Author's Notes:

Originally uploaded on fimfiction, under the same title (and username).

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From ancient windows, traces of daylight shone upon an empty hallway, the illuminated features dulled and ebbed by time, so much time. This hall was much the same as any around it, countless halls where the echoes of even the quietest of sounds were free to roam. A sound had not echoed through these halls in eons, save for the songs of the occasional bird who made respite for a moment before departing. Though dust was almost everywhere, the walls stood strong, the windows intact. This place had made its stand against time, and though faded in its appearance, its strength held firm. This was an ancient temple of forgotten might.

Nearly forgotten.

The doors opened, casting light onto parts of the halls for the first time in eons. With the light of the sun came a Pony with a mane of flame, a deep orange coat, a flaring sun on his flank, and a horn shrouded with a gold aura. Behind him others followed, entering the refuge of the walls, the orange pony turned.

"CLOSE THE DOORS! CLOSE THEM NOW!"

His horn flared wildly, as they others each took to a door, pushing with all their might. One of the doors was shrouded in gold, the other in teal as inch by inch the doors were rapidly pushed.

*THUD*

The sound echoed through the hall, and beyond. With bated breath, the six looked at the doors, their postures heavy, their features tense, as the seconds ticked by.

The orange pony slowly smiled. "I was right, it can't penetrate these walls. All these years, and the magic's still going." He took a deep breath. "Alright, everypony, roll call! Pearl!"

A white Earth Pony with a pink and white mane, deep blue eyes, and a mirror made of crystal on her flank spoke "Present!".

"Terra!"

An Earth Pony with a brown coat, green eyes, a giant flower on her flank, and a mane of various blues turned from the door. "Present."

"Storm!"

A pink Pegasus with a neon blue mane, span in the air much like the tornado on her flank, though it was contained in the gap of a horseshoe. "Present, obviously!"

"Swift!"

A blue Pegasus with a well-groomed golden mane lowered himself to the floor, a bundle of clouds caught in a breeze upon his flank. "Present. Now can I go? I need to take a-"

Whatever Swift needed to take, the orange pony did not care to learn. "Blue!"

A white Unicorn with a bright yellow mane, and a compass rose on his mane frowned. "Present. And for the last time, it's 'Bloodblood'-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know." The orange pony took another look around his group. "Everypony alright?"

Pearl approached him, speaking what most present were thinking. "I think it's time you told us why we're here."

The orange pony watched as his group gathered, the enquiry reflected in their eyes. They had come this far without all the details, but now he had to tell them something good. He just wished he had something better.

"We're here to find a weapon."

His statement had...pretty much the predicted effect, there were no smiles, no cheers, no resisting the urge to start jumping for joy, but at least they refrained from saying what they were thinking.

All but one anyway. "Okay, yeah, that sounds great." Swift feigned a grin. "The thing tanks a city block being blown up around it. No effect. Tanks a tactical strike, hey, no effect! Tanks the Solar Corps attack, no effect! And what's the perfect solution to something immune to every weapon we've thrown at it?" He was suddenly bouncing. "Oh! I know, I know! More weapons! Daybreak, you really are a genius!"

Daybreak blinked. "Could somepony-?" Terra walked up besides Swift, raising a hoof and-

"OW!" Swift rubbed the back of his head, glaring at a more irate Terra.

Daybreak smiled slightly. "Thank you." His smile faded. "We're not looking for a modern weapon. We're looking for an ancient one, that writings say was last here." He turned from them. "Welcome to Canterlot Castle, everypony. We gotta turn this place upside down if need be to find our last hope." Daybreak made way for the staircase. "Let's go, library's this way."

Up the staircase, and through hallways they galloped, through ancient halls of architecture that none of them could compare with anything else they'd ever known. Perhaps this place was once a beacon of the land, a nerve-center of culture, but now it was scarcely a shadow of what it once was, it's beauty long gone. The skeleton stood, almost entirely intact, but all else had decomposed long ago. All that remains were the echoes of the galloping ponies.

Eventually, their gallop slowed to a halt as they came before a door. With a flash of his horn Daybreak pushed them both open, revelling the ancient well of knowledge and thought to them all. Some might be impressed, some might be awed, some might take a moment to appreciate the efforts of those from bygone days.

Some might not have the time to do so.

Daybreak strode into the library like it was his own home, not too odd an action for any who actually knew him. "Canterlot library. The grand library of the ancient times. Anything you wanted to know back then, you could find here."

Storm steadily rose in the air, passing row after row of ancient books. "So this is what it was like before modern times, huh? We've come far."

"I kinda like it," Terra looked around the vast rows of books. "It really does make you feel surrounded by knowledge."

Swift was zipping around in the air. "Yeah, and look at the statues, really adds atmosphere to the place." His eyes turned, finding an area guarded by two different unicorn statues. "Ohh! This looks important!" He rushed towards it.

"Don't!" Daybreak yelled, and Swift stopped. "That's the forbidden section! If the shield spell's still active I'm not reviving you!" He snickered. "We got the medic for that."

Blueblood's brow twitched. "I am not a medic."

"You've been medically trained, it counts. Now give me a moment."

With that, the group went about their business, which consisted of trying to fill in time. Swift took a closer look at one of the statues, wondering what kind of pony voluntarily wore bells, and also wondering if he too should consider growing facial hair. Storm pulled off a random book, opening it and finding-"What's this stuff?" She poked it with a hoof lightly.

Daybreak didn't need to look to know what 'this stuff' meant. "It's called Paper, it's what they used to write on way back when. Now put it back unless you know what you're looking for."

Storm snapped her book shut. "What are we looking for, exactly?"

Daybreak grinned, pulling out a book and slamming it on a table. All gathered around to start reading the title...

"The Elements of Harmony." That term was followed by 'a modern reference guide' but that part seemed somehow mundane. "They were a primary defence of ancient Equestria. The history records I could find say they were first found by ancient monarchs, but were eventually hoofed down to others, and others after that. It's a legacy that defended the land for eons. From what I read about them, they should be here." He started flipping through pages, finding a page with pictures of- "They'll appear as stone orbs."

"How do they work?" Spoke Terra. "If we're gonna use them, we need to know how."

Daybreak frowned. "Nopony ever figured that out, studies on them were banned. It was feared somepony might corrupt them, or abuse them, and eventually threats stopped coming, so ponies stop caring about the Elements altogether. Literature on them is rare, but from what I could find, unity is the key, those seeking to use them must be united." He looked around his little band of misfit ponies. "I don't need to remind anypony what's out there, and I think we're all pretty unified in the goal of surviving. That'll have to do."

Storm looked closely at the orbs..."You sure they'll work, against that?"

"They have a track record of doing the impossible, so probably."

Storm smiled. "'Probably' works for me. What's the plan?"

"We search, top to bottom, every room in the castle if need be, to find the Elements."

With that, Daybreak's horn flashed, a saddlebag appearing in the air, before floating down to the table. It opened, it's contents flooding out, two sets of six identical items. Five of the first set floated up, and headed to each the group except Daybreak.

The device could be crudely described as half a pair of glasses, but there was a bit more to it than that, the lens of the glass was held by something a bit more distinct than an eye-wire, bright white and much thicker at the top than an eyewire at the right to be. The glass had no temples, nor anything else that the mind would expect to be keeping it in place. Instead it became stuck to each of them by a blend of magic and science only Daybreak had ever cared to study.

"I've set these Lenses to track powerful magic, and they have communicators and sight-sharing built-in too. We'll be at least in audio contact at all times. I mean it, no turning them off for anything. There's a map of the place too." He raised the second of the item pairs, a small, oval-shaped grey stone. With a flash, each bore the mark of who would soon become their holder.

"Emergency teleport runes. It can lock on to any of the others, use it and you'll be warped to another in a heartbeat. Use sparingly, they take a while to recharge."

Blueblood looked at the now-empty saddlebag. "You couldn't bring anything else? Weapons, more gear, anything?"

Daybreak shook his head. "Commander thought this mission was a waste of time. I had to steal these, and I wanted us on the move ASAP. Besides, what use would weapons have been?" He shook with a brief, near-silent laugh. "Ironic, we were the ones 'wasting time', now we're the only ones..."He shook his head with a sigh. "Alright, everypony. Canterlot Castle's a big place, even with five of you, so pick an area each."

'Five of you' caught Pearl's attention. "What about you?"

"I'm staying here." He signalled the many, many books around them. "This Library contains everything that was known magically in ancient Equestria. Maybe it has more info on the Elements, or it might have something else we can use. Knowledge is power, and right now, this is the only armory in Equestria. Now get moving. The walls won't hold forever."

Swift smirked. "Nice pep talk, except that last bit."

"Then forget I said it."

"Done!"

Swift turned and trotted off, Storm and Terra following after. Pearl looked to Daybreak briefly, her gaze moving between him and Blueblood for a second before she too left. Daybreak turned to Blueblood. "You're not gonna fight me on this, are you?"

Blueblood was silent for a moment, before he turned to meet Daybreak's gaze. "Tell me this'll work."

"I can tell you it's the best shot we've got, and that's all. Unless you want me to lie to you." He broke their gaze, taking several books from the shelves around him."If you got a better idea I'm listening. But take another look at our list of failures before you give it."

Blueblood briefly glared, but with a heavy breath it faded. He turned, and walked away. He came out to find four waiting for him.

Blueblood's Lens flashed into life, showing images before his eye as Storm's voice spoke. "We've been deciding where to go. I'm-" The Lens showed a lower level of the castle. "Heading here. Figure there might be something in the basement, it's how it always is in the stories."

Blueblood raised a brow. "We're trusting fiction on this?"

Storm shrugged. "Daybreak says all great fiction has a degree of truth in it." Her Lens flashed. "Here's everypony else's paths."

Blueblood watched, as before his eye five cutie marks appeared at random points in a castle. They moved swiftly, leaving a colored trail in each of their wakes. He followed them closely, seeing each and every turn they were expected to take. "Hang on. Terra's path, it takes her on that walkway." With a thought, the walkway he was referring to was magnified in each of their eyes. "She'll be out in the open."

Storm frowned. "We're not sure if it's just the walls that are protected, or if it's like a dome effect or something. If it's a dome, she's safe. Terra's not walking across until we know for sure."

Blueblood took one final look at the pathways they were set to take. "This'll do. Like Daybreak said; audio contact at all times. Daybreak, we coming in?"

"Loud and clear," Daybreak's voice sounded out from five places at once. "Move out, everypony. And good luck."

The group shared one final nod, before rushing off.

The search was on.

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Author's Notes:

In case the chapter didn't beat you over the head hard enough with it; this fic takes place in a far future, so expect terms and phrases you wouldn't expect from the show (Equestria's changed with the times, a lot). I'll be making references to cannon events, and may also include ideas I have for my own fics set closer to the time of the show, see if they can't inspire any interest.

Before anyone asks; Yes, the Blueblood of this chap is descended from the cannon Blueblood. It's a personal challenge of mine; to make a version of Blueblood that's even remotely likeable without changing the archetype (privileged, self-entitled plothole) too much. Hey, if I can take to the task of trying to make people take the plot of a fan fic based on a show aimed at little girls seriously, I can take on any challenge.

(Well, almost. Just don't ask me to make this fic anything but predictable.)

I'd have loved to draw the group (if for nothing else than to have an actual cover for this fic), but my drawing skills are a crime against art. Luckily, General Zoi's Pony Creator exists, so I made some designs (I used the 2011 version, I just-now found out about the new "v3" version). I'm not sure what fanfiction's rules are on linking images in fics, so I have to work around doing that. The codes for each design are below (again, for the 2011 version) for anyone who wants to see/play around with 'em.

I'd have included cutie marks in the designs but that would involve drawing them (stick men are about my limit). Descriptions of the marks are included for those who want an easily-findable reference from here on in.

The pony designs are pretty basic, I didn't take advantage of the full range of options (such as controlling height, weight and bulk). I may revisit them one day if I have reason, but I'm fine with them for now.

Daybreak Flare:

Cutie Mark: A sun releasing a solar flare

Code: 2S2S000100FE6F00FFC49D0300000FEC3UN183720A000001I1FE2424EFF7000T107F3FCC004CB2

Pearl Sheen: Couldn't find a setting for it (the creator version I used pre-dates their debut, but Pearl is a Crystal Pony.

Cutie Mark: A round crystal mirror

Code: 2S2S002000FDFEF7FFC49D002013C00FEUN183704A000002F1FEFEFEFEDBDB19107F3FCC004CB2

Terra:

Cutie Mark: Giant Himalayan Lilly (or whatever the Equestrian name equivalent would be)

Code: 2S2S002000CC4747FEFFFF0190100B73AUN183700A000001K178D4FE0084FE0N107F3FCC004CB2

Swift Gale:

Cutie Mark: Bundle of clouds caught in a breeze

Code: 2S3N1D2010C4D7FEFFC49D0000100FEC3UN183714B000001G0E28800EFF7000F107F3FCC004CB2

Storm Rider:

Cutie Mark: A Tornado contained in the gap of a horseshoe

Code: 2S3N1D2020FEADADFE9E9E00101FE0000UN183720C000001A000D5FEEFF7000S107F3FCC004CB2

Blueblood:

Cutie Mark: Rose Compass (like ancestor like descendant)

Code: 2S2S1E0100FEFFFF578CFE0240000FEC3UN1837103000001F0FEE666EFF7001D107F3FCC004CB2