//------------------------------// // Act 3 Introduction (AKA "Princess Luna recaps the plot") // Story: Displaced into Nothing // by Rockstar_Raccoon //------------------------------// CANTERLOT NIGHT GUARD HQ 06:26 HOURS The South gate stood tall in the early light of the morning, the stone archway ornately cast around the sturdy pair of doors, the symbols of the night guard embossed into the thick metal.  The spires of the low watchtowers on either side glimmered in the morning light, the night’s fog still lingering in the morning shadows of the walls of the entry way and the buildings on the street.  Two royal guards, fresh from the shift change, leaned against either side of the door, their brassed armour strapped loosely to their bodies as they settled in for a few hour shift. One of the guards tapped the other on the shoulder, pointing with a hoof.  A dark shape approached through the morning fog that still hung in the shadows over the path, a pony wearing a dark hooded robe stepping out of the grey as it walked towards the gate. The the guard nodded to his compatriot, straightening up and stepping forward, clearing his throat.  “Who goes there?” The pony tossed his head back, throwing off the hood to reveal the head of a dark grey unicorn with a short, ragged black mane, prematurely graying hair interspersed.  In the light, they could see the red veins on the whites of his wide, purple eyes, as well as the dark bags hanging beneath them, as if this pony had spent many a night in some sort of manic state rather than sleeping. The unicorn’s voice was slow and had a rasp to it, as if he’d gone permanently hoarse from screaming chants in numerous drunken fits, “I have a meeting with Princess Luna.  I was told to be here by Six Thirty.” The two guards looked at each other.  One of them turned to open the door, looking inside and calling out, “Princess Luna have a Six Thirty appointment?” After a moment’s pause, the door opened wider.  A thestral mare wearing a dark, heavy jacket stepped out, looking the newcomer up and down.  “The professor I presume... Mark?” The unicorn reached back with a forehoof, pulling his robe forward to reveal his backside.  His long, unkempt black tail curled against the ground, fraying in different directions where it had been caught and ripped on numerous occasions.  Upon his flank sat the image of a slanted golden hexagram, the top triangle of which seemed lit up, rays of power emanating from it. The thestral looked over the mark, nodding, “Looks about right...” she straightened, “My name is Sergeant Nightshade.  On behalf of her majesty, Princess Luna, welcome to Night Guard high command.”  She held forward her hoof to shake, a steel combat shoe wrapping sharply around the edges. The unicorn peered at the hoof for a moment, a look of mild displeasure creeping onto his face.  He reached forward stiffly and pressed the tip of his heavily tarnished silver horseshoe against it, tentatively bobbing it up and down against the guard’s steel one. The guard’s professionally friendly smile faltered slightly as she glanced down, “Huh... Not a personable one, I take it...”  She glanced over at the unicorns guarding the gate, motioning one over, “Magical scan?” The older unicorn stepped forward, horn lighting up as he quickly ran a series of detection spells over the occultist.  “...All clean.” The thestral nodded, “All good then.”  She turned back to the unicorn as the guard retook his place near the door.  “The princess is waiting in the hangar, professor.  Follow me please.”  She gestured towards the door with a curt nod of her head as she turned to enter, the unicorn following a few meters behind. His movements as they walked down the hall were almost creeping, as if ready to jump out of the way of some attack at a moment’s notice, head held rigid, only his eyes flicking back and forth as he shrewdly observed his surroundings.  Neither of them spoke as she led him up the stairs towards a secluded hangar. Thestrals and unicorns continued to walk about, preparing several chariots and a small set of weapons as the newcomers came in through the open doorway.  Near the corner, a tall, slender, dark blue alicorn looked over the blade of a crystal-bladed claymore held in her magic, starfield mane shimmering as it danced in the flow of the planet’s thaumosphere.  She passed it to a pair of thestrals beside her, laying the heavy instrument on their backs, and they carried it over to the central chariot as she turned to walk towards the new arrivals, a smirk forming on her face.  “Doctor Crowley!  I am pleased to see you've arrived!  I trust your voyage from Trottingham was uneventful?” “Took the night train.” he said with a twitch, “Didn’t sleep: too open, no wards.  Took a bit of cocaine to stay sharp.  Got a couple hits left... Want some?” Luna waved him off, “Not at the moment: I do not generally partake.  I find it clouds the mind once the effect wears off.” “Suit yourself, princess.  More for us mortals...” he shrugged, glancing around, “So, what's all this?  We going on an air raid?” The Princess gave a single, curt shake of her head, “Neigh, 'tis but a precaution.  A necessary one at that...” Before the professor could respond with more than a raised brow, a unicorn in dark armor walked up and saluted, “Princess, the chariots are readied, and we can take off on your order.” “Very well then.  Let us depart posthaste, there is little information available, and no telling what moments we may spare.”  She ushered the professor onto the chariot with her, and raised her voice for the whole hangar to hear, “Dark Squadron, you’ve all been briefed on the situation.  Ponyville is but a few minutes flight.  Left and Right teams, you are to break off once we come within 2 kilometers of Ponyville Airspace and set up observation points from the two guard posts.  As we cannot know how far Princess Twilight may be compromised, you are not to inform her of your true orders.  Hammer, Anvil, once we land, you will accompany the professor and myself in our audience with Princess Twilight.”  She stood tall on her chariot, looking around at the assembled teams, “All ready?” The team of guards all saluted, speaking in unison, “Ready Princess.” All of them reached up, flicking down dark-tinted goggles as the ground team pulled the massive doors of the hangar open, letting the morning sun burst into the darkened room. Luna nodded, “Very well then.”  She seated herself, “Central team, take off.  Left and right teams, follow in chevron formation at forty three meters distance.” The chariot began to roll.  Her unicorn companion cringed, grabbing the side of the chariot tightly in his hooves as it took off, swearing under his breath as he felt the ground beneath them fall away and the open air of the Canterlot skies rushed into his face. He'd flown before, of course, many times under his own power as he traversed the Dream World, but he'd never felt quite comfortable with the open deck of an airship in flight, let alone the curt and rickety takeoff of a military chariot driving hard for an operation. Beside him, the Princess spoke above the rush of the wind, “I have personally selected these guards: they are trained against mind reading, and I have informed them of the situation.  It is safe to talk in front of them.” The professor gritted his teeth, lowering his body and leaning against the front of the vehicle, “So, what exactly was this case you needed my help on?” he half-shouted, voice shaky, “Your letter only said it was a matter of national security...”  he'd suddenly regretted that last sniff of a substance which heightened alertness. Luna nodded, “Approximately seven days ago, an analysis of my wards revealed that several large rifts had been made in the Ora which separates the Waking from the Dream World.  Upon further investigation I determined that a large amount of energy had been transferred across the divide, though I found no source and could not determine a single point of target.  I believe multiple entities may have crossed over in that time, but was unable to confirm this.”  She looked at him gravely, “As you know better than any other pony outside of my guard, the Deep Ones have left our World alone so far in favor of more disruptive ones.  I fear, however, that we may have just become the target of one of the creatures of the lower depths.” Her companion nodded slowly as she continued, “On the day immediately following this discovery, Princess Twilight was collecting data for her ongoing study on the planetary fields, when she found what she believed to be a large, complex spellform of the Conceptual Thoughtform variety, suspended in the planetary aura.  Contrary to the known laws of magic, the spellform seemed to be able to maintain its structure indefinitely in the absence of any outside will, something which has never been observed outside of controlled conditions. “The next day, Twilight managed to isolate the anomaly, bringing it into her lab for closer study.  It was there that her initial observations showed that the spellform was not of any known design, and was far more advanced than any recorded of its kind.  Further testing showed that the spellform’s frequency matched no known origin, leaving her to speculate that it may be of extraequestrial origin.  After careful analysis of her findings, I have concluded that the spellform was not simply of extraequestrial, but of extraplanar origin. “After leaving the spellform alone in the lab for the night, Twilight found that it had begun to self-modify.  Specifically, it was showing signs of observing and adapting to its environment, and had created new structures within itself and altered its aural frequencies to match that of Equus.  At this point, it was deemed a potential threat to planetary security, and standard containment procedures were enforced. “The next day, approximately three days ago, the entity began showing full awareness of its surroundings, making the first attempts to communicate through crude mimicry and unintelligible noises.  What was more unsettling was that it took the vague shape of a pony, specifically that of an Alicorn.  This was the last we heard for two days, as Twilight's assistant had a nervous breakdown and was no longer in her company for that time.” “By the time he had collected himself enough to contact us again, the situation had taken an extreme turn...” her voice darkened. “Two days ago, on the first day after she had been left alone with the entity, Twilight recorded that it had changed again, this time taking on a more defined appearance: that of the pony in the room.” She looked at him sternly, “It took her form Crowley.  It took Princess Twilight Sparkle’s form, and manifested it from pure concept.  We both know what kind of monsters can do that.” Crowley nodded, slowly, mouth opening a little as the situation worsened in his mind. “During its first conversation with her,” she continued, “the entity claimed that it was, in fact, an alien spellcaster whose body had been destroyed.  After further observation and inquiry proved ineffective, Twilight left the entity to continue self-modifying. “Upon the next observation, yesterday morning, the entity had taken on a more permanent form, after a long conversation which I am convinced was manipulatively tailored to Princess Twilight's personality, the entity convinced Twilight to release it from containment.”  She let than hang in the rushing wind for a moment. Crowley's eyes widened, forgetting for the moment that he was standing on only a few square meters of floorspace being dragged just above cloud level.  He stood, “Wait, and it’s survived on its own outside of the Dreamtide’s pressure?” Luna nodded, “it had several days of isolation to build a stable form.  It has also shown the ability to absorb concepts and manifest objects from the dreamtide seemingly at will.  I dare say its ability to manipulate the Dream World is greater than my own.” “...shit...” he muttered, sitting back down and staring at the wall. Luna nodded, “'Shit’, indeed.  So far, the entity has shown a willingness to self-modify which is virtually unseen in sane, living organisms, and has used this to give itself the ability to perform some very complex magic.  I do not need to tell you the implications behind an entity with powers which already exceed our own and are increasing at an exponential rate.”  She planted her hoof firmly on the deck, turning to the wind with a look of determination as the crystal spires of the Castle of Friendship grew in the distance, “It has become clear that this situation requires our direct attention, as it has now been seven days since the initial incident occurred, and over the course of that mere seven days, an extraplanar entity has managed to fully manifest itself within our world’s magical boundaries and has had personal contact with all of the wielders of the Elements of Harmony. “So far, the entity behaves as if it is friendly, and there have been no incidents to suggest otherwise, however, it must still be considered a potential threat: it may be biding its time, or have simply not found a reason to become hostile.  It could be only a matter of time before it is presented with a situation which endangers our country.  I doubt that the outlandish story it has told us is accurate.  If it truly was a spellcaster, was its body destroyed as punishment for some crime, or in the process of some dark ritual?  If it was not a spellcaster, might it be a weapon or a mechanism of invasion?  Even an entity sent to observe may be a potential threat to international secrecy, gathering military intelligence.  What if it’s actually a rogue nightmare?  Or worse, it could be a Concept-Form based Outsider such as a Deep One. Twilight would not recognize entities of the lower Astral or the Abyss.” Crowley nodded, "Agreed.  While not everything down there is necessarily hostile, the potential for destruction it has is pretty much a matter of what it has on hoof.”  He took a moment to ponder the situation, “Princess Twilight, she’s a pretty smart cookie I gather?” Luna nodded back, putting a single hoof on the front of the chariot as the pegasi began their final descent, “Prodigial.  Possibly one of the most brilliant minds I’ve ever come into contact with.  I dare say that in time her knowledge will outpace my own.  At this age, however, she is even more naive than my sister.  I doubt she would recognize the existential threat posed by the entities of the lower Astral or the Abyss.”  She looked over at him, giving him a hardened stare, “She is unspoiled, Crowley.  She has not watched the light fade from a creature’s eyes as she strangled its last breath away with her own two hooves, nor has her innocence been washed in the blood of companions and lovers.  She knows not the terror of meeting Death, and I fear that ignorance may be her downfall.”  She stared out at the approaching castle again. Crowley nodded, stealing a glance over the side of the chariot, then scowling as he pulled his head back to stare at the floor.  “Yeah, it’s a shame the best of us can also be the most vulnerable.” “Indeed.” Luna nodded solemnly, “That a knowledge of the darkness with which we are now so familiar requires the sacrifice of the heart’s purity.  They who wish to fight monsters must know them personally, and in doing so, must forge greater monsters out of ourselves...” Crowley’s eyes slowly narrowed, “Do you always have to phrase things li-GAH!” he lurched to grip the side of the chariot as its wheels touched solid ground, the pegasi pulling it taxiing to a halt in front of the crystalline structure that was Princess Twilight’s castle. Luna stared stoically up at the crystal spires which almost stabbed into the clouds as her guards began to unhitch themselves, Crowley unhooking his hooves from the chariot with a shudder.  “Bucking hell...” he muttered, pulling himself out of the chariot and back onto solid ground, stumbling slightly on the dirt road.  He scowled slightly as he glanced down at the bottom of his foot, a clod of mud already lodged in his frog.  “Damn unpaved shit.” he muttered, “that's gonna bug me the rest of the day.” “Your hooves are soft Crowley,” Luna chided casually, stepping down from the chariot with a passive grace, “Back in mine own day, I and my knights would ride through the night with our hooves dirtied from the refuse of Everfree’s street.” “Yeah, and how many of you got infections from cutting your hooves on rocks in the road after wading through shit?” Luna gave him a very solid, unamused stare. Crowley stared back for a moment, silent.  Finally, he spoke up, “Hey, it's not like that's not what happened.” Luna tossed her head back, “It was a time before we understood such things.  I lost many close companions, some of them even lovers, to illness in that time before we fully understood disease.  The knowledge that may have saved them only makes their deaths more tragic, no less noble.  I am sure you would be no less immune were you alive in such a time.” He glanced down, rubbing his hoof uncomfortably against the side of the chariot, muttering a response just loud enough for her to hear, “Eh... I wouldn't leave mud festering against my frog.” The guards rolled their eyes as they walked around, having unhitched themselves.  Luna left the comment without a response, “Very well then.  Hammer, Anvil, I will lead.  Crowley...” she gave him an annoyed glance as he was casting magic on his hooves, “...do try not to be as rude to my fellow Princess as you are in my company.”  She turned and began walking towards the towering doors. Crowley rolled his eyes, muttering again, “Well excuuuse me, Princess.” In short order, Luna pushed the door open, striding regally Into the main hall.  “Princess Twilight.  I see you are in good health.” Twilight was seated in the next room, door open to give her a clear view of the entryway from her throne, a set of notes and books spread out on the round table before her with her morning tea.  She looked up, her face jumping into a smile, “Princess Luna!  I'm so glad you could make it!” “I am glad to see you as well, Twilight.  It is a shame we see each other so little as it is.  I only regret this meeting were not under lighter circumstances.” “What do you mean?” Twilight asked, face falling, “I thought you were just here to meet Meta.” “Princess Twilight, I am sorry to darken your day, but I believe that the being you refer to as ‘Meta’, whether she knows it or not, is in no way what she claims to be.”