Six best friends journey to the ends of the realm, as war looms on the horizon. Finding the secret to the alicorn princesses creation may be all that can save them.
The changeling invasion had started it all. The idea of threatening the peaceful kingdom of Equestria. The idea that it could be taken. Sombra's defeat was a stern warning to any others who dared threaten the land. But Tyrek was different. Tyrek had come closer than anyone to destabilizing Celestia, Luna, and Cadance, and the rest of the world watched as Equestria made another narrow escape. Watched and learned. New enemies are feeling more and more confident that the great land can fall. They are conspiring with others, and preparing their invasion forces. And the answer as to how to prevent this war, may lie in the origin of Celestia, and Luna themselves. Deep at the heart of Equestria. Now the elements of harmony must journey to the farthest reaches of Equestria to ensure that their kingdom survives.
Rainbow Dash streaked towards her cloud mansion at speeds that made Iron Man look like Tank. Without the propeller. She was wearing her sweaty, Wonderbolts trainee uniform, her pride exploding, radiating from her person, as she tore through the sky, and the laws of physics.
She flared out her wings and began a slow glide towards her front door. She took a splash in the rainbow waterfall to wash away the sweat of a day of aerodynamics trials. Spitfire had told her that she was a definite maybe for the Wonderbolts next year. Maybe! For Wonderbolt trainees, it was the most hope you could ever grab onto.
"TANK! Good news, get your hardshell out here!" Rainbow Dash called, as she began taking off the soaked uniform. "Dash?" A voice called from her living room. Whiplash's head jerked up. She knew the voice well.
"Gilda?" She asked, walking into the dark living room. A light flickered on in the corner, and Gilda's face was illuminated. Her optics were reddish, and wet. Dried tears ran down her feathers, and an empty bottle of cider sat next to her. "Dash..." Gilda said, her voice cracking. "Dash, I know we don't talk a lot anymore..." "Gilda, what are you doing here? Is somethin wrong?" Rainbow Dash asked, as he stepped closer to the griffon. Gilda nodded repeatedly. She turned and sobbed into the side of the couch. "Gilda...."
"Dash, I'm sorry things got so bad between us...I'm so sorry...." This was not the Gilda that Rainbow Dash knew. Strong, proud, and a bit cruel. But...crying? No. That wasn't Gilda.
"Gilda please just tell me what's going on?" Dash asked. Gilda looked up at her, her eyes deathly serious, her face looking horrified. "They...they declared war. The Griffin Kingdom." Dash cocked her head to the side. "War? On who?" "ON YOU!!" Gilda replied, more tears coming to her eyes. "On Equestria...I'm so sorry Dash, I don't know what to do....I can't....they're my people!"
Rainbow Dash nodded, immediately feeling out of her depth. All the flight manuals in the universe didn't include anything on what had occurred in her living room. The pegasus wrapped a wing around the griffin. "Shh....okay, its okay. Its gonna be okay." Dash couldn't fool a newborn. She sounded scared too.
"Dash....they drafted me into the army. Their army....what can I do?" Rainbow Dash backed away from her, absolutely overwhelmed by the situation. Unlike most issues, a letter wasn't going to fix this. 'Dear Princess Celestia, today I learned that we're about to be invaded....by the way, any friendship lessons left?'
"Okay Gilda. You can...you can stay here for now, okay? You're my...my friend." Gilda looked up at her, for a moment, there was joy in her eyes. Then it disappeared. "I can't Dash. I gotta go." She said, shaking her head. "They'll need me back soon, I can't....I don't wanna hurt you, or anypony else, but I can't...they're my people..."
Rainbow Dash nodded. She understood. Kinda. "Okay Gilda. I gotta go talk to some ponies." She embraced the sobbing griffin and smiled. "Its gonna be okay." She turned and flew out the door. "They're my people...." Gilda repeated, sounding broken.
Princess Celestia watched from her balcony, as her horn slowly lowered the sun, and prepared to give way to night. "War. Here." Princess Luna said, walking up behind her older sister. "I know. I do not wish to go to war again."
"I can't." Luna said simply. "You know I can't. Sister, when I waged war in the days of old, I was...." "Skilled." Celestia said with a smile. "No sister. I was...a killer. I killed so many..." Luna and Celestia had both been warriors during that dark age. Before Equestria. When they had the choice of fighting or dying. Nopony wanted a return to that barbaric time.
"So many who would have killed you if you hadn't." Celestia said, as her part of the shift, ended. Luna's horn powered up, as she began to raise the moon. "But sister, surely you see...that age...that war...it changed me then. It put me on the path to being Nightmare Moon. And I simply cannot risk returning to that path, not now, not when things are going so....so well."
Celestia nodded, running her hoof gently along Luna's mane. "I know sister. But the war is not here. We may yet be able to negotiate our way out of this, with the Griffon King." Luna paused, her focus on the moon, unbreakable. "And if we cannot?" Celestia sighed. "We will use...stronger means to end this war quickly." Luna 's horn faltered for a moment, but then regained control, as she finished placing the moon in orbit.
"Surely you cannot mean...." Celestia nodded. Luna's mouth gaped. "But we were told....so long ago, when we last....called upon him! He does not wish to be summoned..." "It does not matter what he wishes." Celestia replied. "The security of our kingdom, and our ponies, is at risk." "But....Twilight Sparkle....the elements of harmony, surely they can be called into service again?" Luna asked. Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity. The elements of harmony. But certainly not warriors. Not like they had been.
"No. I have already taken some irresponsible chances with my student...I will not ask her to take part in a war." "But she is a princess now, it is what we princesses are FOR!" Luna replied. "No....it is what HE is for." Celestia replied simply, her tone suggesting she wanted this conversation to end.
She looked up at the moon, as her thoughts fled to their first war, millions of years earlier. She closed her eyes. "Our father must be summoned."
The journey to the crystalline castle in Ponyville was a brief one for Rainbow Dash. Her usual speed mixed with her current desperation made it particularly quick. "Twilight!! We got a bit of a problem!" "We sure do." Twilight Sparkle, princess of friendship replied. Her eyes were bloodshot, and baggy. "Oh, did ya already hear...?" Rainbow asked. She felt awkward even talking about something as crazy as war. "Heard what?" Spike asked. "She hasn't left the palace in days. Ever since what happened to her Starswirl..."
"Starswirl? That bearded guy?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Hasn't he been dead for like...a jillion years?" "Rainbow Dash, there is no such thing as a 'jillion', that's not even a word." Twilight snapped in exasperation. Her expression changed to one of remorse. "Sorry Dash...my Starswirl the bearded autobiography first edition has a crack in the spine. It keeps bending." Rainbow looked dumbfounded. "Uh...well you can still read it right?" "No! Not without feeling the break. I keep opening and closing this book over and over but I still FEEL it!"
Rainbow was a little scared now. "So...is that why you look all....?" Her hoof made same general gesture over her friend's tired features. "All what?" Twilight asked, cocking her head to the side absent-mindedly. "She hasn't slept in two days." Spike said, not looking up as he swept the main chamber floor. "She just keeps opening and closing that book." "Uh Twi, no offense but that sounds REALLY unhealthy." "Oh its fine, I just...have to....learn a spell!" Twilight said, her eyes going a little crazy with her sudden enthusiasm. "I just need to learn a book repairing spell, and I'll have this beloved book good as new!" "Tw, we have some bigger problems right now..." "I seriously doubt it." Twilight replied, rapidly flipping through a spellbook. "You have all those Daring Do books, you know what FIRST EDITION means!" "Twi please..." "Something simple. Or something complicated, I don't care, I just need to fix it so it stops bugging me!" "TWILIGHT!!" Rainbow shouted. "THE GRIFFONS ARE GOING TO WAR WITH US!!" She said, forcing the alicorn away from the book, and turned her to look into her eyes. "What?" Twilight asked, her eyes wide in shock. "W-war?" "HUH!!" A voice shouted from behind her, causing Spike to go flying. "YEAH!" Pinkie Pie came flying out from behind a pile of books, the usual chaotic joy in her eyes. "WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?! ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!" Rainbow Dash began profusely shaking her head. "No no no no no no..." "Yeahhhhh WAR! HUH! YEAH! WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?!! ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!! Say it again y'all!" Pinkie sang. She had been bellowing out alien music for some time now, and it was starting to truly worry the townsfolk. Between her singing, and her claim that a small black box called an 'empeethree' had fallen out of the sky, and hit her on the noggin, she had local psychiatrists in a frenzy. "I SAID WAR! HUH! YEAH! WHAT IS IT GOOD FO...." Before she could continue, Rainbow stuffed a desperate hoof in her mouth. "NO! Pinkie. I love your randomness just as much as the next pony but this is SERIOUSLY. NOT. THE TIME." Pinkie's ears flattened, and she backed away. "Oh...sorry." "WAR?!!" Twilight shouted. "WITH THE GRIFFONS?!! What...what did we do to them?" "Well I mean, we've always kinda been rivals. Maybe its cuz we got the continental olympics this year, and not them?" Rainbow Dash offered. "Rainbow, they aren't going to war with us over sports..." Twilight said, as she began tidying herself up. "Starswirl the bearded first edition will have to wait. We must see Princess Celestia at once." "Can I come?!" Pinkie Pie asked, springing up next to the princess. "Of course Pinkie. Just um....try and cut down on the singing while we're there?" Twilight asked.
"They're here. All six of them. They arrived by train. Are we going to tell them what's going on?" Princess Luna asked. "No." Princess Celestia replied. "Not everything at least. We need to protect them. We will go and....awaken our father on our own. Cadance will be here soon, she'll guard Canterlot until we return." Luna nodded. "Are...are you sure we should summon him?" "There is no other way."
"They're coming at us from all sides!" Captain Gallance shouted, as he watched the pegasi descend on them. The unicorn brigade had been completely surrounded. And of course, the pegasi had air superiority. From far away, two young filly's watched. They were horrified. Even far away, the violence of this battle was sickening. Pegasi swooping in, grabbing unicorns, then dropping them to their deaths, the unicorns cutting down their aerial attackers with fiery bolts from their horns. Little Celestia and Luna were appalled at what they saw. "Come inside my children." A warm voice called to them. King Nightfire. The god of night. His voice so welcoming, so kind. He was thousands of years old, and still looked quite young. "Your mother and I shall quell this...madness. Come inside, please. War is no place for children."
Celestia and Luna did not argue, as they were not keen to continue watching the bloodshed. They walked back into the palace, as King Nightfire stood watching, his eyes narrowed. Queen Galaxia sat next to him. "Do you really think they are being manipulated? War is something all intelligent life experiences at one time or another." "True. But something about the...the sudden rabid intensity with which they fight...it makes me suspect Tyrek's responsibility. If he harnesses the power of the windigoes, he could lay waste to the whole realm." "So it is settled then." Galaxia said, standing proud, the goddess of sun shimmering, even as rain clouds covered the sunlight. "Yes. Celestia, take care of your sister." Nightfire said, his expression of determination changing to one of affection. He leaned in and nuzzled them both warmly. Galaxia followed after him, and Luna for one looked worried. "Coming back?" She asked simply. "Of course, my dear." King Nightfire said, smiling. "We merely need to fulfill our roles. We must stop those ponies from destroying each other. Take care. Both of you. We may be gone for a little while." Galaxia smiled. "We love you both. We always shall."
"Um...princess?" Twilight asked. Celestia spun around. "Oh Twilight! I apologize, I was...someplace else just. Come. We have much to discuss my student."
"How many?" Twilight asked, as Celestia finished explaining the whole, brutal situation. "Thousands. Pretty much every soldier they have, is heading for equestria's borders. It's unavoidable. Twilight...we are not a warrior kingdom...we are a peaceful nation, but we have no choice but to mobilize our armies." Twilight shook her head. "There must be some other way. Give me some time, I can figure this out Princess. Let me negotiate with them, they can't want to go to war any more than we do." Celestia shook her head. "No. I'm letting you know about this because you are my pupil, and it would be dishonest for you not to know, but I will NOT have you involved in this directly. As princess of equestria, it is your duty to know, but not to intervene unless I say so. General Ironhoof is working out strategies now, we'll figure this all out. We have allies to summon. Return to ponyville, address the townsfolk, tell them to prepare for war. Go now Twilight. Make haste." Twilight walked out the front door of the palace, shaking her head. "There must be something I can do." "Something weeeeee can do!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, springing up behind her. "Yeah. Something we can do." Twilight repeated. Pinkie, let's go find the others." she said. She'd let them wander about the city while she dealt with the situation. She felt knots of uncertainty in her stomach. "We're the elements of harmony. We can handle this. We always do. We just need to have a nice, calm, reasonable discussion with the griffons."
"This war is foolish. If your attempting to unite our people through tearing down equestria, then frankly, you are not as strong a leader as we thought." The griffon commander chastised. The griffon leader turned to face him, his aged face old and worn. "You Steelclaw, you are the finest military leader in the history of our kingdom. Surely you see the glory in conquest? In taking the land that is rightfully ours?" "But it isn't, my king." Steelclaw said simply. "I have led military campaigns to put down the evil, and the wicked. But Equestria is not our enemy. Not a friend, but certainly not an enemy." "You are lucky the people of this realm love you so, Steelclaw. Because the words you speak now are borderline treason, and any other who spoke to me in this way would be put down. But I must ask you this...though you personally object...will you follow the orders of your king?" Steelclaw let out a short sigh, but nodded. "Of course, my king. As is my duty." The king smiled. "Good. Prepare the troops. The invasion begins tomorrow at sundown. Dismissed." Steelclaw bowed, then turned and left. The king smiled, satisfied at his generals loyalty. He turned, looking into his palace mirror. There was a green glow as the Kings true form revealed itself. And the king became a queen. Chrysalis, Queen of the changelings, smirked at her reflection. "And when the dust settles, both kingdoms shall belong to us, my children."
Luna converged on the small valley, where the very first palace of the king and queen had stood. There were no remains. Not even the foundation. It had gone as they had gone. But he remembered his words to her. To them. On the day that the two departed. "If you ever need us, and I do mean TRULY need us, signal is from the grounds. It is my intention that the t two of you learn to handle yourselves, and be the gods we have created you to be. But in case of emergency...summon us from the grounds." It was a simple final message. Gods didn't always make the best parents. King Nightfire had given them matching heart stones, one for each of them, to signal their continued existence. However, eons ago, Galaxia's stone had turned to dust. They had been sealed in Canterlot's vaults, and it took months before anyone noticed. It was the signal that Queen Galaxia had passed away. Celestia had tried to mourn, but in truth, she had been without her parents for so long, she could not. The heart stone for Nightfire still glowed strong. And Luna had brought it with her, as she stood in the grounds, powering up her horn, and sending a flare of energy into the cosmos. 'Father....war is upon us once again...one we do not wish to drag out, please....return to us. If only to aid us. The realm has never faced a threat of this size since...." She trailed off, remembering her own corruption. She closed her eyes, shaking her head as tears came. "...regardless, we require your assistance. Please father...return home." So many times after their parents departure, Luna had wanted to send a message asking them to return, and each time Celestia had talked her out of it. They had been warned that their destiny was theirs alone. When Discord struck, Luna had wanted to call mother and father. Celestia had convinced her they could handle it. When the tribes warred, Luna had again asked for permission to contact the king and queen. Celestia had again insisted they had the power to handle it. And they did. But now, even Celestia wanted the king to return. And this was what scared Luna. Celestia, so confident, so sure of herself, was asking for help. There had to be something she wasn't telling them, something putting this fear into her. Luna shook these thoughts away and concentrated. "My child....is that you who reaches out to speak to me?" An aged, but mighty voice asked. Luna smiled, nodding rapidly. "Yes father. We need you to return. Please. Celestia and I have agreed, it is necessary." "Very well." There was silence, then the winds picked up, the skies grew dark, and from the clouds, came a mighty gust of absurdly powerful wind. Luna blinked against the wind, looking up at the approaching cloud of dark, starry might. There was a thud, and the ground shook. Without thinking, Luna bowed. Two great wings unfurled, and beat once, then folded away. The massive alicorn rose up, his mane greying from the eons of aging he had endured. His black and grey coat, his star filled, flowing mane, and his kind yellow eyes. Scars from various battles during his time away covered his body, but none of them were too severe. A smile spread on his face. "Luna. My beloved child...if only your dear mother were here to see how you've grown...." He leaned down and nuzzled his youngest child. "It has been so long...I'm sorry Luna. Where is Celestia?" Luna smiled the widest smile she'd had since returning from her exile. "In Canterlot. Come with me father, we have so much to show you!" She took off towards Canterlot. King Nightfire unfurled his massive wings, and did the same, taking off after his daughter toward the long awaited family reunion.
"So lemme get this straight....you wanna break a rule?" Applejack asked. "No, I don't want to...it's a gut feeling I'm having, we gotta do this." Twilight replied confidently. "And not just any rule!" Rainbow Dash added, ignoring twilight completely. "An order? Coming straight from Celestia to basically not do EXACTLY what you intend to do?" Twilight closed her eyes. "It is my hope that I can prevent war from reaching equestria, and if that means going against Princess Celestia...I guess it'll have to do." She said, looking deeply conflicted. "So....we're really doing this?" Fluttershy asked. "Yes." Twilight Sparkle declared. "Who's with me?" "All of us!" Pinkie Pie declared loudly. "Much as I love your random outbursts Pinkie, I think we can each make our own decision on this..." Rarity said, sounding unconvinced. "I...guess I'll go...." Fluttershy said quietly. "What's the risk level?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Extreme. We could be captured, used as prisoners of war, maybe even charged with treason for breaking the mother of all rules..." Twilight said. "Alright. I like it. I'm in." Dash said with a confident smirk. "I was in before there was anything to get into!" Pinkie pie added. "Why not? I can get Big Mac to watch over the farm for a few days." Applejack agreed. Rarity sighed. "Will have to send a message to fancypants...tell him to find another seamstress for this weekend but....I do suppose the future of equestria is slightly more important...ah why not?" Twilight looked over at Spike, as the little purple dragon packed her saddlebag. "Spike...I'm not gonna ask you to come with us. It's a dangerous journey and...you're still just a baby." "Come onnnnnn...." Spike replied. "Can I please come? I won't say a word, and I'll hide at the first sign of danger!" Twilight arched an eyebrow. "Promise?" "Where we headed?" Applejack asked, as Pinkie Pie started loading up the hot air balloons "Appleoosa." Twilight replied excitedly.
The pair of alicorns flew gracefully towards the equestrian capital. And on the way, king Nightfire got to see just what his daughters had accomplished since his leave. He said nothing, his eyes merely scanning all the green, the rivers, the forests, and the ponies that resided below. Then they entered the city, and the massive royal palace came into view. "My...you two certainly did become the gods I had hoped you would become." He finally said. "Thank you father. Oh there is so much you have missed...I'm sure Celestia will be just thrilled to fill you in on our history. The good parts anyway..." She said, dreading whether or not Nightmare Moon was as prominent in those history books as she was in Luna's nightmares. They entered the castle. The guards, suspicious at first, stared in wonder as the larger alicorn entered the palace for the first time. Both royal alicorns landed in the main throne room. Celestia looked up, eyes wide. "Ah....father...it is good to see the heart stones worked." She said. "Is that all you have to say to your old dad after all this time?" Nightfire asked. "Indeed. It's been a very long time." Celestia said in a flat tone. "Still...I'm glad you answered the call, we certainly could use your guidance, father." Nightfire nodded, then looked around at all the royal guards bowing. "So many....when I departed, this race was on the brink of extinction, yet here they are. Stronger than ever." "We saved them. Gave them something to unite behind." Celestia said. "I'm sure you could help yourself to our history books." "Ahem....Tia you seem a bit...cold today, this is our father..." Luna said in an embarrassed tone. "Indeed. As I said it's been a LONG time." Celestia repeated. Luna was giving her big sister a death stare. She stomped up to her. "Don't. Please." King Nightfire said. "Celestia is right to be...less than fully welcoming. I abandoned you, my children. As was my duty. To ensure that you became strong gods, leader like your mother and I were." "There were better ways to teach us than to leave us to die." Celestia said, her tone icy now. Luna was non verbally pleading with her to stop. "I know." Nightfire said. "I am so sorry. To both of you. And if Galaxia could be here today, I'm sure she would be as filled with regret as I am at missing so much of your lives. But this situation...I hope I can redeem myself in some way by lending my assistance." Luna nodded. "Thank you father. She turned to Celestia. "May we speak in private?"
"Why did you even summon him if you were going to act in this way Tia?" Luna demanded. "Because we need him. Desperate times call for desperate measures." Celestia replied matter of factly. "He is not a 'measure' he is our father!" Luna snapped. "If you felt so strongly that you were neglected, why didn't you summon him ages ago?!" "I DID!" Celestia shouted. Even Nightfire heard this. He slowly walked forward, ears drooped downward. "You...did?" Luna asked. "Yes! Right after I lost you! After I had banished you to the moon, the loneliness...it was too much so I attempted to summon him. It was then that I discovered mothers heart stone had disintegrated. I still tried, I called for father, but he never came. And you know the rest, I was without the company of my sister OR my father for the next one thousand years!" Luna let out a long sigh. "That wasn't his fault, that was mine, please Celestia, take it out on me, not on our father." "I've spent enough time blaming you. And blaming myself. He has to take his share of the blame." Celestia said, tears coming to her face. "I'll take all of it." Nightfire said, peering around the corner at them. "I am truly sorry Celestia. A little over a thousands years ago, a star exploded near a populated world. We attempted to stop it, save the middling species, and your mother succeeded...she absorbed the energy of the star...and it destroyed her." Both sisters listened intently to their fathers words. "I....we were created in pairs. Galaxia and I. And when I lost her...It was as if I lost everything. As if my whole world ceased to exist, all at once. And so I exiled myself to the farthest reaches of the Galaxy. And I did receive your call to me Celestia...and I wanted to come and see you, I truly did...but my soul and my spirit had been broken. And so I stayed away. I recovered. Healed. And then I went back to the work your mother and I had been doing. When Luna summoned me, I knew I had to return this time. I knew I was ready to face you again." He looked upon them, his yellow eyes damp. Then he wrapped his legs around both of them, embracing his children. "I do not ask for forgiveness. Merely a chance to redeem myself." "My princesses!" Shining Armor galloped in. "Oh....you're having a moment...is that king Nightfire?" He asked. "How does he know me?" Nightfire asked. "There are stain glass windows of you seriously everywhere in this palace." Shining Armor said, grinning like a nerd meeting his hero. "Anyways, I have some upsetting news. The griffons have begun their siege on Appleoosa." "No. This is not good...prepare to dispatch the equestrian army..." "There's more..." Shining said, with a deep sigh. "My sister kinda....wants to negotiate with them." "That's alright, I already told her to report to Ponyville." Celestia replied. "Yeahhhh....she's in Appleoosa." "WHAT?!!" Luna and Celestia shouted in unison.
