//------------------------------// // Prologue: It comes // Story: Restoring Harmony to the Cosmos // by Orfearus //------------------------------// It was a beautiful winter's day, as the sun shined bright over the crowded streets of Canterlot. The afternoon was just approaching, and a cool breeze blew through the air as ponies rushed to finish all of their tasks in preparation for the evenings events. It was the first Winter Moon Celebration since Luna returned after all, the symbolic day when Celestia lowered the sun and Luna rose the moon in harmony on the longest night of the year. The streets were filled with earth ponies and unicorns, each trying to make their way through the throng, while the skies were so filled with pegasi that they threatened to block out the sun. With such focus on preparations So it was no surprise when a grey unicorn went unnoticed by the crowd. He was a normal unicorn, the average height, with an un-interesting bowl as his cutie mark. It was also no surprise that they did not notice him as he stepped into the shadows of the back-alleys of Canterlot. For if anyone watched, they would have beheld a fearsome sight. His equine form melted around him. The grey fur turned black when shadows touched it, as if embracing the darkness itself. His ears melted back into his head, and his horn all but disappeared. The cutie mark vanished as soon as the black shadows covered it. A shroud of darkness obscured Its features, and made it near invisible in the covered alley. Finally, free from that hideous form It thought to itself. I don’t know why I even bother with it, due to all the limitations of such a body. While a unicorns' form did have limitations, there were a few irreplaceable advantages. Nopony could know what It was doing, and so the shape prevented suspicion. At least It was free from that form for a while, It thought to Itself, as it melted into the shadows of the back alleys. ......... It traveled for a little while along these back-roads, until It felt Its destination nearing. At that point, It pressed Itself firmly against the wall and let tendrils of magic start to climb the rugged surface. He could feel every grove in the wall, as the invisible magic slowly inched its way further up. Once it reached the roof, sunlight streamed over the magic as it materialized into a dark formless blob. From the center of the blob, emerged an eye. The Princesses castle filled most of Its view of the surrounding area. Looking around for an entranced proved to be a more difficult task than imagined. The walls were heavily fortified, and guards patrolled at regular intervals. On special days like today, no guests were allowed into the castle, and the only entrances were through equally guarded gates. But the dark ritual of his master plan demanded that this be the day, and It had been planning for far too long to let a simple obstacle stand in its way. As the guards patrolled the grounds, It recognized the 2 guards coming Its way from previous visits. Perfect. It knew what needed to be done to gain entry to the castle. As It pulled Its magic back to the ground, rather than re-absorbing the power, It reshaped the magic into a pitch-black shadow blade. My old master would have frowned at such a liberal use of his darkest magic It thought. Then again, he was so overconfident he was defeated before he could use it. I won't make that mistake. With that, It melted into the shadows once more, to intercept the approaching guard. ......... "Do you mind if I leave early today?" one of the guards asked "You do this every Market Day!" came the reply "Cummon, it's only a few minutes. The end of our shift is just at the next gate, and you know how much these extra minutes mean to me." "Fine. Go, I'll finish up our shift. But you owe me" "Thanks a ton man, I won't forget this" Said the guard, as he hurried off They have the same conversation every market day It thought to itself. Sometimes my job is just too easy The lone guard walked down the alleyway, eager to get to the end of his shift. Maybe it was the bitter wind still biting his hooves, or the prospect of reaching the market before everything closed up, but the guard hurried on past oblivious to the world around him. Big mistake. Within a second the guard was lying on the ground, the black dagger protruding from his back. It got to work quickly. First It dispelled the magical weapon, and then inspected the guard. Steady pulse, no visible wounds, if he weren't lying unconscious on the floor you might think him perfectly healthy. Focusing Its magic, It made a shadowy prism over the guard. With a single thought, the guard disappeared underneath the cloak of magic. To remain un-detected, It would need the guard later. Time was running short, so It turned around and hurried on its way. Out of the shadows, stepped the guard. ......... Locating the guard's room was easy enough, considering It had been studying the castles layout for months now. The room was small, with only a bed and a night side table to break up the dreary stone floor. As the guard approached the bed, It let Its equine form fall once more. Concentrating on a simple spell it had learned, It teleported the unconscious guard onto the bed. Now came the tricky part. Leaning close enough to the guard so that its dark shroud enveloped the guards head, it reached into the pit of its soul and mind. With a flash, false memories of that night jumped into the guards mind. When the guard woke up the next morning, he would clearly remember finishing his shift and returning to bed early. The memories were so vivid, It might have believed them real had It not created them a moment ago. Leaving the guards room, It slipped into the shadowy corridors that weaved their way throughout the castle ......... The castle was silent. Moving like an actual shadow, It made no noise as it passed through the labyrinth. While It walked, It went over the plan in it's head multiple times. How many years had It been waiting for such an opportunity? Building It's power, perfecting it's plan. In just a few hours It's master plan would be in action, and nothing would be able to avert the coming chaos. It walked through a corridor that was open to courtyards on the outside, and from the shadows that the sun painted along the walls, It could tell the afternoon was nearing an end. Still hours before the Princess of the Night awakened, so it had time to spare. Navigating up another flight of stairs, It came to the hallway where the Princesses room was located. Outside were two ever vigilant guards. Nothing It wasn't prepared to handle Approaching in the shadows, still unseen by the unsuspecting guards, It plunged the room into darkness. Moments later, when light was restored to the hallway, both guards could be seen with black spikes protruding from their backs. Not meant to kill, of course, but merely to paralyze. The door to the princesses room silently slid open, whether due to the door itself, or the magical spell It cast just in case, It didn't know. For that fact, It didn't care - as long as the princess wasn't alerted to Its presence. Silently, It slipped across Luna's room to where the princess was sleeping. She looked so peaceful in her bed, body draped in the light of the afternoon sun streaming through her balcony window. Royalty always finds a way of looking good It thought to itself. Some deep, repressed anger built up inside of it. If not for the powerful magic of this princess, It's master would still be by It's side. Now was the time for revenge. Slowly, It drew a dagger from the darkest depths of the shadows surrounding It. This was not the pitch-black shadow dagger It had used earlier - this was an ancient silver dagger, engraved with a unicorns head. It ran the dagger along Luna's flank. The dagger seem un-hindered by equine flesh, and a pitch black line carved its way right through the crescent moon cutie mark that deemed her Ruler of the Moon. The black line faded as It approached the princess's head. A spark jumped from the tip of the engraved unicorn's horn to Luna's, signifying the ritual was complete. That's why he chose me It told itself. I may not be as tentative when using such power, but I get the job done. Silently, It left the room. There was neither a hair out of place on the princess's body, nor a hoof mark in the plush carpet that adorned her floor. As It closed the door, a vial appeared from thin air and floated in front of the paralyzed guards. It placed a single drop on each of the guard's muzzles. The liquid causes short term memory loss. They would fill the missing time in with the menial guard duty they'd been doing for so long now. As It walked away, the black spikes in the guard's backs dispelled, leaving no trace of magic in the air. As far as anyone was concerned, nothing had happened. ......... It approached the dining hall where It knew It would find Celestia. An opportunity was already arranged to present itself, so all It could do now was wait. So It waited. And waited. It was there on a mission, and would not let itself be distracted for a single second by the extravagance of the dining hall around It, knowing immediate action would be needed the second the opportunity appeared. And so It continued to wait, letting only dreams of the master plan's completion fill It's mind. The chaos that would rule the streets. The power of the princesses would fall at last. It would take back what was stolen from It. The sun drifted closer to the horizon, signaling the end of dinner, and the approaching start of the celebration. As the meal started to close, a guard entered through the main doors. "Lord Baleham, There is an urgent message for you just delivered direct by Dragonfire from Manehatten" he announced "Must I come now?" The lord questioned "It is urgent" was the only response, as the guard turned and walked down a deserted hallway. The lord reluctantly got up, giving It plenty of time to sneak around to the hallway and hide. This was Its only opportunity and It wouldn't let that slip away. The lord approached the guard, and took the scroll he was carrying; It already knew what the message contained. The guard walked some ways away, to leave the lord in peace; It thanked Its own brilliance as the plan started to unfold. As the lord unrolled the scroll, his face turned white. That was all the chance It needed. A black dagger silently found its way into the lord's back, and It magically lowered him to the ground without a sound. Another second of concentration, another prism to cover the lord. As the lord disappeared, It picked up the note off the floor, and turned around The lord walked back into the dining hall. ......... The lord returned to the table. His face was losing colour with each step, as he approached the head of the table. "Celestia, I have urgent business that I must speak to you about" He said. "Alright, Lord Baleham, come with me." They walked a ways down a corridor, just the two of them with a few guards following at a distance. The silence was overwhelming, the Lord emanating desperation that seemed to hang in the air. "Celestia, please reconsider your decision" he pleaded, stopping in the hall where he was "I'm sorry, Lord, but you know I can't" was her only response, turning to face him. There was a gentle power in her eyes, which told the Lord his appeal was useless. He continued anyways, and fell to his knees. "Please Celestia I implore you" he begged, visibly distressed. He had stooped to a level rarely seen among people of the court, in a desperate attempt to win the princesses favour. Celestia saw the look in his eyes. It was the look of a frightened colt, on the edge of losing everything he held dear to him. "It's just not something I can allow. I'm sure you can understand" she replied, trying to sooth his rage with her kind words "Please" He said, lunging towards her feet in an attempt to kiss them in flattery. This attempt at flattery concealed the true purpose of this meeting, as he sharply drew the hidden dagger across Celestia's flank. A burst of bright light sent the lord flying backwards. It was blinded, head low to the ground, struggling to keep its form as the Lord stable. "I cannot believe such outright disregard for protocol" Celestia's voice boomed It was fighting, stabilizing his form before the princess noticed anything out of place. The magic pressing down upon him was very great "You of all people should know I never lower my defensive wards" The light was fading, forcing him to bring a look of the utmost shame upon his face while still battling back the magic with all his might "You're grovelling at my feet will not earn you anything, and it may just destroy your respect in the process" The light faded, and he just noticed a black line streaked across the Sun of Celestia's cutie mark fade away. With the magical assault dying down, all that remained was a mask of shame; Hiding behind this mask was another of fear - the ritual was not yet done. "What has brought you to such actions" Celestia demanded, all kindness seeping out of her voice as a commanding air filled the room. "I am truly sorry Celestia. I am desperate. But I can promise it will not happen again, for if you shall not reconsider, I am afraid I have been removed from my position as representative from Manehatten, and striped of my Lord status". Each word was a struggle to say, all the while battling the tears that threatened to overwhelm him. With the last words said, he could not contain his emotions anymore. Tears welled up in his eyes. Grief, sorrow, despair and regret mixed together in an outpour of emotions through those words, and emanated in the air. If he were able to move, he would have collapsed in shame and sorry. But he could not even lift a hoof – he was held in place by a magical force he had not previously realized was there. "I am truly sorry for the position you are in." Celestia replied, kindness returning to her voice once more, with a small band of pity woven in. Celestia slowly approached the broken Lord "While there is no way I can reconsider my decision, I do not wish to see you in such pain. I will do what I can to see you remain a member at my table" She stopped, and lowered her head "Let me remove this spell that holds you and the pain it has caused" A single spark jumped from Celestia's horn to the Lord. And a single spark jumped back to Celestia's horn from the dagger ......... Lord Baleham walked out of the castle, head held low. His head showed his shame, but also prevented anyone from looking into his eyes. Because if you did, you would see them filled with malicious glee. Nopony saw through his ruse, and no trace of his actions remained. Its job was done, and the rituals complete. As It walked away, the celebration in Canterlot was just starting. In unison, Celestia's sun sank below the horizon, and Luna's moon rose above it. There was a small wisp of snow on the cold winds that blew that night, but nothing could dampen the fire in Its heart. My master will be so proud It thought to itself. All that remained in this master plan was a trip to the palace garden. And then it would wait, for chaos to return.