I just want to give a shout out to Innate Enigma (we call him Major Wheat) for coming aboard as an additional prereader/editor! Thanks, bro!
Chapter Thirty-One: Black Sun, Red Moon -Part V- Descent
Everyone inside the crate now bore looks of shock at Discord's unbelievable revelation, while the faces of the human onlookers bore only confusion. Celestia and Luna could be seen bowing their heads over the vid-comm, and Zecora stared at Discord as if he'd just sprouted another head.
"My dear," the grinning draconequus began, "If I had my powers, I would sprout another head, but for now, don't be so surprised that I know your secrets. It is why I brought you here."
"I believed this story to be lost, but if you knew, there will be costs," Zecora rhymed quietly.
Discord popped a few kernels of popcorn into his mouth from an unseen bag. "Welphff. Get on wiff it," He mumbled through his newfound snack. "We got a lot to cover here."
"I've got the time," Captain Greene affirmed. "By all means, continue."
Zecora closed her eyes.
"A war to rue, the kind untold. It begins anew, truth now unfolds."
*******************
A small, translucent violet orb floated in the center of a small room. In it, a ram known as Vance could be seen pulling the drawstring of his bow. He released it, bringing down a large ceramic jar on top a rather arrogant unicorn. The orb began to flicker.
An eerie hooded form watched as another figure looked over the orb. "He was not to become involved. Now I fear this will escalate before it is time," the onlooker commented.
"No. This is just. I see no harm in letting the Caprastian continue his crusade. It will benefit us all. This is a good thing," the orb watcher declared.
"If this is what you will have us believe." The onlooker removed his hood, revealing a black and white fur-covered equine head. "The Zebranni Consortium has endured only because we are but shadows beneath the overlords' notice."
"This is true." The orb watcher removed her hood. "However the time for subterfuge is at an end. The forces of our world grow too powerful. If we are to endure, we must become a part of that power. Come. It is time we make our report."
The two zebras left the small room, and entered a massive underground cavern, filled with other zebras going about their business. A wall, several hooves high, encircled the chamber. Upon its surface, millions of glowing carvings and writings made the wall appear almost as if it was one large canvas.
The orb watcher and the onlooker waded through the crowd of alchemists and scholars until they reached a rather regal-looking chamber entrance, then stopped in front of a pair of guards.
"You may enter," one of the guards spoke without making eye contact.
The two smaller zebras entered the regal chamber, a palace of stone. Pillars and pyres adorned its space. At the very end of the grand room, a much taller zebra sat upon a throne suspended several hooves in the air. Atop his head, a silver crown glowed a faint maroon color. Before him, a much larger violet orb hovered in air.
"Mitiri, Rongo, my most trusted seekers. What have you this day?"
The orb watcher bowed. "My liege. King Zeccor, we bring news of foreign activity."
"Yes," the onlooker continued. "The great rams of legend have returned. The Caprastians have risen again, and are preparing for full scale war with Eclipstria."
"Yes," the king began. "I have seen this. My gaze now turns to the one called Hircus."
"Who is this Hircus you speak of?" the orb watcher questioned.
"My Mitiri, have you lost your gift? He must be their king. He is unlike anything I have seen. So powerful that even one such as I must acknowledge his strength."
The onlooker shook his head. "Truly such a thing is not possible-"
The king cut him off. "It is. He speaks of a realm called Sapphiron, though I know not what that means."
The king's violet orb pulsated, revealing another king, a ram with a bronze crown. The image shifted to reveal two other rams trotting into a small village of ponies. Another image of two small alicorn fillies.
"As my trusted seekers, I am entrusting you two with uncovering his secrets. Find out what this Sapphiron means. Perhaps if the Caprastians have returned, then perhaps the bird-lions and dragon-wings of ancient times are alive and have returned as well. This is the task I give you. Will you accept it?"
"Yes, my liege," the orb watcher answered.
"It will be an honor, my king," the onlooker answered as well.
"Then the quest is yours and yours alone. You mustn't be discovered by any of them. Eclipstrians, Caprastians, and especially the Alicorns. None must be aware of your presence. Go now, and do the work of our people."
"It will be done, my lord," they answered in unison. The two seekers bowed and departed, leaving the king to his thoughts.
"If the great rams of legend have returned to wage war with Eclipstria, perhaps there is hope for us all."
*****************
Vance moved ever so closely toward the light of the enormous torches that lit the streets around Everfree Palace. It had taken weeks of preparation to get this deep within enemy territory. Weeks without the one he loved.
"At long last..."
He steeled himself for the coming confrontation. Though the guards could not see him in the shadows, he too was being watched. Being careful not to make a sound, Mitiri and Rongo watched from a jagged ledge above.
"A real ram, in the flesh. Fascinating." The orb watcher commented.
"Mitiri, he is just standing there," the onlooker spoke to the orb watcher.
"Quiet! He must not be alerted to our presence!"
Vance remained still, but one of the passing guards, a large earth pony, shifted his right ear as if catching a spare note on the wind. "Who is there?! Reveal yourself!"
The two zebras watching from afar stood in silence.
In what could only be described as a flash of movement, the ram struck with his right hoof, rendering the guard unconscious. He then pulled the unsuspecting earth pony into shadows out of view.
.
"Such grace... I wonder if all of his kind are artists in battle," Mitiri thought to herself
A few seconds later the guard returned to the lit area next to the castle wall, trotting slowly toward the entrance.
Rongo stepped back. "What is-" He stopped as he came to a realization. The two zebras both looked down at the same time to see a royal guard earth pony stripped of his armor.
"That clever devil..." Rongo chuckled to himself.
"Indeed," Mitiri answered with a hoof to her mouth. "Come now, let us find a better place to observe his daring exploits."
"You speak as though you fancy this ram, though you know him not."
"I admire his courage and cunning. That is all."
The onlooker turned his head upward in a coy fashion.
"Hmm. Of that I am sure."
______________
Having donned the armor of the Eclipstrian royal guard, Vance trotted casually toward the castle wall until he had reached the rearward gates. Having watched the castle many a nights, he was well aware that guards typically were not in any shape to scrutinize him at this hour. He had filled down his horns and trimmed his fur the night before as not to attract any attention, and his newly acquired helmet disguised the result.
"Stalwart, that you?" one of the guards at the gate mumbled sleepily.
Vance nodded confidently.
The guard yawned. "Go on, get some rest. Your watch just ended."
Pleased that this had gone so well for him, Vance strode inside, more sure of his plan than ever. That is, until he walked right into an older looking unicorn guard.
"Watch where thou art strolling about!"
"My apologies, milord!" Vance answered in a perfect noble accent.
The guard face-hoofed. "Ah, knave! Peon! Have you not even the sense to wear the correct dyes?"
Vance looked down at his grey coat. "Is there a problem with my... dyes?"
"Indeed! You wear the silver dyes of one of my stature! The Royal Unicorn Guard! Be gone from this place immediately, rock trotter! You are not even worthy of being in the presence of this sacred place!"
"If you say so." Vance turned to leave. "Though you might want to pick that up."
"Pick up what, simpleton?"
In a single motion, Vance swept the guard's hooves out from underneath him while bringing one of his own legs to the unicorn's head, slashing off the unicorn's horn with a hidden spur attached to one of his back hooves. As the guard fell to his stomach, he opened his eyes just in time to see his own horn land on the stone floor in front of his face.
Vance pulled the hornless unicorn back up to his level.
"That."
With a swift hoof strike to the head, he dropped the now unconscious unicorn to the ground. The Caprastian infiltrator removed his downed foe's helmet, wedged the horn into it, and placed it atop his head.
"What do you know? Guess I got the right 'dye' after all."
He hid the unicorn behind a large statue and continued on as if nothing exciting had just transpired. As he entered the main atrium, the number of guards increased. With a disguise that now held up to the occasional glance in his direction, Vance began to search for the palace dungeon.
"I will not be long, my love."
*********************
"I have lost sight of him," Rongo grumbled. "I heard a scuffle, then it got quiet."
Mitiri nodded. "No doubt he is too far inside for us to follow, unless..."
"Unless?"
"Watchers we, to wait and hear,
The gatherers, and patient ears,
To grant us sight of far and near,
Give us this gift, a world appears!"
As the zebra ended the rhyme, a large purple orb appeared.
"Excellent work, Mitiri!"
"Thank you. Now, let us find our Caprastian."
******************
It had been quite a while since Vance had been so close to an Eclipstrian. The inner halls of Everfree Palace were full of nobles and guards going about their business.
“Did you hear of that horrible accident that occurred earlier today?” one gossiping noblemare spoke to another.
“Oh. Do tell!”
“You haven’t heard? You know Lord Hark, Lady Hark’s husband?”
“I gathered that much, go on...”
“Okay, so he’s marching through the town this afternoon parading around that treacherous retch of an earth pony they found last week, when this jar comes crashing down on him from a balcony up above!”
“Oh! Did he parish from such a blow?”
“Oh no! He’s survived!”
Vance subconsciously bared his teeth.
“But I heard every bone in his body has shattered as a result!”
“Good heavens! How is he doing now?”
“Last I heard he has a long painful recovery ahead of him.
Vance’s bared teeth shifted into an indifferent scowl. “I suppose he still got what was coming to him…”
Having heard all he needed to know, the ram trotted onward guessing as to the whereabouts of the Royal Dungeons. Aimlessly trotting around, it seemed as if the palace was more a maze than a castle. As the same lamps and chandeliers kept finding their way in front of him, Vance could feel a wild restlessness building inside him.
“Got to find you, but I need a sign! Something to point the way! Got to keep calm. The more I wander about, the greater the chances of one of these rodents catching on to me.”
As he grew lost in thought trying to ponder a way out, he stumbled into a small unicorn filly.
“Oh, I’m sorry my dear,” Vance spoke using his impression of nobility. The small dark blue unicorn shook her head as if reorienting herself, then gazed up at him intently, cocking her head to the side as if in thought.
Vance could not help but think that somehow she was seeing through his façade, so he quickly began to think of ways to draw attention away from himself.
“Um. Where are your parents? What are you doing down here? Shouldn’t you be in bed or something?”
“You silly guardpony! I live here! Besides, I like nighttime. I think it is pretty,” the little filly answered with a youthful bounce.
“Oh. You are of the nobility?”
“What’s a no-bill-ity?”
“By the ancients! An alicorn!”
“My dear, what is your name?”
“Woona!” She threw her hooves in the air as if this was a cause for celebration.
“I’m sorry, what?”
The filly licked her lips. “I said Luna! But Mommy and Daddy call me Lulu! But I don’t think you’re supposed to.”
“Uh huh?”
”That mark. She has to be in the royal family. But if I had no idea the royals had a daughter, what else could they be hiding here?”
“So Lulu, are your parents… uh…really big?”
“Huh?”
“Are they...” He waved his hooves in suggestion. “Let me put it this way. What do they look like?”
“There they are, right there!” Lulu pointed behind him. Vance spun around in sheer terror to see a large stain glass window with the king and queen’s royal image depicted in splendor.
“Oh. Yes.” Vance fought to keep his heart from exploding through his head.
“Well it was nice talking to you, mister, but I have to go see my friend now.” The little blue alicorn turned and merrily trotted away.
“Your friend?”
“Yeah. I think she gets lonely and stuff. So I go down to the dark room to cheer her up!”
Vance’s eyes widened.
“Your friend, she wouldn’t happen to have a light blue coat and a red mane, would she?” He questioned.
“Yeah! How did you guess?!”
“Uh, unicorn intuition. Say, how about you take me to see her with you? I’d like to cheer her up too.”
“Really? Most of the guards tell me not to go down there, but they cannot stop me! Mommy and Daddy said so.”
“They let you go down into the dungeons by yourself?”
“Well, Mommy and Daddy do not know I go down into the dungeons…”
“I see. Well I’d really like to meet your friend, so let’s get going.”
Lulu waited for the “unicorn” guard to get up and move, leaving the two staring at each other motionlessly.
“Um, why don’t you lead the way?”
“Okay!”
The little filly turned away from Vance and trotted toward one doorway he was sure he’d been through a dozen times. Lulu absentmindedly hummed as she trotted along, passing by several ponies that wouldn't dare tell her where she should be at the moment.
The hallways grew darker and darker, and the guards fewer and fewer. Soon, the Caprastian in disguise found himself alone with the little filly in a area of the lower hall so morose, it seemed even the guards did not wish to be there. Even so, the little filly did not seem to be bothered in the least by what should have been utterly terrifying surroundings. Two grim looking earth ponies in black armor stood watch over what must have been the entrance to the dungeons. They both wore an iron girdle on which a large axe was attached.
“So it is just through there, right?” Vance asked his little tour Guide.
“Of course not! That’s were all the little bad guys go. The real bad guys are in the secret dungeon.”
“Secret dungeon? There's another one?"
“Yeah, yeah! Me and Celly saw Mom and Dad go down into this weird hole that opened up in the floor! Celly does not know yet, but I went down there and found this lady that did not look like a bad guy, and she told me her name was AppleFlower and I said that was a pretty na-“
“Can you take me to her?!”
“Well duh, that is where we are going now, silly!”
“Oh, yes. Of course.”
“Do you know that lady?”
“Yes. Very well. I’ve been worried very much about her.”
“Well why have you not let her out then? You are a guard right? You can do that, right?”
“I- I- Why don’t we discuss it when we get there, okay?”
“Okay! You just go down this hall and there it is! The lower central hall! We call it the big room.”
Truth be told, the "big" room really was very large. In the very center, a large royal seal, an elaborate sun and moon, adorned the marble floor.
“There it is!” She galloped toward the center of the symbol.
Vance caught up with her and inspected the floor for any sign of a hidden entrance.
“I see nothing. You said it is under the floor, no? How do we get down there again?”
“Well Mommy and Daddy did some magic thingie to unlock the locks, but I know not how to do that yet.”
“So how have you been getting down there?”
“I can hear the locks! My teachers keep saying I have really good ears and I can hear the locks!”
“Oh, well then show me.”
“Why do you not just use your magic, mister guard guy?”
“Well, you see, I can’t use my horn right now. It’s… broken.”
“Well, it’s not a lie,” Vance thought to himself.
“Oh. Well gee, I am sorry, mister. I shall just do what I normally do then.”
Little Lulu began to stomp around seemingly at random on the polished floors. If one had not known what she was doing, it might seem as if she was dancing. Sure enough, after the wild dance was complete, a mechanical clanking could be heard below, and the circular royal seal began to rumble.
“Incredible,” Vance mumbled in awe.
“I know! I wonder how they keep the floors so shiny!”
Vance chuckled for the first time in weeks. “You are quite the adorable little kid- uh, filly.”
“I know! My servant lady tells me that every day when I wake up, though I think Mommy told her to say that…”
As the seal began to creep downward, Vance took the time to pause.
"I cannot bear to loose you. Promise that you will try not to get into trouble over me, please?"
"Ah promise. Please, stay with me."
"I will do anything and everything I can to return to you."
"Yeah. I know you well enough to say they'd have to tie you to a galleon to keep you from someone you care about."
A single tear fell from one of Vance's eyes.
The platform continued its descent.
*****************
"They're gone, Rongo. They're down in the bowels of the fotress, out of the orb's range."
"I see. Any other ideas, Mitiri?"
"Why yes. We have spent the better part of our lives learning to work from the shadows. It is high time we put our infiltrations skills to the test. A real test."
"I suppose you are right. I will gather our tools. The king will know of what will transpire today."
"Yes. This secret they go so far to protect will soon be ours."
*******************
..."Yes. This secret they go so far to protect will soon be ours."...
King Zeccor moved away from a purple orb of his own, too exhausted by creating it to sustain it.
The king sighed. "If I could increase the power of my orbs of sight, I would not need to risk my watchers like this," he thought.
"I might be able to help with that," a voice answered his thoughts.
"Who goes there?!" Zeccor bellowed.
Though the room was empty, one of the many silver-violet orbs that filled the room began to spin, twist, and pulse wildly until it resembled a cube, a diamond, and an orb all at once. It shifted into all manner of colors from all spectrums of light.
The king moved toward the strange floating mass of energy.
"What is this madness?"
"Madness? Madness?! Actually, I am rather mad. Then again, I've seen a lot of kooky stuff."
"What are you?"
"Now don't be rude. It's 'who are you?' Am I right?"
"Tell me what you are doing here! What are you doing to this orb of sight?!"
"Is that what this thing is? Well that's no fun. I thought it was a purple soap bubble. Oh well."
The orb then popped like a large misshapen soap bubble, revealing the form of one very odd looking creature.
"That better?"
The king stepped back in shock. "I don't believe it..."
A "teenage" draconequus yawned and stretched after what must have been a very long nap.
"Believe it!"
"A master draconequuan!"
"I prefer the term, 'Lord of Chaos,' but that'll do. The name's Discord."
"Legend has it you were killed trying to take revenge on the Eclipstrian Royal House."
"Yeah I have a tendency to get frozen, slash, locked away, slash, banished and such after my many schemes."
"How many times have you tried this?" The king inquired.
"Two thousand and forty-eight."
The king had a look of pure incredulousness plastered across his face.
"Oh, you meant this century? Twelve. I must loosing my touch."
"I can scarcely believe any of this."
"You have a hard time believing anything, don't you? Eh, doesn't matter. I get zapped with a magical mega-beam if I even get within 200 hooves of the place. True story."
"So... I... You..." the king stammered.
"So what am I here for? That what you were going to ask?"
The king nodded tiredly.
"Ah, that would be attempt number two thousand and forty-nine, and I've got the feeling that's my lucky number!"
"You can't mean-"
"That's right! We're going after the King and Queen."
"'We? What do you mean, we?"
*****************
Once more, all who had gathered in the large shipping container turned information center hung from every word Discord and Zecora spoke. Discord continued his tale.
"So then, our love-stricken hero Vance slowly descends into the secret dungeon and-"
An alarm began to sound in the distance. Afterwards, another much closer alarm joined in.
..."Would someone please answer the comm?!"...
Lenard Greene looked down had his comm unit. "Major Cavere? That you? What's going on?"
..."What's going on?! A non-natural anomaly is opening above the city, and we didn't open it!"...
Mike and Lenard exchanged a worried look. "Kaiser here, Major. You saying someone on the other side is coming through?"
..."I wouldn't go that far just yet, but- Uh oh."...
The radio went silent.
Greene began to adjust the settings on his radio. "Cavere? Cavere?"
..."You'd better get down here, now..."...
_____________
"...Because things just got a lot more complicated."
Liberation Alliance Central Command Personality Report #6792 Praetor Phalanx
Few have spent their lives furthering the cause of Griffin kind more than the soldier and leader, Phalanx of House Kel. Believed to have been born into the same family as the legendary praetor and eventual Supreme Legate Kellinx, very much was expected of Phalanx even as a fledgling. It is said he enlisted into the Griffin Flight Reconnaissance Corps literally the very first second he was of age.
Learning to fly much faster than his peers, Phalanx would set a precedent for himself and others for early development, gaining the title of praetor at just the age of twenty-one, and being given command of his first flock just two years later. Now, many agree that he could very well become the youngest grand praetor in the history of the Sovereign Griffin Hegemony.
Affairs of Darkness Department Clandestine Sect. Character Evaluation File #49287 Pinkamena Diane "Pinkie" Pie (ERP)
No logical information at this time. Revising evaluation parameters to allow comprehension of subject.
Anomalous Energy Event Team Personnel and Psychological Profile #4921 Private John Simms.
At the age of 20, this soldier is still young enough to be a carefree and happy-go-lucky individual. However, John Simms has seen far more than what would be expected of someone his age, and military life has not been particularly easy for him. Though missing out on the more recent engagements in south-east Asia, Private Simms's first tour of duty took him to the sands of Afghanistan, where things never quite settle down.
After pulling an Afghanistani civilian and several members of his own platoon out of a burning desert oil well, then helping evacuate an entire town to escape the fallout, he was given numerous medals and rewards in recognition of his bravery. Because of this, it is not much of a surprise as to why he was chosen to be part of the group of brave souls slated to enter the Anomalous Realm as part of the Anomalous Energy Event Team's expedition into what could be another dimension.