A/N: Yay! I have four pages of reviews! = D I hope y'all liked the history lesson last chapter. Thanks to Rivendellgurl15, Silver Spell, Oracle, Lindsay, and Kalyra Shadowdancer for reviewing, and a special thanks to Silver Spell and Oracle for answering my request for prophecies! They are both wonderful, and I'll definitely use them in the story! If anyone else wants to write a riddle or prophecy, please e-mail me and I'll tell you what I need. You will get full credit for your creation and a preview of chapters to come!
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Disclaimer: I own Thianc, any Shadow Unicorns, Keliandra, any other Celestials that you don't recognize, and the plot.
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Okay, before I start, I just wanna let you guys know that for the remainder of the story, the scene's going to jump a lot between the past (the Six and the First War), the Celestial Valley (Keliandra and the Search), and the Valley of Fear (Thianc and the Campaign). I might devise some cutesy little separater for each setting to kinda let you know what's coming, but that might not come for a while, so just pay attention so you won't get confused. Though I've been told that I go out of my way to make things confusing...
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Five years passed from the exchange of Thianc to Entia. Though difficult, Numinor insisted that life in the Celestial Valley remain as it had been before. The herd still started each day with the Ceremony to Welcome the Sun, which was still led by the Golden One himself. The Crystal Arch remained fallen, the middle section rising to the sky and never returning to the ground.
Seasons came and went, and many generations of foals were born. Numinor sired no more foals during those years, nor did Atalanta stand with any other stallion. Though Numinor had eventually forgiven the Dreamspeaker for her actions, blaming her pregnancy on himself and his reluctance, the herd leader never forgave The Sunchaser. For one year, the Golden One wouldn't speak with or listen to the bronze stallion, but Atalanta could sense the anger that was brewing within her mate.
One night, she prayed to the Gods that something would happen to shelter The Sunchaser from Numinor's emminent wrath. Her wishes were granted, for the next day, the great bronze stallion was called to Balinor. Being Bonded to the Princess Arianna and being Lord of the Animals, The Sunchaser would not return for some time. Though sad, Atalanta knew that it was for the best, and went, in secret, to bid him farewell.
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She reached the small glade where The Sunchaser was resting before his journey across the Gap. Approaching the stallion, Atalanta said softly, "Are you ready?"
The bronze stallion didn't turn, but instead sighed heavily and replied, "I have never been more ready. I never thought that I would look forward to leaving the Celestial Valley."
"You don't want to leave the valley," the Dreamspeaker comforted. "You simply want to get out from under Numinor's eye, and for that no beast could blame you. The Golden One has not been kind to you."
"Nor I to him," he said. After pausing for a moment, he continued. "Atalanta, I know that things between us have been strained as of late. And the loss of Thianc to the Shadow has been weighing on my mind."
"As it has on everyone else's," the purple unicorn interrupted. "I know that Numinor tries to hide it, but every member of the herd is worried about the loss of a Celestial to the enemy. And it also concerns me that so much time has gone by without us hearing from the Shifter. I try to see him in the Watching Pool, but the waters are clouded. I fear that he is planning something."
"He is planning more than we know," The Sunchaser remarked, turning to the mare at last. Atalanta gave him an odd look, and the stallion hastened to explain. "Last night, I was visited in a dream by the Old Mare of the Mountain. She spoke of the Six, and of the First War. Nothing made sense until she recited the Prophecy."
The Dreamspeaker gasped. "The Prophecy? None have heard it spoken since the Second Age; it's words were lost in time!"
"Then I suppose I am the first," the bronze unicorn said solemnly, "meant to pass it along to others who may be able to determine its meaning. Though I woke many hours ago, the words burn in my mind as if they were newly heard. Will you listen?"
Atalanta smiled. "How can I refuse?"
The Sunchaser gazed fondly at her for a moment before continuing. "The Old Mare of the Mountain came to me. She said, 'It is time for what was lost and forgotten to return, for the time has now come when the unicorns must believe in the Prophecy, if nothing else.' Then she started reciting it, a beautiful and melodic speech.
'A soul lost in time,
A war yet to be won,
A choice that will decide...
The One the Fates Forgot.
When the wound is healed at last,
When the Two are joined in one dance,
When the lost ones of the past return:
Sired by Metal, foaled by Twilight,
Shall rule all three worlds in One.'"
The Sunchaser finished, and the
glade was silent. Atalanta, awed by the
elegance of the poem, found it to be imbedded in her mind as well. Suddenly, she cried out. "Thianc!"
Confused, The Sunchaser looked at the Dreamspeaker. "Thianc? What does he have to do with the Prophecy?"
"Don't you see?" the purple mare exclaimed. "The Prophecy is about Thianc!"
The bronze stallion entertained the idea for a moment, then slowly nodded. "Yes, I suppose that the pieces do fit. But the Old Mare of the Mountain already said that he was the one who would decide the futures of us all. The problem is, the Prophecy tells us something else about him, something that we don't know."
Atalanta's heart sunk. "I had never thought that our little Thianc would be the cause of so much turmoil in the universe. Do you have any idea what the Prophecy means?"
The Sunchaser shook his head, eyes sad. "No, I haven't the slightest idea; the words mean nothing to me."
At that moment, a small patch of air near the Crystal Arch began to shimmer. Both unicorns noticed it, and the stallion sighed. "The time has come for me to travel to Balinor. Remember the poem, Atalanta. Pass it along to the others; someone else may have an idea as to what it means. I feel that this is the key to getting Thianc back."
The Dreamspeaker nodded. She stepped forward and touched muzzles with The Sunchaser. "Farewell, Sunchaser. Serve Balinor well. I can only hope that the Celestial Valley is in a better state when you return."
After a moment, the bronze stallion turned away. Atalanta watched as he approached the shimmering hole that was a door to the Gap. Looking back momentarily, The Sunchaser walked forward and disappeared into the air.
Desperately trying to hold back a flood of tears, the Dreamspeaker continued to gaze at the spot where the bronze stallion had left, even when the door to the Gap had closed. Finally, remembering the request of The Sunchaser, she turned and galloped toward the herd.
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Four years passed, and the Prophecy remained unsolved. When she had returned from bidding The Sunchaser goodbye, Atalanta had carved the Prophecy into a rock near the Crystal Pool. At first, the unicorns were eager to try and solve the poem, but, as no one could, interest in it dwindled, until it was only visited once a year by the new foals. The Dreamspeaker never lost hope, though, and could often be seen staring at the rock for hours, trying to extract the message from the stone.
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It was a day in early spring, and a unicorn filly was busy wandering the vast fields of the Celestial Valley. Her coat was a rosy salmon pink which shone iridescent in the light of the golden sun. Her mane and tail were shorter than most, something that she had never been fond of. It was a redder, rosier pink than that of her body, the exact shade of the ruby at the base of her horn. Her hooves and horn were made of a clear, brilliant rose quartz. Despite her short mane and tail, she was considered the most beautiful of the five year-olds in the valley and was often followed by at least one interested foal at all times. She cherished moments like this, when she was alone.
A cerulean butterfly flew past, catching the filly's attention. Marvelling in its beauty, she cantered after it, passing small groves of trees and sparkling streams. Finally, the insect landed on a small white flower near a tributary of the river. Hardly winded, the young unicorn turned her attention away from the butterfly and surveyed the area. It was mostly flat plains covered with emerald grasses. But something at one end of the landscape caught the filly's eye. Looking closer, she saw a purple unicorn staring into the river.
As she approached, the filly realized who the purple unicorn was. "Dreamspeaker?"
Atalanta looked up from the stone, jerked out of her thoughts. She saw the rosy filly and smiled. "Hello, Keliandra. What brings you to this side of the valley?"
"Well, you see, there was this butterfly, and then I followed it, and..." Keliandra trailed off, realizing how it sounded.
The Dreamspeaker smiled and laughed softly, her eyes kind. "Butterflies are wise creatures, young one. Following one will often lead to something you didn't expect, yet is meant to be."
The filly smiled and nodded slowly, no longer embarrassed. Though she didn't often get the chance to visit Atalanta, she idolized her. She often dreamed that she was the Dreamspeaker, and that she could visit other worlds like Atalanta could.
"What are you looking at, Atalanta?" Keliandra asked when she noticed the purple mare's eyes glancing down.
"Oh," the Dreamspeaker said, considering what to say. "This, Keliandra, is the Prophecy." She smiled as the filly's eyes widened. "It tells of the Lost One and of his future. Many have tried to decipher it and have failed. All have given up finding the solution, except me. I feel that the future of the universe depends on us finding the answer."
Keliandra was silent as she also looked downward and studied the words that were carved into the stone. Finally, after a few moments, she looked up eagerly at the Dreamspeaker. "Atalanta!" she exclaimed. "I think I've solved it!"
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Okay, I am so sorry for the horrible cliffy. I just wanted to post this. And, just in case you were confused, all of this happened within the five years stated at the beginning of the chapter. Chase left one year after Thianc left to Entia, and the stuff with Keliandra happened after the five years. And I know that five year-olds aren't usually considered to be fillies, but unicorns live a lot longer than horses, so a five year-old would be considered a filly. I hope y'all liked it. The Prophecy was submitted by Oracle; I totally love it and thank you so much!! We'll visit Thianc in the Valley of Fear in the next chapter, so stay tuned and REVIEW!!!