Sins of Harmony
Volume 3: Crisis to Ashes
Chapter 1: Hopeful Developments
Midday, local time
October 20th, 1007 ANM
Singapaw, Hephaestus Research Company HQ
Main offices
The office door opened, and Princess Luna strode into the CEO's office space. Behind her, her preferred guards: Blacklight and Dusk Hooves, walked with her.
But today was a peaceful visit, namely for two reasons.
Inside, Maurik's chuckle was cut short in surprise as he looked up. On the other side of the desk, a female albino Peahen sat, herself cut short too.
"Oh good, you made it alright then?"
"Yes, thank you Mr. Maurik." Princess Luna graciously added. In her seat, Shreya stood briefly, and bowed respectfully to the princess. Getting the message, Maurik stood quickly, as he bowed his head in a sign of respect.
"Oh, please, I'm not your Princess, no need."
"Well, its a sign of respect." Maurik said with some sheepishness.
Her blue magic pulled over a seat, as Luna gestured for Blacklight and Dusk Hooves to stand by. This wouldn't take too long anyway.
As Luna sat, Shreya, the female Indo-Burmese Peahen, said with some snark towards Maurik:
"Excellent timing Princess Luna. I just finished telling Maurik about the person you sent my way, to finish his services. Namely, the reactions he got from some of those he requested I hire to go with him."
"Who did he call for?" Luna asked, uncertainly.
"You recall the assassins hired by Garnet, to take out Twilight in Canterlot? The ones Kynok was sent after? Well, he requested, to 'ease tensions': "Maurik finger gestured the phrase: "That the two remaining ones join him in hunting those Diamond Dog bandits in Mutthico, the Wurmriders."
"You didn't actually go through with it, did you?" Luna asked incredulously.
"I called them, and sure enough, they weren't happy to see him. He quickly used some negotiations to get them on his side, on one extra condition." Shreya explained.
"Basically, Shreya pulled strings to grant the Lioness Oe'phel, and the Black Mamba Lucina, full Oceanic Alliance citizenship, namely Indo-Burmese citizenship." Maurik explained.
Thinking for a moment, Luna had some thoughts on the subject. With some relief, though surprise too, she commented: "Prince Blueblood and those in charge of Kynok said he had sympathy to those who were deceived by Garnet."
Narrowing her eyes a little, Shreya said: "Yes. its why I had doubts, a thought that he may not have the desire to take down those Wurmrider gang members."
The peahen then finished: "But I had him asked about this. He says he's fine, as are the other two. Kynok and those two were on a definite suicide mission, whereas the Wurmriders had much better chances, and knew it, yet still took it."
Luna agreed, commenting: "By international law, they're much more guilty than Kynok is, all things considered."
Talk turned now to the more pressing, but not necessarily dangerous matter.
It was now that Faral Kol entered the office.
The female Komodo sat down, as she nodded to Shreya and Maurik to leave the office, and give them privacy.
"You got the message from Varkan then?" Faral said sternly.
"Yes. I went over it with Equestria's other leadership, and they suggested that, given how open he was with me compared to Celestia, I should come."
"Before you continue, why exactly are Princesses Twiligth adn Cadance unavailable?"
"Cadance has mother duties, on top of her Empire duties. Twilight recently came across issues in Equestria that required her attention, along with her friends. Mine and Celestia's joint rule from Canterlot means I can cover for her going off, and vice versa." Luna said.
Snorting a little, Faral said: "And given their history, its easy to see why he'd rather you come, than Celestia, even after recent improvements in their standing."
"Yessss." Luna trailed off. It was still an awkward subject, the history between her sister and Varkan.
Pulling out a file, Faral opened it up, revealing something Varkan had shipped her:
"He's compiled these cuttings and articles, all indicating a problem he's grateful you're trying to stand against, but thinks more can be done."
Luna looked over the articles, but most had the same theme:
-Hephaestus's Secret Projects: Wyvern Repopulation, or Army in development?
-The Wyvern Resurgence: Could the return of the Wyverns bring back a vengeful race?
-Old War Wounds: Nationalist groups across the Eastern Hemisphere debate Wyvern Return, inevitable claims for territory main fear.
-A new Cold war: Cloning technology to bring back the Wyverns could be one of many developments in a new East/West block cold war brewing.
-Radical groups protest Wyvern efforts: 'Bringing back a ruthless, aggressive intelligent race like Wyverns, guilty of bio-weapons and Nuclear weapons use, would be like welcoming another Great War.'
-Rights groups decry rumored cloning efforts, stating spiritual and ethical concerns over a race created by entirely artificial means, also that the hidden location of the cloning facility, or facilities, fuels rumors and fears.
-Religious groups across world, including many sects of Ewedeism, Catriolicism, Chrystianity, Oslam, Shindu, and many others, decry unnatural race rebirth. Claim all cloned descendants would have no place in the world, being unnatural souls. Varkan's reply brief but cutting: 'Religion is the paranoid masses being led by those seeking power over others by exploiting faith and fears, even over races trying to avoid extinction undeserved."
Faral spoke quietly: "Varkan told me to tell you the lab's location. But I figured those articles would best spell out his fears."
Sighing a little, Luna knew a lot had to be said on this, but was best said to his face directly.
"So where is the lab?"
The female, grey Komodo passed Luna a small envelope, with instructions inside. She told Luna:
"Dispose of that letter when you've remembered it."
"Why all the secrecy?" Luna asked, curious herself. Faral gave a small smile, as she admitted what she'd been one of few people privy too:
"He's had success, much greater than during Kynok's time of birth. He doesn't want to risk it being found out by these radicals."
1 day later
Late Morning
October 21st, 1007 ANM
Singapaw, City Hall
Memorial Atrium
Luna found it a little odd about why Varkan asked to meet him here, rather than direct her to come to the island. But apparently, being told the location was merely a sign of trust.
He had quickly made it clear that he had come here to pay his respects to an old ally. He was a defining reason why he eventually settled the New Hephaestus, after the Dingolian Revolution, in Singapaw.
She saw Varkan looking at the name on the wall, not emoting very much.
Lii Kuan Yu
General Secretary: 946-991 ANM
President of Singapaw: 991-1001 ANM
Born March 12th 909 ANM
Died May 1st 1007 ANM
He had died in the last few months, and was known as Singapaw's founding father. A Malaysian Cattle male, who brought Singapaw from a third world former Shetland Colony, to a first world city nation power, in just a few decades. His policies were focused on long term gains, and sacrificed short term popularity.
He was unpopular in the short term, but as Singapaw prospered over the decades, he gained a sort of political immortality. Incorruptible, and open minded enough to not impede progress needed to thrive as a nation.
As Singapaw began to grow, Varkan saw a kindred spirit in the Cattle male, and decided to invest his new Hephaestus HQ outside of this growing trade centre. Over time, due to Hephaestus's influence, he and Lii Kuan Yu grew to know each other as partners, and in actual fact, Varkan took cues from Lii during periods of doubts.
Luna had of course been in the moon for much of his years of power, as the political body was autonomous, like a softcore communist party, until 991 ANM, where he enjoyed 10 years of elected rule before he retired due to age. But clearly, she saw Varkan wanted to be here.
"Was he a good person?" Luna asked, a completely innocent question at its core. Varkan was quiet, until he admitted:
"He was wise, but not necessarily liked. A leader, that's what he was. He knew that sometimes, or often, leaders had to make tough calls that would bring mud their way. But, sometimes a good leader has to bear this, and unify their people by giving them someone to hate, or someone to love, as long as they can adapt."
Varkan finished his statement, saying with some hope: "But, after a while, people get used to a leader. That's why he was so good. Many policies take time to begin working, hence why more rapid election democracies often are inefficient, too much infighting to get anything done. Lii got things done that needed to be done, because was willing to soldier through."
"Is that why you came here? Because you related to him?" Luna asked.
Varkan was quiet for a moment, and he admitted with some sadness in his voice: "He chose to lead his people, he had more drive than I ever will have. I had no choice."
He turned to Luna then, commenting: "But when we get there, you'll see that maybe things will begin turning out better soon."
Knowing that she had to yet build up the lengthy leadership either Lii, Varkan or her sister had, Luna knew enough about leading her subjects before her banishement that he was right. One had to have tough skin to be a leader that actually wanted to do something meaningful for a group or country.
Of course, Luna's fall was due to her feeling unappreciated, in comparison to her sister. Sibling rivalry, exacerbated by the stresses of ruling a nation back then, simple as that.
But she was here now, and would help this ally on behalf of Equestria, if only to make one less enemy for Equestria, or just her sister. She knew all too well Varkan's bad blood with what Celestia did, even if it had been suppressed.
But he was different now, more hopeful, more, expressive. Even if only slightly. Something had changed, but not in the grieving way when he 'met' Tul'rok via the Entity over a year ago in Canterlot and Manehatten. This was genuine hope.
And she couldn't help but feel he may have earned it.
Of course that begged a few questions still, namely of his plans in the long term future.
Sunset
October 21st, 1007 ANM
Kriau Islands, 300 miles North East of Singapaw
Repurposed NEMA air force base.
Secret Hephaestus Research facility.
A well kept secret, one where Hephaestus's more secretive developments were tested, either their own or on other governments/company behalves.
The Kriau islands were sparsely populated, despite their size, which meant that the NEMA forces had little trouble establishing a nuclear bomber base during the Cold War. It served as a valuable staging post for bombers during the Changeling/Wyvern war, but with the end of the war, and the increasing capabilities of Nuclear Missiles and in flight refuelling, the lead NEMA operator, the New Gryphon Republic, abandoned the airbase in 981 ANM, when the Caninberian People's Union was negotiating disarmament talks. There was no need for a base close to Changelia, or the People's Union.
Suffice to say, Varkan had been quick to buy the cheaply sold land as a secret research base, and the basic structures left behind served a new purpose.
The hangers had actually seen little use other than storage, until now.
After all, those hangers, meant to house nuclear bombers, were perfect to house Fire Drakes of varying sizes as 'homes' during this program.
The Equestrian air skiff had carried them, via Varkan's instructions.
As soon as they landed, Luna saw the extensiveness of the project. There were 10 hangers in total, some of them inhabited by a single larger Fire Drake female, others 2 smaller ones.
The air skiff was towed down the cleared taxiway, off the runway, before Varkan led them to the living area for 'smaller' personnel. As he led them along, some of the hangers were open, and most of the Fire Drake volunteers were inside.
Many of the ones asleep were visibly gravid with eggs, at least two each.
"The breeding program requires them to remain big, and none of them have the drake size shifter collars on them anyway. But really, only one of the big girls had an issue with the hanger size."
Varkan's comment was deserved. One of the hangers they walekd past had its doors ajar, as like many, the tropical air was soothing to the drakes in the program.
The largest female, and oldest, of dark green and brown scales, was asleep in what looked like a nest of some sort, made of rainforest trees and debris bordering the airfield. In the hanger by her nest, an array of monitoring devices and a workstation, unmanned for now, stood nearby.
Like many of the females, her rear torso had a slight bulge in it.
Internally, Varkan was surprised that the eldest female was the first to volunteer, and was already on her second batch of eggs.
Turning to see the Sun's position shifting dramatically, Luna politely excused herself briefly. She walked out a way's onto the airfield concrete, focusing on the unseen moon below the horizon. She was on Equestria time, so here, she was awake during the day.
As such, she would miss much of the night.
Standing nearby, Varkan knew that he disagreed with such power being wielded by his own morals. But he couldn't deny the majesty displayed when she manipulated the moon's orbit to maintain the natural order. He would likely say Celestia was probably just as majestic when she manipulated the sun/earth's rotation, but he had conflicting ideas that opposed that thought.
Unlike Celestia, he and Luna hadn't met in the worst way possible.
1 hour later
Main hanger, central laboratory.
The main lab had less of a 'homely' feel than the hangers had been made to have. It was much more a controlled, sterile environment. After all, all checkups, and incubation, took place here, anything that could maximise survival rates carried out.
With the sun set, Luna would normally be tired, but she was intrigued. Apparantly, though they were trained to show it less, so were Blacklight and Dusk Shine.
Before them, Hi'mari, the lead scientist of the facility, had met them. Behind her, a few other Hephastus research workers, transferred here after initial inseminations, were inspecting a lying down Fire Drake female.
"How far along is she?" Luna asked. Looking back, the female Salamander replied with some pride:
"Well, 4 months. Another month, and she'll lay. Then, its 3 months until they hatch." She gave a quick explanation: "Wyverns, and many dragons, develope the most basic parts: Heart, lungs, brain, anything that would qualify them as alive, inside the mother. When the egg comes out, they're pretty much functioning life, but just very small, so they really only get bigger when they're incubating."
Luna saw a nearby series of chambers, filled with 2 eggs each. She noticed that some were lit up, others were dimmed.
Varkan followed her eyes, as he bitterly admitted: "We had a technique to improve the transfer survival rate, the insulating chemical for the DNA transfer. If we had a Wyvern female to inseminate and lay the eggs, we'd have more eggs actually becoming fertile, or not hatching dead."
"So, because you're working with Fire Drake females, they're just not taking as frequently?" Luna asked, knowing somewhat about this issue when she heard about Kynok's history.
"When Kynok was cloned, we had that problem. We've improved it, but realistically, getting at least 2 in every 5 eggs to fertilise is a feat for us. Fire Drake eggs and Wyvern DNA don't mix all the time, despite them being the closest DNA relatives." Hi'mari said.
She looked over at the closest chamber, one dimmed entirely: "And even then, only half of them hatch alive and healthy. So basically, we have a one in 5 success rate."
Luna thought about that, and saw the eggs in the chambers. There were 6 incubation chambers, with 2 eggs each. 12 eggs.
That meant around another 48 Wyverns were simply not born, or in the case of around 12, were stillborn. It was a slightly sickening thought.
"Is this, is this all you've got from 15 Drakes?" Luna asked, tryig not to incite aggravation from Varkan.
Varkan gave a small smile, and said simply: "We only have this low success rate because we're working with Fire Drake surrogates. As such, we're calling this effort generation zero."
"Generation one however, will be using female Wyverns as surrogates, with much more appropriate eggs." Hi'mari happily commented, her tone implying belief of much greater success.
"Wait. I thought you had no females?" Luna asked, the reason fro Varkan's hope revealing itself.
"Not the case now. These 12 eggs are the most recently laid, though we expect only around 6 to hatch alive and well. In terms of successful hatches, we've had 14 so far, these will take that number to at least 20 or so."
"14 Wyverns have been born already. The sheer numbers we're breeding are making it possible. So, no more Drake surrogates for the next generation of breeding." Varkan said proudly.
Over in the back, the Fire Drake female, a rowdy younger yellow female, bitterly called out as a wing flared in semi mock anger: "And I can't wait for that day to come!"
Pausing at her outburst, Varkan saw the look Luna and her two guards shot him and Hi'mari. The Salamander blanched a little, as she said:
"Ignore her. We've been through enough to know she's overreacting, hormones and all. She wasn't the worst at this state of development."
Luna couldn't help but snort slightly in understanding. But still, she had to ask:
"Where are the Wyvern born anyway?"
As he went quiet again, Varkan turned to Hi'mari, asking: "Will you be fine, no help needed here?"
"We're nearly done for the day, as I'm sure you and these visitors are."
Nodding in respect, Varkan led them to a nearby door.
Shortly after Varkan left with their guests, Hi'mari had pulled aside a Hephaestus worker, a youngish male Hundonesian dog, Hakai Jakar. She instructed him on the lock up procedures as normal:
"At this stage, their temperatures need to change to 39 degrees Celsius, or else they risk failing. Just run a diagnosis on the eggs while I file these results way, I'll reset the temperatures once I'm back."
"Yes ma'am." The dog nodded, as he began checking the temperatures of the laid eggs and scanning each one with various equipment pieces.
As Hi'mari left, the dog found himself staring at the eggs as he checked them over. It was stunning what was being done here, simple as that.
He felt lucky to be here, and proud at what he was about to help accomplish. He knew this was the right thing to do.
Late Evening
Repurposed living quarters building
Hatchling chambers
"Well, you came at an alright time. Most of them are up and already fed."
The 'caretakers', a group of Komodos Varkan had hired under good pay, were in charge of the hatched and initial raising of the Wyverns.
It was a basic structure, but the floors in the hatchling chambers were a soft carpet.
They watched through a window into the equivalent of a living room, or a sparsely decorated one at that. Inside, 14 Wyverns of varying sizes and shapes played, slept, or even looked about their surroundings curiously.
The male Komodo in charge of the overall caretaking was amicable, but small, a faded grey colour, and older aged, his scales flaking in places.
Looking in with some awe, Blacklight and Dusk Shine were the ones who asked:
"They're clones. How re they different from you?"
"We made thousands of embryos, all duplicates of me. Kynok, was a direct clone, a proof of concept. His infertility wasn't an issue, we expected flaws anyway." Varkan looked down a little as he recalled his still fractious relationship with his 'son'. Gesturing in, he said:
"We lightly irradiated all the thousands of embryos, to trigger the equivalent of what is known as random mutation in nature. We knew enough to read the altered genetics, to find out which would be able to be born without defects, but were genetically different."
"In fact, only 1 in every 100 embryos we irradiated turned out to be a different, stable DNA host to use. Again, sheer numbers."
"14 Wyverns born, about 12 different genetic types." Varkan commented.
Lightly smiling, Luna noticed 3 of the Wyvern babies, 2 of them lightly playfighting in the room, all looked similar.
"I take it those 3 are-?"
"Triplets, yes. We wanted to ensure we had enough females for the first pure Wyvern breeding, so we made more of one of the embryos guaranteed to be female, so more of them actually successfully hatched."
Nearer the window, an older male Wyvern, equivalent of a toddler, looked at a nearby scratching post, as a younger female was climbing up it with her small claws helping her up.
Luna commented with some sympathy: "So, things are going well."
"Better than I hoped." Varkan said.
Nearby, Blacklight and Dusk Shine stood ready as Luna then turned to them:
"We'll leave in a few hours."
As the two guards left, Varkan dismissed the Male Komodo caretaker. As he entered the living area, Varkan was surprised as he looked at Luna:
"You're leaving so soon?"
"We have negotiations to get to in Tiewan tomorrow. If we leave tonight, we'll get some rest before they start tomorrow."
Understanding now, Varkan then turned to see a few Wyverns looking back at him through the glass, noticing him at last. Sighing to himself, Varkan sincerely thanked Luna as he looked at them:
"Thank you. I wanted you to see what Equestria was backing. But, if you could maybe step up movements to quell those who would see this not happening..."
Luna laid a hoof o the Wyvern's back, as she said with certainty: "I'll ensure it. if this is what the nationalists would see removed or not happen, I can't stand with them, and neither would Celestia."
A slight shiver went through Varkan's spine as her sister's name was mentioned.
He turned to her, as he then asked: "But many of them are from the Fillypines, who fear we'll retake former Wyvern territory islands from them. They're loyal to Equestria, and I want to know where you stand on that?"
"...We'll try and reach a settlement. Besides, it will be some time before you need to expand to a bigger 'settlement' anyway." Luna said, nodding towards the 14 Wyverns inside the living area.
"...Good point. But what about the Changeling/Wyvern Veteran's movement? Some of them are saying they predict another war if enough Wyvern are born, considering that Changelia and Chrysalis's new Changelia aren't on the best terms with New Gryphon, Equestria or many NEMA member states."
"Varkan. We'll do our best. You're protected under international law, the willful harm of an endangered species is illegal, full stop." Luna stressed.
Varkan was morbidly quiet, as he spat: "And I hate that law. It was intended for animals. Wyverns are not animals, we were a great civilization. And the chaos of war we fought released that virus we'd almost cured. An ACCIDENT, almost wiped out my kind. What does that say about us as a species?"
"It was an accident, nothing more. And we'll do our part to help your kind flourish, without the wars that came with its near end. We want to help Varkan." Luna said. She wished she had the insight Varkan had, but she hadn't been present during those years.
He was quiet, but with his head a little low, the Black Wyvern male quietly muttered: "Thank you. I'm, not used to people willing to help this cause. You're one of the few I've shown this facilty to."
"You need to learn to trust people more. Many want to help Varkan." Luna said with a smile. Varkan tried to see her friendliness, but he couldn't help but give his side of that mentality.
"And many want to harm my kind. There is always someone, somewhere, wanting to harm you for some reason, just as there are potential allies. Unfortunately, I've encountered more of those wishing to harm."
"Those looking to harm you and your kind will look for you. You just need to look for people willing to help you, because many don't know you need their help. A leap of faith, that's what is the first step Varkan."
With a small smile, Varkan admitted: "I already took one in letting you, and Equestria's leaders, see this place. Maybe, a few more can't hurt."
Near midnight
Kriau Islands, 300 miles North East of Singapaw
Repurposed NEMA air force base.
Secret Hephaestus Research facility.
Re-purposed living quarters building
As Princess Luna, and her bodyguards Blacklight and Dusk Hooves had left on their skiff for Tiewan, the facility had settled for the night.
Varkan took it upon himself to check on each of the expecting Fire Drake females personally, but some he preferred.
The eldest, the dark green and brown female, murmured sleepily:
"Who was that leaving?"
Varkan looked at the risen moon, commenting with some musing: "A useful ally. Maybe, a friend. Maybe."
Early Morning
October 22nd, 1007 ANM
Maldives, Aeternum's/Entity's volcanic island.
Deep beneath the island, inside the writhing magma chamber, the 2 large bodies, formed of extremely heat and pressure resistant materials, burrowed down into the mantle, leaving behind the main hub of the Entity.
It had taken on a name, inspired by the old magical language that best described it in body and intention.
Aeternum, the Eternal One.
It had its plans, and these two forms had their destinations. For the first, and most difficult stage, it needed them in position.
They would grow, not as big as the current island it had. The world knew it was here, in the Maldives.
The other two islands would not be seen as hubs of Aeternum's plans until closer to when the time came.
Volcanic shoreline
Standing on the rocky, ash covered shore, Tul'rok stood watching. The ashfall eiled the island still, preventing any sunlight except directly overhead. The island was in a grey, ash clouded, but very darkened eternal twilight.
It seemed that the Wyvern cloning program wasn't the only thing with a new generation in development.
Tul'rok's new 'body', was of stronger stuff than the initial Entity drones used in Manehatten. Instead of purely rock skins, more and more processed metallic armour served as the outer layer, and shapeshifting was sacrificed for more durability when it came to the stronger units.
The only units still used from Manehatten were the default urchin/canine shaped hybrids, that resembled spiked dreadlocked attack dogs.
All other units resembled animals, or even in some cases, copies of vehicles.
Tul'rok conversed with Aeternum, his organic mindset conflicting with the logic driven patient one:
"We still have a few issues, or else the plan isn't able to go forwards."
"Once we are on the move, we cannot be stopped. Any technological developments we need shall be developed as we move towards our goal, once we are underway."
"Yes, but we lack insight into the technology to get underway in the first place." Tul'rok pointed a claw skywards as he emphasised the problem. He paced as he walked:
"We need it up and ready in one go, and what knowledge and capability we have right now can't do that. We need to keep searching for tech to replicate. We need to be up there before the civilisations have the means to stop us before we get too far."
"Their development rates gives us a decade or so before any of them get to that stage. We will get there."
"The sooner the better though. I say we get in contact with him. He knows me, and he knows of a few companies that are developing what we need. If he's backing them, we can use his connection, and see their tech, and replicate it to our needs." Tul'rok muttered as he paced.
"As you said, you know him. I leave negotiating to you. We shall resume construction, mining, testing, and plotting our course."
Aeternum's voice fell silent in Tul'rok's mind, as the stone and metal skinned Wyvern body looked out to sea.
The gentle volcanic eruptions that spewed out the ash veil rumbled continuously in the background.
He looked, and saw through the ash fall particles that Aeternum had laced with faint Quintessenite traces. With this, any ashfall from the volcano became the eyes and ears of the Entity, now known as Aeternum to itself and its host mind, Tul'rok. Though by now, the host was subservient.
Out in the distance, the ashfall loomed over the usual NEMA naval boats patrolling the sight. They'd been on 'Entity' watch for over a year now.
They sent out drone units to exchange some fighting with the sailors, but nothing big ever. They just wanted their attention.
After all, if their attention was on this island, they wouldn't notice the other 2 smaller islands that were planned until it was too late.
Setting the stage for the story of Volume 3, at long last. To lay the suitable groundwork, this chapter will likely be the longest one in this story [I hope].
The Entity's name is Aeternum, the Eternal One:
Voice actor: See line below
Thought projected communication, doesn't actually 'speak' itself. As such, its voice is received as the same tone as whomever is hearing it.
E.g. if it spoke to you, you'd hear it as your thoughts, but whether it made you aware it wasn't you thinking is up to its needs for secrecy or clarity.
Focus will be given to the Mane Cast [ba dum tish] in following chapters, but I laid the groundwork here so I can focus on moving the story, both into character arcs, filler, world building and conflict, the works.
As for the anti-Wyvern movement, that will be revealed later on.
Also, I'll write so that its not necessary to read Untold Tales to get the idea of Volume 3. If you want details to some vague references made, Untold Tales will be there.
Additionally, I have added to my profile two potential stories after this one:
Volume 0. It would be concerning the Equestrian Civil war and magical focused conflicts: Starswirl's legacy, Discord's rise and his eventual overthrow, etc. Basically, the truth behind the mythology.
The Great Wars: Like in reality, the first and 2nd great wars had a great effect, and I envisioned a sort of anthology type story of various soldiers or civilians, some of whom would know 'present' day characters.
Please review/critique as one would.