//------------------------------// // Celestial Guidance-A Reference Guide from the Sun P.1 // Story: Equestrian Myth // by StarRibbon //------------------------------// "THE HORROR, THE HORROR!" It wasn't uncommon to hear Lily Valley's dramatic scream, but the idea of something bad always rattled Twilight to the core. She almost immediately unlocked her window and pushed it open to view the town. Taking note of the time, she muttered slightly in annoyance. 'Its barely sunrise, what could possibly be wrong right now?' Twilight wasn't a morning pony, she never was. She couldn't stand the idea of getting woken up at such hours. Normally, Twilight wouldn't hesitate, she immediately would feel her unease and paranoia creep in, but the mare normally is dramatic in anything she spoke. Twilight learned quite often that she should take Lily's 'horror' as a grain of salt. Still, while she was up, she might as well see what happened. "Oh sweet Celestia!" Twilight hardly kept her mouth shut. The town was a complete mess, wrecked worse then Twilight ever saw. Carts were toppled over and dismantled and their items laying helplessly on the ground carelessly. Apples were broken and splattered on walls, floors, and in some cases, were bleeding their juices on the ground despite not being mashed. Other fruits and vegetables were in piles, some partially mashed, covered in a dark red substance, or just lying alone and untouched, only tainted with the substance but without any other marking. Plants and gardens were ripped apart, the shops ransacked and smashed. Twilight could make out the sports good store run by a mare named Fowl Play with her newly born foal, Fast Break. Twilight forced herself to look away from the destruction. It wasn't a secret that Fowl Play was having a hard time with her store. Not many, apart from the athletes or children, approach the store. Aside from the Running of the Leaves and other bigger sports events that ran annually throughout the year in Ponyville, she hadn't had very many costumers. Such a shame too, she was a good mare and the store was great itself. "Who could have done this, Twi?" Twilight turned to face her assistant. She shook her head quietly and gently nudged the baby dragon with her hoof. When was he there in the first place? "When did you get up?" Twilight magically shut the window, trying to break away from the scene she saw just a a moment before. She took a breath to ease the knotting she had. "Right after you did." She made a note to know her surroundings better. "Spike, I just...I just don't know." Spike let out a defeated sigh as he walked towards the kitchen. "TWILIGHT! COME QUICK!" Apple Jack's voice flooded her ears, and without even notice from herself, she was already running towards her to see the problem first hoof. She quickly regretted it. Crashing fast into a fallen cart wasn't her first intention. "Ya'll okay?" "W-What happened?" Twilight stuttered, barely able to speak a word. The dark red substance was slippery and covered her partially. 'Its on the road too?' There were hoof marks in the dark substance, but more likely from the residents of the town. It was a horrible iron stench that made her nauseous. Standing finally, she hoped more of the substance wasn't on her hooves anymore, the stench was overwhelming. "Ah don't know Twi." Apple Jack frowned towards her friend. "Ah woke up and this was there already. Ah was kinda hopin' you had seen what happened." Twilight shook her head. "I'm just as worried as you are, Apple Jack. But we'll get to the bottom of this." "Finally your here!" Pinkie Pie seemingly bounced over with ease. "I was soooo worried somethin' might have happened to you and I was getting sad, so I searched for you and --" "Pinkie Pie." Twilight sighed. "Nice to see you too. Do you have-" "Nope!" Pinkie giggled. "I was asked that like, a billion times~ I was sooooo busy with planning a big huge party for Derpy a week advanced so everything would be perfect! I wanted her to have the bestest party after what happened with her and a few meanies that came from Canterlot." 'How could a pony...?' Twilight wondered as she paced back to the library with a more knowing look then before. 'I think I saw this from somewhere..' Apple Jack and Pinkie Pie, shared a look of confusion, but they didn't question it as they followed behind. It was only a matter of time that Fluttershy, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash would at the library as well. She wondered whether or not she wanted to know about the other damages that happened near them. 'If this is just part of the destruction..' She didn't bother continuing as she softly shuddered at the thought. "It should be here somewhere.." Twilight muttered softly. Her magic yanking books off the shelves as she sort them. "Oh, there!" Her purple magic released the other books quickly after obtaining the needed book. Spike grumbled, his breakfast needing to wait a little longer then what he wanted. The book itself was brown with strange markings. It appeared rather old with splotches of strange colors on the brown covers and the the spot ridden old light brown pages. Red blotches decorated the back along with green grass stains. 'How'd I get this? Only Celestia had it...' " 'Equestrian Myths?' Yer interested in a fairy tale?" She wasn't sure whether Apple Jack's voice faltered as though there was hidden pain behind the words, but she tried not dwelling on it. "Remember how Nightmare Moon came to be?" No pony could deny that experience. It wasn't easy to forget in any way. "Of course silly!" "Of course." Apple Jack said confidently. "Of course ah do, but what does that-" "It was a myth just like this." Twilight continued. "I swear, I heard Celestia talk more about this when I was in Canterlot. She used to tell me stories like these, I didn't understand then, but I do now." "INCOMING!" Rainbow Dash had a streak of crashing into her friends' homes, and this was no exception. Twilight was better prepared as her magic wrapped Rainbow Dash whole and lowered her down safely. "Uh, sorry about that. I was trying to get here fast and uh, crashed." She laughed nervously. "Let me guess: Its just as bad in Cloudsdale?" "Yeah, pretty much, excluding the weather machines being totally destroyed. They practically gave me a day off from the mess!" " Dear, 'Mess' isn't the right word." Rainbow moved away as Rarity trotted in, her hooves red from the road. Fluttershy came next, whimpering alongside her. "My beautiful boutique, ruined! Destroyed! My hooves are UTTERLY filthy!" "T-the ..animals are too scared to leave their homes. I-I can't get them out..." Twilight sighed as she grew frustrated. Her list grew as she learned how right she was. "What is that?" Rainbow snatched the book as she turned to see the pages. She's more hoofs on, being this way, she grew impatient as she waited until she had taken the book. She frowned and tilted it again in confusion. "A Fairy Tale, Twilight?" Rainbow Dash handed it back as she grew slightly more annoyed. "How can you be reading FAIRY TALES in a time like this?" Twilight's anger grew as she faced her friends. She wasn't a morning pony, she didn't like thinking so early in the morning. 'I really need to lock that door..' "CAN EVERYPONY JUST BE QUIET!?" She yelled as she locked the door this time. "Now that I know nopony's going to just burst in and interrupt, I'll get back to what I was saying." She cleared her throat to present. "As I was saying, Celestia used to tell me all about stories like these while I was in Canterlot. I hadn't understood them until now." She flipped through the book once more. The page turned red as a strange creature appeared. She hadn't seen a creature so strange. Tan 'fur' and and one shaded 'mane', she didn't look like any creature she read or encountered before. She wore a dress that was hemmed so beautifully. It was dark blue with black threading and edges. There were weird designs on the dress that resembled the moon, but she pushed that to the side. "She's the first" It read in blue italics. The font was curvy and stylized, like it was hoof written. "She grew crazy, she wasn't the one." "That's not right...it can't be." Twilight's eyes widened. "But when I last read it--" "Hold yer horses! Ya mean to tell me ya read it before?" The question seemed innocent, but they struck her like arrows. "Of course! I read all these book!" She defended. "This doesn't sound right though. The text changed." "Darling, are you sure that your not imagining things?" Rarity's concerns fell on deaf ears. "That's crazy! How could words just change?!" Growing cornered, she felt that tightness grow ten fold again, not wanting to leave this time. "I..I just don't know, okay?" "DO IT AGAIN!" Pinkie Pie cheered as she watched the text change. She was bouncing in front of the book excitedly. Her smile increased again when the book simmered. Twilight gasped as she pushed Pinkie away. "That's not me, Pinkie!" "How is it not, silly? Who else could it be?" The words changed again when Pinkie Pie spoke, they sizzled and popped like fire crackers at first. "You ponies are too late, she already claimed her fate. Deathly trails and no memory to boot, horrible events shall follow suit. Red trails of madness, her sword she drew as her insanity grew. Follow sweet ponies, you failed yet again, but too many times, your now condemned" The voice was sickening to hear, like claws on a chalkboard. Still, it droned on without a care. "You ponies will be dead if you follow where the path has lead." Immediately, the book wouldn't present the rest of the story and the voice stopped cold. Only that creature kept showing, but this time, she looked...scared as she was drenched with pools of red. "How is that..?" Her words fell flat. "How did that..?" "TWILIGHT, TWILIGHT!" Spike handed Twilight the scroll. "Princess Celestia sent this for you! What does it say Twilight?" Grabbing it, she frowned further as she scanned the parchment. She saw something strange on the bottom: A seal? She skipped it and went on. She looked over and turned to face her worried friends. "She immediately wants to see---" Twilight wishes she could finish a sentence as yellow magic wraps around her figure and the others. The parchment fell as it wrapped. The seal broke open and the yellow magic continued to grow. "W-What is this?" Fluttershy squeaked. "C-Care to explain dear?!" "N-Not cool!" "I-I don't know!" The magic sent them away as the light vanished along with the parchment.It felt like hours until they stopped. Landing somewhere with a thud wasn't her expectation for today, but it hadn't been the first time it happened. Her head spun as the room around her increased in clarity. Instead of something terrifying, she saw her mentor staring with a caring gaze. "Princess Celestia?" The Princess smiled softly as the ponies regained strength from the landing. "What's happening? What happened?!" "My dear faithful student, this is no time to waste. I teleported you all here because there isn't a time to waste with general transportation." Her face contorted into one of great fear and worry, something no pony was used to. "This is the most important task you all must accomplish, or else no pony or creature will live any longer." Her yellow magic surrounded a wall, opening it up to reveal a door that was a triple chained iron door with bars. "My little ponies, this door leads to your final quest." Celestia opened the locks and creaked the door open to reveal that the door itself can't be opened with magic, and the walls were crafted from magic restricting material. No pony could get in or out before they are discovered. No pony was sure of what they'd see, but this wasn't what they expected. Not at all.