//------------------------------// // XVII. Bad Future Fetch Quest // Story: Trinity // by MythrilMoth //------------------------------// Two hundred years of a rigid, totalitarian regime had changed Canterlot. The top of the mighty mountain had been flattened, and the city, once a shining marble monument to the ingenuity of pony magic, had become a broad, flat metal cap that spread over the valley below like a poisonous mechanical mushroom, supported by networks of steel scaffolds and struts anchored not only into the mountain, but the ground below. Great pneumatic lifts had been installed into many of these struts, and some were even broad enough to function as towers where ponies and lesser creatures toiled for the Empress. The original shining castle where the Royal Sisters ruled from had been razed and replaced with the Storm Palace, an angular, obtrusive obsidian thing which reflected the dark, jagged heart of the mare who ruled all she surveyed. The name had been chosen out of irony—it was the name of the palace of her former employer, before she overthrew him and seized control of his armies and assets. He had been a fool, had not truly understood the power he sought—had been unworthy of wielding such power. Tempest Shadow, the Shattered Empress, stood rigidly upon the dais from which she ruled her Equestrian Empire. After all this time, she still favored the jet black armor she'd worn as the Storm King's lieutenant, but had embellished it with a chainmail cloak and a tight-fitting skull cap. A long, sharp horn carved from obsidian and ringed with shining golden runes had been fitted over the stump of her own broken horn. Presently, her attention was focused on the valley below, past the edge of the Imperial City. She had felt a powerful surge of magic from that direction, more powerful than she had felt in some time. A jet black pegasus stallion in gleaming purple armor with a gold silk cape entered, flanked by two massive, masked yeti in black and grey armor, who knelt before her dais, each pressing a massive fist to the floor and bowing their heads. "Captain Ebon Wing," Tempest said coldly. "What have you to report?" "Your Excellency," Ebon Wing began. "The Mad Witch is doing...something in her lair. Whatever it is, it's setting off all the alarms. The thing is..." He paused, frowning. "The Mana Monitors report that whatever's going on down there, it...it isn't all her. They're detecting powerful magic that defies measure, and they insist its power is similar to, well..." He swallowed. "The Tree of Harmony." Tempest frowned. "The Tree of Harmony," she said. "So, not all the magic in Princess Twilight Sparkle's castle was burned out. Something yet remains...but what?" She shook her head. "It is of no consequence. Inform the Ponyville Watch to monitor the situation. If Starlight Glimmer is preparing to challenge me, or if...something else happens that defies the order of my Empire, I expect to be alerted immediately." "Of course, Your Excellency!" Ebon Wing saluted and withdrew, the two guards flanking him. Tempest turned back to staring out at the distant black spire of the Mad Witch's Lair, pursing her lips in thought. "What are you plotting, Starlight Glimmer? It has been well over a century since last we crossed horns..." * * * * * Fluttershy and the Cutie Mark Crusaders trotted cautiously through the blackened woods, wrapped tightly in smelly burlap cloaks, hoods pulled low over their faces. "How're we supposed to get past a crazed super-powerful unicorn and a whole town full of pony-stomping guards?" Scootaloo asked. Fluttershy swallowed. "I don't know, my little ponies," she said nervously. "I...I really just don't know." she sighed. "I honestly think I'm going to have to follow your lead on this one." "Our lead?" Sweetie Belle asked. Fluttershy turned to her and smiled wistfully. "Well, you three do have a knack for sneaking away and getting into all sorts of mischief when the big ponies turn their backs," she said. The Crusaders looked at each other and giggled. "It's true," Apple Bloom said. "What worries me is this 'Mad Witch' Discord was talking about," Sweetie Belle said. "From the sound of things, she must be an awfully powerful unicorn. But powerful enough to live for two hundred years?" "Yeah, I thought only alicorns could do that," Scootaloo said. "Yes, I...I'm worried about that too," Fluttershy said. "Especially since Discord was so cryptic about the whole thing. I mean, Discord's always been a little...eccentric...but if things have really gone this badly, he'd be more straightforward with the details. I mean, he'd be using the actual names of the ponies who conquered Equestria and destroyed...destroyed our home..." She swallowed. "He wouldn't be using the kinds of titles you find in old storybooks..." "Ah dunno," Apple Bloom said. "Ah git th' feelin' Discord's mind's kinda slipped since everythin' went all pear-shaped 'round here." "Yeah, he kinda had that mad rambling hermit vibe," Scootaloo agreed. "Even so, it's me," Fluttershy insisted. "He'd...he'd be straight with me." She chewed her bottom lip. "Unless everything that's happened has broken him so badly he's..." She shook her head. "We don't have time for this. We need to get into Ponyville, sneak into the castle, get past the Mad Witch, find your gems, and...and figure out how to use the Cutie Map to go back home." "Without help from any of the Princesses," Sweetie Belle added glumly. They walked in silence for a long time. They soon approached a seven-foot-high stone wall, perfectly straight, with iron gates flanked by jet black pegasus guards in purple armor and hulking yeti in black armor and black masks. They looked at each other and swallowed nervously. As they approached the nearest gate, one of the pegasus guards extended a wing. "State your business," he said in a bored tone. "Umm...we're just...p-passing through," Fluttershy said. "We n-need to go t-to Ponyville—" "Ponyville's under lockdown," the guard said emotionlessly. "Move along." Scootaloo stepped brashly forward. "You will let us in," she said. "We're here on orders from the Shattered Empress." The guard eyed her sourly. "Nice try, kid," he grunted. "Only the Resistance calls Empress Tempest that." He sighed. "Look, I don't wanna hafta rough up a bunch of kids today, so just get lost, alright? We'll pretend you were never here. Final offer." "O-oh. Well...okay," Fluttershy said meekly. "Girls, let's...let's go back..." She turned away, leading the Crusaders away like a line of ducklings. They walked back into the wreckage of the forest, the guards' eyes never leaving them until they disappeared below the crest of a hill. Once they were out of sight, they crouched low. "Well, that didn't work," Scotaloo said sourly. "You overplaying it didn't help," Sweetie Belle pointed out. "So what do we do now?" Apple Bloom wondered. "Ponyville's locked up tight like a fortress, an' them guards are mighty strong-lookin' fellers." "I need time to think," Fluttershy said softly. "Twilight would think of a way in, or...or Rainbow Dash, I just need to think—" In the distance, a series of loud, wailing klaxons went off. The ponies' ears perked up. They could hear a great tumult of pony voices raised in alarm. "Whut'n th'—?" Apple Bloom wondered. "Umm...is it me, or is it getting warmer here?" Scootaloo wondered. Sweetie Belle jumped to the top of the hill, then scrambled back down, eyes wide. "It's not just you," she said fearfully. "Ponyville's on fire." The others gasped. * * * * * "Fire brigade three, take C-block! Fire brigade two, take A-block! All patrol units, mobilize!" Commander Onyx Sentry, head of the Ponyville Guard, barked orders as he watched the sudden conflagration spread through the industrial sectors of the city. "I want to know what started this fire and I want to know NOW!" "Sir!" a lieutenant with charred armor and feathers reported, saluting. "The fire...it's..." His eyes held a haunted, fearful look. "It's coming from—" A massive firebolt seared across the sky, slamming into Ponyville's outer wall. One of the gates exploded, spraying twisted metal and stone everywhere. Onyx Sentry's eyes widened as he tracked the firebolt. "No," he whispered. A shrill, deranged cackle split the night, amplified by magic. Ponies below reared in terror and stampeded in any direction that took them away from the burning city and the insane unicorn shooting firebolts at them. * * * * * "Oh Celestia," Fluttershy whimpered. "That's..." "So Ah guess that's that there Mad Witch Discord was talkin' about," Apple Bloom said, eyes wide with terror. "She's...she's torching Ponyville," Scootaloo breathed in disbelief. "Just...just shooting fire at it, blowing stuff up..." "We gotta do somethin'!" Apple Bloom said. "We just...we gotta!" Fluttershy faltered for a moment, then shook her head. "There's nothing we can do," she said. "If this Empress Tempest has the kind of guard forces we saw before, we'll let them deal with the fire. We've got a job to do. We...we have to get into the castle—" "Past all the fire—" "—and find your gems—" "and not get barbecued by some insane unicorn—" "—and use the Map to get home." Fluttershy smiled gamely. "We—we can do it, girls. I...I know we can!" The Crusaders looked at each other and swallowed. "We're doomed," Scootaloo said. Apple Bloom took a deep breath. "Come on, y'all," she said. "We ain't never gave up before, an' we can't afford t' give up now! Ah know it's scary, Ah know it's gonna be dang near impossible, but...we gotta do this. We just gotta!" "You're right," Sweetie Belle said. "Equestria is counting on us." "Yeah, we have to get back home and stop all this from ever happening," Scootaloo agreed. The Crusaders put their hooves in, and Fluttershy's shaking hoof joined them. "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS, GO!" Cloaks billowing behind them, the four ponies galloped for the exploded gate in the distance, ignored by herds of ponies stampeding into the wilderness. The guards paid them no heed as they burst into the black paved streets, charging headlong into the inferno. Within minutes, they were through the flames and on the steps of what used to be Twilight's castle. The Crusaders and Fluttershy discarded their charred cloaks and patted out smoldering tails and coats, then looked up at the blackened crystal tree. "Wow, this place sure looks awful," Scootaloo said. "It feels...dead," Apple Bloom said. "Or...or jes' really sick, like...like it's got th' blight..." Fluttershy trotted up to the gates and pushed them open. They creaked ominously. The entrance hall she was so familiar with—that she'd walked along so many times before—was a blackened, cracked, decrepit mockery of its former glory. She gulped, but put one timid hoof before the other. "Let's...let's do what we came here for and get out of this horrible, awful future..." "Oh, I don't think this future is all that bad," a syrupy sweet voice echoed down the hall. The four time travelers froze. Slow, deliberate hoofsteps approached them, hooves clacking on crystal. Torches burst into flame in the wall sconces. A young, strong, powerful unicorn mare approached them, her glossy violet mane, pinkish-purple coat, and bright purple eyes shining in the firelight. A black silk cape trailed across her flanks. Fluttershy gasped, eyes wide, and drew a hoof up in shock. "S-Starlight Glimmer?!" "Well hello there, Fluttershy," Starlight Glimmer said with false cheer and a sinister smile. "What do you think of the new, improved Equestria?" She tossed her mane and smirked. "By the way, you should really drop by Canterlot and pay Twilight Sparkle a visit." Her horn glowed, and an image projected itself on the floor: four rough obsidian statues, each one depicting an alicorn princess frozen in their last, horrified moment of life. "That is, if you're still in any condition to go anywhere after I'm finished with you." Her horn flared brilliantly, the pressure of her electric blue magic filling the hallway. Fluttershy stood protectively in front of the Crusaders, who trembled in terror. Starlight's mad laughter echoed off the crystal walls...