12/23/11, The Elements of Chaos · 6:18am Dec 23rd, 2011

I have been hard at work lately on a new project of mine- a very long, very complex story revolving around not one, not two, not even six ponies, but over fourteen! The Prologue is finished, and it is pretty good, if I do say so myself. A bit of spit and polish will go on it and then I'll commence work on chapter one of the expected 15-20 chapter story. As I'm sure you've noticed, I'm not very good at summaries, but I think I have a decent one here:

When an evil more ancient than Celestia herself escapes from confinement, only the Princess' most trusted subjects stand in the way of absolute destruction. But imprisonment gives one time to think, and the enemy is no fool; The Elements of Harmony certainly have their work cut out for them...

There will be action, adventure, romance, friendship, betrayals, suspense and humor! This is the only fic that I've spent as much time penning notes and plot points on as my actual book that I'm writing, so I can't wait to see how it turns out. Be sure to check my deviantart profile for concept art and the like. In the mean time, have a preview!

(Excerpt from Prologue)

The breeze blew the ink bottle over, once more spilling its contents, this time all over her letter. Celestia growled in frustration. Cursed night-winds... She threw the note in the trash and decided to turn in for the night when it occurred to her, Wait... wasn’t my window closed? Celestia looked over to the wall. The curtains flowed softly in the breeze, cold mountain air filled her nostrils and the sounds of crickets chirping in the grass below flowed up to her room. The window was most definitely open.
That was the final straw, the Princess ripped her door open and bolted down the corridor as fast as she could. Behind her, the sounds of heavy breathing and hoof-falls echoed in her ears. “Swiftblade!” She called, her voice nearly in a panic. “Swiftblade!” Celestia’s cries were met only with the sounds of her pursuer. She turned a corner and found herself at the top of the main staircase. “Guards!” She shrieked, stampeding down the stairs. She could not see anypony. The guards, the servants, even the night maintenance crew was missing. Where is everypony! The Princess cried to herself. The hoofsteps drew closer, fueling Celestia with but more fear and adrenaline. Pausing for only a second at the bottom of the steps, Celestia tore down another hall, ripped open the nearest door... and fell straight to the ground.
Groaning, she climbed back onto her hooves and looked behind herself to see what she’d tripped over. The sight nearly made her scream in both fear and sorrow. Swiftblade, the ever present, caring, courteous guard she’d known for years lay in a puddle of blood on the ground, his mouth gripping lifelessly on his sword. Desperately, Celestia locked the door with her magic. The hoofsteps stopped just outside the room and murmurs emanated from the other side.
Tearful and panicked, the Princess resumed her run down the hall. She had to reach the barracks, the other guards needed to know that the castle was under attack. A loud crash filled the room, her pursuers had smashed the door down. Whoever they were, they were getting impatient. Celestia needed to lose them before anything else.
In a flash, the Princess was across the hall, through the other door and into the banquet room. Shoot! Celestia thought angrily, she knew this room well. The Banquet Hall was the large room she used for special dinners with honored guests, typically diplomats from neighboring kingdoms; there was only one exit from here, and she was standing in it.
Shaking, the ruler of Equestria looked around for a place to hide. The large table that spanned the entire room seemed like the best option, but also the most predictable. She would be caught almost instantly if she hid under there. The serving carts! She thought, running to the other side of the room where four very large wheeled serving carts stood lined up. Celestia lifted the cloth and crawled under one, shivering with anxiety.
The door slowly creaked open and the hoofsteps entered. “You saw her come in here?” A deep voice said. It was soft, but it carried a heavy power along with it. No audible answer was given back. The hoofsteps grew closer.
“Wait.” The another voice said. “I know this room, she threw a party in it last month. There is only one entrance, go back to the door guard it. I’ll find her.” This voice was slick; a slimy, greasy voice that reminded Celestia of a snake.
Once again, no audible response came, but Celestia could hear the first set of hoofsteps retreat back to the door. What is going on here! The Princess took a deep, shaky breath and tried to collect her thoughts. Panicking, she knew, got ponies killed in situations like this.
“Heh, heh, I bet she’s under the table.” The second voice said. The sounds of ripping cloth echoed from the center of the room, followed by a grumble of disappointment. “Hmm...” The voice said as the speaker rounded the room towards her corner. “Oh Prince-ess, where a-a-are you-u-u?” The menace in the voice, the sheer blatant malice so excitedly shown caused Celestia to shiver once more.