//------------------------------//
// Chapter Twenty One: Eight Years Later 
// Story: Sky Dancer, the First Flying Unicorn 
// by Scroll 
//------------------------------//

When Feather Wind regarded his daughter, he noticed the blank, fixed and vacant stare she gave in her forward direction. As a test, he waved a hoof up and down in front of her sight. For a while she did not respond but, as he continued doing that, she slowly stirred and looked up at him.

“I'm sorry. I swear I was paying attention,” Star Breeze promised. “It's just . . . I'm in awe right now! First you fly . . . then you save the oracle . . . then you have adventures all over time and space . . . and then you discover the very origins of all magic on our planet as well as the reasons we evolved into the species we eventually became.

“Wow! Just . . . wow! My dad really did all of that? You must be the most important pony who's ever lived!”

“Only your last statement is in error,” Feather Wind corrected. “Every pony is important. Every creature is important. Life itself is important, and life permeates all things. The earth under our hooves . . . the sky above our heads . . . the twinkling stars beyond that . . . it's all connected. I'm trying to show this to you as you listen to my story.”

Star Breeze shook her head as she admitted, “This has gone way beyond what I expected to hear. All I thought I would hear was how you beat the impossible and became the first flying unicorn, but now I'm hearing more and more evidence of how you helped save our entire planet and the universe!” Then she looked thoughtful. “Because you traveled through time and space with the Doctor, the future influences the past and the past influences the future. It's all connected.”

“Right!” Feather Wind cheered. “Now you're starting to get it, but it's a much bigger picture than that. Even if I were to freeze time itself, you can see how everything is interwoven if you look at life broadly enough.”

“My friends . . . and all my family . . . none of us would have even been born if you didn't save us so long ago,” Star Breeze realized with wide eyes in shock, then looked at her father questioningly. “You did save us from The Dark Star, correct?”

“No,” Feather Wind teased with a serious tone. “I failed to protect all life on this planet. That's why we all died and none of us really exist here.”

Star Breeze got a dry look. “Aw, c'mon! Stop teasing me.”

“Stop making it so easy to tease you and stop asking silly questions,” Feather Wind retorted. “Of course I helped save the world from The Dark Star. Obviously we would not be having this conversation if I failed back then, but ask yourself another question as well; if The Dark Star is the origin of all dark magic that ever existed in our world ever since it crashed onto our world, then what does it mean when I saved the world from its influence and yet it continued to infect our world many times throughout many ages of our world?”





That question made Star Breeze pause in thought for a moment, then she answered, “You reduced its influence but did not eliminate it,” she guessed.

“That sounds reasonable to me,” Feather Wind partially agreed. “Want to know how I did it?”

Star Breeze nodded eagerly and said, “Yes, please.”

“Then stop interrupting me and let me finish!” Feather Wind exclaimed.

“Hey! You paused your own story to check on me. It's not my fault this time!” Star Breeze argued. 

“Eh . . . true,” Feather Wind relented. “There didn't seem to be a reason to continue when you stopped paying attention. I had to check on you so, in a way, it was an interruption.”

“I couldn't help it! All the things you are telling me is mind boggling!”

“I know what you mean. I had to live through those experiences rather than just tell you the story now. Don't think it wasn't mind boggling for me back then or your mother.

“When faced with a crisis, however, we had to learn to pause our concerns and confusions in order to face the problem head on. It's a luxury to be able to have time to dwell on it now and, in a way, I'm kind of reliving it as I tell you the story. That helps me absorb the fuller experience of it as well, so pray let me continue.”

“Go ahead,” Star Breeze invited.

“Thank you.”





xoxo





{Remember how I told you covering all of my adventures with the Doctor was next to impossible? That was because a great deal happened in such a short amount of time. By short I mean two years. You'd be amazed how much can get crammed in there.

{Similarly, I'll recap what happened to me during my stay in ancient Equestria which most of the educated natives of that time called Pangaea. Not as much happened compared to my time with the Doctor, but I do have eight years to cover so I'll mainly focus on the highlights.

{On my way to the city of Panjora, which was where the newcomers were from and where they were leading us, I had enough time to reflect on what I learned so far and I was struck by a recollection of something Crystal Sage told me over two years ago from that point. He said this after I asked for an explanation of what happened to him, and his reply was he was investigating a dark force that was corrupting the fringes around the Crystal Empire as if it was attracted to its light and love and wanted to squash it. During his attempts to dispel it, he accidentally got corrupted by that magical infection which later turned him into the Dark King, also known as King Sombra.

“Back then, he once described his opponent as a force that was only quasi-intelligent, much like a savage animal until it later infected a more sentient mind and then, all of a sudden, this darkness is capable of complex strategy. In this regard, it acts like a parasite. 

{I took that conversation and compared it to what Awalki told me about The Dark Star meteor and what it could do. It sounded to me like it landed in the Frozen North, and that didn't sound like a coincidence either. I had to admit, the two versions of this story sounded awfully similar. I suspected I found the force that corrupted Sombra, which also suggested I would fail to completely eliminate the dark force infecting the planet, and yet the degree of corruption and destruction. it was gaining in this time period was too fast and too severe. At this rate the bright sun shiny and rainbow future that I recall would not exist. What does this all suggest? Do we somehow accomplish a middle ground between these two scenarios? Is The Dark Star so powerful that all we manage to do is reduce but never eliminate its influence? If it is that formidable, then is this something I can accomplish on my own at all?

{Everything I heard of this Dark Star meteor sounded like the opposite of a star, especially the Twilight Star. It caused the environment to be cold instead of warm. It caused its surroundings to be dark instead of bright. It sucked in and consumed light magic then spat out dark magic. It exists to destroy and corrupt life while a normal star normally spreads it (unless one draws too close to it). 

I felt anticipation to spread my findings to Crystal Sage and compare notes. I had a strong feeling he would agree with my hypothesis and find it interesting. If it's true that I found the source that once corrupted him, then he might be able to give me vital insight to help combat this thing. After all, he was the closest thing I had to an accessible expert regarding this phenomenon.

{Maybe that was not a coincidence. Maybe it was fate. Maybe I had the tools necessary to figure out this problem, including my rather formidable intellect. I figured what I had to do was carefully evaluate my accessible resources. I probably also needed some time to figure out how best to use it.

{I compared that thought to the thing Vision said that when next we encounter her younger self again, that her younger self would suspect several years went by before she met us again. That gave me a rough time table to work with. Whatever happens, this project would take at least a few years. No more, no less.

{Her predictions also strongly implied that both me and Stern Wing would live long enough to make that future encounter so that was an encouraging thought to keep in mind.

{Panjora was an interesting city in design and configuration. It certainly seemed extremely defensible, including the terrain, but it could be better. Basically Panjora was built on and even within a hill.

{Seen from above, I have to be honest, it looked like a giant target.

{Panjora was composed of multiple rings of high walls circulating around the city which marked the outer border. For some reason there were twelve of these walls, each encircling a smaller and smaller area as it narrows at the top.

{At the top there was a giant pyramid. The tip of the pyramid was made of crystal and it shimmered with energy. In a way, it reminded me of the Crystal Heart in the far distant future, but the configuration of this city was much more symmetrical and I had a feeling that was on purpose and for good reason. I surmised that the pyramid served as a magical power plant which spread its energy down the circular city. Built within the walls of each of the twelve rings of the city, there were rectangular spires with pyramid tips. I suspected that those spires were meant to capture airborne energy and transfer it down to the local area around it.

{I later asked Awalki if that was true. He regarded me with surprise as he said yes then inquired who taught me that. If I was honest with him, I would have told him I had many teachers and my conclusions were based on the sum of all of my accumulated knowledge. Working with Crystal Sage in particular helped me to understand the flow of magic, how to capture it, and how to properly channel it. 

{I have to admit, after seeing the city, the geek in me was crying to come out. What I had discovered here had never been discovered in my time with fossil records and ancient buried cities, at least none that I had read. Again, this was living history blooming before my eyes and it was fantastical. This was radically far more advanced than most scholars of my time would give credit to this era of history. It really made me wonder what happened to it all that practically erased every trace of its existence between now and then. Normally time would be the answer, but a lot of the materials used for this construction should have survived to my time, at least in part, even after all that time. Our ignorance of discoveries like this was better explained by some deliberate intelligent force going out of their way to erase every trace of this ancient civilization's existence on purpose for some reason. With this much of a time gap, there were endless possibilities to explain this. In many ways, I felt like I stepped into an alien world and, by then, I certainly had enough experience with the real thing to become familiar with that sensation.

{But there were some problems that dulled my excited nature somewhat. While I learned this wasn't always so, the highest population in the city was earth ponies but, back then, they called themselves, 'horses'. Go figure.

{Anyway, similar to the last civilization I encountered, these ancient earth ponies, or 'horses', were also enslaved. Despite encompassing about ninety percent of the total population of the city, they were all enslaved. 

{Neither Stern Wing nor I were subtle about our disappointment of that fact. Awalki quickly assured me he was willing to explore alternatives to that sociological structure if the two of us helped save them all from planetary destruction and/or corruption.

{In hindsight, it's funny how high of a price they were asking for that favor. Imagine some creature trotting up to you out in the middle of the street then said to you out of the blue, “Sure. We'll free all these ponies. All you have to do is help save the world from a god-like force of overwhelming destruction and the source of all evil in this world. Yeah! Totally worth it, right?” 

{Quite frankly, yes . . . it was worth it. I wanted to accomplish both goals anyway, and it's nice to be on the same page with these horses' current oppressors instead of having to fight them on that point.

{I guess it wasn't a small request for them either. Changing an entire society from the ground up that it was so accustomed to, and a system that's been so effective for them for many centuries, was no small matter. They never would have considered it if the situation was not so dire.

{It goes to show that even when ultimate evil knocks on our doorstep, there could be surprising ways to turn it around and use it as a force for good. A clever mind exploits any situation to maximum effectiveness, and I was simply using what I had on hoof at the time. 

{There was another problem. Of the remaining ten percent that were not horses in Panjora, five percent were complete carnivores (the silurians) and the remaining five percent were omnivores (the arakroa). Between the two, the arakroa were easier to deal with for obvious reasons. At least they had an alternative besides eating dead ponies, but the silurians had fewer alternatives. The idea of allowing them to consume the flesh of dead ponies was, of course, very revolting, but I understood that they had to eat something.

{This is why harmonious coexistence between herbivore and carnivore is quite rare. It's hard to relax and trust the company of one who considers you potential dinner. On the flip side, befriending a race that makes you hungry all the time is quite distracting.

{The silurians of the city had a saying, “Horses are food, not friends.” They had a similar expression about slavery as well.

{When I noticed this, I realized I had my work cut out for me but I also realized this was merely one of multiple projects I had to juggle. 

{As repulsive as their society structure was, it was leagues better than something else battering at the gates of the city from outside. The horse slaves of the city actually considered themselves rather lucky because they got to be enslaved by a race that also fed them and protected them from something far, far worse outside.

{Also, since the silurian population dropped quite dramatically lately, it was rare for a horse to be straight up shot to death in order to be food. Instead of that, they are worked to death and those who happened to die from exhaustion or old age are put on the dinner plate. 

{If you were in my situation, which problem would you consider a higher priority?

{As promised, Awalki took me to his laboratory and library where his observatory was located. When nighttime rolled around . . . 

{Oh! By the way, day and night rotated around on its own without the assistance of magic. Maybe The Dark Star meteor caused that, but you have to wonder how they could accomplish it anyway without magic, or perhaps a better question is how we've come to rely upon magic that nature used to do for free. If it wasn't true in the first place, then when exactly did the switch occur? 

{Similarly, the weather used to control itself all over the world as well. There were pros and cons to that. On the one hoof, it would do what it does without arduous labor on our parts but, on the other hoof, it would also ignore our will and do whatever the hay it wants, even if it was a life or death situation. Do you need rain for your crops? Well too bad! I'm going to rain over those mountains instead. You should have moved over there if you wanted to live so badly and, of course, if you actually did move out there you'd find, to your horror, the weather pattern changed again five years later for some inexplicable reason. Sigh!

{Well, anyway. Back to what I was saying. 

{I actually did discover something very remarkable when I looked at the Twilight Star using the telescope, and the really interesting thing that I found was something Awalki could not have known because it relied upon future knowledge. In fact, it was knowledge ahead of my time as well for the most part except I saw symbols like this in a few scrolls, and they all usually represented the same principle idea. 

{The Twilight Star . . . it looked almost exactly like the cutie mark of a future princess of Equestria. Even the color was correct. It was a purple star that radiated magical light stretching out into a multi-point star. Closer examination revealed that some of the arms of that light spiraled around a black invisible vortex.

{Looking upon that star, it occurred to me that the future princess in question was celebrated to be the Princess of Friendship, but the cutie mark itself was said to represent a talent for magic. What were the odds that would be true while the source of all magic in Equestria came from a star that looked like that? Add to that, the name of this magical-based star happened to be the Twilight Star. More and more this was beginning to seem like far more than a mere coincidence.

{Awalki observed the stunned look in my eyes when I was done examining the star. For a moment that gave him hope that I realized something that could give them an advantage against The Dark Star meteor. I told him no, that it was something else. I think he noticed how I did not elaborate on that point further, primarily because my extra insight relied upon future knowledge. He was disappointed that I chose not to share that knowledge at the time but he did not pry. He was such a gentalarakroa. 

[It turned out I already met what was effectively the heads of this city. Awalki was no true leader by any official standards, but he was considered a very respected scientist so his opinions generally had a lot of clout even among the remaining silurians. As for the silurians, it was General Slekcorza that commanded the most authority for his race, unless you counted the hibernating members of his species. If you do go that far, then you'll find the main leader of not only this entire city but several others, a Queen of the silurians known as Queen Slekcortcha . . .

{Bleh! Even today saying her name is difficult for my tongue. I imagine it comes more easily for the silurians due to their physiology.

{General Slekcorza was the silurian in charge of the military that remained awake to guard the rest of his hibernating race, and he was the one who had primary authority in Panjora so, if you want to get technical, their society used to be a monarchy that turned into a military dictatorship. 

{I was appalled to discover who had the true authority around here. General Slekcorza was very distrusting to members not of his race, and he looked especially far down on ponies in particular whom he grew accustomed to seeing only as slave labor and/or food. 

{I have to note, however, that he wasn't completely unreasonable, and I could tell he truly did have his people's best interest at heart. I noticed this by keeping track of the issues that upset him the most. General Slekcorza usually showed his anger far quicker than any other side of him but, since I kept track of it, it showed a pattern that slowly gave me a better impression of his true motives. 

{Along the way, I noticed that he was actually quite selfless, if you happened to be a silurian anyway. If you were not a silurian then you needed to fight extra hard to earn his respect and trust, but he didn't shut the door on that option completely. He even outlined for me straight up what it would take to earn his respect and trust. Great power alone was not enough. Defeating a powerful dragon which, in a way, was an opponent to this city as well, was not enough. What it would take was getting horrifying villains off of his back and the creatures he guarded. 

{I keenly remember the sharp, judgmental look he gave me after he specified that as if to ask me, “Can you do that?” He was not subtle about the fact that that was the price of his friendship and respect, and he even hinted at what I could gain if I proved I could earn that respect.

{I must point out that he was hard on his own troops as well, fellow silurians, but it was only because he demanded the best effort from his own species. Since there were so few of them left, it made more sense to demand the best of them, especially from a military general. There was a great deal at stake from his perspective, and he saw it all in genuine danger. To me, he basically said, “Save us from this trouble and then we'll talk. Until then, I have nothing further to say to you.”

{Well, sure. Fair is fair. The demonstration of great power does not prove it's on your side yet. He could just as easily evaluate me as a potential threat. He didn't attack me if I didn't attack first, but he kept his guard up to reveal he was as ready for an attack as he possibly could be under the circumstances. I had a feeling he wouldn't have brought me into the city if it wasn't for Awalki's council, another creature who did earn his trust, apparently enough to convince even him on things he had initially been reluctant to accept. General Slekcorza gave me a chance to prove myself while maintaining his guard in the meantime. Actually, that's quite fair, to be honest.

{So, instead of insisting that the leaders of this city free every enslaved horse right off the bat, I instead turned my focus to the villains attempting far greater harm to this city. To begin with, it seemed my first challenge was to deal with the creature known as Plague, a corrupted former silurian. His tactics to enslave other creatures were completely sinister and far beyond the point of tolerance or forgiveness. He didn't just cause pain in the most horrible way one could imagine, he was also a threat to our livelihood in other ways as well. Plague contaminated food on purpose as well as the land from which it grew. It actually reminded me of the worms that infected the Orchard's farm, which ended up the final straw that caused them to leave that farm for good. Again I'm faced with another abomination like this, only this time the stakes were much higher. 

{Plague was not the only problem either. He simply happened to be the most dangerous at the time, unless one counted the ever expanding corruption of The Dark Star. I also heard reports of rampages from goblins, centaurs, minotaurs, and a cyclops. A raid over here, a slaughter over there. Panjora itself was extremely well defended, but not every community was fortunate enough to have such high walls let alone so many of them, and Panjora depended on a steady supply of food just like any other community. The silurians may have been content on a steady diet of horse flesh, but the same could not be true about their slaves themselves. Traditional farming, which I was surprised to discover existed in this timeline after all, was absolutely necessary to maintain this remaining population. If that system collapsed then everything dependent on it would eventually crumble as well. The places that grew that food was being attacked by multiple sources. Add it all up, and one could foresee very big problems further down the road if nothing was done to take care of it. 

{After your mother and I set off on our journey to help take care of some of these problems, we got sidetracked by a fortuitous discovery. While out exploring, we happened to spot a meteor crash by one of those benevolent and magical meteors the natives called Starlight Dust. Since your mother and I could fly, we had a wide view of the surrounding countryside. We spotted the meteor strike at night so its shimmering light stood out well against the darkness. Again, because we could fly, we were also the first ones on the scene to collect from it. 

{Back during the height of the silurians' rule, they used to have orbital tracking systems to detect these kinds of meteors and it gave them a massive advantage when it came to collecting these rocks in a hurry but, since most of their race was in hibernation and a great deal of their equipment was damaged, we ended up unopposed to this discovery and gift from the heavens. 

{That's what it was, too. I swear by Celestia, what we ended up doing with that crystal greatly blessed our journey eventually and your mother in particular. When we found it, we both felt it was ours and we both felt it was meant to be a gift to aid us in our journey. It felt as if the Twilight Star was encouraging us to fight back the darkness and also gave us the means to do so. We were not about to let this opportunity go to waste.

{But this discovery ended up temporarily dividing us. Not socially, mind you, but physically. 

{As a unicorn with training in enchanting as well as a talent for the manipulation of crystal magic, I was the perfect choice to help forge this magical star meteor into something helpful.

{But, since your mother couldn't contribute much to the project, it was decided she would head on without me and at least scout out potential problems and even hoofle them if it wasn't too dangerous. Her ability to fly was an advantage that was not shared by too many creatures at the time, so she had the ability to survey mass amounts of land at the same time and fly away from danger if she had to, or chase down bad guys effectively.

{I was nervous about sending her off alone, but I also trusted her judgment. I figured she would know when enough was too much. She was also a powerful mare. There was a great deal she could hoofle with her assets which was a great deal more than the victims she saved could claim for themselves, so I ended up letting her go to hoofle the situation as she saw fit despite a little reluctance on my part. If she came upon too much trouble, she knew how to call me for help using the wind and I had the ability to fly to her quickly no matter where she happened to be.

{Besides, I had planned to make something special for her using this Starlight Dust. I had ideas in my head for a while about the construction of a magical armor that could simultaneously be a weapon. I did some research into this in Crystal Sage's virtual library and even came up with the idea that Crystal Sage himself later refined, especially about my ideas for the magical function of the armor. He was also intrigued with the discovery of the stone and planned to compare it to what he already knew about crystal science in the far distant future.

{Back in his time, or mine, magic of this nature had spread to enchant most of the planet already and it was consolidated in only a few places but, in this ancient era, we discovered one of the sources of magic in its purest form. Shaped correctly, it had the potential to become something awesome, and your mother definitely deserved it. At long last we had the materials, the means and the skills to pull this off. I'm telling you, all our stars aligned perfectly on this project.

{It took me two months to finish it. Most of that downtime was due to experimentation. My magical ability to manipulate the shape of crystal greatly accelerated the project in terms of form, but it was the enchantment that I had to be the most careful about. I pore over this and over this, experimenting with one virtual source after another in Crystal Sage's virtual city before daring to try it on the real thing. I practiced this over and over again until it became second nature to me. When it came to this one armor, I could eventually enchant it in my sleep if I wanted to. I wanted to make sure I was that good before I set to work on enchanting the actual armor because it was very unlikely I would get a second chance with this. Even in this time period, direct discovery of such material which made it to the surface of the planet was quite rare, especially in the local vicinity I happened to be at the time.

{My extra training and careful attention to detail probably paid off well because, when I finally got down to enchanting the real thing, the whole thing went off without a hitch. Like I said, all my stars aligned on this project. When I finally completed it, it was perfect! Perfectly sized for her and perfectly functional in terms of the enchantment. There were no side effects, special conditions to use it, hidden curses or magical leaks that would gradually disenchant the armor. It did exactly as I intended it to.

{I called it the Prism Armor. A more expanded title of it is Prism Armor of the Iron Heart. After my Mist Cloak, this was my newest masterpiece, one of three I ever constructed in my entire lifetime so far. Well, four if you count our airship as well, but I digress. 

{This was an armor made of crystal specially designed for a pegasus and your mother in particular. It fit every inch of her perfectly. It expanded down her chest and along the bottom of her torso. It also covered mostly the front of her legs but was bare at the joints, leaving room for flexibility in bending them. The crystal was especially thick in the front hooves because that part of the armor was also intended to be a weapon. It turned her forward hooves into a pair of maces, effectively speaking. 

{That was not the only built-in weapon on the armor. It also had a one and a half foot tall horn, or eighteen inches in other words, extending off the top of her helmet which mostly covered the top of her head and extended down to her lower jaw. The horn made her look like an alicorn considering her wings but, instead of magic, it was actually designed for offensive purposes. With it, she could use the horn as a piercing attack, much like wearing an arrow off the top of her head. I warned her not to put too much pressure on her neck, but she was far stronger than most pegasi so it was less of a concern for her. 

{The armor also covered across her back and along the top of her wings. I liked this part especially, and so did she. Since the crystal armor covered the top of her wings and was made of flexible separate crystal shaped feathers strung together, it effectively turned the tops of her wings into a pair of giant, flexible shields. Moreover, the edges of the crystal feathers extended off the tips of her natural wings on purpose and they were very sharp. With it, she could use the edges of her crystal wings as a bladed attack, making her wings both a shield and a sword simultaneously. 

{As for the enchantment of the armor, it augmented her in two ways. One of the enchantments regenerated her stamina like crazy. With it, she could fight almost endlessly and never tire, or do any other activity that normally tires the muscles after a prolonged period of time and effort. In fact, the enchantment was so strong she would never be able to sleep in the armor even if she needed to which was why I also added the ability to turn that particular function off with a command thought then re-enable the function with another command thought. By relying only on a thought, she could be tied up and gagged and still be able to switch that function on and off at will. 

{Due to the weight of the armor, it would compromise her speed and agility in the sky or the ground a bit, but the enchantment allowed her to push herself to maximum effort without tiring which countered the hindrance somewhat, at least potentially. It was good exercise too, particularly on a strength standpoint.

{As for the second enchantment, it warded her from the influences of evil magic. Dark enchantments and/or curses would have a very hard time influencing her while she wore the armor and, even if she didn't wear the armor, such enchantments could not affect at least the armor itself. That was because I filled the crystal with the emotion of love. I filled it with my desire to see her protected.

{As a side effect, the weapon components of the armor proved especially effective against unholy creatures. If the creature was empowered primarily by dark magic, then the weapon components of the armor hit them with a multiplied force as if they got repeatedly hit several times over and over in the exact same spot. That, in turn, made each hit count more than it normally would. It might even prove effective in dispelling evil enchantments on other objects or creatures when attacked by these weapons because this enchantment was primarily the antithesis of its opposing element. 

{One cosmetic side effect of the enchantment was the fact it made the armor shimmer with prismatic light. This light was especially intense around the spinal cord area of the armor but, since the entire armor was made of interconnected crystal, the light projected from that point shimmered and shone across every inch of that armor. I found it especially breathtaking to behold crystal prismatic wings or horn. The light did not shine a single color at a time either. It shined multiple colors simultaneously and they gradually shifted across the armor. The way it shifted colors was reminiscent of an Aurora Borealis. Seeing that actually made me think, “That is the color of love.”

{Your mother loved it when I finally presented it to her, especially after I explained what it did and what emotions I used to enchant it. I remember how she hugged me fiercely and quietly cried on my shoulder, whispering, “Thank you. I love you too.”

{Come to think of it, that was also the moment your mother proposed marriage to me. She said it had been long enough and we'd been together through so much and, most importantly, we loved each other enough. I agreed to her proposal except I suggested a delay until we got back to our own time period. This was an event I wanted our family to join in. She smiled and said that Derpy, Vision and the Doctor also needed to be there. Again, I agreed so, from that point until our actual wedding, we were fiance and fiancee.}

“Aww!” Star Breeze squealed in gushy delight. “How romantic! You two finally proposed to each other when you presented to her a jaw-dropping and awesome enchanted armor slash weapon. I can only hope I'll be that lucky someday.”

“It was a good call to make the proposition then,” Feather Wind declared. “Pure love swam in that armor and it was so beautiful to behold because of it. With it, I poured all of my desire to see her protected, just as she had done for me ever since I was a young colt.  That's the power of love for you. It can make the most incredible and beautiful magical equipment.”

“Really has a nice ring to it too, I think,” Star Breeze figured with a grin. “'Prism Armor of the Iron Heart.' Wow, Dad. You really are a warrior-poet. Does 'Iron Heart' kind of imply being emotionless, however?”

“It could be viewed that way I suppose, but it certainly wasn't intended that way. I could have also said 'Stout Heart' and that would imply the armor's function better, but it doesn't quite have the same ring to it. It almost works but the other version has a little more umph to it.”

“'Prism Armor of the Stout Heart?' Hmm.” Star Breeze seemed to taste the sentence, then concluded, “Actually, it still sounds pretty good, and it's less confusing than 'Iron Heart', but that version also greatly implies a stalwart heart as well. I can so easily imagine 'Iron Heart' to be a symbol of courage as well. If I said 'Silver Heart' I would think more of somepony with purity and/or compassion.”

Feather Wind waved off at his daughter. “All of it works, I suppose. It doesn't really matter what it's called, it matters more what it does and what it means.”

“And with a prismatic horn, she could easily be mistaken for a beautiful alicorn princess. I'm curious, what did other creatures of that time think of it? Since they had never heard of an alicorn before, their thoughts may have strayed to another theory, but what?”

“Put it this way. The title 'Guardian Angel' gained even more credit for those who beheld her in that armor. It was awe inspiring and almost otherworldly to look at, and it augmented her abilities in ways unmatched by others. A pegasus who could fight tirelessly, was warded against evil enchantments and was especially effective against evil creatures . . . couldn't you imagine that to be an angel if you never saw a pony with wings before?”

“Oh, easily!” Star Breeze agreed. “Even without the wings, I still might assume something like that if I lived back in those times. Today, however, I'd probably mistake her for an alicorn princess instead. How about, Princess of the Rainbows! Does that sound nice?”

“Pretty . . . and a little confusing. Does that mean she is princess of only rainbows and nothing else?”

“Princess of Love, then?” Star Breeze amended. “You did say the armor was enchanted with love. Next time somepony has a crush on me, I'm going to imagine them with a prismatic aura around their bodies.”

“A crush? No. I don't think so,” Feather Wind argued. “True love is far more powerful than that. It is a beautiful light that is nurtured through so many trials and tribulations. Pure love endures across any trial. Pure love is bright and unchanging. One might even say eternal. It's hard to describe, but I can't tell you how rare it is. Maybe it's more common than even I think. After all, there are many kinds of love. If I made something for you using my emotions for you, I guarantee it would be very strong and formidable, but the love is not romantic. Different type but still pure and powerful.”

“Well . . . this is interesting but we're getting sidetracked here. Go on with your story.”

Feather Wind rolled his eyes. “We're getting sidetracked from the part of my story where we once got sidetracked. Go figure. Anyhoo . . .”

{It actually took awhile for either of us to even start to confront Plague. It was not for the lack of trying either. We investigated a bunch of places we suspected he was infesting. Some of those places turned out to be false alarms and others were probably real. We did not even encounter an infected pony . . . excuse me, I mean horse . . . until about five months later. Before that, we found more evidence of infected crops or forests instead. 

{While tracking him down, it was very disturbing to find evidence that this villain was a very patient hunter. He wasn't like Puppet Master insofar as charging into a village head on with insane evil glee and seemingly no plan, nor requiring one to achieve his aim. 

{No. This villain stuck to the shadows and quietly observed his victims before striking, sometimes after months of study. He would send worms, infected rats or infected roots to plague an area as if testing the waters and seeing how much resistance he should expect if he continued applying pressure. He was calculating and methodical, which was why he deeply frightened me. 

{I really didn't like the idea of dealing with very intelligent villains. It made me feel like I had less of an advantage against them which, in turn, made me feel a whole lot less prepared or secure against them. If they could do what I could do, only for evil, then it was a battle of wits that I feared I might lose. A cunning opponent could have contingency plan after contingency plan. No creature is perfect. Even a genius can make a mistake no matter how careful they try to be, but such minds tend to make mistakes less often and, even when they did, they could have potentially multiple layers of backup plans to cover for their mistakes. 

{To keep up with this villain, I realized I'd need tricks up my own sleeve as well. 

{As time went on, I got a gut feeling that he was aware of our activities and he planned on it accordingly. I'm telling you . . . this one made me very nervous.

{But, for the vast majority of our time not spent investigating, we went ahead and dealt with lesser threats. Well, lesser at least to the two of us. There was a big difference between a dozen rampaging minotaurs charging into a defenseless village and charging after us instead. The sense of scale depends on one's skills, equipment, allies and abilities. Your mother and I curb-stomped such threats with ease but those villagers would have lost for sure if we hadn't been there to defend them, and I remember when I was young and felt that helpless which made me easily sympathize with their plight. 

{Your mother and I quickly gained renown as local heroes who swept in and saved the day, kind of like comic book heroes except placed in a more primitive setting. Your mother and I had to laugh at how we became real life superheroes effectively but, of course, we cared more about the results rather than our fame. 

{We flew back and forth from place to place. I told many villages that we rescued and otherwise about the fact they could whisper 'Feather Wind' then send a message to me across the winds. I told them that so they could be my eyes and ears, watching for trouble, but I also warned them not to abuse that privilege. 

{And, of course, eventually they did. Not at first, mind you. The ones your mom and I directly rescued especially took our warning seriously. They saw first hoof how dangerous we could be if they defied us and their own gratitude towards us also made them quite cooperative but . . . as the rumors spread and other . . . horses . . . got the message, eventually I realized we were showing up to false alarms just because other creatures wanted to meet living legends. Some even wanted to use us for commercial purposes like endorsing one product or another. That was quickly getting annoying and out of hoof. How was I supposed to tell a false alarm over a genuine one? I'm not psychic, not like Vision is. I couldn't just ignore them all but, for each false alarm either of us responded to, it delayed us from saving other creatures that actually needed our help.

{The solution to this problem wasn't perfect but, notably, the suggestion came from your mother first. As usual, she had a gift for cutting right to the heart of the problem sometimes with amazing insight.

{In this case, she advised those horses who took our warnings seriously to make an impression on those who weren't. We told them that responding to false alarms delayed us to rescue those in genuine danger. If they conveyed the seriousness of the situation to others then the scope of the problem might gradually get reduced. This, in turn, helped us to spread the word faster rather than us having to repeat ourselves one by one.

{Also note that if the same voices kept lying about being in danger then what would happen if actual danger rolled around and yet we ignore a familiar liar? In a crisis situation sometimes we had to set priorities and learn to set them quickly. We made sure to let others know of those potential consequences so that they learn to take our warnings more seriously.

{Anyway, that helped a little and even more over time.

{One day, however, disaster struck. It really imparts the message of the dangers of complacency and arrogance. After dealing with so many successes, I guess we gradually got a little cocky. It's hard to help after a pattern of repeated easy successes, but I really do blame us for this mistake.

{In this case we were dealing with a rampaging cyclops. It looked like a giant minotaur except it had one eye and it had a goat head instead of a bull. Actually, it was the only one reported on record. For all we knew, it might be one of a kind in this era so far. It hunted on a mountain pass and slaughtered ponies . . . excuse me, horses that dared to cross the path. This giant was thirteen feet tall and wielded a mighty oaken club that could crush a bolder with a single hit.

{Beyond being large, strong and endurant, it was clear this was no magical threat, at least not yet. It was because of that reason I actually stood back and allowed your mother to deal with this threat. I stuck around and continued to monitor just in case, of course, but I was practically yawning with boredom and waited for your mother's inevitable success. For her part, she treated this like a fun sport. I kind of recalled she even teased the creature sometimes. 

{Actually, I should mention that, by this point, we started to master ancient ponish so I didn't need the translation magic quite as often anymore unless we encountered a new species who spoke a new language.

{To be honest with you, your mother's efforts more annoyed than threatened the cyclops. Her taunts were far more effective than her kicks. If anything, she was more likely to win by wearing the creature down rather than outright hurting it. I honestly think that was her plan because she isn't stupid. She was not the brightest either, but she was too smart to repeat obviously ineffective tactics unless it was leading up to some advantage down the road.  

{Deep down, I feel she pitied the creature on some level, and even I realized the creature had every right to do what it needed to do to live. In this case, I think the intent of your mother was just to give the creature a good spanking and a firm scolding for previous naughty behavior then peacefully send it on its way. If this was done well, he could potentially even be an asset used to guard other innocent creatures in the future rather than attacking them. The cyclops was a savage but he didn't really strike either of us as innately evil. His lack of any magical ability, including dark magical ability, was a testament to his inherently neutral nature.

{Play with fire often enough, though, and one day you'll eventually get burned. It happened far too quickly than either of us realized. In one moment she was dodging and weaving in the air like some pesky mosquito, then the next moment the giant club of the creature connected squarely on your mother's back and sent her sailing away which crashed her against a rocky mountain. Roaring in triumph, the creature was about to leap in to finish her off until he heard me scream at the top of my lungs which immediately attracted his attention towards me.

{He never connected with me. I didn't give him that chance. Instead, he got impaled by hundreds of red crystal javelins which shot out of the earth from all around him, mostly in a diagonal angle aiming towards him. Stabbing into his ankles and extending all the way to his neck, the creature was pinned between too many crystal spikes to make any further movement unsafe. He still wasn't dead, but he was bleeding and would eventually die if left untreated. At the time I didn't care. Your mother was seriously injured. I even feared the worst in an explosive moment of panic. 

{As formidable as the Prism Armor is and was, armor plates do little to cushion the impact of blunt force trauma. Such attacks could transfer right through the armor. Since this was enchanted armor and enchanted with the will to protect with love, I imagine the armor did what it could to reduce the impact, but the end results was she just could not move. Her spine was shattered.}

“What?!” Star Breeze interrupted in stunned objection. “That doesn't make any sense! An injury that serious would never heal. Clearly she can trot these days though, even fly.”

Feather Wind held up a hoof to her. “Bah-bah-bah. Let me finish.” Star Breeze waved at her father to continue as she settled down with a strong look of worry.

“Stern Wing!” Feather Wind cried in a frenzy in the past as he zipped up close to her. He almost touched her but froze a hoof near her face. He saw her wince and shiver in intense pain. Clearly that also meant she was not dead. Whatever she was dealing with, however, was far too severe to be able to hide it on her face completely. 

“Stern Wing . . .” Feather Wind cried solemnly. He felt extremely lost and confused. He had no idea how to remedy this situation. He didn't even know how severe the problem was. He found himself wishing the Doctor would show up. He could at least examine her safely with his sonic screwdriver, and perhaps use the same to heal the injury.

Feather Wind was shaking and shivering while tears rolled down his eyes to see his beloved in so much pain. She could not respond to him either. It took everything she had to avoid screaming in agony, but she held on to the last shred of her dignity in the way she usually does. In any situation she faces, she goes down fighting like Tartarus.

Feather Wind's attention was locked on his beloved as he watched helplessly until he heard hoof clomps nearby. He turned to look and was astonished to see Vision climbing up to the ledge they were on. She did it with a fair amount of ease, too. As much as a spider would. 

Feather Wind tried to call at Vision for help but he could not get his voice to speak. His best effort yielded only a small squeak. Although blind, she held up a hoof to him anyway.

“You don't need to say anything. I've come to help,” Vision announced after raising a hoof at Feather Wind's direction.

Feather Wind felt dizzy. The world started spinning around him. His head was spinning with so much spent adrenaline that he felt positively drained. Besides that, tears blurred what little vision he had. He tried wiping it away but that was a mistake. His hooves were too dirty to wipe away tears safely. He only ended up irritating it more. Normally he would not have been stupid enough to make an obvious mistake like that but, in that moment, it felt like he had the intelligence of a panicked infant. Even words fled his mind. Emotion was the only thing dominating his mind. There was no room for anything else. On that day, he lost control of himself almost completely.

Fortunately for them both, Vision had far more discipline. Her blank, livid eyes stared in Stern Wing's general direction and started emitting a high pitch frequency. As noted earlier, she had a permanent lens made of the same technology as the sonic screwdriver built over her blind eyes which she used in an obscure way to see. At that moment she used it to scan Stern Wing to notice what the problem was. She also vibrated the nerves along her spinal cord to deaden them temporarily. That, in turn, dulled the pain eventually to almost nothing. When that happened, Stern Wing did not have to struggle nearly as hard to avoid screaming.

{Which, by the way, she never did. Your mother succeeded in that much at least.}

Without needing to exert that much effort, fatigue replaced her pain despite wearing the Prism Armor. That armor regenerated stamina very fast but it didn't make it infinite. If the body's strain was pushed too far, she could go unconscious despite the influx of extra energy from the armor. In times like that, it was like trying to give energy to a corpse or putting water in a bucket that has no bottom. It's futile.

Feather Wind paused his story as he winced tightly, bowed his head and rubbed his forehead with a hoof. Telling this part of the story made him relive one of the most horrifying moments of his life. Just like back then, he found it hard to talk.

A tiny hoof laid on his lap reawakened his attention and returned it to his daughter. In her eyes, he saw her own tears she was struggling with. He smiled at her lovingly then pulled her in close for another warm hug. In that moment, it felt really needed. 

A few minutes of this helped thaw his mind enough to resume, and the warmth of their shared emotion steadied his emotions. 

“I love you so much, my sweet,” Feather Wind whispered to his daughter.

“Love you too, Dad.”

Eventually Feather Wind found the strength in himself to resume, but for his own peace of mind he tried to skim faster over this part.

{It's really hard to talk about this. I mean, this is somepony I dearly love. Somepony who has my very heart and soul. To see her going through that much . . . it felt like I shared it. Everything else blanked out. In that moment, I did not even care about the world . . . only her. My love, my universe was in shambles and it needed dire attention.

{Of course I later concluded that Vision must have had a psychic vision that this was a moment she needed to show up and save us. That's pretty much her thing, and I'm so grateful she took the time to learn healing skills as well. On that day it proved vital. 

{I later learned that she also knocked the cyclops out, and also shattered all the red crystals I had stabbed into the creature with an ultra-high frequency projecting from her “sonic eyes”, as it were, which vibrated the crystals at just the right frequency to shatter them. I think she even healed the creature later on and dealt with it in other ways because I never heard a peep of trouble from it ever since.

{Vision pulled out her tent from her dimensional saddlebag and guided us both in. From there, she proceeded to do what she could, but damage of this caliber was really beyond even her skills. I knew she had a potion that accelerated natural healing but, like natural healing, it had more trouble with complex vital organs and certain body parts. I'm not sure, but I think she actually did give your mother that potion and applied several kinds of oils along her back. 

{I have to tell you, I was so far out of it at first, I didn't even know my name if you asked me back then.

{Over time I eventually calmed the hay down and was a more useful ally to Vision. She told me how your mother's spine was shattered. It would take a miracle to heal it at this point, and any degree of success would leave her nowhere near the level of strength she had before. Much more drastic measures were necessary to repair damage this severe. I asked her for a suggestion. She told me to consult Crystal Sage for a suggestion which was, in itself, an odd suggestion. 

{In hindsight, I later realized she knew what must be done all along and simply waited for the right moment to proceed. What was about to happen had a permanent and lasting impact for your mother, and that was long enough to be noticeable by Vision's younger self. What was about to happen had already occurred from Vision's perspective. All that was left was to see it through and complete the time loop. 

{Taking her advice to heart, I consulted Crystal Sage and informed him of the problem. In return, he came up with an innovative suggestion that he said he performed only once before. He said, in this case, the damage was far too severe for her spine to recover on its own without some kind of extreme reality-bending powers, but he had an idea of his own that not only could repair the damage but make her even stronger. He said this experimental idea could not work on just any body part. In fact, the skeleton was pretty much the only option that his idea could replace. It would not work on any muscle organ, nerve or blood cell, or at least not likely to work. 

{Anyway, his idea was to coat her spine with crystal to use it to reinforce its structural integrity. Actually, it was more like turning the spine itself into crystal in a process similar to petrification, then use our magic to manipulate the shape of that crystal to repair the damage.}

“Wait. How does that work?” Star Breeze queried.

“It's exactly what happens to the dinosaur bones we discover,” Feather Wind informed his daughter. “Petrifaction takes place through a combination of two similar processes: permineralization and replacement. Permineralization is when minerals fills in pore spaces of organic matter which gradually replaces it. Petrification is basically a mineral copy of organic matter which is sort of nature's way of taking a picture of a body. Normally this process takes a really long time to occur but, with the expertise I had with Crystal Sage, we've discovered spells that could greatly speed up this process.”

“Oh wow. Fascinating,” Star Breeze said a bit numbly, not fully understanding what her father said yet.

{Crystal Sage told me this process was very tricky because it was very delicate. Our bodies are complex machines and it requires very precise calibration to work properly. With the right skills and tools it could be improved, but not easily. He warned me this would be the greatest test of my crystal magic expertise, and he highly recommended I work closely with Vision since she could illuminate the situation enough to help us work far less blindly on this process. He assured me it could be done, and he was willing to help me every step of the way. He'd never abandon one of his greatest allies who helped support his cause, and he personally cared for Stern Wing anyway.

{I, ah . . . won't bore you with the details. From this point on it gets highly technical. What I will say is we had some measure of success but it took nine months to accomplish it. It was a very slow, arduous, and sometimes painful surgery. 

{In a way I basically had to learn a new language, in this case sonic screwdriver language. I even invented a spell to help me translate audio frequencies to visual graphs. It was vital that I see what I was doing, and I even needed to do it at microscopic levels. 

{Like I said, this was an extremely arduous task. One I would not care to repeat. I probably would if it was somepony dear to me again, but I would really regret the necessity in such a case. There were so many chances for this to go wrong. So many times it did go wrong so I had to wreck my progress a little bit and start over again. Not all the way each time, but every mistake was a setback which delayed ultimate success.

{I was constructing a new spine for your mother, literally. By the way, that's one of the most complicated bones in our bodies so, BY CELESTIA, that was hard! On the plus side . . . the effort helped to refine my crystal magic training beyond anything I had ever accomplished before. Guiding the path of a crystal lattice on microscopic levels . . . Yeah! That's tedious stuff.

{I can't say I didn't care about the extreme effort, but nothing was going to stop me from helping your mother. I promised her I would do everything in my power to help her and, by Celestia, I discovered new limits in myself in my efforts to keep that promise. 

{I must point out that, until this process was complete, your mother was paralyzed from the neck down, and she even had trouble moving her face. She hated this! Oh, by Celestia, she loathed this period of her life. She was far more accustomed to being strong and independent. Forced into the opposite direction was humiliating for her. 

{On the other hoof, she loved me dearly for all I was trying to do for her. Once again I defied the impossible, and this time I did it exclusively for her sake. She could not tell me how much she loved me for that. Instead she demonstrated it by touching the Red Crystal (with my help, of course) then projected her love into it, then requested me to review it just so that I could feel how intense her feelings were, and they were. They were so powerful. I appreciated her gift to me but I did not require a reward for this work. I accepted it only because she gave it in desperation to repay me, and any shred of dignity I could give her, I gladly did so. 

{This was also a time we talked a lot whenever I was not busy concentrating on improving the crystal lattice. That would help over time far more than you might initially think, but I'll give you a hint; in what way does an emotional bond with another pony, or any creature for that matter, help you to defend yourself against the darkness?}

Feather Wind paused for a moment to let that question sink in. In the end she just continued to stare at her father a little thoughtfully but did not say anything yet. He nodded at her as he said, “Think about it.”

{Your mother was totally dependent upon us until the eighth month. Before that point she could not move, could not excrete on her own, could not eat, could not roll over, could not scratch herself . . . you get the idea. It's like being a rock. A dumb piece of weight that just could not move. Her mind still worked so she felt very caged in an unworking shell. 

{Towards the latter half of the eighth month, however, the crystal lattice of her new spine reached enough percentage of her nerves to start regenerating them. When the nerves started to recover, it resumed the link necessary to communicate to the rest of her body, such as her muscles. At first she still could not move. The first positive sign of progress was regaining feeling in the rest of her body. Slowly but surely, more and more command of her body started to return.

{One day, late into the ninth month, an explosion of progress occurred that I think none of us expected. Maybe not even Vision. I remind you, she can't see into her own future or those who are near her. On that day your mother gained too much progress. She regained control of her body and then some. The only problem was, it came at the expense of her mind.}





xoxo





Feather Wind's eyes popped open when he heard a savage scream outside of the tent. He rolled into a sitting position, fully convinced a new monster had found its way to them. Alarmed, he charged out the front tent flap. He was so intent on the exit that he didn't even notice his fiancée was missing from the operating table or the fact that the tent flap was already unzipped.

Outside it was overcast, nighttime, and raining very fiercely. They were still parked on the ledge where Stern Wing initially crashed after getting hit by the giant's club. Looking over the ledge, Feather Wind was a bit alarmed to see a raging river flowing through this canyon. It was quite a bit higher than he expected. That river had not been there yesterday. The weather in ancient times of Equestria was really quite unpredictable. He supposed he might have noticed if he went outside and checked. His communion with the sky normally gave him decent warnings if he bothered to pay attention, but lately he had been extremely exhausted. 

He looked up, considering to use his powers to clear the weather, but later shook his head. He could do it but it might take him a while. Feather Wind had to fight nature pretty hard to make a severe change to it that it didn't want to do, and right now he was too tired to exert that much effort. 

{Besides, so far he failed to locate the source of the savage scream outside. Whatever it was, it might threaten his fiancée and he could not let that happen while she remained in such a delicate state.

In fact, he was so far out of it that he failed to dodge several rocks that tumbled down on him when he had plenty of warning. They collided with his hooves and violently tripped him over. As he fell, he was bashed several more times by other tumbling rocks. That knocked him off the ledge entirely but, fortunately by then, he recovered his senses enough to lighten his gravity and lift himself telekinetically. By that point he realized that whatever caused that rock slide was further up the mountain, so he floated upward to investigate.

Along the way up he ignited his horn with silvery light. That helped to illuminate many nearby falling raindrops pouring all around him, though he could occasionally see much more during bright lightning flashes. He could have erected a force barrier to protect himself from the driving rain but his concentration was difficult enough as it was. 

It was more by instinct than anything else that caused him to dodge a huge rock that was chucked directly at him. A savage roar was his only warning before that point. Feather Wind barely dodged around that rock. In his perception, his adrenaline kicked in enough to make that exact moment seem to slow down in time. It was enough to notice he dodged that rock by mere centimeters, and it did hit his soaking wet mane.  

After dodging the attack, he finally located his adversary. When he did, he became convinced that this opponent was indeed empowered by dark magic. He did not consult the Red Crystal to double check. It seemed he did not need to. What he saw before him was a dark, shadowy pony lit up by many red glowing veins, and the eyes glowed menacingly red in the darkness. The glowing veins were not constant. There were tiny intermittent breaks in them which traveled across its body and that, in turn, showed the path of blood circulation more clearly than he had ever seen it before. 

The creature gazed upon him savagely. Feather Wind instinctively knew that this opponent was very powerful, so he knew right off the bat it was unwise to hold his power back. He underestimated that cyclops, after all. That was not a mistake he would willingly make again.

He saw the dark figure crouch low, seeming to get ready to pounce. Some of the glowing red veins disappeared for some reason as if concealed behind something that didn't glow in the night. 

“What the heck is going on here?” Star Breeze wondered aloud, at the edge of her seat.

In the past, Feather Wind whipped his horn upwards and called upon the Red Crystal. A ring of enchanted red crystal shot out of the earth and surrounded this dark pony, imprisoning it from within. A side effect of this prison was the fact that it would magically teleport those who attempted to teleport out of it to reverse the flow of that energy in order to return them right back into the prison one second after escaping it, not that he expected that tactic from this particular opponent anyway. It was simply a side effect of the spell that Crystal Sage had taught him.

With the spell in place and the creature secured with reasonable confidence, Feather Wind intended to examine his opponent in a safer tactical position, but he was quite alarmed when the beast suddenly shattered right through one side of the crystal prison as if the prison was made of fragile, cracked glass.

The creature flew right at Feather Wind and seized his throat. Due to the momentum, they were both driven straight into the fast flowing river. Along the way down the glow of his silver horn got cut off due to loss of concentration.

Feather Wind thrashed and flailed in panic in the river, but all of his physical efforts were in vain. Whatever this creature was, it would not let go. Relentlessly it continued to choke him even as they both started to drown. As Feather Wind fought to regain his senses, he realized he was far stronger with his magic compared to his physical body but that situation made it extremely difficult to concentrate. He had to fight back a lot of panic to gather enough concentration to cast even the simplest of spells and, in the end, that's all he managed to accomplish. He managed to tear himself out of the river telekinetically and crash onto another ledge just outside of the raging river, but the black and red glowing creature continued to hold on and choke him. The grip was extremely strong as well. He feared his lungs were already crushed and he could never breathe again. 

Feather Wind started to black out at that point which made it much too difficult to concentrate on any spell. The savage red eyes poured over him menacingly. He realized, and not for the first time in his life, he was very likely to die now. He did not have much strength to begin with. This creature was choking the life out of him and he was in a more feeble position which had no leverage. It was a heroic effort just to tear himself out of the river, but now what? This creature just wouldn't relent.

Then suddenly the creature froze after a brief jolt. The eyes and veins stopped glowing a second later. During a brief lightning flash, Feather Wind had just barely enough time to catch a glimpse of Stern Wing falling on top of him, and behind her was Vision who knocked Stern Wing out with a precise and skilled chop to the neck. 

“Relax,” Vision said soothingly as she bent over a bit. “Your answers are coming soon.”

That was all he could do. Feather Wind's consciousness faded away.





xoxo





“Mom?!” Star Breeze exclaimed in intense disbelief. “She was the monster who attacked you that night? Why would she do that? I thought she loved you! Engaged to be married to you! She swore to protect you! Why in Tartarus would she ever attack you?”

Feather Wind paused as he grinned at the irony of this, then said to his daughter, “Relax. Your answers are coming soon.”

Star Breeze looked taken aback. “That's what you told me Vision said to you. Wait!” Her eyes widened in further shock. “Did she know that this conversation would take place in the far distant future? Is she secretly talking to me as well?”

“Maybe. She is a skilled oracle,” Feather Wind reminded his daughter.

“Whoa!” Star Breeze gasped in amazement, then applied a hoof to her head, then made an explosive sound effect as her hoof burst away from her head. 

Feather Wind took a moment to withhold a chuckle of amusement. When he recovered himself, he went on.

{That's what I wanted to know as well. In fact, that question lingered in my mind so strongly it followed me into unconsciousness. Crystal Sage pulled me from the edge of my unconsciousness and into the Red Crystal. He helped clear my head inside his virtual environment with a cup of jasmine tea. Well, a virtual cup of tea at any rate. When my head cleared enough, he asked me if I was well enough to listen. When I confirmed that I was, he gave me an explanation of what happened.

{He was quick to point out that he wasn't sure, but one thing he did know was that my fiancée's spinal cord was effectively replaced with a magical item, and that magical item had functions that she was not prepared to face yet. Crystal was one of the best conductors of magical energy, and her body, like that of any modern pony of our age, had natural magical energy within it. None of us would have a cutie mark if that wasn't the case. He also explained that, for the longest time, about nine months, the energy in her body accumulated within the crystal we were erecting in her body and it had no outlet until the project was completed and the prosthetic crystal spine was finally communicating with the rest of her muscles and nervous system. With all of those months of accumulated energy, it poured into her body and empowered it all at once. Unaccustomed to that overflow of energy, it made her mind go savage. It simulated an adrenaline rush but it was far more powerful. 

{I asked him if he was aware that this could happen all along. In return he admitted the thought had occurred to him but it came along with hundreds of other scenarios that hadn't happened. Since one of those many possible scenarios was death, it seemed like we safely dodged that line for now. 

{He then pointed out that this situation could actually work to our advantage, but only if my fiancée learned to control this new power. The energy within the crystal spine would constantly regenerate for as long as she lived, just like such energy accumulates in a unicorn which they could release using their horns as an outlet.

{This process was similar, except the energy was localized around the spine and it had only one outlet, the rest of her internal body. He said that, in this case, my fiancée gained the magical ability to augment her body to super pony proportions, but she needed to learn how to manage the explosive emotions that came along with it.

{He also warned that enhanced power came with enhanced cost. Her body was not designed to endure such explosive power and that it would, inevitably, exhaust her quickly, maybe even age her drastically. With the Prism Armor worn, however, she could more quickly recover from the energy burnout and perhaps even endure higher outputs of magical augmentation. 

{He reminded me this was just a theory, and recommended I pass it along to Vision. One way or another, he suspected she already knew what was happening to Stern Wing. From Vision's perspective, this had already occurred quite a long time ago. All that was left to do was write down history all over again. Crystal Sage also pointed out that Vision cared for Stern Wing enough to ensure she would not normally be this calm or indifferent to Stern Wing's suffering during this whole process unless she knew things would work out in the end somehow. He advised me to take that as a positive sign and move on with my life.

{I thanked Crystal Sage deeply from the bottom of my heart for aiding us in this most difficult journey. In return, he pointed out that he had to endure difficult trials in his own past as well and that he had others he cared about that helped him out through such times. He was just returning the favor which, later on, I could return the favor by helping out those who helped him in the past. Onward the cycle continued.}

Star Breeze smiled fondly as she said, “Grandfather is such an awesome pony!”

“Yes, he is,” Feather Wind agreed. “I can't tell you how often I looked up to him. Even his mere presence can give me comfort. Sometimes it feels I could absorb his inner strength through osmosis and without draining it from him. I try to learn from his example. Life does not always make that easy, but he would be the first to point out that trials like this are just a chance for the strong to get stronger. By enduring it, living through it and learning from it, we can move on better than we were before.”

Star Breeze's fond smile shifted to a proud grin as she said, “Sounds like something he'd say.”

{Pretty much as expected, Vision did not have a lick of surprise on her face when I told her about Crystal Sage's theory on what happened to Stern Wing. Instead she said . . .}

“So now you finally know. Now you can move on with the next phase of your life.” Vision regarded Feather Wind's general direction. “I told you that you would get your answers soon. I'll follow that up with some advice. From this point forward, you've done all you can usefully do here. What you've done to help her recover, I couldn't do without tapping into exorbitant powers but, from now on, your paths should diverge again. I will stay with her and help guide her through the process of mastering her emotions during her magical surges. I mastered meditation so I know it well enough to teach it. The next step is going to take a long time for her to master. Indeed, too long. 

“While you were here helping her to recover, nine months passed outside this tent. Nine months for the villains who accepted The Dark Star's 'blessings' to advance their own agendas, and nine months for The Dark Star to advance itself. Nine months the world stood by with no worthy defenders at all, or at least none who are prepared for this kind of threat. Magic is relatively new in this world in this era, and dark magic is especially new. There is no ancestors or text writing here that teaches these creatures how to hoofle this properly. It's all up to you.”

“Knowledge on dark magic wasn't common in my time either,” Feather Wind reminded.

“But at least you are aware of its existence and have heard of methods to counter it. These creatures have not,” Vision returned. “Also, you do have access to those who do have prior experience with this kind of phenomenon.”

“Crystal Sage,” Feather Wind realized.

“Don't let his knowledge go to waste,” Vision advised. “It came to him at a great cost in his own life. If you use it wisely, his knowledge may help you save the entire world and the Empire he loves so dearly.”

“What should I do?” Feather Wind asked. “How should I proceed?”

“That is up to you,” Vision said as she turned her head away.

“Oh, don't give me that!” Feather Wind spat. “Not now. Not after we have come so far together. Give me advice as a friend, or better yet . . . tell me what you would do in my place.”

“My choices are my own. What I would do may not necessarily be what you would do, or even be able to do.” Vision turned her head back in his direction. “But as a friend, I'd recommend reexamining your options. Consider what has worked so far and what could use improvement. Examine all of your resources. Have you used it to its fullest potential, or could you do more?”

“My resources?” Feather Wind reflected, looking taken aback. “I have me, you, Crystal Sage and Stern Wing.”

“Is that all?” Vision checked, then gave her friend a dry look. “Come on, Feather Wind. You can do better than that. Think, my friend. Your intellect and knowledge is one of your stronger assets. That and your heart.”

Feather Wind paused for awhile in thought, then tentatively said, “The other creatures in this time period?”

“Hmm.” Vision looked up. “That's an interesting proposal. There are many creatures on a planet, and it sure takes a lot to save an entire planet. The Dark Star is certainly willing to consider them potential resources. It would also sure love it if you ignored them.”

“Because . . . unity brings harmony!” Feather Wind realized.

“Oh please!” Vision rolled her milky blind eyes in Feather Wind's general direction. “You knew that lesson a long time ago. Stress can occasionally make us forget what we already know, however, no matter how useful that knowledge may be.”

“Of course! Why didn't I think of it before?” Feather Wind berated himself.

“I just told you why!” 

“Stupid, stupid Feather Wind!” Feather Wind got up and paced around in thought.

“Now you're speaking of yourself in third person? You're picking up some of the Doctor's habits,” Vision pointed out.

“I tried to do everything by myself,” Feather Wind went on. “Me and Stern Wing both.” He glanced at Stern Wing's unconscious body for a moment then looked away as he resumed pacing. “I did it because it's one of the strongest resources I have at my disposal, and one I can trust. It's difficult to convince me to put other creatures in harms way if I have access to a better option readily available, but I can't be everywhere at once. If I save one area then I leave some other area exposed.

“The Dark Star is attacking the whole planet all at once. It's calling out a dark offer in the shadows to any creature evil enough to be tempted by its offer. More than one creature will answer its call. Even if I were to somehow eliminate every single super villain in my way at the moment, some other creature will rise and take its place until I finally deal with the source of the problem . . . but to do that I need access to resources way out of my league right now. This is a piece of a dark power that has the ability to consume an entire sun! I'm not even a bug compared to that!”

Vision sat down calmly and drank some warm milk while she listened to her friend ramble. As long as he was on the right track, she didn't need to say anything.

“But a bug can form a swarm!” Feather Wind even further realized as he looked over to Vision. “Where one is powerless, many could triumph.”

“That depends,” Vision cautioned.

“On what?” Feather Wind asked.

“The vision of the group,” Vision answered. “A group is comprised of many individuals. Each one has their own goals, strengths and weaknesses in life. It can be a complicated thing to unite them all towards a singular purpose. Like it or not, for good and for ill, we're a great deal more complicated than a typical bug.”

“Survival is a pretty strong and basic motivation,” Feather Wind pointed out.

“This is true,” Vision agreed then took another sip of her drink.

Feather Wind resumed pacing. “I just need to get them to realize that their survival is at stake. To get them to see that we all need to work together to defeat an enemy too formidable for any of us to defeat alone. Not even I can do that.” 

Feather Wind paused and sighed as he looked up. “I did not really do them any favors by trying to take care of all of their problems on my own. A superhero that sweeps in and saves the day all the time can create lazy citizens in their wake. What happens when the next villain comes in and tries to ruin the day? The only way to defend the whole planet at once is for us all to chip in and defend it together.”

“Ooo!” Vision winced in disgust. “The Dark Star would hate you for talking like that.”

“Because it could work!” Feather Wind exclaimed back at her.

Vision shrugged. “You'll get no argument from me, ” she said then took another sip of her warm milk.

Feather Wind shifted his eyes and then his face towards the exit of the tent with a resolved and focused look on his face. “Then that's what I'll do. From now on I won't just concentrate on my own strengths. From now on I'll concentrate on making everyone else stronger, because only together can we defeat an evil of this magnitude.”

“So you have decided, then?” Vision checked.

Feather Wind nodded firmly. “I have.”

“Then be well, my friend,” Vision bade. “Go defy the impossible again. It's what you're good at.”

Feather Wind grinned at Vision as he said, “Maybe that should have been my cutie mark.”

Vision half shrugged as she said, “From a certain point of view, it already does say that. Who, before you, has ever heard of a flying unicorn? Let alone one that can do it really well.”

“Thank you, my friend, for everything,” came Feather Wind's heartfelt appreciation. “For a blind pony, you see things awfully clearly.”

“I tend to think of it as a different perspective,” Vision said. “From time to time, such things can be helpful to others who are too stuck in their ways.”

Feather Wind trotted to the exit and opened it telekinetically but, before he stepped outside, he requested something to Vision without looking back at her this time. “Take care of her, alright? I'm counting on you.”

“I said I will, so I will,” Vision promised. “Now go. You have a world to save.”

Feather Wind left.









xoxo





{From that day on I focused my efforts on a drastically different tactic. I returned to Panjora to report my findings as well as my intentions. 

{It turned out that General Slekcorza had already heard of some of my exploits so he wasn't quite as rude to me this time. The only complaint he had was to ask why did I stop? 

{I told him of my new plan and I explained why I had it. I told him I would focus on training a new breed of soldiers to combat this new threat. I told him I'd explain what they'd face to the best of my ability, and I would help them to prepare for it. I said I'd help improve their technology as well with the crystal science I learned from Crystal Sage. I didn't mention his name specifically or even mention Crystal Sage at all, only that I had useful knowledge on this regard. I told them that positive emotions can help combat negative ones. Since dark magic is fed by negative emotions, it stood to reason that positive emotions could counter dark magic. I said that crystals, in particular, are great receptacles for both positive and negative energy. If we learned to harness positive emotions in crystals, we could use them as both a shield and a weapon against the darkness. 

{General Slekcorza was initially wary of my theories. Most of it went over his head, after all. What I was proposing was a bit too difficult a concept to grasp because it defied his habits a bit too radically, but at least I can say he was not a stupid guy. Even if he could not fully understand it, he could say the same thing about the dark magic that was spreading across the world. It was hard to argue against something when you understand it so poorly you couldn't propose a counter argument. At a certain point I think he just shrugged and trusted the only pony who claimed to be an expert to any degree. 

{The situation was growing desperate and he wanted his options expanded as soon as possible. Normally he was the type of dinosaur who would study his opponents carefully before striking. To do otherwise was to rush in blind, and no self-respecting commanding officer was that foolish. In this case, however, he had a very difficult time studying his opponent. The Dark Star, in particular, was more like an idea rather than an opponent he could study, point to and say, “Ah-ha! He's leaning hard on his right leg! If I aim my attacks at that, I should be able to cripple him more effectively.” But this opponent was more like studying an emotion, one he had a poor grasp on. General Slekcorza usually avoided emotions entirely if he could, instead typically favoring logical tactics. That strategy was failing him in this case because the opponent was too intangible. Intuition and feelings were actually the key to success in this case.

{Awalki, on the other hoof, had a better time understanding my explanations. I thanked my lucky stars that Awalki was a philosopher too. Apparently he was a sage of many kinds. In this case, he had the ability to grasp the concept I was proposing. Positive feelings counter negative ones. He thought of this in terms of a magnet, except an actual magnet's opposite polarity attracts rather than repels. It still demonstrated a powerful relationship, so he was on board with my suggestions. While General Slekcorza had the official power of the city of Panjora, Awalki was a member of high respect in their society. Creatures trusted him to understand what many others could not, so when he said, “I trust this horse and I think we should move forward with his plan,” every other creature just gave a neutral shrug and basically said, “Okay. If you say so. You're the expert.”

{What I think bothered General Slekcorza the most about my plan was to militarize and train the horses of the city, but even he admitted they needed an army to help combat this threat and it was probably better to risk the lives of expendable slaves rather than the 'superior' master race, especially since the horse race was far more available in this case. Every creature that depended on that world for life had a motive to at least stand out of my way if not outright join my cause.

{One of the things that confused General Slekcorza was one of my tactics in training the horses for combat. I did focus some on the official stuff that he would understand such as crawling, galloping, climbing, push-ups . . . that sort of thing, but another thing I focused on was an emphasis in bonding with the fellow team. I encouraged them to talk to each other about themselves and their goals. In doing so, I also encouraged them to form goals in the first place. Slaves were not accustomed to that, but since that is the natural state of life, they adjusted rather quickly.

{Also, the horses enjoyed my training on multiple levels. I could just brush it off as being kindred species but the truth was it was much more than that. They always wanted freedom and they craved empowerment. Military training provided that empowerment, so it made it much easier for them to endure harsh training accordingly.

{Moreover, they were motivated to defend their planet from an invading sickness. Not just for the sake of themselves or their loved ones, but for the sake of every future generation to follow. The Dark Star was just that much of a threat so they thought of it in those terms. This threat put absolutely everything they cared about at risk, and that only fueled their motivation to fight it even further. Motivation, I knew, was a key to success here. Positive emotion was a necessary power source to counter the darkness, and I also taught them how to harness that energy into crystals in order to use them later to combat this darkness more directly.

{I had some help on multiple fronts. Some from within and some from without. Silurians had the knowledge of military discipline and tactics, but theirs were geared to take maximum advantage for their species. Silurians had an excellent sense of smell, for example, and they could leap quite far in a single bound. Their equipment, as well, was geared to take advantage of what they could do.

{It occurred to me, as I watched them train, that it would be a good idea for the two races to work together. Actually three races. The arakroa were also willing to do their part. Most of the arakroa were more focused on academic pursuits and that was okay but, for those willing, more physical training was also available. Their ability to fly, for example, was an obvious asset in their corner. 

{With all three combined, it started to remind me of home with the three breeds of ponies, and thinking of that made me feel homesick. This wasn't exactly my world, but the core elements of it were there, buried beneath the sands like buried treasure. I figured I'd only have to nurture it properly for it to bloom into a beautiful flower. 

{Carnivores, omnivores and herbivores working side by side to help defend their planet, quite likely for the first time. While it seemed strange to me at first, the more I thought about it, the more it felt right. Harmony is achieved when balance is achieved and every creature pitches in and has a chance to feel included. That, in turn, empowers them all together, and only together could we work to defeat a force that's actively trying to destroy life and harmony. 

{Internally, Crystal Sage was a good guide too. He had some experiences in military forces before as well. At first I was surprised to hear this. That did not sound like a profession that was a natural fit for a crystal sage or a Crystaler. He explained that he had a very long life, however. Longer than what was natural for most ponies. During that time, he helped build a society from the ground up, and that society depended upon many branches to survive, including the military. By necessity, he was forced to wear many hats at one time and another. It was actually one of the reasons why he was so dangerous as a villain. His knowledge in military tactics could have helped him conquer the world, and he almost did at one time. 

{Progress, I would say, was slow and steady. One of the encouraging things I encountered was a large amount of volunteers. Some even came from distant lands to participate. Since the skills of my initial group grew beyond those who came later, I used the skills of the initial group to help train the newer recruits. Onward the cycle spiraled. During that time I kept an eye out for any special standouts, and eventually I did spot some.

{Military was not the only thing I was focusing on. Like I said earlier, crystal science and morality were also important aspects. I know it sounds strange to hear, but I actually encouraged arts and theater in order to weaponize it, and to think . . . I once dismissed entertainment as irrelevant but, as I grew up and explored the workings of the universe more, I grew far wiser in my journey and that helped me to understand the necessity of things I once rejected. 

{That's right! It was my intention to weaponize friendship itself, and one way to do that was to lift the spirits of all creatures involved. The lessons Crystal Sage gave me taught me how the united spirit of a whole society could be used to the benefit of all, especially if that energy had a container to put it in which could later be drawn upon as needed. 

{Each of the three species involved all had their own individual tastes but, with my encouragement, they eventually found some common ground. It was my intent for them to start new traditions together and encourage them to see the value of each others' perspective. What the blend of genres created was indeed a work of art, and I enjoyed very much to see it flower, not to mention it gave me some ideas for my own poetry. I wrote about it a lot at least in Crystal Sage's virtual library and, since I personally had some talent in this affair, I also contributed some which later helped to inspire others.

{As for the crystal science . . . well, I don't mean to sound sexist here, but the stallions of the horses truly were better suited to physical endeavors so it was a natural fit for them to focus on military pursuits. The mares, on the other hoof, were naturally more empathetic so I encouraged them to pursue crystal science and carefully explained to them how it was every bit as important. It took far less encouragement than I initially expected. They were even confused why I tried so hard to convince them. Like the colts, the mares were just as eager for empowerment, to be useful and to help save their world, but they also had a general tendency not to want to get their hooves too dirty. It seemed to me they were more naturally attracted to magic as well. Go figure. 

{Come to think of it, I wonder if I'm the one responsible for females natural tendency to be attracted to pretty stones. That was basically what happened when I encouraged them to pursue crystal science. It fit them like a horseshoe on a hoof. It took even less explanation for me to get them competent in their field than it was for the colts to get competent in the physical arts. I think they would say that mares were naturally more gifted in everything to begin with.}

“Naturally!” Star Breeze agreed smugly. “You'll get no argument from me on that account. That I can assure you.”

“Of course,” Feather Wind said with a grin.

{Actually, my primary theory why the mares grew in their profession so fast was the fact that I encouraged them to use their emotions in pursuit of this art. For them to do that, that also meant getting more in touch with their intuition, and that sharpened instinct allowed them to intuit answers before I had a chance to explain things. In fact, I kind of think I actually slowed things down by attempting to get them to understand the logistics of the science behind the practice. Instead, most of the mares preferred to think of the crystals like a new toy. They wanted to experiment and play with it on their own, and I observed they had a tendency to learn faster when they were allowed to pursue this in their own way and at their own pace. 

{Tendencies don't fit the entire bill, however. There actually were some mares who were very interested in the exact science behind the art. Curiosity is an emotion too, so a gender that's naturally more emotional can just as easily embrace that emotion as well.}

“Preaching to the choir, Father!” Star Breeze waved her hooves above her head back and forth, then she paused as she gave a teasing grin to her father as she said, “Seems your time spent as a mare was not wasted upon you. That helped you to intuit truths most colts struggle to understand and that truth is this . . . girls are simply better at everything!”

“Yes, well . . . um . . . where would we be without you?” Feather Wind countered with a sheepish grin.

“Exactly!” Then Star Breeze realized something. “Hey! Can you teach me crystal magic?”

“It took you long enough to ask,” Feather Wind observed with a roll of his eyes. “I expected you to ask that question several paragraphs ago.”

“Well, I . . . am just captivated by your story. So how about it? Can you? Can you?”

“Certainly,” Feather Wind bopped the top of her head with his hoof, “but how about you let me finish my story first, alright? What other ideas might it inspire you to pursue later on?” 

Star Breeze grinned mischievously.

{The arakroa, both genders this time, were also a natural fit for crystal science. To my surprise, that wasn't as true for the silurians, and the reason that surprised me was they were more accustomed to dealing with this kind of science longer. They were the first to greedily tap into the power of Starlight Dust, for example, but it took me awhile to realize that was also their problem.

{Silurians actually had a problem expressing their emotions, and again that applied to both genders. That observation led me to conclude that carnivores were naturally more competitive than other kinds of species, and that meant remaining on their guard. According to their instincts, revealing emotions gives an advantage to a potential enemy, and a predator tends to think of every species as a potential enemy first and friend second, if ever. They even regarded each other with suspicion. Learning to trust was a slow process for them. I learned that first hoof. I might even say losing their trust could be quick as well. That was just a theory, though. I never dared to deliberately test their patience like that. That sounded dangerous. 

{On the other hoof, silurians were also natural pack hunters. Despite their innate suspicions, they also knew that the odds of winning anything was improved by doing it as a group. This was enough to set aside their differences just enough to work towards a common goal. As such, silurians were quite industrious. In terms of using positive emotions to ward themselves, however, was quite a bold step for them. 

{Being as emotionally distant as they normally were, I wish I could say that made them more resistant to the dark side as well, but that simply wasn't true. They actually do have emotions even if they don't show it as much, and it had a tendency to be attracted to darker emotions, I'm sorry to say. That said, they didn't want to die either and if surviving meant changing and adapting, they were at least willing to explore the idea. I'd take anything I could get. 

{On the whole, they were actually a very fascinating race. Very different from the ponies I've grown up with and there were very logical reasons for it. Understanding all the underpinnings of this situation and how it evolved into the complex nuances of their society was fascinating to explore more fully. Sometimes I wished there were more of them to explore. It would have made my job a lot harder but, in exchange, I'd get to learn more as well. (Sigh.) Oh well. So much for lost opportunities.

{They actually were useful in crystal science to a point. They knew how to cut the gems well and they knew the mathematical parameters of placing said gems around each other so it could network more easily. Emotionally, however, was where they drew the line so I left them to make the gems and set them up. The other two species could charge them instead.

{Then, one day, I made an amazing discovery when another pony . . . Celestia darn it . . . HORSES . . . made an important discovery. This discovery was made by one of my more promising students in crystal science, a mare named Shayla. She started out like any average horse of the female variety, but something clicked with her when I started teaching her crystal science. She fell upon it like a magnet attracts to its opposite polarity. She made several discoveries on her own when she was given the time and space to make her own experiments. One of the most important ones she discovered was the manipulation of raw magical energy.}

Feather Wind paused there and observed his daughter widen her eyes. He smiled at her but he went on before she could ask too many questions.

{In a way, Shayla was the first unicorn the world had ever known. She was particularly gifted with fire magic. For some reason that was a natural element for her, and quite frankly it stood out in her personality most abundantly. Vibrant, passionate, warm, could brighten up the whole room but could also be downright terrifying when she was angry.

{It was she who first experimented with crystal wands and used them as a kind of surrogate horn. At that point it occurred to me that was what I had been doing with the Red Crystal for years. I used that crystal like a second horn and, in doing so, I used the energy the stone was charged with. In this case, it was Crystal Sage's magic and cutie mark talent, which had an affinity for earth magic. That actually wasn't a natural fit for me. Far from it. It was quite difficult to master this crystal despite my bloodline, but I still managed it after great effort was made.

{Shayla, on the other hoof, intuited a natural connection with ruby gems in particular and, by charging her emotions into it, she discovered she could also unleash the energy she stored within the crystal wand to perform magical feats. 

{SHE CAST A SPELL! LITERALLY! AN EARTH PONY CAST A SPELL! BY CELESTIA, THIS WAS AN AMAZING DISCOVERY!

{In the process I might have accidentally discovered the true origins of unicorns. I can't say for sure if all ponies could do this, but some of them had a stronger affinity for magic than others. Again, I found this to be particularly common among the females.

{Anyway, Shayla's discovery was a major game changer. Crystal Sage was quite impressed with this discovery as well, though less impressed than I would have suspected. It was as if part of him knew already. In any case, I suddenly realized I had the potential not only to train military personnel, but spellcasters as well. 

{Now that Crystal Sage was alerted to this discovery he was, again, the first to have an accurate theory as to why. He told me that he knew a long time ago that crystals could both store and radiate magic. As such, they were the perfect medium for the creation of magical items. In this case, Shayla imbued some of her own essence into the crystal wand then used that same connection to unleash it. He also surmised that her regular contact with Starlight Dust, one of the mediums to enchant crystals, imparted some of its magic within her and, from that point on, it grew within her but she lacked an outlet for that innate growing magical talent until now.

{Shayla was also the first to get a cutie mark. For all I know, she might have been the first to get one in the entire world. In her case, it was a ruby wand that seemed to be spinning on a diagonal axis. At the same time the wand was surrounded by a whirlwind of fire. She asked me what this mark represented, and I told her all that I knew. Many other ponies grew fascinated with this discovery and . . . (Feather Wind trailed off then gave an irritated sigh in frustration.) . . . You know what? I'm just going to call them ponies from now on, okay? They called themselves horses but they are our descendants so they are ponies too. Got a problem with that?}

“No Sir,” Star Breeze replied with a quick shake of her head and a slightly spooked look in her eyes.

{Good! Then let's move on.

{Other ponies who noticed this grew interested to discover their cutie mark too, if possible. I started to suspect those that could awaken a cutie mark talent had regular contact with Starlight Dust, but it might not be the only possible source. If you think about it, magic is already a part of us. We really would not be sentient without it. It's how we got this far in the first place. Starlight Dust already caused us to evolve, and the potential for magic had been innate to us ever since. Like my uncle told me, emotion is the fuel for magic. The ponies more inclined to express emotion were also more inclined to discover their magical talents. 

{Shayla didn't really need concentration to access fire magic. It was just a natural part of her personality, as her cutie mark clearly attested to. It's like my connection with air. It comes to me so naturally I don't even need to tap into internal reserves of magic, though I still could. Shayla's connection with fire magic was very similar. All she had to do was feel intense emotion then she could burn anything she wanted. She could even cause globes of fire to hover in mid air. I had never seen her use practical magic, if I'm to be honest, like telekinesis but, when it came to her affinity for her element, she did not need training or concentration. If she wanted it, she did it. It was as simple as that. A reckless practice of magic that my father would shudder at, but it worked. By Celestia, it worked so well! 

{When she casts a spell, she also exhibited an aura color around the wand. In this case, it was deep orange. More than half of me expected red, to be honest, considering she was using a ruby wand as a medium. Go figure, but yeah, she actually had an aura color when she cast magic through her crystal wand. Tape it on her forehead and she was pretty much a unicorn right there.

{This led Crystal Sage to another hypothesis. He suggested that I tell the others to test their aura affinity with many different color crystal gems, one for each color their magical aura could possibly be. He even suggested making a single contraption composed of multiple gemstones fused together but not blended, then have them channel energy at it and see which gem responds to them the most. Once that was done and an affinity was established, he told me to tell them to make a wand of the type of gem that responded to them the most. He also suggested that, for now, do not formalize the second step too much. Let them invent the exact size and shape of the wand. If their intuition could serve as an accurate guide, they would discover the perfect form of the wand about as easily as they might discover their potential cutie mark. For some it might come easy, and for others they might have to try very hard. 

{His idea gave me something to work with so I passed on the suggestion. My students found this prospect very exciting. I did as well, but it was also useful knowledge. Finally I was not the only spellcaster in the game. Eventually I could make a whole team of spellcasters if this kept up. I might get them to join the military after all, but in a different capacity.

{Similar to actual unicorns, Crystal Sage pointed out that if they did actually discover a way to cast spells then the type of spells most aligned with their cutie mark talent would be the easiest to discover and the fastest to develop. As such, it was unlikely that we would discover another pony as gifted with fire magic as Shayla was. Instead, they were more likely to gravitate towards something else. Something that fit their personality as a pony. That was perfectly fine for me. Varied talents had more versatility in any situation as long as they worked together.

{What happened after that reminded me of something my uncle once taught me years ago. He said what is considered impossible is merely difficult because of the perception of society but, once that perception changes, it becomes easier for others to replicate. Truth be told, these ponies were introduced to cutie marks first because of Stern Wing and I, but Shayla taught them that any pony could discover their mark. When that belief was instilled into their hearts, they were more naturally gravitated towards it. Only a week later a second pony awoke a cutie mark, but it was in the military this time.

{His name was Tibbons, and he was a natural born archer. He could out shoot any other archer in the squad. Mind you, the talent only recently came into their hooves. The silurians didn't bother and even punished their slaves for touching their weapons, but times were changing.

{Recall I told you I kept an eye out for any standouts among my trainers? Tibbons was one of them. I could tell from the first moment he grasped a bow that somehow he was more complete. He made mistakes at first. They all did, but Tibbons learned faster from those mistakes than any of the other ponies on the squad then, one day, he landed a bullseye on every single target one by one. He was just in perfect sync with his true power. He said he became every single arrow that he let fly and that he was only guiding himself to his target. Right after that he awakened his cutie mark, a target with an arrow sticking right in the bullseye. He didn't even need to look at his cutie mark. He described it perfectly without even looking at it. He even got the colors right.

{This was phenomenal! I was witnessing the dawn of cutie mark talents for the first time in this world's known history. 

{Hector was the third to get his cutie mark talent. In this case it was a ruby ax chopping into wood. I'll give you three guesses what his talent was.

{Just kidding. I'll straight up tell ya. Hector already knew he had a talent for chopping wood. It was what his taskmasters ordered him to do as a slave since he seemed so adept at it before. Now that he was freed, he discovered the primary tool of his trade had potential in military applications as well. Hector was a large, brawny pony even by their standards. He was a giant, and the swing of his ax had a lot of power to it. He was both a natural born warrior and lumberjack. Being brawny was actually quite useful in both professions.

{Then finally we have Talsious. Hmm. How best to describe him? He was a white stallion that reminded me a lot of your mother, if I'm to be honest, only he was male, more white-colored than brown, and an earth pony instead of a pegasus. It was his spirit, though, that reminded me of your mother the most. Talsious was a natural born leader, and he also had a strong will to protect those he cared about. Actually, I'll take that one step further by mentioning he also had a pet peeve against bullies. 

{I couldn't wait for this guy to meet my fiancée, though a small part of me was afraid they'd actually get along with each other a little too well. I tried to dismiss that by reminding myself that Stern Wing and I had been through too much together, and Talsious's natural sense of honor would have kept him from pursuing the relationship too seriously anyway. He was loyal to his friends to the core, so he would never dare to do anything that would even hint at betrayal if he was aware of it. 

{Anyway, his cutie mark was a shield with a spear jutting out one end of it. Sound familiar? Well, except for the spear part and lack of wings or heart, but yeah, he had a shield too, just like your mother. That didn't just reflect his tools of choice. It reflected his personality too. 

{And there you have it. I had my team necessary to track down and eliminate Plague once and for all. I was only missing one other member to my team.}





xoxo





{It took your mother two years before she was ready to join me and my cause again. Until then, I was busy training the next generation of ponies in so many regards. Warfare, magical research, and the arts. A lot of other developments happened during this time as well. Perhaps they were distantly inspired by me but not always caused by me. One change promoted another, after all. Once the snowball effect started, it just kept getting bigger as it rolled down the hill.	

{Problems continued to accumulate outside the walls of Panjora. I couldn't afford to keep my best ponies locked up with me forever. I was training them for a reason, so I saw it through that they fulfilled their ultimate purpose. If they were going to help me fight to save their world, they were going to need to be willing to challenge the darkness that came with it. I wasn't dedicated to just hoofling the problem myself, nor did I encourage the ponies I trained to take their training to their graves. It was the opposite of that. I encouraged them to lead by example. I encouraged them to teach others the meaning of courage by helping them find it within themselves.}

“You really have learned a lot, Father,” Star Breeze said proudly then waved at her father to continue.

{So we roamed the countryside as a unit. We started taking care of problems that plagued various villages then left one recruit behind to help train the rest of the villagers how to defend themselves only to later leave and rejoin the company. In each place we led by example then taught them how to defend themselves. As these skills were passed on, our jobs became easier and easier. It left a message to other bullies out there that thought ponies were still easy targets. We were there to show others that that was no longer true. Ponies were rising up and taking a stronger stance in their world. We weren't just prey anymore. We were the ones who would one day master our world.

{As we marched across the land, we sang a jolly tune and we encouraged others to learn that as well. Strength didn't just come from the muscles. It came from within as well. Happiness and joy were  our best weapons to keep the darkness at bay. Everyday kindness, from the one who gives a genuine compliment to the poor pony who donates her last loaf of bread . . . these were the ponies that would help to forge the paradise our world eventually becomes. It's never perfect, but the effort yielded a lot more than an apathetic heart.

{We made it clear that we were spreading a message of kindness, hope, courage, loyalty, generosity, and good old fashion joy. We taught those we encountered to just pick up a stone and infuse it with feelings of appreciation for all that they had. We told them that it would be our tax for our services, and that we actually would send a pony around to collect these 'Gratitude Stones' only to return them later. I am not kidding. I needed these energies to enchant the Red Crystal, and I needed it to fuel our crystal projects back in Panjora. We were forging magical items with these positive feelings and, with it, we became more prepared to face even greater dark forces. The efforts accumulated. It builds and builds.

{The ponies who cooperated made other important discoveries. Those who used Gratitude Stones also discovered richer crops in their fields, medical problems in their bodies got reduced or eliminated entirely, unusual coincidences happened on a daily basis that had fortuitous results, and they just felt better in general. This positive feedback gave them incentive to each other, and soon enough we weren't the only ones spreading the message. Those we spoke to spoke to others, and others, and so on. As the message continued to spread, it gave us more and more Gratitude Stones to collect our energy from.

{Music started getting more common in Pangaea as well. I made sure to tip my head in gratitude to every pony I passed on the streets that passed me by with a jaunty tune on their lips. 

{As a result of all of this, The Dark Star showed signs of slowing down for the first time, but some of its agents also pushed back more aggressively, as if desperate to fight this new trend.

{One of them was Plague and, when he started to finally get more bold, my team and I started dealing with him once and for all.}





xoxo





{Me, Shayla, Tibbons, Hector, and Talsious formed the first vanguard against the most formidable forces of darkness The Dark Star could throw at us. We were all armed and armored with crystal equipment enchanted with protective positive energy. That made them much more resistant to dark magic and its curses, and made their weapons hit with a lot more force if the target wielded or was composed of dark magic.

{In our first true encounter with Plague, he had already infected the local town around him and quite boldly. We had entered a town full of screaming ponies yelling at the top of their lungs in raw agony. We visibly saw worms burrow in and out of their hide only to regenerate seconds later after the worms dove back into their bodies. There was a crazed look in their eyes that begged for help and release from this suffering, and yet they also did everything they could to spread this sickness. We . . .}

Feather Wind took a moment to calm himself and release a long breath. Star Breeze saw him shivering at this point. 

{There was nothing we could do for them other than slaying them with our enchanted weapons. At least that worked. The worm-walkers were actually immune to normal weapons because their flesh would quickly regenerate from any standard attack, but attacking them with weapons blessed with positive energy disenchanted the cursed energy that empowered the worms that swam within them and thereby permitted the host a peaceful death. After that they became ordinary, harmless worms.}

Feather Wind paused again as he braced himself to announce another piece of painful news, then bravely pressed on.

{We had to slay young foals in this way. We had to slay infants in this way. Our spirits took a huge blow on that day. We continued to sing, but it was a strain to do so next to the horror we faced.}

Feather Wind paused again as he pressed a shaking hoof to his forehead. Again his daughter touched his lap gently and sympathetically.

“It was horrible!” Feather Wind said in a voice quivering with pain. “So much death. So much innocence lost. They didn't deserve this! No creature does. Plague did not care about whom he hurt.

“No, I take it back! He did care. He enjoyed the suffering he wrought!”

{Finally, though, after wading through and killing so many innocent victims, we had our first encounter with Plague himself. He was a hunched-over silurian with a dirty, ragged cloak draped over him which concealed most of his features. He dangled a rusty chain over the ground that had a ball attached to the end of it. As he swung it back and forth, a rain of worms kept pouring endlessly from it. It was far too many to be logical for such a tiny device. Clearly this was dark magic at work.

{When the opening to his hood lifted, I caught a glimpse of the evil glee in his eyes. I also saw bits of his face through the shadow of his hood for the first time, enough to realize he no longer had any scales on his face. Instead of that he was entirely composed of a jiggling swarm of worms which wiggled together in the basic shape of a silurian. 

{He stared directly at me for a few seconds. The innocents I had to slay to get this far really rattled my nerves so, when I finally saw the villain himself, I conjured up a dark storm high above with the intent to shower him with lightning bolt after lightning bolt. I was NOT going to hold back against this horrible monster! My fury at him drove me nearly to the point of insanity, and he smiled at me triumphantly for that. He smiled because he had accomplished what he wanted. 

{Before the lightning could rain down upon him, he suddenly broke apart as a swarm of worms that buried itself deep into the earth. Even his equipment morphed into a swarm of worms like his ragged cloak or ball on a rusty chain. He burrowed through the earth in seconds but, in my desperate fury, I still rained lightning bolts over and over again on the spot he originally stood on while I screamed at the top of my lungs until finally my friends literally slapped some sense into me. 

{Tartarus damn me, he was a genius! He got under my hide very hard and very nearly did so for the rest of my team as well. They had to calm me down, and I knew it wasn't easy for them to do it either. Talsious, however, stayed firm and helped the rest of his team to stay firm and regain their senses. He was the shield that never broke even while under such enormous pressure.

{Plague struck a bad blow for us on that day. A bad blow. I really wish I could say that was the last defeat we had under his nefarious claws, but no . . . this villain meant serious business.

{Over and over again he struck at innocent communities. With each failure we suffered at his claws, he undermined the confidence others had in us and we had in ourselves. He also used misdirecting tactics as well by setting up a delayed plague bomb in one area then left to infect a more distant land while we were busy chasing a red herring. He contaminated lakes and rivers which infected every crop and community in its path line. 

{This guy was just too good! When he got serious, he proved how ill-equipped we were to deal with him. He spread the message of pain and terror, and he caused famine and sickness wherever he went by diminishing healthy food resources which he knew further undermined both the strength of his opponents and his innocent victims. He no longer needed such things to live himself anymore so it was no bother to him to taint every food source across the country. Instead misery itself became his new psychological food source so I kept imagining he should have grown fat on his repeated victories. 

{He corrupted all life in nature as well. The earth, the trees, the animals in the forest, the fish in the rivers. Nothing was safe from him. We really, really had to get our act together and corner this despicable monster once and for all! 

{That was very tricky. This was a slippery bastard. Every time we thought we had him cornered, he'd just become a swarm of worms again and burrow into the earth, and he wasn't stupid enough to face us in any area he could not do that like rocky terrain or a boat on a flowing river.

{Then, finally, we caught a lucky break when Stern Wing joined the party. Along with her newfound discipline, training and what basically amounted to a brand new superpower, she also had information for us that proved invaluable to cornering Plague.

{The trick to dealing with him was going after something too precious for him to ignore. If he wanted to flee, we could do little to stop him. Somehow he was even able to burrow through my enchanted crystal prison. I can't explain that. I really can't, not even to this day. That thing was charged with positive energy because I summoned it from the Red Crystal which is charged with a lot of stored positive energy. I have a feeling that the crystal prison did indeed damage him to burrow through it, but the fact he succeeded anyway proved just how powerful and determined he really was. 

{On the other hoof, if we got him in a situation where he did not want to flee then he'd have to face us to the bitter end. To that end, Stern Wing told us where his lair was. In that lair was a cauldron he kept on brewing. By drinking that brew, it helped maintain his dark magical powers, and those powers were milked from a corrupted worm that the Dark Star offered him. The thing was, that worm was irreplaceable. Kill that and he'd lose the source of his powers. Plague could not allow that to perish without a bitter fight to the end. That was his weakness. The downside to this strategy, however, was that we'd have to face him on his home turf where he was at his strongest but at least it also offered us our best chance at a permanent victory.

{Where was his lair, you wonder? Why under the earth of course. Where else would it be? The lair was located in a place that would normally require us to burrow through the earth just like he did. If it weren't for my crystal magic, we'd end up doing a lot of digging and facing a lot of hungry worms along our way down.

{Fortunately we didn't have to. I created a crystal spike that stabbed through the earth all the way into an underground tunnel. From there I expanded the crystal to create my own safe tunnel in the middle of the crystal spike down into the earth. I even shaped the interior of the crystal spike into stairs to make our otherwise very slanted journey down much easier.

{I also enchanted every member of my party, including Stern Wing, with crystal armor. Basically this spell is much like the crystaling in the Crystal Empire. It turns our hide into a crystalline substance which is transparent and refractive. The spell lasted for many hours at a time, during which we'd not only be more resistant to physical blows but magical curses as well. With that armor in place, the worms within his lair would have no vulnerable gap into every inch of our hide except for maybe the worms summoned by Plague himself. Since he escaped one of my crystal prisons before for some odd reason, there was no reason to suspect he couldn't penetrate our new armor as well, but we still had to risk facing him anyway to have a shot at putting an end to him for good.

{This was our final push and last stand against the sinister villain known as Plague and, although we were elated for the chance to end him for good, it was still a very hard fight. To begin with, we had to bring our own light with us. Our opponents didn't need it. Yes, I said opponents, for there were far more than one down in those tunnels. We also had to fight in tight corridors and twisting underground labyrinths, but my Red Crystal gave us an advantage to finding his main lair. The closer we got to it, the more the crystal hummed. Since it was enchanted with so much positive energy, it reacted strongly to the presence of an abundant source of negative energy. The stronger that negative energy was, the further it could be detected by the Red Crystal.

{We fought a bunch of worm-walkers along our way to the lair, but one difference about them was the fact they were not screaming in agony. Instead they commanded their full intelligence, and they were just as evil as the master they willingly served. They called themselves members of the Cult of the Worm, and they espoused the philosophy that everything must be consumed in rot and decay. They wielded filthy equipment that was rotting with sludge and worms. They exuded and awful stench that made it difficult to breathe. One of them seemed to have the magical ability to summon more worms, including large worms that had yet more worms for blood. We fought our way through sticky and corrosive slime, through rivers of worms, through pungent fungus that burst out noxious gasses. Clearly this was the kind of place The Dark Star had envisioned for our world.

{But we bravely fought on. Shayla weaved balls of fire through the air and burned away whole swarms of worms. She conjured walls of flame and giant balls of exploding fire. As she cast her spells, she weaved and danced. For her, that was the best way to attune herself to her magic and, over time, other cosmetic changes followed her body along with her cutie mark transformation. For instance, she grew a long red mane, the first of her kind to have a different-colored mane. 

{Hector wove his ax back and forth, wading through whole swarms and driving back the members of the Worm Cult. Tibbons arrows fired straight and true. Talsious defended his comrades with his shield, drove back evil with his enchanted spear, and emboldened us all with his words of courage. 

{Stern Wing was a warrior pegasus wearing Prismatic Armor that gave her nearly endless stamina, enchanted weapons and occasionally she had explosive bursts of speed, or endurance, or strength, or sensory perception, or natural healing, or any or all of the above. Her crystal spine allowed her to enhance any part of her body attached to her spine, which was pretty much anything. The more magic she poured into an area of her body, the more it got enhanced. This tired her out quickly but the armor compensated for that.

{I had no idea how useful it would be when I enchanted it like that. That was really fortunate for us. Unfortunately the enchantments allowed her to burn off stamina faster than she could regenerate it but it depended how much she augmented herself and, of course, the greater the augmentation, the more magic it cost. Her store of magical energy she naturally regenerated as well but not at an accelerated rate. I found I could transfer my magic to her if I wanted to, or she could recharge her internal magic with crystals enchanted with stored potential. 

{As for me, my weather control was not much use underground. At least I had air to manipulate and create wind with. Beyond that, I had relied a lot on the training Crystal Sage gave me over the years. I created a ruby sword in mid air and wielded it telekinetically and occasionally morphed it into a shield to help defend my allies. That was cost efficient for me since it did not cost me much magic to use telekinesis. I allowed the holy enchantment of the crystal to do most of my work for me. Physically I may not be strong, but my magic aura was quite formidable. With telekinesis alone, I could match the strength of a hundred strong ponies if I exerted enough magic into the effort. Shayla and I were also responsible for creating light in this darkness, and Stern Wing's Prism Armor was also effective for this in some regards.

{At last, in what felt like days later, we managed to penetrate Plague's main lair. We found him waiting for us within. He tried to taunt us with biting and cunning remarks. It was surprisingly effective. This guy did his homework and researched us enough to know what to say to get under each of our hides, but we still held firm, especially with Talsious's brave example leading our charge. We found our courage restored just by being near him, and even more effective when he spoke to us. We sang as we plunged ahead, fighting as one.

{I was amazed how quickly that battle ended. Plague put up quite a fight offensively but, in terms of defense, he didn't endure too many blows from our enchanted equipment and/or spells. He endured far more than a normal silurian could, I'll say that much to his credit. We could have easily killed over twenty normal silurians with the number of blows we hit him with, but still . . . the main boss went down fairly easily all things considered on our way up to face him. No wonder he kept fleeing from us before whenever we cornered him. 

{With that done, we targeted the worm that originally empowered him. More to the point, Shayla finished it off with several massive fireballs blasting on it again and again. The giant worm exploded into many smaller worms that had smaller worms inside them. They tried to regenerate the massive body by collecting back together again but fire really was the perfect weapon to finish off this corrupted creature for good and she could do it from a safe distance, too. 

{With that done, we finally won our exhausting adventure. There may be other powerful villains to take his place someday but, at least on that day, we could hold our heads up high as we said with a roar of triumph that the Plague of the world was no more at last.}





xoxo





{I well remember the actions of my friends after we broke out of the earth. Once again I had to create a crystal tunnel to the surface. Hector was the first to charge out with a roar of triumph. He then spun about and started to brag to his companions about his exploits as well as theirs. Shayla joined him in this. She, too, was very ready to brag about her exploits. 

{Your mother collapsed on her back and eventually laughed out loud. She was just grateful to be alive, I guess, and was grateful all of her friends survived this most harrowing adventure.

{Tibbons was quiet and instinctually took the high ground among the tops of the tree branches. He tore off some twigs and set to work crafting new arrows to replace the ones he lost. Tibbons was usually a very serious, quiet and focused pony. 

{It was Talsious's reaction I'll never forget, though. He stabbed his spear into the earth diagonally. He shifted his shield further up his back. He slowly took off his helmet and closed his eyes as he slowly lifted his face up to the sky. At first he stood there for a long while in silence. I wondered what was going through his head until he finally announced it. He then spouted out a long list. I was bewildered at first what he was speaking of until I eventually noticed that I was familiar with some of those names. Those names all had one thing in common; they were victims slain by Plague directly or indirectly. 

{Eventually the rest of his companions noticed what he was saying. The group grew a respectful silence, for it became clear he was mourning the dead. His chant sounded almost like a prayer. It also almost sounded musical. He lifted his voice up high into the heavens as if willing the gates of heaven itself to open up and admit the creatures with the following list of names. Plague had many victims so it was a long list of names, but apparently Talsious committed them all to memory in order to one day honor them. I realized he seared every single name to his heart, vowing never to forget them. Vowing to lift their names to the heavens when he finally delivered them justice. It was his intent to let them all know they could finally rest in peace. 

{I realized, as I regarded him with awe, that this was the kind of pony legends were born from. Indeed, they called him Talsious, Paladin of the Unbreakable Shield ever since that day. A pony who never quit. A pony who never backed down. A pony who never gave up in despair. He always shouted words of courage to his friends and any creature he encountered. He proved that he would fight to the last drop of blood in his body. A pony who was always true to his word and his honor.

{Just like Stern Wing.}





xoxo





{At first glance, the next five and a half years of me and your mom's time in ancient Equestria seemed, for the most part, positive. During that time, Plague really was the worst villain we had to deal with and, after his defeat, harmony started to settle in the lands again. Actually, it was more than that. Your mother and I got to see very fascinating discoveries made by the ponies and creatures we shared our lives with during that time. 

{The silurians were marvelously technologically advanced for these ancient times. Far beyond what I had expected before I arrived but, during my stay there, they made entirely new discoveries that started to push them in a far more positive direction. The fact that evoking positive feelings became an issue of necessary survival helped push things along. 

{It was funny how the spread of ultimate evil also helped to cause a strong counter wave, but it did make some sense if you thought about it. For every high tide, there had to be a low tide, and the higher the tide, the lower the tide. One caused the other, and the push for the souls of future Equestria raged on. It was unfortunate that the reasons all these positive discoveries were being made because of a negative reason. Sort of like sticking a weapon to our heads and violently declaring, “Be friends or die!” Well . . . okay! If you say so, Mister Demandy-Pants. 

{But seriously, it was an honor to behold every creature lift each other up and share new ideas. One idea inspired another and another. This spread a positive revolution and marked the beginning of a new era for the world. No longer did it have to be a savage world if the creatures on it got the means and motivation to care for one another. Of course the training continued, but not just in Panjora anymore. As time went on our ideas spread to other communities and they, in turn, taught others. 

{As communication grew a higher and higher priority among the various creatures, means to increase it also occurred. In some places the silurians former technology started to be repaired. After all, if it worked so well before, why reinvent the wheel? If we repaired the crystal network then, not only did we gain the ability to spread information and communication, but we could also facilitate faster, darn near instantaneous travel. If the teleport pads and the networking crystals it relied upon got repaired then the city over a hundred miles away could be only as far as the next teleport pad. 

{Even without it, a new profession grew in the lands that sort of resembled mail carriers except much fewer creatures were able to read or write so, instead, a creature was hired to travel across the land and verbally deliver a message from memory. Primitive, but it was a start.

{A series of torch bearers were also being constructed that could help deliver more simple messages like danger was approaching. Since light can travel a vast distance, especially at night, others who saw it could light their own torch and pass on the message to distant lands.

{I saw the races come together and discuss solutions to various problems that they faced. While doing so, they completely ignored their differences because their minds were more focused on the task they faced. It was very pleasant to see them come together, set aside their differences and learn to work together. I was involved with some of those discussions and it was because of that I learned what the real problem was. 

{While we were busy rebuilding and revolutionizing society, the cold winter of The Dark Star continued to spread. The first sign was usually more indirect like failing crops or sickness spreading. The second sign was a dramatic drop in temperature, the third sign was a blizzard storm crashing into the area, then the fourth and final sign was a black blizzard storm which was snow made of frozen ash. When the fourth sign came, dark creatures usually came along with it.

{Besides the life sapping cold and corrupting ice of the black blizzard, there were also unliving creatures that roamed with the winter storm and was therefore dubbed Winter-Walkers. The black blizzard was literally animating the dead as it traveled across the planet and, even during this ancient era, the dead far outnumbered the living. The Black Blizzard was continuing to spread faster and faster. This was no single opponent any of us could just swing a sword at and hope for victory. It was way more devastating than that.

{As time went on, it became harder and harder to ignore the fact we needed a solution to this Black Blizzard problem before it not only killed us all but also brings us back from the dead as animated servants of evil and, unlike Puppet Master's animated dolls made of shredded corpses, I had a feeling the spirits of the victims were being trapped and tortured too because some of those unliving servants proved sentient. This wasn't just a sacrilege to the dead, this was an extreme threat to the living. We needed a plan, and eventually, eight years later after I arrived at this timeline, one finally occurred to me.}