nopony knows more about friendship than Twilight.”

“Sister, you are a fool if you truly believe that is the extent of their connection!” Luna shouted. “Friendship may hold power, but what these three hold is different! The white colt asked me to let him die to save the mare! There may friendship between them, but there is more at work here than just that!”

“Luna…” Celestia said quietly, having discerned the true source of Luna's strife. “This isn’t about them, is it? I know that the young Pegasus resembles Seraph, but … We were both there. You and I both know that he vanished a thousand years ago…”

“Sister, stop.” Luna said sharply. “We agreed to never mention Seraph again. You’re right, neither of us have seen him for over a millenium. But that doesn't mean he isn't still out there. You read the final line of the prophecy as many times as I have. He promised to return, and I still believe that.” She said with conviction.

“Luna… I know how you felt about Seraph, but… Fine. If you wish to make certain that they stay safe, go with them.” Celestia said.

“…What…? You’ll let me go with them…?” Luna said in surprise.

“Yes. I can see how much this means to you, so I’ll let you stay in Ponyville with them until this is all sorted out.” Celestia said. “But, I do have one condition. You must allow Alexander to accompany you. Ponyville may be safe, but there are powerful forces at work here, and I want you to be safe just as much as you want them to be safe.”

“Alexander…” Luna muttered. “Why him? If a guard must accompany me, why not one of my own guards? Why would you remove our newest Captain of the Guard from his post so soon after he obtained it?”.

“Because like I said Luna, there are powerful forces at work here, and Alexander is tied up in it all as well.” Celestia hesitantly explained.

“Alexander is involved too…?” Luna asked. “What else is there that you aren't telling me, sister?” However, Celestia remained silent at Luna’s final question, and simply walked away to her chambers in silence. “Fine then!” Luna called out after her sister. “If that is what you want, then Alexander can accompany me.”

Once she was safely inside her chambers, Celestia finally allowed her tears to flow freely. She and Luna hadn't fought like that since the night before her dear sister transformed into Nightmare Moon. Celestia simply didn't know what to do or how to feel any more. “What happened to the love we used to share…?” She wondered. “Was it Seraph’s delivery of the prophecy that drove us apart…? Or is this all my fault…?” Merely thinking about her and Luna’s emotional distance being her fault brought up a torrent of memories in the princess’s mind. “Luna… It has been my fault… I promised I would never let be lonely again, and then I abandoned you to prepare Twilight for becoming a princess… You must have thought I wanted to replace you…”

The Princess of the Sun let that final thought sink in. Why had she made Twilight into a fellow Alicorn? The young filly certainly deserved it, but had she truly thought of replacing her only sister, even subconsciously…? Celestia sat in her room for the rest of the day, trying to think of some way she could rebuild her connection with her younger sister, as well as how to prevent the calamity that she feared was quickly approaching…

When I opened my eyes, I was confused by what I saw. I was obviously in a bed, but it was in a room I had never seen before. The whole room looked as if it was carved from the trunk of a gigantic tree, but that didn't make any sense whatsoever… Just as I was about to climb out of the bed however, I noticed something. I had hooves. The first thought that struck me was “This is wrong. Why do I have hooves?”, but that thought was quickly replaced with “Why am I so surprised? I am a Pegasus after all…” I suddenly felt lightheaded. “Where am I…?” I thought to myself. “Who am I…? I can’t remember a single thing…” Before I could ponder much further however, I heard a knocking at the door.

“Can I come in?” A vaguely familiar voice asked.

“Sure…” I said, still in a daze. The door opened, and in walked a young purple Alicorn, along with a tray of breakfast levitating in front of her. Something about this young mare struck me as familiar, but I wasn't quite sure what it was.

“Good to see you’re awake!” The mare said happily. “From what I heard, you've been through quite a lot lately! Anyways, my name is Twilight Sparkle. What’s yours?” For a second, I just stared at her, wondering who this mare was, and why she seemed so familiar. By the time I registered that she had even asked me a question, she had already set down the tray of food on my bedside.

“My name… My name is… Silver. Silver Dawn.” I said shakily, not sure where the name had come from.

“Silver Dawn, huh?” Twilight asked. “Are you sure that’s your name, or are you just making it up?”

“I… I don’t know… I can’t remember a thing, but… It just feels right.” I replied. And I was telling the truth. I didn't know where I knew the name from, but “Silver Dawn” just felt right, it felt like… Me.

“Well, for right now, Silver Dawn will have to do. Is it all right if I just call you Silver?” Twilight asked politely.

“Sure, I don’t see why not… Where am I? What happened to me? I can’t remember anything before waking up here…” I said.

“Hmm… So you have amnesia…” Twilight muttered to herself. “Anyways, as for what happened to you, it was really strange. You and two other ponies just fell out of the sky in the middle of the night! If Princess Luna hadn't been there to save y-“

“What happened to the other two?” I interrupted, feeling a knot forming in my stomach at the mere mention of two others.

“Don’t worry, they’re fine.” Twilight assured me. “They fell, same as you, but you all seem to be fine. They’re staying with my friends at the moment, just like how you’re going to have to stay with me for a little while.” She explained. If you want to see them, maybe we can get everypony together tomorrow and try to figure out what happened.”

“Thank you…” I sighed. “I don’t know what all is going on, but… I just feel like I need to see them.”

“Are the three of you friends?” Twilight inquired. “If that isn't prying too much, that is…”

“I don’t know.” I admitted. “When you mentioned the other two ponies who fell, I just felt like I knew them from somewhere… Like I had to protect them.”

“Protect them…” Twilight muttered. “Anyways,” she said, quickly changing the subject “You should probably eat your breakfast and get some rest. After all, you can’t see your friends if you’re still stuck in a bed!”

Luna was alone as she walked into the basement of Canterlot Castle. She didn’t have long before she would need to return to Ponyville, but there was something she needed to see. As she reached the sealed door, she tapped it with her horn, releasing the various magical wards and seals that had been placed on it. This was the Room of Prophecy, one of the most secure rooms in the castle, a room that only she and Celestia could access. She walked over to the scroll she was searching for, knowing well where it lay. She had read it many times after returning from the Moon. It was all she had left to remember her love, Seraph, by.

This was The Prophecy of Harmony, penned a thousand years before by a young white Pegasus who seemed to simply appear out of thin air, only to disappear just as quickly only a few days later. Removing the scroll from its case, Luna carefully read through the lines once more.

I shall find you only if your heart is open.
Day fades to night as the Moon returns from a millennium of exile.
Harmony banishes the Darkness, but cannot hold it at bay.
Life is forgotten in Harmony’s return
Night fades to day as the sun’s successor is crowned.
Harmony conquers all, and peace settles over the land.
Life lays stepping stones for its chosen champions.
Day fades to night as three fallen stars herald the coming dusk.
Harmony will be shattered forever.
Life shall become the final hope.
The Night reigns eternal.
Harmony shall never return.
Life will be marred by death.
I shall return only if you still believe.

Chapter Two: Memories of an Eternity

Chapter Two: Memories of an Eternity

A thousand years had given her time to master many assorted skills, with the relatively uncommon art of stealth being one of them. A thousand years of life had taught her the value of remaining unseen, and the value of information acquired as discreetly as possible. Luna never knew she was being stalked as she entered the Room of Prophecy. Colgate watched Luna’s every move as she read the Prophecy of Harmony, and took great care to memorize every word of the prophecy while she had the opportunity. Although she was only required to learn of the Princess’s actions in that dark basement in Canterlot, Colgate was no fool. She trusted her employer even less than her “prey”, and took every opportunity to know where the pieces stood in this great game of political chess. She survived by knowing as much as she possibly could, and this was no exception.

Colgate was still fairly young when she was accepted as Princess Luna’s personal aide. Many considered the young filly to be far too young to hold such a prestigious position, and many more would agree with that opinion if they knew her secret, a secret that very few knew: Colgate was still a blank flank. After years of being teased and mocked by her peers for never finding her special talent, Colgate’s family eventually moved to the high-class city of Everfree, where she could hide her shaming secret beneath layers of fancy clothing (all in the name of “formality”, of course”).

As soon as she finished her education, Colgate went from one odd job to the next, always in search of her talent, a talent that she began to doubt she would ever find. It was then, when Colgate had almost lost all hope that she turned to her oldest companion for advice: The stars. Wandering out from the city, she eventually came across a field of beautiful flowers along the outskirts of the city, where she began to mourn all that had gone wrong with her life, unaware that she was not alone. Colgate was not the only one who lamented all that was unfair with her life that night. Luna had been walking alone through that same field that night, when she heard the heartfelt sobs of a young filly echoing in the distance. By the time Luna stumbled across the young filly, Colgate had already cried herself to sleep beneath the light of a full moon.

The next day, the young Princess of the Night paid a personal visit to Colgate’s home, and after speaking with the filly’s parents, Colgate was offered the chance of a lifetime: She could become the personal assistant of Princess Luna. As the years flew by, Colgate stayed by the Princess’s side through thick and thin, even helping to comfort her after the destructive attacks by the insane usurper King Sombra. They became the best of friends, but things began to change after the day the mad tyrant Sombra struck out at the distant Crystal Empire. Although Celestia and Luna had been able to imprison Sombra using the Elements of Harmony, Luna seemed… changed after she returned from that particular quest. Colgate assumed it was the grief caused when the Elements of Harmony froze the entire Crystal Empire in time, but after a while, she realized it was something different. Her beloved Princess seemed to grow… Darker, as if a sudden shadow had been cast over her heart and mind.

Just as Colgate began to worry however, something none of them could have expected happened: A young white colt with a cyan mane suddenly appeared in the castle gardens one day. When the young Pegasus was asked his name, he gave an answer that would stick in Colgate’s memory for centuries to come. “My name doesn’t matter yet.” He had told Princess Celestia, but when Princess Luna repeated the question, he looked at her, hesitating for just a fraction of a second before responding with “My name is…Seraph.” Nopony else saw it, but Colgate saw tears in the Colt’s eyes as he left the room and was led to his temporary quarters in the castle. But it wasn't his reaction to Luna that drew this young colt to Colgate’s attention. It was the fact that Princess Luna had fallen in love with him. “Love at First Sight” the Princess had called it, but Colgate was suspicious. When she confronted the colt as to why he had so suddenly appeared in the castle, he seemed shocked at her appearance, as if he had seen a ghost. When she attempted to question him, the only answer Colgate was able to pry from him was both enigmatic and extremely worrying. “I need to deliver a message to Princess Luna.” He had said, “I need to give her hope, so that she can weather the storm to come.”

Colgate was forced to leave before she could question him further, but that night she resolved to interrogate him again the next day, and to not let him go until he explained everything. Unfortunately, she never got the chance. The day after speaking with him, Seraph simply vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a single piece of evidence that he had ever been there to begin with: A letter, left outside Princess Luna’s chambers, sealed with a wax emblem of a crescent moon.

That letter contained the original writing of what would come to be called “The Prophecy of Harmony”, after it was copied onto a scroll and stored in a hidden vault beneath Canterlot Castle. That same day, Colgate’s cutie mark finally showed itself, in the form of an hourglass that contained sand in both ends. Colgate wouldn't find out why her cutie mark had chosen to show itself at that particular moment until more than a thousand years later, but from that day forth, the young mare never aged a day, even after centuries of watching everypony else around her succumb to the ravages of time...

“She was in the Room of Prophecy, your majesty.” Colgate said to Celestia. “I think we both know why.”

“She was reading Seraph’s prophecy again…” Princess Celestia said, letting her thoughts flow freely from her mouth. “But why… Why does she keep reading those same words over and over, when she knows them by heart…?”

Colgate knew the answer to Celestia’s question, but remained silent. Even though she still owed Celestia a great debt for not revealing her secret, Colgate still didn't trust the Solar Princess any more than she would a hungry timber wolf. How could she trust her? After all, wasn't it Celestia who sent her dearest friend to the Moon in the first place?

“You’ve performed your job flawlessly once again, my little pony.” Princess Celestia said. “But there are still so many questions left unanswered… Thank you once again for your services, Colgate. I know it must be hard for you to spy on someone you used to be so close to.” The Princess began to walk back to her chambers, when her thoughts were suddenly interrupted.

“Your Majesty… If it would be fine with you, I was hoping to know where Princess Luna is currently staying. I know she’s left the castle, and I’d like to make certain that she’s safe.”

“Colgate…” The Princess said hesitantly, thinking over everything that might arise from this unexpected new development. “If you must know, she is currently staying in Ponyville, where she is keeping watch over some… interesting new arrivals to our kingdom.” As Colgate turned to walk away however, she found that now it was her turn to be interrupted. “Colgate, I know you’ve missed Luna, but you must make certain she does not see you. If she finds out you survived these past thousand years… she might think that others have survived too.”

“Seraph…” Colgate muttered under her breath.

“Exactly.” Said Celestia. “I know she wants to keep hoping he’s alive, but I don’t want to see her heart broken if he isn’t. I don’t know how strongly they connected during their time together, but I couldn't bear to see Luna’s heart broken like that ever again.”

Colgate only held her silence as she turned and left the castle. Although she knew that Celestia was almost certainly right, and that it would be for the best if she stayed away from Luna, she simply didn't care. Three years of watching her friend from the shadows had taken their toll on Colgate. She was ready to break her silence. She aimed to misbehave.

Princess Luna was walking alone in the castle gardens that night, letting the darkness flow through her mind. She didn't know what it was, but ever since the Crystal Empire fell, and the demented monarch Sombra was banished to the shadows, Luna felt… different. She felt… Angry. Angry that her beautiful night was ignored by so many. Angry that her sister was adored by their subjects, while Luna was shunned, and left to waste away in the shadows. She was so caught up in her anger that Luna almost didn't notice him. Almost.

Laying there in a bed of lilies, was a young white Pegasus. He looked tall and lanky, and the cyan color of his mane perfectly matched the color of the crescent moon that made up his cutie mark, a moon that was tipped by a small tan quill. At first, Luna was simply stunned. How had this strange young colt gotten past the ever-watchful Royal Guard? Why was he sleeping so peacefully in the castle gardens? And most importantly of all, who was he? Her questions only multiplied as she heard him mutter something in his sleep.

“Luna… Please be okay…”

The next night, she found him sitting alone in that same garden, looking up at the night sky. He had told her his name was Seraph, but she couldn't help but feel that he wasn't being entirely honest. But nevertheless, she felt…Drawn to him. She couldn't quite put her hoof on it, but he seemed vaguely familiar, as though somewhere, somehow, she had seen him before. Walking up to him, she heard him speak in a serene, if not a bit sad, voice.

“It must be so lonely up there.” Seraph said. “I don’t know how anyone could stand it.”

“What are you talking about?” Luna asked. “Why would anyone ever go to the Moon?” She knew she had said something wrong when he turned to face her with a sad look in his eyes.

“Luna... Sometimes Fate can be cruel. Sometimes, bad things happen to good ponies... And there's nothing we can do to prevent it.” He said grimly. “I know you haven’t known me for very long, but I need you to trust me when I say that dark days are coming.”

Luna was taken aback by what he said. “What do you mean ‘Dark days are coming’? ” Seraph’s look of sadness only deepened. He looked to be on the brink of tears, but something kept holding him back; some memory that gave him hope.

“Luna… Don’t ever change. No matter how dark things get, never let go of that light in your heart. Never give in to doubt, or anger, or worry. As long as you hold onto that light, things will always turn out right in the end.” The words comforted her, but she still felt like he wasn't telling her everything. She barely heard Seraph as he said under his breath, “No matter how long it takes…”

As Luna lay in her bed in the Ponyville Motel’s finest room, she thought back to all those wonderful little moments she had spent with Seraph. Although he always seemed mysterious, she felt that deep down, he only stayed silent because he was trying to protect her from some evil only he knew of. “I just wish I knew what it was…” Luna said to herself.

“Your Majesty, are you alright in there?” she heard a voice say. Luna had almost forgotten she wasn't alone. Just outside the door stood her appointed “escort”, the Captain of the Royal Canterlot Guard, Captain Sol Alexander. Although he usually acted as Princess Celestia’s personal bodyguard, Sol (or Alexander as the Princesses called him) was also very well-liked by the guards he trained alongside on a daily basis. Just like the previous captain, Shining Armor, Sol believed that the only proper way to train anypony was to train just as hard alongside them, which earned him great respect from everypony who knew him. Although Luna wasn't too fond of her sister’s “Chosen”, it was impossible for her to deny the fact that he was quickly becoming one of the most beloved Captains in the history of the Canterlot Royal Guard.

“I’m fine, Alexander,” Luna replied. “Just thinking out loud.” Luna felt glad that Sol had spoken up. She always had a tendency to think out loud when she was deep in thought, and the memory she planned to revisit next was one that nopony else knew of, the memory that kept her hoping that she would one day see Seraph again. She let the memories wash over her, as she remembered the last time she ever saw him: The day she returned to Equestria from being banished to the Moon. A day that took place over a millennium after Seraph’s disappearance…

It was many hours before Twilight (she insisted that I simply call her “Twilight”, instead of “Princess Twilight”) declared me fully rested and recuperated. When I pointed out that she was a Princess, not a doctor, she responded with a lighthearted “Well, I was a librarian once upon a time. You’d be surprised what you pick up when you live in a house filled with books.” which elicited a few chuckles from both of us. Looking in the mirror in the guest bathroom, I was surprised at how healthy I looked, especially considering I had apparently fallen to Equestria from the stars above. There wasn't a single scratch on my white coat, and both of my wings felt perfectly fine. My cyan mane didn't even look like it was dirty. It was then, looking in the mirror, that I first truly noticed my “cutie mark” as Twilight called it. “Huh.” I thought to myself. “This is supposed to tell you what your special talent is, but I can’t make heads or tails of it.”

Not every cutie mark is one-of-a-kind, but mine was. I didn't know what my mark meant at the time, and it would be a long time before I ever found out. My cutie mark was a light blue crescent moon, almost exactly the same color as my mane, with a small tan quill attached to moon’s bottom tip. That mark would be the first domino, the symbol that set events that had been brewing for over a millennium, into motion…

Chapter Three: Reunited

Chapter Three: Reunited

The sun was shining brightly through the windows as she awoke. Confusion immediately began to set in. “Where am I?” The young Unicorn mentally asked herself. “What… happened to me? Why can’t I remember…?” Her thoughts trailed off as she looked out the windows at the serene landscape just outside the window. A field of flowers, blooming in the warm spring sun, stretched on and on, and in the distance she could see…

“Oh my! You… You’re up!” She turned to see a young mare standing in the doorway, a Pegasus with a soft yellow coat, and a pink mane that greatly contrasted her sparkling blue eyes. “Are you okay?” The yellow mare asked. “You look a bit pale…”

“I… I’m fine. I’ll be fine” The confused and unsteady young unicorn answered. “What’s your name? Where am I?”

“Oh… I’m… I’m Fluttershy…” The yellow Pegasus’s introduction trailed off, before she straightened up and continued. “As for where you are… Well, Twilight said you would need a place to stay, and I couldn't just say no to somepony in need…” She stopped herself. “I’m sorry; I’m just rambling now, aren't I? A good friend asked me to give you a place to stay for a while, so I brought you out here to my cottage so you could rest.”

“Oh…” Said the young Unicorn. “Well…thank you for giving me a place to stay, Fluttershy.”

“It’s no problem, really.” Said Fluttershy. She sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than anything. “If you don’t mind… What’s your name?”

“I… I don’t know.” The Unicorn said. “I can’t remember anything… Wait…” She felt a spark inside her, a half-forgotten memory that clung to the words of an old friend… “My name is Painted Melody” the mare said, as if in a daze. She shook her head a bit to clear the fog. “Painted Melody. But… If you want, you can just call me Melody.”

“Well it’s very nice to meet you Melody.” Fluttershy said. “And it’s good to see you’re starting to remember things, too. Anyways, I came in here to check on you, but since you’re awake, would you like to have some breakfast?”

The two mares went downstairs and had a small breakfast, as Fluttershy explained the events that had recently occurred; the three ponies falling from the sky, Princess Luna’s visit to Ponyville; anything that came to mind, they talked about. After a while, Fluttershy felt like she was beginning to open up to this new friend, like they both had some unseen, unspoken connection that allowed them to become fast friends. Maybe it was the fact that neither of them spoke much louder than was absolutely needed.

Before she knew it, Fluttershy began telling stories of all that her and her friends had been through together; The battle against Nightmare Moon, their disastrous trip to the Grand Galloping Gala, the grim return of Discord; Melody just sat there and listened, absorbing every piece of information that was thrown her way. She barely even said a word, until Fluttershy noticed a shiver run down her spine during the tale of the Royal Canterlot Wedding. “What’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked politely.

“It’s nothing, it’s just… Devouring love? What kind of monster would do that to somepony?” Melody answered.

“Well, Changelings are strange creatures, after all.” Fluttershy said. “They eat whatever emotions they can get their hooves on, but to them, love is an invaluable delicacy. It gives them power both for themselves, and power over whoever they drain it from.” She explained, trying (and failing) to comfort Melody.

“Still… That’s just so… Despicable.” Melody said as another shudder ran down her spine.

“Maybe I should tell her a happier story…” Fluttershy thought to herself. “Did I ever tell you about the time when Princess Celestia asked my friends and me to help Discord reform his ways?” Fluttershy asked, trying to change the subject.

“Discord?” Melody asked, straightening up. “Wasn't he that villain who turned you and your friends against each other?”

“Oh, he isn't that bad, really!” Fluttershy said, full of conviction. “He was just a bit… Lonely.” Fluttershy launched into the story of how together with her friends, they released Discord from his stone prison, and how Fluttershy was the only one to give him a chance to better himself for the good of all.

“So… In the end, all he needed was a friend.” Melody said, hardly believing the tale she had just heard.

“That’s right.” Replied Fluttershy. “Sometimes, everyone needs a little push to help them find the right path."

“The right path…” Melody muttered to herself, the echoes of a memory forming in her mind… Suddenly, there was a flash of green flame, and a neatly-tied letter appeared out of nowhere, and fell to the floor.

“Oh! A letter from Twilight!” Fluttershy exclaimed. Quickly untying and reading the letter, Melody got up and walked over to read the message as well.

Dear Fluttershy,

Just a little while ago, the “guest” the Princess sent over woke up and introduced himself. To make a long story short, his name is Silver Dawn, and he was hoping that he could meet up with the others tomorrow. He says that he has amnesia, but we both agree that it would be for the best if we got everypony together and tried to piece together everything that’s happened to them. We don’t know if any of the other ponies that fell have amnesia, but if they do, then maybe by getting everypony together, they might be able to remember some of their pasts. Who knows, maybe they’re all friends? Anyways, everypony is going to try to gather at my house tomorrow, so if you and your guest will be able to make the trip, please write back ASAP.
Sincerely, your good friend, Twilight Sparkle.

“Oh my… A gathering tomorrow…?” Fluttershy said, thinking to herself. “Do you think you’re up for that, Melody?” “Definitely” Melody replied. “Maybe there we can get some answers about everything that’s going on. Besides, I want to meet these other ponies who fell. Silver Dawn… I feel like I recognize that name from somewhere…”

He went to see her one last time. He knew that this was his last night before he would fade away, but that didn’t matter; he had already written the letter, and had made arrangements for it to arrive at her doorstep the next morning. Everything that needed to happen would happen, and that left him with one last task: To say goodbye to her while he still had the chance. He found her the same place he had found her every night, sitting in the castle gardens, by the same patch of lilies where he had first arrived. As he sat down and looked up at the stars, he barely heard her as she uttered the three words he dreaded most.

“I love you.” She said. “I've loved you since the first night you arrived. I didn't want to admit it at the time, but I knew it was true. There was something about you, an aura of calmness that made me feel at ease around you. And that night, when you sang to the Moon...”

“Luna…” He said quietly. “Please… Don’t do this. Don’t walk down this road.”

“What do you mean?” She asked. “Don’t you love me back?”

“Of course I love you back; you’re the most beautiful pony I've ever met.” He replied. Luna would have taken comfort in his words; except he wasn't finished. “Luna, I love you too, more than you could ever know, but that’s exactly why we can’t be together. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“What do you mean, ‘Hurt me’? Silver... What is it you aren't telling me...?” Luna said quietly, trying to figure out why her love was telling her their love was not meant to be.

The words he said next shook Luna to the core, and would come to make her question everything she thought she knew about him. “Luna, please… I’m not trying to hurt you… I’m trying to save you.” With that, he got up, and left the garden for the final time.

The next morning, the Pegasus known as “Seraph” was gone, leaving not a trace behind except for a single letter. He wouldn’t be seen again by anypony until a millennium later, in a field of flowers near the border of the Everfree Forest, only a few miles away from the crumbling ruins of an ancient castle…

The morning of the gathering, I was wide awake, ready to finally meet these two ponies who had been destined to fall from the heavens alongside me. Twilight was anxious too, but for completely different reasons. She had invited not only the other two “ponies who fell”, but her five best friends as well. Now, the detail-oriented Alicorn was panicking about every detail she didn't have the time to fuss over and fix.

“They’ll be here any minute, and this place is a mess!” She yelped. Despite the actions of her, me, and her draconic assistant, Spike, the floor was still littered with books when the first visitor arrived at the door. When I answered the door however, I was surprised to see somepony I had never expected to see: The Mailmare.

“Good morning!” She said in a peppy tone as she dug through the saddlebag that held all of Ponyville’s daily mail. “I have a letter for Princess Twilight Sparkle, and-“She stopped herself as she looked up from her bag to see me, a pony who was most definitely not a Princess. “You’re not Princess Twilight!” She exclaimed. Just looking at this confused grey mare, I felt as if I should know her from somewhere. “My name is Derpy!” She said, introducing herself before I even had a chance to ask her name. “Derpy Hooves! You must be Princess Twilight’s new friend! What’s your name? I might have a letter in here for you…” She began rummaging through the saddlebag again before I even had a chance to answer.

“Uhh… My name’s Silver Dawn…” I said, feeling somewhat out-of-place around this odd young mailmare.

“Well it’s nice to meet you, Silver!” She exclaimed. “Well, I’m sorry Silver, but I don’t think I have any mail for-“She suddenly stopped with a gasp as she looked out of her saddlebag, and saw my cutie mark. “Th-that mark!” She exclaimed.

“What about my cutie mark?” I asked, interested at the sudden change in subject.

“I… Uh…” She stammered, looking somewhat flustered. “Uh… It’s… Really nice looking! Yeah, really nice looking! Anyways, here’s the letter for Princess Twilight… Uh… I need to go now…” With that, she hoofed over the letter for Twilight, and suddenly galloped off towards the bakery at Sugarcube Corner. The last thing I heard from her was a faint shouting from the distance. “Doctor! Doctor, we need to go somewhere right now!”

I almost followed her, when Twilight walked over. “Was that Derpy?” She asked. “I haven’t seen her in almost a month… It’s almost like she shows up to deliver a few letters every few weeks, then vanishes… Anyways, did she have any mail?”

“Uh… Yeah, she had a letter for you. Here.” I hoofed over the letter to Twilight, who opened it and read it faster than I had imagined possible. “Oh…” She said.

“Oh?” I repeated. “Oh what?”

“Hmm…” She said. “This is a letter from my friend Rarity. It says that she was getting ready to bring the pony she was taking care of, Tartanis, to the gathering today, when he just up and vanished. She says she’s got it under control, but… I guess they won’t be coming today.”

“That’s okay; at least one of the other ponies will be able to attend. What did Fluttershy say her name was?” I asked.

“It was Painted Melody, if I recall correctly.” Twilight answered. “Oh well, it’s a shame we couldn't get everypony together, but… There’s really not much we can do about it.”

“Painted Melody…” I repeated to myself. “I know that name from somewhere, but I can’t remember where…”

Alexander didn't quite know what to make of the young blue Unicorn he found standing in front of him. She had claimed that she knew the Princess personally, but he still wasn't sure… He felt a feeling in his gut that this young mare wasn't telling him everything, and his instincts were never wrong. “Young mare, Princess Luna is busy right now. Please, come back some other time.” But the mare persisted regardless. “Fine,” Alexander relented. “If you truly do know the Princess personally, then tell me your name, and I will tell her that you’re here to meet her.”

The young Unicorn tensed up at this, but she finally seemed to resign herself to this decision. “Fine. Tell her that Colgate is here to see her. Tell her there are a lot of things we need to catch up on.”

I could hardly believe my eyes as she walked through the door. She was a young Uniciorn, about the same age as me, with a tan coat, and a curly brown mane. Her cutie mark (I saw it out of the corner of my eye, I swear,) depicted a paintbrush with a musical note (“A treble clef” I somehow registered) emerging from the tip of the brush, almost as if it was being painted onto a fresh canvas. As she and her yellow Pegasus companion walked in, my heart stopped. “I know her.” I thought, but I had no idea where I knew her from. When she turned and saw me however, something happened. I saw tears in her eyes, but not tears of happiness, or joy. She was sad to see me. And deep down, it killed me to see her again. It broke my heart to see her in this paradise of a world.

This was it. She had finally broken free. She had finally taken revenge on her sister, and had plunged the world into an eternal night. So why did Nightmare Moon feel so empty? She knew that she had to destroy the Elements of Harmony; she knew that they were the only things left that could stop her. And yet, she still found herself flying towards that same field, just outside the Everfree forest. That field where she and her sister had played as foals, that field that could always be seen from their old chambers in Everfree Castle. That same field that she had burned to the ground a millennium ago. She didn’t know why she came to this field full of memories, but she did. Nightmare Moon didn’t know it, but deep beneath the curtain of darkness that clouded her mind, Luna had guided her here, hoping for one last look at the place she once called home, before surrendering to the darkness. What neither Luna nor Nightmare Moon knew was that they were not alone.

As he faded away, thinking that his life had finally reached its end, Fate intervened. His story was not over yet. He found himself standing in a field of flowers beneath a full moon, and in the distance, he could see a mare he knew all too well. “Luna… I’m so sorry…” Seraph thought to himself.

She heard his voice, and she awoke. Luna pushed through the darkness in her heart, and saw him again. Her beloved Seraph, who for a thousand years, she had thought long dead. “Luna, what are you doing here?” He repeated. In a sudden rush of darkness, Nightmare Moon took over once more. “You.” She said, voice filled with malice and loathing. “You will pay!!!” She shrieked as she launched a beam of darkness at the young colt. Luna’s heart stopped as she saw the beam rush unerringly towards its target…

In a flash of bright light, the beam vanished, banished by an aura of silver light. The silver glow that banished the dark magic emanated from Seraph. “Luna, you can’t hurt me. You won’t hurt me. And I won’t hurt you.” Bolt after bolt of dark magic flew at the young Pegasus, but not a single one connected, each being defeated by the silver light that emanated like a shining star from Seraph’s heart. He walked forward, never even flinching as one shadow after another was flung at him. “Luna, this isn't you, and you know it. The Luna I know would never do this to her subjects. The Luna I know would never attack anypony, unless it was in the defense of another.”

Nightmare Moon grew more and more desperate as Seraph walked closer and closer. Finally, as he stood in front of her, Nightmare Moon knew what she had to do. Both she and Luna screamed as they felt their horn pierce Seraph’s flesh. But not a drop of blood hit the ground that night…

As I felt her horn pierce my chest, I felt at peace. As my body began to fade away for the last time, I saw the tears in her eyes. The world began to fade around me, and I could feel my soul began to pass into the void. The final words I said to her were the ones that she needed most to hear, the words that would reassure her that her feelings had not been misplaced. “I love you Luna,” I said. “I will love you, forever and always...” Both our tears stained the ground as I faded away…

Chapter Four: Guardian Angel

Chapter Four: Guardian Angel

Something was wrong. He could feel it all around, yet everypony else seemed oblivious. Rarity had said she had never met him before, but his heart told him otherwise. He could feel it whenever he looked at her; a faint memory of the past, a life in Ponyville that never existed. He couldn't take it anymore; he had to leave, to get as far away from her as he possibly could. His cutie mark told him it was his duty to defend the Elements of Harmony, but he didn't care. All he wanted was to get away; to escape from this cruel nightmare.

She didn't know why. But every time she looked at him, Melody simply felt sad. It was obvious to both her and Silver that something had happened between them in the past, but neither could quite remember what it was. Melody wasn't even sure she wanted to know what past they shared. Although Fluttershy and her friends all helped to try and jog her and Silver’s memories, they got nowhere. It was almost as if something was preventing them from remembering… “Maybe y’all should go outside; get some fresh air.” Applejack suggested. “After all, it’s been an awful long day, and we've all been cooped up in this here library for quite a while.”

“That’s a great idea, Applejack.” Melody said, eager for a chance to get some fresh air. “And I think I know just the place. Fluttershy, would it be alright if we all went to that field of flowers by your house?”

“Of course that’s all right, Melody.” Fluttershy said happily. “After all, Applejack is right. Some fresh air will do us all a lot of good, and there’s nothing quite like a picnic with friends to help relieve stress.”

“Maybe we should wait until tomorrow…” Silver said quietly. After everypony turned to look at him inquisitively, he followed up with “It has been a long day, but I think that right now we should just take a break and rest. We can always have the picnic tomorrow. Besides, maybe then Rarity will have found… What was his name again?”

“Tartanis.” Twilight said. “And you’re right; we should wait until we can find your friend before going out on a picnic. After all, he might remember something that could be the missing piece to this puzzle.

“Tomorrow then.” Silver said. As everypony made their ways back to their respective homes, Melody thought over what had happened at the gathering.

“I just don’t get it… I can’t remember a single thing, but every time I think about Silver… I just feel like I wish I had never seen him again…” She suddenly stopped walking. “Again?” she asked herself. It had seemed like such a natural inclusion in her thoughts, and yet she was still surprised.

“Are you alright, Melody?” Fluttershy asked, a frown of worry painted on her face.

“It’s nothing.” Melody answered. “Just… For a moment, I thought I remembered something. I thought I remembered someone...”

Luna was stunned. Alexander had told her that Colgate wanted to speak with her, but that wasn’t possible; Colgate had been dead for centuries. “Why does this keep happening?” Luna thought to herself. “First Seraph, and now… Why is it that everypony I’ve thought long dead keeps coming back to haunt me…?” But Luna knew that this time would be different. Her last meeting with Seraph still haunted her dreams, but this time things would be different; this time, she was in control. “Alexander, please bring in this visitor. It’s been far too long since I last spoke with her.”

“Princess…?” Alexander asked questioningly.

“Alexander, please. Yes, I do indeed know this pony, and if she truly is who she says she is… Then we have much to discuss.”

“If you say so, Your Majesty. I’ll let her right in.”

Colgate walked into Luna’s room in silence. She had waited for this reunion for so long, but now that it was finally here…

“It’s good to see you, my old friend.” Luna, said, trying to break the ice. “I… never thought I’d see you again.”

“The same to you, Luna.” Colgate responded. “After Celestia banished you… Anyways, I’m forgetting why I’m here. Luna, why are you here in Ponyville? You never leave Canterlot unless something that directly involves you is happening. So, what’s happened?”

Luna was caught off guard by Colgate’s sudden transition to such a serious tone, but she wasn't much surprised; a millennium could change anypony. “I’m here because something happened; something that fulfilled another part of the Prophecy of Harmony. Two days ago, I was in the old field outside Everfree; you know the one. That night, I saw three shooting stars fall from the sky. What surprised me was when instead of crossing the skies, they landed in the field with me. When I went over to investigate them, I found three young ponies. I took them to Canterlot, and from there, my sister decided they should be taken care of by Princess Twilight and her friends. I came here to make certain they all settled in.”

Colgate simply listened in silence, absorbing the information Luna sent her way. A few seconds of silence passed after Luna finished speaking before Colgate spoke again.”Luna, we both know there’s something you’re not telling me. You wouldn't come all the way out here just to keep an eye on some foals. What happened?”

Luna was thrown off balance by Colgate’s matter-of-fact tone. She began to honestly wonder if this was the same filly she had befriended all those years ago. “Colgate, I… One of the ponies… He looked exactly like Seraph… I think… I think it’s him. It’s just like the final line of the prophecy said: 'I shall return only if you still believe'. All these years, I held on to the hope he would return, and now…”

There were very few things left in Equestria that could surprise Colgate, but this was one of them. “You don’t think… You can’t actually believe it’s him, can you?" She paused for a second, pondering this new development. Was Luna still truly in love with Seraph? Even after a millenium on the moon? Colgate felt anger and frustration welling up inside her. "You still don't get it, do you Luna...He’s dead! He is never coming back!”

Luna’s jaw hit the floor. “Colgate, what happened to you? You’re not like this! This isn't you!”

“You want to know what happened to me?” Colgate said under her breath. “You left, that’s what happened to me! You may have been alone on the moon, but at least there you didn't have to watch everypony you've ever known, all of your family and friends, wither away and die... You were the only friend I had who could have been there for me, and you were gone!” Colgate was trembling with rage.

“Colgate please… I didn't mean for any of that to happen…” Luna took a step back as Colgate slapped her with her magic. Colgate simply turned around and walked out the door, saying only one thing as she left:

“Was your bid for power really worth it, Nightmare Moon?”

Alexander was the only one who could hear Luna’s sobs as Colgate left. He thought about pursuing Colgate, but right now, Luna was vulnerable. If ever she needed a guard, it was now.

The Doctor struggled to keep up with Derpy as she entered the TARDIS. “Derpy, what’s going on?!?” he exclaimed. “Where are we going?”

“We need to go back to right before Princess Luna was sent to the moon!” Derpy exclaimed, as if that would explain everything.

“But why?” The Doctor asked. Normally he was the one dragging others on adventures; this odd reversal of roles had left him completely off-balance.

“Because the last time we were there, I was asked to deliver a very important letter. I didn’t think much of it then, but I just ran into the same pony who gave me the letter!” Derpy exclaimed.

This brought the Doctor to a grinding halt. “But that can’t be… Nopony…” He stopped to chuckle a bit at the term before continuing. “Nopony could have survived a millennium unless they were either a fixed point in the universe..."

"Well Doctor, I don't know if that's it, but either way... We need to get to the bottom of this." Derpy replied resolutely.

Tartanis had no idea where he was as he entered the Everfree forest. He didn't care either. He galloped deep into the forest, before finally coming to a stop outside the crumbling ruins of an ancient castle. He didn't know it, but this was the same castle where Twilight Sparkle and her friends had re-discovered the Elements of Harmony. “Everfree Castle." He said aloud, reading what remained of the time-worn inscription on the castle gates. He didn't know why, but something in his gut told him he needed to enter the castle; that there was something inside he needed to see. As he entered the crumbling ruin, he had no idea he was being followed…

Celestia was in tears as Nightmare Moon approached the seemingly-defeated Princess of the Sun. “Luna, you don’t have to do this! You don’t have to destroy this nation we built together!” Celestia pleaded, trying one final time to make her beloved sister see reason.

“This nation we built? Sister, if either of us believed that I was given any say in how this kingdom was built, then I wouldn't be here now, tearing it apart brick by brick!” Nightmare Moon screeched as she unleashed more of her dark magic on the already battered city of Everfree. Their battle had almost completely leveled the once-beautiful city. If Celestia didn't end this battle soon, countless more lives would be lost to her sister’s blind rampage.

“Luna, please! Stop this… Before I have to stop it for you!” Celestia shouted, a desperate plan entering her mind.

“Hahaha… Stop me? Dear sister, we both know you wouldn’t kill me. I am your dearest sister after all!” Nightmare Moon said, cackling evilly.

“Then you leave me with no choice…” Celestia said, feeling the energies of the Elements of Harmony coursing through her body. A beam of light shot out from her horn, encasing her sister in a translucent orb of light. Just as the orb began to lift into the sky however, Celestia dared to take one last look inside. What she saw was a young, scared little filly, just as her beloved sister had looked when they were young.

“Tia…?” Was the last thing Princess Luna said, before the orb of light shot into the night sky, and Princess Celestia fell to the ground, consumed with grief and pain. This was never supposed to happen. They were supposed to rule side by side for an eternity. What had happened?

“Mother, please… Tell me what I did wrong!” Celestia shouted at the heavens. High above, Princess Luna shouted the same thing, as her prison of light sped towards the Moon…

As he entered the ruins of Everfree Castle, Tartanis struggled with his inner turmoil. He knew his duty, yet he was still haunted by the fragmented memories that tormented him at every corner. He wandered the castle for many hours before he stumbled across the crushed wreckage of a fallen tower. Towards the (once) uppermost room of the fallen tower, he found a window that led into a relatively-unscathed room: The chambers of Princess Luna. The room was obviously well-built to have survived not only the tower’s fall, but also the millennium of wear and tear that followed. The room was on its side, but Tartanis was still able to navigate it with little difficulty; any fallen furniture that might have hampered his progress had long since rotted away. He didn't know what he was looking for, or even why he was drawn to it, until he found a small envelope laying on what was once the wall, and now the ground. “How could a letter have survived this long?” He thought to himself. However, this was no letter; it was a prophecy.

This prophecy was different from any other; both the prophecy and its writer were unique in many ways. This prophecy was written by a young Pegasus known as Seraph, one of the six fabled wielders of the Elements of Life. Silver light began to emanate from the prophecy as Tartanis began to read it. He was meant to make his way to this abandoned ruin; he was meant to be the one to find this long-lost relic of the past. His vision faded to white as Tartanis fell to the ground.

Queen Chrysalis saw it all: She watched as the strange gray Unicorn entered the Everfree Forest, the hidden home of the Changeling Hive. She watched as he wandered the ruins of Everfree Castle. She watched as he read the Prophecy of Harmony, and collapsed to the ground. Chrysalis knew that she had just witnessed something she was not supposed to; something that was part of a chain of events even she could not possibly predict. But that couldn't stop her from trying to turn it to her advantage. As she flew back to the Changeling Hive, she began hatching a plot. She immediately sent out scout drones to Ponyville to gather information; whatever was going on, Chrysalis was certain that somehow or another, Princesss Celestia's lackeys, the "Elements of Harmony", were at the center of it. They always were.

For now though, she knew she had to begin making preparations. A devious plan had begun to form in her mind... A plan that would allow her to finally get revenge on all her most hated enemies in one fell swoop...

Tartanis woke, but immediately knew he was dreaming. After all, how else could he be standing on the Moon? Just as he began to wonder what he was doing here however, he heard a vaguely familiar voice. "You're awake." Tartanis turned towards the voice, and saw a young white Pegasus with a cyan mane. "I was wondering how long it would be until you got my message." Seraph said calmly.

"Where are we?" Tartanis asked. "Who are you?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Seraph replied. "You're dreaming. Ironically, it was your dreams that got you into this mess in the first place. As for who I am..." Seraph hesitated for a moment before continuing. "I'm just a memory. A message left behind by the author of this letter. As for the author of the message... His name was Seraph.."

"Well then... Seraph. Why am I here?" Tartanis asked, intrigued by this strange colt.

"You're here because even though your mind forgot your last journey to Equestria, your heart still remembers. You were meant to come here, but it seems Fate didn't finish her job properly... Or, maybe she did. Maybe someday you'll get a chance to ask her yourself. Either way, a storm is coming, and if continue to be torn between the sense of duty that comes from your cutie mark, and the broken memories of your heart, you won't be able to protect the ones who really matter in this coming conflict."

"What does my cutie mark have to do with this?" Tartanis asked, looking at his cutie mark. It looked the same as ever: A golden shield, with the symbols of the six different Elements of Harmony emblazoned upon it. He always felt a sense of duty when he looked at it; he knew it was his sworn duty to protect the bearers of those marks. And yet... "What is it you intend to do?" He asked Seraph.

"You may not know it yet, but your destiny has changed. What happened to you in Equestria before no longer matters." Seraph answered ominously "In fact, if you stay on your current path, your heart will be torn asunder by the events that will soon unfold. If you continue to worry over what happened in the past, you won't be able to protect who truly matters in the present. If you want to keep Rarity safe, you need to forget her. What happened between you two in the past doesn't matter; As far as anypony in Equestria knows, you've never even been here before."

"So you're telling me I should just... Forget her?" Tartanis asked.

"Yes." Seraph replied. "That chapter of your life is long over. If you continue to focus on it, you'll miss your one chance at a new beginning."

"Fine then..." Tartanis replied. "But please, tell me something. What happened between me and Rarity? Will I ever remember?"

Seraph hesitated a moment before answering. "Yes, you will remember eventually. But by then, you'll have bigger problems than remembering a past that never happened. All you need to know is that this is your chance at a new beginning; a fresh start. What happened in the past doesn't matter; all that matters now is what you do in the present." Tartanis still had many questions, but he never got a chance to ask them. Suddenly, Tartanis's vision faded to white once more as he regained consciousness...

As Melody prepared to go to sleep in her room at Fluttershy's cottage, she was struck by how peaceful and quiet the night was. Looking out the window at the field of flowers outside her window, she noticed for the first time how close Fluttershy actually lived to the Everfree Forest. Just to the side of the field, the looming trees of the forest seemed to take on a life of their own, rebelling against the beauty of the night with their twisted branches and eerie inhabitants. Caught up in the dark strangeness of the forest, Melody almost missed the sight of a young gray stallion with a crimson mane stumbling out of the trees. Astonished to see anypony coming from the forest at such a late hour, Melody immediately called to Fluttershy, and the two quickly galloped out to the forest to see if this strange new visitor was alright.

Stumbling through the trees, the young gray Unicorn wasn't quite certain where he was going, or why he was even leaving the forest. Walking out through the thick branches of the trees, he found himself in a field of flowers, beneath a beautiful moonlit sky. Looking around, he saw two other ponies approaching from the distance, a young tan mare, who looked to be a Unicorn like himself, and a yellow Pegasus with a bright pink mane. Stumbling to the ground, exhausted from a trek he couldn't remember making, Tartanis fell asleep beneath the stars, unaware that his new destiny, his new path in life, was approaching even as he fell. If he had known the importance of the letter he still carried, if he knew the events it had set in motion, he would have been hard-pressed to sleep at all...

Chapter Five: The Nature of Fate

Chapter Five: The Nature of Fate

“No matter who you ask, for every pony in Equestria, there is a slightly different theory on the nature of our world, and by extension, how it came into being. And yet, nopony has ever done extensive research into uncovering the complete, infallible truth of how our world came into being. This is an issue I intend to remedy in the following pages of this book. Throughout the following pages, I shall document my discoveries in my search for the answer to one of the most important questions of our time: How was our world created? How did we get here? Is there any higher, divine authority than the Princesses we all know and love? Come with me, and perhaps we shall find the answer together…”

“Starswirl always did have a way with words…” Celestia thought to herself as she finished the introduction to Starswirl the Bearded’s “Journey for a Cosmic Understanding”. Sometimes she missed being able to spend time with him, even if he did act like an old fool at times. They used to be such close friends, but as time passed… Things changed, and they had to go their separate ways. Celestia took a moment to remember the time they used to spend working together when she was young, trying hard to discover the nature of magic, the world around them, and, at times, the nature of the universe itself. Of course, for the last subject, the young Princess always had a reliable source she could speak to…

Celestia shook her head lightly to clear her thoughts. This was not the time to reminisce. Besides, she hadn't heard a word from her mother, not since that fateful night a millennium ago…

This had never happened before. In the past, she had always been there whenever Celestia needed her help, whether it was for counsel, assistance, or even for simple emotional support. But now, despite the emotions running rampant through her heart, Celestia’s beloved mother was nowhere to be seen. “Where is she…” Celestia thought to herself. “Has she abandoned me too, in the moment when I need her the most?” It all seemed so surreal, and at the same time slightly ironic. Here, in the peaceful utopia that had stood for so many centuries, the world seemed to be falling down around her.

It had only been a few days since she had been forced to banish her sister to the moon, but already Celestia could feel the emotional backlash from the act. She wanted nothing more than to bring her sister back, so they could be a family again, but… Ever since the incident, the once ever-present song of the Elements of Harmony had fallen silent in her heart and mind. They had forsaken her, and without her mother’s help… It was possible that Luna might never come back… The mere thought of such a thing had her collapse in tears once again. Her sister was going to be trapped alone for an eternity, and it was her fault.

If only she hadn’t remained so blind to her sister’s plight… If only she had thought of a better solution… If only… If only Faust had answered her plea for help.

This was it; it had been a full year since her sister had banished her to the Moon. Surely, today was the day when Luna would finally be released from her prison. Her heart starting to fill with a since of hope that had been gone for far too long, the exiled young Princess took this moment to look over some of her journals once more.

“Hour 1: Dear diary... I am still in shock over all that has happened. Tia sent me to my beautiful Moon as punishment for what I did. I never would have thought she would have done something as drastic as this, but... I know now what I did was wrong, but I was just so angry that nopony ever showed any appreciation for the lovely night and all of its wonders. My rage has cooled down quite a bit already though… I’m sure she’ll be here to take me back any time now.”

“Day 2: Dear diary, I am still here on the Moon… I guess Tia is pretty angry with me to leave me here this long... And she has every right to be. It can’t be much longer now, she’d never make me stay up here for much longer than this, she is much too nice for that. I am actually kind of surprised I am still here…”

Those first few days, back when she still believed it would only be a few days of punishment… Luna almost felt envious of her own naivete at the time… But today was different! It had been one full year! Surely, her sister was arranging some sort of celebration to commemorate her return at that very moment!

“Day 6: Dear diary, I have found a small cave that I have taken to sleeping in. I tried to spruce it up a bit and make it cozier. Tia’s spell has really limited my powers, so I can’t do much more than arrange some of the lunar rocks I've found into a makeshift table and seat. The Earth looks so far away from here… I can’t wait to see my big sister, she has just got to be here tomorrow; it’s been nearly a week now!”

Luna almost chuckled at that one. Almost. It was amazing how much a whole year alone could change the way you look at life… She had matured greatly since then, and she was ready to show just that when she finally returned home tonight…

“Week 3: Dear diary… it is really cold here on the moon. I have just enough magic to provide myself with food, air, and a bit of warmth, but that is about it. The moon is just so desolate, even in all of its glory. Tia must know I’ve learned my lesson by know... Where is she?”

“Month 2: I can’t believe I am still here! Maybe Tia had to deal with some kind of emergency back home. I guess I could understand that, given everything that happened… I just wish she could come get me and take me back; it is really lonely up here... I have taken to marking the wall of my cave for each week I've been here as sort of a joke. I am sure Celestia will have a good laugh at my little rocky home when she finally gets here.”

Looking around her, Luna was surprised at how much her little home had changed since then; She had plenty of “free time”, so she had managed to create an almost habitable little home by then. Her scratches on the wall were starting to take up a bit of room by now though; if she stayed here much longer… No. She refused to even think of such a thing. Today marked one full year since her arrival. Surely today…

“Month 9: Dear diary… I can barely even remember what it was we were fighting about anymore; it’s been so long… I am so lonely. I cry myself to sleep every night thinking about how my big sis and I used to visit all the ponies across Equestria. Such good times… Three more months, and then a year will have passed. Tia will surely come for me at year’s end. Oh, how happy I’ll be to see her again! Even still... I can’t imagine a punishment worse than spending a whole year alone here on the Moon.”

Sitting alone in her room at the Ponyville Motel, Luna read over the final entry in her Lunar Diary. That first year… She had broken free of Nightmare Moon’s control completely by that time, and had even held onto a shred of hope that she might still be rescued by her sister. If only she had known…

“Year 10: Dear diary… She never came. Maybe she never will. I have called out to mother multiple times since that first year, hoping that she might take pity and free me… But she too has abandoned me. Maybe I’ll never be free. The scratches I have used to keep track of time now cover the entire wall of my home. Tomorrow, I will continue them on the surface of the moon itself. Maybe in a century or so, Ponies below will be able to see them, and convince Celestia to finally release me… I’m so sorry Seraph. You said you would return some day, but now I doubt that I will ever be able to see your return. If only… If only we could be together, one last time… I just don’t know what happened after you left. I just began feeling more and more angry every day, until…

It’s been ten years now. I've given up hope on ever returning home. Now, all I want is to fade into the shadows… Goodbye everypony… Maybe someday, somepony else will find themselves here, and read these messages… But I will be long gone by then. My story is over. Now, all I must do is wait. It’s time to put this immortality to the test, and see how many more decades it takes before I simply fade away…”

“After consulting directly with the young Princess Celestia’s “Mother”, Miss Faust, everything has become clear. According to her, the universe as we know it is only one part of a never-ending story. We are but a small part of a “Multi-verse”, An existence comprised of an infinite number of worlds, each one distinct in its own way, and each one divided up into an infinite number of parallel realities, each one formed by even the tiniest decisions in anypony’s life diverting the course of that universe into a timeline infinitesimally different from every other one of the infinite separate timelines. According to Ms. Faust, each one of these “Planes” is watched over by a separate “Guardian”, extensions of power emanating from a single, higher power that watches over the entirety of the “Multi-verse”, who Miss Faust referred to only as "The Father", with the collective goal of holding the “Multi-verse” together, at any cost. However, some of these “Guardians” that are placed in control of relatively-peaceful “Planes” are blessed with a personality of their own, allowing them to develop their own personal (And always benevolent) goals for their own “Plane”. For most of them, like Miss Faust, that goal is nothing more than simple peace and prosperity for the inhabitants of their “Plane”.

A discovery like this is… Momentous. This is, bar none, the single greatest discovery in the history of Equestria, nay, the entire world! And yet… Something like this can never become publicly known. If it became known… The consequences are impossible to predict. So, I am faced with an unenviable task. I am going to record my findings in this, single book, and burn every other copy I have created as backups. This will be the only copy of my “Journey for a Cosmic Understanding” to exist beyond today. And I shall gift it to the only pony I know I can trust with it: Princess Celestia herself. Celestia, if you are reading this… I apologize. This is a decision too large for even me to make. So, I must leave it to you. Farewell.”

Closing the only copy of Starswirl the Bearded’s “Journey for a Cosmic Understanding”, still in existence, Celestia returned it to its inconspicuous spot on her bookshelf. Everything within that book had remained a secret to all of Equestria, and it would remain that way for the rest of her eternal life. There were some secrets that were too large to reveal.

Alexander was no fool; he knew that the Princesses were hiding something from him. He knew that Princess Celestia would not send him specifically as Princess Luna's bodyguard unless there was something important happening behind the scenes. When he first received word that he was to act as Luna's personal escort to Ponyville, he began to ask himself a single, simple question: Why? Why him? Although he trusted both of the Princesses to make their decisions with Equestria's best interests in mind, he was also fully aware that both of them had secrets; skeletons in their closets that they hoped would never come to light. To be fair, they weren't alone. Alexander had his fair share of ghosts too; ghosts that he knew, sooner or later, would come back to haunt him...

This was never meant to happen. This story was supposed to have a happy ending for everyone. But for one young colt, the ending was far from happy. The young squire Sol Alexander was only just beginning his training as a Knight of Canterlot when the Changelings invaded. Even though he had been tasked with defending the populace of Canterlot during the attack, he had another duty he considered more important: Protecting his fiancée, the young Pegasus known as Blossomforth. As he galloped through the streets of Canterlot, Alexander didn't know how much attention he was drawing; the Changelings could smell the emotions that ran through his heart as he sped home. They could smell the fear of a future husband for his soon-to-be wife. He had almost made it to his home when he was ambushed. Almost. The changelings battered and subdued him, before they began to feast on the love in his heart. As he felt his emotions being pulled from his heart, he felt empty; like nothing mattered anymore. He felt trapped and alone, as if the only thing to release him from the torments of the world would be the sweet embrace of death. But death would not come for him that day; instead, it would come for the one he loved most.

Blossomforth had watched as Alexander was struck down by the Changelings. She had watched as they began to drain the love from his heart. She watched, and knew she needed to act. She wasn't a warrior, she was a flower merchant. A gardener. But that didn't stop her from trying to protect her future husband from the monsters that were assaulting him. If only she had known that the Changelings attacking Alexander had gone into a feeding frenzy; they had tasted the sweet ambrosia of love, and they wanted more. And when a Changeling is frenzied like that, they don't particularly care about the well-being of their victims. As she approached, Blossomforth was brought to the ground before she even knew what hit her; she felt her heart slipping away into oblivion as the Changelings consumed every emotion they could find, hoping to satisfy their bottomless thirst for emotions.

Alexander could only watch helplessly as the life faded from Blossomforth's eyes. Her heart had simply given up; there were no more feelings left to give, so she simply laid down and died. And at that moment, he wanted nothing more than to join her. But then, a flash of light came from the castle as the Changelings turned to face him once more. The light spread throughout the city, banishing the Changelings from the city of Canterlot. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late for some. Blossomforth's funeral was held the next day, and was attended by many of the other members of the Canterlot Royal Guard. Even the newly-married King of the Crystal Empire, Shining Armor, attended. He offered his condolences to Alexander, but it didn't matter. All that mattered to Alexander was that his wife-to-be was dead. And she was never coming back...

Although she had attended the funeral, few had seen her there. This had been her greatest failure; the single casualty of what was meant to be another happy story of good triumphing over evil. But this story had been marred by the specter of death. Blossomforth's story had come to an abrupt end because of a simple mistake; a mistake that Faust vowed to never make again. This had been the chapter she forgot to write, and without the guiding hand of Fate to help them along, the blooming romance between Sol Alexander and Blossomforth had come to an abrupt end. This death was on her hooves, and there was nothing she could do to change it; the ink had already dried. That day, Faust decided that she would hang up her quill; she would become a guardian angel, a helping hand to shine a light on the road of life. But nothing more. She would do all she could to help keep her beloved world safe indirectly, but she couldn't trust herself to not make an oversight like this again. She didn't want to be the author of any more tragedies.

After the gathering at Twilight's house, I felt the need to get some fresh air. There were still a few hours until sunset, so I asked Twilight if I could go to the Town Square and get some fresh air, to which she agreed. Twilight may have stayed behind so she could write a letter to Princess Celestia, but that didn't mean I was alone when I meandered my way to Sugarcube Corner. Everyone else seemed oblivious to her presence, but I saw her sitting there, reading a small silver book with a familiar mark on the cover. This young white Alicorn with the auburn mane was reading a book that had... My cutie mark on the cover. As I approached, she looked up, and I heard a voice in my head deliver a message that inspired both fear and hope.

“Tonight is the night that your story truly begins. Go to the field of flowers where you first awoke, and take your first steps down this road of love and sacrifice.” I took a step back as I heard the chilling message resound inside my mind. And then, in a single blink of my eyes, she was gone. The strange white Alicorn was gone. Still worried by the Alicorn's haunting message, I wandered around Ponyville for a while, pondering the message that I had just been so unexpectedly given. All I knew was that I had reached a crossroads; I could either return to the field, and face whatever “destiny” awaited me, or I could return to Twilight’s treebrary, and forever wonder what awaited me in that field. I could see a full moon rising in the distance as I flew towards the field where this had all begun.

Blossomforth's death broke something deep inside Alexander's heart. From that day forth, he began to drown his sorrows in his training, becoming a full Knight of Canterlot within only a few short months, and the Captain of the Royal Canterlot Guard by the end of the year. And yet, he found no satisfaction in his work. He put on a mask of happiness to encourage those around him to be the best they could be, but deep inside, there was always a storm raging in his soul. It wasn't until a few days before he was appointed to guard Princess Luna that he was given a purpose again, received in the words of a strange white Alicorn with an auburn mane...

The sudden stop to Princess Luna's sobs broke Alexander out of his thoughts. He knocked twice to no response before he entered the Princesses room to find it empty. On the nightstand he found a hastily-written note.

Alexander

Do not follow me. I have business I must attend to privately, so I order you to stay here and guard my room until I return. Sincerely, Princess Luna.

"Stay here and guard her room...?" Alexander thought to himself. "I think not. It's my duty to defend Princess Luna, so that's exactly what I'm going to do, even if she says otherwise.” But despite this, it seemed to him as though there wasn’t much else he could do; he had no idea where the princess had gone to. Alexander had almost resigned himself to simple waiting until he heard an all-too familiar voice echoing in his mind.

“Go to the field where I first spoke to you. That is where you shall find Princess Luna.”

“You again…” Alexander muttered to himself. “Fine then. I've trusted you before, so I suppose I should trust you again.” With that, the young white Unicorn walked out of the Motel, and off towards the field where his late fiancée, Blossomforth, had received her last rites so long ago...

He had seen her before; at the funeral for his dearly beloved. The Alicorn with the auburn mane. He had never expected to see her again, least of in his personal training room. And yet, there she was, with the same sad look in her eyes.

“I’m sorry about what happened to Blossomforth.” She said softly. “She was never meant to die, and it was my fault that she perished.”

Despite the unexpected apology, Alexander still just sat there, eyes glazed over in sorrow. Even if this mare was somehow connected to Blossomforth’s death, it was too late; she was gone, and nothing could bring her back. No apology could fix the mistake claimed the life of his dearly beloved.

“I know that you won’t accept my apology, but I want you to know that I truly am sorry.” The mare said yet again. Once again, her words fell on deaf ears. There was a moment of silence that passed between them before she spoke again. “In a few days, Princess Celestia will ask you to travel to Ponyville with her sister Luna. If you decide to go, then I want you to know that no matter what happens, I will do everything in my power to help you receive the happy ending you deserve.”

“Keep your happy ending.” Alexander said sharply. “I don’t know who you are, but I owe my allegiance to the Princesses alone; I will do what they ask, because they asked. No matter what you offer me, that won’t change.” He heard her turn and walk away, but Faust wasn’t finished yet. She delivered one final message before her departure; “She fell in love with you because you always did what was right, even if it wasn’t what was ordered. If you truly wish to honor her memory, then consider that before you make a decision.”

Alexander spun around, prepared to lash out in rage at the strange Alicorn, but he was too late; she was already gone.

As she ran from Ponyville, Colgate could feel the rage that had filled her body fade away, only to be replaced with sorrow and guilt. “I had no reason to act the way I did…” She thought to herself. “I was always jealous of how close those two had become… Now that jealousy has caused me to make a huge mistake…” As she thought to herself, she saw a familiar blue pony fly by overhead, travelling towards a field of flowers she knew well. “Luna…” She thought. “I’m so sorry…” just as her heart began to sink however, she heard an unfamiliar voice echo in her thoughts. “It isn't too late. You can still apologize if you hurry.” The strange voice said.

Colgate felt a sense of renewed hope enter her heart, and she came to a decision: She needed to go apologize to Luna for her actions. And she needed to do so tonight.

As the four ponies began to make their way to the field of flowers that connected them all, Faust thought long and hard over what she had just set in motion. She had vowed to never again act directly in this world she loved so dearly, and yet she had just done exactly that, diverting the paths of these four strange ponies in the hopes that together, they might all find the happy endings they so desperately needed. And yet, she still wondered if she had acted too rashly. They were bound to come together sooner or later; the only question was whether or not it would have been in time to avert the crisis that was about to strike her world. “It had to be done” she told herself. "They all deserve to find a happy ending, after all that they've been through."

And yet, she still wondered. She had no control over the actions of those three ponies she had brought here, and although she was the Guardian of this Plane, she did not have the gift of omniscience. She could only write the future, not see into it. And now that she had forsaken her quill… All she could do was watch, wait, and hope that in the end, her home would survive the coming storm.

Just as she began to lose herself in her thoughts however, she heard the sound of hooves approaching from behind. Turning around, she couldn't help but question whether this was truly the right path, as she saw the bewildered look on the young white Pegasus's face.

"What's going on...?" he asked aloud "I thought... It was finally over..." Once he saw her face however, the young stallion let out a sigh. Whether it was a sigh of relief or exasperation, she couldn't tell. "So, we meet again, Faust. Here to deliver a final farewell?"

The poor young stallion thought his journey was over... That he had reached the end of the road. And deep down, Faust felt horrible about the news she was about to deliver... He had gone through so much already, and yet... In truth...
Seraph's journey was just beginning.

Chapter Six: Beneath the Moon

Chapter Six: Beneath the Moon

The Moon shone brightly overhead as Tartanis descended into the cave. They were here; they had to be. Moving quietly, and keeping to the shadows, he proceeded down the dark and dank passageway, until he saw the faint light of a fire glowing from around the next bend in the tunnel. Listening carefully, he could hear familiar voices coming from up ahead.

“So, where do we go now? We can’t stay in this filthy cave forever. We may have gotten a head start, but they have to be catching up as we speak.” One of the voices said. This was the right place.

“I've finally found them.” Tartanis thought, a sense of relief flooding through him. “Now, I might stand a chance at keeping her safe…” He began to turn the corner, but something held him back; some unseen force held him in place.

“So, this is where they've been hiding…” A dark and sinister voice echoed in his mind “I must thank you for leading me to them. Now then, you have served your purpose. And now for your reward: I will allow you to watch as she dies.”

Tartanis slowly walked around the corner, to see the five of them sitting around a small makeshift campfire.

“Wait… Who’s there?” She asked as he rounded the corner. She relaxed somewhat when she saw him, however. “Oh, it’s you. What are you doing here? And where are your friends? Weren’t you looking for…” Her voice trailed off suddenly. Looking down at his hooves, Tartanis saw what had drawn her attention: Long tendrils of dark mist had begun to form around his hooves, and beginning to lengthen, making their way towards the six ponies.

He just stood there and watched as the darkness surrounded them, and began to constrict, slowly but surely squeezing the life out of them. She was the last to die, never taking her eyes off of him as she slipped away into the void. She said only one thing as she died. “Why…? Why would you do this…?” But he just stood and watched as she died. He could only stand there, watching helplessly, as his beloved Rarity was lost to him forever.

As I walked out into the field, I was struck by how bright it seemed, despite the fact it was quickly approaching midnight. Looking up, I saw why, a beautiful full moon shone overhead, its serene light only complimented by the shining stars that surrounded it. Looking up at the night sky, I felt something stir deep within my heart. Never once taking my eyes off the beautiful moon that hung overhead, I began to sing a simple melody; A simple song that came from deep within the memories of my heart…

“I had a dream that I could fly…”

As she passed over that field full of memories, Luna faintly heard something: A song. But this wasn't just any song… This was a song from her past, a song that carried with it memories both happy and sad. She circled back to land when she saw him, looking up at the Moon. Then, just as quickly as he had begun, he looked down, his eyes meeting hers. “This is it.” Luna thought “We meet at last.”

Alexander was on his way to the field when he ran into her. Literally. After regaining his footing, he realized that he recognized the young mare he had collided with.

“You!” They shouted simultaneously.

“What are you thinking, running around like a madpony?!?” Colgate “asked” him.

“Me?” Alexander replied, “I might ask the same of you! Besides, you have no right to act that way after what you did to the Princess!” The young pony seemed to shrink back a bit at this.

“That’s why I was running so hard... I shouldn't have acted the way I did towards Luna, and I was on my way to go apologize to her.” Colgate said, all aggressiveness gone from her voice. “I’m sorry I ran into you. I don’t believe we've ever been properly introduced. I’m Colgate, as you know. What’s your name?”

“I am Captain Sol Alexander of the Canterlot Royal Guard. And I have just as much reason to apologize as you. Neither of us were paying attention, so it was as much my fault as it was yours. And I’m happy to hear that you’re going to apologize to Princess Luna. I was just on my way to find her after she fled her room without telling me her destination.” Colgate seemed to cringe at that. “I made her run away…?” she thought, feeling even guiltier for her actions.

Seeing the young Unicorn feeling so down, Alexander decided to try and help. “Tell you what Colgate, how about we go speak to Princess Luna together? I saw her flying off this way, so why don’t we go find her together?”

Colgate seemed to perk up at this. “Okay, that sounds alright… Alexander.”

When I saw her standing there, my heart stopped. As far as I could remember, I had never seen her before, and yet… I knew her. Somewhere deep inside in my heart, I could remember her. I could remember… Hope. I was shaken from my thoughts when I heard her ask me a question.

“Seraph… Is that… Is that you?” She asked me, looking as though she was about to cry.

“Who’s Seraph?” I answered.

There it was; the answer she had been dreading. This young stallion had no idea who Seraph was, let alone the fact that they looked so much alike. They looked absolutely identical, right down to the cutie mark, but this pony was not Seraph. Seraph always seemed so calm, so... Sad, and yet… she felt none of those things from this young Pegasus. Trying not to lose the hope she so desperately needed, Luna introduced herself.

“I am Princess Luna. Who might you be? And why are you out here so late, all alone?”

“I’m Silver. Silver Dawn. And as for why I’m here… I’m not quite sure. A white Alicorn told me to come here, so… here I am.” He said.

“A white Alicorn?” Luna thought to herself. “This has to be Celestia’s doing… Unless…” But her thoughts were interrupted as Silver continued.

“Other than that, I suppose I've just been looking at the moon.” He said, looking back up. “Whenever I look at it… I don’t feel alone, even if I’m by myself. I feel… alive.” This caught Luna’s attention.

“Silver… Why were you singing earlier? And where did you learn that song?” Luna asked, becoming more and more curious about this strange young pony.

“I don’t know, to be honest.” He answered truthfully “Ever since I arrived here, I haven’t been able to remember a thing. And yet, when I looked up at the night sky, I felt something. I think it was a memory, but… when I was singing, I felt happy. Like everything I had ever hoped for came true. I think that song used to be really important to me, before I lost my memory. I think… It gave me hope.”

Luna could tell from his voice that he was being honest with her, and that gave her hope. Maybe this was Seraph, and he had just forgotten what had happened. But if that was true, then where had he been all this time? How had he survived Nightmare Moon’s attack? And who were the other two ponies who fell alongside him? All of these questions floated around in her head, and Luna didn’t know the answer to a single one of them. She could be wrong, but there were just too many similarities between Silver and Seraph to be certain either way.

I had answered her questions, and yet a question of my own had been gnawing away at me.

“Luna… I've met you before, haven’t I? You were the one who me and the others here, weren't you?” She hesitated a moment before answering.

“Yes, I was the one who found the three of you here. At first I thought you were falling stars, but once you landed in the field, I realized that you were not falling stars, but three young ponies instead.”

“That’s what I thought.” I answered, my suspicions confirmed. ”In that case, I have another question for you: What where you doing out here? It can’t have just been a coincidence that you were the one to find us.” I didn't want to pry too much, but I felt the need for answers. I needed to know everything I could about what was going on.

There was a brief silence before she answered me. “To be honest, I was thinking of running away. I was trying to do just that tonight. The past few years… haven’t been easy for me.” She looked away, as if ashamed of her words. I didn’t know that much about her, but that look, that… Pain I felt emanating from her heart… That was the moment I decided that she needed help. Luna needed a friend, and I was determined to be there for her.

“What happened?” I asked. “What is it that’s weighing you down?” The moment I said this, I knew I had taken a step in the right direction.

“You… You really don’t know?” She asked me. “That’s right,” she said to herself, her small smile marred by the shining tears that had begun to travel down her face. “You haven’t been here very long, so how could you know. Well… It all started a thousand years ago…”

He shot up out of the bed, covered in sweat and his whole body shaking. He knew immediately it had just been a nightmare, but… it felt too real to just be a dream.

“What’s happening to me…?” Tartanis thought to himself. “Why is this happening to me…?” his thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. Regaining his bearings, Tartanis quickly took in his surroundings. He was in a small bed, in what appeared to be a room carved into the trunk of a tree. The knocking at the door repeated, but this time he could faintly hear a voice on the other side.

“Excuse me…? Is everything all right in there?” Getting out of the bed, Tartanis walked over to the door and opened it, revealing a young yellow Pegasus with a pink mane. “Oh my!” She yelped. “I’m sorry; I didn't mean to wake you up… I heard a commotion, and got worried…”

“It’s okay.” Tartanis said, trying to comfort the young mare. “Just a bad dream, nothing more. Sorry to worry you.”

“Oh, it’s okay.” The mare said. “I’m just happy that it was nothing but a bad dream. I would have had one myself, if I had gone through what you did.”

“What do you mean?” Tartanis asked, curious.

“Well, you were stumbling around in the dark, and it looked like you had been wandering around in the Everfree Forest all night! If Melody hadn’t seen you…” But that was all Tartanis heard. The moment the young mare mentioned the Everfree Forest, it all came back to him. His flight from Ponyville, his wanderings in the Forest… And the letter. Seraph’s letter.

“Excuse me… Are you sure you’re feeling alright?” The mare asked.

“Yeah… just a bit lightheaded.” Tartanis answered. “I… I think I should…” Even as the words left his mouth, he could tell he was wrong. The world spun around his head, and everything seemed to turn on its side. He never even felt the impact as he hit the floor.

The young mare gasped in surprise. “Melody!!! Help!” She called in panic. The last thing that Tartanis saw before he lost consciousness was a young, tan mare appearing behind the yellow Pegasus.

Seraph’s words echoed in his mind as conscious thoughts gave way to dreams. “If you continue to worry over what happened in the past, you won't be able to protect those who truly matter in the present.”

“A new beginning…” The words resonated clearly in his mind, as everything else faded to black.

I could feel nothing but pity as she finished her story.

“A thousand years…” I repeated, shocked by Luna's tale. It was just… Impossible to comprehend how horrible it must have been; A millennium alone in the cold, silent desolation of the moon. “I’m so sorry, Luna…”

“It’s okay… It wasn’t your fault… It was mine.” She said, tears welling up in her eyes once more. “I should have… I shouldn’t have let my anger take hold of me… I shouldn’t have given in to the darkness… I should have listened to my friends. But now, they’re all gone. Colgate, Snowdrop, Seraph…”

“There’s that name again.” I thought to myself. “She never mentioned him during her story, but… Seraph. He meant a lot to her. And she thought that I was him…” But the mystery of Seraph would have to wait. Looking over at Luna, I could see tears beginning to flow freely down her face. Reliving her exile had only put an extra burden on the already emotionally-scarred mare. “Luna…” I asked. “Do you still have any friends? Or are you still alone…?”

“No.” She answered sorrowfully. “I don’t have any friends. Not anymore…”

“That's not true." I said. As she turned and looked at me, I felt a sense of courage welling up inside me. "You do have one friend left."

"Who would that be?" Luna asked, daring to hope, but still too afraid to believe.

"Me." I said "If it weren't for you, I might not be here. I owe you my life." Looking deeply into her beautiful blue eyes, I knew I had made the right decision by travelling to that fateful field of flowers on that serene moonlit night. "I won't abandon you, Luna. Not now, and not ever. I'll stay by your side... Forever and always."

She couldn’t believe her ears. For the past millennium, everypony who heard her story saw her as the villain. Everypony including her. She had shared with Silver her greatest mistake, her greatest failure, and yet… She didn't hear any anger in his voice. He wasn't mocking her, or speaking in sarcastic tones laced with veiled hatred. He… He honestly wanted to be there for her. He wanted to help her, instead of simply pushing her to the corners of his mind.

“Why…?” Luna asked, voice filled with disbelief. “Why would you want to help me…? All my friends end up dead... What if I lose control again…? What if she takes over again…?” As he answered, she saw something in his eyes that even she couldn't begin to muster: Hope.

“Luna… Everyone makes mistakes. But it isn't our mistakes that show who we truly are. It’s how we react to those mistakes, how and why we try to fix them, that shows who we truly are. If Nightmare Moon truly held any power over you now, it would be her that I’m speaking to. She’s gone, Luna. And she’s never coming back.”

“But… If she truly held no power over me, then how did she come to be in the first place?” Luna asked, sinking deeper into her pit of depression. She sank to her knees, looking up at the bright moon overhead, as the darkness of self-doubt began to flood into her mind anew. “When I returned from the moon, she took over again so quickly… She was waiting, biding her time, and allowing me to serve her sentence… What’s to say she isn’t still waiting…”

As the dark clouds that filled her mind threatened more and more to overwhelm her, Luna felt more alone than ever before. She had been returned from her exile, but what was the point? What was the point of returning home if she would be as alone as ever…? “Maybe I should leave…” She whispered to herself “For the good of everypony… Maybe I should just… Fade away into the shadows…”

But just as she felt that all was lost, that she should just leave, she felt something: The soft feathers of a Pegasus’s wing draped across her back. “Luna…” Silver said. Turning to face him, Luna realized he was no longer standing; he was laying down right alongside her, his soft, feathery wing draped over her in a warm embrace. “I wasn’t there those thousand years ago. I don’t know what it was that caused you to first change. But, Luna, I do know this: You are not alone. We’ve only just met, and yet… I get this feeling that I know you. I know who you are, what emotions are contained inside your heart. I may be wrong, I may just be mistaken, but there is one thing that I know I am not mistaken about. You are not Nightmare Moon.”

Luna heard, but she still found it hard to believe. She said nothing, but her actions spoke louder than any words. She moved closer to Silver, accepting his embrace, and gently laying her head along his neck. As she lay there, looking up at the moon, not a single thought of her dark past entered her mind. Instead, as she drifted off to sleep, one of her fondest memories of the past resurfaced…

He had only been in the castle a few nights, and yet this strange young stallion, “Seraph”, continued to pique the curiosity of the young Princess of the Night. They had met before on previous nights, but tonight was… different. She never knew what to expect when they met, but that night held a special surprise, one that forged a memory that would stand the test of time as the centuries passed. As Luna entered the royal gardens, on her way to their meeting place, she heard something strange: A faint melody, echoing through the night.

“I had a dream that I could fly,
I can feel each moment as time goes by…”

As she approached, Luna saw him sitting there on a bench, looking up at the bright moon overhead, and singing the hauntingly beautiful song to the stars overhead.

“We’d never be too far away;
You would always be here, I heard you say…”

Sitting down beside him, Luna felt an aura of…Sorrow emanating from him. This song held memories, ones that could never be forgotten.

“I never thought… Thought that it would be our last goodbye…
I still can dream… That one day love will fall out from the sky…”

Looking down from the moon, she was surprised as he turned to look at her… With tears in his eyes. Before she could say anything, he stood up and began to walk away. Just when she thought he would leave without saying a word, however, he turned and asked her to make a simple promise, one that she would hold for a millennium to come.

“Luna… Promise me that you’ll never forget that song. It may not mean much, but… That song is an important one, for both you and me.” He said, a look of sadness in his eyes. And yet, she could tell that beneath that look of sadness, another emotion was starting to take hold in his heart…

“Hope” Luna thought to herself… “I will,” she said to him “I won’t forget the song, no matter how many years may pass.”

“Thank you, Luna…” Seraph said “It means a lot to me…”

I suppose I should have felt… Embarrassed. But… I didn’t know why, but despite the fact that Luna and I had only just met, laying there with my wing around her, and her head resting on my neck… It felt so natural. So peaceful. That was the first night we spent any real time together. That was the first night where we were able to just lie there, looking up at the moon and stars, and know that… Everything would be all right.

That night, I felt something stir deep within my heart, something I hadn’t felt in far too long. “Luna,” I thought to myself “I don’t care if Nightmare Moon returns. I know that, in your heart… This is the real you.” Looking up at the moon, I made a vow to myself that night. “No matter what happens, no matter what might try to come between us… I’ll be there for you. I swear that you will never be alone again.” We sat there for a while longer, neither of us saying a word. This was our time, and we didn’t want to waste even a second of it. As she slowly drifted away to the land of dreams, I just sat there, hoping that this moment would never come to an end.

As the stars overhead twinkled, and the bright, serene light of the full moon kept watch over us, I whispered a few words into the Princess’s ear. “Luna…” I said softly…

“I love you.”

Chapter Seven: The Beginning of the End

Chapter Seven: The Beginning of the End

Looking down on Silver and Luna, the young stallion couldn’t help but feel a bit sad. They had no idea that this moment of happiness they were enjoying would never last. This was nothing but the calm before the storm. “Tell me, Faust… After it’s all over… Will she be happy? Will my sacrifice have been worth it?” He asked to the white Alicorn sitting beside him.

“That’s entirely up to you… Seraph. You’ve traveled so far already… But are you prepared to do whatever is absolutely necessary to help Luna find happiness?” Faust answered, never once meeting the young stallion’s eyes. With a simple chuckle, the stallion stood up, but still didn’t look away from the scene below him. It was several long moments before he spoke again.

“…Why does it have to be this way? We all made sacrifices during our journey… Are you saying that even after all that, it still wasn’t enough?” Looking directly at Faust, Seraph couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed with sorrow. “… I gave my life to keep her safe… To keep all of them safe. Was that not enough?” Faust stood up suddenly, and looked Seraph directly in the eyes, with a flash of anger reflected in her own.

“We all made sacrifices to keep them safe! Do not speak to me of sacrifices!” Seraph was stunned; never before had he seen Faust angry. But only a few heartbeats later, she seemed to calm down, and resumed speaking. “I am sorry, my friend…” Looking into her eyes, an unspoken agreement seemed to pass between them. “I truly wish I did not have to ask this of you…” Faust said “But there is no other way. This is the only way to bring Luna the happiness she deserves. This is the only way to ensure all our sacrifices were not in vain.”

Seraph sat back down, and began to think. The decision he was being faced with was far from easy. “…Why did they have to die, Faust? All those friends who gave their lives so we could complete our journey? Their sacrifices could have easily been avoided if you had just left well enough alone.” Faust sat down beside Seraph once more before she delivered her answer.

“Every second chance comes with a price. In order for Tartanis and Melody to find their second chances, two others had to willingly give up theirs. Sacrifices must always be made to maintain balance.”

“… Then who is to be the third sacrifice?” Seraph asked, feeling he already knew the answer.

With a sigh, Faust answered the dreaded question. “One second chance requires the sacrifice of another. The price has already been paid for Silver’s second chance… And for yours as well, Seraph. You and I both know that there is only one way you could be standing here, having this conversation…”

Seraph closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, trying to absorb exactly what he had just been told. His journey was still far from over. “… How long will I have?”

“One week.” Faust answered “Then… you’ll simply fade away.”

“One week…” Seraph stood up once more, and began to walk away. “So be it.”

Queen Chrysalis’s preparations to invade Canterlot had not been put to waste; and neither was her discovery of the Chamber of Prophecy in the castle depths. She had been led there during her “stay” as Princess Cadence by Princess Celestia, who wished to show her a prophecy predicting the return of “her” homeland, the Crystal Empire. She had politely asked to be shown the others as well “In case they might contain any clues”, she had explained. They all held their fair share of knowledge she could twist to her advantage; but it was the Prophecy of Harmony that intrigued her the most. Especially after she witnessed Celestia’s reaction to it. The millennia-old Alicorn had visibly cringed when she showed it to “Cadence”… Celestia knew more about that particular prophecy than she let on, and Chrysalis made sure to take note of that fact.

Celestia had mentioned at the time that the version of the Prophecy of Harmony held in Canterlot Castle was only a copy; the original had been lost when the ancient city of Everfree was destroyed. Chrysalis had her drones search the ruined castle, and even searched it herself after the Hive’s defeat at Canterlot, but… Nothing. The original prophecy was never found. And yet, she had just seen it with her own eyes being found by that strange gray Unicorn. She had thought about taking him hostage while he was unconscious, but decided it would be more prudent to return to the hive, and have a handful of scouts keep an eye on him.

And that thought brought her back to the matter at hand: In all her thinking, she had barely noticed when she reached the entrance to the underground caves that made up the Hive. Before her attendants had a chance to swarm her, she immediately sent out an alert through the Hive’s telepathic link; all available scouts and drones were to be immediately dispatched in search of a very specific set of information. A plan was beginning to take shape in her mind… She had been searching for a way to destabilize the Solar Empire for some time now as revenge for being thwarted at Canterlot. And seeing that prophecy had sparked an idea in her mind… A weakness that she could exploit to bring the Solar Empire to its knees, and destroy the one thing that had thwarted so many other contenders to the throne before her…

I had hoped that our moment together would never come to an end… But when I saw the two ponies approach from the distance, I knew that our time was up. Gently nudging Luna to wake her up, I pointed out our approaching visitors: Two Unicorns, one with a white coat and a golden-blonde mane, and another with a light blue coat, with a dark blue mane that had a single white stripe running down the center.

“Your guards, here to collect you, I take it?” I asked her “I’m sorry, Luna… I should go.” As I got up and turned to leave, I felt something holding me back. Looking back, I saw Luna’s horn glowing, and the faint glow of magic holding my hooves in place.

“Silver… It’s alright. You shouldn’t be ashamed for being here for me when I needed you. Besides… I’m sure that once we explain ourselves, that everything will be fine.” Once I saw that smile on her face, I knew that I couldn’t go. She was happy, and that was more important to me than any punishment I might have to endure.

“Alright then.” I said, as Luna stood up, joining me as we walked towards the two approaching ponies. “I trust you, Luna.” She gave me a little smile at that, and that simple smile assured me that I had made the right decision, no matter what the outcome. As we drew closer, I saw the blue Unicorn’s expression change from a smile, to a look of shock…

Luna had said they looked exactly alike, but… Colgate had assumed that there would have been something, some small difference that would prove that this strange young stallion was, in fact, not the infamous Seraph that they both knew from all those centuries ago… And yet, there he was, almost a carbon-copy of that mysterious young Pegasus she had met so long ago. At first, she thought that maybe, just maybe, Seraph had indeed survived the ravages of time. But as they drew closer, she saw something; something that, in her mind at least, proved they were two very different ponies. It was his eyes.

While Seraph always had this sad, knowing look in his eyes, as if he knew about some great tragedy that nopony else knew of, this pony’s eyes looked very different. They looked… Innocent... And hopeful. Even though they were the same physically, Colgate felt that there was no way that this could be Seraph standing in front of her.

But all this thinking about Seraph had distracted her; she was here to apologize to Luna; to make sure she didn’t lose the only true friend she had ever had. As the two groups met, Colgate took the initiative. “Luna… I’m so sorry. I never should have talked to you the way I did.” Colgate said, fighting back tears. “I just… I suppose I felt jealous. I was afraid… Afraid that you’d forget about me… I hope you can forgive me.”

Luna walked up closer to Colgate, before pulling her in close for a hug. “Colgate… I could never forget about you. And I would never abandon you. Of course I forgive you.” Luna said, smiling happily. “Besides… It was just as much my fault as it was yours. I should have put more consideration into how you felt. What I really want to ask is… Will you forgive me, old friend?”

Colgate only hugged Luna tighter as she said with a smile “How could I not forgive you, Luna?”

As the two friends reunited, Alexander walked over to Silver, and introduced himself. “Captain Sol Alexander, at your service.”

“It’s very nice to meet you, Captain. I’m Silver Dawn, but you can just call me Silver.”

Looking over at the two mares, Alexander couldn’t help but feel happy for them. But there was still a very serious question on his mind. “Silver, what were you doing out here? And why were you with Princess Luna?”

Silver let out a sigh. He knew this question was coming; all he could do was tell the truth, and hope that Alexander would believe him. Or at least part of the truth. He still wasn’t sure about who the white Alicorn with the auburn mane was, and he didn’t want to immediately make Alexander think he was a crazy pony. And as for the song… He didn’t know where it came from, but Silver hesitated to so easily hand out memories filled with so much emotion, even if they were only fragments. “I was out here, enjoying the night air and watching the stars, when she passed overhead. I don’t know why she decided to stop, but she did. We talked for a little while, and then she decided to stay here and wait. She must have known you were coming.”

Separating from her hug with Colgate, Luna turned and gave Silver a look that simply said “Thank you.” Alexander thought about this for a moment, then simply shrugged, and said “Either way… Princess, I think we should return to the Ponyville Motel. It’s late, and I believe that we’ve all had enough adventures for one night.”

“I think you’re right, Alexander.” Luna said, although her expression said otherwise. “Silver? Colgate? Do both of you have a place to stay?”

“Princess Twilight has been kind enough to allow me to stay with her for the time being.” Silver said.

“What about you, Colgate?” Luna asked. When she hesitated to answer, Luna continued. “If you don’t have anywhere to stay, I could always rent out a room for you at the Motel.”

“Thank you, Princess.” Colgate said graciously. “That’s very generous of you.”

“It’s nothing.” Luna said, with a smile. “That’s what friends do.”

The four of them had almost parted ways, when suddenly Silver remembered something important. “Princess Luna, wait!” he cried out. The three ponies stopped, and turned around to face him. “I just remembered… Twilight and her friends are holding a picnic tomorrow. The other two ponies that fell and I are going to be there, to talk, and see if we can’t spark some memories of the past. I was thinking… Since you were the one who found us, I thought you might want to meet them.”

Luna smiled, understanding what Silver was trying to ask her. “Of course I’ll be there, Silver. I would love to meet the others.”

As the two groups parted ways, Silver returning to Twilight’s treebrary, and the others returning to the Ponyville Motel, Alexander couldn’t help but ask his two companions a question. “Wait… Why is he staying with Princess Twilight?”

“The Unicorn known as ‘King’ Sombra was not always the monster he is now. Over a thousand years ago, he was just another young Unicorn looking for his talent. But then one day, the foals of his school went on a field trip to the Crystal Castle. That was the day when his life truly changed. While they were there, the students were introduced to the Princess of the Crystal Empire, Princess Aria, who was also the Princess of Love at the time; a position that is held today by none other than Princess Cadence. Up until that day, young Sombra had been struggling to find his special talent, and often wore clothes to cover his flank… and hide his shameful blank flank. But when he met the Princess that day, he felt his true calling… He fell in love with Princess Aria, and when he returned home that day, he found that he was no longer a blank flank… He had been granted a most auspicious cutie mark… an image of a crown… The crown of the Crystal Empire. That day, he knew that someday, he would ask for the Princess’s hoof in marriage, and that together they would rule as King and Queen of the Crystal Empire.

But fate had different plans. As the young colt grew up, he was teased and made fun of for his dream; everypony said that it would be impossible for him to become king. Then, years later, the day had finally come. Sombra had become a strapping young stallion, and was prepared to travel to the Crystal Castle to propose to Princess Aria. But as he travelled there, he found his path blocked by a large crowd outside the castle. That day, Princess Aria had returned from a visit to the distant city of Everfree… And she had not returned alone. During her stay in the city, she had met a young soldier named Diamond Blade… A soldier that had captured her heart with his kindness and sense of compassion. They both knew that what they felt was true love, and were betrothed before they even left the city.

The crowd was not meant to block Sombra from his destination… But to celebrate the impending marriage of the two lovers. This revelation shocked Sombra, and shook him to his core. But even in his state of shock, he held onto the belief that he and Princess Aria were meant to be together… And that belief led him to the forefront of the crowd, where he began to cry out his love for the Princess. At the time, the Princess and soon-to-be King had simply assumed Sombra to be just another member of the crowd… Until they found him at the castle gates the next morning, still proclaiming his undying love for the Princess.

Princess Aria went and met with young Sombra the next day to explain to him that she had already found her true love… But he refused her explanation, and continued to declare his love for the Princess. That ended the day of the Wedding of Queen Aria, and the newly-anointed King Diamond Blade. Heartbroken, Sombra slipped into the shadows, and vanished into the darkness of history for ten years…”

“What happened next, Princess Celestia?” The young Unicorn known as Thesis asked. “I need as detailed information as possible for my report.”

“Calm down, and be patient, my little pony.” The Princess replied serenely.

It had been three days since Luna and the “ponies who fell” had been sent to Ponyville, and Princess Celestia was still troubled by the emotional distance that had been growing between her and Luna. But regardless of her worries, she could not allow her emotions to interfere with her duties as Princess… Which was exactly how she had ended up here, obliging a young student of the Canterlot University his request on information regarding the history of King Sombra. The young Unicorn named Thesis had begun writing a report for his major in Ancient Equestrian History, but found that very little information still remained regarding the fall of the Crystal Empire, and more specifically, about the Unicorn who brought about its downfall. And so, he had come to Princess Celestia, who was not only the most historically knowledgeable pony in Equestria, but also one of only two surviving ponies who had firsthand experience regarding the history of the Crystal Empire before it was frozen in time for a millennium.

Without further hesitation, Princess Celestia continued her tale of ages past. “Sombra was not seen again in the Crystal Empire until his attack on it ten years later, but during the time when he had vanished… He had secretly traveled to the city of Everfree.” A look of astonishment crossed Thesis’s face.

“What do you mean, Princess? Why would he travel there of all places?” The young Unicorn asked.

“Before the rise of Nightmare Moon, the city of Everfree was a bustling city in the heart of a beautiful forest. At the time, it was the capitol of Equestria.” Princess Celestia explained. “He had traveled there, and sent me a letter explaining that he was a young wandering Unicorn in search of somepony who might take him under their wing, figuratively of course, and teach him about the ways of magic. At first, I thought of recommending the young Unicorn to a hoof-full of magic colleges. His bold letter had impressed me, and shown that he had the initiative to seek out success in whatever he endeavored to accomplish, even if it meant contacting the leader of a foreign country. But just as I began to write letters of recommendation, a thought struck me. For quite some time, my dear friend Starswirl the Bearded had been talking of how soon he would need an assistant for his work… Somepony who held the potential to become his apprentice.

At the time, Equestria had known a relatively unbroken peace for several hundred years, so I held no thoughts of fear or worry in my heart when I spoke to Starswirl about this bold young unicorn known as Sombra. Only a few weeks later, Sombra had become the only apprentice of Starswirl the Bearded, a title that brought him great prestige among the magical community. As his studies progressed, he showed great talent with magic. Over time, he even began to develop his own branch of magic… Shadowmancy. I should have seen the signs of the darkness within his heart. As he grew more and more powerful in the ways of magic, he began to ask many questions of both me and Starswirl about ancient magical artifacts. At first, we just thought that they had piqued his curiosity, and that he simply wished to study them. That all changed when he disappeared one day, leaving a note claiming that he was going to travel far to the West in search of the legendary Alicorn Amulet, an artifact that bestowed just as much magical might as a true Alicorn possesses, and that he had no intention of returning.

We may never know what happened during his journey, but by the time he finally resurfaced… I knew I had made a grievous error. Two years after he vanished, I received a desperate message from Queen Aria of the crystal Empire… Sombra had returned bearing the Alicorn Amulet, and by combining its might with his own magical prowess, he had done something terrible… He had assassinated King Diamond Blade, and drove the widowed Queen out of her own castle. Few of her guards remained alive, and Sombra had declared himself the new “King” of the crystal Empire. She begged for help from Luna and I, that we travel North and help her reclaim her homeland using the Elements of Harmony.

And so we did. We left many of our own troops behind, that me and Luna might travel faster. When we arrived, however… We were too late. Sombra had found the Queen’s hiding place outside the city… We had arrived just in time to see the mad tyrant execute the mare he once loved. Luna and I could only watch in horror as the shadows coalesced around her, and crushed the life out of her… And then, he turned to face us, with a wicked grin on his face. We were too late to save our dear friend… but not too late to destroy the monster we had unknowingly created.

But the Elements had other ideas. Our battle was long and fierce, but in the end, the Elements of Harmony gave us the power we needed to defeat him. But our victory was not without a price. As Luna and I readied the Elements to banish Sombra forever, he launched one final spell at Luna. The spell hit its mark the same moment we released the Elements’ energy, and the effects were immediately apparent. In an explosion of light, Sombra vanished, Luna was rendered unconscious, and there was a great rumbling in the earth. I immediately rushed to Luna, to find that Sombra’s spell had done no permanent harm, and had only temporarily incapacitated her. Before I could investigate the rumbling, however, I felt something in my bones; a powerful presence of darkness from the cave where Queen Aria had been hiding. Descending into the depths, I found a gigantic, pitch-black crystal in the depths of the cave.

Looking at it, I knew… Sombra had been trapped in that crystal. I assumed it would be for an eternity. As we now know, however, I was wrong. Returning to the surface, I found that Luna had awoken, and we both ascended to the sky to see if we could discern the source of the rumbling I had heard. When we began looking, however, it wasn’t what we saw that rendered us speechless. It was what we didn’t see. The Crystal Empire was gone; vanished into thin air. The most faithful ally we had ever known, as well as the thousands of ponies who lived there… Gone.

We know today that the Empire was simply frozen in time, but… Everything changed that day. That was when all our troubles truly began; that single act of cruelty began a downward spiral of events, as well as an end to the peace that Equestria had known for so long. That spiral finally ended several years later…”

“When you were forced to imprison Nightmare Moon.” Thesis finished. “I am sorry, Princess. I did not mean to bring up such painful memories.”

“Do not be silly, my little pony.” Celestia responded, even as she wiped a tear from her eyes. “That all happened a long time ago… Things are different now.”

“But are they?” Thesis thought to himelf “Are things truly different now?” He immediately swept any such thoughts from his mind. He was here for a purpose. “Well, thank you for the help, Princess. I can guarantee you that this information will help me greatly with my report.”

“It was my pleasure.” She said with a smile “Be sure to return if you have any questions.”

As Thesis left, Celestia couldn’t help but feel a little bit overwhelmed by the memories that had flooded her mind. “Is immortality truly a blessing?” she thought to herself “Or is it a curse?” Little did the Princess know that such thoughts would soon be the least of her worries, as the Changeling known as Repliety began his trek back to the Hive, confident in the information he had been able to acquire under the guise of a young Unicorn named Thesis…

As her spies returned the next night, Chrysalis began to make arrangements for how the Hive would be run in her brief absence. Although all Changelings did share a telepathic link, they did not have an actual “Hivemind”, which meant that Chrysalis would often make important arrangements personally, so as to make absolutely certain that everything would run smoothly. This was especially true after the failure at the Royal Canterlot Wedding, which Chrysalis knew was due entirely to her decision to entrust the separation of Princess Cadence and the soon-to-be King, Shining Armor, to three simple drones. Three drones that, instead of doing their job, decided that the Queen had everything under control, and decided to go join the chaos in the streets. Those same drones were also responsible for the only pony casualty of the whole fiasco, some silly flowerpony who tried to fight back against them. The three drones were severely punished, but even in failure, they served a purpose, as from that day on, Queen Chrysalis realized the importance of clear, decisive communication at all times.

Mentally running through her plan one last time, she once again thought of all there was to gain, and to possibly lose, by going through with her risky plan. Ever since their defeat at Canterlot, all of Equestria had been much more wary of the “threat” that Changelings posed to their society. In reality, all that the Hive sought was survival, even though that meant taking advantage of innocent ponies. Regardless of their intentions, however, it was becoming more and more difficult for changelings to find a meal, as the normally complacent ponies of Equestria had suddenly developed a sense of caution when with others. Even though they were still very sociable, everypony suddenly had that nagging thought in the back of their mind that they might be speaking not with their friends, but with a group of changelings. To the other ponies of Equestria, this was considered simply as a healthy sense of caution after a recent disaster. But for the changelings of the Hive, it greatly reduced their opportunities to find a meal, as their once docile prey had suddenly become very much alert of their presence.

This issue needed to come to an end, but it still paled in comparison with the greatest of Queen Chrysalis' worries; a counterattack by the Royal Army. The ponies of Equestria may be a peaceable folk, but they have proven time and time again that they are more than capable of fighting their way out of a corner thank to a potent trump card: the Elements of Harmony. In order to truly cripple any possible counterattack against the Hive, Chrysalis needed to discern a way to remove that very real threat. And that goal brought her to her current plan; a way to permanently remove the Elements from the equation.

Her plan would certainly spread chaos across the land, and her plan to ally herself with the fallen King Sombra brought its own risks, but in her mind, such things were merely a necessary evil, and one that could be twisted to her advantage. In a time of crisis like the one she aimed to create, all emotions, whether they are anger, fear, sorrow, or even precious love, were strongly amplified, giving the changelings of her Hive ample opportunity to gorge themselves. After a time, they would pull back to the Hive, and allow the ponies to pick up the pieces of their lives… But only so that they would not lose their only sustainable food source.

As for “King” Sombra… Chrysalis already knew very well that her plan could not be accomplished on her own. Changelings specialized in stealth and subterfuge, but in order for her plan to be brought to fruition… She needed the help of somepony who carried a bit more “oomph”. After all was said and done, Sombra would most certainly try to claim the Crystal Empire as his own… And Chrysalis had no intention of stopping him. But should he try to do something irrational or harmful to the Hive, such as conquer all of Equestria… Chrysalis was confident that, if needed, the Hive would have more than enough energy from the impending feast to bring an end to such ambitions. Of course, that was by far the riskiest part of this plan… Sombra could not be trusted… But the possible gain still outweighed the risks. With these thoughts in her mind, Chrysalis began her journey to the far North…

It was nearly dawn when Queen Chrysalis reached the ice cave. The resurrection of the Crystal Empire had done much to improve the local climate, but the region was still fairly far north compared to Ponyville. It wasn’t nearly as cold as the sub-zero temperatures of Stalliongrad, but there was still a fair amount of ice as one travelled away from the city. But this cave was different. This cave was still just as frozen as it had always been. And with good reason…

Descending into the dark depths of the cave, Chrysalis was once again grateful that changelings could naturally see well in the dark. As she reached a large chamber at the bottom of the cave, she saw it: A large, pitch-black crystal that filled the majority of the room. “Those fools Cadence and Shining Armor may have banished you from their city, but we both know they didn’t destroy you… After all, as long as there is light, there will always be shadows. And you are the expert on shadows, aren’t you, Sombra?”

At the mention of the name, the crystal pulsed faintly with dark energy. It could feel the energy that Chrysalis had brought with her… Enough energy to reawaken the sleeping monarch… Touching her jagged horn to the crystal, Chrysalis felt her exoskeleton grow chill from the dark power that lay dormant within. But that did not shake her resolve. For the good of the Hive, she needed to ensure that the Solar Empire would never be able to strike out at them again. But to do that…Both she and Sombra had nearly crippled the Solar Empire in the past. If they combined their forces towards a single goal…

As she released the energy that she had been storing for so long into the crystal, the room began to shake, and a dark mist began to seep out of the walls. Right before her eyes, the mist began to coalesce into a form, one that she recognized from the stained-glass windows in Canterlot Castle. “Good morning… 'King' Sombra.”

“Do not patronize me, Changeling.” The dark Unicorn said in a deep, menacing voice. ‘You would not dare wake me unless you had good reason. So tell me, Queen, why have you come here? Why use some of your precious love energy to undo the seal on my prison?”

“I am here because we share a common cause.” Chrysalis said, not backing down from the pitch-black Unicorn, even as the room began to fill with dark mist.

“A common cause? And what might that be, insect?” Sombra said, a tone of ridicule filling his voice.

“You and I have a common enemy, one we have both failed to vanquish in the past: The Elements of Harmony.”

“And what, you came here out of the goodness of your heart to set me free, so that we might ‘Unite against a common enemy’? I knew you were a fool, Chrysalis, but I had no idea it was this bad. No deal.” As Sombra began to fade away into the shadows, however, Chrysalis continued.

“You act as though I don’t have a plan. I don’t intend to get anywhere near those foolish ponies. I intend to destroy their power at the source.”

The mist began to solidify once more as Sombra once again took on his more corporeal form. “If I recall, that was exactly what the Draconequus Discord attempted. He failed. What makes you think we could succeed?”

“Discord tried to destroy their friendship, the reason they were granted the Elements. I wish to destroy the Elements altogether.” Chrysalis said, feeling more confident with every word.

“…And how do you plan to accomplish that?” He asked, with just a hint of curiosity in his voice.

“It’s simple.” Chrysalis explained “The Elements are given their power by the feelings of peace and happiness that are felt by every pony in Equestria. In order to destroy the Elements themselves, we have to destroy the very symbol of peace and tranquility those ponies look up to.”

“And what might that be ?” Sombra asked, now very much intrigued in what Chrysalis had planned.

“Not what, who.” Chrysalis answered. “If we really want to destroy the Elements, to snap the backbone of Equestria itself… We have only one option…”

“We have to assassinate Princess Celestia.”

End of Part One

Author's Note

This will be the final chapter of Part One of "But Not Forgotten". I know that this story hasn't garnered much attention yet, but I've been doing my utmost to pour my heart and soul into this story. And this story is just getting stared. This is only the first of four seven-chapter parts that I plan to write. Counting the Prologue and eventual Epilogue, this story will be a total of thirty chapters long (whew!). For all of those who have supported me thus far, thank you. And for those of you who are reading this story for the first time... Thank you for reading, and please, if you think that my story is good, then please let me know by leaving a like. Heck, share this story with your friends if you think it's up to snuff! Any help will be greatly appreciated. And really guys, thank you, all of you. There's not much point to being a writer if no one is willing to read your stories, so thank you for taking the time to check this one out.

Chapter Eight: Crossing Paths

Part Two: A Life worth Dying For

“If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a song is worth a thousand memories. Words can only convey so much meaning on their own… But when you give those words a melody, sung by a voice of the proper cadence… Then even the saddest of stories can be transformed into a beautiful aria. A single song can lift your heart with a tale of adventure and happy endings, tell a story filled with heartbreaking tragedies… Or sing a sad yet beautiful story of a long-lost love.”

Chapter Eight: Crossing Paths

As the TARDIS began to materialize outside the ancient city of Everfree, The Doctor couldn’t help but feel a bit perplexed. Derpy had said they had been here before, and yet…

“Come on, Doctor!” shouted the light grey mare in question “We’ve got to hurry!”

“Derpy, are you sure we’ve been here before?” The Doctor asked as he followed Derpy into the forest they had landed in.

“Of course, silly!” she replied with a grin “Don’t you remember? I wanted to know what muffins tasted like a thousand years ago! And then we went to the castle, and there were those scary statues in the basement…”

“Ah yes, the Weeping Angels…” the exasperated Time Lord said “How could I forget… But why are we here now?” “Humph! You never listen to me, do you, Doctor?” Derpy answered in huff.

“Of course I listen to you, Derpy!” The Doctor said, quite surprised by the quirky Pegasus’s seemingly angry reaction “I was just a bit surprised by the way you came running back out of the blue, that’s all. I thought you were out delivering mail?”

“But I was, Doctor! But that was when I saw him… A white Pegasus with a strange cutie mark… A cutie mark I had seen before! The last time we were here, I ran into a Pegasus who looked exactly like him at the castle… He must have known I was a mailmare, because he gave me a letter to deliver to Princess Luna. At first I was surprised, but he told me it was a love letter that I should leave outside her door…”

“A love letter for the Princess?” The Doctor asked, curiosity beginning to fill his voice as they passed through the city gates.

“I know, right?” Derpy replied.

“So… I take it you delivered it?” The Doctor asked.

“Of course I did! It made me feel so happy to know that somepony loved Princess Luna…” Derpy said, blushing a little “She always did seem a bit lonely… So of course I delivered the letter! I just don’t know why the Pegasus didn’t deliver it himself…”

“And that’s what we’re here to find out, I take it?” The Doctor asked, finally beginning to understand.

“Exactly!” Derpy said as they wound their way through the city streets, and made their way towards the castle.

Tartanis awoke once more, but this time to the sound of singing birds… And a singing voice. Getting out of the bed he was laying in, he recognized the room as the one he had awoken in just the night before… But that was beside the point. Looking out the window, he saw a young tan Unicorn standing in a field of flowers painting a beautiful picture of the vibrant blossoms. As she painted however, she sang a beautiful tune that sounded somewhat familiar…
“…I can feel each moment as time goes by…

We’d never be too far away;
You’d always be here, I heard you say…”

Just as suddenly as it had begun, the Unicorn ceased her song. She looked over her painting one last time, and then with a satisfied nod, removed the painting from the easel with the glowing blue aura of her magic, then folded up the easel, and began to walk back towards the cottage.

“She must be done.” Tartanis thought to himself “But that song… Where have I heard it before…” His thoughts were suddenly interrupted, when he heard a conversation spring up in the other room.

“I just don’t know, Melody… Maybe we should call the picnic off… You saw the way he fainted last night. Are you sure he’ll be okay?” A soft, demure voice asked. Tartanis quickly recognized it as the voice of the yellow Pegasus he had met only the night before.

“Don’t worry, Fluttershy. If he stays cooped up in that room forever, then there’s no way he’ll get any better!” said another voice “Besides… I get the feeling that a nice, sunny picnic will do him a lot of good.”

Tartanis was taken entirely by surprise when the door he had listening at was suddenly opened, and collided solidly with his nose. “Ouch!” he yelped, quickly jumping back from the unexpected pain.

“Oh! I’m so sorry… Are you all right?” He heard a soft, yet beautiful voice say. Looking up, he saw the tan Unicorn whose song had awoken him from his slumber. Catching a glimpse of her bright, emerald green eyes, he felt something… like an aura of calmness surrounding her, soothing his pain, and putting his startled mind at ease. “I’m sorry…” She said once more. “I had no idea you were already awake… I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Standing upright once more, Tartanis was quick to answer with a simple “It wasn’t your fault, really.”

Her look of concern shifted into a happy smile, and the young mare politely introduced herself. “Okay. I’m Melody. I don’t think we’ve met before, mister…”

“Tartanis.” he replied “And really, you don’t have to call me ‘Mister’.”

“All right then, Tartanis.” Looking back behind her, Melody called to the yellow mare Tartanis had encountered earlier. “Fluttershy, could you help me make some breakfast for our guest? I think we might have a bruised nose to make up for.”

“It’s fine, really.” Tartanis tried to assure her, but Melody would have none of it.

“Even if I hadn’t booped your nose with the door,” she began with a smile “I still would have made you breakfast. After the way you stumbled out of the woods last night, you must have quite the story to tell. And everypony knows that there’s no better way to tell a story than over a plate of food.”

As the three of them sat down to breakfast, Tartanis couldn’t help but ask a question that had been lingering in the back of his mind. “Melody, if you don’t mind me asking… When I woke up, I heard you singing a song outside. I was wondering… Where did you learn it?”

“I don’t really know…” She said. “I know that I’ve heard it somewhere before, but once I started painting… It just came to me. It feels like a memory that’s just out of reach, like a name that I should remember, but can’t.” A faint blush crossing her face, she continued with “I hope my singing wasn’t too bad… I didn’t know it would wake you up…”

“No, it’s perfectly fine.” Tartanis said, trying to comfort her. “…You sounded beautiful, in fact. It was the best singing I’ve ever heard.” Melody’s blush only deepened, and Fluttershy looked as though she might faint.

“Tartanis… Do you know anything about this letter you had with you…?” Fluttershy asked quietly, trying desperately to change the subject.

Looking at the letter held in her hoof, Tartanis couldn’t help but feel a bit surprised. “How could I forget…?” He thought to himself, the memories of his encounter with “Seraph” returning to the forefront his mind. “To be honest… I never even got to read it.” He said taking the letter. “I found it in the Everfree Forest, and then the next thing I knew… I was in a field of flowers, and I saw the two of you were galloping towards me.” Opening the letter, he began to read it out loud, each word sending chills down his spine.

I shall find you only if your heart is open.
Day fades to night as the Moon returns from a millennium of exile.
Harmony banishes the Darkness, but cannot hold it at bay.
Life is forgotten in Harmony’s return
Night fades to day as the sun’s successor is crowned.
Harmony conquers all, and peace settles over the land.
Life lays stepping stones for its chosen champions.
Day fades to night as three fallen stars herald the coming dusk.
Harmony will be shattered forever.
Life shall become the final hope.
The Night reigns eternal.
Harmony shall never return.
Life will be marred by death.
I shall return only if you still believe.

For Fluttershy, one line in particular stuck out like a sore thumb. “Harmony will be shattered forever…” she repeated. “We… We have to show this Twilight.” Turning to Tartanis, she asked a very important question “Tartanis… You said you found this in the Everfree Forest. Where exactly did you find it?”

Thinking back to that strange night, Tartanis could only hazily remember his trek into the forest. In his haste to flee, everything seemed to turn into a blur. But then he remembered the sign he had seen above the crumbling gate. “It was some sort of ancient ruin…” He said. “There was a stone engraving that read ‘Everfree Castle’ that I saw there.”

At these words, he could tell that Fluttershy had been deeply concerned by his words. “If it came from those ruins… Then this letter must be over a thousand years old…” She said meekly, the implications shaking her to her core. “And if it’s that old… Then how would they know that Celestia would help Twilight become a Princess, or that Princess Luna would return after a thousand years…? This isn’t just a letter…” She said, almost too softly to hear. “…It’s a prophecy…”

At this revelation, a haunting thought crossed both Melody’s and Tartanis’s minds. “Day fades to night as three fallen stars herald the coming dusk.” Was their arrival truly a coincidence? Or was it something more… Was their arrival a second chance… Or a harbinger of The End?

As he made his way towards Luna’s room, Seraph couldn’t help but be filled with a sense of macabre anticipation. “This is the last day...” He thought “After this… She’ll finally find peace. And that is worth any price.” So deep in thought, the normally calm Seraph was surprised as he walked face-first into a young grey mare.

Staggering back, he was shocked at first by her appearance. After all, how could she of all ponies be here of all places? Then, realization dawned on him. “So that explains it…” he thought “You truly do have a sense for irony, Faust.” Quickly regaining his composure, Seraph took the initiative to ask the grey Pegasus a question before she could respond. “You’re a mailmare, aren’t you?” He asked.

This seemed to surprise the mare quite a bit, and before she could answer, he handed a letter sealed with a wax emblem of a crescent moon, and said “Please, I need you to leave this letter outside the room of Princess Luna.” Regaining her senses, the confused grey mare simply replied with “What? Why do you want me to leave a letter for the Princess?”

“It’s a very important letter, Derpy… It’s a love letter, from me to her. Please… I need you to leave this for her outside her chambers.” As the enigmatic young stallion turned and began to walk away towards the Royal Gardens, Derpy was flabbergasted. It wasn’t until after she left the letter for the Princess and returned to the Doctor that a seemingly obvious question crossed her mind. “How did he know my name?” She asked herself silently.

As Seraph began his walk to the familiar gardens for one last look at the place that had forged so many memories, he was surprised that somepony else had beaten him to the small patch of lilies where he had first made his arrival. She was a young white Pegasus who looked to be only a bit younger than he was, with a snowy-white mane that held faint streaks of a light cyan color flowing through it. Recognizing her immediately, his only thoughts were “It can’t be.” Hearing his approach, the blind young mare didn’t bother to turn, instead asking him a question. “This is where you found him, isn’t it, Luna?” She was very surprised when she heard a very different voice than that of the Princess respond to her.

“You’re Snowdrop… Aren’t you?” Seraph asked softly.

“Oh… You must be Seraph.” She answered. “I don’t think we’ve met before… How did you know my name?”

“I’ve heard a lot about you. Yours is a story that should truly be admired.”

He noticed a slight blush enter her cheeks at his compliment. “Thank you… I’ve heard a lot about you too, Seraph. The Princess has told me all about you in her letters… How you appeared out of nowhere, how you always took the time every night to simply admire the Moon. It isn’t every day that a pony takes time to truly appreciate the night sky.” “…Did she tell you how she feels about me?” Seraph asked.

“…Yes, she did. After the letter she sent me last night, I decided to come here and see her… And to meet you, as well.”

“I wish it didn’t have to be this way…” Seraph said, his sentence trailing off “…I love her. I would give anything to keep her happy… To keep her safe. Last night… Every word I said hurt me deeply. Every time I had to tell her we couldn’t be together, it killed me on the inside.”

“…What is it you’re trying to keep her safe from?’” Snowdrop asked.

Turning to walk away, Seraph gave her an answer that Snowdrop would spend many days pondering… Especially after its meaning was revealed to her only a few short months later. “I’m trying to keep her safe from herself.” He answered. Snowdrop thought on this a moment before turning around to ask him one last question.

“Seraph… Will we ever meet again? …You, Me, and Luna… Will we ever be able to just be friends, the three of us?”

Stopping in his tracks, Seraph turned once more for one last look at the mare he had waited so long to meet. “…No. I’m sorry, Snowdrop. If I could just stay, if I could just keep all of you safe from what’s to come… I would sacrifice anything. But I’ve already had my chance… And I failed. Now, I have to deal with the consequences.” As Snowdrop thought about his words, she heard his voice echo in her mind as he walked away. “I just wish that we did not have to meet under the circumstances we did, but as it stands… My time is running short. I wish that we could become friends, but it simply wasn’t meant to be. They say that time heals all wounds, but that is a lie. For ponies like us… Time can cause nothing but heartache and pain.

You of all ponies deserve a chance at freedom from the chains of Fate that bind you. So, I will leave you a gift, and leave the choice to you as to whether or not you wish to accept it. Tonight as Luna exits her chambers to raise the Moon, she will find a very special letter at her doorstep. That letter holds powerful magic, magic that affects everypony who comes in contact with it differently. For Luna, it will give her hope to help her endure the centuries to come. As for you… If you hold the letter, then the magic contained within will perform what many will simply call a miracle: It will restore your sight, as though it had been in your possession all this time.

Consider this my apology for what is to come… There are some things that, no matter how hard we try, cannot be prevented. But… That’s why ponies like you and I are here. Through the messages our tales carry, we can change anything, right any wrong, and mend any injury. Your story carries more weight than you will ever know… Through your actions, you have already inspired others to do amazing and wonderful things. Farewell, Snowdrop. And thank you…”

Walking out of the gardens, satisfied with his final message to Snowdrop, Seraph could tell that his journey was quickly coming to a close. He had almost made it back to the chambers the Princesses had provided him, before he encountered yet another familiar face… A young blue Unicorn, unaware that her meeting with him would spark the beginning of her tragic journey through the centuries to come.

They might not have found him if it hadn’t been for the sound of his conversation with the now departing blue Unicorn. Turning the corner, he seemed just as surprised to see them as they were to see him. “Doctor… I wasn’t aware I warranted such attention.” Seraph said somewhat serenely to his newest visitors.

“It appears you have me at a disadvantage, friend. I’m afraid that you know exactly who I am, even though I know that you and I have never met before.” The light brown Earth Pony replied.

“My name is Seraph. Your companion and I have already met, and as for you… Let’s just say that I am familiar with your history.”

Now it was Derpy’s turn to speak up. “You… Why did you give me that letter? And more importantly, why did I just see you, a thousand years from now?”

Seraph visibly cringed at this. But before could answer, he felt a strange and foreign sensation wash over him. “No… Not now…” Seraph thought to himself.

Suddenly, he turned away from the two, as if to face an apparition that only he could see. “So, it’s time… Before I leave, I need to tie up one last loose end… Colgate. I hate to ask this of you, but… You know what must be done… Thank you. And… Farewell.”

Turning to face the Doctor once more, he spoke with a sense of renewed certainty in his voice. “Doctor, I truly am sorry, but… You can’t return to Derpy’s original time. Events are taking place that you cannot stop. If you take Derpy there… You will lose her forever.”

“How do you know this?” The Doctor asked in a worried tone. Before he received his answer however, he noticed something… Seraph had begun to grow slightly translucent, and small, shimmering motes of light had begun to float upwards off of his body.

“Doctor… I know you have lost many friends in the past… I know about how you have lost all those you have come to truly care for… I know how you leave a trail of broken hearts and minds in your wake. If you try to change what is to come… It shall only continue.” At this, the Doctor’s eye immediately widened, then immediately narrowed as a flash of rage flowed through him.

“Who are you?!?” He shouted in sudden fury. “Who told you these things?” But by this time, Seraph had almost completely disappeared, becoming little more than a scattering cloud of faintly glimmering lights. “I know how much you loved Rose Tyler. And I know that she loved you back. Please, Doctor… I beg you… Don’t go back. I’m trying to save the one I love too…”

As Seraph faded away, Derpy seemed perplexed by Seraph’s words… And shocked. This was the first time she had ever seen the Doctor show anger at anypony besides the Daleks. She began to run back to the TARDIS, determined to find the white Pegasus and get her answers, when she felt a hoof on her shoulder, holding her back. Looking behind her, she saw the Doctor… With tears in his eyes. “Derpy, please… We can’t go back.... I’m sorry, but…I can’t lose you. Not like I lost her.”

“But Doctor-“ Derpy started to argue.

“Please Derpy… I’ll explain everything back in the TARDIS, but… I have to listen to him. I was wrong to come to this world in the first place… You are the reason I’ve stayed. I can’t… I can’t lose you. So please… Trust me.”

“He’s trying to save the one he loves. And if my actions cause him to fail… I could never forgive myself.”

That night, the entire castle was roused to search for Seraph… But he would never be found. Sitting alongside her beloved friend Snowdrop, Luna could not stop the tears from flowing down her face. She had read his letter many times already… When Celestia had tried to contact their mother, all she received was a simple message. “He doesn’t want to be found… His letter was a gift, both to Luna, and to all of Equestria. It foretells a time of great change… And great sorrow. He left this knowledge for both of you, in the hopes that it might help you weather the storm to come.”

Luna had read the prophecy aloud to Snowdrop, but that didn’t help to set the young mare’s mind at ease… If anything the presence of the letter seemed to only set her on edge. But Snowdrop still refused to leave her friend’s side… She would not abandon her in her time of need. But for Snowdrop… The thought of regaining her sight still floated around in her mind. She would finally be able to see the world around her… She would finally be able to see the stars. But as she thought, her mother’s words echoed in her memories…

“It’s better to save your wishes, Snowdrop, for something you really need.” Her mother had said to her, that cold winter’s night, so many years ago…

“Don’t I really need my eyes?” She had asked her mother. Back then, life had seemed so unfair… She was always treated poorly by her peers because of her blindness. But… Hadn’t she overcome that?

“No, not you!” Her mother had said with a chuckle. “You’re too special for that!”

Seraph had told her that her story had touched the hearts and minds countless ponies… It was true that her blindness could bring her pain sometimes… But if she had been born with sight, she ever could have found her talent. Her story would remain forever untold… And winter would remain a harsh and unforgiving season, possibly forever…

She had taken what everypony else saw as her greatest weakness, and used it to change the world for the better for everypony… How could she sacrifice what made her special? “Thank you Seraph…” she thought to herself “…But I can’t accept your gift. I can’t sacrifice the greatest blessing I have ever been given…” With that thought fresh in her mind, she lay there alongside the Princess, comforting her all through the night. After all… If she had been born with sight, she might take the night sky for granted too… And with Colgate out searching for Seraph… Luna would be all alone. She was the last one Luna could turn to… And she would be there for her, for as long as she could…

Chapter Nine: If You Still Believe

Chapter Nine: If You Still Believe

When I returned from my rendezvous with Princess Luna, I wasn’t surprised to find a very upset-looking Twilight awaiting my return.

“I thought you just went out for some fresh air?” She asked “Where were you? It’s been hours!” For the second time that night, I was forced to balance my desire to tell the truth, with the knowledge that the truth may well come back to hurt Luna. So… Once again, I told only part of the truth,

“When I was out, I ran into Princess Luna, and we decided to talk for a while.” I answered “I didn’t realize how long we had been talking until two of her guards came to collect her.”

“Oh…” Twilight said, seeming surprised “I knew Princess Luna had been staying in Ponyville the past few days, but I didn’t think the two of you would run into each other. What did you talk about?”

“Well, first she told me about how she had been trapped on the Moon…” I said “…And after that, we started talking about how she found Melody, Tartanis and I when we landed in Equestria.”

Twilight seemed to grow sad at this news. “… I completely forgot how new you are to Equestria. I should have told you about Luna’s history sooner… It can’t have been easy for her to tell you everything that happened.”

“It’s alright, Twilight. You can’t be expected to remember everything.” I said, trying to comfort the young mare “Besides… It’s better that she told me herself, instead of me being told by somepony else; even if that somepony was you.”

“I suppose you’re right.” She said, her frown slowly turning into a familiar smile. “Either way, it’s still late. Spike went to bed a while ago, but I decided to wait for you to get back. After all, we wouldn’t want another missing pony on our hooves so soon after finding our last runaway.” She said with a chuckle.

My ears perked up at this. “Did somepony find Tartanis?” I asked.

“Yes, I got a letter from my friend Fluttershy while you were gone.” Twlight answered, assuaging my fears. “She and Melody found him coming out of the Everfree Forest just after they got back home. He fell unconscious, but he should be able to attend the picnic at Fluttershy’s house tomorrow.”

“The picnic…” I thought to myself. “Speaking of the picnic, Twilight… When I was speaking with Princess Luna… I told her about the picnic, and she asked if she could come, and meet Melody and Tartanis. I told her it should be fine, but I just wanted to let you know…” The moment I saw Twilight’s eyes widen at the mere thought of the Princess attending the picnic, I assumed I had made a grievous error. “Twilight…?” I asked, unsure of what response I might receive.

But, lo and behold, her shock only seemed to last a moment, and she quickly collected herself, and then answered me. “Of course Princess Luna can come! I just… Wasn’t expecting her to be so interested in our little get-together.”

“Okay then…” I replied, unsure of exactly what had just taken place. “Anyways… It’s pretty late, so maybe we should just get some sleep.”

“Of course!” Twilight said, a little bit too energetically. “Good night, Silver. I’ll see you in the morning.”

When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a strange, dark place I had never seen before. Standing up and looking around, I realized I was in a castle; an ancient, crumbling ruin of a castle, but a castle nonetheless. No sooner had I stood up, however, than I heard an evil, yet vaguely familiar cackle from behind me. Turning to face the source of the noise, I was shocked by the horrifying sight that awaited my eyes: A tall, pitch-black Alicorn, with a familiar mane of flowing blue…

“It can’t be… No…” I thought to myself. There she was; Nightmare Moon, the pony who Luna feared most in the world… The monster that used to inhabit her body and mind. A bolt of lightning flashed outside as she began to speak in a warped, twisted voice.

“Are you happy now, Seraph? You abandoned me, only to show your cowardly face once more after I returned from my exile… How dare you?!? I am the Queen of the Night, and I will not be held back by petty fools like you or Luna any longer… I will never again be held back by your foolish love… Never!” I was stunned to hear these words, even more so than I had been by Nightmare Moon’s sudden appearance. I stood motionless, unable to so much as blink as I watched her ready the spell that I knew would end my life. Suddenly, everything stopped.

“You wanted to know why I brought you here. This… This is why.” Walking out of one of the castle’s many dark corners, I saw her: The Alicorn with the auburn mane; the same one I had encountered at Sugarcube Corner only a few hours prior. “I brought you here, because Luna… She deserves to be happy. She carries around this darkness inside her heart every day, just barely holding it in check. Since her return, she has known little more than sorrow… And sooner or later, one way or another, that sorrow will consume her. That’s why I need your help. She may not be my daughter in the physical sense… But I care for both her and Celestia as if they were both my own beloved children. They both deserve happiness in their lives. Celestia knew happiness for many centuries before the rise of Nightmare Moon, but Luna…? She was always an outcast.”

There was a long silence as I tried to digest this information. When I finally found myself able to speak, I struggled to ask the question that was in the forefront of my mind. “Who are you?” I asked. The mare chuckled before she responded.

“There are only a small handful of ponies who know of my existence… And most of them simply know me as ’Mother’. You may call me by the same name that Starswirl the Bearded called me by, all those centuries ago… Faust.”

“Alright then, Miss Faust…” I began “Why me? I can’t be the first pony to appreciate the night sky… I can’t be the only pony who could help Luna. And also… Who is this ‘Seraph’? I heard Luna mention him before, and now… Please, I need to know.”

“Alright then, Silver.” She replied calmly “To answer your first question… You’re right. There are other ponies that could help Luna. But then who would help you?”

“I don’t understand.” I said, perplexed.

“I brought you and your two friends to this world not only so you could help it… But also so it could help you.

Melody… She blamed herself for the mistakes of another, even after they admitted that the mistakes were theirs and theirs alone. She cared too much for the pains of others… And in a harsh world like the one you three once inhabited, such a thing can only bring sorrow. Tartanis never found satisfaction in life; only pain. He searched everywhere for love, and found only heartache in return. And once his dreams began to taunt him with visions of the life he yearned for, yet could never attain… It broke something deep inside his heart.

And as for you, Silver… Yours is a long and tragic tale indeed. One filled with pain and suffering… But unlike the others, you managed to make peace with the past. You found the way forward, when it seemed as though such a path didn’t exist. Perhaps the Father took particular interest in your journey… Either way, you had found happiness. But that happiness was taken away from you in a single heartbeat. You tried to reconcile your past… To find forgiveness from the one person you loved above all others. You knew that you could never be together… And you accepted that. You knew that all you could ever be was friends… And you were alright with that. But then… Your tragic past came back to haunt you. Your own father… I am truly sorry.

As for Seraph… He was a pony who Luna met many centuries ago, shortly before Nightmare Moon consumed her mind and body. He looked just like you… But you two are far from the same ponies. He knew his duty, his role in life, and even though it pained him to do so… He followed his dark road to its conclusion. He died a hero’s death, giving his life to save the one he loved…To save Luna. She loved him in return as well… Her first love. It broke her heart when he passed away… Particularly because it was Nightmare Moon who had killed him. She had been forced to watch as her true love died in front of her…”

“…I’m so sorry…” I said “I understand now why you want me to help her… For both our sakes. But… How can I undo that much damage?”

Faust smiled at this, and her horn began to glow as she spoke, slowly unravelling my dream even as she spoke.

“Hope, Silver. Hope can mend all injuries… It can endure the harshest of storms, and act as a beacon shining in the darkness. As long as you have hope… And as long as you can provide hope to those around you… Everything will turn out for the best in the end. Now, rest my little pony… You have a long day ahead of you… Tomorrow marks the beginning of an important journey…”

I awoke suddenly to a purple, scaly face looming over me. “Are you going to wake up now, or do I need to go get Twilight?” Spike asked.

“Don’t bother.” I answered groggily “I’m up.” Exiting the guest bedroom, I saw Twilight scurrying to and fro downstairs, evidently doing a last-minute review of a checklist of things she needed to bring to the picnic. “You do realize that we won’t be the only ones bringing food, right Twilight?” I called out.

Not slowing her frantic pace in the slightest, Twilight promptly responded with a simple “It’s better to be over-prepared than under-prepared!”

Exchanging a knowing look with Spike, we both made our way downstairs to help check and double-check that everything was ready.

As the others began arriving, Tartanis couldn’t help but feel out of place. He couldn’t quite put his horn on it, but whenever he was around Melody, he felt as though he was forgetting something incredibly important. And that wasn’t all. The moment that Rarity arrived, and he saw the look of shock and worry on her face, he knew it was terrible mistake to ever leave. He was meant to keep the Elements of Harmony safe from all threats; that was his duty… His destiny. And yet, at the first chance he got… He ran.

But apparently, none of that mattered to Rarity. After she got over her initial shock, and Fluttershy explained the situation to her, she expressed nothing but happiness at his return. She didn’t care that he left without a word; she didn’t care that he had gone to such lengths to flee from her. She was just… Happy. Happy that he was back. Happy that he passed through the trials of the Everfree Forest unharmed. And for just a moment… He felt happy too.

But then, the same sensation that induced his flight before returned. As he looked at her… He could feel something deep inside, tugging at his heartstrings… A forgotten memory that simply couldn’t resurface. But at the same time, he felt something new welling up inside his heart. Before him sat a simple, happy group of friends. And just by being with them, he felt happy too.

But then, he noticed something. Somepony was missing. And just as the thought crossed his mind, he saw them approaching from the distance. A young violet Alicorn, and walking beside her, a small, purple baby dragon. “Princess Twilight, and her assistant Spike.” The words simply popped into his mind, as though their names had been there the whole time. “Maybe it’s my cutie mark.” he thought “It’s what keeps telling me I need to keep them safe, after all…”

And then he saw the white Pegasus trailing behind them, a heavy-looking picnic basket nestled on his back. And the moment he saw the stallion’s cutie mark, a single thought came unbidden into the forefront of his mind. “What have you done?”

Princess Luna awoke to the sound of somepony knocking on her door. “Luna… I know you’re not used to waking up at the same time as the rest of us… But if you don’t get up, we’re going to miss your friend’s picnic!” Recognizing Colgate’s voice, the memories of the previous night’s events rushed back to the still sleepy Princess of the Night. Sitting bolt upright, she realized her simple mistake.

“I’ve overslept!” her mind screamed at her.

By the time we reached the field near Fluttershy’s home, I had almost begun to regret offering to carry the picnic basket that Twilight had stuffed full of all sorts of snacks and drinks. But as we passed over the final hill before Flutteshy’s Cottage, the sight that met my eyes made it all worthwhile. There they were… Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Melody, and the pony I assumed to be Tartanis… All sitting down, enjoying simple, friendly conversation.

“As well as a few snacks.” I thought to myself with a grin. I noticed Tartanis give me a strange look as we approached, but I didn’t pay it much mind. “Sorry we’re late, everypony!” I shouted “Twilight here insisted we bring as much food as possible!” Twilight looked rather indignant at this remark, but the rest of us couldn’t help but laugh. Once we arrived at the large checkered blanket where the others waited for us, I felt a huge burden lifted off my back… Literally.

I turned back my head to see Twilight’s horn aglow, and the picnic basket floating its way over to the others. Sitting down among them, I realized that this was the first time in this entire ordeal that Tartanis, Melody and I were all in the same place. It felt calming… Knowing that my friends were safe. But also, I felt as though something was missing…

“Hey Twilight?” I asked “Shouldn’t Princess Luna have arrived by now?”

She had barely even opened her mouth to answer when I saw her on the horizon… Princess Luna, her starry blue mane flowing in the wind as she crossed over the hill that Twilight and I had traversed only a few minutes prior. Behind her stood the two ponies I had met the night before… Captain Alexander, as well as the blue-maned Unicorn named Colgate. We had never been formally introduced, but… I got the strange impression that she already knew who I was. “Oh my!” I heard Fluttershy softly exclaim “I had no idea Princess Luna would come to visit today… Oh no, what should we do…” However, before she could continue with her worrying, Twilight interrupted her friend’s panic.

“It’s alright, Fluttershy. Silver invited the Princess to the picnic just last night, and she was kind enough to accept.” I noticed Tartanis raise an eyebrow at this explanation, but he said nothing. “I can’t wait to meet the Princess!” Melody said, interrupting my thoughts. “I’ve always wondered what it would be like to meet royalty…” She concluded.

“That’s strange.” I thought to myself “I thought Melody had amnesia too… Maybe she can remember bits and pieces at times, just like I did with that song… But why would that be…?”

As the twelve of them settled down and began to have lunch, Luna realized that this was the “magic of friendship” that Tia had always told her about. They all sat and shared, talking about their own individual lives and the recent events contained therein. Rarity spoke of her work at the Boutique, while Applejack told of her pride in her younger sister’s continued success in school. Fluttershy would begin to talk about the animals she cared for at her cottage, only to be interrupted by Rainbow Dash by how one such animal reminded her of one of the exotic creatures in the newest Daring Doo book. It was simple conversation interspersed with one pony or another commenting on the impeccable quality of their food. It was a beautiful thing indeed… But deep down, Luna felt as though she didn’t belong. She felt as though she simply wasn’t entitled to partake in such happy conversation… Not after the atrocities she had committed as Nightmare Moon.

After a short while, Silver took notice of this, and asked her a single, simple question, his voice laced with unveiled concern. “Luna, are you all right?” This simple show of concern shook her out of the dark trap her mind had been laying for her heart to stumble into. Silver’s question, innocent as it was, stirred up an ocean of emotions within her; her frustration at her inability to fit in, her regret for falling into such an emotional trap, her worry that she might commit a social faux pas… But all these feelings were replaced in a nanosecond with yet another emotional revelation: “He cares…” She thought to herself.

“Luna…?” Silver repeated, bringing the azure Alicorn back to earth after her soaring flight through the heart’s wide spectrum of emotions.

“Yes, Silver?” Was all she could think to utter.

“I was just worried about you.” He replied so sweetly, so filled with innocence “You looked like you were sad about something, so I just wanted to check in.”

“It’s nothing, Silver. Thank you for your concern, however.” She answered, feeling the beginnings of a smile crossing her face; an almost unknown feeling after all she experienced over the millennia. As soon as she answered, she saw a smile cross Silver’s face as well.

“It’s nothing, Luna. After all, what sort of friend would I be if I didn’t check in with you every now and again?”

“He’s right…” Luna thought to herself “I’m not alone anymore… Silver and Colgate… I have friends too now. Maybe… Maybe everything’ll be okay.” This happy thought echoing through her mind only served to heighten Luna’s shock at the scene that was about to unfold before her.

“So, any idea what your cutie mark means, Melody?” I heard Pinkie Pie ask. I had only just finished trying to comfort Luna, when I heard this strange question echo through my ears. Then again… Maybe it wasn’t such a strange question after all. I certainly hadn’t figured out the meaning behind my cutie mark. So why did it seem so surprising that Melody might not know hers? The silence that filled the air after the question certainly attested to that fact. I almost thought that Rainbow Dash would be forced to rescind her statement, when Tartanis spoke up with yet another question.

“I’m guessing that you have two talents, don’t you Melody? Painting and singing, right?” At first, Melody seemed perplexed by this assumption, but I could tell that as she thought about it, that Tartanis’s guess was right on the money. “I suppose it is.” She said “I didn’t really think about it that way at first, but it makes sense. And I felt so happy when I was singing this morning… I just wish I had been a bit quieter. Then you might have gotten to sleep in!” She said with a happy giggle.

“I love listening to singers!” Colgate chimed in. “Do you think you could… Maybe sing a song for us?” She asked, just a hint of hopefulness in her voice. At first, Melody didn’t seem too keen on the idea, and Twilight looked as though she was about to intervene and change the subject, when Fluttershy spoke up.

“It’s fine, Melody… I’m sure you’ll do great. Singing is your special talent, after all!” This seemed to give Melody the confidence she needed, causing her to stand up, then walk a short ways out into the field. A gentle breeze blew past our ears, and as she opened her mouth to sing, I heard a heavenly voice sing a familiar song through the warm summer air.

“I had a dream that I could fly;
I can feel each moment as time goes by.
We’d never be too far away;
You would always be here, I heard you say.”

The moment I heard the song, my mind took me back to that moonlit field that I had visited only the night before. How I had sung this very same song there… And how Luna had known it too. I remembered back to the moment she had asked me about its origins… Suddenly, I felt an overwhelming sensation of sadness as the song continued. This was more than just a song; this was a powerful memory, held within the notes and melodies of a long-forgotten dream…

“I never thought…
Thought that it would be our last goodbye.
I still can dream…
That one day love will fall out from the sky.”

At that moment, I felt a powerful surge of emotions within me. As one, both me and Tartanis stood, and began to sing right alongside Melody. Although we sang two different parts of the same song, we knew… It held powerful memories for us all. Tartanis and I sang as one, all three of us spellbound by the hauntingly beautiful song that echoed synonymously through our hearts and minds.

“Do you still rememeber…
All the time that has gone by?”

“Do you believe?”

“Do you still believe that…
Love can fall out from the sky?
If from where you’re standing…
You can see the sky above…
I’ll be waiting for you;
If you still believe in love.”

“Do you still believe?
Find a way…
To bring back yesterday.
Find a way…
Beloved.
A hopeless day…
When tomorrow becomes today.
Love will find a way…”

Suddenly, all three of us began to sing out at once, pouring every ounce of our hearts into this one song. This was it; this was the moment that our hearts had been waiting for… A chance to remind us of who we were… Of whom we used to be.

“I’ll be waiting for you;
In my heart you are the one.
If I cannot find you,
I will look up to the sun…
If from where you’re standing,
You can see the sky above…
I’ll be waiting for you…
If you still believe in love.”

As one, we dropped to the ground, our hearts and minds at war with one another as the chains imprisoning our memories slowly faded away. As the world around me faded to black, I heard Faust’s voice echo in my mind. “A simple song, yet it holds such powerful emotions… Sleep, little one. Your journey has finally begun in earnest."

Author's Note

Well... That just happened. For those of you who might be curious, yes, the song that takes center stage in this chapter, "If You Still Believe", is indeed a real song. Here's a link to the actual song:

Here's hoping I actually did it justice through my writing, as it has been a very a important and influential song in my life, hence its appearance in this story. As for the next chapter... Well, let's just say that major events will be set into motion. Until then, it would be greatly appreciated if you could like or even favorite this story, and as always, your comments are greatly appreciated. See you all in the next chapter!

Chapter Ten: Separate Ways

Chapter Ten: Separate Ways

When I awoke, I was met immediately by a strange sight indeed: A young woman with flowing auburn hair, standing atop a large stone wall, looking off into the horizon. It was a beautiful sight, her just standing there watching the sunset, her silky white dress flowing in the winds. As I took a moment to examine my surroundings, I soon realized we were both standing atop the outer wall of a large stone castle, one that appeared to be surrounded by a bustling town, with a large forest surrounding the town itself on almost every side, barring the paved stone path I could faintly see snaking through the woods, and off into the distance.

During my observations, I began to feel strange… As if something was horribly amiss. Looking down at myself, I realized that I had taken on a strange new form…Not only was I standing on two legs, but my forehooves appeared to have been replaced with strange, five-fingered paws. The strangest part of it all…Was how natural it felt to be wearing this form. At first I was confused, but as I began to search my memories… It all made sense. No longer were my thoughts clouded by the hazy fog that had obscured my memories of the past.

Upon reaching my memories of the past I began to wish the fog was still there.My heart was suddenly flooded with all my memories of the past; all the sorrow, frustration, and overwhelming feelings of helplessness washed over me all at once. It took every ounce of my willpower just to sink to my knees, instead of merely collapsing from the concentrated wave of overwhelming sorrow that assaulted my heart…But try as I might, there was nothing I could do to stop my tears from flowing.

“Now you understand why you had to forget.” The young woman said. When she turned to face me, I saw a familiar face awaiting me. “You suffered years of overwhelming sorrow and pain. You found yourself lost and alone, unable to trust anyone, unable to find any measure of neither peace nor happiness. But search your memories… Despite all that, did you not eventually find the answers you sought? Did you not find some measure of peace and happiness within that pain? You yourself admitted it was a miracle…That without the Father’s guidance, you would have tumbled into the abyss. And yet, you managed to find your way through the pain.”

“Faust…” I said almost too quiet to hear, finally managing to choke back the tears. “Why did you do this? Why did you give me a second chance…? I failed. I couldn’t protect either one of them. Why…Why didn’t you just let me die?”

“Why indeed? Because I thought you deserved happiness? Because I believe everyone deserves a second chance? No…It was much simpler than that. In your fight for survival, you lost sight of yourself. In your final moments, you held no regrets that you yourself faced death; instead, your only concern was for your two friends. You had come to accept your own death; even welcomed it…

But even as you faced the gates of death, your concern lay only in the fates of your two friends. In finding the path through your pain, you lost sight of your own humanity. You forgot how to feel happy, or sad, or angry; instead, you began to live through the lives of others, a ghost given physical form. The reason I brought you here…Is because you never had a chance to truly live. You never had a chance to experience the good things that life has to offer; only the bad.”

Standing up once more, I asked a question that had been on my mind for too long. “Why did you erase our memories? Wouldn’t it be easier if we could remember who we were?” I knew my thinking was flawed when she began to slowly shake her head in disagreement.

“Who you were no longer matters. Search your heart deeper, search what you know to be true about yourself. You knew exactly what you had become in your past life: a young man with a shattered heart, and little desire to do anything more than simply fade away. Your final act was an opportunity for true healing; you sought out the young woman who broke your heart, in the hopes that if you could just talk to her once more, if you could finally apologize for the mistakes you had made, that she might finally offer you the forgiveness you so desperately craved. It could be considered mere coincidence that your best friend, a young man who had endured circumstances all too similar, had accompanied you; however, you and I both know that true coincidences are much rarer than one might think.

In the end, it was your own wretched past, your own monstrous human father, who proved to be your undoing. You sought to break the familial chain of fathers inflicting pain upon their own sons; in a way, you succeeded in that goal through your own death. But that macabre victory was marred by the death of the two innocents who had been alongside you: Your faithful best friend, and the love that never was. Now tell me Silver… If you held these memories within your mind when you first arrived in Equestria, would you ever be truly able to overcome them? Or would you be too consumed by the past to embrace the future, exactly as you had been in your past life?”

Reflecting upon her words and knowing that they perfectly matched the memories held within my mind, I had no choice but to agree with her. But every answer only brought new questions, and I could already tell that my time with Faust would soon draw to a close. “If you wiped our memories, then why do I keep feeling fragments of them from time to time? And that song…”

“To be honest Silver, that was your decision.” She said with a shrug. This caught my attention.

“My decision?” I asked, my voice filled with incredulity “What do you mean my decision?”

“You found the answers to many important questions during your past life Silver. The true nature of humanity was one of them. You recognized that a person is made up of four fundamental components: The body, the mind, the spirit, and the heart. Every part holds its own separate set of memories; for example, although the mind will remember almost everything, its memory is often cramped and overstuffed, making it sluggish and slow to remember. The heart remembers powerful emotions; the calming warmth of love, or the keen sting of sorrow. The spirit remembers events that happen outside the realm of physicality, events that could best be described as supernatural or otherworldly. You realized that the spirit was typically associated with the various religions of your world, as some of the experiences that they brought could only be described as otherworldly in nature. As for the body, it remembers physical events and memories, such as a particularly pleasant or unpleasant bodily sensation.

When you still lived your first life, you knew that the memories of both your mind and your heart held much pain… But you also knew that the memories of your heart were what made you who you were at your core. Your idea of ‘Heaven’ was simple… A total rebirth, a complete wipe of the memories of your mind… But you wished to retain the memories of your heart, despite the pain they brought you, in the hopes that you could avoid repeating past mistakes in your ‘new life’. That is exactly what I did to both you and your friends… I gave you all a second chance, because of how tragically your lives had been cut short, just as you drew close to reconciliation. As for the song…

You yourself said that ‘A song is worth a thousand words’. That song was an emotional link; all three of you knew it, and the message it carried evoked powerful memories in all three of you. For you and Melody, the song forever reminded the two of you of what could have been… And for you, it also symbolized your vow to wait however long it may take for the two of you to be together. For Tartanis, it reminded him that there will always be an opportunity for a second chance, that no matter how dark the night may seem, that the sun will always rise. It was only a matter of time before the three of you realized the truth of the link, and the memories of your minds returned.”

“The song…‘If You Still Believe’. It was what brought us back together, and now it may be what tears us apart.” This simple statement seemed to greatly pique Faust’s interest.

“Oh? And how might it do that?” She answered, genuinely curious to see how I would respond.

“Once we wake up, we’ll have all our memories back… Melody and Tartanis will remember how I was the one who dragged them into this whole thing… How I was the one that got them killed.” I began to ponder my predicament, when Faust cut in with an unexpected ultimatum.

“Silver, I understand your concern regarding your friends.” She said “But there is much at stake here. I offer you a choice: You can wake up alongside your friends, and all of you will have regained the memories of your past life. As for where events will proceed from there…There are no guarantees. Or, I can wipe the memories of your mind clean once more. You will all remember the events that have taken place since you arrived in Equestria, but once you reach the moment you began to sing the song, you will find nothing but a blank hole in your memories. Your memories of the past will once again be locked inside your hearts. And then… You will all get your second chance. That I promise.”

I sat down on the castle battlements, mulling over the option with which I was presented. “…Faust…?” I asked quietly, my voice filled with thinly veiled worry at the decision I was about to make.

“Yes Silver?”

“…If I choose for us to lose our memories… Can you promise me that Melody will find happiness when this is all over?” Faust looked disconcerted at this. I was mildly surprised when I felt her arm come to rest upon one of my shoulders. Looking over, I saw her wearing a comforting, understanding smile.

“Silver… I understand that this is not an easy decision. But no matter what you choose, I will do everything in my power to help you and your friends. Your journey will be a difficult one no matter what you choose, but I will always walk alongside you, to try and help you find the path that will lead you to salvation. This I promise.”

Inhaling deeply, I stood up once more, and looked off into the horizon, noticing for the first time that the sun had already set, and that the moon had already taken its place in the skies above. I knew that my decision was the right one… That in the end, everything would turn out for the best. Looking back over my shoulder at Faust, I could faintly see the ghostly outline of six feathery wings sprouting from my back, their translucent plumage illuminated by the moonlight falling down from the heavens above.

“I choose…”

From the moment Luna heard Melody begin her song, she knew that something was going horribly wrong. She immediately recognized the song as the same one that Seraph had sung in the castle gardens all those centuries ago…The same song that Silver had been singing in the field only the night before. At first, she was simply confused. After all, how could they all know that same song so well? What was it about that song that linked them all together?

When Tartanis and Silver rose and began to join in the song however, Luna was, quite simply, flabbergasted. She could only sit there, jaw agape, as they sang the song to its conclusion, then fell to the ground in an unconscious stupor. Twilight was the first to react. She quickly got up and rushed over to the three fallen ponies, before looking back to Luna for guidance.

“Princess, what’s going on?!?” She cried, obviously filled with concern for the three fallen ponies. But despite her pleas, Luna could only stand and watch in horror. The first tangible thought that entered her mind brought with it a poignant and chilling mental image: Her beloved Seraph fading away before her very eyes, the night she had killed him. It had seemed so long ago, but now…History seemed as though it might repeat itself.

“I can’t let him die… Not like this.” With that thought, Luna finally regained her wits, and quickly ran over beside her fellow Princess. “They’re still breathing…” Twilight said, having already taken a quick assessment of the situation. “They must have lost consciousness…But why? What happened to them? Maybe they remembered something…?”

Twilight’s diagnosis brought an immediate sense of relief to the Princess of the Night. “Thank goodness…” she thought, looking worriedly over the three young ponies. But her sense of relief was quickly wiped away by a pervasive sense of unease, followed swiftly by a single question, a question echoed in the words of Princess Twilight: “Maybe they remembered something?”

When Tartanis finally opened his eyes once more, his mind was swiftly assaulted by a mighty, unstoppable foe: A splitting headache. “Ugh…What happened?” He said aloud as he sat upright. Looking around, he saw ten very worried faces surrounding him. Even as he began to gather his thoughts, he felt himself wrapped tight in the embrace of another pony.

“Thank goodness you’re awake!” Rarity cried out in joy, before taking heed of some the looks she was receiving from the ponies surrounding them, including one in particular that originated from a certain young, purple dragon. She quickly released her hold on Tartanis, before clearing her throat and attempting to justify her reaction. “Er… After all, if you hadn’t woken up, what would I have told Princess Celestia? She entrusted you to my care, and I refuse to let the Princess down!”

Only a few feet away, Tartanis saw another pony begin to stir. “Melody’s waking up.” he thought absentmindedly as the other ponies shifted their attention over to her. Yet despite this, he couldn’t help but notice the young dragon, Spike, as he continued to look at Rarity, a look of sadness upon his face. Seeing that look on his face, Tartanis couldn’t help but feel a sense of sympathy for the small reptile; almost as if he himself had worn a similar look in the past.

Standing upright once more, Tartanis noticed that something was amiss: Despite both his and Melody’s awakening, Silver was still lying on his side, eyes shut in an unconscious slumber. Looking up, he realized that he wasn’t the only pony who had noticed; both Princesses had turned their attention towards the still-slumbering young stallion. Listening carefully, he heard the tail end of a briefly whispered conversation: “Maybe he’s dreaming…?” Princess Twilight said.

“If he is, then we will soon find out.” Princess Luna said, a grim look upon her face. “I apologize in advance for what I may see, Silver”. The Princess then closed her eyes as if concentrating, and seemed to enter a strange, trance-like state.

As Luna entered Silver’s dreams, she couldn’t help but feel as though she were invading his privacy. Even though it was her duty as Princess of the Night to watch over any troubled dreams her subjects may have, she felt as though she prying too much into their personal lives when she did so. And as for some of the things she saw when she did so… It was always important to bear in mind in dreams that the occupant rarely ever has control over them.

But when she entered Silver’s dream, a strange yet familiar sight awaited her: The young stallion sat atop the long-since obliterated battlements of Everfree Castle… And he wasn’t alone. Standing behind him was an all-too familiar white Alicorn, one who sported a flowing auburn mane. “Mother?” Luna silently mouthed to herself, stunned at her mother’s appearance. “I choose…I choose to forget.” Silver said, looking back over his shoulder at the two of them. If it weren’t for the fact that she chose to remain invisible in this particular dream, Luna was certain he would have seen her. With those simple words, he turned back towards the moonlit horizon…And slid off his perch, falling to the ground below.

“No!” Luna shouted in surprise, rushing forward to try and halt his descent. By the time she reached the ledge, however, it was too late; looking over the battlements, she realized that he was gone.

“Don’t worry, Luna. He simply woke up from his dream.” Turning around, Luna found it hard to look her mother in the eyes. “Mother… It’s been a long time.” She said, a note of sadness in her voice. “Tell me…After my fall from grace… Why did you abandon us? Why did you forsake me and Tia?”

“I’m so sorry, Luna…” Faust said “I wish it had never come to such atrocities…”

“Then why did you let it happen?!?” Luna cried out in anger, tears beginning to stream down her face “Why didn’t you help us…?”

“I’m sorry, Luna… Your punishment is something you brought upon yourself…” It hurt it to tell such a lie to the closest pony she had to a daughter, but at the same time… Faust knew that this particular lie was necessary. “I truly wish that Tia had found a better solution… Or that you hadn’t given into your anger. But I can’t change the past.”

“…You abandoned us. You abandoned me. All those hundreds of years, and you never once showed you face… You never once tried to help me, to comfort me… You left me up there, alone for a thousand years…” Luna’s voice was laced with thorns of malice, of a grudge that had taken a millennium of solitude to take root.

“Luna…” Faust said quietly, pained by her daughter’s damning words.

“NO!” Luna shouted, putting a millennium of sadness, hatred, and loneliness into that one, powerful shout. In the back of her mind, she felt a strange sense of satisfaction as she saw her “mother” cringe. “I hate you! I never want to see you ever again!” With that, Luna turned and walked away along the battlements, leaving her mother standing alone, tears beginning to fall from her cheeks.

“I’m so sorry, Luna” she said sadly, to no one in particular “I just… I’m doing this for your own good…For the good of others.” She sat there for many hours, watching the moon travel across the sky, just as she had every night of her daughter’s exile.

As my eyes fluttered open, I felt myself wrapped in a familiar embrace. At first, I expected it to be Luna who was hugging me, but it appeared that this day had not yet run out of surprises.

“I’m so happy you’re awake!” Melody said, her forelegs wrapping me in a tight embrace. “We were so worried…It’s been almost half an hour since me and Tartanis woke up…”

Looking back over her shoulder, I felt my heart drop as Luna seemingly awaken from some sort of daze. As her eyes focused on me and Melody, I felt something…Snap. I could just barely see tears beginning to faintly form in her eyes, as her mouth began to form a frown of sorrowful acceptance. As Twilight and her two escorts, Alexander and Colgate, approached, she seemed forlorn and dejected.

“I’m sorry, Twilight…I believe there is much I must report to my sister. Alexander, Colgate…It’s time to go home.” Her two companions seemed confused, Colgate in particular, but neither one raised any objections aloud.

It was the longest few seconds in my life. I could only sit and watch in horror as the Princess and her companions began their walk back to Ponyville. I knew I needed to go to her, to explain the situation…But I couldn’t. I noticed too late that my own forelegs had wrapped around Melody, almost subconsciously. Sitting there, holding her tight…I couldn’t bring myself to break away from her embrace. I couldn’t bring myself to leave her. It was bittersweet; I felt all too keenly the sadness that Luna tried so hard to conceal, but at the same time, I found it hard to think straight in Melody’s warm, soothing embrace.

As Luna crested the hill over which she had arrived, I felt a single, lonely tear roll down my cheek.

Tartanis watched as their embrace lasted for several more moments, before Melody finally released her hold, and then helped Silver to his feet. Looking over to Twilight and her friends, he noticed they all seemed to be blushing, with one exception. Unlike his female companions, Spike was not blushing at the scene unfolding before him; instead, he seemed…Jealous? Sad? It was difficult to know for certain. But looking at the seven of them, Tartanis felt a twinge in his flank.

“It’s my duty to protect them. That much is apparent. But from what? And how? I don’t have any combat experience, I don’t even know who might wish them harm…” His thoughts trailed off as a thought occurred to the young stallion. He remembered the tall, muscular Unicorn knight who had accompanied Princess Luna to the picnic. More specifically, he remembered how the stallion had introduced himself to the group.

“Sol Alexander, Captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard, at your service.” He had said.

“The Royal Guard…” Tartanis said to himself quietly, before a thought struck him. “If he’s the Captain, then I could speak to him about enlisting. All of the Princesses have personal guards except Princess Twilight. If I spoke to him directly…”

Even as the thought came to him however, he remembered a very important detail: The fact that Alexander had just departed along with Princess Luna… And that they would very likely be returning to Canterlot very soon. Taking advantage of his companions’ temporary distraction, he quickly and quietly left the area, in swift pursuit of his quarry.

As the picnic came to a close, Rarity was the first to notice Tartanis’s absence. Before anypony panicked, I suggested that perhaps he had merely decided to return to the Boutique early. After all, we had all been through quite the ordeal. I told them that perhaps some rest would do us all some good, and that he was probably already back at the Boutique, snoring up a storm. Spike offered to accompany Rarity back to the Boutique, to which she graciously accepted.

In truth, I wasn’t tired at all. Quite the opposite, in fact. When Twilight and I returned to the Treebrary, she informed me that she needed to write a letter to Princess Celestia, and that I should probably get some rest. Unbeknownst to her, I began to write a letter of my own. My heart felt strangely empty as I wrote; perhaps it was because I knew the significance of what I was about to do. That night, under the cover of darkness, I snuck out of the Treebrary, before taking to the skies and flying into the night. I briefly stopped at a nearby apple orchard to gather supplies for my journey. It wounded me to steal in such a way, but it was a necessary evil. After the events of the picnic, I had much I needed to think about. And I knew that as long as I was near Melody, I would never be able to find the answers I truly needed.

As Twilight awoke the following morning, she was shocked to find the guest bedroom empty. Silver was gone. She searched the entire Treebrary before she found it: A letter, left behind by the wayward Pegasus.

Dear Princess Twilight,

I apologize for leaving without informing you, but… This is something I must do. Through my inaction, I have done something horrible. I see a forked path before me, and I don’t know which route to take. As much as I hate to admit it, I won’t be able to find the answers I seek in Ponyville. I don’t know where I’ll be able to find them. Don’t mistake this as an act of ungraciousness; I owe you much for providing me with food and shelter after my arrival in Ponyville.

I only wish to ask two things of you. First, please don’t follow me. I will return to face the consequences of my actions, or lack thereof, but not until I have a chance to clear my head; to decide where I need to go from here. Second… Tell Melody I’m sorry. For everything. I can only hope that once I return, she can find it in her heart to forgive me. Until then…Farewell. Your Faithful Friend,
Silver Dawn

Chapter Eleven: Awakening

Chapter Eleven: Awakening

Dear Silver,

I don’t know if you’ll ever receive this letter. Even if you do, I have no idea whether or not you will read it. Either way, I feel like you should at least have some idea of how we’ve been doing. It has been a month since the three of us parted ways, after all. Now then, where to begin… I suppose I’ll start with when I left the picnic.

I didn’t mean to alarm anyone by leaving, but I didn’t have much time to work with. I realized something that day, that it’s my destiny…My duty to defend the Elements of Harmony, and by extension, their wielders. However, how could I defend them in a time of crisis? I didn’t have any combat experience; I didn’t even have a sword. So, I made a decision: I needed to join the Royal Guard. But to do that, I would need to speak with Captain Sol, who was on his way out of the town at the time.

I just barely found the Princess’s entourage before they left. I explained to Captain Sol how I felt, how I needed to join the Royal Guard. He seemed a bit skeptical at first, but then the Princess intervened, saying that if I felt so strongly about something, that I should be allowed to pursue it. That managed to convince the Captain, and they decided to delay their departure for one night, so that I could say my goodbyes.

I just barely managed to get back to the Carousel Boutique before Rarity did. I suppose I should thank you for trying to calm her nerves, but it didn’t exactly last long. Once I told her my intentions, she was shocked. She insisted that I reconsider, but my mind was made up, and she made no more efforts to try and stop me. That didn’t make it hurt any less when I saw her face filled with worry when I left early the next morning.

Colgate and I were on the train to Canterlot when I received Twilight’s letter about your disappearance. Princess Luna and Captain Sol had taken the royal Pegasus carriage back to the castle, as they both had matters to discuss in private with Princess Celestia, leaving just me and Colgate to read the letter. Twilight said that you had left during the middle of the night, and were urging us all not to follow you. Although Twilight had wanted to immediately give pursuit, she had the prudence to ask Princess Celestia for guidance on the matter first. For whatever reason, the Princess decided that it would be for the best if you searched for answers on your own. She mentioned something about how you were “Soul searching”.

At first, I thought that we should show the letter to Princess Luna as soon as we arrived at Canterlot, but Colgate insisted otherwise. She pointed out that Luna would likely not only ignore her sister’s decision, but that the knowledge that Celestia made such a decision could serve to drive the two even further apart. As much as I hated the thought of hiding something that important from one of the Princesses, Colgate was right; things wouldn’t be so simple anymore in this brand new world of politics and intrigue. Colgate and I only talked a little during the train ride, but I can already tell that there’s much more to her than meets the eye. She was very evasive of all my questions about her past, only willing to divulge bits and pieces of the truth, such as how she used to be a dentist living in Ponyville before coming into the employ of Princess Celestia. When I asked about what part of the Royal Guard she served in, she just laughed; she told me that she wasn’t a member of the Royal Guard, and that she was more of a “Freelancer”, doing odd jobs that Celestia apparently trusted only her to accomplish.

When we arrived at Canterlot Station, she led me on a brief tour through the city before leading me to the castle. Once we entered the gates, (the guards all recognized her immediately; she must have been important to receive such a reaction) I was led to the Throne Room, where I caught my first glimpse of Princess Celestia, the Princess of the Sun, in all her glory.

She was not sitting in her throne as I expected her to be, but appeared to be pacing around the room, deep in a private conversation with Captain Sol, who had arrived around an hour earlier. Colgate however, exercising both her penchant for disrupting the chain of command, as well as a blatant disregard of the consequences of such an action, simply walked up to the two and promptly asked a simple question, one that stopped the Princess dead in her tracks. “Where’s Luna?” she asked, ignoring the Captain’s shocked look at the fact that she had not only disrupted a private meeting between him and the Princess, but that she done so in such a casual manner, as if it was an everyday occurrence for her.

When the Princess, flustered for the first and only time that I have seen, regained her train of thoughts, she politely asked Captain Sol to escort me to the barracks and introduce me to the other trainees, while she had a more private conversation with Colgate. She did not look pleased at the prospect of the second part. Regardless, the Captain led me out of the Throne Room to the barracks, muttering the whole way about how Colgate was some sort of “madmare”.

Before I entered the barracks, the Captain pulled me aside with a grim look on his face. He asked me that I avoid mentioning my true intentions for joining the Royal Guard; he didn’t want anypony to think that I was receiving special treatment just because I knew Princess Luna. Upon entering the barracks, my first thought was “Chaos”.

Everypony sees the Royal Guard as the stalwart, unflinching knights who guard both Equestria and the Princesses from danger. However, they haven’t seen what they act like when they aren’t on duty. When part of your job is to stand almost perfectly still for the majority of the day, or to walk along the same castle walls over and over each day, it’s understandable that you would want to blow off some steam. Many of the off-duty guards were playing a variety of different gambling-based games, while many others simply spent their break chatting or wrestling with friends. Somehow, a small hooffull of ponies of in the corner even managed to get some extra sleep through the pervasive ruckus of the room. I realize that this might not give you the best impression of the Royal Guard, but considering how tough our everyday job is, believe me when I say that our time off-duty is well earned. Anyways, as soon as Alexander stepped through the doorway, it became readily apparent exactly how disciplined the other members of the Royal Guard were; they almost all immediately snapped to attention, and those who didn’t did so only because they were busy waking up those who had tried to get in a quick nap. It was a bit demoralizing to see, to be honest. How did I honestly expect to reach that level of discipline, let alone become Princess Twilight’s personal guard? These thoughts only lasted for a moment however; I had come too far to back out now.

“At ease, everypony. You’re all on break, after all.” Captain Sol said to the others with a friendly smile. “I’d like to introduce the newest member of the Royal Guard; his name is Tartanis, and he had enough guts to not only approach me while I was on a mission in Ponyville, but to ask me personally if he could join us here at the castle.” Everypony got a good chuckle out of this, but the Captain’s face then turned deadly serious. “But, we have a little problem. Even though Tartanis is here, that doesn’t mean he’s ‘in’ just yet.”

Needless to say, this had me more than a little bit worried. My first instinct was to act the Captain exactly what he meant by that, but I could see something in his eyes, a brief twinkle that told me he already had something planned. Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but gulp at the thought of what sort of initiation the Captain had in mind. I didn’t have to wait long.

“Tartanis here has a goal: He wants to become one of the Princesses personal guards!” Captain Sol said, much to the amusement of the other guards. “So, why don’t we see just how well he stands up in a fight? If he wants to guard the Princesses after all, he shouldn’t have any problem beating me in a sparring match!” The moment he said that, I felt my heart drop. How in Equestria was I supposed to beat Captain Sol, after all? I didn’t even know how to fight! But as the Captain turned to lead everypony out to the training grounds however, I noticed him give me a little wink. The captain had a plan, though not one I would have thought of.

The training area for the guards was located just outside the barracks, and took up a rather sizable corner of the Grand Courtyard that filled the entryway to the castle. The area was filled with weapon racks holding a wide variety of wooden sparring weapons, from spears, to swords, to axes. There even appeared to be several racks devoted to more exotic weapons that I couldn’t hope to identify. Still, it was comforting to know that the Royal Guard encouraged its soldiers to seek out weapons that helped individualize them somewhat. I imagined it would be more than a bit demoralizing to just be considered rank-and-file troops that look like cookie-cutter generic soldiers.

The Captain led us all to a rather sizable circular clearing in the center of area, which had obviously been set aside for the sake of real sparring, with actual opponents. The Captain went to one end of the clearing, and then directed me to the other, towards a set of weapon racks filled with wooden training weapons. I watched as the Captain’s horn lit up, lifting a large and heavy looking wooden halberd from the racks on his end of the arena. Although the tip and blade of the halberd were rounded instead of edged for the sake of training, it was obvious that this weapon was designed specifically to be Captain Sol’s personal training weapon. I almost didn’t want to see the real thing.

Examining the weapons on my side of the arena, I realized that I had no idea how to use any of them. I decided to try and keep things simple, and felt my horn tingle a bit as I lifted a long, slender wooden blade. It lacked the reach of the Captain’s halberd, meaning I would need to try and stay somewhat close to him to ensure he couldn’t take advantage of that fact. I was also once again thankful of the fact that we were both Unicorns; holding a weapon in your hooves limits your reach, and also removes the advantage of being able to dodge attacks independently of your weapon.

The other guards gathered around the clearing as Captain Sol and I began to circle the arena, looking for an opening. They cheered as the Captain suddenly dashed forward, making a heavy swing with his halberd. I was just barely able to block the swing in time, and even then, I could feel the strain on my horn as I struggled to maintain the magical grip on my sword. Just as I began to recover, however, he was on me again, this time swinging the axe-head of the halberd down vertically in a powerful chopping motion. I quickly sidestepped the blow, before retaliating with a quick swing of my sword.

Much to my dismay however, Captain Sol had seen the swing coming from a mile away, and sidestepped before the blade got anywhere near him. The battle continued like that for some time, with me just barely evading the Captain’s attacks, while he easily sidestepped my own. I could tell he was toying with me. Suddenly, he leaped backwards, a clean disengagement from the battle. “Come on, Tartanis!” He shouted “Is that it? How do expect to protect the Princesses like that?” To be honest, I was amazed that I had been doing as well as I had. Every time our blades clashed, I felt my cutie mark tingle. I could tell that somehow, it was giving me just enough of an edge to keep going. “Tell you what, Tartanis. If you can hit me even once before I can hit you, I’ll have a chat with Princess Celestia. Maybe, just maybe, she’ll let you become one of Luna’s personal guards. But you might as well give up on becoming Princess Twilight’s guard. You’re not good enough.”

There it was. He knew exactly which buttons to push to make me angry. I could see him smile a bit as I got ready to charge him. “Come on, Tartanis. Hit me!”

I knew he was baiting me. I knew that he was expecting me to charge him in exactly the way I did. But I didn’t care. I narrowly dodged his first two jabs with the halberd, and could only watch as he brought it back into the perfect position to block my attack. I knew he would be fast enough to hit me with a counter immediately after my blade bounced off the haft of his polearm. But that didn’t matter to me. I was not weak. I would not fail in my duty. I would protect not only Princess Twilight, but all of the Elements of Harmony, until my dying breath.

I could see his eyes widen in shock as my horn began to glow brighter, and my sword began to glow with a crimson aura of magic. He began to move out of the path of the blow, but it was too late. My blade tore straight through his block, splintering the wooden halberd’s haft in a single, clean stroke. He managed to avoid a direct hit, but I could still the stark red of where my blade grazed against his marble-white coat. The other guards’ shouts of encouragement for the Captain died away as they saw the first few droplets of his blood hit the ground. The silence was deafening.

As I realized what I had just done, I could feel the blood drain from my body. I had just attacked and injured the Captain of the Royal Guard. I stood there frozen when I heard Captain Sol’s voice again.

“Tartanis”… He said, anger filling his voice. “That was my only training halberd.”

“I-I’m sorry, Captain.” I heard myself say, but I felt disconnected from the whole thing, as if I wasn’t really there. I felt only surprise when his expression suddenly changed, and he began to laugh heartily.

“Remind me to wear armor the next time we spar.” He said jokingly. “I’m a stallion of my word, Tartanis. You hit me first, and you hit hard. I’ll speak to Princess Celestia about this later. You have determination, I’ll give you that much.”

As Captain Sol turned to face them, I noticed for the first time that an even bigger crowd had gathered to watch the battle than when we began. I even noticed some of the guards patrolling the walls had stopped to look down in wonder.

“Everypony who was off-duty, head back to the barracks. You too, Tartanis. You fought well.”

The crowd slowly began to disperse, but I decided to stay behind and speak to the Captain. “Captain Sol, are you alright?” I asked him. He just turned and smiled at me in response.

“Tartanis,” he said “That was the best fight I’ve had in a while. You still need to work on your skill with the blade, but you’re already very fast. Also, that attack at the end… I don’t know how you channeled your magic through your sword like that, but it was incredible.” He turned his head a bit and motioned to his side where I had hit him. “That will be one scar that I’ll remember for a long time. You have a lot of potential.”

“Did you mean what you said?” I asked him “About recommending me to Princess Celestia?”

“To be honest Tartanis,” he said “I was going to do that anyway. You showed a lot of promise even during the beginning of the battle. But now that the others have seen that little show you put on, it would be a crime for me to not give you a recommendation.” “Thank you, Sir.” I said

“Tartanis, you don’t need to refer to me as ‘sir’” he said “I get the feeling that you and I are going to begin working closely together very soon, so you might as well start calling me Sol. After all, I doubt that you’ll remain a private for long after this anyways.” With that said, he walked back to the castle, leaving me to ponder what to do next. I practiced fighting some of the training dummies for a while, but it just wasn’t the same as a real fight. After a while, I went back to the barracks, where I was promptly met by cheers. Apparently, I was the first pony to so much as touch Captain Sol in a sparring match since he had become the Captain of the Guard.

As the others gradually went off to attend to their various duties, I realized that I still had yet to receive any duties myself. I only had to wait a while longer however, before somepony new entered the tent, a royal courier, carrying a letter from Captain Sol himself. It said that starting the next morning, I was to begin one-on-one training under his instruction by order of Princess Celestia. Apparently, she had decided that not only did I have the potential to possibly become Princess Twilight’s first and only personal guard, but that because I already knew both her and her friends, that I would be almost perfectly suited for the job.

The next morning, Captain Sol himself came to the barracks with a gift for me: A set of beautifully crafted steel armor for me to wear both while training, and while on duty around the castle. Starting that morning and every morning since, I’ve been training hard every day with Captain Sol, as well as being assigned to patrol the outer walls for several hours every day. It’s been taxing work, but… It’s about to pay off.

Last night, I received a letter from Princess Celestia herself telling me that tomorrow will be my final test. Princess Twilight will travel to Canterlot Castle to oversee the trial, as well as spending the majority of the day getting to know the way I think and act, as well as simply becoming accustomed to my company. And then, if both she and Princess Celestia approve, then I shall become Princess Twilight’s personal bodyguard. Of course, I will also be tasked with protecting all of the Elements of Harmony to the best of my ability, but officially I am supposed to guard only Princess Twilight.

To say that I’m nervous about this trial would be a massive understatement. I have no idea what I’m in for, and my success or failure here will determine the rest of my future in the Royal Guard. I can only hope that I will succeed. This one day will determine whether or not this past of hard work and training will have been worth it. I know that not only have I become a better fighter since my arrival, but also much more disciplined, and to be honest…An all-around better pony. I’ve had a lot of time to think about things, and I think I’ve come to terms with my new role here in Equestria. I want to help keep those I care about safe. And the one pony I care about the most… I think I’m finally ready and able to truly keep her safe in a time of crisis.

Silver… I won’t pretend to know why you left. But I think I can understand why you said you needed time to think. I may not remember anything from before I woke up in Ponyville, but I know this: Equestria is where I’m meant to be. Whatever destiny I had before then doesn’t matter anymore. Here, I can make a difference; I can protect everypony that’s important to me. And I feel like that’s something I was sorely lacking before.

Tomorrow, I’m going to ask Princess Celestia if she can send you this letter via magic. I know she regularly exchanges letters with Princess Twilight through the same method, and I’m hoping that she would be able to get this letter to you. Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, I want you to know that you don’t have to face it alone. When you come back, we can sort through it together. After all… What are friends for?
Your distant friend,
Tartanis

Letting out a sigh of relief, Tartanis set down his quill, and gathered together the parchments comprising his completed letter to Silver. It was a bit longer than he initially expected, but there was just so much to tell Silver about. He felt a bit sad though, that even after a month’s time, nopony had heard so much as a peep about Silver’s whereabouts. They only got to spend a bit of time talking with each other at the picnic, but he could tell even in that short time that they would become good friends, if they weren’t already. Tartanis’s thoughts were disrupted by the sound of knocking at the door.

Shortly after his private lessons with Captain Sol began, Tartanis was offered his own room in the castle, which he graciously accepted. He still spent much of his free time with the other guards in the barracks, but it did feel nice to have some measure of privacy at times. Still, it was surprising to receive a visitor; even though almost everypony in the Royal Guard knew where his room was in case of emergencies, it was rare that he received visitors. The only pony that dropped by with any regularity was… “Are you gonna let me in, or what?” Colgate said with a hint of annoyance in her voice. Colgate dropped by once or twice a week, usually when she was in the mood to talk to him about something, ask him questions about how his training was going, or if he had heard from Silver yet. However, today was apparently a special occasion. Colgate was not alone as Tartanis opened the door to welcome her in, and she quickly rushed both her and her “guest” inside the moment the door was opened. “What the… What’s going on?” Tartanis asked with surprise. Colgate didn’t respond however, as she quickly looked around the room warily, closed and bolted the door, then cast some sort of spell over the room.

“There… Now we won’t have to worry about anypony listening in.” She said, before taking a seat on Tartanis’s bed. “Sorry about that Tartanis, but these are unique circumstances. After all, we’re currently playing host to an enemy of the state.” If there was anything that Tartanis had expected her to say, that was the exact opposite of it. He turned to face his new “guest”, and quickly looked her over.

Considering she was supposedly an” enemy of the state”, the young mare in question looked more nervous and scared than anything else. She was a Unicorn like him, but with a sort of bluish-green coat that was sharply accented by her bright blonde mane. And her horn… Tartanis had never seen anything like it. The upper half of her horn looked as though it had been snapped off, and was covered in ragged edges. Whatever had happened, it was not a clean break, and was likely extremely painful at the time. Every few seconds, a few magical sparks would pop out of its “tip”, though they seemed mostly harmless. Her cutie mark was also very strange… It was unlike any that Tartanis had ever seen, and looked like some sort of chitinous, insect-like trident head with translucent green insect wings extending from either side.

“Colgate, what do you mean ‘enemy of the state’?” Tartanis asked. This young mare didn’t seem dangerous at all, let alone a traitor.

“Tartanis, I’d like to introduce you to Ace Maverick. She’s an old friend of mine. She used to be part of a theatre troop operating out of the Grand Ovation Theater in Ponyville, where I first ran into her. We’ve kept crossing paths since then, until recently. That’s where things get complicated. A few months ago, Ace was adopted into the Changeling Hive, the first pony to ever be accepted in such a way. And now, she has some very important news, something important enough to share that she was willing to come here and risk her standing in the Hive. She is putting her herself, her friends… Her entire ‘family’ at risk by coming here.”

“Colgate, you really don’t need to remind me of all that stuff…” Ace said, seeming to grow more nervous. A few more sparks began to sprinkle from her horn stub. “I just couldn’t stand by and let Mom do something like this. I know she has good intentions for us, but…You ponies deserve to know.”

“What’s she talking about?” Tartanis said, beginning to grow worried. What sort of news was this Ace pony carrying, and why did Colgate decide to bring her to him?

“Go ahead, Ace. Tell him what you told me.” Colgate said. Ace let out a deep sigh, released a few more sparks, and then seemed to brace herself against some internal conflict.

“A few weeks ago, Mom sent out a group of spies all over Equestria looking for information on something, some old rival of hers. When they returned with the information she wanted, she left, went somewhere to the North on her own. When she came back a few days later… She wasn’t alone. She brought some big scary pony with her, a pitch black unicorn with a red horn. She never introduced him, but she did tell us one thing: He was going to help us with something. He was going to help us attack Canterlot.”

“What?!?” Tartanis said in shock “But you guys refused, right?” Ace simply shook her head.

“The Hive doesn’t work like that. Mom’s the Queen. If she gives an order, we have to follow through, no matter what the order is. She has some trusted advisors, but even they were shocked by this announcement. We all were. Right now, the Hive’s getting ready for battle. I don’t know when the attack will be, but it’s going to be big.”

“So why did you come to us?” Tartanis asked “If you’re part of the Hive, why tell us about the attack?” Ace’s face seemed to scrunch up at this, and several more sparks flew from her horn to the floor.

“Because this is wrong. The Hive has been doing okay for a while. I heard that things were tough after the whole Canterlot Incident, but things were getting better. And now all of a sudden Mom wants to attack Canterlot again? I know that she wants to give us… Or the others, at least, more food, but this is different. This is going to be a full-scale war, no holds barred. I just… I don’t want to see any of my friends get hurt, pony or changeling. And Buggy… I don’t know what I’d do if I lost Buggy.” Ace’s eyes began to fill with tears at this point. Whoever this “Buggy” was, they were obviously very important to her.

Suddenly, several sparks erupted from Ace’s horn, and a small raincloud formed over her head as she began to dry her tears. “Colgate told me that if I ever needed help, to find her. After Mom took me in, I didn’t think I’d need her help, but now…”

“What about the princesses, Ace? Do you know anything about the attack involving them?” Tartanis asked, voice filling with worry.

“I don’t know,” Ace said with a slight sniffle “Mom never mentioned the Princesses. But that shoadowy pony… I overheard him and mom discussing something about Princess Luna. I didn’t hear them say what they planned, but I know I heard them say that name.”

“Colgate, is this what you wanted me here for? To have me warn the Princesses about the attack?” Tartanis asked, turning to face Colgate once more.

“No, Tartanis. Quite the opposite, in fact.” Colgate answered.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that we can’t tell Celestia about this. Or Luna, for that matter. Nopony outside this room can be allowed to know what you just heard. One way or another, this attack is going to happen. If you tell the Princesses now, they’ll prepare the Royal Guard for war, and the changeling spies in the city will relay that knowledge back to Queen Chrysalis. She’s too far in to call off the attack, but she will try and find out who tipped us off, leading her to Ace here. If that happens, Ace and her other friends inside the Hive, especially her ‘coltfriend’ Repliety, or "Buggy" as she calls him, will be in great danger. I doubt Chrysalis will harm them, but there will be severe consequences. Ace might be disowned by the Hive, or worse.

The reason I brought Ace to you, Tartanis, is because of your unique position. Tomorrow you will be tested to become an elite bodyguard for one of the Princesses. You have already chosen to become Twilight’s guard, but if you made the request, I am almost certain you could become Celestia or Luna’s guard, allowing you to be here when the attack does come, and keep the Princesses safe. After Chrysalis’s last attack on Canterlot, she wouldn’t try again without some sort of trump card, meaning that the Princesses will be in more danger than ever. What I need you to do tomorrow is to place a request to become one of Luna’s personal guards. That way, you and I can make preparations of our own before the attack.”

For many long moments, Tartanis was silent. This was the true test of his abilities, of his sense of duty. He was faced with two very difficult choices, between his duty to the crown, and his duty to the Elements. If this attack was going to happen, the Elements of Harmony could be in even more danger than the Princesses, meaning that Rarity would be at risk. If he was with Luna and Colgate at the castle, he could feasibly safe many lives, but would they be the lives that mattered most to him? “I’m sorry, Colgate… But I need time to think.” Tartanis said. He turned to Ace once more, whose raincloud had dissipated as she regained some semblance of her composure. “Thank you, Ace. I know you put yourself and others at risk by doing this, but now we have a chance to try and save others with this knowledge. Thank you.” Ace smiled somewhat at this, though she still seemed uneasy.

“Thank you, knighty-person.” She said “I just want to keep everybuggy and everypony safe, that’s all. Anyways, I should go. If I don’t get back to the Hive soon, they might start to get suspicious. Colgate, can you help me get back out of the castle all sneaky-like?”

“Of course, Ace” Colgate replied. “Well Tartanis, don’t think about it too long. Either way, the choice is yours. If you decide not to stay here in Canterlot, then so be it. I’ll try and make what preparations I can on the down-low. Anyways, I’ll see you tomorrow. Good luck with your big test.”

“Thanks, Colgate.” Tartanis said unconvincingly. He went over to his bed and promptly plopped down upon it with a thud. Things just got a lot more complicated.

As the two young mares made their way out of the castle, they were blissfully unaware of the pair of eyes that followed their movements. Repliety didn’t feel right spying on Ace like this, but it was for her own good. He was hoping she wouldn’t get mixed up in all this, but that was not to be. Now, he would have to take action to ensure her safety… Safety from both sides of the looming conflict.

Celestia was just preparing to go to sleep that same night when she heard a knocking at her door. Upon opening it, she found an unexpected visitor: Her visitor from several weeks past, the young Unicorn Thesis.

“Sorry to bother you, Princess, but I had a few more questions regarding my paper on the fall of the Crystal Empire. Do you mind if I come in?” Thesis asked.

Celestia was no fool. She knew that something here was amiss, but it would require further investigation. “Certainly, my little pony.” She said, putting on a false mask of happiness “Please, come in.” After Thesis entered, she turned to close the door to chambers, only to find yet another surprise awaiting her when she turned back.

“Good evening, Princess.” Repliety said, stooping low in a respectful bow, once more in his natural form. “Please don’t be alarmed. I mean you no harm.”

“Well, that explains a lot.” The Princess said “And what, pray tell, is the reason that you would intend anything other than harm upon me?”

“We Changelings aren’t as one-dimensional as you believe, Princess.” Repliety said, returning to a standing position “You should know that better than anypony, considering how many horrible mistakes you’ve made in the past based on that same assumption.”

“Venomed words it is, then.” The Princess said, her gaze narrowing. She disliked this changeling already. She recognized his armor, and its emblem alone told her much about this particular changeling, and the threat he posed. “All right then, bug, tell me what exactly you’re here for. After all, the Queen would never send her Alpha Drone anywhere without good reason.”

“That’s exactly the problem, Princess.” Repliety said, his tone neutral and unchanging. “The Queen has no idea I’m here, otherwise she would have me executed on the spot for what I’m about to tell you.” Now this piqued the Princess’s interest. “What do you mean?” She asked, curious.

“I’m here to inform you of an alliance, between the Changeling Hive and the Unicorn Pony known as Sombra. I assume you know of him?”

Celestia couldn’t help but shudder at the name. “Yes, I know of him. But why? They both have a grudge against King Shining Armor and Queen Cadence, so I assume that the Crystal Empire is their target?”

“No, Princess.” Repliety said with a shake of his carapaced head. “You are their target. As the Queen explained it to me, you are the overarching symbol of harmony throughout Equestria. They intend to kill you, destroying Equestria’s greatest symbol of peace and harmony, and destroying the power of The Elements at their source.”

Celestia was shocked, not by the outlandishness of the plan, but by how easily it could work. She always assumed she would be safe within the castle alongside her sister, but upon actually thinking about it in depth, it would be far too easy for an assassin to execute her while her guard was down in and around the castle. “Fine, say that I believe you. Why would you tell this to me? Why betray your Queen?”

“Because, Princess, I have too much to lose by not doing so. Several months ago, a pony from Ponyville by the name of Ace Maverick came to the Changeling Hive. To spare you a very long story, the two of us fell in love, and after many ordeals, misadventure, and as Ace describes them, “Feels”, Ace was welcomed into the Hive as the first pony to ever be adopted into the Hive. Unfortunately, she just entered, and exited the castle a short while ago in order to tell one of your knights about my Queen’s plans. When your knight inevitably tells you of her plan, you will ready the Royal Guard, and alert the Queen to the leak in our security. I will be dispatched to track down the leak, and eventually trace it back to Ace. At that point I will likely be forced to report my findings to the Queen, albeit with a plea that she be merciful considering both the circumstances and the member of the Hive in question. Considering the mindset the Queen is currently in, I doubt my plea would garner much success.

But by telling you about the attempt on your life myself, I have set myself up as the perfect scapegoat. After this you will likely ready the Guard, and when my Queen begins an inquiry, I will step forward as the informant. I will likely be executed for treason against the Hive, but Ace will be safe. And that is what matters the most to me.”

Celestia took a few moments to digest this information. She saw Repliety turn to leave, his “mission” apparently complete, when he was stopped by a word from the Princess. “There is one thing you failed to account for in your plan, changeling.” Repliety stopped and turned back to face her. “And what might that be?”

“The fact that I’m not going to ready the guard for the Hive’s attack.” The Princess replied.

“What?” Repliety asked, his genuine surprise still seeming somewhat monotone compared to that of a pony. Apparently, he had not taken into account this particular monarch’s sense of self-sacrifice.

“Your story showed me a fact that I had, up until now, been unaware of: The fact that changelings do, in fact, have some measure of selflessness in their hearts. Not only that, but this ‘Ace’ would assuredly be brought much pain by your demise, don’t you think?” Repliety could only remain silent. They both knew that her words rang with truth. “I can tell from your little speech that you truly do love this pony, something I expect to be an oddity among your people. In time, the two of you might become a great symbol of hope for a lasting peace between our two species. However, I also cannot allow myself to die while this nation still needs me.”

“So what do you intend to do?” Repliety asked.

“I will do my best to stay on guard against this assassination attempt, but I will not inform anypony else of this information. Not even my sister. That way, I will greatly improve the chances of this little coup failing, as well as keeping both you and Ace safe from any repercussions. Should an actual war between our races erupt after the assassination attempt, I will do my best to keep casualties on both sides to a minimum, which will unfortunately mean that I will likely have to imprison, or if need be… Kill, your Queen.” Repliety visibly cringed at this final statement. “I will try and avoid it if possible,” the Princess continued “But it may be necessary, and for that I apologize.”

For several seconds, silence prevailed throughout the room.

“I do not like your proposal, Princess,” Repliety finally said “But I know that it is too late to dissuade you from this course. So instead, I shall wish you luck.”

“Thank you, but hopefully I won’t need it.” The Princess replied. With that, Repliety once again changed back into the fictitious young Unicorn Thesis, then exited her room, leaving the Princess with much to think about, and many new plans and contingencies to create. Little did she know that the Alpha Drone Repliety would not be the only person to visit her chambers in the weeks to come. In fact, she would receive another most unexpected visitor in the month to come…

The following morning, Celestia was happy to welcome Princess Twilight and her entourage of friends, including the young Unicorn named Painted Melody, to Canterlot Castle. Even though she had only invited Twilight, she fully expected her to bring her friends along. Today was the day upon which the most promising member of the Canterlot Royal Guard in many years would make his attempt at greatness, and become Princess Twilight’s first personal guard. However, the trial awaiting him in the training grounds of the Castle would be far from easy.

Celestia couldn’t help but chuckle to herself when she imagined the look upon the young colt’s face when he discovered the identity of his opponent. It took her a few minutes to find the old mannequin wearing her armor within her closet, and even longer to find the old weapon she used to wield in times of war. The enchanted golden armor and weapon still shone as brightly as ever, however, bringing back many memories of the past. The Princess took a moment to think to herself, “I wonder if I’ll be rusty after all these centuries?” But it would be a moot point anyways. She remained confident in her ability to give the young knight Tartanis a run for his money, no matter how rusty she may be.

As Tartanis entered the training grounds, he was somewhat surprised by the crowd that had gathered. Many other members of the Royal Guard had gathered around the training arena, and a raised set of stands had even been constructed for the Princess’ viewing pleasure. In the stands, he saw Princess Twilight, Rarity, and the other Elements of Harmony sitting and talking excitedly to one another. Alongside Fluttershy sat Melody, who had apparently come as well to see how Tartanis’s month of hard work and training had changed him. On the opposite end of the stands was Princess Luna, seeming to be sitting as far away from Melody as she could get. Alongside her sat Colgate, who had her eyes fixed on Tartanis as he walked to the makeshift training arena. And yet, Tartanis couldn’t help but notice that Princess Celestia was missing from the stands. Perhaps she was busy with royal business elsewhere?

Tartanis realized the gravity of his error in making that assumption once he entered the training arena, and saw his opponent. Clad in shining golden armor, and with a colossal golden battleaxe emblazoned with the image of a shining sun stuck into the ground next to her, she was as imposing as she could have possibly been. Taking a look at his own steel armor, finely crafted as it was, and his painfully simple longsword, he couldn’t help but feel puny and hopelessly overmatched. After all, his opponent was the one and only Princess Celestia. She turned to greet him with a smile, and laid out the rules of the battle. The two of them would clash, no holds barred, with the first to land a blow on their opponent being the victor of the test. Their wounds would be healed with spells after each round, with the first pony to land three blows upon their opponent being the winner. They were both prohibited from making any attacks that could be lethal to the other, with the stipulation that their attacks would need to actually draw blood from their opponent in order to be counted. Hence the need for armor.

However, Tartanis felt strangely disconnected from the whole affair. He heard and understood the rules, but it still seemed like some strange dream. He was truly going to fight the Princess of the Sun herself? He was finally shaken out of his trance when the Princess uttered a single, poignant phrase.

“Begin.”

The two immediately began to slowly walk in a circle, holding their weapons in a ready fighting stance with their magic. Tartanis quickly realized that the Princess was waiting for him to make the first move, and began to look for any potential weaknesses in his opponent. Assuming that the sheer size of his opponent’s axe might give him the edge in speed, he quickly dashed forward to close the distance between them, leading with a speedy jab of his blade. He realized the gravity of his error when he saw a shining golden disc of metal intercept his blade, then quickly sweep around to his flank and shear straight through his armor, leaving him with a long, painful scratch along his flank.

In a single motion, the Princess had parried his blow and took the first round without breaking a sweat.

After having the scratch healed by one of the Unicorn medics on-site, Tartanis began to re-evaluate his opponent. Celestia was fast, impossibly so. The size and weight of her axe did absolutely nothing to slow her blows, and she was obviously a master of her weapon. It made Tartanis shudder to think of what that behemoth of an axe could do in real combat. As the second round began, Tartanis took a much more defensive stance, trying to ready himself for whatever attack the Princess had prepared.

In a flash of shining gold, she was suddenly beside him, along with her already-swinging axe. Tartanis was barely able to bring his blade up in time to block the blow, but the sheer weight behind the blow nearly sent the blade flying out of his enchanted grasp. He tried his hardest to keep up with the Princess, but found it incredibly difficult to keep up with the sheer power and speed of the blows she continued to rain upon him. The clash lasted for only a few more seconds before Celestia suddenly rammed him with her full weight knocking him back, then immediately following up with a quick swipe of her axe. Tartanis could only watch helplessly as droplets of blood began to run down one of his legs.

By this time, the crowd was roaring. In the stands, Colgate fixed him with a hard gaze, reminding him of the importance of his victory here. On the other end of the stands, all of his friends were cheering for him to win, to fight as hard as he could. One voice among them stood out the most, offering the loudest and most heartfelt shouts of encouragement. At first Tartanis assumed it to be Rarity, but upon listening closer, recognized the voice to belong to a different mare entirely: Melody. The normally quiet and reserved mare had moved to the front of the stands, and was veritably shining with an encouraging light. Every word she yelled travelled straight to Tartanis’s heart, filling him with some semblance of hope. Yes, this might be the final round of the test. But even if he lost, he would always have friends to go back to, ponies who he would protect to his final breath.

Taking another look at Rarity, a mental image returned to him, faint memories of the past struggling to show themselves. Finally, one memory slipped free of the hazy veil filling his mind, and showed him a heart-stopping image: Himself and Rarity sitting in the Carousel Boutique eating lunch together, with the sound of Sweetie Belle playing with her friends the Cutie Mark Crusaders sounding muffled in the background. The two of them were speaking to one another about something, and then they both stood up, and then… They kissed. Tartanis wrapped a hoof around Rarity and pulled her into a deep kiss, to which she responded in kind. Tartanis couldn’t believe his eyes. This had never happened during his time in Ponyville. This was something greater, something from the past. A faint memory, brought back to the forefront of his mind by some unknown force. He couldn’t help but smile at it. Maybe, just maybe… The two of them could have a future together.

Tartanis was suddenly and brutally brought back to reality by the sound of steel grinding against gold. He suddenly found himself locked in battle with Princess Celestia once more, but this time something was different. Things seemed clearer than before, almost as if the Princess had begun to move more slowly. In an instant, Tartanis regained awareness of his surroundings, along with two very important pieces of information. First, he took note of the pony among the crowd who was holding up a scoreboard for all to see: Two to two. Later, Tartanis would be told about how he seemed to enter some sort of warrior’s trance, and he suddenly began to fight like some sort of fierce demon. The second was something that truly shocked Tartanis. His sword was glowing fiercely with a vicious aura of glowing red magical energy… And the Princess’s battleaxe shone just as bright, lit by a shining yellow aura of pure energy.

“I’m surprised, Tartanis!” The Princess said to him over the din of clashing weapons “The only ponies I’ve ever seen use the art of Bladesong Magic before were other Alicorns!”

Everything seemed to move in slow motion as Tartanis tracked her movements, keeping up with her blow by blow. His cutie mark felt as though it were aflame, and the entire castle was filled with the echoing rings of blade and axe clashing over and over, with each hit more furious and mighty than the last. It was a deadly dance of blades, every attack followed by a flawless parry, every counter-attack barely dodged in just the nick of time. To the crowd of onlookers, their fight was a thing of the utmost beauty, a finely-tuned dance of steel where every step led smoothly and beautifully into the next, the echoes of clashing blades and the cries of the wind being sundered at supernatural speeds forming a hauntingly magnificent song that echoed through the morning skies. Their clash lasted for what seemed like an eternity, a never-ending whirlwind of shining gold and gleaming steel. Just as it began to seem like their battle might never end, Tartanis was afforded one final glance at the stands, along with the open-mouthed looks of awe coming from his friends as the deadly dance continued. In that single glance, he saw Melody utter a single word, a fragment of a sentence that, in that instant, seemed to consume the entire world.

“…Hope…”

As he turned once more into the typhoon of spinning blades that was his present reality, that single word resonated through Tartanis’s entire body, before finally finding its way to his cutie mark, which seemed to explode in a brilliant burst of emotion and light. The blaze of energy surrounding his sword seemed to erupt with the light of a thousand stars, cloaking every inch of the young knight’s body with its brilliant light. His blade suddenly shot towards the Princess at an impossible speed, a blur of motion that was almost impossible to track. The Princess began to glow with a shining aura of her own, and brought up the head of her axe into the direct path of the blade, trusting in both her own magical might and the potent enchantment s of the weapon itself to easily turn aside the blow. Celestia, however, made one crucial mistake:

She underestimated the resolve of one of the chosen heroes of Fate, one of the six future wielders of one of the most potent magical forces in Equestria. Even though his moment of truth had yet to come, the young knight’s body overflowed with the light and potential inherent in his particular destiny in that very moment, reaching ever so shallowly into the incredible power that would someday be take form within his heart. In that moment, Tartanis felt, just for an instant, a small taste of the power that he would one day inherit.

Not slowing for a moment, the tip of the young knight’s sword travelled straight through the head of the millennia-old Alicorn’s battleaxe, magical infusions and all. The Princess nearly paid for her hubris in not dodging the blow with her life, as the blade of the sword sank hilt-deep into the head of her axe, the impossibly sharp blade of magical energy cutting ever so shallowly into the flesh of her throat. Had the young knight’s full potential been realized in that moment, the Princess would have found herself in severe need of a new windpipe.

The entire arena became silent, shocked and paralyzed with awe at what at just happened. Some thought that they had just lost their beloved monarch in a simple sparring match. But it was apparent to all the significance of what had just happened. Both warriors released their magical grasp on their weapons simultaneously, both equally shocked at what had just happened. The two pieces of metal dropped to the ground in their mangled state, the sharp sound of their impact echoing through the air. For many long moments, the silence was deafening. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Princess Celestia asked the question that was on everypony’s mind: “How?”

And the most terrifying part of all was that Tartanis had no idea how he had just done what he did. He didn’t know how he was able to defeat a Goddess, an immortal being of immense power, in such a confrontation. And that scared him deeply.

It only took a moment for the Princess to heal her injury, being just a shallow cut. But throughout the castle, silence still prevailed. Tartanis was told to return to his chambers, while that three Princesses present discussed what had just happened. Had the Prophecy of Harmony ever been discussed at the picnic Princess Twilight attended been discussed before the picnics untimely end, it almost certainly would have been brought up. At the time however, it was still sitting in a forgotten corner of Fluttershy’s distant cabin, moved to its inconspicuous home there by the most elusive Alicorn of all, one who knew that it would need to remain forgotten there until the time for it to present itself once more was just right.

While the Princesses held their discussion, Tartanis sat in his room, shocked by what had just transpired. After a while, he heard a knocking at the door. He didn’t bother to get up and answer it.

“Tartanis…?” A familiar voice echoed through the door. It slowly creaked open, and Tartanis’s unexpected guest entered the room. “Tartanis, are you going to be okay?” Melody asked, a look of deep worry painted upon her face.

“I don’t know, Melody.” Tartanis replied in a dry tone. “I just got a hair’s breadth away from killing Princess Celestia. That alone could get me executed. But I also beat her in battle like the test required, so there’s still a chance that I might become Princess Twilight’s guard. So I don’t know how I am yet, Melody. I’ll just have to wait and see.”

Walking over to his bed, the young mare sat beside him, and wrapped a hoof around his shoulder. “Tartanis,” she said “The Princess isn’t going to execute you. Twilight would never allow it. So calm down, and take a few deep breaths with me.” Several minutes passed as the two simply sat together, and gathered their senses. After a while, Tartanis asked a question of his own of his compassionate friend. “Melody,” Tartanis said quietly “During the final round of the battle, I saw you in the stands, and I heard you saw something about ‘Hope’. What was it that you said?”

“I said it so quietly, I didn’t think anypony had heard.” Melody admitted quietly “I told myself, ‘You just have to win. You've come so far since we first met… You just have to let your Hope for success give the strength you need to win.’ Right after that was when you made that final blow and won. I was just as surprised as everypony else, but… I knew you would win.”

Meanwhile, a few rooms away, the Elements of Harmony who had accompanied Princess Twilight to the castle were in the midst of a heated discussion about Tartanis and what his fate would be. Heading the discussion was a certain white Unicorn who the young knight in question felt very deeply about.

“I just don’t know what that training did to him…” Rarity told the others. “They must have done horrible things to him to have made him do something like that… I’m worried that he might not even be the same pony anymore…”

Melody and Tartanis would sit there together in his room for a while longer before the Princesses finally summoned Tartanis to the throne room, whereupon he was informed of his new position as Princess Twilight’s first and only personal guard. His first assignment in the coming days would be to travel alongside her, the other Elements of Harmony, and their mutual friend Melody on a journey North to the Crystal Empire, where Princess Twilight would be tasked with informing Queen Cadence and King Shining Armor of the strange events of the past months in detail, beginning with how Silver, Tartanis, and Melody fell from the night sky all those weeks ago.

Little did any of them know about the significance of the events that would take place during that trip, as well as the important role it would play in the days to come. After all, none of them could have known just how large of a role the Crystal Empire and its two monarchs would play in the coming conflict, or how deeply a meeting with its recently-ascended Queen would change the life of a kind young Unicorn brought there by her group of newfound friends.

And none of them knew how these separate yet connected adventures of an up-and-coming knight and a kind young Unicorn destined to change the world would influence their distant friend, whose wanderings alongside a nigh-omnipotent Alicorn would lead him to find his destiny alongside the one he loved.

Only two beings would ever truly understand the significance of how these events were tied together: A caring Alicorn mother with a flowing auburn mane, and a young white Pegasus whose selfless martyrdom and prophetic legacy would lay the foundations of the narrow road of destiny that would later change a nation.

Author's Note

Sorry it's taken so long to complete this chapter, but things have been really weird in my life lately. The good news is that it's hopefully all wrapped up for now, so I can get back to writing this story. Also, I intend to release many more chapters much more frequently over my summer vacation, so look forward to that too. Anyways, this chapter featured cameos from the OC's of two very good friends of mine, Ace Maverick and Repliety. I gave Repliety a small cameo a few chapters back, but this one was much more noticeable. Either way, both of their OC's come from the ridiciulously large-scale RP known as Twitterponies, and if you are interested in their RP's (They really are amazing, and are almost single-handedly responsible for my unique view on Changelings that will be expressed throughout the story), then here's a link to their respective pages: https://twitter.com/mlp_Acey and https://twitter.com/mlp_Repliety . If I somehow derped up and those links don't work directly from this not, then just copy and paste. Anyways, this chapter marks the beginning of a new "phase" of the story where things will really start to tie together and the plot will begin to thicken heavily. Thanks for all the support, and as always, feel free to like this story and reccomend it to others. I really do appreciate it. :) Until next time!

Chapter Twelve: Crossroads

Chapter Twelve: Crossroads

It all started with two words that echoed through the fabric of space and time. “Rise Up.” the voice said, and with that, their eyes opened, and their eyes were flooded with light. As the two young Alicorns sat upright, they saw them there hanging in the sky together: The Sun and the Moon. Looking down and seeing one another for the first time, their hearts filled with joy. Even though this strange new world they had just awoken in was a land of chaos and disarray, they were happy, because they had each other. And as far as they knew, they would never have to part ways. So began the journey of the Alicorn sisters Celestia and Luna.

When they first saw the land they would one day rule, they were shocked. The ponies of this land called Equestria told them that their three races, the Unicorns, the Pegasi, and the Earth Ponies had once existed in distrust and disharmony. Once they set aside their differences and began to work together however, they drew the ire of the God of Chaos, Discord. In truth, Discord was no god at all, merely the last member of a strange race known as the Draconequui, who held very powerful magical powers, powers that the lonely survivor Discord had used to turn the fragile peace of the ponies on its head.

After seeing the turbulent lives the ponies of Equestria were forced to endure, they decided that they had to put a stop to it. Travelling across the land for something that would give them the strength they needed to face the mighty Discord, the two sisters eventually made their way into the depths of the Everfree Forest, where they found the Tree of Harmony, the birthplace of the powerful magical forces known as the Elements of Harmony, the tools that they needed to overthrow the tyrannical rule of Discord. But that is not all they found at the Tree of Harmony.

When the Elements chose the two young Alicorns to become their bearers, another force of magical power chose them as well. Deep beneath the roots of the Tree of Harmony dwelt another magical force, known as the Elements of Life. The Elements of life contained the natural energies of the entire world of Equus, and as they flowed through the earth and into the hearts of the soon-to-be princesses, they gave them a gift that even the Elements of Harmony could not: Everlasting life, not only for them, but for any who they believed worthy enough to become fellow Alicorns. The Elements of Life made them stronger, faster, and strengthened the connections between them and their cutie marks, allowing them to control the movements of the Sun and Moon themselves after the defeat of Discord.

The sisters never knew of the Elements of Life, believing instead that these traits were inherent to all Alicorns. The first other Alicorn they christened was a young Pegasus from the north named Aria who, even as Princesses Celestia and Luna fought off Discord using the Elements of Harmony, found the long-lost Crystal Heart, and unlocking its powers using her love of the ponies she met during her journey, cast out a dark shadow that haunted the northlands, giving rise to the Crystal Empire. When the two Princesses caught wind of her deeds, they travelled north to meet this young Pegasus themselves. Deciding that she was just as worthy as they of bearing the mantle of Alicornhood, they used their powerful magic to unlock Aria’s own inner potential, transforming into an Alicorn just like them.

Just before the fall of the Crystal Empire, Queen Aria and her husband King Diamond Blade were blessed with a beautiful daughter, a young Alicorn they named Cadence, the first and only natural-born Alicorn. After the death of the King at the hooves of the usurper Sombra, Queen Aria fled the city, while her beloved daughter was spirited away in secret to the distant and quiet town of Canterlot. But when the Crystal Empire was frozen in time, the young Princess vanished without a trace, only to reappear a millennium later in the city of Canterlot, without a single memory of her past. Believing herself to be just another pony, she took up a job as a foalsitter as she learned to control her powerful love magic.

Princess Celestia was very surprised indeed the day she first heard her favorite young student Twilight Sparkle mention the name Cadence. Meeting with the young Alicorn at once, she informed her of her family’s past, as well as her role as the Alicorn of Love, a title passed down to her from her long-lost mother. Princess Celestia took young Cadence in as her adopted niece, which led to her one day meeting and falling in love with the Captain of the Royal Canterlot Guard, Shining Armor. As for their future together…

It was late in the night when they heard a knock at the door. Opening her eyes, Princess Cadence looked over at her beloved husband, still sleeping soundly. Shining Armor always was a heavy sleeper. Not that she could blame him, given how difficult his new role in life was. As King of the Crystal Empire, he had a duty to ensure that the defenses of his kingdom were as top-notch as possible. In a way, not much about his daily routine had changed since he was the Captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard. The difference was that now instead of just his soldiers looking up to him to lead, he had an entire nation looking to him and Cadence for guidance. He never complained about it, but Cadence knew it had begun to take a toll on his energy.

With another knock at the door, the still-tired Queen climbed out of her bed, trying her best not to awaken her dearly beloved. Opening the door, she wasn’t very surprised by who waited on the other side: a member of their Royal Guard.

“Sorry to awaken you, Your Majesty. There is a visitor at the castle gate requesting a private audience with you. He claims to have an urgent matter to discuss with you regarding Princess Luna.”

“Did he mention why he needs this audience to be held so late at night?” the still-sleepy Alicorn asked.

“No, Your Majesty.” The guard replied “Normally I would have just told him to wait until morning, but…”

“But what?” Cadence asked, curious why the guard hesitated.

“There was another Alicorn with him, Your Majesty, one unlike any I had ever seen. She had a white coat like Princess Celestia, but an auburn mane.” Cadence’s ears perked up, and a strange look of confusion crossed her face. “She didn’t say anything, but I assumed that you should at least be aware of this visitor’s presence.”

“You assumed correct. Thank you for telling me this.” Cadence replied, the gears of her mind moving as quickly as possible in her groggy state. “Tell them I will meet them personally in the Throne Room. I will head down there to meet them right now.” With that, the guard nodded and left to deliver her message, leaving Cadence to ponder the events unfolding before her as she made her way to the Throne Room.

When the visitor, a young, white coated Pegasus entered the room, Cadence was surprised to see him alone.

“I was informed you had arrived with a companion in tow.” She said as he approached her throne, one of two located in the magnificent Throne Room.

“She’s around here somewhere.” The young Pegasus replied “Usually she’s only around when she’s not concerned about other ponies thinking I’ve gone mad from speaking to thin air.”

“So, she told you about her true nature then?” Cadence asked, full of curiosity. The actions of Faust had always been a source of great intrigue for her. But a shake of the head from the Pegasus dispelled any hopes of gleaning new information about the mysterious omnipotent Alicorn her aunts had told her about.

“Not really,” the Pegasus answered honestly with a shrug “But I definitely know that there’s more to her than meets the eye. Either way, she’s not the one I’m here to talk about.”

“Yes, I was told you had something to speak to me about regarding my aunt, Princess Luna?” The Pegasus seemed to cringe at this, as well as take on a slight blush.

“I was unaware she was your aunt, Your Majesty.” He replied.

“It was Princess Celestia who adopted me as her niece several years ago. It’s a long story.”

“Ah.” The Pegasus replied. “Either way… Yes, I came to seek your advice regarding an issue with the Princess. An issue that I caused. I hope you don’t mind me intruding at such a late hour, but Faust told me that you’re the expert on love, and that I should speak to you about the matter as soon as possible.”

A million possibilities flew through Cadence’s head at the speed of light. An issue regarding love that involved Princess Luna? And the way the Pegasus blushed earlier… It couldn’t be. Could it? “I suppose I should start at the beginning.” The Pegasus said “First, I should introduce myself. My name is Silver Dawn, but feel free to just call me Silver. About a week ago, me and two other ponies came to Equestria after falling from the night sky…”

As their train pulled into the station, Tartanis and Melody couldn’t help but find themselves stunned by the beauty of the Crystal Empire. Even far off in the distance, the Crystal Spire that served as the center of the kingdom danced with the gleaming light of the afternoon sun. Princess Twilight and her friends had told them several times about the beauty of the Empire in the days leading up to their departure from Ponyville, but no description could properly describe the radiant beauty of the gleaming spires of crystal that sprouted throughout the capital city of Crysta.

Princess Twilight had told them that in ancient times, the Empire was comprised of almost a dozen similar cities, but that the dark powers of King Sombra had destroyed all but the capital after the return of the Empire. It was hard for the two ponies to imagine more cities of similar beauty, to say nothing of the type of power that could completely destroy them.

Leading them through the city, Princess Twilight and her friends made excellent tour guides, having been to the city several times already, to say nothing of the fact that without them, it would have been destroyed by the power of the feral King Sombra. The city was abuzz with energy, still working hard at preparations for the upcoming Equestria Games, which were to be held at the newly-revived Crystal Empire, or to be more specific, the capital city of Crysta. The air seemed alive with the joy of ponies hard at work, eager to make certain that everything was absolutely flawless for when the time came for the Games to begin. Little did they know that their work was in vain. They would be lucky to even have a city to call home when the scheduled time of the Games came to pass.

Approaching the castle gates, Tartanis couldn’t help but take a quick mental evaluation of the guards standing at the front entrance to the Crystal Spire. Their armor wasn’t too different from the armor he wore himself, although it appeared to be made of some form of crystal. Likely heavier than his own steel plate, but also likely much tougher. Some of the other members of the Royal Guard at Canterlot even told rumors that the armor worn by the guards of the Crystal Empire was enchanted to reflect many weaker spells. The two guards each held a large, crystalline halberd, once again likely heavy, but also clearly very deadly. Tartanis couldn’t help but admire all the physical conditioning they must have to do in order to be able to carry that much weight through a standard patrol without collapsing. Of course, the cold air of the Northlands had to help somewhat in making sure they didn’t overheat.

Even as Tartanis took a quick mental analysis of the guards ahead, Melody found herself entranced by the stunning architecture of the Spire itself. She made a brief mental note to return at some point during their stay and draw a painting of the gleaming parapets and shining towers. Both young ponies were broken from their thoughts as Princess Twilight approached the front gate of the Spire, and both on-duty guards immediately saluted her, before stepping aside to allow her and her companions to pass. Walking through the main gate, the group of friends was led directly into the Throne Room, a massive room made entirely of shimmering crystal, with a pair of elegant thrones sitting at the opposite end of the hall. Having been informed via letter by Princess Celestia of their imminent arrival, both monarchs were already awaiting their audience with the Princess of Magic and her compatriots.

“Twily!” boomed a loud voice from one of the thrones. A tall Unicorn stallion with a white coat and dark blue mane rushed forward and embraced the young Princess in a hug. This was quite apparently the older brother that Twilight had told the two about, King Shining Armor. Following behind him at a more leisurely pace was a beautiful pink Alicorn, Queen Cadence. She took a quick glance over at Melody before welcoming them all to the castle.

“It’s good to see you all again.” She said with a smile “And a pleasure to meet your new friends. I take it that you two are Tartanis and Melody, the two new friends my sister-in-law told me about in her letters?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Tartanis said with a quick bow “It’s a pleasure to meet you too.” Cadence let out a short giggle at the show of respect.

“You don’t need to bow, Tartanis. We’re all friends here. And you don’t need to call me ‘Your Majesty’ either. Just call me Cadence.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Cadence.” Melody said, stepping forward with a smile “Your castle is beautiful. I would love to draw some paintings of its architecture sometime, with your permission of course.”

“It would be an honor, Melody. You are welcome to come visit and draw as many paintings as you like.” Shining Armor said, walking over. Cadence, however seemed caught up in a thought.

“I can see why he felt so conflicted about you.” She said after a few seconds.

“What?” Melody asked, confused.

“I assume that’s why you’re here.” Cadence said “A few weeks ago, a young stallion named Silver Dawn came by in the dead of night seeking my advice. He told me that he had been in Twilight’s care, but that he had run away after an… Incident. I assume that’s why you’re all here?”

“Yes and no.” Twilight said, her friends having gone off to see the rest of the city while Twilight conducted the royal business she was sent for. “We were sent by Princess Celestia to tell you about Silver and the others, but I’m guessing that Silver already told you that whole story?” Cadence nodded.

“He also told me about why he left, but that’s not exactly something that he would want me to discuss with everyone.” Cadence said.

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked, a look of confusion crossing her face.

“He asked me not to tell anyone, but I get the feeling that there’s one of you I should at least talk to about the matter. If you would permit me, I would like to speak to Melody in private about the matter.”

Twilight looked like she was about to object, but then something surprising happened. A somewhat grim look on her face, Melody stepped forward. “It will be fine.” She said “King Shining Armor can spend some time catching up with Twilight, and show Tartanis some of his fighting techniques.” Everypony present seemed a bit taken aback by this straightforward assertion by an otherwise reserved pony, but not a one raised any objections either.

“All right then.” Cadence said, breaking the silence. “If you could follow me…”

As the two walked down the halls, Melody still felt a part of her mind admiring the architecture of the Crystal Spire. However, she also found herself entranced by the tale that Princess Cadence told.

“What you need to understand Melody, is that Silver finds himself in a very difficult position. He came to me for advice because he’s not sure which way his heart is telling him to go, and I’m the most knowledgeable pony that there is on the subject of love.”

“What do you mean?” Melody asked.

“I wish he could tell you this himself, but I doubt he has the courage to do so right now.” Cadence said quietly “Melody, put simply, Silver’s in love with you.” This caused Melody to stop dead in her tracks, a look of sadness in her eyes. “He told me that he thinks he’s felt that way for a long time, even before you all came here. He knows that you two knew each other before you lost your memories, and he thinks that even then he might have still been in love with you. But he’s worried that something might have happened back then between the two of you, that-“

“That I might not have loved him back.” Melody cut in, her eyes still stationed squarely at the ground. “When we first met after waking up, I knew that something happened between us in the past, something really bad. When I read his letter after he left, I knew that it was my fault. I thought that he had remembered something along those lines, and that was why he needed time to think.”

“There’s more to it than that, Melody.” Cadence said, walking back to join her companion. “He felt conflicted because you weren’t the only one he had fallen in love with.” This caused Melody’s head to rise up, a look of confusion cast upon her face. “He told me that he had an encounter with Princess Luna, and that he had fallen in love with her as well. The reason he felt conflicted is that his romantic feelings for you were from his past, and that he didn’t want to make a mistake and lose you as a friend in the present. But Luna… He told me about how the you, him and Tartanis had lost consciousness, and how you hugged him when you woke up. He understood that you did it because you were concerned for your friend, but Luna… He knows that she likely saw it differently. He still isn’t entirely sure about his romantic feelings for either of you, or that either of you feel the same way in return. Luna… The way he talked about her, I know that he wants to help her, regardless of how she feels about him now. I don’t know how she feels about him, but I get the feeling that she doesn’t even think it’s possible that someone would fall in love with her. She has a lot of guilt about what she’s done in the past.

As for you… You need to understand that this isn’t just some small thing to him, Melody. His heart is tearing itself to pieces trying to figure out how he feels, and how he should proceed. He doesn’t want to hurt either of you, or lose either of you as friends. He just wants you both to be happy. So I have to ask you, Melody… How do you feel about him?”

Melody was silent for several seconds, still trying to digest all this information. She had never meant to put Silver in a situation like this, even indirectly. She valued his friendship, but did she want him to be something more in her life? “…I don’t know.” She said at long last. “He’s been a good friend, and I want to help him get through this. But I just don’t know. I need time to figure out my own feelings too.” She said honestly. “I just… I love him. I just don’t know if I love him as a friend, or something more.” “You love your friends?” Cadence asked inquisitively.

“Yes.” Melody replied. “I love all of my friends. I can’t think of living my life without them. Maybe that’s why it’s so hard for me to figure out how I feel about Silver. I do love him. I just don’t know if it’s the same type of love as what he feels for me.” Cadence walked over to the young, conflicted Unicorn and wrapped a comforting wing around her shoulder.

“That’s a good way to look at life, Melody. I don’t know what you feel, only you can discover that. Just know that whatever you decide, I know it will be the right decision.”

“Thank you…” Melody said quietly, a tear rolling down her cheek. “I just don’t want to hurt him…”

As Tartanis walked through the castle beside Princess Twilight and her older brother, he felt the weight of his duty more keenly than ever before. Beside him stood one of the finest knights Equestria had ever known, a Knight who had become a King. And Tartanis was sworn to defend that King’s sister, a Princess in her own right, with his life. He knew that the road ahead, regardless of what it held, would be far from easy. But he had ponies that relied on him, who were counting on him to keep them safe. Princess Twilight, Rarity… Melody. He had become a knight to keep all the Elements of Harmony safe, Rarity in particular. But Melody was his friend too. Her life was an important one, a life that deserved to be preserved. They all deserved to be safe, to find happiness through a long life of friends and love. It all fit into place now, how important his duty truly was.

“Hey, Tartanis.” Shining Armor said to him, catching his attention.

“Yes, Your Majesty?” Tartanis replied.

“Keep my sister safe, okay? The world needs more ponies like her. Just like it needs ponies like you.”

“I understand, Your Majesty.” Tartanis responded. “And thank you. I’ll keep her safe. Of that you can be sure.

Standing on a hilltop just outside Crysta, Melody couldn’t help but marvel at the beautiful city even as she painted it. They would have to return to Ponyvile in a few days, but the paintings she had drawn during their stay would keep her memories of the city alive forever. Queen Cadence herself had even purchased a painting of one of the city markets from Melody to hang inside the castle. But this painting, a beautiful depiction of the city as a whole in the shining sunset, would be one that Melody would hold onto. It would serve as a reminder of all the time she shared here with her friends, even if one among them was painfully absent.

Sitting in the grass beside her sat a letter, a letter to a dear friend. She wasn’t sure what to write at first, but it came to her with time. Her painting helped to clear her thoughts, and solidify her feelings. She didn’t know if Princess Twilight’s assistant Spike would even be able to send the letter to Silver, but she had to hope. She knew she would see him again someday. She just hoped that after everything, they would still be friends.

Sitting on the bluff overlooking the town of Appleloosa, I couldn’t help but be thankful for the time I had to myself. Faust was a helpful companion, and a good friend, but at this moment in time, I needed to be alone to think. Beside me sat the first letter that my friends had sent me, a story of Tartanis’s escapades after my departure. But the letter in front of me… I couldn’t help but shed a few tears after reading it. I felt happy, yet sad at the same time. It felt like I had been waiting far longer than just a month to receive this letter. This was a long time coming. This was something I had needed to see a long time ago.

Dear Silver,

I’m sorry. I recently spoke with Princess Cadence about what you told her. Please, I ask that you don’t be upset that she told me. I know that you’re going through some conflicting feelings right now, and I just want you to know something. No matter what happens, no matter how you may or may not feel about me or Luna, I just want you to know that I will always consider you a friend. My heart tells me that a long time ago, you did confess your love for me. And at the time, I didn’t feel the same way. But I also know that the person you were back then is long gone. You are not the person you once were, and that makes me happy. I’m happy that you were able to become a better person despite what I did to you. And I want you to now that I’m sorry. I don’t know what I did in our past, and I don’t know why I did it, but I know that it hurt you. And for that I’m sorry. I hope you can forgive me. I want you to know that when you decide how you feel, that I’ll be here for you, even if it’s just as a friend. If you love me as more than a friend… I’ll give it a try. I don’t know yet if I feel the same way, but I feel like if I give it a chance, then one way or another, my true feelings will show themselves. So, if you really do feel like you love me… Then I’ll give you a chance. I feel like you deserve at least that much. Either way, everyone here is still worried about you. I understand now that you have good reason to be gone, but… We all miss you. I miss you. So please, when you think you’re ready, come back to join us.

Your friend,

Melody