//------------------------------//
// Prologue: The Awakening 
// Story: Where in Equestria are we? 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
//------------------------------//

	Vinyl Scratch, known far and wide by her alias DJ PON-3, sat on the outside patio of her favorite bar in Canterlot, the popular Drunken Mare. Yeah, it was a strange name for a bar that sat in the center of the capital of Equestria, but neither Princess Celestia nor her younger sister Princess Luna cared. The bar was always closed during the day and so Princess Celestia never got any trouble from it, but sometimes during the night the customers would see Princess Luna join them for an hour or two.

Vinyl smiled and took another sip of her drink, which happened to be cider from the last time Sweet Apple Acres made apple cider. Usually she chugged whatever she was drinking and went back for more, but tonight was different than the previous nights. Tonight would mark the beginning of something extraordinary, but it would be considered normal for Equestria due to all the chaotic creatures that had existed and were sealed away.

Vinyl sighed and downed the last of her cider, silently cursing herself for allowing her mind to wonder yet again. I need to be ready for when the Gateway opens, she told herself mentally, I need to find those blasted keys and lock the Gate before HE finds his way back here.

She looked up at the night sky and pulled her glasses down just a bit, thankful that nopony was around to watch her. Five stars moved next to each other, which stood as a sign from Princess Luna that she had better get going soon. The stars were never near each other during every other night, so if anypony took note of it tonight they would never see it again. Vinyl thanked the fact that most ponies were asleep and would never notice the strange formation the stars took tonight.

Not a couple minutes later the unicorn was trotting down the street in the direction of her apartment, which she shared with her roommate Octavia. While Vinyl partied and played her bass at night Octavia played classical music during the day and had a sour face whenever she heard Vinyl's music. But tonight she was supposed to be in Ponyville, which meant she wouldn't be around when the Gateway opened.

When Vinyl reached her apartment she locked the door and bolted to her room, throwing open the chest she had been keeping locked for the last couple of years. Inside rested a solid golden key, a belt she rarely used, and a bladed weapon that was called a sword. She smiled and pulled the items out of the chest, not bothering to lock it this time. She magically wrapped the belt around her and attached the sword to it before picking up the key.

Vinyl left the apartment and quickly descended back onto the street, where she looked to her right and left before turning towards the castle. The door she needed to pass through had been built into the side of Canterlot Castle, where Princess Luna could keep watch over it and alert Vinyl as to whenever it glowed. Tonight the door was glowing and that meant that the Gateway was open, just waiting for her to use it.

-Trixie's wagon-

Trixie stumbled into her wagon and sighed as she leaned against the wall, looking up at the night sky. She always knew that the stars were beautiful, but tonight they were more so than previous nights. Then she noticed that five stars were huddled together and not where they were supposed to be, which meant that Princess Luna must have been partying that night and screwed up.

But the more Trixie looked at the strange formation the more she felt the desire to succumb to sleep. Her eyelids drooped and her body shook as her legs buckled below her. The last thing she remembered was the stars as her eyes closed and she drifted off into sleep.

-Ponyville-

Lyra was having fun like most nights, watching some scary movie while her roommate Bon Bon slept. Her ears perked as she heard something call her name, but what she didn't know. She carefully got up and followed the sound of the voice until she was in the backyard, staring up at the strangest star formation she had ever seen. She was sure that Twilight Sparkle would be studying the formation and had likely contacted the Princess to inform her about what was in the sky.

Her body shook and she yelped in pain as she hit the ground. Something wasn't right and she knew it, but she could still hear that same voice that had called her out in the first place. Try as she may Lyra eventually succumbed to the embrace of sleep and she remembered nothing more.

-Derpy's House-

Derpy Hooves, the most clumsy of all the ponies living in Ponyville, looked out of her window and stared at the stars. She noticed the strange five stars, but made no effort to take her eyes off them. There was a sense of acceptance that she felt, almost as if her mother was welcoming her with open hooves. Derpy smiled as a tear rolled down her cheek and laid her head on the pillow of her bed before drifting away.

-Canterlot Castle-

Vinyl waited outside the main door of the Castle, which was the Throne Room, and kept looking around for the familiar face of the Lunar Princess. Luna had summoned her to the Castle and now she needed to access the Gateway, but first she had to wait. The strange lunar guards, ponies with bat wings and weird fluffed ears, stood by the door as she waited, watching her every move. That was mostly due to the weapon that Vinyl had carried to the Castle and she couldn't leave it behind, not where she was going.

"Ah, Vinyl Scratch," said a familiar voice as the Lunar Princess finally emerged from the doors, "I am so glad you responded to my summoning as quickly as possible. Guards, you may remain where you are. This mare isn't any threat to myself or Tia."

As the guards stood down Vinyl trotted up to the dark blue alicorn, who had already begun walking along the side of the Castle's exterior.

"Do you have the key to access the Gateway?" Luna inquired, cutting to the chase once they were alone.

"Of course I do," Vinyl proudly said, holding the key up in her magic, "Can't go anywhere without this little beauty. Should I be expecting any help this time or am I on my own?"

"I would think you might be lucky this time," Luna replied, spotting the glowing door around the bend, "and I must be returning to my duties with the stars as soon as the door is closed. Twilight Sparkle immediately noticed the stars and sent a letter to me asking that I repair it before the astronomers noticed it."

The two stopped right in front of the glowing door and Vinyl smiled as she raised the key, prepared to open the Gateway at last. Before she did she looked at the Lunar Princess and asked her, "So, want me to pass on anything to the Gatekeeper or is there nothing to say?"

Luna smiled, it was good to hear that she could pass on something to the Gatekeeper.

"Tell him that I said hello," she said, pulling a book out of the wall by magic, "and tell him that he can keep this for as long as he wishes."

Vinyl took the book, nodded, and forced open the Gateway before jumping into the swirling vortex. When she opened her eyes she found herself in a huge chamber filled with similar doorways to the one she had just used. Sitting in the middle of the room was an alicorn stallion with a bright red coat reading what appeared to be a book. His cutie mark just happened to be a ring of silver keys.

"Hiya Gatekeeper," she called, catching the stallion's attention.

"Oh my, Vinyl?" the surprised alicorn asked, "Do come over and take a seat. I'll whip us up something to drink and we can catch up on old times. And maybe you can tell me what has happened in Equestria for the last thousand years."