Golden Age
by PonyPonyX
Chapters
Prologue: The Passing of Clover
Winter of the 84th Year, Equestrian Reckoning
"Citizens of Equestria, we are joined today in mourning for Clover the Clever, Founder and Grand Magus of Equestria and one-time student of Star Swirl the Bearded. His passing marks the death of the last Founder of our nation, and of the last member of the Circle of Pony Friends who defeated the Windigoes so many years ago..."
***
Clover the Clever walked calmly down the hallway in which he found himself. The walls, floor and ceiling of the hall were solid blocks of some lustrous black material, evenly if dimly lit from some unknown and invisible source. He thought that he should be worried or confused, though he didn't know why, but felt neither. These halls felt familiar to him, yet he could not decide why; odd, for such a place would surely be more memorable. After some time, the Magus came upon a doorway which opened up into a larger chamber. Somehow, he knew he should go this way.
The room was huge and beings could be seen all around it, but to this he paid little attention. Before him, occupying his focus, were his five best friends. Puddinghead. Smart Cookie. Hurricane. Pansy. Platinum. The Commander was the first to greet him.
"Ahaha, so the slowpoke finally made it!" he shouted, his voice as booming as it had been all those years ago. "Do you know how long I've been waiting for all of you to catch up?" He flashed a cheesy grin, but his eyes held some measure of sadness.
"Commander!" scolded Pansy, her voice uncharacteristically stern. "All of us were hit hard by your death, you know that."
"Yeah, but did you see how many gryphons I took with me? Must have been like twenty or thirty of the featherbrains! They sure rued the day they chose to intrude in Equestria!"
"Is that what this is, then?" asked Clover. "Am I dead?"
"I'm afraid so, my dear old friend," answered Platinum. "Don't be too sad, though."
"Like Ah said," interjected Smart Cookie in her rural drawl. "Everythin' dies. Don't mourn for it much. Just look forward to new life."
"What is this place, anyway? I never expected an afterlife like this." Clover glanced at the blank black walls. "I figured it would be more interesting, at least."
Puddinghead spoke next, his insane energy persisting, it seemed, even through death itself.
"Well, one time this HUGE alicorn walked through here, and I asked him where we were, and he said we were in the bardo, which is an afterlife that the yaks from the east believe in, and that it's only a stop on the way to reincarnation, and we're all here together waiting for you becuase everyone in this room is part of a jati, which is like a family of spirits, and the jati will always be reunited in every life and death!"
If the dead had required breath, Puddinghead would have keeled over from asphyxiation after that run-on explanation.
Clover looked around the room with his full attention for the first time since arriving. Occupying almost an entire wall of the room was an ancient white dragon, fast asleep and snoring. Clover knew it as Tzepesh, a millennium-old wyrm who had been the dragons' first ambassador to Equestria. Off to another side sat a huge earth pony who the Magus recognized as Farmer Apple, the first earth pony to move his family to the new lands. Near him were three ponies, one of each race - councilors in the early days of the country. They were constantly talking, ranging from petty bickering to uproarious laughter. Farther on the edge of Clover's vision, the ponies grew less familiar and less distinct.
"So when we... Reincarnate, will we remember this? Our past life?"
"Not from what I've heard," replied Pansy. "But we don't have to be afraid, because no matter what happens, we'll be together."
Pansy leaned forward and wrapped Clover in a hug, joined quickly by the other four in their little group.
They spoke as one.
"We'll be together, always."
Chapter 1: Looking Back
Modern Equestria
Twilight Sparkle raised her head from the book where it had drooped. Stifling a yawn, she looked out the library window to see the moon making its westward descent through the star-filled sky. By its position, it looked to be about three or four in the morning. She looked back at the book she had been studying, a tome purportedly written by Clover the Clever. Just then, she was startled out of her reverie by a knock on the library door. With a groan, she stood up from the pile of pillows she had been laying on, wondering who could be knocking at this unholy hour of Luna's night.
"Ugh... Hello?" she said, opening the door.
To her surprise, the pony on her doorstep was Ditzy Doo, the Ponyville mailmare. Twilight gazed into the pegasus's crossed eyes for a moment before noticing the package she was balancing on her back.
"Sorry to bother you in the middle of the night, Twilight," she apologized. "But this came from the castle with instructions to get it to you as fast as possible."
"The castle? I wonder what it could be, and why they wanted it to get here so fast..." The librarian looked up to see Ditzy still awkwardly balancing the package on her back. "Whoops! Sorry Ditzy!"
Twilight levitated the package inside, then signed the slip with a quill she had been keeping behind her ear for note-taking.
"Goodnight!" She waved to the departing gray mare. "Say 'hello' to your kids for me!"
Retreting back into the library and closing the door, she looked over the parcel she had received. It was cubic, about two hoof-lengths to a side, and tied up with coarse twine. Tucked into the twine was a piece of paper reading 'Urgent!' and a sealed envelope. Twilight discarded the former and looked at the latter. The seal holding shut the envelope was a crescent moon symbol pressed in dark blue wax, quite unlike the usual red wax sun insignia that Twilight was used to getting. The lavender unicorn opened it and withdrew a letter, written in an old formal script.
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
As a gesture of thanks for your help on
Nightmare Night, we have convinced our
sister to allow us access to this artifact,
which we are sure thou will find to be
interesting. Gather thy friends before
making use of it, and make sure that
thou have no pressing engagements,
for we think it will prove time consuming.
Sincerely,
Princess Luna of Equestria
***
"Ah wonder what Twilight wanted with us today," said Applejack, trotting through the winter snow. "And why she asked if we all had nothin' to do."
"Honestly, Applejack, I didn't think you would be able to make it," replied Rarity. "It seems like you always have some work to be doing at your farm."
"Yeah, well, you what runnin' a business is like. But we finished all our accountin' by Hearth's Warmin', and Ah can't very well work the fields in the dead of winter."
"What about you, Fluttershy? Your animals require a lot of care, do they not?" asked the designer.
"Yes, well, um, no, well, what I mean is, um, kind of. Most of the ones at my cabin are hibernating this time of year, and I told Angel bunny to look after them while I'm gone. Oh, and, um, also, if we take too long, well..." the yellow pegasus trailed off. "Big Macintosh said he'd check up on them."
Eyebrows were raised, especially by Applejack, as the demure pegasus blushed heavily and hid behind her mane. Despite this, her friends decided not to press the issue.
"Ugh, this is so boring! Hurry up, you guys!" said a rough voice from overhead, where Rainbow Dash was flying circles around her friends.
"Nopony's sayin' you have to travel with us, Rainbow. The four of us can catch up."
"Four?" questioned the colourful pegasus.
Applejack looked around their group.
"Now that's strange, Ah could'a sworn Pinkie was with us."
"She'll pop up where it's convenient for her. Later, slowpokes!"
With those parting words, Rainbow sped off towards the library, leaving her namesake in her wake.
"How rude!" huffed Rarity.
***
"Hello girls!" Twilight said as her friends entered.
Rainbow Dash was already there, lounging on top of a bookshelf. From the basement, Spike could be heard alternately grumbling and moving something heavy.
The librarian looked at her friends with a hint of confusion on her face.
"Where's Pinkie Pie?"
"Right here!" said the pony in question, stepping out from behind a bookshelf where she could not possibly have been.
"Whuh- Buh- How?" Twilight shook her head, then reminded herself that Pinkie was just being Pinkie. "Uh, right. Well, I'm sure all of your are wondering why I called you over today. The truth is, I'm not quite sure myself. Last night - late last night - I received a package from Princess Luna."
"What was in it?" asked Dash.
"I don't know. Luna's note said to 'gather my friends', so I decided to wait for you all to get here before opening it. Come on," she said, walking towards her basement stairs. "I asked Spike to set things up."
At the bottom they encountered a green and purple baby dragon slumped against a table leg and panting.
"I moved that table for you," he said weakly.
The six friends gathered around the table, upon which was the package. Twilight grabbed a string with her magic and pulled, removing the twine that bound it. Beneath that was brown paper which she unwrapped, revealing a cardboard box. Within the box was another message from Luna, resting on top of something else. Moving this aside, she and her friends looked into the box... And gasped.
The cause of this collective intake of breath was an enormous opal, a perfect sphere about one hoof-length in diameter, swirling with every colour of the rainbow. As they looked at it - was there movement inside? Or was it simply their imagination? Looking closer, they could see a design etched into its surface - a globe, similar but different to ones they had seen before.
Slowly they shook themselves out of their trance. The orb was enveloped in a blue field as Rarity levitated it from the box. Below it was a base, shaped to hold it; this she also levitated out, setting it on the table before placing the orb on top.
"This is the most beautiful gem I have ever seen," said Rarity reverently. Then she looked at Spike who had curled up for an impromptu nap at the base of the table. "Well, the second most beautiful."
Twilight in the meantime was poring over the map etched into the stone's surface.
"This map is very detailed but... It's not correct. Here-" She gestured towards the edge of a large landmass. "They have a coastline. But that's where the Highmane Mountains are, and on the other side is the Western Desert, where Appleloosa is."
"What's this note say?" asked Rainbow. "Huh. The Princess says it's a way to 'look into the past'. She says we should all put our hooves on it together."
"'Look into the past?' Care to do some explainin', Rainbow?"
"I can't explain any more because that's all it says! I swear!"
"Ooh!" Pinkie interrupted. "Looking into the past sounds super exciting! I bet it's gonna be really fun!"
"Well, if Luna says we should do this, I trust her," said Fluttershy, quietly.
The six friends looked at one another and nodded. As one, they placed their forehooves on the opal.
There was a flash of light...
Chapter 2: Dawn of a Day Past
Spring of the 227th Year, Equestrian Reckoning
Reign of Prince High Mountain
Spellweaver stirred in her bed as the morning sun peeked through her window.
Twilight Sparkle stirred in her bed as the morning sun peeked through her window.
Emerging from her bed, she walked sleepily to the mirror, where an imperial-blue unicorn looked back. Her navy mane was a complete mess. Levitating a hairbrush, she tamed her unruly hair back into its normal straight style, a pinkish-red stripe becoming visible, the same colour as the magic field around her brush.
Emerging from her bed, she walked sleepily to the mirror, where a...
Wait. This isn't me. But I feel like I know this pony as well as I know myself. Luna said that artifact would show us the past... Am I seeing the past?
Just sit back and watch.
Who's there?
The magic within the orb. This is indeed the past. Just sit back and watch.
As Spellweaver finished her morning routine, she glanced out the window towards the rising sun. The Solar Council had done a good job this morning, and the weather team had cleared the skies. A beautiful morning.
Several open books lay on her desk, along with her own papers in various states of completion: maps, ranging from local to continental, real and imagined; sketches of flags and fantastical creatures; the beginnings of reports and stories. But today, she felt no urge to work on any of them. Today, she decided, she would take a walk around the city.
Sonneport was Equestria's second largest city (after the inventively named Capital City), home to a port with berths for hundreds of ships, and to a huge bazaar supported by the wealth of foreign trade which poured through. Spellweaver avoided the latter on her way to her destination. Eventually, she found herself standing atop the massive wall that overlooked the docks. Below her, ships of every conceivable design and sailors of every conceivable race mixed freely. She leaned forward to feel the sea breeze, and smelled salt and fish and foreign spices, and heard talk in a dozen languages.
"Pretty awesome, huh?"
This rough voice so close to her caused her to jump in fright - luckily, the crenellations in front of her prevented a drop to the docks below.
"Whoops, sorry. Didn't mean to startle you." Spellweaver looked back to see a young pegasus mare standing behind her. "I saw you standing up here alone and I thought, 'There's a smart-looking filly. Maybe she's what I'm looking for.'"
"W-what you're looking for?" replied the unicorn, now wary.
"Oh, right. I guess I should explain. My name is Flash Flood, fastest flier on the high seas. I'm a lookout on one of those ships, and we're looking for a new navigator. I saw you leave the library this morning, and when you took an interest in the ships, well..."
"Oh my gosh, I'd love to. But... I don't know if I'm qualified. I mean, I've never even been on a boat before."
"That's not much of a problem. The captain is super awesome, she'll help you get your sea legs in ten seconds flat. Look, no pressure. You don't have to join. But if you do decide to... See that ship there?" Flash Flood pointed to a caravel sitting in a nearby berth. "Come aboard, and say I sent you."
With a whoosh, the turquoise pegasus leaped from the battlements. Spellweaver lost sight of the speedy flyer almost immediately.
The unicorn's eyes locked on to a part of the docks where little traffic seemed to be passing. Concentrating hard for a moment, she was engulfed by a flash of light, which reappeared on the path below and brought her with it. Shaking off the momentary disorientation that always came with teleporting, she scanned for the ship that Flash Flood had pointed out. Spotting her quarry, she started off down the docks.
***
As Spellweaver drew nearer to the caravel, she was able to spot the name painted on the side: Amity. At the same time, she noticed three colts touching up the paint on an alicorn figurehead; or rather, one colt painting while suspended from ropes held by two others.
"Excuse me!" she called to them. "Is Flash Flood on this ship?"
One of the colts holding the ropes, a pegasus, whipped around to face her.
"Ooh! Did big sis tell you to come here? Isn't she so cool?"
Unfortunately, to talk to her he had spit out his rope, and this caused the suspended pony to flip upside down and lose hold of his paintbrush. Fortunately, Spellweaver was nearby to catch the brush and support the earth pony foal.
"Thanks miss!" said the dangling colt. "Sparks just gets really excited when anypony mentions his sister. She went in to talk to the captain, I think."
Spellweaver levitated the rope back up to 'Sparks' and the brush back to the earth pony, who resumed his work as he was pulled upright again. Walking up the gangplank and onto the deck, she noticed that those three were the only crew she could see. The blue unicorn walked up to the cabin and knocked on the door. After a moment it opened, revealing the face of the pegasus from earlier. Spellweaver noticed her silvery mane shimmer different colours in the light, like spray in the sunlight.
"Hey, captain, it's that unicorn I met earlier."
"Well, what are ye waitin' fer? Invite her in!" came a voice from inside.
Flash Flood gestured inside the cabin and Spellweaver entered, taking a moment to let her eyes adjust to the relative darkness. When she had regained her vision, she looked up to see a sturdy earth pony mare wearing a huge hat with a bright red feather.
"Hahaharr, good mornin' to ye, lass. Cap'n Full Press, at yer service. And ye are?"
"I'm Spellweaver. Nice to meet you, ma'am."
"Please, I'm no 'ma'am'. Call me Full Press, or just cap'n, if'n ye prefer. I hear from me friend Flash Flood that ye're lookin' to fill our navigator's horseshoes, so tell me: what exactly is it that ye do, when ye're not lookin' down at the harbour?"
"Help my parents at the Grand Library, mostly. I love to read and learn, so I figure it's nice to help other ponies do the same. But I'm sure I've read every book in that library, and how better to learn than to go out and experience things?"
Full Press looked at her lookout.
"Yarr, I like this pony's attitude. Ye always did have a good eye fer these things." She turned back to Spellweaver. "Read all the books in the Grand Library, did ye? I reckon that would take a hundred years. How's yer affinity with maps?"
"Oh, I love them! Sometimes I even like to draw maps when I'm bored."
"I love it! Why, I'd say ye're already part of the crew." She cracked a grin. "An' since I'm the cap'n, that means ye are! Welcome aboard, lass. Come out on deck with me."
They left the cabin, all three ponies taking a moment to readjust to the bright sunlight. The captain glanced around, then beckoned to the three colts, who had gathered on the foredeck and begun some heated discussion. At the captain's gesture they broke off their discussion and stood before her.
"Ye lads, go check below. Round up any crew still aboard and tell 'em to gather up here."
"Aye aye captain!" they replied in concert, before racing off belowdeck. After a couple of minutes of smalltalk, the three standing on deck were interrupted by the arrival of the cabin colts and some additional crew members.
"Mornin', mateys. I called this little meetin' to introduce ye to our newest crew member. Miss Spellweaver here is goin' to be fillin' the position o' navigator and chartmare. Spellweaver, allow me to introduce some o' the crew. This here's me first mate, Shinin' Sea." Full Press indicated a unicorn mare, white with just a faint hint of blue, mane styled elegantly.
"Pleased to meet you, darling," she said.
"Medic and second mate, Gentle Breeze." A pale pink pegasus with a blonde mane and big frightened eyes responded with a frightened squeak.
"Ship's cook, Golden Crust." The cook was a golden earth pony with an out-of-control mane.
"Ooh, it's so nice meeting new ponies! I should make something special for you! You can call me Goldie by the way," she giggled.
"This here zebra is Kizito."
"Yah mon." The zebra towered head and shoulders over Spellweaver, his mane hanging in dreadlocks. He had a serene expression on his face.
"And ye've already met our cabin colts. Flood's brother is Flyin' Sparks, the earth pony is Haralson Apple and the unicorn is Thunderclap. That's everyone we've got aboard right now, since most o' me crew is on shore leave."
"Nice to meet all of you. Captain, when should I move my stuff aboard?"
"Hahaharr, aren't ye eager? Don't worry about it, we don't put out again fer another three days. In the meantime, ye should probably explain the situation to yer parents - spend a day with them afore ye leave. A pony can get mighty homesick at sea."
***
Twilight Sparkle shook her head as she withdrew her hooves from the orb. The way her forelegs felt, she had been holding them there for hours. Around her, her friends did the same.
"That was an... Interesting experience," said Rarity.
"It was like I was that pony... But I wasn't. You know?" added Rainbow.
Twilight checked her clock: an hour had passed since they opened the package.
"Well, girls. Looks like we still have time. Again?"