256 BLB (Before Luna's Banishment)

The sharp sting of the whip on my already bruised and battered flanks made me clench the worn bit in my mouth tighter as I pulled the cart hitched to me. It trundled slowly across the barren field, laden with brick and mortar as I crept towards my goal of a fuzzy patch on the horizon. A lazy pony sat atop my burden, overseeing me and not easing the task in the slightest. I heard the all-too-distinctive swishing sound of his whip as it came down again, hitting me and causing another sharp stab of pain to shoot through my side.

“Move faster you useless zebra! We have work to do!”

I mentally snapped back at him, despite being unable to talk with the bit in. Besides, talking would only mean getting whipped again. Whipping meant next to nothing to me now, but talking would bring about pain with no point. There’s no way a pony would listen to a slave like me.

An hour later, we finally arrived at our destination. It was the foundations of some house where my fellow zebra slaves were working at drawing up the frame and nailing in supports. Of course, they were being watched over by the cruel ponies who wouldn’t hesitate to use their whip if they saw anything amiss. Even the unicorn overseer, who could have helped raise the house in a matter of minutes, just stood in the shade watching.

It all disgusted me. These ponies just sat back and let us slave under the sun, despite being more than capable of kind and gentle spirits. We had once been a proud nation, but we had become fractured by war. Even though I had never seen the plains of Zebrica, born a slave in Equestria as it were, I couldn’t help but feel a longing for it. There was nothing there anymore but the ruins of civilization and the nomadic tribes left, but as my brothers and sisters toiled in front of me, I knew that anything could be rebuilt. If our sweat and blood could be used to build some posh pony’s home, it could be used to rebuild our lives. But we needed our freedom. The freedom the ponies had taken from us to treat us like property.

I glanced around, looking for the pony over me. Instead of his perpetual presence a few yards from me, I saw that he had gone a few dozen feet away to talk to the unicorn. Perfect. All of the others were even further than that and not even paying attention to me. I wriggled a bit, loosening the old, battered harness around my shoulders. It had been ill-fitting for every zebra who had ever taken on its burden, built as it was for healthy equines. Easy to slip out of, though the ponies hadn’t seemed to notice. But why would they notice? We were just property after all, and not very well cared for at that.

I wriggled my body out of it, letting it drop to the sandy ground with a soft thump. I edged around the corner of the cart, spying the canteen of my overseer. I grabbed it and slung it across my shoulders before ducking around the back of the cart, hiding my body from sight. I took a deep breath and let it out, staring at the road less traveled before me. It led straight into the lands where ponies never went, but it was also south: the direction to Zebrica. The direction to freedom. The sun blazed overhead, but I had long grown used to that. Ponies may have had their wings and magic, but we zebras had grown to shrug off the heat like they would shrug off a balmy beach day.

I poked my head around the cart to see if the unicorn was still preoccupied with the pony who brought me here. He was, but now facing me. My eyes widened as I saw him look straight at me. I thought for sure that I would have been seized in his magic and hung up in one of the cages at the slave quarters, left to die and become food for the birds for even trying to escape.

But then, the strangest thing happened. He winked at me. While I stood perplexed, his horn started to glow with magic. I expected him to teleport to me, use his magic for some form of torture, or even to just disintegrate me on the spot.

To my surprise, it was the slaver in front of him that became surrounded by a field of magic. He stood still for a moment, then slumped to the ground. My eyes widened in shock and all I could do was stand there as the unicorn grabbed something and lit his horn before disappearing in a flash. There was an equally blinding flash right next to me, making me jump out of my surprised state.

“Relax, I mean you no harm. I’m not like the other ponies. I would have helped everyzebra escape before now if I could do so without losing my head. But I suppose I’ll have to settle for helping one at a time. What is your name?”

“M-my mother named me Silvari,” I stammered, utterly dumbfounded by the turn of events. A pony was helping me? Why? They all hated zebras; that’s the reason we were enslaved in the first place. We were not a free people because the ponies had taken our freedom away. We could not do as they did and be merry because the ponies had taken our freedom away. So what was this pony doing giving me it back?

“That’s a beautiful name.” With that, he lifted up my hoof, dirty and dust-stained as it was, and kissed it. The expression stunned me, but it was not hard to do that by this point. “Some call me Star, but that’s not as important as you escaping and heading south. Once you pass beyond the borders of Equestria, there will be plenty of creatures of all kinds willing to help you. The only thing is that you’ll have to pass through the Badlands.”

“Is that the canyon to the south here?”

“Yes. Just head straight through it, don’t bother stopping for anything other than to eat and drink. If you need to sleep, find someplace off the ground. And take this.” He teleported another satchel to me, slinging it around my neck so that it mirrored the canteen of water I had stolen. “In there is food, more water, and a map to places where it is safe to rest as well as water sources, should you run out. The trek will take roughly four days.” He embraced me in a hug that I was too shocked to return other than softening slightly. He backed off and looked at me again. “Good luck Silvari. I’ll cover your escape. Now go, and be free.”

I looked at him one last time, trying to discern if he was just leading me wrongly or actually wanted me to be free. As much reason as I had to doubt him, something about his character made me trust him, even if it was only slightly. Besides, I had nothing to lose anymore.

“Thank you Star.”

I turned and galloped across the dusty, rocky earth and headed towards the canyon, running with ever-growing joy as I left my burden of slavery behind.

---

I felt the wind start to tug at my coat again, growing in strength with each passing minute. I looked down and started to see grains of sand shift with it, bouncing along the ground until the wind grew strong enough to pick them up permanently. I knew what was coming. I ducked from the wind behind a nearby rock—there were plenty of those in this landscape—and reached in the bag that the unicorn had given me. I grabbed a piece of cloth that was obviously designed to filter water and act as a protective covering should a sandstorm arrive. I had already used it twice already to keep going through the daily sandstorms.

“Thank you once again Star,” I muttered, reaching up to tie it around my head. Such decorations were so common among zebra culture that they were used even when the wind was completely still. I had frequently seen zebras at the compound wearing headscarves like the one I just tied. I had one myself, but it was left behind along with the rest of my life as a slave. The white of the cloth currently tied around my face reminded me all the more of the freedom that I now had.

Two days had passed since I had left the realm of slavery to be a free zebra mare. Judging by the map, I was only two days away from the end. The sand around me blew with even greater force as the long view I had become used to seeing became shorter and shorter as time stretched onward.

The rock I had picked to lean against no longer offered me shelter, sand swirling in from the sides to pelt my coat. I needed to find a cave; preferably an unoccupied one. I got up again and started to make my way through the growing sandstorm, following the slightly lighter rock that marked the path I could barely see. I didn’t dare take the map out again for fear of it being ripped away by the winds, so I blindly wandered forward.

It was not long before I saw the outline of a massive black object ahead. It was unusual, as the entire landscape around me was various shades of red and brown. I headed towards it, hoping that it would be some sort of shelter.

As I neared it, I saw that it was unlike anything I had ever seen. It was mostly dome shaped, like a sphere that had been broken in two and thrust into the ground. Its top vanished into the sand, but it looked like a spire extended up from the dome. Scattered across it were massive holes of varying sizes, the largest easily the size of an overseer’s house. It glowed from within them with a strange green light that pulsed like a heartbeat, slow and constant. Its outer shell was black, though lightened by what must have been years of sun. It was absolutely massive and steadily appeared larger as I walked towards it. I couldn’t see any signs of movement from within other than the light.

Finally, I reached its side, still cautious, but glad to escape the wrath of the sandstorm from at least one side. The sand continued to bite my flank, but I was lost in thought over the strange black structure. I touched it, expecting some sort of squishiness that went along with the green light. To my surprise, it was hard and smooth, not too unlike the carapaces of insects I had eaten. I couldn’t even feel marks where the sand should have carved grooves. I walked along side of it, searching for a hole close enough to the ground that I could take shelter in.

Eventually, making my way around it, I found one. It glowed weaker than the others and I stepped in, the hard, but somewhat slippery, floor easily supporting my weight. I reached up with a hoof and pulled the sand scarf from my nose and mouth, breathing deeply a breath free of sand. Curious, I walked farther inwards, idly brushing my flank against the walls. The tunnel itself started to slope downward slightly and I continued walking, drawn in by curiosity. The walls were made of the same black material as the outside, though they too were pockmarked with holes; the floor kept the same smoothness as the outside.

The green light grew more intense as I walked, gradually making it so that everything I saw was green. It finally reached a point where it ceased getting brighter and I knew that I was near the end. I had no idea how long I walked, but given the size of the thing I was in and how far I had traveled, it was quite a ways.

In front of me was a curved wall, glowing with the green light that filled the tunnel. It seemed to be its source. The floor leveled out and the walls turned to openings, leading off to the left and right. I warily slipped my bags from my shoulders and set them down, walking to the right.

The route led in a tight circle, always with the curved glowing green wall on my left. The entrance that I came from was the only way in—and out— from this place that I could see. I came around from the circle back to my bags.

Stepping forward, I examined the glowing wall more closely. From it, I could see a very faint movement, as well as the throbbing of light that was visible from outside. From what I could figure, it was alive and creating the light, and the light’s pulse was the heartbeat of this strange material. Tentatively reaching out a hoof, I touched it. It was squishy, vastly different from the chitinous material I had encountered before now. But my mind didn’t have long to dwell on that matter.

“Greetings, mortal.”

I yelped in surprise and staggered back, tripping over my bags as I stared up at the wall in wonder. A voice had just sounded in my head, deep and old. It was the voice of an ancient being, one who had been here since the world was young. Ancients were not to be disrespected, as I had been taught frequently as a young zebra. They were spirits more powerful than any mortal and deserved to be treated with the utmost respect. And if one talked, I listened. I hesitantly reached out a hoof again, connecting with the surface once more.

“Apologies, did we frighten you?” The voice was different, this time a female. Her voice was light, though touched with caring.

“Only a little bit. It is a great honor to speak with beings such as yourselves.” Awkwardly, while still keeping a hoof on the surface, I attempted a bow. I heard a laugh from the female voice, cheery and soothing.

“We do not stand much on ceremony here, but your gesture is much appreciated.”

“Indeed. Tell us, what is your name?” the first voice rumbled.

“Silvari.” I answered. I was in complete awe, never in my wildest dreams thinking that I would find spirits here.

“A beautiful name. I am she called Volucris and this grumpy fellow is Vicis. We are the Hive.”

“The… Hive?” I questioned.

“Yes young one.” Vicis echoed through my mind. “You stand at its center; its heart if you will. It has been here for many ages, sprung from one of the seeds of Yggdrasil. We are its keepers, and we have been awaiting the arrival of one such as yourself.”

“If you wish, you may enter in and become the queen of the Hive, a ruler of an entire nation.”

“M-me? Wouldn’t you want a pony instead?”

A deep laugh sounded through my mind. “Nay little one. A pony would not do to be the ruler of the Hive. Their spirits are not fit for this blessing.”

A thrill of happiness went through me as I was told that I was better than a pony, at least at something other than labor. I lifted another hoof, leaning my entire weight on the glowing green wall. “What do I have to do?”

”Enter.” They said, both ancient voices sounding at the same time. As they did so, the wall in front of me slid down and I removed my hooves from it. It became flush with the ground, allowing me to see inside.

I took a step forwards, then another one to enter into the strange place. The ground was soft and springy, almost identical to the green wall on the outside. Probably the same material, as this one also gentle pulsed with light. When I stepped on the surface, paths of pure green light along the floor walls lit up, the light running through them like water in a stream. I stared upwards as the light raced to the top of the chamber, a top far off that I couldn’t make it out even as the lights became fully lit. Looking down from the far-off ceiling, I turned my attention to the center of the room where three objects rested.

The first was on a white pillar streaked with blue lines. It was a stone wing, shaped like a bug’s would be. It was elaborately detailed, from the veins running through it to the delicately punctured holes in the wing. The pillar itself had a single plaque that read “Volucris.”

Turning to the second pillar, I saw that it was black with streaks of green running through it, not unlike the outside of the hive and the rest of this chamber. It too had a label: Vicis. The item itself was a stone horn, though pitted with holes in the sides. Even still, the spirals that were typically on a unicorn horn wove around them. It made it seem as if the holes were natural, not missing from damage.

On a hunch, I started to reach out a hoof towards the horn.

“I would not do that little one. Touch it and your mind explodes from exposure to my essence. You can’t handle it just yet.”

Doing as he asked—it was never wise to ignore an ancient—I removed my hoof from near the horn. Assuming the same would happen with Volucris’s wing, I turned my attention to the third item. It sat on a pedestal behind the two other items. It was an orb split in two, one side black and the other white. The two sides were not constant either, consistently swirling around and over each other to create an effect not unlike oil and water shaken together. It looked like glass, that rare substance hanging in the overseer’s office. It looked to have something suspended within it, causing it to glow from within. I peered closer trying to see it, but the swirling vapors and lines of black and white obscured my vision.

“Should I touch it?” I asked aloud.

“Are you ready to become more than you are?” I swallowed, then nodded my head.

“Then pick up the orb young one.”

I picked up the orb, my nerves tingling in my leg as I did so. I lifted it and was able to read the sole word carved on its surface before it shot a tingling sensation through my entire body, dropping me to the ground and sending the orb out of my hoof.

“Change.”

72 ALB

I awoke to a giant crash that shook me out of my bunk and onto the floor. I hit the ground with a thump, but my chitinous exterior protecting me from any harm. Dazed, I peered around the dimly lit barracks to see what happened. Seeing a recognizable silhouette in the doorway, I called out to it, “What happened?”

“Lacaxi? Get your chitinous butt moving, we’re under attack.”

I scrambled to my hooves, my mind failing to compute what he said. “Attack? By who?”

“The Royal Sun Guard. Noling else is in there, right?”

I cast out my senses to the room, double-checking what I already though was true. “Nope, I was just taking a nap when something hit.” Not a second after I spoke, another tremor shook the Hive. I spread my wings to steady myself, still untransformed into my normal pony form. “What are they launching at us?”

“They’ve got a half dozen catapults. The walls are holding up pretty well for now, but that doesn’t mean we can sit back and watch. You won’t be joining in the fray just yet; Silvari wants to see you.”

The Hive Queen wanted me? I just hope she doesn’t have a special mission for me; I always hate those. Surely she wouldn’t send me out with the Guard assaulting the Hive.

I took a moment to transform into my favorite unicorn form, an unassuming grey stallion with a slightly darker mane, and dashed out of the room. Everyling was abuzz, flitting here and there to defend against the assault. About half of them were transformed into pegasi or unicorns, while the other half were the mindless drones. I ran past a small window that had a clear view of the canyon outside and I couldn’t help but stop to take a peek.

Assembled on the plains before us were the Sun Guard in full force. There must have been a legion of them, sent to finally exterminate us. Although I didn’t notice Celestia anywhere, the Captain of the Guard was present, as was his older predecessor. Not good. They were definitely taking this seriously, the order most likely coming from Celestia herself. I stepped away and teleported up to the hall outside Silvari’s room, the highest of them all. Taking a moment to smooth my mane before the stoic guards of her room, I pushed open the door.

Inside, I saw the changeling Queen staring out of her window at the assembled army below. She was just as beautiful as ever. While She had the same features that all of Her children had such as the chipped horn and holes in our wings and hooves, Her mane and tail were an icy blue, accenting eyes of the same color. I wasn’t a short changeling by any means, yet She could still easily rest Her head on mine if She so desired. At hearing me enter, She stepped away from the window and turned to me.

“Lacaxi, I see that you got the message. Quite excellent. Have you already seen the army?”

“I have Queen Silvari. Looks like they assembled here in full force. I’ve got to wonder how they got past our scouts with that siege machinery though.” At my words, a noticeable scowl appeared on my Queen’s face.

“We had a traitor in our midst. He slew the scouts from behind like a coward. But don’t worry, I’ll be making sure he gets due recompense.” Her scowl was replaced by a smile that sent shivers down my spine.

I grimaced. I would not want to be the subject of Her revenge; the screams usually lasted for weeks. “That’s unfortunate. What do you need me for?”

Her face grew solemn again before She turned away from me and started pacing, talking to me while doing so. “I have not seen the Royal Guard amass anywhere in this great of numbers since the Lunar Rebellion. If they’re mustering this much force against us, they must see us as a large threat or obstacles to a goal. As such, I have a mission for you. I loathe to send you away, but Celestia has forced my hoof for the time being.”

Fantastic. Another mission. Sigh. Really Celestia? What is up with you ponies and attacking creatures that have done nothing wrong? “What pony am I impersonating?”

She chuckled, a sign that could have been anyone from Luna herself to some homeless filly. “None, this time. You are to go as a changeling, as your charge will accept nothing less. It will be a mission unlike any other you have undergone.” Another tremor shook the building, this time closer to us, and I glanced out the window. The Guard was cheering, something that definitely did not bode well for us.

“My charge?”

“Yes. Your mission is to take three items and hide them until the Guard ceases their foolish attempts to slay us.” Wait, what?

“Then what do you mean that my charge will accept nothing else?”

“It is best I showed you. Revert first though.” I did as she asked and switched back to my changeling form, teal eyes bright with interest. The Queen knew me quite well, just as she knew all of her subjects; I could never resist finding the answer to something. Once I had changed, she lit her horn and the floor disappeared from under us, sending us falling.

I would have yelled something in shock, but instincts prevailed. I aimed my head downward and opened my wings, gradually tilting up to execute a tight spiral around the tall circular chamber. We would touch down in a matter of seconds on the glowing green floor below where three objects sat atop pillars.

“Don’t hit the objects!” my Queen called. I had already anticipated that, and so landed on the surprisingly springy ground, bouncing back up for a few seconds after touching down. She landed a few seconds after me, settling down to my immediate right. “Excellent. You now stand in the heart of the Hive.”

The heart of the Hive? I had heard rumors about this place for ages, but had never seen it. To my knowledge, the ones that did eventually went crazy. I gulped, then asked the first question that came to mind. “What about the fight above? If they reach here?”

“The Guard cannot enter this chamber without the direct power of the sun until every last changeling is dead.”

I jumped at the voice, surprised to hear another in my head other than Queen Silvari’s. My Queen chuckled, obviously privy to some joke I didn’t get. “Lacaxi, meet the elder spirits Volucris and Vicis.” She pointed to the first object on a pillar, a wing, then the second, a horn. I paid them little attention, my eyes drawn to the third object.

“I see that you have noticed the Changing Orb littleling. It is one of the most powerful ancient artifacts and not one to be trifled with. We believe it is what Celestia seeks.”

“Why?” I asked, my curiosity outweighing the respect I would have treated the spirits with. Besides, if they were changeling spirits, they wouldn’t see the need for excess formality.

“Because,” the first voice, a feminine one, said, “She believes that she can use it to Change her sister back to Princess Luna and not Nightmare Moon. She is wrong in her assumption, but she is so consumed by grief that she does not see logic, just as she fails to see the wisdom in simply asking for it.”

“Volucris and Vicis told me that that is why the Guard is attacking. I need you to take them and the orb and escape Equestria. Hide somewhere they can’t find you. So long as the orb and them are safe, our kind may endure. We may survive this attack, but it is certain that Celestia will attack again if she thinks she has any hope of returning her sister.”

I suddenly felt the great burden of my mission hit me. This wasn’t a regular mission to subvert the government or collect food, this was a mission that was vital to the survival of my entire race. The shock of it all caused me to fall back on my haunches, staring blankly at the three objects in front of me. My entire race, in my hooves. And all because some pony couldn’t cope with the loss of her sister, an event that was entirely her fault. I slammed a hoof against the ground in anger.

“Damn these ponies,” I scowled. “If I ever meet Celestia, I’ll be sure to give her a mark she won’t soon forget.”

I felt my Queen kneel down next to me and lightly drape a wing across my shoulders. “I know that they are cruel creatures. I was once a slave to them before I found the Hive.”

I looked up at Her, eyes wide with curiosity and a little bit of awe. I had assumed that she had always been, just like I assumed the Hive had. “You were enslaved by the ponies?”

“As a zebra, yes. And then I was freed by one and escaped here, to be the ruler of the Hive. Some of them are bad, but there are a few good ones too. Remember that.”

I nodded, taking the knowledge to heart. I knew it would be one of the last things I heard from her. “I will.” I took in a deep breath, then let it out again, regaining my composure. “Now, I believe you have a mission for me?”

“I like this one.”

“Oh hush it Vicis. Lacaxi, you should be able to find a pouch in each of our pillars to place us in. It will protect you from any harm that might come to you from us as well as hide us from all magical detection. Just be sure to not try and levitate the objects at any time; the magical connection will likely fry your brain and everyone around you. Your hoof should do just fine for a short connection though.”

“Understood.” Crouching down, I found a panel in each of the pillars that revealed a folded sack upon opening. There were other objects in there as well, but I let them be. Volucris had a white one, Vicis had one that was black, while the orb had one split down the middle with the two colors on either side. Once I had placed the three of them together, I carefully lifted the drawstrings of the bags in my magic, tying them together and slinging that around my neck. When I was done, my Queen grasped me on the shoulders and turned me to face Her.

“Lacaxi, I never imagined that you would turn out like this the day I first hatched you. You have been one of my most loyal servants and I am truly sad to see you go.” She gave me a kiss on my forehead that left a tingling sensation, not to mention the overall awe that I had been kissed by my Queen. “My only regret is that I must sever you from the Hive.”

I bowed my head, saddened. I had known that this was probably coming, but her saying it made it certain. Severed from the Hive. No connection to my friends, no connection to my Queen. Only relations with those blasted ponies. I may have been on a mission, but it seemed more like exile with a purpose. I closed my eyes as she touched her horn to mine, about to draw out the connection. I felt an unnerving sensation, like a part of me was getting sucked out of my horn and it wasn’t going easily. It passed after a few seconds and I cracked open my eyes. I couldn’t feel the Hive like I always had, didn’t know where my hatchmates were. I couldn’t even sense my Queen who stood right in front of me. A small tear slipped from my eye and hit the ground, sealing my fate. Changelings couldn’t cry as part of the Hive; our emotions were shared equally and there was never enough sadness to make someling shed a tear.

I heard something sliding behind me and broke contact to see one of the walls disappearing into the floor. Beyond it lay two satchels, one for water and another for carrying items. Leaving my Queen where she stood, I walked over and picked the latter up, placing my charge within. When I did so, She looked up and chuckled at the sight.

“I completely forgot I left my bags there. Glad to know they’re still useful.” A drumming sound from outside caught her attention and the frown returned. “Unless I’m mistaken, the Guard is about to stop with the siege and move in their forces. Now is our only time to get you out safely. I’ll protect you, but you must fly as fast as you can.”

I nodded once and the two of us started running up the tunnel. Behind us, the green wall slid up once again, but I paid it no mind. Daylight approached as we neared the exit, the bright afternoon sun blinding me for a moment. We paused at the exit, stopping just short of it. I assumed there was some magic spell over it, as nopony seemed to so much as glance at it. The Guard had started to march towards the Hive, spears at the ready. I still saw changelings flitting about the defenses, one occasionally taken down by the elite archers. But I could no longer feel the pain that each death brought.

“It is worse than I feared. Fly Lacaxi, I will cover your escape.”

I gave one last look at my Queen before launching into the air. I heard a shout go out below, but I was quickly forgotten as they noticed their archenemy charging them, horn alit with pale blue magic. I quickly ascended to a nearby cliff, watching as the soldiers nearest my Queen started to encircle Her and bring out their heavier weapons. As fierce as She was, I knew that She couldn’t slay an entire legion on Her own. She would be brought down at one point. Though I was no longer connected to the Hive, I couldn’t stand the thought of Her dying. I set down on the edge of the closest cliff and turned back to where she was fighting.

“Volucris! Vicis! Please, is there anything you can do to help?”

“There is indeed, littleling. We will not allow her to die so easily. Take us from our bags and point us at your enemies, horn point and wingpoint first.”

I did as they asked, hastily retrieving the objects. Raising them at the guards below, I had no idea what would happen. To my surprise, the objects left my hooves and floated into the air, the wing starting to flap and the horn rotating.

A constant beam of dark green energy shot out from the horn to the ground below, creating a shield around my Queen. I saw her distantly turn towards us, tracing the beam to its source. I felt the air grow chilly around me as the wing increased its flapping, bringing in a swift breeze. Ice started to appear on the ground below as snow flew from clouds that had been brought in by the wind. They settled in a small group over the attacking soldiers, clustering tightly together. The snow quickly turned to hail, raining down on the soldiers. But the wing beat even faster until it was just a blur and I watched as ice seemed to creep along the ground and over the enemies around Silvari, freezing them in a solid block of ice.

I was totally stunned. When I had asked them for help, I had no idea what they could do. Just as the wing slowed, then stopped flapping and fell to where I caught it, the horn started to spin faster and let out a hum that continued to increase in pitch. Looking back down over the cliff to where I knew the action wasn’t over, I saw the shield explode. I could feel the concussive force of the blast from up here, but its biggest effect was to turn the frozen soldiers into tiny shards of ice, scattering them all over the plain. While it wasn’t enough to defeat the entire army, it certainly dealt them a blow and gave my Queen enough time to fly to safety after that. I saw her fly into the Hive through one of the smoking holes that hadn’t been there before and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Now I strongly recommend we flee this area quickly before they send pegasi after us. We are not strong enough to fight off any more of those rotten ponies.”

“Right.” I returned them to their pouches and those to the bag around my shoulder. “Where to?”

“I hear the deerlands are very nice this time of year.”

“Let’s go meet some deer then.”

154 ALB

I galloped through the woods at full tilt, my mind fixed on one thing and one thing only: reach the smoking house. I had seen the plume of smoke rise from over the treetops and ran off the second I saw it. It was too large to be from anything other than a building and there was only one building anywhere near where it was coming from.

I reached the clearing that surrounded the small country house, only to find the flames almost entirely gone. I doused the remaining flickering lights with the water jug my mentor had kept by the house and threw the door open, literally knocking it off its hinges. I was about to take a step forward when my hoof encountered a limp body. Looking down, I saw that it was a unicorn I didn’t recognize. I shoved it to the side and wove my way around the blasted furniture and bodies, fearing to find a specific one on the floor. There must have been eight or nine, but none of them were the one I dreaded finding.

Finally, I reached the door to his bedroom, the last room in the house. Part of me knew what was in there and didn’t want to open the door, but I mustered my strength and kicked the door open.

The bedroom had been spared any fire damage. None at all, which was extremely surprising. It had a single occupant; my mentor lay on the bed, staring right at me.

“Floydien. I would have expected you to make it here at least a minute earlier.” I breathed a sigh of relief at seeing my mentor unharmed. “Come closer.”

I walked over to his bed and my expression darkened. My nose picked up the faint smell of blood. I looked closer at his bed, only to see a very slowly widening darker circle of green. It was already too large. It seems my mentor didn’t escape unharmed after all. The changeling looked up at me with his teal eyes, hoof reaching behind him to fetch a bag.

It was a bag I knew well. He always kept it with him, even when we were sparring. He may have been older than my grandsire, but he still had plenty of fight in him.

“Floydien, you have no doubt noticed by now that I am dying. An unfortunate happenstance, but one that would happen eventually.” How could he treat death so flippantly? Those ponies had slain him and he just sat an accepted it? “As such, one of two things may happen. One, I die, and you take this bag as your responsibility. Two, I die and this bag explodes and probably kills you. The latter is very unlikely though.” He chuckled weakly at his joke, despite being so near death. I reached up a hoof to help him, but he waved it away.

“There’s no time for that. In the bag is a letter from me to you. It explains everything. And if you hear a deep booming voice in your head in a few seconds, it’ll make sense after you read the letter. Rest assured, they mean you no harm.” He sighed and sat back, leaning his head against a pillow. “Volucris, Vicis, please summon Silvari for me.”

“She is coming. And most distraught.” My eyes widened in surprise, but I was confident in my mentor. He had never steered me wrong before. After the voice, a few seconds passed before a blinding green flash appeared outside and a large changeling ran in, a tearstain evident on her face. She charged her horn upon seeing me, but I still only stared at her.

“Stay your power Silvari, he’s a friend.”

Her horn dimmed and she came closer, crouching next to me and giving me an amused look. “A friend with a deer? I would never have thought it. You always did surprise me Lacaxi.”

“I know. And now I have one last request.” He gave a weak cough, the kind that you give when you don’t have long.

The changeling he called Silvari nodded, more tears appearing in her eyes. “Of course. Reconnect?” He nodded and Silvari lit her horn. Touching it to his, I could see as his body relaxed, not with the relaxation of death, but with it of happiness.

“Thank you. It has been an honor to serve you my Queen.” He coughed again, interrupting what he would say next. “Floydien, while ponies may have done this, it is not their fault. I knew this day would come eventually. Do not mourn me.” Even though he might not blame the ponies, I did. If not for them, my mentor would still be alive. “Silvari, I have learned a great deal from Volucris and Vicis.” Pause, another cough. “The Hive they may be, but it is best that they are away from changelings. They know that you will lead our people well in the decades to come. Should a changeling ever get their hooves on the orb—“ He broke out in another fit of coughing. I rummaged in my satchel for a cup and poured water from my canteen into it.

“Thank you Floydien. Should one ever get the orb, or any other creature get the orb for that matter, it will give them control of the Hive. As such, I am entrusting them and the orb to Floydien.” Both of our eyes opened wide in shock. “Floydien, you are now the first Keeper of the Orb. Volucris and Vicis will help you.”

He gave a sigh and leaned back on his pillow, staring at the mural I painted on his ceiling so long ago. “It’s been a good while. But I think that I’m finally ready to say good bye.”

By this point, a tear was well on its way to falling down my face. Lacaxi had taught me almost everything I knew ever since he found me banished from my tribe. With his help, I had managed to become part of another and would soon become chief. I literally owed my life to him and now he was dying with nothing I could do.

“Floydien, come close.” I did as he asked and leaned in my head, careful to not hit anything with my antlers. “The greatest thing I’ve done in my life was help raise you. Not even saving the changeling’s came close. May peace be with you always.” I heard him give one last shuddering sigh and his body relaxed completely, his teal eyes losing their shine. Some might call it silly to be saddened by the death of a changeling, but he was one like no other.

I don’t know how long I sat there, but until Silvari shook me out of my reverie, nothing else mattered. “He was one of the greatest changelings to ever live. Fiercely loyal and never one to pass up an opportunity to help any creature. He will be given a king’s funeral.”

“Not among your people.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her raise an eyebrow, but she remained silent. “He deserves to be buried with the greatest of deer chiefs and warriors. I will take him back and see to it. He wasn’t just my mentor, he was a friend to all in this forest and healed many an injury that no one else could fix.”

Silvari seemed to think for a moment before nodding her head. “That sounds agreeable. I must go now, but have Volucris and Vicis contact me when it is time. They know how.” She lit her odd horn and disappeared in a flash.

I turned away from the bed, finally noticing the rest of the room for the first time. In the corner against the wall lay a pony. Dead, but no signs of outward harm. The most disturbing thing was that I recognized him as one of the ponies who sat on the tribal council of a village we traded with. In anger, I scooped him up in my horns and tossed my head to throw him out of the window, shattering the glass into pieces. He landed with a thump outside, but I ignored it.

I proceeded to make my way through Lacaxi’s house, almost being able to do so blindly. Every pony that I found I tossed onto my horns and carried outside, piling them on top of one another. When I had cleansed his home, nine bodies lay together. Hermit as he was, my mentor was not someling to be trifled with. As he once explained to me, severing his connection to the Hive allowed him to grow to be a powerful unicorn and pegasus, equal to the higher ranked members of Equestrian military. But even still, nine on one was no fair fight.

Walking back into his house, I went to the kitchen and found his cooking oil, a strange substance to me but one that he used in quite a bit of his dishes. As I learned from my one attempt at cooking, it was incredibly flammable. I paused, and looked up at the scorch mark on the ceiling, remembering all the memories the house held.

Returning to the outside, I started pouring the oil all around the house. I tracked it through the rooms before arriving back at the bedroom. I picked up the bag that he wanted me to have and slung it around my shoulders before picking up Lacaxi himself and draping his limp body across my back. He had secrets here, secrets that not even I knew. I wasn’t going to leave his house in a state that someone could use those secrets; they belonged to my mentor and him alone.

I walked out of the house and carefully set my teacher a safe distance away from the house. Going back into his kitchen, I found the flint and steel he used to light fires. Walking at the entrance to the house, I made a single spark and lit the oil, the first quickly spreading throughout it from there. I tucked them into the bag I had been given and turned my back on the house, picking up Lacaxi and not looking back. I didn’t care if the ponies burned; there was vengeance to be paid.

BREAKING NEWS! Deer Tribes Unite and Attack Small Equestrian Villages!

By Zedra

Recent reports show an increased level of violent attacks on the Equestrian villages that lay near the border of Equestria and the lands inhabited by the Deer people. These attacks have increased in frequency over the past seven years, going from one or two attacks in a half-year timespan to as many as three or four in a month. That is a 2400% percent increase in seven years, growth that hasn’t been seen in such an important event since the zebra liberation a century ago.

These attacks have badly damaged relations between the two people going so far as that deer and pony couples are being persecuted no matter where they live. Already facing backlash from the recent Free Marriage law that Princess Celestia signed into office last year, these blows make it seem like the two species just aren’t meant to be together.

As for the attacks themselves, they seem to be all lead by the leader of one of the strongest deer tribes, Floydien. When I requested an interview, it seems that his hatred towards ponies extends to zebras as well. For the time being, I suggest that all creatures should avoid any and all routes that lead near the deer peoples. Floydien has proved unpredictable as a leader thus far, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him going after other creatures as well.

There has been talk in Canterlot of moving in the Royal Guard to help quell the threat, but it has been stopped because of the protests of anti-militarism and pro-deer parties. The former argues that the military should be completely disbanded, while the latter argues that we have been encroaching on their territory in our effort to expand. Politics is an ugly thing here in Equestria and this does not seem to be helping it one bit. The fact that Floydien has repeatedly turned down or denied opening peace talks makes it seem that a battle is inevitable. Ponies have started to turn from their warring and violent history, but only time will tell if this deer problem can be resolved peacefully.

Keeping you up to date on foreign news,

-Zedra

I sat with my other war leaders, peering over the map of the border in front of me. Around my neck was the bag that Lacaxi had given me, though I had to repair it a several times after it saved my life in battle. The beings that Silvari had mentioned, Volucris and Vicis, had remained silent ever since Lacaxi’s funeral. Truth be told, I almost forgot about them except for the times I noticed the bags that contained their spirits. At least, that’s what Lacaxi said.

I read his letter after the funeral, learning about the two beings and the orb I had been charged with taking care of. It wasn’t hard; I wore the bag at all times and no one was stupid enough to try and steal it. Not yet at least. I snapped my head out of thoughts of the past and tried to focus on what my war minister had to say, but he too was interrupted by a courier bursting in on our conference.

“Chief Floydien! It’s your daughter; she’s gone missing!”

My eyes widened in shock and anger. I tore out of the tent, immediately heading to the place that I knew where my daughter should have been. Outside of the back of the tent, I saw two sets of tracks: one the stumbling cloven hooves of my young daughter, the other the circular indentation of a sure-footed pony. I growled in anger before releasing a scream into the sky. The others found me, easily seeing the same tracks that I did.

“The first move those cowards make directly against us and it’s the best and worst one they could have picked,” I heard someone, most likely my strategist, mutter.

“Protect the village,” I managed to get out, my mind awash with the thoughts of my only daughter being slain by a pony. If it happened, nothing would stop me from slaying everyone the captor held dear. I walked out, following the tracks on shaky hooves and leaving all of the villagers behind me.

“Chief, do you need assistance?”

I paused and looked back. “No. I’m going to catch this cowardly pony and post his head on a pike. If this is meant to distract us, it is better if I am the only one to go. Protect the village from harm.”

The trail was easy to follow, at least for my trained eyes. At one point, my daughters tracks disappeared and my heart caught in my throat, but careful study of the deeper later tracks showed me that he probably picked her up and ran; no doubt when he heard my scream. It led straight to one of the rivers that bordered our territory. The pony’s tracks led straight to it where he no doubt hoped to lose me in the water. From here he could have gone anywhere from straight across, to downstream somewhere, to fooling me even more and going upstream. I wouldn’t be able to catch the culprit in time, especially if he crossed another river. I fell back on my haunches and felt tears start to come to my eyes, something that hadn’t happened since Lacaxi’s death.

Thinking of Lacaxi made me remember something: the charge that I had protected all these years. Hastily reaching into the bag on my shoulders, I pulled out the black and white sacks that he had said contained the two ancient spirits and set them in front of me by the river.

“I don’t know if you two can hear me right now, but please, Volucris and Vicis, I beg of you, show me where my daughter is.”

I heard nothing but silence for a minute and my heart started to fell. Just before I had given up and was ready to throw the bags into the river, a deep voice sounded in my mind.

“No.”

“What?” I cried. “Is it not within your power? Can’t you just—“

“It is well within our power,” he said, the same voice as before. “But I will not do it. You have slain countless ponies in the name of revenge for one of the greatest creatures to ever live. I will not do it.”

“Vicis…”

“Don’t you ‘Vicis’ me sister. He is not worthy.”

“But the life of a fawn—“

“The life of a fawn may be what he needs to realize the error of his ways.”

As the two continued to bicker, I lowered my head, partially in shame and partially in hopelessness. A part of me knew that they were right and that I had messed up big time, but what the ponies did to my mentor needed to be rectified.

“Floydien, your crimes have rectified anything that they may have done to Lacaxi ten, a hundred times over. It is time to lay down your spear and bury it.”

“I will,” I vowed, knowing that I meant it. “Just please, help me find my daughter.”

The voice was silent for a while, almost making me think that he had forgotten about me. “While I still do not condone it, I will not stop you from using your magic Volucris.”

A moment passed and a line of bright white appeared in front of me, leading upstream. I leapt up in eagerness, knocking rocks from the shore into the river with my hooves. Not saying another word other than to breathe my thanks, I dashed up the water, nothing slowing me down.

At one point the beam turned, leading me back into deer territory. I stopped for a moment, but, upon seeing the tracks of my pursuit, continued to chase the white line. Thirty seconds in, I heard a growl from up ahead. The sound caused me to pause momentarily before running full tilt into a clearing where the line stopped. Except that it stopped behind three Timberwolves, all of whom were advancing towards the base of a tree in front of me.

Not even pausing to grab a weapon, I charged, using my sharpened antlers as spears. Hitting one timberwolf in the rear, I used my powerful neck muscles to toss him over my head and breaking him against the forest floor behind me. Before the second even knew what happened, I plunged my rack into its side, running forward to skewer it against a tree and smash it to pieces. Wrenching my pointy head decorations free from where they barely stuck into the tree, I turned back to face my third foe. To my surprise, it was simply a pile of sticks. Now that the imminent danger was passed, I turned to the cloaked figure laying at the base of the tree.

As I got closer, I could smell blood, I whipped back the hood of the cloak, only to see the cut and battered face of a pegasus mare. She stared back at me, eyes wide in fear.

“I didn’t kidnap your daughter,” she whispered weakly, breaking my gaze to stare across the clearing. I followed it and saw the shape of a pony motionless on the grass at the edge of the open area.

“Do you know where she is?” I asked, worried that I had been too late.

The mare nodded and, letting out a groan of pain, opened her cloak to reveal my daughter curled against her belly. To my surprise, she was completely unharmed. Scooping her away and placing her behind me, I took a closer look at the mare. Aside from the scratches and cuts on her face, she had a series of deep slashes on her right flank that were still bleeding more than they should. If I left her as she was, she would die in less than half an hour.

I reached in my bag and pulled out the field aid kit, removing the large bandages from it. Before I laid them on, I grabbed the strong anesthetic packed in all the kits and dropped some of it onto the edges of her wounds. She visibly relaxed, knowing both that I wouldn’t harm her and in relief from the pain. I checked my aid kit again, making sure I had enough bandages. Seeing that I did, I wrapped them around her wounds tightly to try and slow the bleeding. I nudged my daughter awake from her short nap and she sleepily looked at me.

“Come on Velvet, we need to take this mare to the stream.” A smile lit up her face and she raced ahead of me, already knowing where to go. I gently scooped the pegasus up in my antlers, holding her there almost like she were sleeping in a cradle. It took me a minute to reach the stream, but my daughter was already happily playing in it. I went downstream from her a few yards and waded in before carefully lowering the mare in. I removed her cloak and tossed it on the shore before paying attention to her. The cold rushing water helped jolt her awake as well as wash away most of the blood that was welling up.

Now that I could see her easily, I could tell that she was a dark blue pegasi with a light blue, almost white mane. Despite the water, she still stared off into space, not really focusing on much of anything.

After her wounds were mostly clean, I removed the bandages I had applied earlier and gently dried her off with a scarf I found in my bag. Replacing the three large bandages, I made sure to cover every nick and scrape I could find, dropping in anesthetic as I did so. After I was done, I wrapped her in her cloak and the two of us sat near the river watching my daughter.

“My friends and neighbors always told me of the cruelty of the deer. When I saw you had come for your daughter, I feared that you would kill me or, worse, leave me to die. This, I didn’t expect.”

“I had a friend change my heart. You only served to strengthen that vow by saving my daughter. What exactly happened back there?”

“The stallion that stole your daughter was a mercenary I had been tracking for a while. I finally corned him in the clearing and snapped his neck, but he some device of his own. They were like claws on his hooves, almost as if he had griffon talons. They struck me down, though I managed to rescue your fawn. When the timberwolves showed up, I thought I was done. And then you know the rest. Say, what’s your name?”

“Floydien.” Her eyes opened slightly wider, the name obviously familiar with her. “Yours?”

“Starry Sky.”

“You had a timberwolf bite on your shoulder. You were obviously protecting my child. Why?”

She gazed at my daughter, happily playing in the water as if nothing had happened. “All children deserve a chance to live. A deer taught me that, actually. I was a merc, same as that stallion, but my viewpoint of deer changed when one of them saved my son’s life.”

I felt her lay her head against my side, sleepily so. “There’s a story that’s been passed down in my family for years. According to it, my many greats-grandfather had once been a slavemaster working under the nobility of the time. One day, he freed a zebra slave, sending her to safety. Zebras had been considered less than ponies at the time, so everyone was shocked when they found out what he did. He was actually brought before the Princesses on a charge of treason. Family history says that he told them something that led to the anti-slave revolution and emancipation of the zebras.” She gave a large yawn, interrupting her story. “I’ve always wanted to do something like that. Something as simple as setting a slave free leads to freedom for all, something as simple as saving a fawn leads to peace among all races. That’d be nice.” I looked down and saw her eyes close, the anesthetic obviously causing her to fall asleep.

Her words struck a chord in me, almost because she had been in the same situation I was in. The first part at least. If she could come back from that and become a friend of the deer, even so much as to sleep and become so vulnerable in front of one, I could come back and become a friend of the ponies. Maybe her saving my child would lead to peace, at least between the deer and ponies. Maybe they aren’t all as bad as those who slayed Lacaxi.

I closed my eyes, feeling sleepy myself, and let myself dream of what the future could be.

853 ALB

My father threw my bag of treasures on the table, hitting with enough force to send them spilling out all across it. I winced, both in fear of what was about to happen and for the breakable artifacts inside.

“What do you call this?” he asked, not in the shout of an angered parent, but in the scathing voice that hurt even more.

I dropped my gaze from the table, acting like the ashamed child he expected me to be. “Just some things I found exploring,” I murmured.

“Exploring where, exactly?” It was a rhetorical question; both of us knew where I had been. He didn’t expect me to answer and answering would have just been met by more disgust and likely another speech on how I should be acting. “Exactly. Now toss this out into the ocean where it belongs and go read up on your history.”

Keeping my eyes down, I grabbed the few that were floating and stuffed them back in the bag. Swimming past him, I brushed aside the curtain of seaweed we used as our door and headed into the town. A few seaponies below waved a flipped at me, but I didn’t pay them any attention. I swam around the spire that marked our house, heading upwards towards the surface. Stopping about fifty feet up from the highest point, I turned and looked back down below.

Our city wasn’t the largest of the near-land colonies, but it was definitely the grandest. We were the capitol of our sector, a sector that bordered the entire northern length of the continent Equus. We stretched a ways west as well, but nowhere close to the griffons and dragons; our only neighbors were ponies. But of course, we couldn’t actually go and talk to them with that idiotic Non-Contact Policy in place. If my father was angry about me just collecting their treasures, I could only imagine how he’d be if I exposed our entire race. If he discovered that I had merely been to the surface, I probably would have been exiled.

Speaking of my treasures, I opened the bag I had been holding and the lighter treasures slowly floated out of the bag. Now that this one had been found out, I had to go hide it with the rapidly growing stash that I had concealed in a cave on the underwater cliffside of Equus. I hadn’t found anything too interesting with this find: a waterlogged book that only the cover was intact on; another glowing glass mana orb to join the half dozen I already collected; a stone wing and horn, presumably broken off some alicorn statue; and a journal wrapped in a waterproof oilskin that I found in an old sea wreckage.

The last item was most assuredly older than my father due to its wrapping, but I wasn’t about to remove it where it would immediately become soaked and intelligible. I tucked the items back in the sack and started swimming towards the land above.

The cave that served as my home away from home wasn’t too far of a journey, but is enough of one that it wouldn’t be found by somepony on a casual swim. Best of all, it had an air pocket that allowed me to read things that I couldn’t underwater. I approached the entrance and wove around the spires of rock that blocked the direct path in. Finding it had been a complete accident. If it hadn’t been for my older brother cataloging every inch of shoreline for ten miles when he offended our dad, we never would have found this place. As it were, this cave technically didn’t exist on any documents anywhere. There was literally no better place to hide our secrets.

I finished looping into the cavern, only to find both the overwater and underwater lights lit. I caught sight of his distinctive yellow tail drifting lazily in the water and surfaced. Looking ahead, he was lying mostly on the rocky shelf where we stored out dry items, quietly reading one of our few books. At the sound of my splash, he looked up sharply before a smile broke out on his face.

“Crest! I didn’t expect to see you here today!” He picked up on my slightly ticked off posture and his smile slipped a little. “Dad find your bag again?”

I rolled my eyes and nodded. “He told me to toss it in the ocean, but he probably knows that I won’t. But that’s not that important. I found a new book!”

His eyes widened in surprise and eagerness, almost leaping into the water just to read it a few seconds earlier. “Well don’t waste any time; get up and let’s see what it is!”

“Here ya go Wave.” I passed the bag up to him before hauling myself up onto the rocky ledge. We didn’t move very well out of the water, but we could easily manage the small space we had to travel in our cave. He scooted over so that I could slide next to him, my wet skin soothing his.

By the time I got settled he had already unfolded the oilskin and was gazing at the cover. It was definitely faded, but looked remarkably dry. It was dark green on the outside, with what looked like pristine white pages inside.

“’The Journal of Velvet, Ambassador of the Deer Peoples.’” I read off the cover.

“Crest, imagine what could be inside this one! Deer! What do they look like? The south sector borders the deerlands, so I can’t imagine how this got here. Where’d you find it?”

“It was in the wreckage of a ship about ten miles out from the city. Now enough talk, let’s see what’s inside!”

Entry 1

My mother always said that I should keep a journal. I suppose that with my official post as ambassador to the pony tribes, it would be best to keep a record of events. Even if I am the only one to read this in my lifetime, I hope that it will be of use to any and all species in the future.

Entry 2

Today started simply enough. I travelled to Canterlot a few days ago to open up talks with Princess Celestia. My mother, Starry Sky, came with me, but Floydien stayed behind to continue managing the tribes as the violence against ponies decreases. It hasn’t been easy, but if any deer could do it, it’s him. It’s strange being a representative of my entire species at such a young age, but I’ll do what’s necessary to help our kind survive.

As for the peace talk themselves, they went surprisingly smoothly, at least where Celestia was concerned. Today was just a meeting of her and I. After just one meeting, I can say that she is a wise and noble ruler who is undoubtedly a strong leader. While I might question some of her tactics, especially when it comes to dealing with foreign threats, they are no doubt effective. She is certainly an interesting leader; being an immortal one tends to make small issues even smaller. Our talk went well enough, but she warned me that the meeting with the nobles in a few days would not go as smoothly. She was not looking forward to it either, but it is necessary to convince them if our plan will work.

The one in particular we need to convince is Duke Goldblood, the steward of the lands bordering ours. He is said to be an open-minded pony, so I have a little hope.

Entry 3

The Duke is on our side! My mother said that it was my age and maturity that convinced him, but I know that Celestia’s approval must have been a driving factor as well. It is never wise to offend one’s chief, especially one as powerful as her.

Unfortunately, that means that most of the nobles are fools! Many of them are opposed to the peace talks simply for the sake of money. The battle of our tribes lets them gain more money and they are too stubborn to let go of it. It seems that my father’s advice that ponies are one good apple in a bushel of bad is truer than I hoped.

Entry 4

The nobles seemed quite unhappy when I entered the talk today. It may have had something to do with the fact that all of them voted to ratify the treaty that Floydien and the other chiefs drafted! We have peace! I have no doubt that Celestia was involved somehow. There was no way that the nobles would have agreed otherwise. Mother and I will remain in Canterlot for a few days longer before returning on the train with Goldblood. While we have officially set up peace between our races, there is much work to be done in repairing the relations between individual villages.

I set down the journal, stopping us before we could get further. “Wave, do you know what this means?”

He gave me a quizzical look, most likely suspecting what was on my mind. “Possibly. What are you thinking?”

I eagerly flipped back a few pages to the second journal entry, pointing to a line in specific. “Velvet says here that Celestia is immortal. If she’s anything now like she was then, we would have no trouble making peace with the ponies!”

“What?! No, we can’t do that! We could be exiled, even killed! It would ruin Dad!” His voice rose in volume and pitch, obviously not thinking as far as I had. “Crest, you have got to put those thoughts out of your head. We can’t just go and expose our entire race like that! And in case you forgot, Canterlot isn’t anywhere near here. It’s practically in the middle of the continent. How do you plan on getting there?”

I rolled my eyes and pointed at another line as if it were obvious. “Take a train, of course. I’m sure we’ve got something down here that’ll buy a train ticket.”

My brother stared at me long, saying nothing. I kept silent as well, not sure how to break the silence. At last, he let out a whisper. “You’re really determined to do this, aren’t you?” I gave a single nod. “And nothing I do will stop you?” A pause, then I nodded again. He gave a sigh, then rewrapped the journal in the oilskin. “I guess I’ll be going with you then.”

My heart skipped a beat. “You will? Brilliant!”

“You wouldn’t get ten miles without me little brother. Besides, I’ve got a map.” I was speechless as he pulled himself fully out of the water to fetch something behind me. He returned a few seconds later and unfolded a worn piece of leather, a large image clearly painted on it.

“Now this map is quite old, but it does show a river leading almost the entire way to Canterlot itself. It leads to the base of the mountain anyhow. The mouth is at Archer Bay, so we’ll have to swim against the current most of the way.” I raised my eyebrows and he glanced at me. “Don’t worry, the current isn’t nearly as strong as it is in the ocean. I was actually reading about different bodies of water before you showed up.”

“It’ll still have fish, right?”

“Course. We can probably leave right now if you want. No time like the present.”

“If I want? Of course I want! Let’s go!”

“Not without us you won’t be.” My brother and I jumped, causing me to fall into the water. I frantically searched the entrance to our cave, searching for the body belonging to the voice. It was deep and masculine, almost sounding like my father had swum in on us. I found no sight of his body though, and resurfaced to gaze at my brother.

“What was that Wave?”

“That was my brother being an annoyance. Please forgive him; it has been many years since he had mortals to tease. We are the spirits Volucris and Vicis. As for where our voice is coming from, you will find our spirits bound to two stone figures."

“You mean that wing and horn I found? I thought they were just part of some statue.” My fear had gradually fallen away, instead being replaced by an insatiable curiosity.

“At one point, they were. But that is no matter now. If you are going to Celestia, we wish that you take us with you to give to her. In return, we will make sure that you succeed on your journey and come to no harm.”

I gazed at my brother and he gave a single nod, returning the thoughts that I had. “We would be honored to escort you to Celestia so long as you help us get there.”

“Excellent. Let us go with all haste; it has been far too long since I saw her.”

I grabbed the sack from where it lay close to the edge and checked inside to make sure the two items from before were there. For good measure, I tossed the journal in as well. Diving back down, I found a randomly growing strand of kelp and wrapped it around my middle, tying it to the bag. When I was swimming underwater, it would be pulled behind me and not impair my movement. Glancing to where my brother was extinguishing the last of the land lights, I dove back underwater to do the same.

I heard a splash and saw bubbles shoot up from where he dived in. Pressing his hooves together in the sign of readiness, the two of us swam out of the cave and headed south.

973 ALB

I was languidly swimming close to the ocean surface, basking in the sunlight that filtered down through the water. It was warm up here, pleasantly so. Today was a day for relaxing and not much else.

I heard a faint splash off to my right and almost glanced at it, but didn’t bother. It was probably only some fish leaping up out of the water. When the splashes became more frantic and started sending waves underwater towards me, I finally spared a glance in that direction.

The day quickly ceased to be a day for relaxation.

I quickly started swimming towards the scene, moving as fast as my tail could carry me. A pegasus pony had fallen in the water and was currently sinking. Now, normally, that wouldn’t be a problem. One of the ponies on shore would come out, fetch her, and it wouldn’t require the assistance of a nearby seapony such as myself. The problem here was the tiger shark. They were rather nasty predators and would easily take down any landponies that they came in contact with. As was unfortunately evident by the red that was starting to seep into the water.

There was no time for me to go get help; waiting too long would easily result in the pegasus’s death. And there was no way I’d let that happen. I resorted to the tried and true assault method of seaponies: I rammed the creature in the side at full speed.

Now, that normally wouldn’t sound too deadly. But I was one of our top swimmers and could hit speeds of seventy-five knots. So hitting it in the side was the equivalent of hitting it with a five hundred pound rock. It broke its grip on the pony and sent it reeling, nursing a broken rib or five. Leaving the young pegasus to slowly sink, limp drifting in the water, it turned its attention to me. It was not a dumb creature, but I knew that I was smarter.

It let loose an ultrasonic roar and charged, mind solely focused on revenge. I deftly maneuvered out of the way and let it swim past before racing forward and grabbing its tail. Holding it securely in my forehooves, I bit down as hard as I could. The taste was vile, but I didn’t need to hang on for long. It thrashed once again and sped off, executing a turn to face me again. Despite my attacks, there wasn’t a trace of fear in its eyes. I didn’t expect there to be; this was a predator, one who didn’t make it to the top through cowering. But I wasn’t looking to kill it, as there wasn’t enough time for that. I only had to incapacitate it, get it to flee.

It charged again, obviously not learning its lesson. I dodged again, this time sliding under its belly and grabbing on with my hooves and fins. It started swimming in circles, thrashing to get me off. It wasn’t easy to remain holding its slick skin, but I just needed to last long enough to push it to the surface. Using my tail, I slowly pushed the two of us up.

We broke the surface and it let out a roar of pain. Sharks rarely ever surfaced and their eyes were not used to the bright light of the sun, even brighter on a day like this. As I hoped, it scorched its retinas and left it floundering blindly. As I spun out from under it, I caught sight of three pegasi flying ahead. Waving to them with a flick of my tail, I grabbed a breath of air and held it in my mouth as I dove back down to fetch the one they were surely looking for.

I sped down, easily finding the bright pink among a sea of blues and greens. She was still bleeding, a fact that was never good. The salt water would help, but getting her on land was essential. Lack of oxygen would kill her before her wounds did. I gently wrapped my hooves around her head and tilted it back, pressing my mouth against hers. I passed my breath of air to her, hopefully keeping her alive for the time it would take me to reach the surface. Holding her around the waist, I swam up as fast as I could manage.

As soon as I broke the water with her, the pegasi spotted me and swooped down to help. One of them nodded their thanks before picking her out of my hooves and speeding to the beach. I submerged again, following them. Years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to save this pegasi, let alone be near the surface. If it hadn’t been for the brash seapony Crest, she would have died.

It didn’t take me long to reach the shore, but the pegasi had already beaten me there. I was just in time to see her cough up water and start breathing again, a sight that filled me with relief. The pegasi were all surrounding her, not noticing my arrival. I awkwardly slid onto the sand, supported only by my forehooves.

“How bad are her wounds? I never got a chance to look at them.”

All three pegasi jumped before turning to look at me. They seemed speechless for a moment before the only male spoke up. “She has a pretty bad bite on her leg, but nothing that she won’t recover from. What happened down there?”

I waved my hoof, almost losing my balance as I did so. “A tiger shark found her and dragged her beneath the surface. Hence the bite.”

I was suddenly wrapped in a warm, fuzzy hug. Her skin felt weird, but warm, covered in hair as it was. My damp skin quickly soaked it, but the hug lasted for a little while longer. It took me by surprise; it seemed that landponies were quicker to make contact than we were. “Umm, thanks?”

There was a cough from behind my hugger and it let go, showing me that she was a pony that looked to be a little younger than the one I rescued. “Thank you for saving my cousin Miss—“

Her white face screwed up in confusion, obviously not sure what to say. “Cerulean,” I supplied.

“Thank you Miss Cerulean! I don’t know what I’d do without Cadance.”

I smiled. It was almost impossible to do so at how bubbly and cute she was. A movement behind her made me turn my head to look, seeing Cadance start to lift herself up on her hooves, one held off the ground. She looked at me curiously, apparently having never seen a seapony before. “Did you save me?”

I nodded. “You fell into the water for some reason and were attacked by a tiger shark. I chased it away and rescued you.”

“Then I cannot thank you enough. I owe you my life.”

I waved it off with a hoof. “I’d do the same for any creature in need. We’re stewards of the ocean and everything in it, much as you are stewards of the sky. But if you ever become a princess of Equestria, don’t forget about us.” I meant it as a joke, but it somehow didn’t seem like too crazy of a possibility.

“Ponies should always be friends to other species, no matter what. I’ll never be able to forget what you’ve done for me.”

“I’ll remember that if I should ever meet you again,” I replied. I paused, considering something. Deciding upon my course of action, I lifted one of my shell necklaces off and placed it over her head. “So that you’ll never forget.”

I turned and made my way back to the ocean, sliding down across the sand this time. Pausing at the moment where I would dive out of sight, I waved a flipped to the mare whose life I saved and disappeared beneath the waves.