Rising Star

by NPP6

Dungeons, Dice, and Destiny

Inkwell lowered his hoof and watched Featherdancer until the prison cart turned the corner and he was lost to sight. At least he had managed to keep his brother safe.

He looked around the interior of his current transport. Moonchaser was staring at her hooves in a corner, while Sunbeam was lying on her back staring at the ceiling with her forehooves crossed behind her head. The others were all either in other carts or had gotten away. Inkwell was hoping for the former.

Then the cart stopped and the door opened up again, three more ponies being pushed inside. Well, it was a nice hope while it lasted.

Once Contrail, Lotus Blossom, and Dust Runner had been loaded up, the doors closed again and the cart began rolling once more. The only sound was the white noise from the street and the clacking of wooden wheels on cobblestone streets. It was Lotus who finally broke the silence. “So, what’s everypony’s story?”

Inkwell and Sunbeam shook their heads at her. “No.” Sunbeam firmly said. “No details, tell each other nothing about your lives. If you can, forget everything you know about yourselves.”

“What, but—”

Moonchaser interrupted her, “The less we know about each other, the less we can tell them. If we don’t have any information, then we can’t sell each other out. It’s the only way to keep our families safe if they try to retaliate for this.”

“…oh.” The mare looked crestfallen. It occurred to Inkwell that she might be only now realizing how this would affect her friends and family.

Inkwell cocked his head and looked at Contrail. “I am curious though, I thought I saw you get away, how’d they get you?”

The other stallion looked sheepish as he raised a hoof to rub the back of his neck. “Heh heh, funny story… I actually did manage to get away. I was looking for a place to lie low and wait for this to blow over, so I ducked into a shop a few blocks from the fighting…”

---

Contrail leaned against the counter, trying to catch his breath. When he looked up, the shopkeeper was giving him an appraising look. “Is it… alright if I... stay here for a bit?”

The shopkeeper’s expression didn’t change a bit, he simply asked, “You one of the kids causing all that trouble out there?” Contrail nodded. “Well then, stay as long as ya’ like, I’m just gonna go get somethin’.”

Fifteen minutes later the shopkeeper was back with the guard.

---

“…Really? Really!?” Sunbeam’s words expressed Inkwell’s reaction rather nicely. “You really… you just… you actually… ugh!” The mare threw her hooves up in the air in defeat.

Dust Runner seemed to be trying to stifle giggles at the other mare’s antics, which drew the attention of her friend. “Dust Runner,” Moonchaser began, “I know that I saw you get away back by that fountain we threw the Spruce Manticore through. How did they catch you?”

“Well I was hiding in an overturned haycart…”

---

Dust Runner was having a hard time controlling her giggling, but she had to keep it stifled. The guard that started this fiasco still hadn’t woken up, but several more had arrived and set up a temporary command post. The ranking guardpony was currently shouting his head off about how his troops had better “bring these rebels down!”

Four yards away, one of the fugitives he was giving himself an ulcer over was struggling to not blow her cover. It truly became difficult when one of the hapless guards reported that they had lost track of one of the mares – Dust Runner could only assume that that meant her – and the pale blue actually turned a deeper shade of crimson than the red flower that Lotus Blossom had hit the first guard with.

When the tomatoes came sailing in out of nowhere to paint the entire command post red, the floodgates burst.

The commander and the other two actual ponies of the guard stared at the cart that was on its side at the mouth of an alleyway. “Is somepony there?”

Dust Runner froze. Uh-oh, think fast…”Um… No. Nopony here but us uh… haystacks!”

“Haystacks?”

“Uh… yeah, I’m a uh… Laughing Haystack of the Western Plains.” At this, a hastily constructed haybale with a goofy face drawn on it popped up and jumped over the cart into the cordoned off area. “Well, you nice ponies look awful busy, so I’ll just be going on my way and leave you to it, bye!” A dusty afterimage was left in her wake as the disguised mare galloped down the street.

“Commander, I think that was one of the ponies we’re looking for.”

The guard’s superior stared at him. “You think… of course that was one of the ponies we’re looking for you idiot!”

“Should we arrest it then? I’m not sure that the law actually applies to haystacks. Or at least, I’m pretty sure that they can’t break the law. I think. How would we put the irons on a haystack anyw—”

“Soldier, shut up and get that haystack!”

“Yes sir, charge!”

The commander would be in the hospital for months after being trampled by the poneekinns that his subordinate had been commanding. Said subordinate would be facing the Draconequis equivalent of a court martial at the time, the fact that he did manage to bring the “haystack” in downgrading his punishment to a major demotion and transfer to a position outside the city walls.

The true irony of this had yet to unfold.

---

Inkwell facehooved. It took him a moment to realize that the echo was four of the other five occupants of the cart doing the same.

Contrail summed it up rather nicely, “That makes my capture look good…”

Sunbeam looked around at her fellow prisoners. “So did anypony not get captured in an utterly embarrassing fashion?”

Contrail looked slightly offended by this. “So how’d you get caught then Oh Celestial One?”

The mare shrugged. “Not much to tell. I got flashy with some of my spells and they upped their game. Seven Oak Ursas and a whole lot of troopers overwhelmed me. Most of ‘em are firewood now though.” She gave a rather proud smirk.

Moonchaser dipped her head at that. “And we all saw Lotus Blossom get captured, nice job though bringing down that treasury ship over Mayhem Lane.”

The earth pony blushed and looked down at her hooves. “I was just trying to give it back to the ponies who needed it…”

The unicorn mare turned to the pegasi and asked, “What about you? Last I saw the two of you were making the entire Air Guard look like so many lead balloons.”

Moonchaser bit her lower lip. “It was my fault, one of the guardponies was riding a Yew Hydra and started targeting ponies randomly. I took a spike that would have hit a bunch of schoolfoals. Inkwell tried to rescue me, we almost got away before the Rowan Lupines brought us back down again…”

Sunbeam nodded, “How many of ‘em did ya get?”

Inkwell smirked at her, “All but the one that mattered.”

For the first time since they had met, the unicorn mare actually laughed. Then the cart stopped. A grating sound of metal on stone was heard as the gates opened. The cart rolled forward again, and Discord’s fortress swallowed the six ponies whole.

Several hours later, the same conversation was being played out in six separate rooms. Six different interrogators were facing the same set of responses from six ponies. The only variations in fact were vocal pitch and facial expression. Nopony knew it, but the six troublemakers were actually even speaking in unison.

“What is your name?”

“I already told you my name.” Dust Runner smiled innocently.

“That cannot be your name!”

“Sorry, it’s the only one I’ve got for you.” Lotus Blossom looked slightly confused.

“That name is obviously fake! It is ridiculous!”

“My parents have a very warped sense of humor.” Contrail deadpanned with a deliberately neutral expression.

“Where did you get the title from?”

“Popular vote?” Moonchaser said with a hopeful smile.

“Who gave it to you?”

“A few ponies with similar names and titles. I think you actually have them in another room.” Sunbeam grinned.

“You are making a mockery of this inquisition!”

“You bet your flank.” Inkwell smirked.

Shortly after that the interrogation team gave up. The six ponies were taken into a dungeon that had three cells along one wall and a large wooden platform with crystals imbedded in it taking up the other half of the room. It was a place that they all knew from stories about previous rebellions, the place where the Draconequi kept their enemies awaiting punishment.

They were on Death Row.

Lotus Bloom and Dust Runner were led into the cell furthest from the door. The earth ponies were locked in their cell, but otherwise had freedom of movement. Sunbeam and Contrail were placed in the middle chamber, they had special collars and helmets put on them to prevent their using magic, but otherwise they had the same rights of movement as the earth ponies. Moonchaser and Inkwell on the other hand were chained to the wall, almost as if they were lying on their backs against it. Their forehooves were manacled above their heads, while their rear hooves were chained to both wall and floor. Their wings were spread wide and shackled to the wall by their primaries. The barred window in each cell gave an excellent view of the courtyard were the crowd would be gathered to watch their punishment, though they didn’t really let in much light.

Their guards turned and left. There was a brief moment of silence, and then the wooden door to the dungeon opened once more. Three sets of hoofsteps echoed through the chamber, and when they stopped, Inkwell looked up to see the guard that Sunbeam had thrown across the market flanked by two other guardponies and smirking at them.

Sunbeam sighed, “Oh joy, time for the villainous gloating.”

The guard scowled. “Maybe it’s about time somepony took that attitude away from you Filly.”

One of his companions stepped forward, “Commander Wyte, our orders are only to get information…”

“Thank you Lieutenant, duly noted and considered.” The guardpony, apparently Commander Wyte, began to reach for the door to the unicorns’ cell.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

Wyte stopped and turned to look at Moonchaser. He stalked forward and opened the door to the cell she and Inkwell shared. “Oh really missy? And why ever not?”

Her response was as immediate as the reaction it drew. “You’re skating on thin ice already after this, I can only imagine what your superiors would say if you harmed one of us before we could be publicly punished. Besides, you sir, are a sick and twisted parody of a pony who will be left with nothing when your usefulness to Discord and his kin runs out.”

Wyte snarled at her, “Discord pays me because I’m viscous. Your friend kept me from getting something I want. I always get what I want.”

“How very foalish of you.”

The commander began to pace forward, his expression changing to express a very different emotion than anger. “There are plenty of things I can do to you that will leave you perfectly intact for your punishment. For example, I didn’t get what I wanted from that filly in the alleyway, but I suppose that you’ll do as a replacement until I can find her again.” As he took his first step into the cell, sparks flew into his face, driving him back a half step. He looked up to see a glare that would have melted lead and a voice that could have frozen flames.

“Leave. Her. Alone.” Inkwell had whipped one of his chains against the wall.

“What?” Wyte began laughing. “And just what are you going to do hero? You’re chained to the wall in a fortress full of my allies, how exactly do you plan on stopping me from doing anything to them or even you should the mood strike me?”

Inkwell never flinched as they locked eyes. His expression didn’t even change. “I wiped out an entire company of your Poneekinns with a cherry pit at almost a hundred yards, you tell me. The question you need to ask yourself isn’t whether or not I can carry through on a threat, it’s whether or not it’ll be worth it when I do. Because this time you’re gambling with your life. If you or any of the other guards tries anything like what we stopped you from doing, they’re a deadpony.”

Wyte took a step back. Then another. “A shame you’ll never get the chance to back any of this up colt.” Then he slammed the cell door shut, turned and stalked out of the dungeon with the other two guards on his heels, one of them giving Inkwell a very slight nod as they left. Then the door closed, the sound of sliding bolts was heard, and it was quiet again in the dungeon.

After a few minutes Moonchaser turned her head to get a good view of her cellmate. “Thank you for that, I… if he had… I don’t know…”

Inkwell shook his head at her. “Don’t mention it, I didn’t really do anything. You and Sunbeam were the ones who got him cornered, I just called ‘checkmate.’ Besides, if my sister ever found out that any mare had had that happen to her when I was around, she’d come to the land of the dead, drag me back to this world and send me to the other side again herself. Being completely immobilized at the time would have been no excuse.” He turned to look at the door again. “I’m just glad I didn’t actually have to kill him.”

Sunbeam looked over at them from her cell. “Wait, that wasn’t a bluff?”

Inkwell smiled sadly. “No, that threat was very real.” He stopped and looked at the unicorn mare’s cellmate. “Contrail, what are you doing?”

The other stallion looked over at him. “Oh, well I got some of this gravel through the window, and well… there’s this game my little brother loves to play with some of the neighborhood colts. You put say thirteen little rocks in a circle, and then a circle of twelve inside them, and eleven inside them, and so on until there’s only the one rock in the center, and then you each take another rock and pick a spot on the outside ring, and you take turns shooting a rock from one of the pebbles at pebbles on the next ring in. first pony to get to the middle wins. Kinda like marbles, but… more affordable. Anyway, my brother is really good at this game, and… well…”

“Playing it reminded you of him.” Inkwell finished. Contrail nodded. The pegasus got a curious look on his face. “Tell me, how good are you at that game?”

The unicorn looked down. “Not very, I can’t usually even get to the second ring before my brother wins.”

Moonchaser looked at Inkwell and whispered, “Dust Runner is an excellent shot at marbles, if that helps.”

Her companion turned and cocked an eyebrow at her. Then he turned his gaze on the far end of the dungeon. “Dust Runner, tell me, can you see any discolored feathers near the base of my wings?”

“…Yeah, why?”

Inkell sighed in relief. “Good, I was worried that they wouldn’t show through the disguise. Do you think you can hit them with a pebble like Contrail is using?”

The mare paused for a moment. She seemed to be judging the shot. “Yeah, I should be able to, but that’s awfully close to a couple important bones that I wouldn’t want to break.”

Inkwell chuckled at a joke that only he seemed to have heard. Under his breath he muttered. “I wouldn’t know, that’s a pegasus thing.” Moonchaser gave him a rather confused look, having been just close enough to hear him. Then he raised his voice slightly so that the others could hear. “Trust me, I’ll be fine, but you need to hurry and make the shot.”

Contrail handed Dust Runner a hooffull of gravel. She turned and made eye contact with Inkwell. “Are you sure about this?” at his nod, a pair of pebbles flew through the bars, striking a single white feather on either one of Inkwell’s wings. There was a heartbeat of silence, as if the world was taking a breath.

And then Inkwell’s wings changed. The black wings instead became a deep blue, the single white feather on either wing changing to a paler shade of blue. He almost burst out laughing at the other five ponies picking their jaws up off the floor. In fact the only thing that kept him from doing so was the knowledge of how they would react to the actual big reveal.

Inkwell gave them a moment to process what their eyes were telling them, and then said, “Yes, I’m not really a pegasus, and these aren’t my real wings. They’re a frame I constructed because well… these are my real wings.” And Inkwell’s actual pair of leathery bat wings spread from where the feathers had hidden them.

And he closed his eyes and waited for the avalanche…

And he waited…

And he waited…

He cracked one eye open to make sure that they hadn’t all run off on him to assemble a Lynch mob. He found a true surprise.

Five expressions ranging from bemused to “desperately-trying-not-to-laugh” greeted him. Needless to say, not what he was expecting. Check that, four expressions. Contrail had fainted.

Inkwell blinked a few times. “…This usually goes a lot differently…”

Moonchaser still looked completely bewildered. “Why?”

You could have heard a pin drop. Inkwell, Sunbeam and Lotus Blossom turned to stare at her. Dust Runner just shrugged. “She’s led a very… sheltered life.” She offered by way of explanation. “I’m pretty sure that this is the first time she’s ever even heard of a bat pony. What reaction do you usually get?”

Sunbeam answered for him, “Not the good kind, believe me. For him even coming into the city is like me walking down Palatial Lane.”

“What would be the problem with that?” Moonchaser queried.

Sunbeam gave her a deadpan stare. “Just how sheltered are you? I’m a street rat. The only reason I haven’t starved to death is because I make a living stealing food from other ponies. The only reason I haven’t bled to death is because I can fight well enough to wind up here. The only reason I’m still intact is because I haven’t let myself get swept up by a gang and I’ve let all the other rats know that I’m three times as good as an entire one.

“I had a price on my head before all this started that most ponies could retire on. I don’t know if you’ve heard my name if you’re sheltered enough to still be confused, but I’m the Mare of the Mist, the only solo career female thief in the country. I know most of the guards by name they’ve tried to catch me enough times. I have a unique capacity for deception unrivaled by anypony within a hundred miles.

“The upper class kind of pony that sit around in their big old mansions all day sipping tea and pretending nothing is wrong with the world while Equestria goes to plot around them would prefer to pretend that me and my kind don’t exist. If I got within ten blocks of the upper districts, the guard would be carting me off in minutes.

“My very existence is a threat to their oh-so-perfect world. They’ve got their heads stuck up their plots thinking that Discord and his ilk have turned the world into a Utopia, and I’m sure that it is. For them.

“The rest of us on the other hoof have to wade through life, barely getting by. What we stopped today was only rare because of that filly’s age. That doesn’t fit into the rich ponies’ perfect world, and so they ignore use, keep us very far away, where we can’t get their world dirty, and then pretend we’re not there. and as soon as one of us crosses that line, they hit us hard enough that we fly all the way to the moon and those that dare try and do something about it wind up here.”

Moonchaser had tears in her eyes by the end of Sunbeam’s tirade. “No… its not… I don’t…”

Sunbeam’s eyes widened as she took in the other mare’s reaction. Then she sat down. Hard. “Horseapples. You, you’re one of them aren’t you?” She spun around to face Dust Runner. “And you? What are you two, a pair of rich girls who thought that they’d have an adventure? I expect Mommy and Daddy are going to be here any minute to buy your way out of this pit!”

“Leave her alone!” Moonchaser’s voice carried across the stone dungeon. “Dust Runner is my maid, if anything she probably agrees with you. She’s no more well off than any of the others, but she is a dear friend…” Moonchaser choked here. “A dear friend… and the only reason she’s here is because of me…” Her voice trailed off.

There was a small awkward silence that followed until Inkwell broke it. He had pulled a feather from the false wings with his real ones and had been using it to pick the locks on his chains. He looked up at Sunbeam. “So why aren’t you running for a torch and pitchfork right now?”

She turned to him and shrugged. “Like I said, I’m a street rat. You can’t really afford to judge other ponies based on trivial things like what kind of wings they’ve got.”

Inkwell finished unchaining himself and moved over to the door of his cell. “Alright, what about you Lotus Bloom?”

She smiled at him. “I’m a gardener, when ponies need help with plants they come to me. Bat ponies need fruit trees, and those need a lot of care since they don’t do well with chaos. How about you Dust Runner?”

The maid stepped back a bit. “I-I… I can’t tell you.”

“What?”

“Why not?”

“Not even me?”

“I’m sorry Lotus Bloom, I can’t tell you. I can’t tell anyone Sunbeam. And no, not even you Moonchaser, especially not you. I’m sorry, I just… I can’t.”

Inkwell hadn’t responded during this exchange save to give her an appraising look before turning back to the lock. After the door swung free, he walked over to the earth ponies’ cell and peered in, staring hard at Dust Runner for a few moments. Then he stepped back. “I see…” He turned and began to walk towards the door to the dungeon, but stopped and looked back over his shoulder at her. He made a weird clicking noise, and then cocked his head as if expecting something. He had almost turned away when a pair of clicks came back at him. He smiled and nodded at the mare before turning and continuing towards the door.

“You won’t tell anypony will you?”

Inkwell turned back to her. “Never.” A few more clicks went the mare’s way.

She shook her head. “I trust you.” At his cocked eyebrow she blushed. “I don’t actually know how to say anything but the ceremonials and customaries, even though I understand it all…”

The bat pony nodded before continuing on to a small cupboard next to the door. Sunbeam suddenly spoke up, “Hey wait a second, was that some kind of other language just now?”

Dust Runner raised an eyebrow at her. “Was what some kind of other language Sunbeam?”

“That clicking thing you just did.”

Inkwell turned with a cloth pouch in his hoof and looked at her. “What clicking?”

Sunbeam’s mouth tried to work for a few moments before Lotus Bloom interrupted her silent tirade. “I don’t think that they’re going to tell us anything Sunbeam, I’ve heard that click-speak between a couple of my customers before and they always deny it happening.”

Dust Runner’s eyes widened. “I thought—”

“If she took care of their fruit trees then she’s not technically an outsider. She’s not close enough to actually teach, and they aren’t allowed to confirm anything, but they don’t have to actively keep her in the dark either. We, on the other hand, do. It’s complicated.”

“So then I can tell Moonchaser after all! That’s so great, I mean—” A furious burst of clicking cut her off. “But why not?” More clicking. “And if I do anyway?” More clicking. “Why?” A lengthy wave of clicking. “I see, but what if I use” She fired off some clicks. He responded with some more clicks. “No, I don’t want that… Why is this so bucking complicated.” Another long set of clicks responded to her, this one with a couple of whistles in it. “Alright… I’ll do that. If we get out of here alive that is…”

Inkwell smiled from where he had been doodling on the floor with chalk dust. “That’s not going to be a problem, now that this is set up.”

Sunbeam looked at him. “A pretty drawing on the floor? What’s that going to do?”

Inkwell laughed, “It’s a Runic Circle Spell.”

“A what?”

“Ambient magic, the same as the disguise spell we’re all wearing. It works by—”

“What’s it do?”

“Basically anypony who steps through that doorway will be filled with an overpowering urge to turn around, forget why they’re here and everything that they see in this room, and then be somewhere else.”

“…Join me Inkwell, and together we can rule Equestria’s criminal underworld.”

“Get back to me after I save our lives.”

“Alright, just hurry up and break us out already.”

He shook his head at her. “I can’t do that.”

“What! But—”

He interrupted her before she could work up steam, “If we escape now, vanish into the night, then they’ll never stop searching for us. When they can’t find us, they’ll retaliate against everypony in this city, maybe all of Equestria. We… I can’t let that happen. Life is hard enough for these ponies, I can’t make it any harder for them.”

“Most of them wouldn’t do the same for you.”

He shook his head at her. “That doesn’t make it right. Besides, I’ve got ponies to protect.”

“You’d never survive on the streets, you know that?”

He smiled, “I was lucky enough to find a good man to apprentice under.”

“What? I didn’t quite catch that.”

“Thank you.”

She tipped her head back laughing. “Alright hero-colt, so what’s the plan then?”

“This is a giant chess game with only one rule, ‘we can’t win.’ We have to die, and Discord or Mayhem or whoever is overseeing our execution has to see us die. Outside of that, anything goes, but the government has to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we. Are. Dead. It’s the only way to save the city.”

Moonchaser cut in. “But if we have to die, then how is this an escape attempt?”

Sunbeam was grinning from ear to ear. “We don’t have to die Moonchaser, that just has to be what everypony sees. What they walk away knowing to be absolutely true. I am curious as to how though.”

“The execution platform. It’s one gigantic ritual spell circle. Funny thing about ritual magic, it always works the exact same way. But, if I draw in a few extra lines and runes in such a way that the spell burns them away without a trace, suddenly the spell that’s supposed to erase our bodies from existence becomes an oversized teleport pad. One that I can target to an area in the forest that I happen to know very well. We hide out for a couple of days, let this die down, and one by one we quietly slip back into our lives.”

“And you’re sure this will work?”

He turned to look at Lotus Blossom. “I’ve been studying magic under the direct tutelage of the greatest wizard of all time for eleven years. My special talent is knowing magic that I have no ability to use. Yeah, I think I can manage to correctly modify a spell circle this big with a full apothecary available to me. Provided I’m allowed to concentrate of course.”

Eight hours later he extinguished his candle, swept the redirection rune away, quietly slipped back into his cell, locking the door behind him, put his wings back on, and latched himself back into place on the wall. He then slept for four hours before he was awakened by the dungeon door opening.

The guards had arrived, one of them began turning a crank, opening the ceiling and raising the platform into the courtyard above. Inkwell and the other prisoners were led into a small room, where they had their various imprisonments removed and had explained to them very deliberately what would happen if they made an escape attempt with so many civilians present.

There was a pause as the opening ceremonies played out, and then they were marched out into the courtyard and up onto the platform. They turned to face the assembled crowd, listening as their charges were read out, interestingly a rather lengthy list for only a few hours of damage. Not one of them could keep a straight face as their names were called out, their executioners had been forced to execute them under the ridiculous pseudonyms that they had given them. And then a single word rang out that stopped their hearts cold.

After their charges had been announced and their names read off, their judgment had been revealed. It wasn’t what they had been expecting at all.

“However, being the merciful ruler that I am, I, Discord, Lord of Chaos and ruler of Equestria shall not be executing these ponies. No, instead their punishment shall be… Banishment.”

To their credit, none of the condemned moved. Instead, five sets of eyes snapped to Inkwell. “Okay spill,” Sunbeam whispered, “What does that mean for us?”

Inkwell resisted the urge to shake his head or gulp. “I… I don’t know. Half of these ancient ritual spells are based on intent. When I modified it, that was what I had in mind. If Discord only tries to banish us…”

Moonchaser cut in, “Alright then, what do we do?”

“Nothing.” The stallion responded. “We can’t afford to react. If we try anything, the only thing it will accomplish is getting more ponies hurt. Foremost us.”

“So what then?” Lotus Blossom asked.

“We gamble.”

“Gamble?” Dust Runner seemed almost unfamiliar with the word.

“We roll the dice, hope that this works. Hope that the difference in intent won’t be enough to mess with my modifications. Or that it’ll just make the spell ignore them.”

“And if it doesn’t?” Contrail shot from the far end.

“Well, I don’t know about you five, but I made my peace back in that market street. I was prepared to die on this platform when I took on those Poneekinns. We all knew where that was heading. I suppose that all that’s left to do now… is choose your final words.”

Inkwell then looked up and saw Featherdancer in the crowd. He opened his mouth and began to deliver his final words. Then to his surprise, he heard Sunbeam start hers, then Moonchaser, Lotus Bloom, Dust Runner, and finally Contrail. And then an answering voice came from the crowd, redirected to bounce off all the walls so that the source was indiscernible.

A slight glow seemed to emanate from the six ponies on the platform, as they sang with the unseen voice. Inkwell, Moonchaser, Dust Runner, Lotus Bloom, Contrail, Sunbeam, and Featherdancer, all singing the same Heartsong in seven part harmony. And then the song ended, each of the six taking a single portion of the last verse before stepping across the border and into the inner circle of the spell. And with a final flash of light, they were gone. The only thing that remained was a voice on the wind, singing the seventh part of that ending verse. And then it too faded away, leaving only a promise of return that chilled the blood of the assembled Chaos Lords.

What nopony could know is that Destiny had just had her cards handed back to her. The events set in motion in the courtyard that day would change all Fate’s designs. The altered spell echoed through time and space, creating powerful magicks, changing circumstances to forge new heroes, changing the very nature of the interaction Fate, Destiny, and all their kind had with mortal beings.

But most notable is the fact that with that spell, most of the previous rules went out the window. Destiny would need a new deck of cards, and Fate a new loom. A new age was about to dawn over the magical land of Equestria.

And the first grain of sand had just fallen to the bottom of the hourglass.

Comments

[kyubbiman]

Fun and good story. I like your use of words and epic foreshadowing.