Antecedent
#1 of Antecedent
The Elements of Harmony are missing, and Raindrop needs them to quell the rising curse of her ancestry that threatens to consume her. Paired with a Royal Guard, and with a strong mutual loathing, Together, they will have to try to reunite the elements and find their new bearers...If they don't kill each other first.
Heavy winds assaulted the blue pegasus as she wended her way through the stormclouds, rolling peals of thunder and the flashing brilliance of lightning assaulting her senses.
Her name was Raindrop, and she was a junior member of the Cloudsdale Weather Patrol.
A little small for a pegasus, Raindrop was a solid blue from hoof to nose, with a two-tone cyan mane and tail styled up in an imitation of a background Wonderbolt she had seen in a very old magazine. Small stature was anything but a hindrance in her line of work though. As a storm chaser, it was her job to ensure that any clouds from the Everfree Forest or beyond didn't get into Equestria and cause problems with the scheduled weather.
Being of smaller stature, Raindrop was an excellent flier. Not as far as most of the other pegasus, she made up for it in pure maneuverability. She could fly circles around other pegasus with ease.
At that moment, the diminutive pegasus was racing through her duties as a storm chaser, cleaning up a rather large storm that had been slowly creeping towards Equestrian lands.
The reason Raindrop was hurrying, was that her coltfriend of nearly a year had an appointment to see a well-respected unicorn doctor. A young unicorn known as Shine, he was a lightmaker, specialising in coloured lamps. He had invented a lamp that shifted colours randomly, and was already raking in the profits of his invention as every dance club in Equestria wanted one.
Raindrop and Shine had been dating for almost a year, after meeting up by chance at a party that neither of them wanted to attend. It had been a whirlwind romance, and Raindrop had moved in with the unicorn the first chance she got. But that's when the unicorn had started to get sick. It was an odd illness, characterised by nausea, distractedness, and fatigue. It was taking a massive toll on his health, and his mental well-being. At the first signs of depression setting in, she had booked him an appointment with the most knowledgeable (and expensive) doctor she could find.
And so, Raindrop was rushing through her duties, beating back stormclouds from the Everfree forest as fast as she could so she could get to Canterlot before Shine arrived there for his appointment.
A very winded Raindrop appeared in front of the doctors office a half-hour late, the pegasus panting and walking back and forth for a moment with wobbly legs to steady her breathing, before she pushed open the door to the doctors office and stepped inside.
Greeting her immediately was a short hallway terminating in a large waiting room, with plush purple furnishings and a receptionists desk, where a young, pretty unicorn sat, sorting sheets of paper into folders with deft magical work.
The young pegasus stepped up to the counter, and asked in a sweet tone; "Hi there, my coltfriend was due for an appointment, goes by the name of Shine?"
Looking down at a sheet for a moment, the receptionist smiled, raising a hoof to point down the hallway, offering, "He's in there right now, I can ring you in if you'd like?"
Raindrop nodded eagerly. "Yes please. I'm a little bit late, sorry."
"It's fine." the unicorn said, her horn glowing as a bell inside the room tingled for a moment. A second bell on the outside of the door glowed and then jingled merrily. The receptionist turnedback to Raindrop. "Go in whenever you're ready."
Nodding and thanking the receptionist, Raindrop walked down the hall, and then opened the indicated door, slipping in and closing it quietly behind her.
"Very interesting." the doctor was saying. He was an older unicorn with a frizzy grey mane and a stethescope around his neck. He was peering into Shine's open maw and inspecting his teeth and tonsils with narrowed eyes, speaking in a heavy foreign accent, "Ze sickness haz hallmarks of magical maladies, yes. But ze symptoms are all wrong for zis. One vould expect magical maladies to have magical residue on zem, yes?"
Shine made a non-commital sound in response, giving Raindrop a 'please help me' expression over the top of the doctors head. He couldn't speak with his mouth propped open, and he wasn't allowed to move his head, so nodding was out of the question, too.
"So...you haven't figured it out yet?" Raindrop asked, disheartened. Moving to stand beside the doctor, she peered past him into her coltfriends mouth, trying to determine what he was looking for.
"Vell, I cannot say vat is wrong vith your coltfriend. It vould seem that he iz suffering from a magical ailment. But hiz magic is perfectly fine. Zis is baffling!" the doctor said, drawing back and sitting on his haunches, observing Shine with a thoughtful hum, rubbing a hoof against his chin.
Shine closed his mouth immediately, and lifted a hoof to rub at his jaw, working it back and forth once or twice with a harrumph. He was a unicorn of comparable age to Raindrop, though he was just a little bit older by a year or so. He was a steely grey from top to bottom, with a flowing deep blue mane and tail. His cutie mark was a lit lightbulb, a rather fitting mark for his profession.
Blue unicorn eyes met pink pegasus ones, Raindrops holding Shine's gaze hopefully. The unicorn gave a subtle shake of his head, his eyes sad. The pegasus nodded slightly in response, her expression glum.
"Ve vill need a return visit. I vill run bloodwerk, and ve shall get to the bottom of zis." the doctor stated with a wave of a hoof. "Make appointment with receptionist, and try to lay off ze magics at home, yes?"
Shine sighed faintly, before raising a hoof in acknowledgement, and then stepped down off the examination stand.
Raindrop moved over to him, nuzzling up against the side of his snout slowly for a moment, breathing a sigh. "Sorry I'm late, hun. There were some sneaky clouds about this morning."
The unicorn nodded in understanding, nuzzling her gently in return, before saying with a sigh, "I was just hoping for a magical fix, I guess."
"Oh well, maybe the bloodwork will reveal something that the other doctors missed?" Raindrop offered placatingly.
"We can only wait and see," was the only response from Shine.
"Vat are you vaiting for? Shoo!" the unicorn doctor said, pushing a hoof at them.
The couple ambled out into the hall, and then to the receptionist to book another appointment for Shine.
Pausing a moment, the receptionist turned to the doctors room and magically opened a small slot in the wall, from which a sheet of paper floated over to the desk, laying itself out so that the female unicorn could peer at it, reading the words written there.
"You account will not be charged this appointment," the receptionist said with a sympathetic smile, before she inquired, "He couldn't figure out the problem?"
Shine blinked slightly and then dipped his head in affirmation. "How did you know?"
"He never charges if he can't figure out the problem. The doctor believes that you should only pay a health worker when you're healthy, as it's his job to ensure that you remain at that level of health," she shrugged helplessly. "He's foreign, what can I say?"
Nodding once in understanding, Shine signed the piece of paper offered to him, and then waved a hoof in farewell.
Raindrop walked besides Shine, with her wing half-extended so that the soft feather tips brushed and pressed against his side in a reassuring fashion. It was something that pegasus sometimes did, interlacing the feathers of their wings intimitely with their partners'. Sure, Shine didn't have wings for her to lace her feathers with, but she forgave him for that transgression.
Shine stumbled faintly as they crossed the threshold of the outer doorway, and Raindrop deftly leaned in under his chest to catch him, frowning deeply.
"...They're getting worse, aren't they?" she asked gently, her expression one of unhappiness.
The unicorn didn't answer for a moment, and Raindrop was surprised and dismayed at the look of fatigue on her stallions face. Shine just looked tired. Deep fatigue lines wound across his face, and there were barely visible bags hidden underneath his eyes; eyes that were slightly unfocused and glassed over.
"Geeze...are you okay, Shine?" she asked, concerned, as she pushed the unicorn up with her shoulders and then gently drew back so he could take his own weight.
Shine nodded in response, rubbing at his forehead with a hoof for a moment, and then grinding it against the centre of his forehead firmly. He put his hoof down and began to walk again, his tone clipped as he answered, "I'm fine."
"No...No you're not," Raindrop said with a deep frown, her ears pinning back slightly. She could see through the veneer he was placing around himself to ward off her questions.
"You're right," the unicorn admitted, seeming to deflate right in front of her, his steps becoming plodding and fatigued, dropping his act under the face of her accusations. "It's just...it's getting worse. I'm finding it hard to concentrate on anything and I'm just...so...tired.."
Raindrop shook her head, and moved in quickly to support her mate as he staggered and weaved unsteadily for a moment, walking with a wobbly gait to a bench and just splaying across it, closing his eyes and throwing his hooves over his face.
The pegasus frowned deeply, leaning in to nudge gently at his cheek with her nose.
Shine lifted a hoof to stare at her for a long moment, his expression glum. A single teardrop spilled from one eye, tracing down his cheek as he brokenly admitted, "I'm just...so sick of this. I can't remember the last time I felt happy...or the last time I laughed. everything is just bleak and gray and I'm sick of it."
Raindrop frowned deeply at that, leaning forwards to grip her coltfriend with her hooves and pull him into a reassuring hug, nosing against his cheek slowly. "Cheer up, Shine. It's just the sickness making you sad. We'll figure it out, promise."
The unicorn just sighed faintly, leaning against her limply. "I want to care, I really do...but..."
Frowning, Raindrop nosed against him soothingly again, just holding him close. She didn't say anything, because she couldn't find the words to frame anything she might tell her depressed coltfriend.
The two ponies were barely home more than a few minutes when there was a knock on the door.
Raindrop set down the kettle on a porcelain mat, pushing aside the medicinal herbs she had bought to help try and treat some of Shine's symptoms. The pegasus moved towards the door, pulling it open, and then blinking up at the person standing at her door.
Princess Celestia.
After picking her jaw up off the ground, Raindrop tried to compose herself, stuttering a greeting, "U-uhm hi!"
"Good day, Raindrop. May I come in?" Celestia asked without preamble.
The pegasus stared, before asking dumbly, "...You know my name?"
The princess nodded once in response. "Indeed."
Raindrop continued to stare, before she interpreted the look that Celestia was giving her; impatient.
"O-oh. Come in," she stammered, opening the door wider for the alicorn to walk inside.
Celestia looked around the entry hall as she stepped through the doorway, giving a thoughtful hum. "I like what you've done with the place."
"T-thanks." Raindrop said, still stunned.
The princess was here. In her house.
"U-uhm why a-are you here?" the pegasus asked, staring at Celestia.
The alicorn gave her a long look, pursing her lips and then tilting her head towards the kitchen. "You want to sit down. We need to talk. It would be better if Shine wasn't here to hear it, either."
Raindrop blinked once, accepting the offer to sit down in her own kitchen, pulling herself onto the bench and laying on her stomach, peering up at the princess. "Shine is resting upstairs. Though why you need to speak to me privately..."
Celestia sat down on her haunches, watching the pegasus for a long moment, before shifting closer to lay a hoof on Raindrop's own in a reassuring fashion.
Feeling tears welling up in her eyes, Raindrop whispered, "I-it's my mother, isn't it?"
The princess blinked once, recoiling slightly in surprise. Her tone was confused as she said, "Your mother? No. Actually, it's your grandmother."
Raindrop swallowed hard for a moment, taking a deep breath. "O-oh my...I thought you were going to say...just...you're so serious. But Cee passed on years ago..."
"Indeed," Celestia stated, looking into Raindrop's eyes for a long moment. "Shine is sick, isn't he? He's getting worse, and no one can figure out why, can they? He's distracted, fatigued...?"
The pegasus stared at her for a long moment, before asking quietly, "How do you know...?"
"Don't move," Celestia stated, as she turned her head downwards, her horn beginning to glow.
A golden light washed of Raindrop, and she shivered slightly at the sensation of magic washing over her form. The light shimmered, before beginning to change hues, turning a deep, vibrant green.
Raindrop blinked slightly, while Celestia gave a knowing nod.
"What?" The pegasus asked, raising a brow in confusion, giving a slight harrumph. "What was that?"
"If you paid attention during history class, you would know that Princess Cadance and Shining Armour thwarted an incursion attempt by Queen Chrysalis, leader of the changelings." Celestia stated.
Raindrop nodded, before saying dismissively, "That was years and years before I was born though."
"Indeed. But there is something that was...omitted from the history books. Something that only myself, Cee, and Evergreen ever knew," she added in a gentle tone.
"So...a really big secret?" Raindrop asked probingly.
"An epic secret." Celestia stated bluntly. "Cee is Chrysalis."
The pegasus stared at Celestia for a long moment, the words just not registering.
"Cee was Chrysalis? As in...my grandmother? Hah," a faint laugh rolled from Raindrop's throat, "That's good. Now why are you really here?"
Celestia gave Raindrop a long, hard look. "I'm not joking, Raindrop. You want to know why I know your name? I've followed your family. For the past two generations. I've been watching and waiting in case something like this happened."
"Something like what?" the pegasus asked, mystified.
"For the changeling traits to resurface. I almost didn't believe it when I heard that Cee and Evergreen had a child...I didn't think it would be possible, given that she was a changeling..." Celestia explained, making a motion with a hoof. "But it happened."
"This doesn't make sense," Raindrop stated flatly. "You turn up on my doorstep and tell me that my grandmother was a changeling. What does that have to do with my Shine, anyhow?"
The princess paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. "I knew that Chrysalis had survived the magical blast from Shining Armour, and I suspected that she was leeching love from someone in Ponyville. By the time I figured it out, though...Chrysalis: Cee; and Evergreen, were already in love. I could see it in her eyes. Even when faced with the Elements of Harmony, she only had eyes for Evergreen. I think she was scared of losing him. And I'm quite certain that she destroyed the last of her changelings for him."
Raindrop raised a brow at that. "But...that still doesn't make any sense."
"I believe that Chrysalis was sucking Evergreen dry. When he came to me to tell me that he knew of Chrysalis' location, I could see that he was...drained. He was tired, and distracted. He couldn't focus properly, and looked like he hadn't slept for days." Celestia explained, giving Raindrop a sympathetic look. "I think Chrysalis deliberately set out to make me cause the Elements of Harmony to be used on her. And they must have done something to her. Changed her somehow. Because I never saw any sickness in Evergreen after that."
The pegasus stared at the princess for a long moment, trying to absorb all of this information, before asking, "Why are you telling me all this now?"
"Shine is sick, Raindrop. And it's not a disease. The changeling inside you is coming out," Celestia explained gently. "You're killing him."
Raindrop swallowed hard a moment at those words, before drawing herself up with a low growl. She raised a hoof, pointing it towards the door, "Get out of my house."
Celestia rose to her hooves, and shook her head sadly at the pegasus. "I'm sorry, Raindrops, But it's the truth. You're making Shine sick. Why do you think the doctors can't discover the cause of the sickness?"
The pegasus didn't respond, just pointing mutely with a hoof until the princess bowed respectfully and began to show herself out.
"It still doesn't make sense. If you knew Cee was the queen of the changelings, you would have done something about it." Raindrop hissed.
Celestia paused in the doorway. "Indeed...I contemplated throwing Cee in a cell. But when I found them, they were lying in the grass together stargazing. They were content. They were in love. I had no right to take that from them. And even on the day that she died, Cee's thoughts were of Evergreen. She wasn't a threat to anyone in Equestria any more."
"But you expect me to believe that Cee's changeling blood is somehow coming up in me and making Shine sick?" Raindrop spat.
"I...don't know how to put it any more eloquently than that," Celestia said sympathetically. "The spell...I developed it after the insurgence. I needed to make sure there were no more changelings hiding among us. Gold is normal, green is changeling."
Raindrop paused at that, staring down at her hooves a moment, her wings shuffling uncomfortably. After a few moments, she protested, "But...I'm....I'm not a changeling. I'd know it!"
Celestia shook her head. "I'm sorry, Raindrop. I don't know how these things work. I won't pretend to. But you deserve to know why Shine is getting sick. And...the only way for him to get better is for you to distance yourself from him."
The pegasus splayed her ears backwards, shaking her head in denial. "No. This doesn't make any sense. It's not true!"
The princess could only watch the blank denial of the pegasus, sympathising.
Raindrop shook her head again, turning away to the fireplace and staring into it for a few long moments, not speaking.
"Raindrop...I'm sorry," Celestia offered.
"You come in here, tell me that I'm a...a...thing, and that's all you have to say?" the pegasus snapped in response.
A mute nod was the only answer from the princess.
"What about Cee? If what you said is true, then the Elements of Harmony can just...do whatever it is they did for her, and fix me."
"It...is possible," Celestia admitted after a moment. "But the elements have not had bearers for nearly a decade now. After Rarity passed away..."
Raindrop bit back her tears, shaking her head. "No. I'll get fixed. If what you said is true, I'll get fixed. I'm not letting some stupid changeling stuff take Shine away from me."
The princess looked on helplessly for a moment, before moving over to the pegasus and wrapping her up in a soothing hug. "Come, child. This is a lot for you to absorb at once. But you need to understand what's happening. Denial will help nopony."
The pegasus fought against the hug for a moment, before just falling limp against the princess, staring at the floorboards. "I...I know."
Celestia nodded gently, drawing back and giving the pegasus a long look. "Are you going to be okay?"
Raindrop nodded once. "I...I think so. But...I need to talk to Shine. He...he has to know I'm making him sick."
The princess nodded, and then drew back, turning towards the door again. "If you need me...you know where to find me."
Nodding mutely, the pegasus turned away, staring into the mirror above the fireplace for a moment, appraising her own reflection.
Staring into her own eyes, Raindrop couldn't help but imagine the demonic eyes of a changeling staring back.
Monster.
The accusation hung heavy in the air as Raindrop stared at her coltfriend.
Shine was sitting up in bed, forehooves on the mattress and eyes narrowed at her. He looked tired, but determined, and was scowling at her.
"You're a monster," he repeated, shaking his head at her. "A demon."
Raindrop recoiled slightly at the tone of his voice, protesting; "Y-you don't mean that..."
"No. No Raindrop. I really do mean that!" he hissed, his eyes narrowing further. "For weeks now, I've been getting more and more sick. And it's been you all along! You and your...demon blood!"
The pegasus recoiled even further, her ears splaying backwards, feeling tears welling up in her eyes.
"Get away from me!" Shine continued, trying to crawl out of bed, struggling with the sheets for a moment and stumbling, almost ending up tripping. "Get away before you kill me, monster!"
If Shine had anything else to say, Raindrop didn't hear it. She was already bolting out of the house and up into the sky.
A few moments later found the pegasus curled up on a small cloud, crying quietly with her head in her hooves. Her entire life was falling apart all around her. Everything she had worked so hard for, taking away by something she had no control over. And there was nothing she could do about it. It wasn't as though she could just make the blood coursing through her veins magically fixed.
Or maybe there was?
Sitting there on the cloud, Raindrop sniffled once and then wiped her eyes and nose with a hoof, composing herself. She had a new plan.
She was going to use the Elements of Harmony to fix herself as her grandmother had done so many years previously. Even if she had to find new bearers herself.
Raindrop was not a pegasus given over to overt displays of emotion. She didn't cry, or wail, or grunt and groan. Generally speaking, she was a quiet pony, preferring to suffer her emotions and misgivings in silence rather than just letting everyone around her know about how she felt.
Therefore, the pegasus spent very little time feeling bad for herself. She knew what she had to do, she knew what was next. She had to go and see Princess Celestia, ask her about the Elements of Harmony. It was perhaps a pipe dream, magically fixing herself using the Elements of Harmony, but at that point, she was grasping at straws. It was the only plan of action she had, and she was not wont to give up on something she wanted without a fight.
But first thing first. She had to see it herself. She had to return to the place that she had seen only twice before.
She had to see Evergreen and Cee's grave.
The forest seemed to be hushed here. The birds didn't chirp, the woodland creatures didn't rustle, and the wind itself seemed to blow through the grass as gently as possible in reverence of the black marble cottage that lay nestled in the treeline.
Raindrop could hear the blades of grass under her hooves snapping and bending under her weight, and she unconsciously lightened her steps, to make as little noise as possible. It was a very tranquil area, with no sound except the faintest whisper of wind in the leaves. Peaceful.
The marble edifice that had once been a cottage bore no marks of time. It had been years since it had been transformed, but the forest seemed unwilling to reclaim it. Firewood was still stacked up outside the cottage, and a pair of rocking chairs facing the forest stood in a mute reminder of the two simple ponies who had lived there.
But Raindrop knew the truth now. Cee had been no simple pony. She was a changeling. A changeling queen. How could no one gave told her?!
Scowling faintly, the pegasus stepped over to the window, lifting her hooves to the window sill and peering inside.
The house was the same as it had been when it was transformed. Raindrop could see everything just as she remembered it from when her father had bought her here the first two times. The first had been when she was seven, and the second was after he had broken up with his wife, leaving her for a much younger musician pony who came through town and stole his heart. It had fractured Raindrop's family, and she had been forced to stay with her father while her mother moved to the east, into the griffon state Transavian.
'Transavian is no place for a young pony to grow up,' she said. And that was that.
Raindrop scowled further, reminiscing. After she landed a job on the weather team, she had moved away from the 'happy family' to Ponyville.
She still remember standing here, at the front door of the house where her grandparents had died, listening to her father try to explain why he had betrayed her mother so readily, for a much younger pony.
'See...sometimes yer think yer in love...but then a love comes along that's stronger than that. Yer mother understood that, and that's why she left.'
Well, maybe her mother understood, but Raindrop was quite certain she'd never understand why somepony would leave a pony they'd been with for nine years. She'd only been with Shine for two years now, and she would never leave him. Even his flat-spoken blunt hurtful words didn't phase her. He was depressed, and given to mood-swings. Even that was her fault. She couldn't think ill of her love at all.
Raindrop forced her thoughts back to the present, peering in at the bed where her grandparents lay.
They were posed as though sleeping, resting under the blankets. Evergreen was laying on his side, the age lines on his face softened, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his muzzle even in death.
Raindrop had never really known Evergreen. Most of it was from when she was too young to remember; but she remembered him showing her the flowers of the countryside, and the one magical field of blue nightblooms that both Cee and Evergreen insisted that the entire family see at least once. Cee said it was where she had truly fallen in love with the dumb oaf she called her husband. And even as she insulted him, she embraced him openly.
Cee, for her part, was laying opposite Evergreen, her nose almost touching her eternal lovers own, a hoof thrown carelessly over his neck, her eyes closed, and a soft smile on her muzzle. They were the picture of contentedness. Two old ponies that had died knowing they had lived a full life.
But it was a lie.
Raindrop's eyes hardened as she stared at the marble form of her grandmother. A grandmother whose curse was flowing in her veins. She wasn't even a unicorn! Raindrop felt betrayed. Lied to for so long. And even her father hadn't felt it prudent to tell her. Surely he had to know his mother was a changeling? That wasn't exactly a secret that was easy to keep.
Scowling, the pegasus dropped her hooves from the window and turned away, stalking a few steps down the path and then sitting down on her rump, staring out over the forest towards the smoke rising from fireplaces in Ponyville. Coming out here was a bad idea. It was just bringing up memories that she'd prefer to keep hidden, and causing her to be agitated.
Not to mention it wasn't bringing her any closer to what she needed to do. She need to get to Canterlot and speak to Princess Celestia. She needed to find the Elements of Harmony, and get healed by them. It was simple, really. Simple, but hard.
Setting her shoulders, the young weather pony rose to her hooves, and then spread her wings, launching into the air without even a single glance back to the cottage where Cee and Evergreen lay, eternally together.
Walking up to the castle was awkward. Raindrop had never visited the royal castle before, and she found herself growing very self conscious. Her feathers were mussed up, and her fur bore streaks of moisture from clouds she had flown through.
The royal guards at the front entrance, a unicorn and pegasus, looked her up and down as she approached.
"U-uhm...I'm here to see the Princess?" Raindrop offered nervously, her ears splaying backwards.
"Do you have an appointment?" the pegasus asked of her, a brow raising under his helmet.
"U-uh...no. I didn't know I needed one," Raindrop said uncertainly, wincing. "Princess Celestia told me to come see her if I needed to speak to her..."
"Oh, Miss Raindrop?" the guard inquired.
"That's me," she responded with a blink.
"Go on through," he said, returning to his straight stance.
The pegasus stared for a moment, before stepping between them, pushing open the large doors and walking quietly across the entrance hall to the door at the far end. There was a faint, magical chime as she opened the next door, and a sign asked for quiet and patience, the princess was a busy Alicorn.
Raindrop seated herself on a couch, and pulled up a magazine from the table besides it. It was Aeronautical Monthly, and had a front-page feature of the inside-story of Blaze, the new Wonderbolt Captain, presumably the youngest Captain since Spitfire herself.
Flicking to the article, Raindrop settled in to read, resting her head on her hooves.
She had barely made it past the first few paragraphs when the door leading from the room opened, and Princess Celestia poked her nose in, raising a brow. "Raindrop?"
Raindrop nodded, closing the magazine and tossing it back onto the table. She had read the article in question a few months ago, when it first came out. "I wanted to talk to you."
"Indeed. This way," Celestia said, turning and walking down the hall towards the east wing of the castle. "I assume you intend to go after the Elements yourself?"
The pegasus nodded grimly. "I'll find the bearers. I don't care what it takes."
"I admire your passion," the princess said simply, as she lead the pegasus up a long staircase and to a long, decorated hallway with stained glass windows lining it. "This...is the Hall of Harmony. The artwork here shows the history of the Elements as we know them."
Raindrop looked at the windows; they showed various scenes. First was Discord, whom she knew from her history lessons, with a puppeteer device controlled a pegasus, unicorn, and earth pony each, to represent his miserable rule.
Next was the two Princesses, Celestia and Luna, fighting, or perhaps sealing, Discord away.
Next was Nightmare Moon, and the six young ponies who took up the Elements of Harmony to defeat her, and return her to normal.
And then was a sombre stained glass window, showing five of the original ponies around a casket, interring the Elements of Harmony to the gravesite as a sign of respect for the deceased.
Celestia waved a hoof at the windows. "We, that is to say, Luna and I, no longer maintain control over the Elements of Harmony. We discovered them in a time of great unhappiness, when Discord ruled the land. We did not create them, we merely used them. And even since Nightmare Moon, the ability to control the Elements has been lost to my sister and I.
"As you can see from this window. When Rarity passed away, the other five bearers of the Elements of Harmony placed them at the site of her memorial. They were no longer needed to maintain the order of Equestria. Discord is a back to being a stone, and without the Element of Generosity...the other Elements have no worth," Celestia shook her head, giving a faint sigh. "I...don't even know if you can unite the Elements without a period of strife. There would be no harm in trying...but I fear I am sending you on a fools errand."
Raindrop looked from the stained glass window, to the Princess. Celestia's eyes were a little bit misty, like she was about to cry.
"A-are you okay, princess?" the pegasus asked uncertainly, staring at her for a long moment.
Celestia took a long, deep breath, and then nodded. "Indeed I am, Raindrop. I just...All this talk of the past is bringing up memories...my former students...friends..."
Raindrop gave a slight nod at that, shifting uncertainly. "You knew the bearers of the Elements?"
"Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie. I remember them all fondly. Especially Twilight. But...they're all gone," she said with a sad shake of her head. "Victims of time."
The pegasus shifted uncomfortably, not quite sure what to say. There was obviously a deep sadness to the Princess, a sadness that she tried her hardest to not let become visible. "You don't have to show me where the Elements are...or go get them yourself. Just tell me where to go, and I'll go retrieve them."
Celestia gave a hesitant nod, looking down at her hooves for a moment, and then back up at the pegasus. Her horn began to glow, and a piece of paper and quill levitated down the hall to a stop in front of them, a quick map beginning to be drawn.
"The place you're looking for is an overlook in the western mountains ranges, at the border of Equestria. It's a pretty unassuming place...Let me send a guard with you in my stead, to ensure you can find the place," Celestia said quite firmly, her horn glowing for a moment. After a long pause, a pegasus guard pushed his way into the room, standing straight and proud in front of them.
"This is Sentinel. He was there when they laid Rarity to rest. He knows where it is," Celestia said, turning away from them, beginning to walk away. "Come find me when you have them...And we'll discuss the next steps."
"Thank you, princess Celestia," Raindrop said, before turning to the guard.
Sentinel bowed in greeting. "When will you be ready?"
The pegasus cast her gaze left and then right, before shrugging. "Now's good."
"Indeed. Let us go then," Sentinel stated, turning about and heading off in the same direction the Princess had gone.
Raindrop fell into step besides the guard, but didn't say anything. His attitude didn't exactly lend itself towards ease of conversation.
As they passed down the hallway, Raindrop saw the Princess standing in front of a large picture, faded with age, showing a picture of the six ponies that Raindrop knew were the previous bearers of the Elements of Harmony. The picture showed them all smiling and laughing, wearing the elements, standing with the two princesses. Various other pictures lined the walls, showing assorted groups of ponies with the princesses, some of them yellow with age.
But the thing that Raindrop noticed most was how Celestia stood. She had one hoof lifted, resting against the photo frame, and her nose almost touching it, her head inclined forwards, staring at the picture with a look of heart-breakingly deep sadness, a single, silent tear tracing its way down her cheek.
Raindrop wanted to stop, to offer comfort to the Princess.
"Leave her be," Sentinel stated flatly, his tone leaving no room for question, and Raindrop nodded meekly, continuing to walk.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Raindrop thought to herself.
This was the first step. But she hoped this journey wouldn't be that long.
The two pegasus flew in silence.
Clouds passed by beneath them, and Raindrop amused herself trying to find patterns in their swirls as the she coasted along quietly behind sentinel.
Whatever small talk Raindrop had tried to initiate had been answered simply and curtly; usually in a single word response. Yes. No. Later. Maybe. Tomorrow.
Raindrop couldn't shake the feeling that for some reason, Sentinel disliked her. She got the feeling he disliked her a lot.
And so they flew in silence, heading west, towards the mountain ranges marking Equestria's western border. Beyond the mountain range lay a long, flat savannah, but from what information Raindrop had gleaned from Celestia, their destination was the mountains, not the savannah.
Sentinel was flying in front of her, high and to the right. He wasn't even panting, not winded at all from the stress of flying, even though he was dressed in full armour. Raindrop didn't have any problem keeping up with him. Flying was her job; and she was, like so many pegasus before her, training for the Wonderbolt's. The same way an earth pony trained to be a master gardener, really. She intended to try out for the Wonderbolt's at some point, but between her Storm Chaser duties and a good ability to procrastinate, she'd never really trained to a point where she felt she'd be good enough to join their ranks. And after she met Shine, a silly pipe-dream like 'joining the Wonderbolt's' hadn't seemed so important any more.
Raindrop still kept up with the training regime that the Wonderbolt's posted on billboards. The wing stretches, the circles, and the speed runs. She didn't really have any illusions about joining them any more...but it was fun to dream. She was too lazy for the Wonderbolt's anyhow.
And so the time passed in silence, with Raindrop having given up on brokering a conversation with the surly guard.
~ ~ ~
The air was still. A strong warmth radiated from the ground, reflecting up from the rock and the dirt to distort the air.
As they descended from above the clouds, the air went from cool, to hot. It was so warm down here that the air seemed to barely work as air to Raindrop's lungs. She felt it filling her body, but somehow it didn't seem to be doing anything.
Sentinel didn't seem to have any problem with the heat, and landed heavily on a length of upthrust rock looking out over the edge of the savannah, striding towards a cracked rock with purpose.
It was a quiet, unearthly place, and the flowers and framed picture leaning up against the cracked rock looked very out of place.
Sentinel paused by the broken rock, and then sat down, awaiting Raindrop to do what she came to do.
Raindrop landed as well, and then tentatively stepped over to the cracked rock.
It seemed that, once upon a time, it had been a standing finger of stone, resting at the edge of the upthrust rock, overlooking the savannah. But at some point, it had been cracked down the centre by some external force, leaving it cracked in half, with both halves resting, facing away from each other, like an egg cracked down the middle.
Inside the rock, there was a series of depressions, angular and deep. It seemed as though gemstones had once rested inside the rock, but had long since been removed. In their place, rested a jewellery set. Five golden necklaces, and a crown.
Wreathes of flowers, some of them old, some of them fresh, rested at the foot of the split rock. Gifts of remembrance. A framed picture leaned against the rock, showing a beautiful unicorn with a curled blue mane smiling for the camera. Rarity. There was no sign of the actual gravesite where Rarity was buried, but it couldn't have been far; likely closer to the foot of the rock upthrust, since there was no dirt around to inter a body to.
Raindrop shifted uncomfortably for a moment, looking down at the picture, and then up at the Elements of Harmony. She felt...strange. Like she was stealing from the dead. These had been left here as a sign of respect, a sign of the friendship the six bearers of the Elements of Harmony had. And here she was, about to disturb the final resting place of somepony for her own gain.
The pegasus almost considered turning around and heading home...but she had come here for the Elements, and she couldn't leave without them. Taking a deep breath, she leaned over, and scooped up the Elements, three from either half of the split stone, and then deposited them in her carry pack. She paused then, to lean in and self-consciously whisper 'thank you' to the picture of Rarity, aware of Sentinel watching her. "I'll bring these back to you. Promise."
With that done, Raindrop turned around, and then spread her wings, giving Sentinel a glance. The royal guard shrugged a moment, and turned as well, leaping into the air before she could, leaving the female pegasus to follow.
Raindrop took a running leap and didn't look back as she began the journey back to Canterlot.
~ ~ ~
There was no fanfare to announce the arrival of the Elements of Harmony to Canterlot.
It was evening, and it was only the lights of the castle and the surrounding houses that allowed the two pegasus to find their way back to the castle.
Forgoing the front entrance completely, Sentinel led Raindrop to the guard entrance, a tower set on the east side of the castle. They entered through one of the upper arches with a clatter. Immediately, Sentinel began to descend the long spiral staircase. Uncertain where to go from there, Raindrop followed after him.
Sentinel took a right turn at the bottom of the staircase, and Raindrop went to follow him, but he paused and stared back at her, before raising a hoof towards the left, and then stating flatly, "That way."
The pegasus stared at him for a long moment, and then blurted; "Why do you hate me?"
The guard raised a brow back at her for a long moment, before snorting once and turning away, beginning to walk away without a word.
"Well...you're a surly bastard!" Raindrop called after him, huffing a moment, before shaking her head and then turning the way he had indicated. Pushing open a door, she found herself in the entrance hall. From there, she could remember the way to the Hall of Harmony, and immediately began to long walk.
~ ~ ~
Celestia looked back over her shoulder as she heard the pegasus returning, turning to face her. The princess was in her waiting room, looking at the pictures of her old friends and ponies she had considered family. That was all she really had apart from ruling; memories of ponies who were no longer part of the world.
"Did you find them alright?" Celestia asked of the young pegasus.
Raindrop nodded, moving over to the table in the centre of the room, and delicately pushing aside a photo frame so she could begin gently placing down the Elements of Harmony on the table.
First the five necklaces, and then the crown. The pegasus gave a smile over the glittering jewels to the princess. "Now we just need to find the bearers, right?"
Celestia frowned slightly, stepping over to the table and lifting a hoof to drag the necklace with the lightning-bolt motif towards her, appraising it.
Raindrop raised a brow for a moment, unsure. "Did I do something wrong?"
The princess raised a brow, and then shook her head. "No. You haven't done anything wrong, Raindrop. But I fear your trip was for nothing."
Celestia held up the necklace representing 'Loyalty', and then brought it down, hard on the table, causing it to shatter, sending pieces of gemstone to go scattering across the table and dropping onto the floor, bouncing away into the corners of the room.
Raindrop stared at her, mouth gaping slightly. "But...I...what?!"
The princess looked down at the broken gemstone, grimacing. "Your trip was a waste of time. These aren't the Elements of Harmony. These are fakes."
"Fake?" Raindrop asked blankly, staring at the princess.
"Indeed," Celestia responded, frowning and staring down at the five remaining fake Elements of Harmony, tossing aside the broken sixth in her hoof. "But the question is who took them..."
The young pegasus stared up at her for a long moment, her ears splaying backwards. She was unable to keep a note of whining out of her tone as she said, "But...I need the elements."
The princess nodded once in response, beginning to pace back and forth. "Indeed...but there are bigger issues here now. I knew it was a mistake to leave the Elements so far from my influence..."
Trailing off, Celestia turned, and her horn began to glow. A pair of guards arrived momentarily, saluting her.
"Damascus, go into the garden, and check to see if Discord is still there." She turned to the next guard. "Steelhooves, I want you to take the looking glass and fly above Equestria. Look for Wendigo's."
The two guards nodded, saluted, and then left to go about their designated tasks.
Raindrop stared up at the princess. "You think it was Discord?"
"I'm not ruling out any possiblities," Celestia stated, picking up the fake Element representing generosity and staring at it for a long moment, before whispering, "The Diamond Dogs..."
"Diamond dogs? But you said it was Discord," the pegasus said, quickly losing grasp on what Celestia was thinking. She had heard of Discord before; he was the lord of Chaos, a malevolent entity who cared for no one but himself.
"No...but the Diamond Dogs are the only race I know with access to gemstones of this quality. These gems could almost fool a dragon..." she trailed off then, as though coming up with a sudden idea. She turned to the pegasus. "There were flowers at the grave site, correct?"
"Uhm...a few?" Raindrop answered uncertainly.
"Fresh?"
"One of the wreaths looked a few days old..."
The princess gave a thin smile. "Indeed...Are you still willing to chase the Elements of Harmony, young pegasus?"
Raindrop paused a moment, weighing her options. After a few seconds, she realised she could either go after the Elements, or spend the rest of her life alone. She nodded.
"Good. I'm sending you back out to the grave site. There's a dragon you have to meet."
The young pegasus blinked once, her eyes widening. She squeaked slightly as she asked, "...A-a dragon?"
"Indeed. A dragon. He goes by the name of Spike. He and Rarity were quite close. I believe it was he who left the flowers at her grave. Sweetie Belle hasn't been in Ponyville for two months at least, so it had to be him..." she said, as though to herself, before shaking her head to clear it, before adding, "Wait at the grave site for Spike. He'll show up to leave flowers sooner or later. I'm sending Sentinel with you."
Raindrop winced. "I think I'd prefer to go alone...and he would prefer it as well. I get the feeling he really doesn't like me."
"I have my reasons to send Sentinel with you, and he had his reasons to dislike you. That is between you, and he. You are finding the Elements of Harmony. A childish dislike of eachother is just something you'll have to learn how to deal with," she stated rather flatly, leaving no room for argument.
The pegasus sighed and nodded. "Yes, Princess celestia."
"Wait for spike. And once you find him, ask him if he noticed any change in the Elements. Anything strange about them; or other visitors to the grave site. Anything that could give us a lead to who took the elements, or when."
Raindrop nodded in understanding. The princess lifted her horn, and it glowed faintly for a moment. A minute or so later, Sentinel arrived.
"Sentinel. Pack things for a trip. Maybe a week or more. The Elements have been stolen. I think we'll need your...." she cleared her throat for a moment, "Special talents."
Sentinel nodded, saluting.
"You want to find Spike. It's a slim chance that he noticed the Elements were switched. But being a dragon..." she trailed off, shaking her head once. "We need to follow up all loose ends."
"Yes, your majesty," Sentinel responded, nodding once.
"You'll be going with Raindrop. I trust that won't be a problem?" Celestia enquired.
The pegasus guard paused a moment, to look sideways at Raindrop, scowling a moment. "I shall endure."
"Be nice, Sentinel. It's not her fault," Celestia cautioned, her eyes narrowing.
"Indeed, your majesty. I shall try my hardest to be cordial," Sentinel responded, bowing.
Celestia shook her head. "Shoo, you two. I need to speak to Luna about this."
Raindrop frowned a little bit, and then shook her head to clear it, turning to Sentinel. "I'll need to get things from my home if we're going for any extended amount of time."
Sentinel nodded once. "I shall accompany you."
The young pegasus frowned a little bit at that, before turning and nudging open the door, walking out it. A guard passed her, the one named Damascus. Raindrop heard him say to Celestia; "Upon closer inspection, the statue is a fake. It's hollow."
Raindrop looked left at Sentinel, raising a brow, wondering what he thought of this information.
The male pegasus looked worried, his ears splaying backwards, frowning. He looked at Raindrop, snorted, and then faced the front again.
Raindrop scowled back at him, but he was already facing the front again silent. Shaking her head, she bounded down the stairs to the front doors of the castle, and launched herself out of them, wings splaying wide to catch the air. Immediately, she began to head down to Ponyville, to the home she and Shine shared.
Night was falling, and the street lamps were already lit. Shine's home, however, was dark. He wasn't there.
Raindrop frowned as she backwinged to a neat landing at the front door. She wasn't quite sure if she wanted to see Shine right now. She kind of wanted to tell him that she was working to get herself 'fixed', but his attitude towards her...she wasn't sure if she could handle speaking to the stallion right then.
The young pegasus pushed open the front door with her nose, and then began to gather her things up for a long stay at the gravesite.
By the time Sentinel landed, Raindrop was already closing the front door and brushing roughly past him, taking several bounding steps and taking to the air again. The guard just shook his head and then followed after her.
~ ~ ~
Night flying had always been a favorite thing for Raindrop. The skies were always clear, for the most part, so she could just focus on the shadowed ground as she flew over top of it. The occasional yellow glow of a window denoted a house that still had occupants awake. Moonlight glimmered off the winding body of a river, and dark clouds edged in moonlight scudded along beneath her.
Once again, it was a quiet trip, with Sentinel not saying a word to her. But this time, Raindrop knew the way to the spot, and so didn't need his guidance. Therefore, she took the lead, not wanting to have to even look at the guard. In the back of her mind, she wondered why she had earned his ire, but the other, more brash part of her mind just didn't care. If he wanted to treat her with dislike, she could dislike him in return. It wasn't like she had to be friends with the surly bastard.
~ ~ ~
It was near midnight when the two ponies arrived at the gravesite. The air was cold, and their exhalations misted in the air.
Raindrop looked back at the guard for a moment, and then snorted and unslung her bags from her back, placing them on the ground, grabbing a blanket out of one of them and settling herself down on one side of the upthrust rock, huddling in under the blanket to keep warm as her body began to cool.
Sentinel didn't say a word, merely removing his armour and placing it in a neat little pile, stretching and arching slightly for a long moment, and then crawling in under a blanket he himself brought. Raindrop noticed that he was a well-built pegasus. He obviously worked out, a lot. A big, dumb, surly pegasus. His cutie mark was a strange green glow, and she couldn't quite work that out. But maybe she didn't see the entire thing in the gloom.
Huffing faintly, she laid her head down to sleep.
Raindrop sighed and stretched unhappily, grimacing a little bit and then placing down the next card in the sequence, finishing her game of Solitaire. That was at least twenty games she had beaten now; she had lost count after seven or so.
Boring.
There was nothing out here. Just an old, empty gravesite, and a high-strung, surly pegasus guard.
Even now, Sentinel was working out. He was running in place, and then doing wing push-ups. And then he was doing an inverted front-hoof lift. He went through a series of training motions again, and again, and again.
If it wasn't for the utter contempt Sentinel showed towards her, Raindrop would have been certain that he was trying to impress her.
"Will you stop that?" she asked with a sigh, as she began to re-lay the cards, peering at the royal guard and shaking her head.
"I will not," Sentinel stated in response, glaring at her for a long moment and then beginning to work out with increased fervour.
"You're making me tired just looking at you," Raindrop said with a shake of her head. "Get a deck of cards or something!"
Sentinel snorted at her, and then began to do vigorous wing push-ups, keeping his fore-hooves folded in front of him, glaring at her.
Raindrop rolled her eyes and shook her head again, pursing her lips and returning to focusing on her card game.
"I hate you," Sentinel said after a few minutes of silence.
The young pegasus lifted her gaze from her cards to give him a long, patronising stare, before stating calmly, "...Yeah, I kinda got that."
Sentinel scowled, returning to a resting state, and narrowing his eyes at her. A long silence stretched between them.
"Aren't you going to ask me why?" Sentinel blurted after a moment.
Raindrop glanced at him coolly, flipping over another card. "Not when it's obviously eating you up inside so much, no."
"You're a changeling!" Sentinel accused with a scowl, his eyes narrowing.
The young pegasus blinked at that, her ears splaying backwards. She gave voice to a stunned protest, "...I am not."
"Yes you are," Sentinel spat, lifting a hoof to point at her accusingly. "I don't know why Celestia wants to help a changeling find the Elements of Harmony, but I know what you are. I can sense it."
"I'm not a changling!" Raindrop protested, rising to her hooves, bristling with anger, her eyes narrowing.
"I was raised from birth to find your kind. You think I can't tell?!" Sentinel demanded, rising to his hooves as well, head lowering aggressively.
"I'm not a changling!" Raindrop repeated, her tone hurt. "I can't help what my grandmother was! It's not my fault, and I'm not a changeling!"
"You admit it!" Sentinel cried, triumphant.
Raindrop recoiled slightly, shaking her head, her ears splaying backwards fully. "I-I'm not a changeling...I'm not..."
Sentinel advanced on her, striking her chest with his hoof. "You're a changeling. I can sense it. Stop. Lying."
The young cloud chaser pegasus recoiled from his hoof poking her chest, turning her head away, biting back the tears threatening to well up.
"I'm not a changeling!" she cried defiantly, and lifted a hoof to strike the guard across the face.
Sentinel wasn't ready for the attack, and bore the full brunt of her blow across his unprotected brow and cheek. Her hoof hit with surprising force, stunning the royal guard with the sudden impact, sending him reeling sideways unsteadily, seeing stars.
By the time he recovered, Raindrop was already a speck in the sky, quickly lost among the heat haze rising from the savannah.
Raindrop ground her hooves into the rock beneath her, scowling deeply at the swaying grass in front of her. She was angry. She didn't cry. That wasn't her. Instead of crying, she got mad.
Her teeth were gritted, and she was trying her very best to squeeze the boulder beneath her until it cracked and shattered. Of course, she wasn't nearly strong enough for that. But it was satisfying to imagine that her anger could make her that strong.
More accurately, she wanted to grind Sentinel's face under her hooves. Squeeze his armour together and crush him inside it.
Raindrop heard the heavy sound of something landing behind her, but she refused to turn around. If she caught sight of Sentinel again, she was going to hit him. She was going to hit him until the yelping stopped or he knocked her out. One or the other.
"I know you're a changeling," Sentinel said quietly. "I was trained from birth. Celestia used the Elements of Harmony to make our entire generation of guards immune to your magics. And we can sense you. We are the first line of defense against your kind. And if I wasn't told to help you by Celestia herself, then I would have you in the Canterlot dungeon already."
Raindrop scowled, remaining facing forwards, refusing to answer, or even acknowledge the guard.
"Your kind injured my mother when she was a filly. And she died giving birth to me. My father abandoned me to the royal guard because of that. Your kind ruined whatever life I could have had. There will be no friendship between us. I will not be cordial with a demon and pretend like you're some normal pony!" he exclaimed, his tone harsh.
"I have one thing to tell you..." Raindrop murmured, her tone quiet, level. But there something in her tone that made Sentinel recoil a little bit. There was something in her tone that spoke of danger.
The young cloud chaser pegasus turned around to face him, launching herself at him. She screamed at him as she beat him across the face with her hooves, slamming her hooves into his form again and again, punctuating each word with a fresh blow. "I! - Smack! - Am! - Smack! - Not! - Smack! - A! - Smack! - changling!"
On the final word, Raindrop spun and kicked him hard with both of her hindhooves, smacking them into his chin and jaw as hard as he could, sending the guard reeling backwards.
She rounded on him again, incensed, her chest heaving with her anger. Her eyes, normally a rather pretty light pink colour, seemed to glow with her anger, a shadow of green visible in their depths.
Sentinel bore her fury calmly. He was dressed in his full armour, and it deadened most of her blows, though she still caused damage with her vehemence. He merely stood there, watching her, blood slowly dropping from his nose.
"Defend yourself!" she screamed, raising a hoof to strike him again.
The royal guard just smiled smugly at her, and then gave a patronising thoughtful expression, before turning his head and spitting out a glob of blood into the dirt at her hooves in a completely contemptuous way, shaking his head. "I will not."
Raindrop's eyes narrowed, and she snarled, striking him across the cheek again as hard as she could, stumbling the royal guard, who just bore the blow, recovered his balance, and then stood tall again.
"Defend yourself!" she screeched again.
"I will not," Sentinel stated, again with that smug smile.
Raindrop scowled, braying at him, incensed. She was so angry. She wanted to just wipe that smug smirk right off his muzzle. But her hooves were already hurting from the blows against his armour.
Instead, she turned away, staring out across the savannah, growling in her throat. Quietly, she stated; "I'm done."
Sentinel just smiled, tilting his head slightly to the side, spitting out another small amount of his blood. His tone was utterly subservient as he said, "Very well, ma'am. If that is your wish."
Raindrop grit her teeth, but didn't say anything in response. She didn't say a single word, waiting impatiently, standing stock-still. After several long moments, she heard Sentinel turn, and then take to the air. Moving back towards the rock.
The young storm chaser stared out over the savannah, filled with rage. She wasn't going to do anything with the royal guard. She was on her own. Celestia be damned. Sentinel be damned. She would find the elements herself.