A/N: Hello again, and now we are here in 2018!
Not much is going on with me. Just going to work, and having done work on Christmas Eve, Boxing Day and New Year's Eve. Hectic work it is, so it's really been getting in the way of writing aside from the writer's block that comes in. It really bugs the hell out of me when I can't think of what to happen next, but with the resolution I made, I am hoping to release more chapters this year.
Aside from that and that it is four days until the MLP movie is released on physical copy which I have pre-ordered on Blu-Ray, I have seen the leaks that suggest that Season 9 is going to be the last season for MLP: FIM, followed by a movie sequel that will lead into the next generation. Though it is interesting, I am looking forward to seeing the Queen Chrysalis episode in the eighth season.
Yes, I have seen the newest Star Wars film "The Last Jedi". I was entertained, yes, but I felt very disappointed with the poor script, writing and execution. That's all I am going to say as I will avoid spoiling it for everyone.
Review Responses:
jvs12: Thank you again.
4theworldman: Yes, there will be a chapter in Ann's POV. :) I do have one idea so far in regards to her bi-polar issues, but I am open to other ideas.
Ashley wheatley: Thank you. :)
Brayden's POV
Black. Nothing but black was the only thing filling my vision. Nothing else I could see. I can only remember the memories of what I had been going through from the in-and-out experience I was going through when taken to the Ponyville Hospital. Even then... there is nothing I can see.
Silence filled in the void aside from my breathing, as if I was floating in the blackness again like any other dream had started. Inhale... exhale... my breathing was never-ending, and thank goodness that it never did end. Should it happen, I would cease to live. Aside from the black vision and the empty sounds, my eyes felt closed.
Even from that silence, I can hear a sound introducing itself to me as I knew I had heard it many times in my life. It sounds like... wind. A gentle breeze of wind in the distance, and a bit of light being shown into my eyes, as I figure would be Celestia's sun of all things. I could hear and was beginning to open up my vision to see what was, but couldn't feel... not yet.
Another sound is heard too, but is faint. Sounds like the crashing of waves against rocks or something, and with the feeling of the sun, it feel like the summer season here. The smell itself begins to form, smelling that of the traditional breathing atmosphere that both Earth and Equus both has. Mixed in is that of the grass and this strange smell that not even I have smelt before...
It wasn't like smoke that would make me choke, but it felt like the warm batches of a kitchen where a mother would be making lunch for her children, with a taste of honey there. A rather home-like smell, you could say? As if I was located in some region where there were home and shelter for those in the countryside. Though I felt myself back on Earth to be one of living in the city, I had gotten used to being in this part by the smell of fresh-baked snacks and pastry from Sugarcube Corner filling up into the air.
From there only did I begin to feel of the stuff covering up my mid to lower body even when my eyes had slowly opened up.
A small window is on the ceiling, and practically with a groan followed from me. I could feel that the sun itself was blinding my view. My hands appear to be lying on a piece of what would be silky fabric. I take my right arm, raising my hand to the view of the window to block out the light of the sun from further blinding me.
I begin to move upward from where I appeared to be lying down, and I was without a shirt to cover my upper body aside from a pair of pyjama pants. Thankful that I didn't appear naked in this dream, I slip my legs from underneath the sheets and shift myself to the side to look at the rest of the room.
On the other side of the room is a framed picture on the wall... which looks in appearance as a boat sailing across water upon a lake itself. To the left in the corner of the room, appear to be three little birds sitting together quietly with no disturbance from them, nor any argument between the both of them. Though I am no expert on birds since that's more Fluttershy, I can sort of tell by the color they were yellow. Canaries, maybe?
They stare at me for a few moments and begin to tweet in the few moments after. Not sure how long they've been in the cage and fed for, but they looked quite healthy for the condition they were in. My bare feet touch onto the wooden planked floor below, though it gives off a more different feeling than that of being at Fluttershy's cottage. This one, instead of the smooth pattern, felt to be rather like sand in its own way, but I wasn't sinking into the planks.
I had to get up onto my feet from the bed itself, because there was a meaning to this place. I knew that it was a dream, but I could only ask myself where either Aunt Luna or Nightmare could be. Unless... this was a dream made from the heavens to keep them out for only communication between me and whoever would be here.
Outside the open window, the sounds of the waves continued to crash. I took onto a glance outside to see that from the height I was which was far above the ocean sight in that distance. Below are the rocks that protected the isle which appears to be floating. Wait, floating?
This all sounds familiar to the description of Whinnepagos that the Song of Order itself told me about when it was forged. Shouldn't get my hopes up high though if I am able to see any kinds of those alicorns at all in the dream. It could be a vision of the future that I am living in.
Being that I had collapsed in the hospital and could only see black for a while in this trance, I look down at the rest of my body to see the damage that had been put upon me earlier, which had crossed into the dream realm. The injuries that I recieved from the demon in the fight are there, but I don't dare to touch any of them since it is not hurting at the moment. Probably doesn't hurt in this place anyway.
After the glance there, I turn around and can see a door standing there unopened, but with something cooking by the smell of it, and the sound of humming from past the door. This humming was the same kind produced by my own blade, the Song of Order. Moving forward, I grip my left hand onto the doorknob and give it a turn.
I open up the door to reveal the end of a hallway to the last door. I walk out from there, hearing only the sounds of hooves trotting in that room down the hall. From what I am seeing from the end so far is a table that appears to be round with a few windows that feature large green leaves. A strange environment, but the dream realm can create anything without will or thought when I don't think.
Whoever was here, might be aware that I was there, so I don't have to sneak my way out and have no fears of trespassing. Again, I'm always happy to introduce myself to other ponies.
Continuing forward, I hear the sound of what seems to be somepony's magic being channelled with a slurp followed by a clink moments after. Whoever was there, must be having a spot of tea, since I am sure that by unicorn or alicorn princess standards that they would usually be having tea time.
A page from a book is heard by my own ears, being turned as if somepony is reading a book. So I guess a combination of what Twilight would normally do in her spare time, and having a bit of quiet tea time... kind of odd, yet familiar. My eyes did catch a bit of the aura itself setting down the cup of tea with a golden color.
Celestia?
From the blinding light that shined on my face past the windows that oversaw the exotic garden, I had to cover my eyes with my right hand. Even I could not see who was seated at the table itself. Perhaps a security system to surprise intruders that I had stepped into? I was surprised that I haven't been tied up or gagged to be prevented from speaking. But still, nothing has happened even with something shining in my face.
"Sorry about that," A familiar voice of male that I heard before speaks out to me. I can hear the clink of the tea cup touching onto the glass plate that it was lying on before he continued briefly. "Just in case I accidentally brought in the wrong pony. Just step out from the hallway and it won't be so bright."
"Tell me about it..." I responded to the voice as the light dims by the steps I take to move away from the directed light. I remove my hand from my eyesight to see whoever this was at the table.
By the figure's appearance before my own eyes, he looked all too familiar. That black robe covering the body and head of the white-coated tall unicorn himself with those yellow eyes glancing at me. Arryl was visiting me within this dream realm, though it all felt real. Please somepony say that this is all a lucid dream that I am living in. Even if he's a unicorn, how would the 'First Alicorn' have given him the power to visit dreams? I thought that was only Aunt Luna's job at night.
I looked confused. "Before I even say hello, I wondering how you managed to get into my dreams." My voice asked him, swallowing a bit of spit before doing so.
"A special doorway between reality and the afterlife that the First Alicorn gave access to for me to go right on in. She doesn't allow us to enter the dreams of other ponies, as it would only be the princesses with the alicorn blood inside that we are given permission to enter," He says to me, following with a chuckle from his lips. and trying to not let the hood on his head loosen. "Normally, she forbids us from unveiling our appearance to the others. But in her dire circumstances, she tasked me to reveal myself to only you."
"You did say you were tasked as my guardian after all. Yeah, I think the Song of Order and me will be fine together. It trains me, and tells me all I need to know about defending myself and everypony I love."
Arryl channelled magic to his horn, bringing over an extra tea cup from the small kitchen in the same room. "Come sit at the table," He sounds assuring. "I will tell you a little more."
With no reluctance, I take a seat on the wooden chair next to Arryl. He pours a bit of tea into the silver cup and moves it towards me, which I take by the index finger and thumb of my right hand. He even opens up a tray of what I thought was going to be biscuits that my mother would normally put out when at her tea parties with Luna or the other political figures of every town or city in all of Equestria.
"Good to see that voice of yours isn't so echoy here like in reality." I commented, taking a sip of the tea. It tastes like herbal medicine whenever I would feel ill with a cold.
He looks rather amused by the comment. "I know," He tells me. "Even as a spirit from the heavens, I can find it rather annoying when speaking it in reality. No worries though, I'll get used to it. I just prefer it here in the dream realm where I can speak so clearly, aside from above."
I put down the cup, but still hold onto it. I look right at him, hearing the sound of the canaries distantly from down the hall. "If so, I wonder why Luna or Nightmare hasn't shown up yet?" I wondered.
"To put things simple, upon merging your sleeping soul into the dream, I had to block it off so that Luna nor Nightmare cannot interfere with what I am trying to warn you about," He tells me, placing a hoof onto my shoulder. "I am one of those that would help the other guardians in sneding the princesses visions of the terrible things that will happen if they do not prepare for the Dragon Queen in the coming of days. You my friend, are prepared. But... your strength alone isn't enough."
"What do you mean? All I have to do is take care of the Dragon Queen. That alone should break apart and send the Blood Dragons without even a leader."
"That may be true, but there are always others that will rise up to take her place if something happens to her. All of them have the same desires as her, and you'll need all the help you can get."
Concern grows over me about this. "That soon?"
"No no... not yet. It will still take a while for her to completely unite the blood dragons for her complete trust since it was many years that the first incarnation of her was exiled to Earth," He takes his hoof off from my shoulder and takes another sip. "It'll be hell in Equestria should she ever unite them."
"But who would I go to for-"
He interrupted me when he began to speak with me. "Oh you're not going alone for this. You'll have your mother, aunt, wife, loves and friends by your side to help you unite all of Equestria and beyond against the flames of revenge. Didn't think that I'd let you do it all alone, did I?" He chuckles with a confident smile.
A small smile did come on my face. "That is true, and friendship is the most important thing at the matter. Who would I go to when the time is right to gather the forces... is the question."
His horn channelled magic once again and a scroll appears out of thin air. Normally, I'm so used to seeing Spike receive the letters of Celestia through his dragon breath, but this was absolutely unexpected for a cloaked unicorn. He opens it up and begins to read through it silently. I peek at the writings of the scroll to see what was on the list.
There were various groups around Equestria and outside from there on the list, as it is apparently prophecized. Griffons are mentioned on the list, from both the city of Griffonstone on the East far end of Equestria, and the Griffon Empire to the East where from what I heard in the news were going through a large crisis of the monarchy there and the low funds to build more infrastructure in the capital.
Zebras and the elks from the kingdoms down to the south and on land past the raging oceans of Equus, from where the remains of Whinnepagos lay hidden underneath. Not only that, but being they were under the protection of the union there between them and the rest of Abyssinia, I would have to talk to the monarchy there in the capital of Panthera on that land across from Equestria for help.
To my surprise, they would even go as far as asking others on the list like the Seaponies of Atlantis on the bottom of the ocean floor in the oceans below, and the Hippogriffs from Mount Eris. I knew seaponies were mentioned many times due to the ceremonies that Celestia attended there above the surface with the king of the seaponies. Aside from the ceremonies, they were under concern of the Kraken that seemed to be threatening the seaponies there, along with the Sirens of Siren Cove whom were practically neighbours.
Other races are mentioned like the Diamond Dogs, the ibex, Ember and the rest of the Dragon lands, humans, the buffalo, the yaks... wait. Humans?!
"Why would humans want to help us?" I said to him, feeling only a bit of panic inside but not expressing it. If it wasn't already obvious, I would fear the worst when it came to humanity and their ways, as I had witnessed last time on the visit there with my friends. "No human is born perfect which is very true, but there are the corrupt ones that could take this kind of move for granted."
Arryl shifts for a moment to make himself comfortable in the chair. "Truth is what you say when it comes to them, but there is a coming of the future that will have you return to Earth again from where you were raised. Won't be the same place you and your friends went to, but the image of 'where' when there hasn't been clear yet," He says to me. "Only you in that clear mind of yours can decipher who to trust on that world and who will help you and Equestria in that time of need."
No offense to Arryl himself, but he would have to be out of his mind if he wanted the wars of humanity on one another to just stop. Not really a solution unfortunately, since the wars are mostly focused towards what is happening in the Middle-Eastern deserts there. I doubt all will drop their hatred towards one another and turn in direction to Equestria. That's when the other problem comes in: there is no portal to Equestria other than the portal that is connected to Mortem.
"That would be a problem."
He doesn't agree nor disagree, but instead has a blank expression on his face as if he is thinking about something, especially with a hoof on his chin. Can't quite put my finger on it as to what is on his mind. I can't assume what he is really thinking, but perhaps it is still a blank state of mind of what is yet to come.
"The path will become clear to you when it can, Brayden," He responded to me as he placed his hoof back onto the chair. I go on ahead and take another sip of tea as he continued. "I can only see limited images in my mind since all in the heavens can view it. The First Alicorn knows of this, but is rather silent on the other images that she alone has seen. I do not know what the others are."
"Then it's kind of a waste, wouldn't it?"
He lowers his head with disappointment for the truth he had to give out, along with those ears of his flopping down. "It feels like it is, sometimes, yes." He sighed.
"What do you mean?"
"The rules in the heavens are quite strict when it comes to sending out visions of the future. As messengers, we only have to send out the ones that the First Alicorn herself tells us to send out. We don't get to see the entirety of what the future vision was."
I take another sip from the tea cup, practically emptying the cup and ready for refilling. I set down onto the small silver plate where it stood with a soft ding when I continued. "So when she tasked you to come down as my 'guardian' in ways, did she give you any kind of powers?"
"She did, of course," He nodded his head as he spoke to me. "Upon the task of being your guardian until the task she sent me down for has been completed, she has granted me limited freedom to that of watching you to ensure you are safe. But judging by your injuries in the real world, she too has also granted me healing powers for both the real world and the dream realm."
"You can heal these injuries?"
He smiled as he nodded his head. "Yes, but it can take a cost to some of my magic. Once I have done so, it will take a long while until I can put healing magic to use again. So while the magic meant for that skill is slowly regenerating by many years, you'd have to find out of the healing from reality." He noticed as my hand was almost going to touch my injuries that were inflicted on me. "Don't touch it. The pain from reality will carry into here if you do."
Slowly moving my hand away, I placed it back onto the table as his magic channelled again. "The tea I am serving you... you only need to drink one more of it. It'll help very much with the healing process." He said to me as there is the sound of tea pouring into the cup.
I pick it up once again, taking sips as he finished off what was left in the teapot. I believe this may be so, but this tastes just almost like my mom's tea when she drank on occasion with Luna and Nightmare. Only difference was the sweet nectar that was different from that of what came from Equestria. I am careful to make sure that I don't burn my tongue, but take it slowly as he sat there next to me, finishing his own tea.
A few minutes pass in silence while I am sipping my tea, and by the time I have placed my cup down onto the silver plate, I was already practically finished. The nectar had quite an addicting taste unlike any that I had ever seen before.
"Have you seen the rest of the dream realm from outside the building in this creation?" He asked me, getting off from the chair.
"I've only seen my mother's sun shining down as soon as I woke up, and the canaries in the room. Neat picture in the room though as well as the ocean view far below. Somehow it reminds me of what the Song of Order itself had told me when I first found it in my dreams... something about Whinnepagos."
"Whinnepagos... yes. I remember it." He trots towards the garden window. I turn around in my seat and watch him as he speaks to me, though I cannot see his emotions. "The island itself, though split into many pieces in the sky, was beauty on its central island. The larger island was the most beautiful out of all it's other floating pieces that were home for the other alicorns at the time before they died out in that region."
"They were many wonders there? What was their cities like?"
"Majestic beyond words, my friend," He continues. "There was the capital building for the council that ran the entire island by each of the small regions there. It was wonderful... but it ended all too soon."
I got up out of my seat. "Because of the Dragon Queen and her armies, right?" I asked him.
He turns around to look at me. "Yes, too many casualties were made at a terrible cost, but the alicorn Sword Strike did what he had to do with the Song of Order when he had created it for human hands," He explained to me. "You know of the tale, right?"
"The Myth of the Holy Sword? Of course." I said to him. "The elderly in all of Equestria tell the stories to both the young and those of any age. Black Shadow betrayed all of them, just to aid her in the quest for destruction. Sword Strike was captured, ended up killing him and created the Song of Order from that silver ore he had used in the defense," Arryl looks intrigued to see that I know so much of what had happened on that floating island the further I had explained. "He and the council had to bring in a human from Earth to carry the sword and defeat her, with success... but at the cost of being under her curse. The human that carried the Song of Order became corrupt with it, and thus he had to be sent back to his world and the blade had to be put into hiding somewhere far into the dream realm out of even my Aunt Luna's reach. As for Sword Strike, he had apparently either disappeared or had died out before the eventual collapse of the sky isle."
He nods his head with satisfaction that I would know so much from the legend. "And it is all true, though probably not one hundred percent correct." He says to me. "The island of Whinnepagos when it collapsed was not because of the traditional weather that rocked the island. It was the inner structure below that had been damaged by the war between the blood dragons and the alicorns. It had become too unstable, and as a result, collapsed on itself to pieces which resulted in the island falling into the sea of Equus, now long forgotten by those who dare travel around the spiked rocks."
"But it would still exist, right?"
"Yes, though it was be only underwater sunken ruins. Though, there is nothing of interest to be seen there. Just mostly the old bricks that are scattered onto the ocean floor. Seaponies or hippogriffs in their ocean form would be able to crawl inside though if possible. But still, there's nothing but bad memories."
"Bad memories?" I asked.
"For those who once lived there. Upon death, they were sent to the heavens, from where I come."
"So... I guess you were born out of clouds?" I joked with a smirk upon my face.
He groans a bit. "Not that again..." He says to me as the emotion on his face turns a bit sour from that comment.
"Sorry." I quickly returned, followed by a bit of an embarrassed blush on my cheeks with the accompanied smile.
"No worries about that. It's quite a typical joke made by typical Equestrian who learns about the heavens when in school," He remarks, exhaling silently to himself. "Oh, those young ones. They have such young and innocent minds, and though you are older in human years, you remind me of a lot of them."
I smiled for a moment at the thought of seeing the young ones playing outside at recess, just like I had done as a kid growing up on Earth. Only difference was that these were fillies and foals out on the playground beside the school whether there in my imagination or whenever I passed by the Ponyville School that Cheerilee taught at. In my past, I would always play alone or sometimes with an assigned buddy on the school grounds back on Earth, I would let my imagination go loose for that while until the school bell rang, to my own disappointment.
"Lost in the past as you sometimes go to, Brayden?" He says to me.
I paused for a moment when I realized that he probably read my mind there. "Uhh... yeah?" I said with a bit of suspicion. "How did you know?"
"It was a lucky guess. Did you think I was reading your mind? No... no. Whatever you think inside is your own business."
Relieved to hear that he would respect my personal thoughts, I kept the smile on my lips when he turns and channelled magic to his horn. What else he was going to do for me, I wasn't too sure, but I kept an eye on him since the friendly conversation was still a-go.
"We shouldn't stay confined into this building. I should give you the experience outside of the barriers, to show you a memory of the past for once this one used to be like." He says to me as his magic creates a doorway, as well as a door in it when it had formed in front of the window for the garden. "The minutes become days, and it won't be long until you wake up from this coma you are in."
Hold up, I am in a coma? "How long am I out for?" I questioned to myself, puzzling over the scenario of having been knocked out from consciousness from the damage done.
"You took quite a beating from the Dragon Queen-"
I shook my head. "It wasn't her. She used her magic to change a former human into a demonic being. He was literally tearing me to pieces, whilst using weapons like the pistol... which is a gun, by the way."
"I think I know human history well enough already." He interrupted, opening up the door.
From the sight of the open door, there is only the blue sky and white clouds above from where I stood. I move a little closer to take a closer look at the environment that looked to be groundless with clouds below instead of the ocean slumber that I had seen when awakening in the bedroom.
He continued to speak with me. "Just like your princesses, we can see worlds across from this own. From that distance for years, we were able to monitor the beginnings of humanity when it once used to be united. There were the wars, the suffering of others-"
I placed a hand onto his mouth to silence himm from saying more, while another embarrassed look appears on my face. "Okay... say no more." I said with a bit of a laugh.
After I have released my hand from his mouth, he shook his head for a moment and gave me some sort of annoyed glare that he couldn't get more into explanation. I've most likely explained the same reasons over and over WAY before I met him, so I didn't really find it necessary to hear more.
"Anyway, through this door, I will guide you to a part of history, to show you the wonders of what Whinnepagos used to look like in the eyes of the alicorns there."
I look further past the door's arch into the blue skies and the clouds from high up and far down, but there doesn't look to be any sight of Whinnepagos, and speaking of that... I thought I was already there.
My head turns to Arryl with a look of dissatisfaction crossing onto my face as he remained calm. "I don't see it," I told him. "The only thing I am looking at is sky and clouds. That's pretty much it. Kind of a waste, don't you think?"
Arryl places his hoof onto my back. "It'll be fine. Just walk off from the doorway." He pauses for a moment as he was studying the changed expression on my face that seems a bit suspicious. "Trust me... the First Alicorn wouldn't have made me your guardian if I was just going to push you out forcefully."
I still gave him that unsure look, but turn my head towards the open skies, taking in a few deep breathes to get in the clear air through my nostrils. A bit of a confidence skill that my Earth mother taught me in case I felt this nervous. My wings don't hurt, but I should consider taking the flight easy since they are still present as in reality.
No other thoughts come to mind, when I let my foot go forward, and gravity feeling weightless as I began to move downward out from the room.
I was falling, but I couldn't tell whether it was up or down that I was headed towards. This didn't feel at all like a nightmare I had when my Nightmare was still haunted by the darkness that still roamed in her. The doorway I had dropped from looks to grow far away in distance the more further I went.
What would I find when I fall? Would there be water... land, perhaps? Whatever was going to happen, I had the strange feeling that Arryl would catch up with me from wherever I go. No wind appears to be flowing onto my face, so the fall feels very empty without something to blow me in a direction I shouldn't be going.
I can feel the both of my wings shuffle for a moment, and I began to fold them open as my eyes peer downward to see what could be coming up for any possible surface.
There is still only blue down below along with the clouds in the view, but my eyes was catching a bit of a landscape that was forming along the further I went down. Would there be green? Maybe it's a floating rock that I should expect myself to land on? Will Arryl be right behind me? Ugh, too many questions.
Color forms onto that landscape and I can see a floating isle made of rock, dirt and earth aside from the green on top of the stable isle below. I don't think about it for a moment, but there was the itch that I should start flapping my wings and begin to explore around this vision of what looks to be Whinnepagos.
Falling down towards the green, my thoughts are directed to the muscles in my wings despite the pain I was in back in reality, and can feel the brushing of wind as it shuffled back and forth to slow down how fast I was going.
There, the sight of trees and small rivers flowing down from the isle and into the ocean below could be seen. A small glimpse of 'ruins' could be seen as if it were places of worship for the First Alicorn with rune stones. A small path can be seen leading out into the foggy distance towards the isle's grand capital and to various farms where many of the alicorns at the time made their works for trade on the isle.
Hm... if they were still alive, I wonder what they'd think of Equestria as it is today?
The capital itself looks like a shadow in the distance at the center of the isle. Behind me when I land on the path will be the edge with what will look to be a breathtaking view of the ocean and beyond past the isle to either pre-Equestria or Abyssinia which has existed for as long as time began. You can tell that I've been reading through the books at the library that both me and Twilight own together.
The speed I descend at fell at great levels when I had flapped my wings to lower the chances of me going squash when I reached the tiles below. I was so close, and even the path feels real as soon as my bare feet touch and land.
Environment looked quite clean, no litter and almost all the grass out here looks to be like it had been cut before and needed that good shave again. Even the smell of the ocean from out here was brilliant and fresh. I turn around and face the ocean, never daring to drop down there as I can see the pre-lands barely through the mists that the ocean created. My wings that had flapped before, close on my back.
A few birds that were floating and cawing out from above, fly downwards to the surface of the airbourne isle and fly around me in circles and then out to create shapes of beauty and wonder that even myself cannot describe. Their chirps sound very much like songbirds and eve are out teaching their young ones flight.
Their feathers and color were a blend of both white and brown, and their eyes were that of a blue... something not in the ordinary for Equestria, and nothing that I have ever seen before. Were these birds some rare type? None of these were even documented in the books that Twilight had, nor was it featured or mentioned in the nature book that Fluttershy owned back at the cottage.
I can hear a bang behind me, along with the sound of hooves. I can already tell that it is Arryl who had followed right behind me, landing onto the tiles below my feet. I turn around to see him standing there, no painful expression shown on his face from the fall, and the tiles that had crackled and broken up apart, start to regenerate and fix itself. His yellow eyes underneath his robe, open up and look directly at me again.
"This here... is the start of what Whinnepagos had looked like in the past," He explains to me, not turning nor changing his expression. "It's a beauty, isn't she?"
"I've never seen nature out here this wonderful, nor have I seen the ocean sparkle this high up in the sky." I responded to him, my breath almost sounding like it was taken away by the spectacles.
"If you thought that the sight of the ocean was wonderful. Just wait until you see the capital and the alicorns that once lived," His horn channelled magic and I can feel the aura of his surround me and lift me off of the ground. "I know you have wings and you've flapped them. Do it a few more times and it could risk reality seeping in to inflict pain as it did before."
I grumbled for a moment for the fact I wouldn't be able to fly. I mean, I was completely fine on landing for crying out loud. But, whatever makes Arryl happy and right about what he has explained.
He lowers down on his hooves. "I'd hang on if I were you." He commented to me, finally leaping upwards towards the sky and in that brief flight, towards one of the grassy cliff sides.
As he continued by each leap, I can see more color coming into the shadow of the capital. Almost in a kind of color of what things look like with assumption from the Griffon Empire to the South, bordering between Equestria and Saddle Arabia. I've never been there before, but from my memories, I recall that my mother brought along diplomats from the capital there to Ponyville for a magic show that Twilight gave.
By each landing that Arryl made onto the grass, there was the sight of dirt and its brief regeneration starting up when he made another leap towards the capital. I can see the shining light on top of the tower in the city starting to brighten even further the closer we got by each jump.
Farms and animals could be seen below as we flew onward, and I can see a few of the alicorns working away at getting the fruits off from the trees and harvesting the vegetables that they brought out from the soil where they were planted. One other that I caught, was one that was young and was feeding the sheep that have gathered around him for food. Though it was only a glimpse away, I had long awaited to see what life was like in the capital.
"The capital of Whinnepagos, or as it was called by the alicorns there 'Okanatia' is where the first few generations in their history had come from. It was a kingdom like no other back in the time. As documented here and placed into my memories, this was the society that was during the last few days. Long before the Dragon Queen's army had attacked and practically destroyed half the kingdom." Arryl says to me, landing on the nearest cliffside with a pound to the dirt.
"It couldn't have been enough to kill every one of them though..." I paused to myself in thought as we overlooked the city from our close position.
He shook his head. "Almost all of them were destroyed, but it was really the curse of the Dragon Queen that finished off the alicorns. Even with the curse, they did what was necessary to hide that legendary blade which you now hold in your own human hands," He explained. "Poor human practically went crazy after the battle between him and the Dragon Queen, as even the hearts of normal human men can become corrupt with power, just like the leaders of Earth can be."
"Not all humans can be corrupt though, as it is only the few who can become attached to greed and to controlling the world."
"Unfortunately, just like Earth, there was a corrupt official in the council of Whinnepagos who had turned his own back on the ponies," He grew silent for only a few moments as the wind gently brushed by with a crowd of birds in flight below. "His name was Black Shadow, and neither of them knew he had plans of betraying everypony to the Dragon Queen. But should he have succeeded a long time with her, she eventually would have backstabbed him when he wasn't looking... successfully bringing about the extinction of the alicorns."
The text that was told in the book about the Song of Order's origins as told by the elders throughout Equestria, was all coming back to me now. Twilight doesn't even own a copy of that book, but she has admitted that it is on her wish list. They told of the betrayer of alicorns, the creator of the claymore entitled Sword Strike and his disappearance after placing the blade in a hidden place that I would eventually find.
Arryl continues to speak with me after another pause in his calm voice. "There was hope though. Before the corruption of the human, he managed to battle her and keep her down so the council could send her into exile on Earth for a millenium. Not only that, but her greatest warriors that were the blood dragon lords were in the last of the council's power were turned into stone on the isle of Eden near the Breach."
"Plus the other Blood Dragons were cast into Mortem..."
He cast a small smile onto his mouth. "You have a good memory. You must have been reading a lot of its history from the stories." He says to me, rather impressed. "We are close, one more jump should bring us to the rooftops of the capital."
He makes another leap upwards as I continue to be carried in the aura of his magic. Over the hills and small homes outside of the gates, there are a few alicorns trotting about or carrying wagons of bags that could be filled with wheat and other supplies that are bound to carry fruits from the farmlands. Vegetables were in another wagon that another alicorn with a long back mane was carrying on her back.
Past the bordered walls that surrounded the city, for that moment I saw only a small street within a residential part of Okanatia. It was then when the unicorn's hooves slammed onto the sandstoned rooftop from the building. I was surprised for only a moment there, but I had remembered that we had only arrived from the moment of distraction. I feel my bare feet touch onto the sandstone and the aura around me had finally vanished.
"Look Brayden," Arryl says to me, trotting over towards the balcony on top of the building, placing his right front hoof onto the railing. "It is the main street of all the kingdom and most well-known from where all would gather for the friendly."
I move forward and join beside him as I look out from the side of the building to view the street. The iris' in my eyes had shrunk when I saw the stretched cobblestone-filled street that went on for several kilometres towards the large building which height was larger than all else in the city. The sun was rising upwards into the sky above in the illusion of the shining gem that rested on top of the platform that was the council's tower.
What I expected to be a couple of alicorns on the street for that busy morning, I was completely wrong. There were absolutely TONS of alicorns in the past, trotting about the streets of the golden city, making trade or trotting with one another in discussion of the farms or whatever events were going on in the city. The society here looked really close to what a utopian society would look like. A few fillies and colts in flight chase one another above the heads of the older folk.
For the marketplace, each vendor had fruits or the latest invention that was shown for all of the kingdom to see before their own eyes, including special magic tricks that even Trixie herself would dare want to try out in her performances.
Speechless over this at first, I take in a breath and swallow some spit in my mouth before I managed to even get anything out from my lips. "I've never seen such a united society like this before..." I paused for a moment, realizing how much bigger this is. "Equestria may have their own snobbish ponies, but this looks... like they're in it together..." My eyes watch a group of alicorns in robes trotting upwards with smiles on their faces and friendly laughter.
"Oh, it's not the only place that is becoming quite united. You should see Starlight's village after she ran off," Arryl commented with a chuckle. "Heard that place is practically fixing itself after what she did. It's a good thing that she has changed too, and I think every one of her friends there will notice it."
I turn to Arryl. "Even if she had done bad things in her own past, I did what had to be done to forgive her and let her take our side." I responded to him.
"Forgiveness is really your trait isn't it?" He chuckled again for that moment. He is quick to drop the smirk on his face and place a hoof onto my shoulder. "But Brayden, do listen carefully..."
Caught off-guard by the hoof being placed onto my shoulder, I look up at him and listen carefully as I know this would mean the usual traditional advice. Hell, I am hearing the Song of Order's voice a majority of the time. Best not ask that question yet, as he wants to tell me something.
"Just remember... sometimes you must break against forgiveness when necessary. You wouldn't know if they are really lying and playing you like a fool, or if they are serious."
"...I understand."
Arryl's focus was turned away from that abrupt moment, back towards the city street itself. "You're probably wondering to yourself when you are going to wake up soon, my friend," He says to me while those eyes staring at the sun diamond. "The sun itself has appeared in the dream and is fading down towards the horizon. The days have passed within the minutes that you have been in this dream with me."
"Because the 40 minute dream equates to the 7 to 9 hours worth of sleep, am I right?" I guessed, knowing a fact that a teacher had given to me years ago.
"This is a different kind of dream, whereas the minutes are hours, and time here feels endless and you don't know whether it is going fast forward or slowing down at a small capacity. For this dream that I control, time has no meaning here."
"If it has no meaning, then what day is it in reality?"
"Days have gone by, and by the time you have woke up, it would already have been a month that has passed."
"Well shit... I forgot about many things that I have promised my friends and wife."
He clears his throat. "Language, Brayden."
"So, I guess you could just begin healing me, and sending me on my way?"
He scratched at the back of his hooded head. "Not exactly," He sounded a bit stuck on words on what to say there, but needlessly continued. "Once I cast my healing spell, your dream self will become a spirit within a dream itself, and you will find yourself going through answers and voices of the higher that will communicate with you. Perhaps even the First Alicorn herself, even if you cannot see her physical form yet."
"Almost impossible to hear her by what it all sounds like." I commented, surprised as a bird flew past our sight and towards the sunset. It did catch me off-guard, but it didn't take away from the conversation we were having.
He takes his hoof off from my shoulder and takes a step back. "Once the spirit form has recognized that you are healed, the Song of Order which is the weapon you hold will appear before you in the dream. Grip onto its pommel and you will be sent back into reality."
"Just like that? Sounds like a cakewalk."
"There are some things though Brayden, that you must know of the healing process. I for some reason, are unable to fix the broken bones since they must be given time to heal by themselves. So should you awaken, you will find that you will need crutches for a bit and it would be wise to avoid flying or fighting for a while."
"I guess there goes the training that I had planned with the Song of Order." I said with a bit of disappointment. "When do we start?"
Arryl's horn began to glow once again, as his eyes are focused on me as to direct the healing magic on me, who would be healed. "Look back at the council tower and look at the diamond towards the sun. Things will feel a bit enchanting, but in that blinding light, you will see things a lot more differently."
I nod in understanding as he readied his magic to use on me. I turn back towards the view of the street with none of these past visions taking acknowledge of either me or Arryl on the rooftop. After seeing at the last second to the streets, my eyes glanced up towards the shining gem on top as the sun shone in my eyes from the majesty of its enchantment.
I can still hear the magic from Arryl's horn, but I couldn't feel or turn away from the light at all. felt as if my body's dream realm version was held into place while another part of me is separating itself from... I'm not even sure since I'm no expert on how dreams work. All of them tend to be strange after all.
"Arryl?" I asked, quickly noticing the heavenly echo in my voice when I spoke out.
No response. I was able to eventually turn around though. I felt almost like a ghost because I can see myself in the out-of-body experience, watching as Arryl was working on whatever looked possible to heal my wounds, but not the bones inside that were somehow ripped and crushed by the demon in reality.
I mean, for crying out loud... crutches?! I'm going to be really embarrassed if the snobbish elite in Canterlot saw me walking about with those. If any, I'd be hearing them tease me or call me further names. They already tried to lynch me, but to throw more insults towards me because of my healing injuries... wow.
Knowing Twilight though, she'll worry a lot about me in the healing process. The rest of my best and close friends are mostly on the same level as well, and I don't even want to picture how Lyra Heartstrings is going to react. I would have to give her a reminder not to pounce on me like she always does, since it is always by surprise and knocks me to the ground. But I know Lyra though, it's always in that friendly and playful way. Even so, the healing process should give me enough time to spare for hanging out with friends and spending time with my wife.
Haven't hung out with Rainbow Dash for a while, nor Applejack. I'll have to see what those two are up to. Alex, Andrea and Ann are also on the list as well, since I know Ann really wanted to see me again since I brought her with me to Equestria. As for Nightmare, if she isn't with me in the dream realm, I do hope to spend some time with her in Ponyville and let her come with me around town.
For a bit, even Earth has come to mind for me. Though if I am to go back there with the help of the Travelling Gem in possession, I am thinking of trying out a different place there that isn't my hometown like last time. Maybe the United Kingdom? If I know Rarity, she would absolutely love it there in London. She would almost never want to leave as soon as we set foot there. But I'm sure that would also be the case if we decided to go to France.
My friends would probably have other places on their mind should we decide to go back there. I can already assume which places they would like to go to. Applejack would probably be interested in seeing the farmlands of England itself, though she'd be a little surprised to see real life horses that are similar to them. Fluttershy would probably want to visit the Swiss Alps in Switzerland, though Rainbow Dash would want to try out skiing or snowboarding while there. But knowing the rainbow-maned pegasus, she would want to visit California in the United States. Pinkie? Maybe she would enjoy Tokyo in Japan since she would really get down and party with the people there.
Twilight would most likely be okay with whatever choice I made on where to visit, since she is very open-minded to seeing the cultures around the planet Earth. Though I am sure that Starlight would want to bring along her friend Trixie to party together in Spain's capital Madrid. Even so, I'd have to teach them a bit of the languages depending on where we went. If any, I would do most of the talking to those speaking a different language that the girls aren't familiar with, since they are usually speaking in English and the pony language they know in Equestria from its past history.
Feeling my bare feet become weightless, I look down to see that I was beginning to float up off from the rooftop. Not only in that single direction, but I can see myself... or at least my spirit drifting forward towards the shining light. My thoughts in this phase seem to be just about everywhere as every topic I can think of rushes through my head. Only for those few moments... then vanished like a dead leaf in thin air.
Bright as a star at close range, the white expanded beyond my vision, covering everything in only the color of white. I move my hand in front of me to block out the blinding illumination, but there is no hand, even in this spirit form. I'm not exactly dead, but I feel like this is how I felt when I was lost in transition on the way to Equestria.
Nothing behind me in that white color bleached across my sight, but I continue to look forward for those moments as I floated endlessly in this boring blank page until eventually the white fades to the eventual black.
Did I wake up? Am I still asleep? My mind asks me as many questions to get an understanding of what was going on.
"Not what you expected, is it Brayden?"
Another heavenly voice spoke out to me, though I couldn't see which direction it came from in the darkness. I even looked behind me for somepony with that glow around them like a ghost, but nopony is there. Only one direction can be looking for me, and it would be straight. Only difference, this voice was that of a female.
"You're here for a reason, just as the prophecies I've said in the beginnings of Equus. My prediction that Princess Luna herself would bring a human to Earth was true... but I never suspected that it was Celestia's son herself that she got by chance. Even when I stopped watching Equus in those two thousand years, I had some hope and it was born again when I sensed you on Equestria's soil."
I kept looking ahead. "They keep telling me about this 'prophecy' about me. Though I have a bit of understanding about the entire Dragon Queen. I still don't have a hundred percent clue about what I have to do with it." I said to the darkness ahead, unable to create an image of what this voice was.
The First Alicorn, perhaps? Maybe... she did mention about watching Equus and stopping after two thousand years ago.
Almost as if I was turning around in the sequence, I can see a ball of light coming towards me. Leaving a trail behind it was mystical specks of dust that seemingly represented light itself. The power of the heavens that was presumingly the First Alicorn's wisdom resonating in appearance, though her godly appearance is a mystery to me. I remain still as it approaches me.
"I will explain more of this prophecy and why the stories of the Dragon Queen that were once rumors, are now such a reality. Being that your mother was being careful to warn others of what happened to Whinnepagos, I knew that time on the warnings would eventually run out. I dreamt by myself that there would a human counterpart to stop the Dragon Queen herself, whom serves herself... indeed. But she has a different purpose that had given her the pendant of dragonfire."
My curiosity grew as even in the darkness, her warm light kept me out of the fear and brightened up the room to expose a grey vein-like material in the distance, almost like the ethereal realm that Luna and I would appear in on some dreams. Only difference is that we're not standing on white stars that blinked every few moments for the path, but more rather an invisible platform in communication to her.
Seems kind of different if this is a vision of what the heavens are supposed to look like in every Equestrian's point of view. I'm not sure, just like how I am connected to the realm that Arryl brought me to, preventing Luna from breaching in to see what was going on in my sleep. If any, it suggested that she would only be blackened silence in the normal dream realm under the traditional circumstances I see her in.
"Now before you tell me about my ex-best friend's pendant, I must know if you really are the 'First Alicorn' that I have been hearing about." I asked her, the orb of light glowing with a bit of a hum.
Though it was silent for a moment, she finally spoke out. "Your question has already been answered, which I clarify. Yes, I am the First Alicorn that everypony talks about when sharing stories to the public and to the young." She responded to my question. "I am the one who created all of Equus when it was an empty void and formed it by the oceans, lands and mountains afar. Eventually, from the seeds I planted were the beginning of life itself."
"Seeds?"
"The seeds to which created life which we know today by the ponies, griffons, dragons... you name it. It was under the seeds that spawned then and grew the first beings out from the ground. Then, they learned to breed, and then learned communication which all led to the present. Life was also present in the heavens for both Alicorn and Dragon, before the Whinnepagos collapse." She explained to me.
"So the pendant that Rebecca is wearing... you know about it?"
"If you're wondering if it has a weakness, you are most likely wasting your time. The pendant is what kept the spirit of an enemy who used to be my friend, and his eventual downfall into hatred for all whom were pony blood. He himself had sworn that he would destroy all hope for them, once he had betrayed me and when I sent him into exile from the heavens."
I wondered what she meant by him. Was it somepony she knew that used to be good in the earliest of times? "Who is him, and why did he create the pendant himself?" I asked her, my brow furrowing with a bit of curiosity.
"The pendant itself shares the same name that he was given upon his formation of heaven's clouds from which your guardian Arryl came from. He was in the form of a dragon and the only dragon that there ever was in the heavens at the time." There was a sigh from the orb before she continued. "He was one of the members of the council I had at the time. We assured that everypony that had life flowing through their veins had the right neccessities to survive from food, water and the early shelters from the pre-Equestria times and the forming of Whinnepagos, where all the alicorns were born and raised, and died. My friend though..."
"What was his name?"
"His name now forbidden from being said even in the heavens was Vuurtongo." She responded to my question. "From when the population of alicorns and ponies began to grow in numbers, he grew jealous that the dragons were supposedly a more less-breeding group and wanted them to have more power over the ponies. I rejected it though, saying that Equus would be a utopian world made of society. This enraged him over the idea, and he waged war by himself on the heavens against us to prevent peace. I overpowered him though, and cursed him to become a pendant that were made of his rage before casting him out... the pendant that caused many dragons to become blood dragons in the first place. Since then, the Equestrian dragons in my creation are completely different from them."
"Kind of like the new dragon lord Princess Ember who rules the Dragonlands is separate from the Blood Dragons of Mortem." I said to her, thinking about what Spike had told me in his experience there in the supposed race to become the next lord of the dragons, only to give it to Torch's daughter.
She laughed for a moment. "Yes, that is true. At that point with the threats that Mortem have done, they don't want to make themselves look bad. Yes, there are a few bad crops like Garble, but there are not all bad. Most of them evolved to be... dumb."
"Except my friend Spike of course."
"He is a true Equestrian at heart, even if he is a dragon on the outside," The First Alicorn says to me. "Seeing him trying to fight for the heart of Rarity herself, something did tell me if there was a way those two could fall, it would show the Blood Dragons that love can unite no matter what division the two races are in."
"Rebecca however, might not see through it, and think it as a threat."
"Exactly. She only will view dragons as the superior as long as she wears Vuurtongo, and should she succeed in wiping out every pony race. This would break the curse that I wrought onto him, and he would be free to destroy all of Equus and keep it in flames for the rest of eternity." She paused for a few moments in thought. "There is hope though, as long as you hold the Song of Order."
"As it was given to me, if given no other choice, I will have to strike them down at the same time if I have to," I said to the orb. "The alternative will have to be done if they refuse to change."
"Perhaps, but remember about the good in your heart, and how you spared Nightmare whom you love dearly along with your other mares. Sometimes, setting free or leaving them behind to think over their actions in their weakest state... is better than letting death take them. Just as I have seen the visions of your future, what you will gain... and what you'll lose."
A vision flashed past my sight of the shining orb to unveil an image that seems to be me at the hospital, as it begins to rain heavily and thunder outside. There appears to be a faint sign of the blood red moon that I recalled in visions earlier as I appear to be crying, and hugging a supposedly asleep Nightmare. Though it is silent and I see the tears on my eyes, it is almost as if I am screaming her name and trying to get her to wake up while the Ponyville Hospital staff and doctors are trying to get me off of her in a calm manner, sympathy being shown for me and what was happening.
I only ended up with another vision, but briefly, as if it was minutes... possibly seconds after that vision. My tears were still there, but it appears as if I was angry, practically yelling silently at Twilight and the rest of my friends. My mother and aunt, Shining and Cadence are there, and though it is partially blurred, I feel like I caught a glimpse of some of the Canterlot elite are watching me explode. I don't know what I am yelling at them about though.
"These visions... I can sense they are bad times that come. But in the end, good times will prevail over them. Just as you prevailed against your corruption when it tried to overtake you."
"I know I shouldn't worry about what would happen if I fail, but I don't want to let anypony down because of how I look as a human."
"For that matter, you shouldn't let what you are be in the way of your fight against the tyranny of the blood dragons. Stop the Dragon Queen and destroy Vuurtongo that lingers on around her neck, and you will have saved this world. But it is not an easy journey though. You still require the remaining two sparks."
"The Sparks of Loyalty and Magic, right?" I asked. Memories come flowing to me when I got my first spark from Applejack, when I was being comforted by Fluttershy when I was crying over Twilight dumping me (which I am thankful that the issue was resolved and now me and my bookworm are married), Pinkie after the rock soup disaster when I was visiting the old Rock Farm she grew up on, and Rarity when I was hanging out with her and Sassy at the jazz club in Canterlot.
"Exactly. Once you have the six sparks united in you, you will be given the true heart of a Equestrian. I may too in that matter provide you with a worthy reward if all turns out well in the end."
I move forward a little bit. "There is one other thing I have wanted to talk with you about... your book. It was mentioned in the black books of the Dragon Queen that both Sunset and Luna are doing research on. Any input?" I asked her, though I wasn't expecting a clear answer from her.
Another pause was made in the echoing silence before she spoke again. "My book has been lost to the North for many years, having been hid everywhere. But I only know of its location through visions of the past... an island... a old temple abandoned and lost in the mountains. It is the only thing I know. Everything else is a blank for me, so I would suggest that your friend Sunset look more into the Black Books with your aunt to see what they piece together." She responded calmly to my question.
From that silence, came the sound of a humming that I recognized myself as the Song of Order itself appearing within my dream. From the shine right behind, I feel myself turn around and see a white glowing orb of light appear and move closer from the dark void towards me as it always has done. In that orb I can see nothing yet, unless I figured that it would be something to touch and open.
It does open by itself however, and I can see the blade itself being unveiled from the orb itself, and floating there with its ancient letters aglow with yellow as it waited for me to grab onto it, as reality was closer than I thought.
I reach out towards the pommel of the blade, letting my hands touch the leather itself and moving it about before taking a grip and hold of it. The orb that held onto the Song of Order itself brightens a lot, practically blinding me, though it doesn't seem to affect my sight in this realm. I'm not even able to turn around to look at the First Alicorn herself, though she most likely is as bright as this orb.
"Brayden, my dear friend, be sure to look at the symbol right before you and remember this sign in your journey. For you will be shown it once, and will never see it again in this realm..."
The light began to dim down, and ahead of me that seemed plastered into my vision, there were a series of white dots that seemed to resemble some sort of symbol. Something that resembled a knife by itself alone.
It is no ordinary knife though, as it's edges looked to be curved into an ancient like weapon as if it were crafted in the age of cavemen. It's pommel looks to be made of stone as the stone blade itself looks curved and broaden like a scimitar in the night used by desert thieves in the Middle-East back on Earth. It is a rather interesting culture there, but quite a dangerous culture there too, when you think about it.
I allow it to paint a picture in my mind so that I can remember what it looked like. By the time it has faded, I feel myself falling into the darkness without even a sight of myself to see by the time pitch black covered my vision. But I will not forget what the First Alicorn sounded like either.
"Good luck Brayden. I will be awatch on your journey to build up your sparks and your mission to stop the Dragon Queen. Stay safe... and may my little ponies be safe too..."