“Sister... sister wake up...”
“No! Twilight!”
Princess Celestia awoke from her vivid dream panting in distress, cold sweat trickling down her brow. It took her a moment to realize she was not in her own room. Instead the walls surrounding her had crystals embedded unto the structure, shimmering delicately as the rays of dawn shone upon them through the windows. It was a beautiful morning to wake up to. The Princess blinked at a bright lens flare that hit her eyes, only then she noticed the deep-blue muzzle gazing at her from the side of the bed. Celestia glanced back and was greeted by the loving face of her sister, Luna.
“Tis' alright dear sister, it was just a dream.”
“L-Luna... I feel... are we in the Crystal Castle?”
“Yes, sister.” Luna nuzzled her sister's mane gently.
“And you should rest, you over-exerted yourself last night. It was good fortune I arrived in time to aid the guards in bringing you here.”
Celestia laid her head back on the pillow and closed her eyes. Her luxurious mane flowed underneath her head and across the silken sheets. Indeed, the pleasant softness of the bed had provided her body with much needed rest and comfort. A small smile settled on the Princess's lips as a thought occurred to her.
“I'm proud of you Luna, it's such a beautiful sunrise...”
The Princess of the Night blushed slightly at the compliment.
“It is not as magnificent as any of your sunrises... I, I was even late with the raising... maybe I should have awoken y... 'sigh'... Thank you, sister...”
Luna held Celestia's right hoof, gently squeezing it between her own. Just hours ago Luna witnessed her sister collapsed in the snow covered wastes of the Frozen North. She had feared the worst when they realized that there was no sign of her sister breathing. But thankfully, she managed to revive her sister with a little magic by coaxing her lungs to take in the cold northern air. And with the aid of her subjects, brought the wounded Princess back to the Crystal Empire. It was nearer than the city of Canterlot, and Luna did not want to waste anymore time she could afford. And though they managed to keep their arrival to the Castle relatively unannounced, alerting Princess Cadance and Shining Armor to Celestia's condition was unavoidable. However she had to credit the royal couple for their competence as Cadance had prepared a bed chamber for Celestia as quickly and with little fuss as possible, allowing only her most trusted maidservants to tend to her aunt. While Shining Armor ensured that the guards kept any rumor from being leaked and spread throughout the castle; and being both a prince and the Captain of the Royal Guard, his command carried much weight with those under his authority. Truly Luna could not think of a better two to be entrusted the leadership of the Crystal Empire.
Both of the royal pair were tactful enough not to ask too many questions while taking care of the Princess. However once they were sure that Celestia's condition had stabilized, Princess Cadance began to question Luna about what had happened to her aunt. She was understandably worried about the Princess, neither she nor Shining Armor had the slightest clue that the ruler of Equestria was hiding such a heavy burden for so long. Cadance was distraught when she heard just how dire the situation was, she almost couldn't believe that her aunt had been under so much strain for that long without even her noticing it. Shining Armor was more calm and composed, taking in all the information that the Princess of the Night was giving. He provided a leaning shoulder for Cadance as Luna revealed what the Royal Sisters had been keeping from the rest of Equestria for many moons.
Before the dawn, outside Celestia's bedchambers...
“So that was why she needed Discord free and reformed...” Cadance thought out loud, understanding dawning on her muzzle. “Why didn't she tell us? The Frozen North is just right at our doorstep! We could have offered help!”
“Sweetie, I think Princess Celestia wouldn't want that burden on you... on us. Not after what happened with King Sombra.”
“B, but... we defeated him right? With the help of Twilight and her friends... if we had pooled all our powers together with the Elements of Harmony, we could have closed this rift before waiting for Celestia to get hurt!”
Shining armor gently placed a hoof on his wife's shoulder to soothe her; feeling Shining Armor's touch, she realized that in her emotional state she had raised her voice against The Princess of the Night. She touched her lips in shock at her own gall. Yet Luna did not chastise the light-cerise-colored princess, her face remained pensive while she answered her niece's concern.
“It is not that simple, young one... we know not yet how this fissure appeared nor the nature of it's true purpose. All we know that the power radiating from it is beyond even what any of us have ever encountered in our long existence. It seems to be pacified when Chaos magics are applied to it, and the crystals that are placed around the rift have to be continually charged to prevent anything from getting through...”
“Anything from getting through...?” Shining Armor perked his ears up as he echoed the Princess's words. He carefully formed his next sentence.
“My Princess, are you implying that something has indeed pass through this rift before? That it is a portal to another world like that mirror here in the castle?”
Princess Luna paused, but her face gave nothing away on what her thoughts were. She turned her gaze towards the nearest window, staring out into the starlit night.
“That is our assumption yes... however nothing has come through the rift... yet. Though that possibility may change after what happened tonight. That last surge from the portal rippled throughout the astral plane like a tidal wave.”
“But how is it that we have not felt anything by now? Something that radiates that much magical power surely must have been noticed by unicorns across the land, especially the ones with magical affinities!”
“We... have no answer. The properties of this rift does not seem entirely magical, and only Discord's chaotic powers have any real affect when dealing with it's violent outbreaks. It being unnoticeable by regular unicorn magic is what kept it unknown from the general population for so long.”
“Does... does that mean we have no way of preparing ourselves against this, thing? Surely there must be something we can do?”
“We were planning on holding off informing you or Twilight Sparkle until we were absolutely sure that by using the powers of the Elements of Harmony or the Crystal Heart, this rift could be closed. But now it seems that fate, has decided that we are out of time. And even though my sister had managed to calm the rift before any major catastrophe, there is no telling what effects those energy surges might have caused throughout Equestria...”
She looked back at Shining Armor and Cadence, her tone serious and foreboding.
“I fear we now stand at the precipice of a monumental hour... that could spell certain doom for Equestria.”
--------------------------
Shining Armor walked into his bedroom, yawning as the night's news weighed on his shoulders. He wanted to just slip under the covers of his bed, it looked very welcoming at this point. But something was missing from it, or somepony... He glanced around and saw his wife sitting by a window, a doleful look on her muzzle as she stared out at nothing pass the stained glass. Shining armor went over to her side and wrapped his left hoof around her mane, pulling her gently to his side. Cadance sighed softly and leaned on Shining's turquoise white coat; pressing her body closely as she snuggled intimately within his embrace. Nothing was said between them as the seconds passed, both content to just cherish the presence of each other.
“Shining... do you think everything will be alright?”
“Everything will be fine dear, we will fight this new evil and as always, we will prevail. Nothing is impossible when our love and friendship will see us through.”
“Oh Shining... I'm so worried about Princess Celestia, I've never seen her in so much pain, not even when Chrysalis and her changelings attacked us in Canterlot. When they brought her in, she looked so powerless, so... fragile.”
Cadance perked up, her eyes wide with sudden realization.
“What about Twilight? I know Princess Luna mentioned that Celestia doesn't want her involved but that was before tonight. I... I just have this bad feeling that something horrible is going to happen. What if she's in danger... what if...”
“Shhh...” Shining Armor bent forward, his muzzle touching Cadance's. He nuzzled his wife lovingly, calming her down. Their horns rubbed against one another as Shining Armor reassured Cadance.
“Don't worry, Twilly can take care of herself. She has grown strong over the last few years and has learned many powerful spells. Besides, she and her friends have the Elements of Harmony with them... Heh, I wouldn't worry too much about my little sister... frankly, I think she's better off than we are!”
The Captain of the Guard lifted a hoof and caressed the side of Cadance's face in reassurance. She accepted the gesture with a smile, and raised her own hooves to hold Shining Armor's tightly to her muzzle.
“But just as a precaution... I sent an order that there will be a reshuffling of ponyguards from here to Canterlot. I want all those under the Princess's finest Royal Guards who know about this issue to be transferred here. While I send off a few under the guise of roster rotation, to be in charge of escorting Princess Twilight Sparkle back to Ponyville after her night at the Canterlot Garden Party. Don't let it be said that Shining Armor isn't the best BBBFF to his little sister!”
He gave Cadance a warm smile, and despite knowing that he was mostly putting on a brave face and covering up any anxieties with wit, Cadance felt better all the same.
“Thank you, dear...” She kissed Shining Armor on the lips. “You always knew how to make me smile.”
“Hey, that's why you married me right?” He winked playfully at Cadance who batted him on the nose softly, giggling as she did.
“Now come, you should get some rest, you want to be there for Princess Celestia when she wakes up right?”
Shining Armor began to move towards the bed, but before he could take a step Cadance clutched at his foreleg and held on to him.
“No, please... I don't think I can sleep with Princess Celestia in her condition. I just need... a little time. Will you, stay with me?”
Shining Armor nodded and embraced his wife again, squeezing her shoulders fondly. Cadance rested her head on her husband's sapphire-blue mane as the both of them closed their eyes and continued to bask under the light of the moon.
“I'm so glad you decided to send some royal escorts over to Canterlot for Twilight. I do hope you included that castle guard... what was his name? Ah yes, Flash Sentry, to be part of the team. I'm sure Twilight would be happy to see him again, poor dear just seemed so stressed over her princess responsibilities lately. It'll be nice for the girl to have a little company from her colt friend, even if it's just a crush.”
The Princess of Love cuddled her Captain, forgetting for a moment the troubles of the world. Shining Armor grunted contentedly, before opening his eyes in sudden alarm.
“Did you just say Twilight has... a colt-friend?”
--------------------------
Princess Luna trotted slowly towards the balcony, finally convincing herself to leave her sister's side. Everypony had done their part, now they can only wait, and hope for the best. It was time, maybe even past it... but Luna decided that it had to be done, and ready or not she was going to face this challenge.
“Well it's about time you showed up... I was beginning to wonder if there was any chance of us seeing the light of day.”
“Oh... Discord... it's you.”
The multi-featured Draconequus stood near the edge of the balcony, his arms crossed over his chest as he overlooked the Crystal Empire from his lofty view. He turned his head only to acknowledge Princess Luna when she approached him.
“Don't you love the wee hours of the day before the dawn? A little too dull for my taste, but after what happened tonight, I could use a bit of dull.”
Luna did not entertain Discord's attempt at conversation, choosing instead to trot towards the balcony's edge and stand a little distance away from him. She diverted her gaze upwards at the dark sky with determination in her eyes. And once again Discord decided to lighten up the mood with his unique brand of humor.
“Oooh... what are we going to witness today? Do you have anything grand planned out? I have a few ideas I'm willing to share with you that I've always wanted to do when I had the opportunity. I'm sure your sister wouldn't mind us having a little fun with raising her pretty sun right? Come on, what do you say Princess?”
“Forgive me if I withhold my enthusiasm, Discord...”
“Hmm... like sister, like sister. One would think you royal siblings would cut loose a little more once in a while. Don't tell me after all these aeons neither of you have had even a little fun with the two bouncy balls in the sky? Come on, just this once... It's not like you haven't done this before, right?”
Luna kept silent, than a possibility dawned on the Master of Chaos.
“Are you telling me that you have never raised the sun before? What, didn't Celestia think she might take a vacation one of these days? Or maybe something bad could happen like, oh I don't know, an emergency?”
Doubt crept upon the Princess's features, she continued staring at the moon trying to block out the inner voice in her head. Discord was right about one thing, she had never done this alone before.
“I... I never needed to. My big sister... she was always here for her people, for us... no matter the burden, it was always her duty to bear it. Even while I was gone for a thousand years she...”
Luna's voice faded away into silence as she recalled her time as Nightmare Moon. And the drastic measure Celestia had to take to imprison her on the very object she was tasked with handling. It was moments like these, that the Princess of the Night would shed a tear out of sorrow and regret. A thousand years was a long time to be alone...
“Ah... I... understand.”
Discord shared Luna's sentiment as he too, was once imprisoned for a millennium encased in stone. And though he may not have the same amount of regret and guilt as Luna has, he still understood the empty feeling that loneliness brought. He just never realized it before, until Fluttershy showed him how much having a friend meant to him.
“Look, Luna... this isn't my usual schtick, but if you want... I could probably help you with raising the sun by sharing the load. No tricks I promise.”
“No! I mean... no, I need to do this on my own. But...”
Luna turned to Discord, and behind her determined expression, was a hint of gratitude in her eyes.
“...you could stay near to me, just in case.”
Discord nodded with a friendly smirk on his mouth as he stood back to allow the Princess to perform her task. Luna closed her eyes, and concentrated all her magic into bringing daylight to Equestria. A blue aura surrounded her horn as she focused hard on her goal. Magic flared and spluttered around her crown due to her exertions. After an agonizing attempt, she opened her eyes and saw that the moon had lowered... but no sign of the sun at all. She heaved a sigh, pondering for a moment whether she should continue. She waited for a witty remark from Discord regarding her failure, but none came. Luna thought maybe if she had a little help... she then made her decision, and tried again. This time, she searched her memories from a distant past. She remembered the first time she saw her sister perform the raising of the sun; she could feel the first rays of light touching her muzzle like it was yesterday, the sight of a glorious day had filled her eyes as the sun lifted into the sky, it was an image as beautiful as her sister.
Drawing strength from her memory, Luna summoned the will to continue with her duty. Magic glowed around her horn again. But instead of turbulence, this time it was calm and controlled. The princess stretched her wings and began to rise into the sky. A look of surprise crossed Discord's face, but was soon replaced with a smile of approval. As Luna raised into the air above the balcony, she felt a sensational warmth pass over her. And though her eyes were closed shut, she could feel the first rays of sunlight touching her muzzle...
--------------------------
'Knock, knock...'
Luna stirred from her reverie beside Celestia's bed, and gave permission for the pony to enter. The doors pushed open slightly and a pink muzzle poked through. It was Princess Cadance, who hesitated on entering the room.
“May I enter, aunt Luna? I would like to see how the Princess is doing.”
Before Luna could respond, Celestia opened her eyes and called out to her niece.
“Of course you can enter Cadance, I was hoping the next pony I saw would be you.”
“Aunt Celestia! You're awake!”
Cadance cried out with joy and rushed over to the side of Celestia's bed opposite of Luna. Her eyes tearing up at the sight of her aunt awake and well.
“Oh, I was so worried about you. I've been up all night hoping you would be okay...”
“And why wouldn't I be?” Celestia chuckled. “I'm perfectly fine my dear Cadance... Seriously, why does everypony thinks that I'm so fragile? A little tussle isn't going to k... 'cough' 'cough' 'Cough'!!!”
Luna immediately responded by patting her sister's back while Cadance hovered a cup of water from a nearby table with her magic, and brought it close to Celestia. She accepted their comfort gratefully.
“Maybe I spoke too soon.”
Cadance waited for her aunt to finish drinking before placing back the cup for her. She continued to stay by the Princess's bed, keeping rather silent and to herself while Luna continued to fuss over her sister. Celestia saw the sullen look on her niece's face and suspected something was bothering her.
“Cadance dear, is something the matter?”
“Princess Celestia, I... what are we going to do about the magic rift?”
“Ah... I assume my sister Luna has told you everything by now.” The Princess sighed deeply before continuing. “Yes, it is true... the rift is indeed a threat. And we will do everything in our power to stop it. That is why I want a meeting with you and Shining Armor, Discord, Luna and myself to be held this afternoon. We have very important matters to discuss...”
“But sister, you need to re...”
Celestia cut her off in mid sentence before she could finish.
“Luna, you know this has to be done. After last night's event we simply cannot take anymore chances. With every hour that passes we risk allowing this evil entity to achieve it's goals. I want word to be sent to my most trusted council members as well, they deserve to know the gravity of this situation, and prepare for the necessary.”
“Aunt, are you saying that we must prepare for... war?”
“I had hoped not to... however in the past months that we have had to deal with this, thing, I have felt it's evil and it's power. Whatever lurks within that black abyss cannot be underestimated. Even Discord knows this and though he may never admit the truth, it terrifies him as well.”
“Speaking of Discord, where is he?”
“The last I saw of him was after I had raised the sun. I just assumed he went off to rest, maintaining the rifts stability has drain much of his usual... eccentricities.
“That's true... though I was expecting him to surprise me with one of his usual antics when I woke up. I suppose even the Spirit of Chaos needs his respite. No matter, I'm sure we will find him when the time comes for the meeting to commence.”
The three Alicorns continued their morning as they enjoyed breakfast being brought in by servant-mares. Celestia had her breakfast in bed, the other princess's insisted it despite her protesting that she was well enough to sit at the table. Both Luna and Cadance had their meal beside her, enjoying the company they were in. Cadance tried to create an uplifting mood by chatting with Luna regarding the finer arts of mingling with the loyal subjects of Equestria, while having fun at the same time. While they talked, Celestia remained generally silent. She was still concerned about one more thing on her mind, her faithful student... Twilight Sparkle. Or rather, Princess Twilight Sparkle. Amazing how the young mare had grown up so fast. It seemed just like yesterday Celestia had picked the young, scared foal to be her personal student. And like Twilight's parents, Celestia was very proud of the new princess and all that she has accomplished in her young life. Celestia contemplated whether leaving Twilight out of this meeting was a wise decision and entertained the idea of summoning her and her friends. She decided against it, there's no need to inform her just yet. Best to wait until the meeting to decide anything further.
--------------------------
Afternoon, just before the Council Meeting...
“A report from Canterlot your majesty, Twilight Sparkle and her friends have reached Ponyville safely.”
“Thank you messenger, carry on.”
The pony bowed and exited the hall where Celestia, Luna, Cadance and Shining Armor were gathered. However, Discord was not present among them.
“Curses, where is that draconequus when you need him?” Luna muttered under her breath.
Celestia turned to Shining Armor and gave him a questioning look, but he shook his head.
“I'm sorry your majesty, but none of the servants or the castle guards have seen Discord since Princess Luna performed the sunrise.”
“Do you think something might have happened to him?”
“I do not think it likely Cadance, do not be too concerned. If need be I will cast a srcying spell to pinpoint his locati...”
“There is no need for that thank you, I'm right here.”
A nearby pillar suddenly sprouted paws, claws, antlers and a snake's tail. The body of Discord started oozing away from the pillar like sticky glue until he emerged completely with a loud 'plop' and tip-toed his way to the round table where the ponies were.
“Sorry to just, squeeze in at the last moment. I was busy... what are you all looking at?”
Everypony was staring at Discord's face, or lack of it. There was nothing but a blank greyness on his countenance where his features should be. And the Master of Chaos seemed to have gotten the hint as he groped around his face with a paw.
“Oh-Haha! Silly me, forgetting to put on my face again... 'sigh' typical.”
A pair of yellow eyes with red pupils popped up from the middle of the table followed by a snout with a single tooth jutting out. Discord's body reached for his face and peeled it off the table like a pancake and slapped it back on his head.
“There, much better! Now before you start berating me for crashing your little group therapy session...”
“We were about to have an important meeting Discord, one that included you. Where have you been?”
“That's what I'm trying to tell you... After Luna raised the sun, I felt this sudden hunch in my gut and decided to go back to the rift to do a little check up... and a good thing I did too.”
Discord snapped his fingers and a small pouch appeared in the air above the table. The string at the top untied by itself and the pouch flip over, and from the opening tumbled out a big object that landed noisily in the middle of the table startling everypony present.
“I found this... thing... and it's friends flocking around the rift.”
The Princesses and the Captain of the Guard studied the awful looking thing in front of them. It was larger than a normal stallion, about the same size as Princess Luna but with more mass. The creature was covered in some sort of gold-yellow-colored armor suit that looked mechanical in nature. There was a pair of similarly colored metallic wings sprouting from the back. It had a pair of arms and legs, each ending with razor sharp claws. What skin that was left visible had a sickly dark-green hue to it. However, for all it's hideousness, it was the creature's head that disturbed the ponies the most. Most of it was a gaping maw of spiky teeth, and where the eyes were supposed to be, they were replaced with circular red lenses.
“Wha... what is it?”
Cadance voiced out what the rest were thinking. Discord just shrugged, genuinely ignorant himself.
“Beats me. What I do know is that they're not from any part of Equestria I'm aware of...”
“It looks like a cross between an ape... and a bat...” Shining Armor gently moving parts of the monster with his unicorn magic.
“Wait, you mentioned this thing had friends? What happened to the rest?”
“Oh, nothing much. I just turned them into various inanimate objects like rocks and jumping beans...” Discord casually answered while picking his claw-nails. “Though I have to admit... the breathray-of-death thingy that they shoot from their mouths, do not let it hit you. Trust me you don't want to know how it feels.”
“This is grave news Discord... if those things slipped through the rift last night, there's no telling what else might have come through... or how many!”
“Well, I have even more bad news... unfortunately before I arrived these guys managed to disable the black crystals.”
Celestia gasped in shock, horrified at the news.
“Disabled? How? If the crystals were destroyed I would have sensed it!”
“Not destroyed, more like... inert...”
Using his powers, Discord shook the floating pouch and a strange box like device fell form it on top of the strange monster, clattering as it tumbled off and onto the table's surface. And though nopony had ever laid eyes on this mysterious technological device before, it had been damaged enough for them to conclude that whatever the box once was, it no longer is capable of functioning. At least not by the looks of it.
“I don't know exactly what they did with the crystals with this thing but they're little more than boulders now. Shame really, after all that hard work we placed in keeping them operational.”
“Discord... what of the rift? Neither Luna nor myself have felt any magical repercussions from these developments you describe. Surely”
“Now calm those royal wits of yours Princess, did you really think I would be dense enough to just casually allow an evil rift of unknown powers go out of control? Under a different circumstance maybe I would... but the point is that the rift itself is surprisingly calm, no wild activities and magical disruptions. I did sense strange shift in it's chaotic current however, but that's about it. I decided to come back here before trying to zap it with anymore magic, don't want the nasty thing to suddenly blow up Equestria.”
“That's odd, before we erected those crystals the rift would always grow in both size and turbulence... now these creatures turn up after the worst magical surge we've ever experienced and ruin months of work we've put into it? I do not like this at all...”
“Hmm...” Shining Armor pondered while staring at the creature on the table. “You mentioned they were near the rift, and that they did not venture further from the Frozen North?”
“I made sure to check the entire area within a hundred miles for more of these flying baboons and there were none.”
“Why... what's on your mind dear?”
“These creatures are wearing some sort of armor that if I had to guess, is militaristic in nature. Also they came in a relatively small group bearing some sort of device that most likely caused the malfunction of the crystals. Just like an infiltration team...”
“Are you saying that there's going to be more of these things coming through the rift?”
“I'm saying that if the purpose of this small group was for reconnaissance and disruption behind enemy lines... than there is a military agenda behind this entire ordeal. And whoever is in charge isn't interested in any diplomatic relationships. I fear that this may be the first signs of...”
“An invasion...” Celestia concluded the dreaded words that Shining Armor wanted to say.
“Yes, your majesty. And by the looks of it, unlike anything we've faced before.”
“Hmmph... if these things think they can just waltz in and take Equestria from under my nose, than they're sorely mistaken.” Discord huffed and crossed his arms haughtily.
“Sister, what do you propose we do?”
Luna looked at Calestia who regarded the alien creature on her table with a stony gaze. She feared it would come to this, that something would come through before she managed to find a way to close the rift. Now it seemed that option is closed to her. And unless her top scientists and wizards can decipher the strange metallic box in time before the inevitable happens, there was only one thing left to do...
Raising her head to full height, she addressed the ponies and draconequus in a voice that made even Discord feeling a little awed.
“We prepare for war.”
--------------------------
That evening, in Ponyville...
“Rarity! Rarity!”
Sweetie Belle called out for her sister to no avail. She had entered Rarity's Carousel Boutique when her sister didn't answer her when she knocked on the front door. Sweetie suspected that Rarity might have been concentrating on her work and decided to let herself in and give her sister a surprise. But it seemed that nopony was home, and Sweetie Belle had already searched the entire Boutique. Disappointed, she sat down in the middle of Rarity's room inspiration room; confused as to why her sister would be gone when she had promised Sweetie Belle to spend the evening with her. She looked around the room and spotted the half made dresses on the mannequins. 'I thought Rarity would've been done with those by now... she was really enthusiastic about finishing those dresses.' Sweetie Belle wanted to wait for her big sister to return to the Boutique as she figured out maybe Rarity had just gone out to buy some last minute ingredients for dinner or maybe some beauty product. Knowing her sister, Rarity wouldn't rest until everything was absolutely perfect under her scrutinize eyes. But if Rarity had gone out to buy something, wouldn't she had left a note? The more Sweetie thought about it, the more she felt that she needed to go out and look for Rarity. She had better do it soon too as it was getting dark pretty fast. Before leaving, she wrote a note and left it for Rarity just in case she got back before Sweetie did. She stepped out from the Boutique and shut the door behind her as she headed off in search of her big sister.
The streets were rather quiet, and Sweetie Belle only saw a couple of hurrying pegasi who seemed to be flying in the direction of the Mayor's house. As Sweetie Belle trotted across Ponyville hoping that her sister wouldn't be too hard to find when she heard a familiar voice call her name.
“Sweetie Belle! What are you doing out here by yourself?”
Sweetie Belle turned to the source of the voice and saw Scootaloo, a fellow Cutie Mark Crusader and her best friend along with Apple Bloom. She was riding her signature scooter and coming towards Sweetie Belle.
“Scootaloo? I could say the same about you.”
The light-gamboge-colored pegasus came to a screeching halt beside Sweetie Belle; slowing down by flapping her small wings to decrease the momentum.
“Haven't you heard? Some kind of disaster happened at the Weather Factory up in Cloudsdale. I was just on my way to the Library, I'm pretty sure that Rainbow Dash and the others are there planning on helping the pegasi. After all, Equestria can't go without it's weather, and I wanna be there to offer my help. I may not be able to fly, but I'm still a pegasi!”
“Erm... are you sure you're not doing this just to impress Rainbow Dash?”
“No! I mean, yeah... No! Ugh... look, either way I don't want to be the only pegasus who isn't up there helping Clousdale, I need to do this. Besides, I'm sure they'll need every hoof they can spare.”
“Okay, that sounds very noble of you Scootaloo. I was just looking for my sist... Wait! That's it! Rarity must have gone to Twilight's library as well! With something this important she has got to be there! Scootaloo, we could go together!”
“Sounds like a plan, hop on!”
As Sweetie Belle positioned herself behind Scootaloo, the pegasus pulled out a helmet exactly like the one she was wearing and offered it to Sweetie.
“Here, I even have an extra helmet for you. Safety first right?”
“Huh? Where did you get...”
“Hang on to your horses!”
With a kick to the ground, Scootaloo launched both of them off in the direction of the library. The evening wind blowing against the two filly's muzzles as they propelled through the streets.
“Alright! If I get a chance to help out at the Weather Factory, I may even get my cutie mark!”
“Yay! Cutie Mark Crusaders are go! Too bad Apple Bloom isn't here with us as well...”
--------------------------
The Mayor's Office...
“This is troubling news indeed... how bad is the damage?”
“The good news is, most of it seemed to be contained to one general area of the factory. The bad news is, that area is a very important section. If Cloudsdale doesn't get it fixed soon, Equestria could suffer from global warming.”
“Global what?”
“Global warming Ma'am... Er, you know... weather imbalance, natural disasters and such.”
“Oh good heavens! That sounds terrible.”
“It is Mayor Mare... and we'll need every pegasus we can spare here in Ponyville to help with the damage if we want to get the weather producing machines back on track again.”
“Of course Blue Skies, but there is no need to spread panic. We can do this subtly, inform the pegasi here without kicking up too much fuss. I'll come up with a speech in the morning about how everything is under control.”
“Excuse me Mayor Mare?”
A pegasus-mail-stallion with a light-yellow coat stood at the Mayor's door.
“Sorry to interrupt Mayor Mare, but I have a letter here that’s urgently addressed to you.”
“Let me see...”
The Mayor relieved the mail-pony of his task. The mail-pony was about to leave when he noticed Blue Skies giving him an inquiring look.
“They've got you delivering the bad news huh?”
“Yeah... bunch of us doing overtime across Equestria. The ponies need to know what happened, then hopefully we'll get everything fixed up pronto.”
“I know it's not much but, thanks.”
“Heh... well you know the saying... neither rain or shine, snow or sky and all that good stuff...”
“Oh my...” The Mayor blurted out, causing the other two stallions to turn their attention to her.
“What is it Mayor Mare?”
“It's a letter from Princess Twilight Sparkle... its says that she and her friends will be investigating the incident that happened at Cloudsdale. And that in her absence, the library...”
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“...is closed until further notice?”
“Huh?”
“It says, library is cl...”
“I know what the sign says Sweetie Belle. I just don't believe it.”
“But... how can they close the library? They just got back today!”
Scootaloo stretched her neck upwards trying to get a glimpse of any signs of life from the windows of the tree library.
“Spike! Twilight!”
“Um... do you think we should start calling Twilight, Princess from now on?”
“Don't be silly, of course not! This is the same geeky Twilight we're talking about. She probably wouldn't want us being so uptight around her anyway.
“If you say so...”
Scootaloo continued calling out until she gave up.
“Argh! It's no use, there's nopony home.”
“What do we do now?”
“Hmm... any other places where they might meet...”
“Oh! Oh! How about Fluttershy's cottage?”
Scootaloo gave Sweetie Belle an unimpressed glare that made the filly unicorn go all sheepish.
“So... no?”
“We could try Sweet Apple Acres!”
“But, that's quite far off, and it's getting really late...”
“Oh don't be such a scardy-foal. Besides, it'll give us an excuse to drag Apple Bloom along with us if they're not there, right?”
“I suppose... woah!”
Scootaloo yanked Sweetie onto her scooter and began to speed all the way to the Apple Farm.
“Come on! Time's a wasting!”
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In the Everfree Forest...
“Oh no, no, no, no, no... how could this be? I can't believe this vision that I see...”
Zecora peered over her cauldron as smoke rouse from it's murky contents. There were mystical books and scrolls surrounding the zebra, the aftermath from her search for answers to the recent phenomenons that were occurring in the Everfree Forest. Monster activity was on the rise and they were becoming increasingly more aggressive. The enchantress usually had no problem with the more fearsome creatures of the forest before, as she respected the laws of nature and knew how to avoid coming into conflict with the creatures of the forest, great and small. However today she had to defend herself from a rampaging manticore while she was outside looking for herbs. She barely made it out with her hide intact. She had seen hydra, water serpents and even a large dragon attacking the local wildlife savagely and wreaking havoc in the forest. Zecora sensed that there was something unnatural at work here causing the monsters to go out of control, and she needed to get to the bottom of it. This eventually led to her brewing a magic concoction that would give her clues as to what was affecting the monsters. After hours of working with her ancient charms and totems, she managed to conjure up an image from her brew. One that foretold events that will come to pass, events that do not bode well for all of Equestria...
“If there is a chance to change this fate... then I must warn Twilight, before it is too late.”
Zecora tossed her cloak over her body and grabbed a few necessities and stuffed them into her saddle bag before leaving her hut. As she closed the door, an awful stench passed through her nostrils.
“That foul smell is familiar... I know of only one creature, who's breath is similar...”
A low rumbling growl behind her confirmed her suspicion, as she turned around and saw about fifty hooves away was a menacing... timberwolf. It was a giant wolf-like monster that had a body made out of dead tree matter that came with sharp fangs and claws. It's huge mouth salivating at the sight of a promising meal presented before it. The timberwolf let loose a loud roar and charged at Zecora. But the mare was not so easily preyed on. She tumbled and rolled out of the way of the charging timberwolf, but not before throwing a few small pill-like objects that burst into a cloud of thick smoke that covered the timberwolf. Unable to see past it's own snout, the monster thrashed and howled, swiping randomly around hoping to land a lucky hit on the zebra. But Zecora was already galloping away in the direction of Ponyville. She glanced back with a smirk on her muzzle, pleased that she managed to outsmart the wooden monster.
“Aha! You wish to make a meal out of me? It is not so easy, as you can... Oooof!!!”
Zecora crashed into a tree trunk and fell backwards and landed on the forest floor, stars flying around her head. She shook herself back to her senses and saw that the tree she crashed into was peering at her with glowing yellow eyes. It lowered an elongated head filled with sharp fangs, drool seeping out of it's mouth. The tree was in fact, another timberwolf...
“...see?'
Zecora gulped in fear as she finished her rhyme. The smell of the timberwolf's breath filling her nostrils even before it let out an earth shattering roar.
“RWAAAAAAAAAAAR!!!”
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“Uh...”
She struggled to open her eyes, fighting against the heaviness weighing down her eyelids. Numbness plagued her body, but she was slowly starting to feel the aching touch of pain in her muscles. As she finally managed to open her eyes completely, she was greeted by darkness. She could not see two hooves in front of her muzzle.
“Whe... where am I?”
She felt the cold touch of metal against her back. She wondered why, as she did not feel like she was lying down on a bed, more like suspended upright... this sudden realization told her something was seriously wrong. She tried moving her legs, they did not budge... all her limbs were cuffed down tightly onto the metal slab. Panic gripped her and she started thrashing against her bonds but to no avail. The bonds were too tight and secure for her to break free. Her wings scrapped against the metal table uncomfortably as she had moved them out of place with her earlier struggle.
Than she remembered, her magic, how silly of her not to think of it first. She closed her eyes and concentrated. Her horn started to glow faintly and sparks of magic spurted out from the tip and then, nothing. Her magic died down and the glow dissipated. 'How is this possible?' She tried again to activate her magic but the result was the same. She panted hard, tired after straining herself. 'There has to be a way out of this...' But before she could formulate any kind of plan, she heard a voice coming out from the darkness. And it frightened her not just because it sounded eerily joyful yet menacing, but because she recognized it as her own voice.
“Well, well... the Princess has finally decided to grace us with her consciousness. What's the matter your majesty? Magic not working very well?”
Twilight heard the click of a switched being turned on and the light bulb above her came to life, providing just enough light to illuminate her immediate surroundings. And what she saw horrified her. All her friends were unconscious and strapped to metal tables just like she was and they all formed a semi-circle facing each other with herself in the middle. She also recognized the floor and parts of the room that she could see with her limited line of sight and poor light source; they were underneath the library in her own basement where she conducted her experiments. As she tried to process what was happening a figure stepped into the light and Twilight gasped at the sight of a duplicate of herself. She was like Twilight in almost every single way, except her wings were sparkling blue. She also wore a crown that resembled the Element of Magic crown. But instead of a six pointed star, this one had a pentagram in a circle at the top. She also wore the dreaded Alicorn Amulet around her neck. The duplicate gave Twilight a wide, creepy grin. And stared at her so intensely it made Twilight feel even more uncomfortable than she already was.
“And now, my dear Princess... the real fun begins...”
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