"Won't that make her sweet talk us into joining them?" Intrude asked, confused. "Will we get the full story?"
"The only ones who know the full story are Celestia and Luna," assured Quickstar. "Twilight couldn't sweet talk us if she tried. She knows the truth will be the only thing that convinces me at least, and she knows she can't provide that truth herself. Only the princesses can."
"Oh." responded Intrude. She didn't like asking stupid questions, but she had to. "So.. What if Twilight doesn't know?"
(Noo!!! Jhera!!!) Intrude looked up as the pony approached. As he seemed to be addressing Quickstar, she was quiet.
"That's the point. Twilight won't know. But she's got Spike, and Spike is a direct line to the princesses. She told me the other day that Spike can send letters to the princesses, and it's through him that we'll get our answers. But we won't get Spike's cooperation without Twilight's approval, and therein lies our task." It's rather interesting actually...I've seen several top students with dragons at the school, but none of them seem to have the same relationship that Twilight and Spike have... "Hey Intrude? Do you think when we're done here, we could ask Twilight if March could stay with her? I'm sure her workroom is much more heavily shielded than mine, and she's certainly done pretty well taking care of Spike. I'm sure it would be better than leaving him wi-" Just then, Quickstar heard someone shouting to him from behind, and spotted one of the ponies from before rushing over and asking about the Elements of the Ancients. "Honestly, I'm not sure what they are, but if all goes well here, then we should finally get some answers. If you want to come with us, that's fine, but just follow my lead. I'll explain everything later." He banged on the door again. "Where are they?" (Sorry Jhera, I'd been confused. Dark was the one who asked to leave early, not Quickstar)
Intrude frowned a little. "Yeah.. I guess that would be-" she began to say. The door opened, and Twilight stood there. "Oh, hello." she said. "Didn't expect to see you all again so soon."
"Hey Twilight, it's Quickstar. Can we come inside? I've got some information about what's going on right now, and I need to ask a couple of favors. Given Ponyville's reputation, I'm sure you hear this a lot, but the fate of all of Equestria could ride on this."
Kleft stood behind them, readying himself for anything that might be found. He followed them in, but was the last to enter. At the door, he hesitated and glanced around at the hell spawning around them. Considering how this pony praises the unicorn, she must be enough to keep up a simple tree from fire, right? He thought as he entered.
"Okay, Twilight," began Quickstar. "I'm sure you noticed the explosions outside and the ultimatum heard earlier, so I'll skip right to the important parts. Right after that ultimatum, myself and some other ponies were transported in front of this 'Tremalion', and...well, it turns out I'm one of the Elements of the Ancients he mentioned. BUT! That doesn't mean I'm on his side. The Elements of the Ancients don't compel us to serve him, no more than the Elements of Harmony compel you to serve Celestia. Honestly, I intensely distrust him based on the things he's said and done, but I can't be sure which way to go without knowing the full story of what happened between Celestia and Tremalion. I've heard Tremalion's side of things, but you of all ponies should understand the importance of checking sources, and what kind of Element of Knowledge would I be if I didn't make absolutely sure about something this important?" "Unfortunately, neither Tremalion nor Celestia will do. One of them will almost certainly be lying, and the other will be heavily biased. I need a source that's more objective and reliable, and you're the only one who can hope to get a message to Canterlot right now." Quickstar took a deep breath. "Would Spike be able to send a letter from me to Princess Luna, asking her for the full story?"
(I'll take control of Spike and Twilight for this) Twilight looked to Spike, "I don't know, can you Spike? I don't think we've ever sent letters to Princess Luna before..." "Oh come on Twilight, you know I can! I can send her a letter no problem!" Spike said confidently to Twilight before turning to Quickstar, somehow producing quill and paper from behind his back, "Now, what do you want to ask Luna?"
Dear Princess Luna, I doubt you have heard of me, but my name is Quickstar, and it seems I have suddenly become a rather prominent part of the current situation involving your banished brothers, as they seem to have selected me as one of their Elements of the Ancients. I know I must have a part to play in what is to come, but I cannot do so in good conscience without knowing about what happened 1,100 years ago between Tremalion and Celestia, as well as learning exactly what the Elements of the Ancients are. You are the best hope I have of answering my questions about this situation. Please, I am not asking you to betray your sister, nor am I asking you to take any sort of action or aid us in any way. All I ask for is the truth, to hear the full story from beginning to end, untainted by deception or bias. Sincerely, The Element of Knowledge, Quickstar
Spike nodded as he wrote it down onto the parchment, "Aaaand, got it!" he exclaimed before taking in a deep breath and blowing flame unto it, turning into magical dust flying towards Canterlot, where it found Luna watching Ponyville through a telescope on top of a palace tower. To the senders, there was a long wait as they waited for a reply, if any, to come back to them. Eventually, one did come back, and the parchment it was on was significantly longer than the one they sent, and inside was the neat writing of Luna. Dear Champion of Knowledge Quickstar, I must thank you for wanting to get the whole story before making your choices, and although I love my sister very much and I support her through all that's happened, I understand the need for an untainted history. It began over 1,100 years ago with the formation of Equestria by the three tribes, we were alive as part of the unicorns to witness, as with the case of Celestia, help set up the new government. I knew from the very beginning her plans, that the democracy was simply a hold over and was purposely designed not to last more than 50 years, just last until she felt confident enough to take complete control. She was a wondrous orator like she still is, and had plenty of leverage in the political affairs of all the tribes. Before we became alicorns, our names were Snow Celestial, Selena(Me), Tremalion and Heculius, and our father was Trecarius Mark, and the four of us held almost complete control over the unicorns, with the royal family of the unicorns acting as a mere figurehead. But over time, this immense power between us divided us, Tremalion and Heculius claiming the populace should be intrusted with the power so nopony could become too powerful, and Celestia and I claiming the opposite, that one or two strong, intelligent rulers would be best. Now, Celestia knew that strong, intelligent rulers would be hard to come by, so through long exprimentation, she found out how to turn herself into an immortal combination of all the races of ponykind. She used this spell to her advantage, winning enough support for herself to be confident enough to crown herself princess and ruler of the land. Now, this didn't sit too well with Tremalion, so he convinced Heculius to join him and rise against Celestia to restore the inherently doomed to fail democracy (But they didn't know that). The two found her notes on alicorn-raising and cast it upon themselves to be able to counter Celestia, then Celestia in turn rose me to counter them. I made a mistake the very moment I agreed to be raised, as soon, the ponies of Equestria were once again dividing up to fight each other. The following Civil War wrought so much death and destruction that we still regret not trying to find a compromise sooner. From this Civil War, the two sets of Elements were created, one by Celestia and I using regular magic to boost our own power, and the second by Tremalion and Heculius using their essence magic to boost the abilities of the best in their forces. That was their fatal mistake. After almost 10 years of constant warfare, we finally managed to kill one of the Champions that we had come to fear, and soon, the Champions began to fall one by one, and after nearly 15 years, we had sufficently weakened Tremalion and Heculius to banish them from Equestria. We figured that the Elements of Harmony would keep them out forever, but since my sister and I aren't attached to them, the barrier keeping them out of Equestria has fallen, and now they wish to continue a war that they see had never ended, or at least Tremalion does. Heculius has never been exactly...easy to understand... But the entire basis of this war is that it is a giant family feud that treats Equestria as its battleground. Unless comprimise is found, this will keep on happening until the end of time. Sincerely, Luna
Dreamer fell from the cieling of the tree, similar to how he had before, landing on his feet next to Quickstar. "Whoa. Is that story for real?"
Quickstar was so deep in thought that he hardly noticed Dreamer's entrance. He was oblivious to everything about him as he considered the ramifications of the letter. Eventually, Quickstar looked up, resolve clearly reflected in his eyes. "I've made my decision on what role to play in this conflict. I choose to side with peace, to strive to stop this conflict before it can ignite into full warfare again, and the only way to do that is to get the princesses to sit down with Tremalion and Heculius, and come to some sort of peaceful resolution. From what I saw, Tremalion seems to be desperately clinging to the image of the Celestia he remembers all those years ago, and while her actions before may have been wrong, time and time again, Celestia has since proven to be a caring and compassionate leader. If we can simply get them to begin considering peaceful alternatives, to meet and talk and set aside their past conflicts, I am sure we can stop the bloodshed before it starts." "Twilight, I have two more favors to ask of you. The first favor I ask is to help me do this. You are one of the closest ponies to Celestia, and from the sound of that letter, it seems as though Luna is as eager to prevent another war as I am. Together, I know you and she can convince your mentor to sit with Tremalion and find a compromise." "The second favor I ask..." He glanced over at Intrude for a moment, who nodded for Quickstar to continue. "The second favor WE ask is of a more personal nature. I intend to do the same for Tremalion that you would do for Celestia, but Intrude's younger brother March needs a safe place to stay and someone to keep an eye on him. Would you please keep him safe while we are gone?"
(This RP is now on hold until a replacement for Rera is found, but to avoid suspense, Twilight says yes to both questions)
(A'ight, I'm here...) (Yclept was invisable the whole time, watching over a group of ponies, thinking of when to come out & introduce himself too) Yclept is watching the group, out of sight, invisible, the rain passing through him as he watches...
"I agree.. It seems like a big case of sibling rivalry. We can figure this out." she said. Intrude inwardly sighed. She hated to ask for help, especially about her brother..
"I think it may be easier to just use the elements against Tremalion to weaken him. If the removal of the elements was what ruined Celestia, odds are they can do something against him, if we all get together and DECIMATE his face with our epic magic stuff. We can be all "Elements of the Ancients awaken!" and be epic and... wow even i think that sounds stupid. Its probably the best possibility to look for a truce. Or maybe not, maybe the democracy, with our more advanced view of society and each other, could work towards the benefit of everypony. Or maybe we could just blow all the alicorns up." Dreamer starts to wander around making explosion sounds before falling on his back laughing. He stands up and brushes himself off. "Uh... yea. Sorry about that."
