Darkness.
That was all that could be seen for miles. With a stream of light steadily revealing itself, he slowly but surely returned to the realm of the living.
Letting out a low Groan, Arctic had slowly opened his eyes before snapping them shut. A lit torch perched above him briefly blinded him. Opening his eyes once more, his eyes slowly adjusted he looked down at himself. He could see that he had some bandages on his injuries. While the bandages looked, not great, they would get the job done till he got fresh bandages. Looking some more, he saw that his clothes were still tattered and ripped. In fact his top was completely gone. He just groaned and laid his head back.
“The creature is awake.” Called out a voice.
Turning his head to see where the voice had come from, all Arctic could see was darkness. Letting his eyes adjust more he saw what was there. Ponies. Lots of ponies. They were there all watching him. The more he looked at them, he could see that they were all bound in chains. Plus they all looked dirty, as though they hadn’t washed in weeks. Not to mention they all looked malnourished.
“Hello creature,” said a voice, “Are you feeling well?”
Arctic looked to the owner of the voice. It was an elderly Unicorn stallion. Just like the others, he too looked malnourished and dirty. His coat was difficult to make out but Arctic could see it seemed to be some yellow color. Looking into his eyes Arctic could see fear on the stallions face but also concern.
“I’m fine.”Arctic said groggily.
“That’s good. When you and your friends were brought here, you all were in bad shape.”
Arctic perked up at this. He looked around and soon spotted them. Glacier, Tundra, and Winter where there. They were also wrapped up in bandages and were sleeping peacefully. Or somewhat peacefully. Arctic could see them tense or twitch in pain every now and then, but still, to see that they were okay eased his worries.
“They’re okay.” Turning to the stallion and the other ponies he bowed. “Thank you for helping my brother, sisters, and I.”
Jumping a bit and with a small shocked expression, the Stallion spoke up.
“Brother and sisters? My young Stallion, you look like no dragon I’ve ever seen. And you’re certainly no pony. How are they your siblings?”
Arctic tilted his head slightly.
“Well, I’m adopted. See, our parents adopted me and my brother Glacier. Then they had my Sisters, Tundra and Winter.”
“Adopted you say? Well, I’m pleased to hear that. But, if I may, what are you exactly? I’ve never seen a creature such as you.”
Arctic chuckled. “I’m a Saiyan.”
“Saiyan?” Asked the stallion as he racked his brain, trying to figure out if he had ever seen or at least heard of such a creature. “I must say I’ve never heard of a Saiyan before.”
“I’d be surprised if you did.” Arctic said with a chuckle before his face slowly fell into a small frown. “As far as I’m concerned, I’m the only of my kind here.”
The stallion softened slightly. His fear of Arctic slowly giving way to sympathy.
“I’m sure it must be hard knowing you’re the only of your kind around, huh?” The stallion asked. Arctic nodded.
Three low groans and coughs sounded out. Looking over Arctic saw his sibling waking up. Glacier was the first to wake.
“What happened?” Asked Glacier.
“Welcome back. We all were knocked out.” Arctic said.
“Those jerks. When I get my hooves on them.” Growled Winter as she shielded her eyes with her wings from the torch above them.
“Where are we?” Tundra groggily asked.
“In the dungeon.” Said the stallion.
The three looked to the stallion and then took in their surroundings.
“So it would seem.” Tundra stated.
“Oh, where are my manners?” Said the stallion. “Please call me Sunstone. And you all are?”
“Glacier.” Glacier said rubbing his eyes before giving a small smile.
“Tundra Storm.” Tundra said adjusting her glasses.
“I’m Winter Winds.” Winter said in a low but more chipper tone.
“And I’m Arctic Okami.” Arctic said with a bow.
“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you all.” Sunstone said.
“Mr. Sunstone?” Asked Winter. “Why are we here? Where are we?”
“And who attacked us?” Glacier asked, some anger present in his voice.
“I can answer that.” Called a voice.
“It is a pleasure getting to finally speak with you. You’ve been asleep for a while.”
Looking over to where the voice came from, the quartet watched as a fairly tall mare emerged from the shadows. She, like the others, was dirty and also looked to be a bit malnourished. Her coat, mane, and tail were caked in dirty and grime. While it was difficult to make out, they could see that her coat was a pink color and her mane was three different colors.
“I’m pleased to see you all awake. I am Princess Cadence.” The mare said spreading her wings a bit.
…
Silence.
There was silence for a good while. The quartet was stunned. They were not only in the presence of royalty, but they were in the presence of an Alicorn. They believed Queen Snowblososm to be the only Alicorn, but to see another standing right in front of them was surreal.
Cadence tilted her head slightly. “Are you all okay?”
Breaking from their trances, the siblings jumped up and immediately bowed.
“It is an honor to be within your presence your majesty!” They all said in unison.
Cadence was taken aback by this. She smiled a bit only to then frown as she looked at them. She could see them trembling. Though she couldn’t tell if they were trembling in fear or in pain. They were still injured after all.
“Please no need to bow.” Cadence said.
Reluctantly, the quartet rose and got into seating positions. Then Tundra spoke up.
“Princess Cadence, if you are royalty, why are you down in a dungeon.”
Cadence sighed.
“I was defeated and placed into here.”
“Defeated? By who?” Asked Glacier.
“Him.” Cadence uttered with a great deal a venom in her voice.
“Him? Him who?” Asked Winter.
Cadence was taken aback once again. Surely they knew, right?
“Surely you must know?” Cadence asked.
The siblings glanced at each other before shaking their heads.
Cadence was surprised and in her mind thought, “How could they be so unaware of all this?”
“Well,” cadence spoke out, “to answer a previous question, you are sitting within a dungeon in the Crystal empire.”
The siblings tilted their heads and looked to each other. They had never heard of the Crystal Empire before and were growing curious.
“As for your other question, the him I’m referring to, is the Unicorn tyrant, King Sombra.”
The siblings were growing even more confused the more they listened.
“Princess, if you don’t mind, could you tell us what’s going on.” Winter Asked.
“Of course. Now, for this tale, I should start from the beginning.”
The siblings sat in silence they didn’t want to miss a thing.
“Long ago, when the Crystal Empire was thriving, it had been plunged into darkness. An evil unicorn named King Sombra had appeared one day in the Crystal Empire and took control. After obtaining control of the Empire, he had enslaved many of the ponies and forced many of them to fight for him in his efforts to conquer all of Equestria. However, his plans were thwarted. With the might of Princesses Celestia and Luna, as well as the aid of the Elements of Harmony, they had defeated King Sombra and banished him for a thousand years. Unfortunately, before his defeat, he managed to place a curse on the empire. It too fell alongside him.”
The siblings were listening to the story with bated breath, eager to hear what happened next.
“As years passed, the Crystal Empire was soon a distant memory. That is until, the day it returned. With its return, Princess Celestia had been made aware of it and in order to stop a repeat of last time, they sent a new Princess to watch over the Empire. Things for a while seemed peaceful, until one day. One said day, things were as normal as could be, when all of a sudden, the Empire was attacked once again. King Sombra had returned and in the blink of an eye, he had taken the Crystal Heart and defeated the Princess. Yet again he had taken control of the Crystal Empire and with his reign, he enslaved the ponies and with ponies fighting for him in his new army, he had attacked. Princess Celestia, alongside her Sister, Princess Luna had begun to fight back. The battle lasted days. It seemed as though it would never end. Then in an attempt to finally defeat King Sombra, the Elements of harmony were sent alongside their new bearers. Unfortunately, King Sombra, being aware of the Elements, crafted a plan to stop the Elements from being used. Before the Bearers of the Elements could do anything, they were ambushed. In the midst of the ambush, one of the Element bearers had be knocked out and captured alongside her element. Without her, the elements were utterly useless and the war raged on. This brings us to today.” Cadence said finishing her story and looking to the Siblings.
The quartet were speechless. They had never known that this war was even going on. And of course when they decide to leave their home, they get caught in the middle of it.
“Princess?” Asked Arctic. “What happened to the element bearer that they captured?”
With a small sigh, Princess Cadence turned and walked away into the shadows. Confusion struck the quartet as they watched this. After a moment, the Princess had returned, but she had also returned with a mare. The mare, or rather, the doe was fairly tall, her coat was dirty and scuffed. Her long pink mane was greasy and matted as though it hadn’t been washed in months. Her wings even looked a mess. Though, her bright shimmer green eyes showed fear and unease, they also held something else. A sweet kindness to them that warmed the hearts of all around. Then the doe spoke.
”hello. I’m Fluttershy.”