Earth, 2003

[Play Kingdom Hearts -Strange Whispers- Extended]

The young now-ten year old Brayden lies there on his bed, the moon's light shining into his bed from the two open windows. On his alarm clock, it is 1:14am. Far too early for a boy at such an age to wake up to. He is trying to sleep, but struggles to keep asleep himself from the thoughts of school work and possible bullies he will have to face in his last year of elementary school. He moans quietly as he tosses and turns to get that shut-eye.

He finally opens his eyes, moving himself upward in bed. No matter how he tried, he just couldn't get sleep. Having dealt with the years of bullying since first grade, fifth grade was not really going to be any better. Even if the bullies he knew before had gone to other middle schools, there was always more to take their place and continue the bullying streak burdened onto him; whether it is shoving him against the wall, humiliating him in front of my other classmates or playing the victim to put him in detention.

It is almost as if Brayden never wanted that summer to end. He felt as free as a bird with no school in session during those two months. But now it was September and that morning would be the first day of another year of endless bullying.

There is a sound from within his own room, not outside, but in. Brayden perks up a bit at the sound, his eyes turned to the direction of where it came from. He would expect that of scratching noises if it was a mouse loose in the house, looking for scraps or crumbs on the floor - but it was almost like a footstep, except heavier.

"Who... who's there?" Brayden asked, a little creeped out in the dark. He wants to turn on the light to look, but cannot find himself to do it.

There is silence at first, but then a voice that was older; yet unfamiliar to him spoke. "I've come to see the one who's future is yet to come in years."

Brayden looks confused, unsure of who said that as there was nobody there in that corner. He rubs his eyes to check again, but is unable to see anything. He among his confusion, is a little creeped out by who spoke to him.

"So it is true about your bloodline, you and her definitely share it..."

"What are you talking about? Who is saying that?" Brayden asked, looking around his room for a bit until his eyes have caught onto something from the illumination of the moon's light shining into his room.

It was hard for him to tell, but he was able to get a bit of what the moon's light was showing him of this figure in the other corner. It looks to be a rather short figure, probably slightly a taller size as the young boy at that age. The figure was in a dark cloak, giant horns coming out from the top of the hood, as if the top of the hood was ripped to make way for it. The bottom of the cloak was rather mysterious, as he couldn't tell if there was nothing or if it was ram hooves.

"I know all of your future just alone by reading the myths yet to come," The voice from the figure spoke to him. "You are clueless of the role you will take."

"Clueless?" Brayden wonders to himself on what he means. "Well, whoever you are under that cloak, quit freaking me out!"

The figure stood there silently for a few moments. "You do not yet know what is to come. Your mind is still too young and naive to know. Not even from where I am from..." The figure's voice responded to the boy.

"Wait..." Brayden paused, smiling afterwards. "You're from a world beyond ours?"

"Clever boy. I am from another world," The figure responded to his question quite calmly. There is another pause of silence. "I know of your bloodline. You as I have said before, share it with such a powerful being."

"Please tell me!" Brayden exclaims. "I don't understand what you mean by me and this 'being' having the same bloodline!"

"There is so very much to learn..." The figure responded to him. "Such a young mind at a young age, would not be able to comprehend the surprise. You understand such little to nothing of this coming future. I know all, even without the item I lost a millennium ago to take ahold of the future..."

"Understand little to nothing? But I want to understand!"

The figure stood there in silence, turning its head towards the moon in the sky outside of Brayden's window and then back to him. "The moon's light guards you from the darkness. Even if her sister is banished away in my world, she uses that moon in your world to protect you from the dark influence at your own age. You'll know more in the next ten years..."

"The next ten years?!" Brayden is rather surprised. "Then just you wait, I'm going to learn and explore more on what you're talking about! Just... who are you?"

A strange sleepy feeling came across the boy just from looking at the horned cloak standing across from him in the room. He starts to lie his head down onto the bed, hearing the heavy hooves of the figure stepping closer towards him. Brayden turns his head to see the figure standing there above him at the side of his bed.

"It is meaningless to learn about this or hear from me about what is your future. If you are too eager to learn about what is yet to come, especially from me, you will never truely understand anything of the future."

Brayden finally closes his eyes, drifting off into a sleep-like haze, only remembering the last of what this figure said to him before he fell into a deep sleep.

"...I am- but a far off memory of events yet to come... An empty shell..."

Equestria, Present Time

Brayden's POV

"Brayden?"

The voice of my wife Twilight snapped me out from my thoughts that I was dwelling into for the hot air balloon ride up north to Yakyakistan. My eyes snap back into reality, finding myself leaning on the railing of the basket that carries all of us in it. The land down below looks to be that of mountains with snow below and on top of the mountains, resting in that eternal winter setting.

I turn towards my wife, who has placed her hoof upon my shoulder. She has a curious look on her face. "Were you thinking about something Brayden?" She asked me. "Is it Nightmare?"

I smiled and shook my head. "No Twi, it isn't," I said to her, knowing about Nightmare always being there in my heart. "It was something else that I had flashed back to when I was still living on Earth. I was ten years old at the time."

"It's alright if you don't want to tell me about it," She says to me, brushing her hoof on my shoulder down my arm and to my hand where I began to hold it. "I'm just making sure that you're okay."

I chuckled lightly for a moment, signalling her to check out the view from above. She turns, placing the both of her hooves on the railing to check out the view from below. "We must be getting close to Yakyakistan, the terrain's marking show very small yak hooves in the snow. As if left from a journey in which they formed their kingdom."

"I could imagine you being a Princess of Equestria, ruling all of Equestria - keeping harmony in all of the lands." I admitted to her.

"Me? Princess?" Twilight was rather surprised by my comment. She giggles for a moment. "I don't think your mother would think of retiring from the role, she and your aunt enjoy that role too much. But me? All of those ponies though..."

"Hey, if all turns out well and we all survive this, I could help you." I said to her, turning my head from the view to look at her. "Imagine it. If my mother ever decides to retire with my aunt, we'll both rule Equestria together."

I can hear Prince Blueblood groan at the sound of my words as if I was just talking too much for him to stand. My eyes turn to look at him, looking quite disgusted with me. Seeing that I am now giving him my attention, he just turns his back on me, placing his nose up into the air, not looking at me, his eyes closed and simply going "Hmph!". Such ignorance, but yet I am quite entertained by his arrogance towards me just because I am the son of Celestia.

"I can never forgive him for what he and the other elite did to you when Canterlot got attacked," Twilight says to me. "Blaming you for that attack and trying to get you killed? I wouldn't let him do that to you ever again."

I turn back to Twilight. "That's Blueblood for you. He'd do anything to get attention and hae the elite turn on me." I said to her.

"I just can't stand this cold!" Blueblood complains. "Where are all of the warm hot spots?! It's so cold up here!"

"It'll be just as cold down there as well, Blueblood!" I joked with him, chuckling a bit. "What's the matter? Afraid of catching a cold?"

"No thanks to you." Blueblood responded to me, still not turning to look at me. "It's funny now, considering when that monster Nightmare Moon returned, Celestia told me all about how you almost froze to death, practically almost getting hypothermia."

It took all of my power within, even surrounded by the calmness of my wife to convince me not to fire right back at him for mocking Nightmare in front of me. I did form a fist with my let hand at first, but feeling Twilight's hoof now on my right hand, I released the anger and let myself calm down.

A laugh followed out of Blueblood. "That's what I thought." He says to me, not following with anything else after that. "And here I thought the son of the princess would be stronger than that."

"Look who's talking." I commented to him.

"Brayden, please..." Twilight says to me, stopping me from engaging with Blueblood further, just in case a fight was going to break out between us. She spreads out a wing in front of me, keeping me from going forward towards the snobby prince. "I know you and him have issues with one another, but can it wait until the journey is finished?"

I take in a deep breath, letting it out after a few moments. I turn to look at Twilight. "Good point there, Twi. I shouldn't let anything he says bother me. Once the journey is done, me and him can both throw insults and remarks at each other like usual."

"Throwing you to the timberwolves would be a better option." Blueblood says, laughing to himself about it.

Both me and Twilight just ignore his comment and go back to looking at one another for a moment, smiles lifting onto our mouths. Even after it had been a while, she looked beautiful still than ever before.

The sound of Bon Bon was heard as she let out a soft gasp. "Hey Brayden, that village there with the Yak statue... is that Yakyakistan?"

I turn to look at Bon Bon, Twilight joining me as I approach Bon Bon's side of the baskey with everypony else. I look down from that view, taking on the firm grasp on what Yakyakistan looked like with my own eyes - seeing it for the first time.

At its very gates, were that of two statues that were that of gatekeepers, though it remained unguarded. The statues themselves resembled yaks with one hoof holding a shield and the other holding lit torches as in a way of carrying a message that it shows the yak the way to home or paradise which looks to be this village itself, homes and temples made of wood from trees and hay on the top as roofs above a normal yak's head as they slept. The streets are stone, with the centre being that of a torch that lit, while on the small torches in the streets hung decorations as if there was a party. Yaks and their young were out, noticing that we were on our way down from the sky above.

[Play Kingdom Hearts 3 -Arendelle Field Theme- Extended]

The hot air balloon's basket landed on the snow below us, making quite a soft landing than I thought it would make. I expected a rough landing at first, but nevertheless we made it here fine.

I hop out from the basket, setting my leather boots that I had put on during the trip there right into the snow. I turn around, helping out the rest of the girls out from the basket. Prince Blueblood who is getting himself out from the basket, turns to look at me as I offer him a hand. He only glares at me, which gave me the answer that he did not need my help. I did however help get Sonata out from the basket.

"Thanks Brayden!" Sonata says to me, hosting a gleeful smile on her face.

"It's no problem Sonata," I said to her with a friendly tone. "Glad to help a friend out in need."

From the gates, Twilight turns to look at me and Sonata coming forward. She closes her eyes, placing her hoof on her chest, and smiling. She knew of the bond of friendship that I had created with Sonata Dusk, even after the siren had become one with that of a pony form and accepted herself and the friendship inside her. My wife no longer feared the sirens after I had told her to give Sonata a chance, and she believed me for my word.

She opens her eyes when we joined her and the rest. Daring Do had placed her hoof onto the large wooden gate on the right side, pushing it open for us to enter into from there. The adventurous pegasus in front of us goes first into the village, followed by us afterwards.

The village itself looks to be very peaceful with the yak folk going about their business whether selling logs to smash, cuisine being passed around among the young who are using yak currency to pay directly for the traditional yak sweet. It's been forever since I've seen them, but it looks close to pastry back in Ponyville at the Sugarcube Corner.

A few of the young yaks giggling and laughing in a game of chase move fast by us, going as fast as their legs could go. A few not involved with the game of chasing just stare at us, looking in awe at my appearance along with the other ponies with me. The few yak adults do notice us coming in, one of them keeping an eye on us with its eyes covered, though very certain they can see through it.

"So we're looking for this Prince Rutherford?" I asked Twilight, who turns her head to look at me as I talk to her, walking alongside between her and Bon Bon. "How exactly will he know of this place where the book is if he knows not of the trail there?"

"That's why I have the map with me," Sunset turns her head from ahead, looking behind and grabbing my attention. "It should be enough to trigger a memory of that path. He's bound to know. Most yaks have travelled from all over the Frozen North to find the right place to settle here."

"The one you studied?"

She nods her head. "Yes. I'm sure that he'll give us an answer no matter what."

My eyes are gripped onto the rooftops of the huts, catching them onto an odd shaped straw roof. This one stood out like all the rest with painted iron to resemble horns themselves at the front. I figure that is where Prince Rutherford is, watching over his kingdom and keeping it at peace.

Thank goodness it is at peace, war between Equestria and Yakyakistan came close to happening at one point. If it weren't for Pinkie, the problem would have got much worse.

"I think I should make the talking here," Twilight suggested to me and the rest of the group. "Sunset, you're with me. You'll show Prince Rutherford the map and calmly explain everything to him. It's all up to him if he wants to aid Equestria in its time of need with the threats of Mortem should we give him that offer."

Sunset giggles as she approached the curtain that acted more like a door to the hut of the yak prince himself who probably doesn't expect us coming. She pulls it open, and I begin to motion into the hut, seeing the prince sitting there on his throne quite casually.

"Prince Rutherford," Sunset announced to the yak prince as Twilight joins next to me. "Princess Twilight Sparkle with your permission, seeks your council with the son of Celestia himself, Brayden."

"Yak accept council." He says to her, turning to look at my wife who bows before him. "Pony seek help?"

"Kind of," Twilight says to him. "Princess Celestia has sent us, this group to Yakyakistan on a journey to find the book of the First Alicorn. A land south of our border that borders between the Changeling badlands and the desert where Klugetown lies, Mortem is threatening our home. There is no telling if they intend on bringing harm upon all of your other yaks."

"Threat?" Prince Rutherford questioned, as I step forward to speak with him.

"Blood dragons, different from the ones who know from the Dragon Lands," I said to him, carefully explaining to him. "The difference between the dragons we know and the blood dragons, is that the blood dragons want to bring harm whereas the dragons that Ember rules over is more tame than ever now."

Speaking of Ember, I still have yet to meet face-to-face with her. Spike has already talked my ear off about the quest for the sceptor that made her Dragon Lord in the first place, and I am eager how she will respond to seeing a human, especially a winged one in the flesh.

"A former student of Celestia with us by the name of Sunset Shimmer, has discovered the entirety of a map that leads up north to some mysterious lost village in the snowy mountains. From what we assume at the bottom of the map, is Yakyakistan as shown by the yak horns," Twilight says, pointing at the map that Sunset has brought out. "Perhaps you might know something about this."

Sunset came forward, handing the map over to Prince Rutherford. He takes it, looking down at it with his eyes covered in the long hair. He studies it for a bit, looking up at us and responding after some time. "Yak know the path to lost village in snow."

"You do?" I said, smiling. "That's good."

"The way there? Not easy. Group need yak to guide you there." Prince Rutherford tells us.

"So you'll take us?" I asked.

He gave us quite a simple answer. "No."

The group flop their ears in disappointment. I can hear their voices go "Aww" with disappointment in the tone of their voices. But hey, I think they really gave it a shot with the leader of the yaks.

"Human right about Mortem. Blood Dragons might attack, yak prince cannot just leave Yakyakistan to journey," He explains to us, followed by a small smile of hope. "However yak know other yak that could be of help."

"Who might that be?" Daring Do asked. "We could use all the help we can get."

The yak prince gets up off of his throne and signals us to follow him outside. We allow him to lead us as we follow behind, knowing not of who he will give to us as one who will know the path.

"Yak should be here somewhere..." Rutherford mutters to himself audibly for me to hear as I join alongside him seeing all of yak society once again doing their own activities in the village, a few cooking up yak cuisine in a few huts. "Yona!"

My attention was grabbed by a young yak running down the path to the left upon hearing the sound of her name being summoned especially by the prince himself. I take a look at the yak; seeing that she looks like she is in her teenage years, looking half the size that Rutherford would be.

"Here!" The young yak Yona says rather hurriedly. She stops, bowing down in front of the prince. "Yona honored to be summoned by Yak prince Rutherford!"

"Yona," I step forward, bending down a bit to say hello to her. Her eyes turn to look at me, rather surprised to see me, or rather a winged human for the first time. "Prince Rutherford has summoned you to join us for this trek up north to find a lost village where an artifact needed for Equestria's survival is."

"Who are you?" She asked me, her head turned at its side slightly and her moderate olive colored eyes studying me with curiosity. "Yona never seen human before."

"I guess I can introduce myself to you," I said to her, a smile appearing on my lips. "I'm Brayden, the Paladin of Equestria."

"Why human have wings?"

"It's a bit of a long story with my wings on how I earned them," I said to her, thinking about how I had fought the corruption in my emotions and won over with the power of friendship at my side. "You can just call me Brayden though."

Yona nods her head in understanding, then turns to face Prince Rutherford again, bowing down before him. "Yona not let Yak prince down! Yona make Yakyakistan proud!" She says to him, smiling at him with assurance.

I can hear Prince Blueblood fake a gag in absolute disgust, being that we now have somepony who isn't a pony nor a unicorn joining with us for the journey. I can only turn and give him an expression that pretty told him to stay quiet in this situation unless he wants to get his flank handed to him by yaks for insulting them. He made no other sounds after that nor any fusses about Yona joining us to find the village lost in snow and ice.

"Alright everypony, let's head out and find this village." Daring Do tells all of us, headed for the door. Everypony else follows behind her, especially me, who is between both Twilight and Yona.

The adventure is set, and we are now en route to the lost village in the snow.

[Play TES V Skyrim Soundtrack - Beneath the Ice]

Hours had passed since we had left Yakyakistan, and Yona had taken charge of our directions and the map that Sunset was showing to her. We found ourselves between the mountains, where this village was set to be located. Yet, there is only hills of snow below our feet. Almost as if this village never even existed.

"I don't get it..." Twilight commented to herself audibly. "It should have been here."

"Or maybe it never existed at all and you all wasted my time." Prince Blueblood commented, shivering. "Where is a warm coat? I'm freezing here."

There is the sound of a roar in the distance, which in turn made everypony shiver more and hide right behind me. Don't blame me though, I'm the one with the Song of Order. It sounded a lot like the blood dragons of Mortem.

"A blood dragon?! Here?!" Daring Do says, coming out from behind.

From the shadows of the mountain, we could see a spirit from the otherworld appear before us, looking that like a dragon itself, but not that of a blood dragon as Daring Do nor myself had expected to see way out here. It's ghostly form is aflight in the air, eventually spiralling down and landing in front of us.

"I have not expected guests in a long time, even after death." The spirit spoke to us, no color but blue to its ghostly form exposed for all of us to see.

"MONSTER!" Yona screamed, still hiding right behind me.

"Relax there Yona, I'll talk with it," I acknowledged the yak behind me who I was happy to see had guided us this far into the journey. "Twilight, keep an eye on her."

"I will, Brayden." She says, trotting next to Yona and watching everything as I step forward before the ghost itself.

"Welcome Brayden, son of Sombra and Celestia." The dragon spoke to me, it's yellow guardian eyes watching me like a hawk, turning briefly at my friends behind me. "I can see you brought company, as well as Princess Twilight, daughter of Twilight Velvet and Night Light."

"It is me," I said to it. "We have come to find the white book of the First Alicorn. We know that there is a village here that has a possible library in which it is contained. We need it for Equestria is in danger."

The ghostly eyes study me. "The village itself is buried in the heavy snow, you yourselves wouldn't be able to dig down into it. Allow me to open up the way to the library, and guide all of you inside." It tells us, spreading open its wings and becoming that of a single glowing orb shrunken down to the size of a ball that fillies play with.

The snow began to shift in front of us, sinking downward to create a path and unveiling ice that all of us could walk without slipping. I make the move forward, with the others following right behind me. My eyes are fixed onto the ghost who is guiding us towards the library.

No longer covered, the library itself resembled almost that of an ancient setting, trying to crumble away but prevented from doing so by the heavy amount of ice that covered the architecture from the outside.

"I'm getting the creeps here." Blueblood commented quietly to himself behind me.

The spirit moves through the single door itself carven from what looks to be either oak or maple wood. I move forward, placing my hand onto the grip of the door which has lost its color from over the years, turning it and pushing it open.

The darkness from within the library had scattered away into small corners when the light from outside had crawled quickly into the interior. I step forward, my boots stepping onto the pale stones below. The others were following right behind me, the spirit seen before my own eyes in front of the pedestal tht looked rather empty, shattered glass surrounding the pedestal where an item might have once stood.

"So you seek the book of the First Alicorn, do you?" The spirit spoke to me.

"Oh yes," I said to it. "Just show us where it is here, and we'll be on our merry way."

The spirit chuckles for a moment. "If only it were that simple. The pedestal you see before you, is the resting place and the first you'd see of where the book would be. It is not there anymore, but has been moved."

"Moved where?"

"To another location, which is quite at the ends of Equus. An island called Eden, the birthplace of the blood dragons and the Dragon Queen herself - over lost generations of the past."

"I don't understand," I lowered my head, disappointed that it had been moved. "Were we too late?"

"No, you and your friends aren't too late," The spirit responded to me. "For you don't know what happened here many years ago."

"As far back as to when the Song of Order was created?" Twilight asked the spirit.

"Years after," The spirit responded. "Before all of you were even born, before Celestia and her sister had become alicorns themselves."

"What happened?"

"Years ago, after the battle of Whinnepagos in which the Song of Order had been created to defeat the Dragon Queen. The book of the First Alicorn had rested here in this village. This quiet, isolated village. Agents of the banished Dragon Queen were sent here, in which they raided the village, taking the book with them to the island of Eden, where they have hidden it in the temple of Ikwyutania."

"Eden is so far though, we'll never reach it in time. It would take a month to get there by boat!" Daring Do proclaims. "There's got to be another way..."

"There is..."

The spirit approaches the wall to our right, using a ghost-like magic, conquering up what looks to be a portal. A portal to the temple and its snowy path seen through as it held it open with what seems like no such limit.

"Beware travellers, for you face the lost histories of the Blood Dragons. Behold, the temple itself! On the first-born islands of all Equus!"

I can hear a bit of a shuffling of hooves, seeing it was just Yona headed towards the door to leave.

"You're heading out? Don't want to join us?" I asked her.

"Yona journey as far as she could. Got to return to Yakyakistan, don't want to worry Yak prince." She says to me with a smile on her face.

I nod my head in understanding. "We'll go on ahead, be careful on your way back."

"Yona will. Thank you Brayden."

All of us watch as the young yak leaves, and we turn back towards the portal that the spirit has left for us. I turn to look at Twilight and then Sunset, who have joined right beside me when facing the portal.

"No turning back, everypony." I said to them and everypony else behind me.

"The book of the First Alicorn lies ahead. Brace yourselves, it may just get cold again." Sunset says to all of us as well.

I look at everypony behind me. Sonata Dusk, Bon Bon, Prince Blueblood and Daring Do looked more ready than ever to see the lost artifact before their own eyes. Sunset looks rather eager to see the book, and Twilight keeps close to me, ready to protect me as I would protect her if we are going to face certain danger within that lost temple.

With no other thoughts, we step into the portal.