//------------------------------// // Chapter 01: The Song of Storms // Story: Under Lunar Wings // by JP HACK //------------------------------// Under Lunar Wings Chapter  1 - The Song of Storms By: JP HACK Edited by : JP HACK, Tobyc Story Guided by : Shadow X Razor Provider of ideas: A lot of fanfics..... ---------------------------------------------- “From these smoldering ashes we awaken, we lift our eyes unto the smoke filled skies. Shields still splintered, spears shaken, their cries for war still echo through the black mist. We need not fear, for their end is near. They blow their horns and prepare for war once more, for in the name of the princess we shall survive this endeavor. Fix your helms, ready your blades, we shall not sleep, until their last shadow fades!” - Archives of Equestria ---------------------------------------------- First there was the arrival of Nightmare Moon. Then the shenanigans of Discord, to the changeling siege of Canterlot on the day of the royal wedding. Though, five years has past since all those events. Everything is peaceful. There are no wars, no villains, or anything bad in general to ruin anything or anyone in the land of Equestria. Little did anyone know that a storm was brewing, a storm that would soon change everything. --------------------------------------------- Location : Ponyville – Outside Sugar Cube Corner. Time: 10 AM ----------------------------------------------- There was a blur of pink. A certain mare was quickly setting up tables and serving customers outside. Pinkie Pie had a knack for doing things quickly and somewhat oddly. She somehow managed to balance trays and various pastries on her back and flip them perfectly on the customers table without damaging the pastry itself. She moved from table to table at lightning speed until she reached a certain table with two unicorns sitting. “Heya girls! Glad to see ya both this super duper morning! What can I get ya? We have muffins, sandwiches, breakfast burritos, donuts, coffee and much more! Oh, I just know you're gonna love our cupcakes! So what are you two gonna get? Huh?” Pinkie had a huge grin on her face as she looked at both Rarity and Twilight. Rarity looked at Pinkie for a moment then back to her menu which she was holding with her magic.         “Darling. I would like some tea please,” she looked at Twilight. “It’s great to have tea during brunch right, Twilight?” The purple unicorn on the other hoof was staring intently at her menu before she realized that Rarity was talking to her.         “Oh uh, yes... It does seem nice to have some tea. But I can’t seem to decide what to get for brunch. I mean it’s a combination of lunch and breakfast right? So that mean, I have to choose something that is lunch and breakfast with the right amount of…” As Twilight rambled on about the proportion of breakfast to lunch that one should intake, Rarity turned to Pinkie and proceeded to order. “Darling, I will take a monte daisy, with the syrup on the side. And for Twilight, just give her some coffee for now. I think she had another all night study session going again.” She eyed Twilight for a minute who was still doing random mental calculations. “Poor darling must be exhausted.” Pinkie Pie put her hoof up to her face and saluted. “Okie Dokie Loki, one monte daisy coming right up with syrup on the side! And a super duper coffee for Twilight!” Pinkie then bolted off into the establishment and got straight to work at a speed that should not be possible to reach. Twilight was still mumbling about breakfast calories and vitamins until Rarity interrupted her. “Twilight, I ordered some coffee for you to start, you look like you need it. What seems to be the matter.” Twilight got out of her stupor and looked at Rarity apologetically. “I’m sorry Rarity. Thanks for ordering the coffee though. I have been out of it for a while. I have not sent any letters of importance to princess Celestia in a long time and I'm a little on edge about it is all. What if she gets upset that I have not learned anything about friendship? Or what if she wants something more than what I'm giving her? Or what if-” She got cut off by Rarity who put a hoof up. Twilight was about to go into one of her crazes. So much pressure on the star student, Rarity had to stop her. “Twilight, Darling, please forgive my rudeness, but didn't you go through this already? The craziness, the spells, the deadline?” Twilight frowned a little. “All I'm saying is that you need to relax with your friends and stop worrying about letters and the like. All good things come to those who wait, remember?” Rarity looked around eyeing some other ponies enjoying their meals before continuing her talk. “You need to remember that I'm sure that princess loves your letters, no matter what subject or how little they contain, okay? Remember, I got you out of the library to relax, not to frazzle yourself.” Twilight's ears went down at those words, then perked up again after her brain processed the information an egghead could use. Rarity was just being her generous self as usual. At last, Pinkie Pie came out of Sugarcube Corner with a tray containing a freshly made monte daisy and a hot cup of coffee. She came to their table quite faster than usual and set the items on the table in front of the unicorns with precision most earth ponies would kill for. “Here you go girls, I made it myself so tell me what you think of it. And Twilight, here is your coffee! I added something special to it to wake you up, I hope you like it.” Twilight eyed Pinkie for a moment, before realizing how droopy she was feeling and picked up the coffee. She took a sip. Her eyes shot open and she immediately put the coffee down. Rarity was eating her monte daisy while observing Twilight's reaction to the coffee. “Pinkie, It tastes great, I feel a lot more energetic, what did you do to it?” Pinkie had a huge grin on her face, got close to twilight and whispering in her ear, “trade secret, Pinkies super secret wake up coffee.” She started to giggle a little bit to herself. “Of course it is. Thanks anyway. Hopefully I can get through the day with just this.” Rarity was enjoying her Monte Daisy before adding to the conversation. “Thanks Pinkie, This tastes delightful as always.” “No problem Rarity, I get a lot of joy when I see everypony smile with my cooking. Anyway, I have to take care to the other customers now, so I will see you around. Bye!” Both the regal white fashionista and the librarian waved their hooves as Pinkie left and then continued their brunch. Rarity then brought out the latest Equestria Daily she had with her. It was good so see what was happening in the land of Equestria from time to time. And the fashionista always wanted to learn the latest gossip in the entertainment section. With her magic she set her forks and knives down and picked up the newspaper. Twilight on the other hoof was trying to figure out what was in her coffee, as with every sip she took, she felt a bolt of energy hit her. Pinkie must have accidently poured a bucket of sugar or something into it. “Oh what's this? That's an interesting headline.” “What is it Rarity?” Twilight took another swig of her coffee, and set it back down. “Well look at this headline right here on the first page.” She turned the paper slightly so both of them could read it. The headline read “Cutie Marks Disappearing, Ponies in Panic in Fillydelphia.” “Well that's interesting, let me have a look at that real quick.” Twilight didn't even wait for Rarity to give it to her. She canceled Rarity’s hold of the newspaper with her own  telekinesis and started reading out loud. 'Panic in downtown Fillydelphia, Cutie Marks disappearing from grown stallions and mares. It is unknown who or what is causing these incidents. Those that had their cutie marks suddenly disappear lost their respective talent immediately. This is causing a loss of jobs, ponies getting hurt while attempting to continue their work without their cutie marks, and the hospital is claiming that some are going into shock due to the disappearances. Reports are coming in that some stock market ponies that lost their cutie marks instantly forgot how the stock market worked equating to a loss of thousands of bits due to a breakdown in communications.” 'We do not know the prolonged negative effects mentally and physically,' reports Doctor Blue Vein, 'but we are trying to look into it as much as we can. We do know that it can cause a lot of mental trauma if the cutie mark is directly related to some skill or trade. Though it seems those who have the more obscure ones are not that affected by the recent events.'” “In light all this, all Fillydelphians and surrounding neighbors including Marietta are advised to stay inside,  report any suspicious behavior to the local Policeponies, and be alert to your surroundings.” Twilight stopped reading and put the newspaper down. She looked at Rarity who had a disgusted look on her face when hearing the news that was recited to her. “Thats not good at all.” Twilight pondered for a moment. “I recall the case of the Cutie Pox before and how that caused ponies to sustain more than one random cutie mark, and it caused those ponies to involuntarily perform tasks as per given cutie marks, which appeared all over their bodies, not just their flanks. But this is different, these ponies seem to be missing there cutie mark all together and the associated talent that goes with it. How is that even possible?” “Well darling, I don't know how, but I do know that it would be very dreadful to befall anypony! Why I can't imagine having my cutie mark disappear one day and not being able to find jewels for my dresses or keep designing! That's absolutely horrific. I would go out of business.” She then took a stab on her monte daisy with some force with her fork and took a bite. A look of contemplation of loss came over her face. “It seems to be either some sort of disease or somepony is behind all this and on top of that, there were no witnesses to see what caused the marks to disappear? That seems odd, but it’s of interesting subject matter to read upon if you lose your cutie mark to see exactly what will happen. I wonder if I should do something about it. Maybe I should-”   “Now Twilight, don't you think of studying or anything,” Rarity interrupted.  “You need to relax right now. I’m sure the local authorities will take care of the problem and we can all forget about this horrible thing. And besides, everypony knows that if it were to happen to anyone of us, you will be the first one to figure out a solution.” “I guess you're right...” Twilight trailed off. She loved studying a lot about new subjects that needed to be researched. Especially on things relevant to current events such as the disappearance of cutie marks. Rarity on the other hoof saw Twilight in deep thought for a moment until she suddenly got a smirk on her face and leaned in closely. “Anyway, have you found a coltfriend yet? You seem to be needing of companionship.” Twilight nearly jumped at that statement. “Buah, Rarity! What kind of question is that?!” “I'm teasing hun, you should see the shock in your face, its quite expressive.” Rarity chuckled at the expense of Twilight burning her cheeks off. “Now let me explain to you how not to drive yourself crazy with a lot of work on your hooves...” In the meantime off to the distance in the main market square, unknown to bystanders, dark energy started to form that was very misty and transparent. You would have to be trying to squint your eyes to see it. At the same time though, from the insides of Sugarcube Corner, a certain pink mare with a tray of treats stopped suddenly. Her eyes dilated and she bucked the tray, which landed on the nearest table intact with the food. Mr. Cake was nearby and looked at Pinkie with some concern. “Pinkie, are you okay? Is something the matter?” He got his answer rightfully quick as Pinkie Pie stood still as a statue and stared at him for a moment. There was a mix of emotions going through her at a considerable speed. Mr. Cake backed up, as did other patrons to watch. Mrs. Cake came out from the kitchen to see what all the commotion was about. She saw Pinkie in the middle of the room and didn't waste anytime. “Everypony, back away from Pinkie. Its her pinkie sense! This one seems to be a big one!” Everyone in Ponyville acknowledged the pinkie sense, and even Twilight Sparkle gave up on trying to understand it. If the prized student of Celestia couldn't figure it out, then who could? Pinkie Pie called out what was happening to her. She couldn't stop it nor control it. “Oh lets see,” all four of her legs spasmed, then coiled up. She jumped into the air, nearly hitting the ceiling with her head and floated for a full five seconds before landing again. “Going against the laws of physics? That's a new one! Oh what's this?” Her mane then depoofed and repoofed multiple times. An alter ego's wet dream, from Pinkie Pie to Pinkamina and back again in rapid succession. “My hair feels funny. Ah, something new is gonna happen I can feel it.” The other patrons in the bakery all stared and watched in awe. At the same time, Rarity and Twilight both stood up from there table, wondering what all the commotion was about, and walked inside the building to see what was happening. Pinkie suddenly jumped and leaped towards a table nearby. Some ponies had to scamper out of the way before the pink blur came right towards them. She leap up and then karate chopped the nearest table. At first the table didn't do anything, but then after tapping it lightly, it slid apart cleanly down the middle. If a ninja was watching, he would be so proud. Everyone watched with their mouths agape when the table hit the floor. The Cakes stared at the table before them. What could this pinkie sense mean? Something terrible is gonna happen? Somepony had a foal? Who knew but Pinkie. The Cakes looked at the broken table with some bitterness, but understood that Pinkie couldn't control herself when she is in “Pinkie sense mode”. That table was coming out of her paycheck. If only she had one.         “I had no idea I could do that! That was a new one.” Eventually she stopped with the spasms and calmed down, much to the collective relief of everyone in Sugarcube Corner. “Pinkie, What was that all about?” Asked Twilight with anticipation. Pinkie thought for a moment before answering, “I dunno, maybe something amazing is gonna happen? This never happened to me before. It may be be something bad, good or scary. Or something new and scary. I love scary new things too. Did you see me karate chop the table? That was soooo cool, I didn't know I could do that!” Twilight nodded and ignored her after she said she didn't know what it meant. Sometimes it’s best not to question it and move on. Rarity on the other hoof glanced at the table and noticed how cleanly it had been cut down the middle. “I take it that you really don't know what it means? How did you manage to break a table cleanly in half with just your hoof?” Twilight pointed to the table that Pinkie chopped in half. Pinkie Pie simply looked at her with a confused look.         “Huh, I don't know but this could mean something BIG is gonna happen. It could foretell a great adventure that we might be sucked into and then we could fight some big nasty villain. It could be that someone got rejected for being a special somepony. I don't know, it could be anything!” Twilight sighed in frustration. It had to mean something, this is rare, especially on Pinkies part, not to know what it means. What could defying gravity, hair problems and a chopped table mean? It looked like another mystery for Twilight to solve in the recesses of her library with the added notation of researching more about cutie marks. A checklist needed to be made today concerning making a checklist for these strange occurrences. “Whoa! Everypony look outside. Is it scheduled for us to have a storm right now?” Asked Lyra, who was sitting next to Bonbon eating cupcakes. Some other ponies then looked out the windows as well and saw a huge storm cloud heading towards Ponyville. There were some pegasi outside flying around, yelling orders in attempts to try to contain the massive front that was approaching. Some patrons took the sight as a sign to leave and quickly get back to their homes. Rarity and Twilight stepped outside the bakery after saying goodbye to Pinkie and the Cakes, just in time to see Rainbow Dash fly right above them at near supersonic speed. “What on Equis is that?! Who let out the storm clouds loose!?” yelled Rainbow Dash at nopony in particular. She sped along and started to whirl around the massive cloud in order to contain it, inciting any pagasi nearby to help. Rarity eyed the clouds with a worried look and saw Rainbow start doing her crazy tricks in the air to try to contain the cloud. “Well it’s been a fun brunch darling, but if that storm comes our way, I better get back to Carousel Boutique. We should do it again sometime.” “Sure Rarity, thanks again for getting me out of the library. I would still be cooped up in there if it was not for you.” “No problem darling, that's what friends are for. I best be going now, bye Twilight.” “Bye Rarity.” Rarity then waved a hoof to Twilight and quickly trotted back home. Twilight just stared at the clouds. It was a very large and puffy storm cloud. Almost like Pinkie Pie's hair. Then it hit her. Like Pinkie Pie's hair! Did she somehow predict the weather? No, that can't be, that's just her mind playing tricks on her. It couldn't be that. Too simple. There's no way that could be. Right? Twilight then turned a corner and trotted towards her library. “Twilight, incoming!” Twilight turned just in time to see Rainbow Dash fly out of the sky and land hard onto an apple cart. She gasped and went right to her rainbow-maned friend. “Dear Celestia, are you okay Rainbow Dash!?” Rainbow dash groaned for a bit and tried to stand up to get back on her hooves. She was stuck headfirst in an apple cart and started to flail her rear legs in an attempt to free herself. Twilight wrapped her in a field of magic and pulled her out of the destroyed cart which had a big hole in it now and set her gently on the ground. “Rainbow, you need to be more careful! What happened? You okay? You never fall out of the sky unless you're crashing into my library.” Rainbow just shook her head and stood back up, checking her wings to see if they were damaged. She seemed quite fine considering that she was flying upwards at 55 mph and crashed into a apple cart, coming out intact. She toughen up after months of trick flying and crashes all just to get into the Wonderbolts. “I'm fine Twilight. but this storm is no ordinary storm. The cloud is like not responding or something. Me and the other pegasi can't stop the cloud or turn it away.”  Twilight's mind simply stopped for a moment. Not responding? Like its going against her like Pinkie with her gravity? That could not be a coincidence, could it? Pinkie Pie can't be THAT good.  “Hey Twilight, you okay? You're staring off into empty space again, and that storm is right over Sweet Apple Acres and the town. If we don't stop it soon and lightning strikes the trees, Applejack is gonna buck me to Hoofington.” Twilight finally got out of her stupor and nodded. The storm that was approaching had a menacing look to it. With huge black clouds, lightning, and a lot of black and blue wisps of magic dancing all around the cloud from its insides and swirling around at random speeds. “I'm more worried about you than me at the moment Rainbow. That storm does not look like a normal storm. Are you gonna be okay going through that?” She looked at the storm and saw how great it was, and it looked like it was trying to assemble right on the top of the town. “I'm gonna be fine, but this cloud is something different, it’s not responding to anything I’m doing to it. It won't move, break apart, or do anything that I try. No cloud gave this much trouble before. I’d best try to do something before the town gets blown apart, otherwise Mayor Mare has ordered everyone to stay indoors until it passes.” The cloud formation then turned another color from black to blue then back again. Both Twilight and Rainbow looked at each other then back at the cloud. Rainbow took the change in the clouds as a sign to take off into the air while Twilight then resumed going towards her library at a more brisk speed than before. She passed by town hall and trotted through the square. A flash of light came from above followed by the boom of thunder. Twilight jumped at the sudden sound and almost fell over. She hated storms with a burning passion. It always scared the living daylights out of her. The wind picked up more and more before going into a full force gale. She looked around and saw that the pegasi, including Rainbow Dash, gave up and high tailed it back to their homes for shelter. The sky felt as if it was nighttime due to how much light was blocked from the sun. The only light shining through was from the wisps of blue and purple, that were glowing in a circular pattern. --------------------------------------- Location: Near the Ponyville Library Time: 10: 12 AM --------------------------------------- Twilight was then just around the corner from her library when she felt a strange feeling came to her. Her horn started to glow without her consent. What is going on? I'm not doing any spells or anything. This storm must have a high magical interference if it’s messing with my magic, though it feels familiar somehow. She looked up again and stared at the horror above her. The storm suddenly swirled right above her in clouds of darkness, quickly rotating around her as if was targeting her. Lightning and blue wisps of energy started dancing around in the vortex with great intensity. Dear Celest-. Twilight didn't get to finish her thought. A beam of energy shot down from the vortex right into Twilight. She screamed in fright as the beam wrapped around her body and pulled at her magic. Her magic was being drained by the storm itself and she couldn't do anything to stop it. She struggled to break free from its grasp but it was to no avail. But then she was calm, as she floated up in the air with eyes glowing and energy flowing around her. Oh my gosh what is happening!? The storm of raw energy that surrounded Twilight in wisps and flows spoke to her in a sudden panicked tone - the voice of a stallion. “I'm sure you're wondering how and why you got into this mess? Well I will explain later but I need you to help me, whoever you are, as you're my only hope. Please let the spell connect to you as it needs a recipient of great magic to complete it. Oh, and its just a teleport spell, so just flare your horn up as if you were normally would for one, and it should complete the transfer of me to you. Trust me. I’m sorry that it took you by surprise as I kinda need to leave like, right now. Please let the spell through as it’s of national security. I need to escape before...” The voice got cut off unexpectedly. Twilight tried to answer back but couldn't. What in Equestria? Somepony is trying a teleport spell? Why did it grab on to me? Who the heck is this pony and what is he running from? What kind of bootleg spell is this? Calm down Twilight, you're going crazy again. You need to analyze the situation. Twilight then calmed herself by going through a mental checklist. She did this all while still floating in a large collection of light based energy. The voice told me to trust him. Okay, but why do I feel like I should the opposite? What did he need to escape from? Twilight, you can do this, just do a teleportation spell and it should all be over. We can ask questions later. I hope. Twilight focused hard, her horn, which was already overtaken in the wisps of pure energy changed color to another shade of blue, then to purple. Another beam of energy was shot from Twilight to the ground. A large bubble of blue energy started to form, creating a crater not too far from her. The same type of bubble that forms right before a teleportation spell, right there on the street. The bubble slowly increased in size until it was as big as a pony. The light intensified to a great degree, nearly as bright as the sun, enshrouding everything in a blinding light. There was a silhouette of a pony in the bubble as it formed. Just as suddenly as it began the storm stopped. The clouds dissipated, and the sky cleared in mere seconds. The energy from the vortex from above in turn stopped and released Twilight of its magical hold. She gently floated back down to the ground. Augh, my head. Now my horn is hurting. I have to remind myself to research this spell. But whom did it teleport? She got her answer when she saw the crater near her. She trotted slowly to the edge of it to peer inside.  In it was a unicorn stallion in onyx armor, which was smoking and quite battered, with bright blue and purple accents standing in the middle. The stallion resembled the lunar guard but his armor was quite different in many ways. His normally grey coat charred with cuts and bruises that were visible in the areas where his armor was not covering him. His royal blue mane with a single black streak in it was fringed on the outside due to burns. On his flank laid a picture of the same weapon, an axe, which was lying on the ground next to him. It itself was not shaped like a normal hatchet. It was curved on the sides and had the lunar symbol on it. (See cover image). The stallion looked at her for a moment with his pleading green eyes, legs shaking. “Thank yo-” He abruptly fainted and fell onto the hard ground of the charred crater. End of chapter 1 Credit music plays... Reader has gained... +5 to INT. +2 to LUK. New spell learned. - Grand Transport Vortex  - This spell is a high level spell that requires the user and a random recipient of a predetermined location to BOTH have a magic power of no less than 9,000 each to complete. Grants the user to teleport to the recipient of a distance of over 100 miles one way. User or initial spell caster must have at least 20,000 Magic Power to initiate spell. Spell can be used as a long distance teleport with an extra 10,000 MP to complete.