//------------------------------// // 3 - The Prophecy // Story: Dawn of a New World // by KingBrony //------------------------------// The rain did not let up as the ponies entered the ruins of Canterlot. As they all wandered through the once-regal streets, they noticed that it was much like ponyville - empty. Rarity felt uneasy as she was reminded of the ponies she had acquainted herself with. Twilight thought about her parents and brother...were they okay? Fluttershy was thinking about the animals she had encountered here during the Gala...she stopped after asking herself if they were okay. When the yellow pegasus and her friends approached the castle, they all stopped. "Remember the Gala?" Rarity spoke up. "We were right here, on this path...now look at it!" She said, noting the cracks and discoloring of the tiles. All were trying to hold back tears. There were no songs that could be sung about this; no song can be depressing enough. The doors to the castle were blown down, and much of the castle itself was destroyed. Everypony fell silent as they entered one by one. Twilight led her group into the main room, remembering everything that had just transpired the other day. The castle looked like nothing more than a shadow now. "P...Princess?" Twilight called out into the empty room. Her voice bounced off of the walls, echoing through the air. After a few moments of silence, a voice shouted back "Twilight Sparkle?" Fluttershy knew that to be Celestia's voice. Oh, she's not harmed! Fluttershy thought, before realizing that the princess was a goddess, after all. The group then ran up the stairs and into the Princess's chambers. Both Princess Celestia and Luna were in the throne room, looking very worn out and tired. Celestia, whose mane was always flowing, stood still and fell to her sides. Fluttershy had never seen the princess in a state like this. Twilight ran up and gave both of them a hug. "I'm so glad you're all okay." Princess Celestia said. "Princess," Twilight said after backing up. "What's going on? Why is..." The princess raised a hoof, which stopped Twilight mid-sentence. "Follow me, girls." She simply stated as she turned and walked towards the room where the elements were kept. The hallway was long and dreary. Stained glass windows each depicted a major event, from the battle with Nightmare Moon, to the defeat of King Sombra in the Crystal Empire. Each achievement stood etched on the windows. Fluttershy wondered if there would be a window for this, but quickly dismissed the idea. After placing her horn in the hole on the far end of the hall, the door unlocked. A great light came from behind it. The room was empty. Twilight and her friends were shocked, but Celestia showed no emotion. She simply walked in and touched her hoof on the back wall. A white light outlined the wall, and a glowing door formed. Princess Luna then used her magic, creating a black light that covered the secret door. A loud sound came from the back of the wall as the door opened. Celestia motioned for everypony to enter. This new room was very large and white. A lonely statue stood in the middle of the room. Fluttershy looked at it and noticed that it was a statue of Star Swirl, the Bearded. She had seen his picture in one of Twilight's spellbooks, back before the world ended. "Please, gather around." Celestia said to the others. Engraved on the base of the statue were symbols Fluttershy couldn't make out. "As you may know," the Princess began. "This is Star Swirl the Bearded, father of the amniomorphic spell..." "Excuse me, Princess..." Twilight interjected. "...But, what is that writing? I've never seen it in any of Star Swirl's works, but I did see it on one of those meteors..." "It is the ancient language of the Sleipnir, an ancient race of pony-like beings that existed long before us. We call them the Sleipnir because of their last King." Princess Luna replied. "Thou hast not seen such a language because no record of it exists...except here." She said as she pointed to the statue. Celestia continued. "The language was lost long ago. Ever since becoming Princess, we've tried deciphering the words. We actually found this statue deep within a mountain to the north of the Crystal Empire. We moved it here after Canterlot was built. It took me many years to unlock the secret, and I fear it might have been too late...What it tells is something called the End of Days Prophecy." "It basically says that the world will end in a blaze of fire...a new world will be reborn from its ashes to face torment, chaos, and suffering...and an ancient race will return to cleanse the land. Nopony will know when, and nopony will know how." The mares all fell silent after hearing these last few words. "Ancient race?" Applejack was the first to speak up. It sounded a little too far-fetched to actually be true. This isn't true, right? Fluttershy couldn't help but think to herself. It was just a meteor shower...nothing to do with these ancient ponies. Celestia spoke again. "Before there were pegasi, earth ponies, and unicorns, there were giant magical beings we call Sleipnir. Along with the Draconequus, both fought to rule over the land that would become known as Equestria." Luna continued. "The first ponies came together to fight against both the Sleipnir and the Draconequus. Through their efforts, both were defeated. Before this happened, King Sleipnir used the last bit of his magic to write a prophecy foretelling the end of the pony world...Star Swirl found out about this and tried to use his magic to change the prophecy. Alas, it was too powerful for even him to do. He spent the rest of his life trying to alter a pony's destiny, leading to the spell that you ended up finishing, Twilight." "Is that exactly what it says?" Applejack asked. "It is a rough translation, yes." Celestia responded. "Okay, well then let's just get the elements of harmony and fix this all!" Rainbow Dash interjected. The other mares began to nod in agreement, but Celestia and Luna looked at each other. Celestia led the others out of the hidden room and back into the main hall. The look the princesses had on their faces suggested something was wrong. "The elements...well, they disappeared during the meteor shower. The meteors contained some kind of magical force that nullifies magic, and made the elements disappear. We weren't able to use our magic to protect anypony...we did managed to take in some refugees, however." Celestia said grimly. Twilight remembered the meteor she tried to use her magic on. The glowing symbols were etched into her own memory as well. "I'm supposing we're going to have to search for the elements, correct?" Rarity spoke up. Luna gave an uneasy smile. "You will have to. Celestia and I are no longer connected to the elements, so we cannot sense where they are. We hope you will be able to find them instead. It will be a tough journey." That last sentence made Fluttershy feel as if the elements were scattered across the world, not just Equestria. Outside, the acid rain continued to pour. Smaller buildings began to dissolve, and the streets began to erode. Celestia and Luna led the ponies into another large room. Inside, hundreds of ponies sat huddled together. They all looked hurt and tired, making Fluttershy feel sad. Some managed to survive, at least. The group split up to see the other survivors. Rarity began searching for her parents, but came up short. She looked to Sweetie Belle, who began to cry. Twilight had no luck either...she searched the entire room, but her parents were nowhere to be found. Pinkie Pie was bouncing through the crowd, doing her best to stay positive and keep everypony happy. She came across a filly who was crying. Pinkie stooped low to face the little pony. "Hi! What's your name?" She said in a happy voice. "...My...my name is Sunshine Grove..." The filly responded. "My name is Pinkie Pie! Here, have a cupcake!" Was all the pink pony said as she pulled a cupcake out of nowhere. The filly's face began to glow with happiness as she took the cupcake. "T-thank you!" she said happily as she ran back to her parents. "Mommy! Daddy! Look what that nice pony gave me!" Pinkie gave a small smile as she continued on. The next family she saw was...the Cakes! Pinkie let out a big gasp before meeting them. "You're all okay!" Pinkie yelled as she jumped up and down. Mrs. Cake responded. "I'm happy to see you're okay too, Pinkie!" Twilight returned to Princess Celestia. "...Where is Shining Armor? And Cadence?" Celestia gave a small smile. "They both left for the Crystal Empire just after your coronation ended...I hope they're okay over there. We will keep close contact with them to make sure. Now, Twilight, are you aware of what you all need to do?" Twilight nodded her head. "Don't worry, Princess. We'll find the elements and fix everything!" The others began to gather around the purple princess. "It is a big task; bigger than anything I've ever asked from you before." Celestia warned. Her eyes were pale and tired. "One more thing," The princess added. "You must try to keep your magic use to a minimum, if you can use any at all. Like I said, the meteors possess some sort of magic nullifying aura, so our magic has been greatly weakened. If you use too much of it, you may pass out." "How is that possible?" Twilight asked, not reading about anything like it in her books. She couldn't think of having to go without magic for a long period of time...or never again. Celestia approached the princess. "Do not worry, my little pony. I still believe you will all be able to find the elements! The elements are beyond the limits of magic; they are connected to each of you." "Now, Sweetie Belle," Rarity said as she turned to her sister. "I'm afraid you're going to have to stay here where it's safe." Sweetie Belle faced her sister. "No!" she shouted in defiance. "Mom and dad are...gone! You're all I have now, and I'm not going to lose you! We need each other!" She said as she began to cry. Rarity simply smiled and hugged Sweetie Belle as they both cried. "D'ya feel the same way, Apple Bloom?" Applejack said to her own sister. "Of course! Ah...Ah can't lose you too...It's mah fault Big Mac is..." she said as she began to cry. "Sugarcube, it's not your fault!" Applejack said as she comforted the filly. "Big Mac...he knew." She said as she thought about what happened. It woulda been me if he hadn't stopped me...Ah would have done the same exact thing in his spot... She began to cry. Rainbow Dash turned to Scootaloo, trying to hold back tears. "There's no way I'm letting you stay here! You gotta stay strong!" Scootaloo smiled in response and went to hug her idol. During this time, Fluttershy held her head low. Oh I hope Angel is okay... "Now, girls..." Twilight spoke up. The others all gathered around the purple princess. "The journey we have ahead of us will be difficult, so we won't leave until we're absolutely prepared for whatever comes our way. We won't be able to use too much magic, so we have to make do with what he can." "And, what do you have?" A voice came out of nowhere. The entire room fell silent as a figure appeared in the middle of the room. It seemed familiar...Discord! Fluttershy was the first to notice. "Oh, Discord!" She said excitedly. "I'm so glad you're okay!" Discord moved around the room, not paying attention to his first and only friend. He had a smile on his face, one that seemed like he was plotting something very mischevious. He floated right over to Princess Celestia. "Discord..." Celestia began. Before she could finish, Discord snapped his fingers and a cotton candy cloud appeared over Celestia's head. Chocolate milk began to pour out, drenching the princess. Everypony stood shocked as Discord gave a small scoff. "What's the meaning of this!?" The princess said in outrage. "Well, once I heard the magic words, or rather, lack of..." Discord began. "I realized something: nopony can stop my chaos now!" After another snap of his fingers, more clouds appeared. Pinkie Pie was the only one happy about this as she began getting her fill of a cloud. The other ponies were running around screaming. "Discord....Discord!" Fluttershy spoke up. "What are you doing? I thought you were through with this behavior! And...have you seen what's been happening!?" The pegasus began to stare at Discord angrily. "...Have YOU seen what's been happening?" Discord merely responded. "I've known that this would happen for thousands of years. I've known about what is to come after the day of fire...I'm merely trying to bring some...fun back into the world." "This isn't funny!" Rainbow Dash said. "I KNEW you had something to do with all of this!" She said as she began to charge for Discord. He teleported at the last second, making Rainbow crash right into a wall. "If you're referring to the rain outside and the meteors, you're completely wrong." Discord stated. "Honestly, I find the rain a nuisance. I've been trying to get rid of them in favor of my signature clouds." He said as he grabbed one of the cotton candy clouds. "Also," The Draconequus continued. "You're only partially right about the Elements of Harmony, my dear Celestia. Yes, they were reacting with those meteors, but I was the one who scattered them. If not, well, let's just say it wouldn't have been as fun." He laughed, to the shock of the princess. "If you want them back, you had better get started!" "Oh, and Fluttershy...our mutual friend...'Angel'...is still around...one could say he's ever so 'free' right now." And with that, Discord snapped his fingers once more and disappeared. Fluttershy had tears in her eyes as she pieced it together: Angel was in the Everfree Forest! "This has to be the next part of the prophecy!" Twilight said out loud. "...'a world will be reborn from its ashes to face torment, chaos, and suffering'...this has to be referring to Discord! If we were to stop him...then maybe we'd stop the last part of the prophecy!" The others nodded in agreement. "Ah can't argue with ya there..." Applejack said. She looked to her sister, then to the others. "Well, what are we waitin' for?" "Twilight," Celestia said. "...Remember what I said about magic. I can tell you now that Discord might not be the only enemy out there. Who knows what else thought the same thing after this happened?" "Oh...Twilight..." Fluttershy said solemnly. The purple mare knew exactly what Fluttershy was going to ask. "Of course we're going to find Angel." She said. "Remember what I said? We're not leaving until we're absolutely ready!" The journey back to Ponyville went the same way. Rainbow and Spike kept the train moving while the others sat silently inside. ********* The train slowly stopped at the Ponyville station. The sound of the brakes pierced the gloomy silence. The acid rain, fortunately, began to let up, although it still had a presence. Immediately after leaving the train, the ponies began to make their way towards the Everfree Forest. "Wait!" The ponies all stopped and turned to the source of the voice. It was Rarity. "Well we can't all go in there, right? There's no way I'm letting Sweetie Belle enter that forest in this state! I elect myself to stay behind with the fillies." "How generous of you!" Twilight said in response. The white unicorn gave a small smile before looking to the fillies, who unwillingly agreed. "I'll stay behind too!" Spike immediately said. He had a small smile on his face and chuckled as he ran to stand next to Rarity. "...How generous of you." Twilight said again, albeit in a less enthusiastic tone. "Do be careful in there, darlings!" Rarity finally said before going out of earshot. The remaining five ponies wandered into the darkness of the Everfree Forest. Usually, it was always a scary place, but the recent apocalypse made things even worse. Many of the trees were burnt or eroded. There was no clear path through the woods as trees were knocked over. There was an overall blue tone emanating through the air. The wind howled silently as the ponies progressed further into the forest. "Angel!" Rainbow Dash called out into the darkness. "You there?" Faint howls and roars could be heard in the distance. Fluttershy bowed her head and gave out a small squeak. "Okay...maybe Angel left the forest!" She said in a light voice. "Aww, don't be scared!" Rainbow Dash said. "There's no time for that, especially with what's happened recently. You gotta be strong!" With that, a loud roar came right behind the mares. Fluttershy immediately hopped into a nearby bush as the others turned to face the source. It was a Manticore! And not a baby one this time...it was a fully grown, adult Manticore! "Ah think we should...run!" Applejack yelled as the 4 mares dashed deeper into the forest. Fluttershy, in the heat of things, was left behind. "Girls...wait!" She started to scream out, before ducking again. The Manticore's attention was now on the yellow pegasus! Fluttershy cleared her throat: "Ahem...it's okay....it's okay" she said quietly as the Manticore approached her menacingly. It responded by letting out a huge roar. "Ahhh!!" Fluttershy yelled as she flew up in the air. The Manticore used its wings to follow her. Fluttershy did her best to fly as fast as she could. She didn't know where she was going, but the Manticore followed closely wherever she went. Under logs, over bushes, and around trees she went, but she couldn't chake the beast off of her trail. Every second, it seemed to get even angrier as it let out roar upon roar. The pegasus passed by another tree. One of the branches brushed up against the pony's yellow hide and cut her. Fluttershy squealed and lost her balance, smacking right into another tree. The Manticore, too fast to have slown down at this point, managed to crash into a collection of trees a few feet beyond. The impact really hurt the scared pony. Fluttershy's body ached as she stumbled to her hooves. The cut she received from the branch was nothing compared to the cut she received from hitting the tree. Both hurt very much. Panicked, Fluttershy limped away from the crash site, leaving the unconscious Manticore alone. At this point, the acid rain began to pick up again and a chilly wind blew through the forest. Fluttershy managed to reach a small clearing within the forest. In the center of this clearing was a lone tree. The base was hollowed out. The pegasus scurried into the tree in order to rest. The outfit Rarity made her was torn a little in multiple spots. The cuts she received were fairly deep, and the poor pony began bleeding. With tears in her eyes, Fluttershy couldn't do anything except sit there and hope someone would find her. "Oh...I hope the Manticore doesn't find me here..." She said quietly as she fell asleep. ********* Fluttershy woke with a shock. She looked around for a while to realize where she was, and stood up. The sudden pain from her cuts forced her to fall back down, but she was awake. Looking around to see what had happened, she found a pleasant sight: Angel! The bunny had found Fluttershy resting in the cave and placed a few leaves on her injuries. "Oh, Angel!" Fluttershy said softly, yet happily. "I'm so glad you're okay!" The bunny simply smiled and gave his owner a hug. "At least now I have someone to talk to...Oh, I hope the girls are okay as well." She said to the silent bunny. Angel proceeded to run behind Fluttershy and pick up a few vegetables he had found. He gave some of it to Fluttershy. "Thank you, Angel!" She said quietly as she began to eat. "I am pretty hungry as it is..." Fluttershy spent another hour sitting and waiting for the weather to clear. She didn't know how long she was sleeping, but it felt like days. "I wish I could just wake up from this dream..." Fluttershy said to herself. The rain soon cleared up as the pegasus's wounds were healed enough for her to move around. She exited the small tree and looked around. It was dark, meaning that at least five hours had passed since they entered the Everfree Forest. "Let's try to get out of here, Angel." She said to her companion. The bunny nodded in agreement as they started to make their way to the exit....or, what they thought was the exit. Fluttershy wandered the forest searching for a way out. The various sounds of tree branches breaking and leaves falling frightened the pony, but Angel remained strong. "I don't know how you can be so confident at a time like this..." Fluttershy said. "...But, that means I have to be too..." After a few minutes of wandering around, Fluttershy was hit by a fast-moving object. It was Rainbow Dash! "Oh, Rainbow Dash!" The yellow pony said excitedly. "You're okay!" "We've been looking everywhere for you, Fluttershy!" Rainbow dash said. "Twilight and the others returned to the station while I continued searching for you. Are you okay?" The blue pegasus noticed the cuts Fluttershy had sustained. "I'm okay now, thanks to Angel." Fluttershy said as she looked at her bunny companion. "Oh, so you found him! Let's get outta here!" Was all Rainbow said as the two ponies made their way out of the forest. As the ponies made their way out, a loud roar came once again. Turning around, Fluttershy saw the same Manticore that had almost killed her earlier! She screamed as it flew right over her head, just barely missing her with its sharp claw. Fluttershy stumbled a little and tripped over a pile of rocks. She tried to get up, but her back hoof was caught! Rainbow noticed this and tried to pull her out. The Manticore began to double back and fly in again, even madder than ever. Both ponies flinched as the Manticore came in for the kill, when suddenly a white object hit the Manticore right in the face. It was Angel, who threw himself to the giant beast. It caught the Manticore off guard as it veered into a few trees. However, it got right back up and looked right at the small bunny. Angel turned towards Fluttershy one last time as he gave her a salute and a small smile, then turned to run off into the woods. "Angel!" Was all Fluttershy could say as the Manticore chased the doomed rabbit. Rainbow Dash had freed the yellow pegasus's hoof, and Fluttershy began to chase after her pet rabbit. Rainbow Dash held her back. "No!" The blue pegasus said. "I'll go after him. You keep going!" "But...But!" Fluttershy squeaked before bowing her head and turning to leave the forest. "Angel...thank you..." ********* At the train station, Twilight looked into the distance with a woried expression. "Oh, I feel so bad that we left Fluttershy alone in there!" The purple pony said. "You want us ta go in there now?" Applejack asked. She was eager to go search for her dear friend. Before anyone could respond, Fluttershy returned. "Darling, you're okay!" Rarity yelled. "...And...you ripped your outfit! ...Don't worry, I'll have that sewn up in a second!" The ponies all gathered around Fluttershy and gave her a big hug. "Did you find Angel? And where's Rainbow Dash?" Pinkie Pie asked her friend. Fluttershy's happy expression turned to sadness as the others realized what happened. "Well...Rainbow Dash went to..." With that, the blue pegasus in question emerged on the horizon. She slowed to a halt, out of breath and without Angel. She finally spoke up. "Angel put up a pretty good fight with that Manticore...but, by the time I got to them...I'm sorry, Fluttershy. The Manticore chased after me, but I out flew him of course!" "It's okay, Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy said. "Angel saved our lives...that's all that matters..." The ponies all stood in silence for a minute. Even Spike was distraught over the loss of such a brave bunny. "In any case," Twilight said. "We had best be searching for the elements." "Just one thing..." Applejack said in response. "How are we gonna find them if they're all scattered?"