Chapter four
The next morning came in relative calm, Aioria woke up and joined the ponies for breakfast, a daffodil sandwich was a new experience, but when in Rome do as the Romans, it was surprisingly good, Spike was apparently a very good cook. Applejack showed up early after leaving the fillies in their respective homes, just in time too as two pegasi pulled chariots descended from the sky, both pegasi were white and clad in golden armor that had a romantic feel to it, blue hairs sprung from the Crest of the helmets as well as their tails, the sight of a golden armor brought a nostalgic feel to his heart. The note had said that they would send chariots, but this was unexpected, flying chariots pulled by pegasi still Aioria didn’t question it and hopped in, on second thought it would be natural to have a flying chariot if you had flying horses, or ponies in this case.
Little progress had been made in the field of communication save for some small talk and pleasantries, perhaps the ponies were expecting that everything would be revealed once Princess Celestia came into play, in a way Aioria expected the same.
Shortly after having taken flight a great mountain came into view and atop of it a white castle that seemed to sprout out of the mountain like it was carved out of the mountain itself, the sanctuary was a sight to behold but this was breathtaking. “What is that?” He asked in amazement.
“That is Canterlot Castle.” Twilight informed him. “That’s where we’re going to meet the princess.” A good night sleep had done wonders to improve Twilight’s mood, her mane was perfectly straight and she had a calm demeanor unlike anything she showed the previous night.
The chariots landed on a large platform apparently designed for chariot traffic and the ponies stepped out and walked into the castle guided by a pair of unicorn guards who wore similar armor to their winged counterparts, they were led through a gorgeously decorated corridor befitting a castle until they stopped in front of a couple of large ornate doors witch led directly to the throne room. Throughout the entire walk Aioria felt as if the air became charged with energy, with each step he could clearly feel a great power in the castle and they were walking right to it, an ever increasing sense of dread crept into his mind as they approached their destination and the other ponies didn’t seem the slightest bothered by it, behind these doors there was a being of immense power, a kind of power that he had sensed before and that he never expected to feel in this place.
As the doors open the powerful cosmo washed over the ponies and almost sent Aioria to the ground, there wasn't further denying it, slowly raising his eyes Aioria saw her, there sitting in a throne atop a flight of stairs, white as a cloud in a summer day with a ethereal mane that danced in a inexistent wind, clad in golden regalia and with eyes that spoke of ages past. This was a goddess.
Suddenly all of the questions that he planned to ask the ruler of the land became mute, his mind went blank as he followed the group of ponies to the foot of the stairs more out of reflex than out of conscious decision, then, the goddess spoke.
“Ahh Twilight I’m so glad you and the rest could make it, I hope you didn't go through much trouble on that little errand I gave you.” The ponies gave a courteous bow but Aioria was frozen in place. “Rise my little ponies, there is no need for you to do that.” the goddess was talking in a kind and familiar tone similar to Athena but with a motherly undertone, Aioria was beginning to relax when the goddess’s bright magenta eyes locked on him. “And you must be Lightning Bolt, Twilight wrote to me about your, unusual abilities. There are some questions I would like to ask you.” Aioria froze in fear, this goddess's eyes scrutinized and studied his every movement, it was as if she could see deep inside his soul, as if he was being measured and found wanting.
Gathering his courage Aioria stood firm, raised his head and prepared to stand tall in the presence of the goddess, doing otherwise would bring shame to the name of Athena's golden saints, and so he steeled his resolve and prepared himself to face the judgement of a goddess. That is until a sudden burst of light announced the arrival of a second goddess.
Aioria fell to his knees due to the sudden apparition of the goddess and the crushing cosmo that accompanied her, it had caught him by surprise, he had come to meet a princess but instead he was now facing not one, but two goddesses.
“Luna, what have I told you about teleporting in the throne room?” Princess Celestia scolded her sister.
“Apologies sister, we deemed it the quickest way of reaching here in time to greet our guests.” Aioria chanced a look at the second goddess, while Princess Celestia was twice the height of any pony he had come across, the second goddess, “Luna” was a head shorter than her, and had a completely opposite feel to Celestia, she was a deep side of blue and her mane seemed to mirror the night sky complete with twinkling stars.
Remembering the whole “cutie mark” peculiarity of these ponies, Aioria glanced at the flanks of the goddesses, Celestia had a yellow sun while Luna bared a dark spot with the image of a moon in it. Sun and moon, day and night, light and dark. Gods usually were associated with a specific motif, it was apparent that these goddesses followed the same pattern.
Divine eyes once again fell upon Aioria. “Art thou the one responsible for disturbing our night sky, we demand an explanation!” Luna's voice boomed with the force of a storm and slammed into Aioria's kneeling form.
“Luna, you’re doing it again.” Said Celestia in a kind but admonishing tone.
Luna looked at her sister and then again at the prostrated pony before her. “We- I apologize, I didn’t mean to frighten you, please rise.” Luna apologized meekly witch was odd, in Aioria's experience gods were prideful and authoritarian, even Athena as kind as she was, was raised as a high society lady and never showed any weakness, to see a goddess giggling mirthfully and another apologizing profusely was the wierdest thing he had seen in this world yet.
While this was happening in the throne room a chariot pulled by a pair of black pegasi landed in the same platform where Aioria and the ponies had landed moments earlier, a single figure descended from the chariot as the palace guards approached. “Halt! You cannot land a chariot in the Princess's private wing unannounced! Identify yourself!” Then the wind began to blow.
Regaining strength in his legs Aioria stood and cautiously regarded the goddesses before him. “Please forgive Luna, she sometimes goes back to using the Royal Canterlot Voice” Princess Celestia said adding a mirthful giggle. Aioria was astounded by their odd behavior. “Now as you all may know last night several glowing objects appeared in the sky and fell all over Equestria, Twilight has informed me that you are somehow related to this incident, if you would be so kind I’d like you tell us what you know about it.” Princess Celestia politely asked
This new information caught Aioria's attention. “Did you say several? That mean that the others-.” But before he could finish his statement a loud crash drew their attention outside of the throne room, the guards immediately leaped into action heading for the doors when suddenly they where blown off their hinges in a explosion of wind and dust blasting off the guards near the doors, the scene beyond the vacant door arch was obscured by a heavy cloud of dust where a lone pony stood covered by the veil of dust.
For what seemed an eternity there was no movement, no sound, no nothing all the ponies were frozen in place stunned by the destructive spectacle except for Fluttershy who had quickly hid behind one of her friends. The sound of armored hooves broke the spell of silence as the pony slowly walked over the broken doors ignoring the fallen guards and approached the group of ponies.
A pegasus clad head to hoof in ornate black armor stood defiantly in the throne room, he had a blue coat with his factions obscured by a large helmet, his mane and tail were concealed as well by his helmet and a white cape billowing in the wind. “Halt!” Two unicorn guards rushed to apprehend the intruder who merely extended a wing in front of him and flapped it in a backhand motion, this simple movement created a strong air current that swept the guards away and sent them crashing against the walls.
“What is the meaning of this!?” Princes Celestia rose from her throne and swiftly moved to defend Twilight and the rest of the ponies followed immediately by Luna.
“Vile fiend, thou dare destroy our palace and assault our guards, name thyself you cur!!”
For a moment the black pony stood still like a statue, and then he let out a depreciating laugh. “He he he, very well, I shall give you the courtesy. You may call me Pride I am an envoy of the True ruler of Equestria.” The black clad pony declared in a high and mighty tone that left Princess Luna's Royal Canterlot Voice sounding humble.
The ponies gasped in disbelief to his statement, Princess Celestial looked shocked and Princess Luna glared at the insolent stallion with cold intensity. “Impertinent fool, we are the rightful rulers of Equestria, who dares dismiss our right to the crown and declare themselves rightful ruler.” The Royal Canterlot Voice rightfully empathized Luna’s outrage at such a declaration.
“Who you ask?” He said with an amused smirk. “My master is a being of such power that you almighty alicorns seem as newborn foals in comparison.” His haughty tone did nothing to mask his sense of superiority, 'Pride' seemed to be an appropriate moniker.
“Impossible!” Twilight shouted as she stepped forward standing horn to horn alongside the princesses. “Alicorn magic is the strongest force in all of Equestria, there is nothing that can ever compare to it and I know that firsthoof.” Celestia gave an approving smile and Luna's gaze gained more steel to it ad the trio of alicorns lit their horns in chorus.
The black pony was unfazed even tough he faced the horns of three of the four existing alicorns, he merely chuckled. “There are forces beyond this world that ate powerful beyond your wildest dreams, Lord Cronos stands above all, and he shall assume control of this world and lead us to our true destiny.”
“It can’t be.” Aioria said in a barely audible whisper.
“Who is this Cronos you speek of? I have never heard of the name.” Celestia asked the invader.
The black pony merely chuckled at Celestia`s question. “You say you never heard of the name, yet he has had a hoof in every major event in Equestria since before there was an Equestria, why he is the reason you raise the sun and the moon every day, why the pegasi must make the weather and the reason ponies have to bring about the change of seasons, did you never question the order of the world? Did you never wonder why? The reason for this is very simple really.”
The ponies listened to his words, none more intently as Twilight, she knew everything there was to know about how the princesses raised the sun and the moon, about weather production and about helping with the seasonal cycle with citywide events like winter wrap up and the running of the leaves, she knew everything there was to know, everything that is except for “why”. “What is the reason” Twilight asked with both dreading and expecting the answer.
“It is very simple really.” Pride said smugly. “This world is broken, and the one who broke it was Lord Cronos himself.” Various emotions ran across the faces of the ponies ranging from terror to disbelief, Twilight looked at her mentor for support, or denial, or whatever but Princess Celestia`s expression was unreadable. “When Lord Cronos discovered us ponies ages ago he discovered that we were blessed with the divine power of the gods, outraged he orchestrated our demise by breaking the cycle of the seasons, devastating the natural weather and even knocking the sun out of its celestial course. But ponies impossibly overcame this trial by tapping into their divine gifts taming the weather, ordering the seasons and restoring the sun to its place in the sky. ” Pride`s speech was comparable to that of a mad prophet heralding the end of the world, Twilight noted that such a statement was probably quite accurate. Pride continued. “Having been thwarted Lord Cronos unleashed the Windigoes onto the ponies hoping to destroy them from the inside with internal strife, but once again the divine gifts of the ponies helped them prevail.”
“This is preposterous” Princess Luna cut into Pride`s narrative. “If such a monster does exist it should be purged from this land not seated at the throne.”
Pride shifted his attention at Princess Luna “I wholeheartedly agree Nightmare Moon” he said simply. Luna recoiled as if she had been slapped, then with an enraged roar unleashed a beam of raw magic at the insolent stallion, the beam hit true and a great explosion shook the trone room, the ponies screamed and rushed for cover while Twilight and Celestia raised a protective shield around all present.
Princess Luna panted heavily due to the magical exertion. “Luna.” Princess Celectia called her sister full of concern, realizing what she had done Luna looked around her and saw the frightened looks of the element bearers and the concerned look of Celestia, lowering her head in shame she was just about to utter an apology when another voice interrupted her.
“I am not done talking.” All eyes were immediately on Pride as he emerged unscathed from the dissipating cloud of dust. “really now, it is rude to interrupt a pony while he`s talking.” Pride acted as if nothing had happened to the astonishment of everypony, his armor was unscratched and he was unharmed, the only proof that anything ever happened was the destroyed floor where he stood. “ Now where was I, ah yes, after the windigoes Lord Cronos acknowledged us ponies as worthy bearers of his power and decided to rule us instead of destroying us, unfortunately before he could assert himself as our god you impostors seized the throne.” He pointed an accusing hoof at the princesses. “And now it is my great privilege to rid the land of you and deliver the world to my Lord.” As he spoke a black aura enveloped his body, it was not a magical aura, it was nothing that any of them had ever seen or felt, except once.
“That´s…” Twilight recognized the aura having seen it just the previous day but before she could say anything Pride flapped both his wings as a terribly strong wind raced towards the princesses ripping the debris to dust in its wake, Celestia and Twilight once again raised a shield just in time as the wind current crashed against it, both Alicorns strained at the effort it took to maintain the shield, suddenly a crack appeared on the shield like a spider web growing bigger and bigger before the terrified eyes if Twilight and Celestia, the shield broke and the torrential winds crashed violently against all three princesses sending them sprawling to the ground.
“To be able to kill the princesses, such an honor.” Pride said as he stepped closer to the fallen mares, as he approached five figures rushed to block his path, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and even Fluttershy shielded the princesses and Twilight defiantly. “Ah yes, and as an added honor I get to kill the Elements of Harmony, today is such a good day.” Pride said as he raised his hoof enveloped in black aura and without hesitating launched himself like only a pegasus can and attacked the mares.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the burning hoof flew towards the mares a confident grin in Pride`s face, a grin that vanished when a golden hoof impacted his face throwing him back as he crashed violently against the floor. “Who’s there!!?” Pride asked quickly getting back on his hooves.
A brown stallion stood in front of the princesses and the element bearers, his hoof burning in a golden flame. “I will not allow you to continue doing as you please, I will be your opponent.” The Golden Saint of Leo stood there ready to fight.