The complete prophecy

Ruki did not know what time it was. In fact, she could not even recall what time it was when they had brought her to this dark cell. How long had she been here? Had a day passed? Two? Or maybe just a few hours? All Ruki knew was that she was very thirsty. She couldn’t care less about food, but she felt as if she’d been walking in a desert for days.

Not once had she been visited. She had been sure, after her last meeting with Shanjahen, that he would do anything to get the truth about Takato out of her. Surely he wanted to know what his disloyal son was up to, and thanks to her mistake he knew she knew where he was. But no one had come; no inquisitor, no torturer, no Shanjahen. No one, nothing at all, only the darkness to keep her company.

Ruki startled when the door of her cell opened. Two soldiers entered, carrying ropes. Without saying a word, they tied them around her neck and one around each leg. “Follow us.” they ordered, and Ruki knew very well she had no power to object. They pulled on the ropes and Ruki followed them out of the room blindly, unable to see due to the bright light of the torches. She followed them up the stairs, out of the cellar and finally into the palace.

Through the windows, she could see it was still dark outside. Whether it was late in the evening or early in the morning, however, Ruki could not tell. Se followed the guards through a corridor she did not recall from her last visit to the castle. They led her to a rather small door, and Ruki noticed they opened it a silently as they possibly could. It was obvious the guards were ordered to keep silent and hidden. Whatever they were doing now should remain a secret, something that made Ruki rather nervous.

They entered the large garden, and Ruki realized she had never been in this part before. In the starlight she could see the outline of the castle behind them. In front of her was a large field of grass, as far as she could tell, and Ruki could see some outlines of bushes and trees. It was obvious that this part was not meant to be seen by the general public, as it was not nearly as richly decorated as the part in the front. Not that it was not well taken care off, but it was meant as a private garden.

Following the guards, she noticed they led her to a small shed at the end of the garden. There was nothing interesting about it. It was probably used to store decorative items in they were not using right now, because of course no one in the west needed gardening tools if they could handle prana. The door of the shed was open, but there was no light inside so Ruki could not see anything. As far as she could tell, there was nothing interesting about it, but she was sure she would soon be proven wrong about that.

The guards stopped a little away from the shed, so Ruki was forced to halt too. Nothing happened for a few moments, until Ruki saw light coming from the castle. It was another group of guards, of which one was holding a torch. Behind them, she saw a pony being forced to catch up, and Ruki recognized the figure by the horn on her head that reflected the light of the torch. It was the unicorn she had met earlier, the one that had told her what Shanjahen was up to, and who had forced her to free her friends first.

When they got closer, they made the unicorn stand beside Ruki. Ruki noticed the pony was no longer bleeding, but she looked very thin and worn out.
“Hey.” Ruki whispered. The unicorn looked up, and after a few moments she seemed to recognize Ruki.
“Heh. So it didn’t work out… uh.” The unicorn said, disappointment all over her face and in her voice.
“Oh, it did. Don’t worry. I just, afterwards… was not very smart.”

“Ah.” The unicorn said.
Ruki did not say anything else. She didn’t know what to say anyway, and she was sure the guards would get angry if they would be too loud. Once again, nothing happened, but the guards did not relax. They kept standing in a formal position, always keeping an eye on Ruki and the unicorn, as if at any time someone might come out to inspect them. Ruki figured she was not too far off.

Suddenly a light flashed on in the shed. Ruki was once again temporarily blinded by the light, but as soon as her eyes adjusted she managed to look into the shed. The floor seemed to get lifted by invisible forces, and was then shoved aside, revealing a hole on the ground out of which a red light beamed. A second later, a pony emerged from the hole, and Ruki instantly recognized High King Shanjahen.

He was carrying something… something that shone brightly with a red light, illuminating half the garden with an ominous red color.
“The stone…” The unicorn gasped next to her, and Ruki realized this stone, whatever it was, was immensely powerful and the exact reason the unicorn and her friends were here. So, they had found what they came for… but obtaining it would be a different matter entirely.

Shanjahen left the shed and stepped out into the open, making all his guards bow instantly. Shanjahen observed the situation and apparently he was satisfied with what he saw, for Ruki saw a grin appear on his face. He turned his head and stared at the unicorn and her, and his grin intensified.
“So… it is time.” He almost growled, ever holding his precious stone tight.

Ruki glanced at the unicorn, and she saw rage in the girl’s eyes.
“You… what are you planning to do with that stone?” She whispered to the High King, no trace of respect left. “Well, I take that the answer to that question is your dying wish, little female unicorn.” Shanjahen said, and the guards pulled the ropes around the unicorn’s neck even tighter, leaving her unable to talk.
“I guess I better grant it then.” Shanjahen glanced at his stone, once again smiling.
“Bring out the artifacts!” He roared to one of the guards, who quickle ran into the shed.

“As you probably already know, little unicorn, this stone is not just any stone… but a stone from legends. I am surprised to hear that you, of all ponies, would not know the prophecy.” Shanjahen went silent for a moment, and when he continued talking his voice had changed; it was almost as if he was chanting.

When the shadow is defeated and the stars are falling, one will rise.

For the gathering of wings, bind your wishes to this world in the color of blood.

Offer it, the seven silver pieces that represent the seven senses of the world and keep its spirits tame.

Slay it, the prana-weilder who was not meant to be.

Weave it, the cloak of shadows and the hood of darkness.

In the world where everything is lost, go find the winter in a diamonds eyes, unlock the tear in your soul and the future of the lands that are lost will be revealed.

A soul’s touch will bind them all together to reveal the way to the heavens.

Ruki stared at Shanjahen as he uttered these words as if they were holy, as if they were the only thing in the world he regarded with respect. It was clear to Ruki that this was some kind of prophecy, something old… but she had no idea what it meant… or what Shanjahen thought it meant.

“The prophecy…” The unicorn whispered.
Ruki was sure her companion here knew this text… but it still did not ring any bell.
“What are you thinking…” The unicorn continued.
“The prophecy will be fulfilled tonight!” Shanjahen snapped, slapping the unicorn across her face.
“Prepare the ritual!” he barked, and instantly several guards shot into action.
“And you,” Shanjahen growled as Ruki realized he was talking to her, “Very soon, you will be the first to realize what it means to have the Guardians summoned back to this world under my command.”

Hikary glanced at all the ponies gathered in the house. No more than twenty-four souls… so little could join them in time for their attack. But they could not wait any longer. Shanjahen was not waiting for sure, and who knew what he would do to Ruki and Stelline. Some nobles had joined who were well capable of wielding prana, but Hikary had severe doubts whether there were enough of them.

Only the allies Takato had inside the city could help them; the others were too far away and they could not spare another person to go out and search for them now. Takato had ensured her that there were several other ponies waiting somewhere else who would join them in the attack, but still, Shanjahen’s guard seemed to be so incredibly big… Hikary shook her head, wondering if they were all going on a suicide mission.

Taira stood next to her, glancing over the gathered ponies. Hikary could see her sister was thinking of the exact same things; would this truly be enough to save her daughter?
“Hikary, Taira…” Hikary glanced at Takato. “Are you ready?” he asked.
“Yes.” Taira said before Hikary could say anything. “Good. Let us go then… it is time.” Takato turned and motioned the others to follow him.

Hikary and Taira were in the front, while Yuuro was more in the back of the group. The poor guy was not a fighter, he had never learned to fight, and he did not wield any special powers. Hikary had urged him to stay home, but Yuuro had refused, stating he could not face himself ever again if he would sit back and not do anything.

They left the house and entered the darkness of the night. It was silent outside, no wind or sound or light. Even the prana seemed to glow less then usual. Did the city know something was about to happen? They walked silently along the road towards the palace gates, which without a doubt would be shut. As they approached the gate, Hikary already saw the guards standing there, obviously not expecting anything.

They paused a while away from the gate, and across the square Hikary saw another group of ponies approaching. They were not so numerous as Hikary’s group was. Maybe ten ponies. Thirty-four ponies against a guard of more than a hundred… Hikary shivered. This could not end well… But as Takato had explained, once Shanjahen was defeated, surely the guards would listen to him as the rightful king. So all they had to do was buy time… to give Takato time to defeat his father.

Hikary knew that her sister had other plans. She had never intended to stick with the group; all her sister wanted was to find and rescue her daughter from the High King’s clutches. Hikary still did not know what she would do; help the ponies defeat the guards, or help her sister? On the one hand, she had promised to do the latter. On the other… what good would she be against prana-weilding guards? Plus, someone needed to guard her sister… her emotions made her blind and careless.

Suddenly, Takato’s body seemed to glow. Light shone from inside him, the signal they had agreed upon. Across the square, Hikary saw another pony do exactly the same. So it had begun… there was no turning back now. They had to defeat the High King, or surely they would all face death.