Elements of the Past: Part 1

"The Elements of Harmony", a begotten tale from a millennia of whispering tongues and vapid texts. A tale of might and magic; of the tendrils of time vibrating and rattling. Of masons forging with tools crafted by higher beings to bore heirlooms of immense power. A tale of—

"Star Swirl! Enough of thy prattling!" a booming voice shot through the elder pony's ear, ending his personal monolog.

"A tale that a hostile princess has intended to curtail…" the elderly pony grumbled with a hoof going to adjust his pointed hat with a celestial design.

Beside the yellow coated stallion garbed in an olden robe with bells imbedded on the hems, was a tall, elegant mare with a dark coat and a sleek mane composed of celestial bodies dancing within it. They both delivered displeased frowns at one another but continued down the hedge guarded road they ventured down. Time passed with only chirps from the Canterlot fauna to complement the two ponies' rhythmic steps along side each other.

Star Swirl, or Star Swirl the Bearded as the scholars and unicorn trainees called him, was a stout comparison in regards to the royal company he was keeping down this path. Princess Luna, the Princess of the Night, was rarely ever out and about when her sister's glory had illuminated the skies, but duties had called her to be present and awake at this hour. In spite of that, she had decided to place the shade of an umbrella over her head so as not to let the light grace her dark body.

"…We should not have yelled at thee…" Luna said with a softer but still echoing voice.

Star Swirl, though not as old as the sisters that ruled the land of Equestria, was beyond his years in understanding and reasoning compared to the rest of the denizens. The youth of his life was spent, not studying magic, but creating new paths through it. Because of his understanding, he shirked out a half-hoped grin at the royal mare. "'Tis alright, your majesty. One would not expect you to hold high aptitude at this hour. Truly, a being of the night is not particularly—"

Once more, this time with a swat of her shoed hoof, the princess cut in. "Star Swirl, we have no time for thy rambles. Verily I tell thee, it would be most imprudent of we to delay our rendezvous with our summoner."

He understood completely, but that didn't stop Star Swirl from giving a disgruntled huff. "'Rambles'? 'Prattling'? Age has done little to hone your respect, princess," Star Swirl told Luna.

"Thy blind honesty will surely weigh thee down, wizard," Luna said in a quip.

And so the silence fell back onto their path, save the chirps of birds and rustles of the hedge walling the path. Butting heads as they may have been, they both inwardly were very pleased with each other's company. It was fortune that the two of them had run into one another on the way to the castle; because when they thought about it, they each could've been a lot worse when compared to who they could've run into.

They seemed to have come across the same thought, seeing as they had both begun to smile. "…Star Swirl?" Luna broke the silence after her nerves had been shaken by the thought, "These 'Elements of Harmony' thy mentioned… Celestia speaks of it often. Pray tell what do they serve purpose in?" Luna was many things, but a studier wasn't one of them.

It was common knowledge among Canterlot scholars what the elements were; but the princesses had little need of this knowledge given their advance years. At least, this was Luna's philosophy. "As I said –or better what I was going to say before you cut in on my monolog- they are five powerful treasures that are embodiments of five fundamental traits for –obviously- harmony."

"Ancient relics? We are as old as this very land. What could possibly outstretch us?" Luna questioned skeptically.

"Do you doubt me?" Star Swirl asked; voicing as if it were unthinkable.

"Age has tolled on thy mind, wizard…"

The elder pony nearly exploded at that comment. She was far older than him… but he knew better then to snap at the Princess of the Night. Instead, he was prepared with a counter. "Celestia believes this all to be in truth; do you doubt her?"

Luna narrowed her eyes, furious at the notion. Low as her voice would go, she muttered from under her shade, "We would never distrust sister. If she thinks it holds truth, it surely must hold truth…"
"True devotion… always admirable from you, Luna." It was a small compliment, but they both knew the gravity of those words to Luna.
"Enough of your prying, wizard," Luna marked, for once her voice slipping out of any escalated or diminished leveling, "Ye spoke of 'fundamental traits'?"

Not one to miss a beat on a chance to lecture, Star Swirl reared himself to give his piece. "Harmony is said to be born from five fundamental forces: honesty that echoes through the ages; loyalty that can never be broken; kindness which flows over the lands; generosity with endless depth; and laughter charms all that hear. It was said that there was a sixth… but it was concluded as an old pony's tale," Star Swirl explained.

"Verily… five elements born from honesty, laughter, loyalty, kindness, and generosity are far too concrete to be viewed as lore; but a sixth is just madness…" Luna pointed out sarcastically but still smiled down at her cloaked friend.

"Say what you will, princess," ignoring her, he continued on, "but the depth of what these powers could do can revolutionize magic itself. Perhaps they could aid fillies and colts master scrolls of magic in minutes instead of years. The possibilities are endless. Think with me for a moment, perhaps--"

Luna paid Star Swirl only a partial listen as he went back into a lengthy explanation; his words could very well be truth, but it did not affect her. No; all that mattered at this moment was getting to her sister, meet with the rest of the assembly, then go back to her room so she could sink back into rest.

It wasn't too much of a burden for her to be out in the morning, but the morning light meant many painful things to her. And one of them lived in this garden…