//------------------------------// // Awakening // Story: Destiny's Awakening // by Strange Harmony //------------------------------// Awakening (Soon to be rewritten, along with chapters 2 and 3) Equestria is a land ruled by friendship and harmony and it has seen its fair share of conflicts. In the end, however, the power of harmony always triumphed. Normally, the ponies of Equestria live happy and easy-going lives. They all do what they love and they feel safe knowing there is a powerful group of friends who wield the most powerful magic known to Equestria; the magic of Friendship. Equestria has already survived the incarnation of envy, a mad king seeking to enslave an entire kingdom, a creature who almost managed to destroy the magic of friendship, and a Queen who managed to become stronger than Celestia herself. What then, could be worse? What then, could be more powerful? The answer, dear reader, is a frightening one… Discord walked peacefully under the pleasant spring sun. He was enjoying his new life has one of the “good guys”. Every now and then he liked to pull a couple of pranks for his amusement. These pranks meant everything from a harmless joke on some ponies, to actions which ultimately had bigger consequences than anticipated. When Celestia gave him a break from experimenting with his powers for “the greater good” he liked to wonder off far away and find a nice place to relax (maybe cause some mischief). The hill he was on right now was a new one to him. There were many trees and flowers everywhere. The sweet scent of spring came from every direction. The sun above him was perfect and it was an all-around perfect day. The only thing missing from the perfect spring scene were the animals. He found a particularly comfortable looking shadow under a tree and sat down to think. “It’s been a while since I caused any trouble. I think it’s time for me to do something about that,” he said to himself. Looking around he looked for a creature to turn into his minion for a bit of chaotic fun. While there were no creatures in the vicinity he did catch a glimpse of some ruins in the distance. This caught his attention and he decided to investigate. Upon reaching the site, he discovered they weren't ruins but rather the remains of several machines that appeared to be built to wage war. He saw several white banners bearing Celestia's cutie mark, but there were also black banners with a symbol bearing an eclipse over what appeared to be Celestia's sun. He didn't recognize it and wondered what it represented. Exploring deeper into what had once clearly been a field of battle he saw several grisly sights. He saw the aftermath of confrontations which must have ended tragically for either side. He saw a few bones scattered around and suits of armor which had been trashed. He couldn't help but feel a bit of pity for whatever pony had been part of this conundrum. He saw the edge of the hill approaching. Not knowing what to expect because of what he had just seen he decided to take a peek at whatever was down the hill. He recoiled from what he saw. An enormous field was before him. Just like the hill he was on this field contained the remains of many contraptions of war, several banners bearing the two symbols, and other things that indicated a great battle once took place here. He noticed some of the rubble had been vandalized and some of the things there had been clearly stripped of anything of value. Most likely the work of wondering ponies. As he walked through the decimated battle field he felt a presence in the air…an evil presence. He couldn't explain it but he enjoyed this feeling. It reminded him of how fun it was to be evil, that is, when your not turned to stone. As he walked he tripped on something. “OW! Great way to ruin a nice walk down memory lane,” he muttered to himself. He picked up whatever he tripped over and discovered it was a piece of armor. It appeared to be the front part of a chest plate. In the plate he saw the mysterious symbol he couldn’t recognize. But unlike the other armor he saw, this one was beautifully decorated. The symbol was outlined with gold and the plate had several gorgeous Jet black diamonds in it. He couldn’t help but stare at the piece of armor. He must have stood there for several minutes looking at the armor as if in a trance. Then… “What brings thee to this forgotten no man’s land?” asked a beautiful voice that resonated with power. “What? Who said that?” asked Discord looking around puzzled. “’Tis I traveler,” responded the voice. At this point Discord realized the voice was in his head. When he looked down at plate of armor again he couldn't believe what he was seeing. The metal plate had what appeared to be fog in the surface. In this fog there were a glowing set of eyes. “HAAA!” screamed Discord and dropped the plate. “Do not be scared traveler” said the voice. “Do not run away like everypony else that sees me. I am but an unlucky soul bound to this accursed piece of armor by the war you see but the rubbles of.” He now felt a little uneasy in this place. The presence of evil lingered…yet those eyes commanded him to stay. “I should really get going. I think the princess is calling. Oh, what is it Celestia? I’ll be right there.” Said Discord in a slipshod excuse for leaving that place. Although a force he couldn’t explain made him want to stay there he started to slowly walk away but heard to voice say: “Do you like pranks traveler.” Discord stopped and looked at the plate. “Yeeesss. How would you know that”. “OH JOY!” exclaimed the piece of armor. “A fellow prankster. I have always been able to read individuals like yourself. You know, pulling pranks was one of my favorite things to do.” “Was?” Asked Discord half-heartedly. “Yes. I was a regular earth pony in a village when I was called to fight in this terrible war. At one point during the fighting I encountered a unicorn who POOF! Zapped me with some sort of spell. Next thing I knew I was a piece of armor laying on the ground. What sort of spell would do something like that?” Spoke the voice with a touch of sadness. “That does sound kind of unfortunate” said Discord “Wish there was something I could help you.” He said and continued walking. “Actually. There is. Before coming here I studied every aspect of war. Including magic. I realize I am an earth pony and can’t use it but I was always curious about it. As you can imagine I have had some time to think. And I believe to have devised a spell that can break me from this curse. I need the help of someone who CAN use magic however. In this case it is thy help I seek. I know your kind is adept with magic.” A tone of hope had entered the voice. Discord thought about it skeptically. I am one of the good guys now, and if I help this pony maybe I could get something good out of it. Like a new side-kick. “Alright, I shall help you.” Said Discord blinded by the ideas floating in his head. “Repeat after me and try to keep up it is a very long spell.” Said the voice and started reciting magic words. Discord followed the pony’s words syllable by syllable. Several seconds passed after he finished casting the spell but nothing seemed to happen. “Well pony, I guess you are bound to live the rest of eternity in that piece of armor.” He began. “Pony? Where did you go? Humph. Maybe it did work. There's my good deed for the day” He said and started walking away. He hadn't gone far when a sharp pain shot through his head. His knees buckled and he seemed to lose control of his limbs.“HAAAAAAA!” Roared Discord in agony. He fell and rolled over on his back. When he looked to his right there stood a tall grey figure over him surrounded by a bright light. Through the sweat falling in his eyes Discord managed to see it was an Alicorn. The presence of nostalgic evil Discord felt had been replaced by terror and confusion. “By freeing me from the prison I was forced to trap myself in you have sealed the fate of this land in ashes! For this I thank thee Discord. Now rise and take your place has my new slave…” said the Alicorn with an ice cold voice that sent a grave chill down his spine. “WHO ARE YOU! HOW DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?” Discord screamed frantically as he tried to free himself from whatever force had taken hold of him. “That is none of your concern puppet” Discord tried to teleport himself out of there, but trying to use magic only made an agonizing pain shoot through his entire body. “What do you want from me?” asked Discord. “You are a speck of dust to me. You are my puppet, a mere tool for me to use in my ploy to exact revenge upon this land. I will break the meaningless cycle that is life for what it has done to me.” Discords consciousness faded away and in his place a mindless puppet stood up. “Now…let’s see how the cycle has changed the land and how the ponies of the land cope with their new destiny. A destiny…covered in blood…” Part II Two ponies, with bags around their necks, soar through the sky with Canterlot faintly in the background. As the two ponies fly through the sky they do spins and twirls in attempt to prove who is better. One is a pink mare with a red and light pink mane, the other is a dark blue Stallion with an even darker blue and red mane. The mares cutie mark is a flaming trophy in the shape of a pegasus with the number one shining brightly on it. The stallions cutie mark is a trio of stars with a red on in the middle shining brightly. "Hey where are we going again?" The stallion says as he catches up to his pink friend. "We're going to Phillydelphia to try their Equestria famous Fillydelphies remember?" The mare responds. The stallion looks saddened, "You know who would've loved to visit with us?" The mare looks at him with the same saddened expression, "Not now..." Clearing his throat the stallion looks forward and says, "So have you ever been to this place?" "No but I've heard nice things." "Like?" The mare pulls out a journal from her bag, and flips a few pages. "I remember Mom and dad telling me about this place one night when I couldn't sleep." She says as she keeps flipping pages until she comes to a stop. "I also read plenty of reviews from other ponies who visit here from time to time. They've all said that 'Phillydelphia was a gorgeous, luxurious city. There were giant buildings that called for attention and had many pleasant looking shops to spend an afternoon at. There were parks full of beautiful birds and monuments to great ponies. An aura of culture and civilization could be felt in the air. The delicious smell of feed was ever so present in the air.'" The stallion scratches his head, "Where are those country famous Fillydelphies I keep hearing about? " "Hmm..." The mare flips through all her pages and says, "I have nothing about them in here but that just makes me even more excited about trying them!" The stallion laughs, "Try not to explode ok?" Both ponies look forward and their eyes grow very wide as they slowly come to a stop on a road leading into a large, beautiful city. Large beautiful trees were centered all over the city. Plenty of parks could be seen upon entering the city which were filled with families. The city was everything any pony could have dreamed of! Both ponies stood in awe and spoke in unison, "This place is amazing…" The stallion shakes his head, "Now wheres the bakery...?" The mare begins to look around with him. They find the nearest pony who appears to know where he is going and decide to ask for help. "Let's ask him, maybe he's seen it." The stallion nods. "Right!" They begin to walk up to the unicorn. He has a very light yellow coat, a jet black mane with teased spikes and a hint of red in it. The unicorns cutie mark is a few musical notes that form a star. The mare is first to approach, "Umm.. excuse me sir, would you happen to know where the city bakery is?" The unicorn responds with a smile and says, "As a matter of a fact I do. I was actually heading there for some of their magnificent Fillydelphies myself." The pair look at each other, smile and then back at the Unicorn, "Would you mind taking us there? The Fhillydelphies will be on us!" The Unicorn ponders this for a moment, "I see no problem with your request, why not? I love meeting new ponies anyways." The pair high hoof and then the three ponies all together begin walking in the same direction as the unicorn was walking before they approached. They talk, they joke and see plenty of buildings that stand out. From a wacky colored hat shop, to a very luxurious Hotel with gold plated letter bearing the name 'The Pon Hotel'. On their journey to the bakery, they see a green stallion with wings, a blonde mane and brown bag around his shoulder looking worried. The pegasus' cutie mark is the symbol of a lion on it's hind legs. He's across the street so the blue pony stops and shouts to him, "Hey! You with the green coat!" He turns and looks at the blue stallion, he says nothing, turns away and keeps walking. The stallion keeps at it, "You're lookin' kinda worried, you alright?" The pegasus stops to look at the 3 ponies across from him and gathers up some courage, "W- well no… I've never been here before…" he answers shyly. The unicorn steps into the conversation and shouts to the green pony. "Do you maybe need any help finding anything?" The pegasus looks around before looking back at the unicorn and answering with, "Umm… s-sure…" The mare also steps forward, "Why don't you join us for a snack? I'm sure some nice Fillydelphies can help clear your head!" The pegasus responds, "Well… I am pretty hungry but I don't have any bits on me, a-are you buying?" The blue stallion flies to him and brings him toward the group, "You have got nothing to worry about, it's on us!" The two stallions join the group as they walk toward the bakery. The three ponies go back to how they were before but the green pony barely even makes eye contact with any of them. As they proceed down the street, the come to a plaza full of some expensive looking shops and the unicorn leading the way stops. "Here we are! Phillydelphia's magnificent 'Golden Cream puff'!" The blue stallion walks to the door and holds it open, "After you." He bows. The mare then steps in front of the unicorn who had already started to walk in. "Why thank you kind sir." She says with a laugh. The blue stallion walks in behind her and holds it open for the other two to follow inside. Upon entering the bakery they are all hit by the nice cool breeze and notice all of the beautiful, high class decorations. Beautiful multicolored frames for the windows, tables made of marble polished so you can see your reflection, and not to mention, the best attraction. The tables surrounded a giant solid gold cream puff in the middle of the whole shop! The four exclaim in unison, "Wow!" They find a nice comfy table next to a window with velvet cushions on the stools for them to sit on. A waiter then dashes to the table. "Howdy every pony! Y'all like yer doin' great this afternoon! Did y'all come here fer our Equestria famous Fhillydelphies?" The blue and pink ponies nod and smile with big smiles. The blue pegasus bangs his hoof on the table and says to the waitress, "You bet yer right hoof we did!" The waiter laughs and says, "Alright, be back faster than you can say Golden Cream puff!" She dashes off. The pegasus laughs, "Ha we'll see, Golden Crea-" The pony brings back a tray filled with four drinks of punch and with what seems like brown toasted flowers with cream in their stigmas. "You lose, now you have a nice day y'all!" The blue pony sits in embarrassment and watches the waiter walk away but his eyes slip a little lower than they should and his female friend is the only one to notice knowing what he's staring at. The pink pegasus yells, "Hey!" and the slaps him in the back of the head. The stallion gives her an angry look then smiles, "It was totally worth it, now let's all dig in." The green pegasus takes a bite of his cream puff before he finishes and sits in embarrassment, "I-I'm sorry, I was real hungry…" The three others laugh and begin to eat along with him. The unicorn grabs a Fillydelphie and asks, "So what's this I see here? Are you two a couple?" The mare gives a disgusted look, "No! This is my brother, Omega. You can call me Alpha." "My apologies ma'am, my name is virtuoso." Alpha smiles, "Very nice to meet you Virtuoso." Omega is about to take a bite of his cream puff when Alpha nudges him and flicks her eyes at Virtuoso, then back at him. "You already did it for me." said Omega jokingly as he devoured his cream puff. After shaking her head, Alpha does the same. "And how about you?" Virtuoso turns to the green pony, "What is your name?" "My name is Lightning Courage." He pops a cream puff in his mouth and smiles. He swallows his cream puff and says, "It's very nice to meet all of you." Everypony smiles and and gives a toast. "So, what is everypony doing here?" Virtuoso asks as he takes a drink of his punch. Alpha pops in another cream puff and says, "Well me and my brother came to try these things! Pastries of legend!" Lightning looks up from his meal and drink, "I can see the resemblance between you and your brother." Virtuoso turns to Lightning, "And you Lightning? Do you have business here as well?" Lightning turns his head and stares at the cloudy sky through a nearby window, "I'm looking for a place to stay for a while," he looks back at Virtuoso. "just some place to get myself situated." Omega finishes his drink with an "Aaahhhh" Alpha nudges him and gives him an angry look. He smiles worriedly. Something then pops into head, "Come to think of it, we need a place to stay too. Can't sleep in the boxes outside, it'll damage our manes." Virtuoso finishes his drink as well and says, "My folks have a pretty big place here, I came to visit them for the weekend. You three are welcome to stay for the night if you'd like." Alpha gets up from her seat and bows, "Me and my brother are very thankful and we accept your offer!" Omega scratches his head, obviously focused on something else, "Now we don't have to spend any bits, thanks Virtuo... Virtuso…" He laughs, "Virtuoso, and you're welcome." He turns. "How about you Lightning? Would you like to stay a day or two with me and my folks?" Lightning looks at his cup, then back to Virtuoso. "May I get a drink first, you know? Something to help me think it over?" Alpha looks at his cup and says, "Didn't you just have some punch?" "It was never filled..." He then gets up and asks, "Would you all like to accompany me to the Spurbucks nearby?" They all agree and Alpha says, "Sure lightning, lead the way!" Virtuoso gets up, "it's very close by actually, I don't see why not." Omega grabs the tray with cups in his mouth, as the other ponies walk to the door, and places it on the counter along with a couple of bits as payment. The waiter pops out on the other side of the counter. "Y'all come back soon OK?" Omega continues walking with his head forward and responds, "Oh, we will!" then begins to follow the other three out the door. Lightning walks outside and looks around, "Where is this shop anyways?" He looks to a building right next door to the bakery, and notices Virtuoso opening a door. "It's right here guys." They all laugh and Lightning lowers his head in embarrassment. They walk into the coffee shop and quickly emerge out of it with Virtuoso holding a drink holder with his magic. His magic, a dark blue aura, surrounds the holder. He latches it over Lightnings back so he can drink it portably by just turning his head. "Why did we go into a coffee shop and come out with milk, if you don't mind me asking?" Alpha asked as they walked away from the shop. Lightning looks back at her with a smile, "Ha… I don't know..." Alpha gives him a blank face as he drinks his milk. As they begin to walk down the road to get to Virtuoso's family home, smoke begins to emerge from a faraway home. Lightning notices it almost immediately and spits his milk on the floor. "Oh no!" He points to the smoke. Alpha gives a gasp when everypony notices. "We have to go help!" Lightning says as he spreads his wings and knocks the tray off his back. He rushes in the direction along with Alpha and Omega behind him. Virtuoso begins to take off but stops and heads back to clean up Lightnings mess and places it in a trash bin nearby then speeds off to help. When he arrives, the three others are already at the scene asking if everypony is Ok. "My baby is still in there!" A frantic mare says as she grabs Lightning by the shoulders. Lightning calms her and says, "Don't worry ma'am as long as I'm here, your baby will be safe!" What happens next surprises every pony. Lightning spreads his wings and spirals into the air. A bright light shines from what appears to be an earring no pony noticed. The earring sends a red aura around his body, turning his coat completely red. He flies back down and into the fiery home. "Lightning! No wait!" Alpha yells as she flies toward him in an attempt to stop him but is too late. He bursts into the collapsing home and is completely engulfed in flames. The building collapses and the mother of the foal inside screams, "NO MY BABY!" Everypony around watches in horror as the rest of the building begins to burn, "Dear Celestia..." Alpha exclaims. Just then, the wood rustles from underneath the fire, and Lightning bursts from the flames with his coat now grey looking hard as stone with the foal covered under one wing and a handkerchief over its snout. "I told you your baby would be fine, as long as i'm here." The mare runs up to Lightning, grabs her baby and then hugs and kisses Lightning several times. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! You're my baby's hero!" She gives him one last hug and then walks away saying to her foal, "That's the last time I let you try and cook while I'm out." Lightning gives the distant mare a puzzled look and is greeted by the other three ponies. Omega wraps an arm around Lightnings neck, "That was sick dude! That thing you did with the light and the… the pshh and the... yeah!" Alpha jumps up to him and says, "Yeah! You totally killed it in there! Nice job!" Virtuoso walks up to Lightning astounded and asks, "How in the hay did you pull that off?!" Lightning works his way out of Omegas grip and puts a little space between the siblings and himself, "It was with this earring my grandfather gave me when he passed away, it allows me to change the texture of my coat to resist things like fire or like when I came out with the foal, my coat was rock." Virtuoso gives him a surprised look and says, "I don't even think any of us noticed the earring, did you two?" The siblings respond in unison, "Nope." Almost immediately, fire fighter and construction ponies arrive on the scene and begin the restoration of the home. They finish congratulating Lightning and begin walking down the road, still on the journey to the family home. As the ponies walk down the road passed the destroyed home, they notice natures true beauty. The wind is blowing a fresh breeze, the flowers have bloomed and the birds are singing a melody. Alpha looks at the flowers and plucks one, "This place is so beautiful Omega, why don't we just stay here instead?" Virtuoso and lightning stop behind them and allow them this time for a small conversation. Omega laughs, "We're too cool for this city." Alpha gives him a blank look telling him she's serious. Omega plucks a flower as well and places it in Alpha's mane, "You know we can't do that sis, come on let's keep walking." She smiles at him and puts the flower she plucked in Omega's mane then continues walking ahead. When Alpha isn't looking, Omega shakes his head and the flower flies out of his mane and into Virtuoso's. Virtuoso doesn't notice but Lightning does and gives a chuckle then speeds up so he can catch up to the siblings. Virtuoso quickly follows behind and the flower flies out. As they walk they begin to hear a violin being played by a filly outside of a nice middle class home decorated with flowers and outside furniture. “Ah, such sweet music…” says Virtuoso and all the ponies stopped to listen. Suddenly, the sweet melody turned into a disarray of off-tune notes that made all the ponies cringe. Virtuoso went over to the filly and asked, "Hey kid need some help?" "Only if you'd be willing to give it, I can't get this part right." "See, it's all in the posture, stand up straight and feel the music when you play the piece, then just focus on nothing but that piece as you play it." The filly did as instructed from the part he messed up and continues on to play a beautiful solo. "I did it! Thank you so much!” "No problem kid." “That was a nice bit of coaching back there.” said Alpha as they continued walking. “Thanks, music is my passion. I moved to Ponyville because the open surroundings provide great inspiration. I also have a friend over there who shares the same passion. In fact, she plays for the Canterlot orchestra and is also an amazing singer.” Virtuoso suddenly stopped and after thinking said, “Can you go wait over there by that fountain while I go get another Fillydelphie?” Lightning quickly puts his hoof out to stop him and says, "Wait, actually I'm gonna come with. Those things were amazing!" Alpha and Omega nod and continue to walk on ahead toward the fountain. While they sit there, they watch Virtuoso and Lightning walk back down the road they came from. The two also notice the bakery is in plain sight down a different road. The siblings look at each other with blank faces. While they sat there they noticed several ponies decorating a house. They didn’t want to say anything but the decorations could use a bit of work. They looked at the house and thought of many decorative ideas even an expert designer would have trouble coming up with. One of the ponies spot Alpha and Omega observing and asks after looking back at the…horribly decorated house, "Hey can you help us a bit?" "Sure, whatcha need?" responds Omega. "Well somepony dear is coming home today, and we want to surprise him when he gets home, but as you can see…" They view the horribly decorated house with a ‘welcome home’ sign. "We need an outside opinion." "This is where being the best at everything pays off!" Says Alpha. They walk into the house and immediately begin decorating both sides of the house. Working fast as lightning they finished decorating in seconds. The final product is a beautifully decorated house that looked as if it were meant to welcome 100 ponies back home! One of the ponies ran inside the house and shouted. "He's coming, everypony hide!" Everything gets quiet and they can hear the pony approaching the door. He opens it and immediately Omega shoots a party cannon into the ponies face, the blast sends him flying right back out the door the second it opens. Alpha immediately flies outside and scoops him up with a chair, and spins him in front of a table with a white cake that says "Welcome Home!" The pony is still, obviously still stunned from the blast. The pony then shakes the confetti off of his head and to everypony's surprise, it's Virtuoso! “Wow! This is amazing! Did both of you plan this?” Lightning then entered the house and staggered when he saw the amazing decorations. “Wow, this is quite the welcoming party. The ponies that decorated this place must be fashion savants.” Alpha and Omega look at each other grinning but don’t say anything. After Virtuoso finishes greeting his family he asks his mother, a red pony with an auburn mane, “My new friends here need a place to stay for the night. Is the guest room being used by anypony?” “No, tell them to leave their things there right now if they want. There are exactly three beds.” Virtuoso walked over to the three ponies and exclaimed, “I just met you guys and you know, your all pretty cool. Go ahead and take your things up to the guest room. It's upstairs, first door to the right, there are exactly three beds.” Alpha and Omega immediately rush to the top with Lightning behind them and return within seconds. Upon returning Omega says, "Now that that's out of the way…" He pulls some DJ PON-3 glasses out from under a turntable and screams, "TIME TO PAAAAAAARTAY!" Lighting follows with a faint "Woo-hoo." He accidentally bumps into the party cannon causing it to shoot into the air once more and the ponies begin to party…Several hours later, after almost everypony has left or gone to bed, Virtuoso goes to the guest room to check on his new friends. Everypony is sitting on a bed talking and joking around and they welcome him in. “Your family is pretty cool” Said Lightning. "Thanks, their a bunch of loving ponies who always love to have guests. Most of the time we never have any though." The siblings are finished getting ready for bed. "That was an awesome party! Especially, you know, since I was there to make it awesome." Omega says as he jumps into his bed. Alpha looks at him laughing, "Yeah right, I guarantee you that without you, the party would have been 10 times better." She lays on her bed and begins to cover herself. "Uh huh whatever." Omega says as he covers his whole body and everyone in the room begins to laugh. The room gets really quiet after and the ponies sit in silence. To break the awkward silence that had settled in the room Virtuoso asks, “So what is everypony going to do tomorrow?” “I was thinking of going out and looking for an actual house, maybe a job.” said Lightning. Omega uncovers his face, “Alpha and I were planning on sight-seeing. We have heard many amazing things about this city.” “You don’t have to rush and find a house Lightning. I’m sure some of my siblings can help you out without rushing things and perhaps making a decision you’ll later regret. As for you two, I would love to be your tour guide. After all I spent many years of my life here and have a couple of connections. If you’d like, I insist you stay here” responded Virtuoso. “I don’t mean to impose” Said Lightning, “but thank you for the offer, I’ll think about it.” “We wouldn’t want to be a bother either. My brother and I could easily afford a hotel. In any case, it’s getting late. We should all get some shut eye” “Your right, good night everypony” Said Virtuoso and started walking out of the room. “Wait!” said Lightning. “Can you tell me where the…umm…bathroom is?” The other three ponies gave a small laugh and Virtuoso said” Third door down the hall and walked out. That night, as the four friends lay in bed they all had the same thought in their head, "Friendship really is magic." The next morning Alpha wakes up in her guest bed with no pony else in the room. "Omega?" She gets up from her bed and slowly walks to the door and opens it. She pokes her head out and walks down the stairs and notices the whole house is a mess and there's no pony to be found. She walks around the room and notices there is cake just about everywhere, even on the ceiling! She lays on the sofa, and the boys walk into the house and close the door behind them. Alpha picks her head up and says, "What was so important that you couldn't wake me Omega?" Omega steps forward, "Well I saw that you were asleep like a foal and I didn't wanna wake you up." "Whether i'm up or not, you let me know where you go, don't leave me here worrying!" "Ok! I'm sorry! I just thought I'd surprise you with some of these babies before we leave." He opens his bag and pulls a smaller bag bearing the logo of the Golden Cream puff. Alpha quickly snatches the bag from him and eats a cream puff. "I'm still mad at you though..." Alpha says before she goes up stairs and grabs both of their belongings. She quickly comes back downstairs with their bags, "Ok Omega, you ready?" "When you are." He turns to Virtuoso. "Ready to give us that tour?" Virtuoso nods. "Definitely, this place is really beautiful, I know after today, you'll want to stay here longer." Alpha puts her bag over her shoulder and places the cream puffs inside. "We'll see about that now won't we?" Virtuoso then turn's to Lightning Courage. "I want to thank you for hanging out with us, it was quite the night!" Lightning bows, "The pleasure is all mine! I think i enjoyed your party a lot more than you did!" They all laugh and then head to the door. Omega once again, opens the door first and allows Alpha to proceed outside first. "Thank you sir." Alpha says with a smile. The other ponies follow behind and stand in front of the house. "Well Lightning, I guess this is goodbye for now, It was awesome meeting you." Virtuoso says as he shakes Lightning's hoof. "Same here!" Alpha and Omega shout in unison. Alpha gives Lightning hug and says, "Thanks for making that party so fun Lightning, and thanks for the place to stay Virtuoso." He bows. "My pleasure my lady, now! Are you two ready for that tour I promised?" Alpha responds while Omega is focused on something else. "As ready as ever." Lightning puts his bag over his shoulder and begins walking, "I'll be seeing you guys arou-" An earthquake. Then an explosion. The four turn towards the sounds and watch in horror as building after building crumble in front of them. Virtuoso watches in horror as magic shoots out of nowhere right into the side of his family's home. "No no no! Move!" As he pushes everyone out of the way the building explodes and all that's left is fire in its place. Lightning gets up looking around frantically, "Where is that magic coming from? Is someone attacking?!" Just then, they see a stallion approaching very fast, the expression on his face shows that he is horrified. He stops in front of them breathing heavily. "You all… need to… leave. Now! She's destroying… everything!" They hear a nearby explosion. Omega grabs his shoulders and tries to calm him down. "Calm down dude! Who's attacking? Where is she?" "I don't know but she'll be here any moment and she-" A red aura of magic consumes the stallion and electrifies his whole body. "RUUUUUUUUUN!!" After he screams his final words, the pony falls to the ground...lifeless. The four ponies slowly raise their heads and already in their faces is a grey Alicorn with a blond majestic mane, red eyes and a cutie mark bearing a solar eclipse over Celestia's sun. The Alicorn raises the lifeless pony's body with her magic and throws him across the road into another barely standing house. The house crumbles on top of him. She turns away and begins to take flight, a dark blue aura shines around her, not allowing her to move. Virtuoso's horn is glowing and he's gritting his teeth, "You think you can just destroy this beautiful city and not pay?!" He screams this at the Alicorn as he uses his magic to slam her body into the floor. The Alicorn rises up from the ground and walks toward him and places her face right in front of his. "You, pony, are going to pay dearly for that..." She says in a calm and angry voice to Virtuoso. Her horn glows a bright red and before she is able to pull back and land a finishing blow on Virtuoso, Alpha and Omega immediately fly towards her and tackle her down. Alpha yells to Lightning and Virtuoso, "Go! We'll hold her as long as we ca-" The Alicorn gives a yell and sends out a blast that electrifies both ponies and sends them flailing off of her. Alpha and Omega land right next to each other and attempt to get up but are paralyzed from the blow. They lay there helplessly while the Alicorn quickly charges up the same magic she used on the ponies earlier and shoots the beam toward them. The two ponies can barely move so they embrace one last time before they welcome their fate. They close their eyes but the blast never hits, they open their eyes again and see Lightnings coat has turned purple. He says to the Alicorn, "You've got some guts coming here thinking you're an all powerful Alicorn don't you? You think you can just waltz in here and destroy the city? What's worse, you think you can hurt my friends? That is one thing i will not allow don't you DARE touch my friends!" The Alicorn gives him an angry look and Her horn begins to glow. Virtuoso calls to lightning, "Lightning! Look out!" He points to an orb above Lightning but knows he won't see it in time but gallops at full speed and pushes Lightning out of the way, taking his place inside of the orb. The Alicorn chuckles, "You take his place and you risk your life for his? So be it, the ending of this will be the same for all four of you!" The siblings are still not able to move but shout, "Virtuoso! No!" They attempt to get up, trying to move their wings but to no avail. Lightning dashes toward the Alicorn and attempts to break her concentration with a full force tackle but he makes contact with an electric force field and he goes flying back right into the floor with Alpha and Omega in the same condition as they are, paralyzed. The Alicorn gives an evil laugh and her horn grows brighter. The orb begins to get brighter and brighter until it is almost blinding. Virtuoso, still stuck in the orb gives a frantic look but knows there is no way out so he puts his head down then looks back to his friends. He smiles and his horn glows. The three ponies watch in horror as the orb explodes into a ball of lightning and Virtuoso falls to the ground motionless. "NO!" They all scream. Lightning grits his teeth and manages to turn his head toward the alicorn who is right in his face. She smiles at his face of sorrow and her horn glows red. An aura shines around Lightnings neck. She laughs as Lightning begins to lose consciousness. All that can be heard from the silence are burning buildings and Lightning gagging. "Let him go…" A pony says from nearby. There, Virtuoso stands, with barely enough energy left over to speak. The Alicorn looks to Virtuoso with a surprised look and tosses Lightning aside. She walks to the barely standing Virtuoso and with great force slams his body into the ground with her hoof. She smiles evilly to the sky but is immediately taken back to Virtuoso who begins to raise her hoof with all the remaining strength he has left in his body. The Alicorn exclaims in surprise, "It seems I have underestimated all of your abilities." Her horn glows a bright red and the four ponies rise into the air and are slammed with full force back into the floor then back into the air. She then speaks. "In my eternal life I have seen countless lives be born and die out like the small fires of candles. This endless chain I curse and wish to destroy or be freed from. You would challenge me. Could it be that your will out-strengthens my own?Mortal ponies, you stand no chance but you still wish to fight? Be it your choice but know this, you WILL fall. I have longed for some type of amusement! I accept you challenge. Free me from this chain or watch everything you love burn. I shall await thee for I must first restore my full power so I may raze this land of illusions. Now, you who value friendship and love so much, let this motivate you." She places the four ponies back down and shoots a beam of light into the clouds. Thunder roars from the clouds and 4 beams shoot out and then shoot into the ponies. As they shine from the beams a silhouette begins to form in front of each of them. The silhouettes seem to be live ponies carrying out their daily lives, unaware of what is happening. With the groups barely open eyes, they watch. "The ponies you see before you, they are the remaining vessels you require to bring forth a power which has been long forgotten. A power I had once corrupted for my own use but was careless and lost control of it. The only way to unlock the power is with 8 special artifacts from 8 special ponies. They are known as the Artifacts of Chivalry. I suppose your wondering what these artifacts are, as of now, they are your hearts!" She holds her head high and her horn begins glowing a bright red. The chests of the silhouettes and the four live ponies begin to glow. Their chests begin to expand and you can hear the bones inside their chests breaking and their skin tearing. Before they know it their hearts burst from their chests. The ponies, including the silhouettes, immediately lose their warm feeling and completely go still and lifeless. The ponies then open their eyes to nothing but pain. They scream and gasp for air as they feel a severe sharp pain in their chests. The silhouettes, drop to the floor motionless for a few seconds and then all spring up in different ways feeling the same pain the ponies in front of Destiny felt. As the ponies lay on the ground, the wounds on their chest slowly begin to seal and leave the ponies in excruciating pain. "These ponies are now dying and now, so are you. To claim these ponies hearts back as well as yours and save all of your worthless lives, you will find these ponies and their artifacts. You have until all of your hearts stop to come and face me." Destiny stands on two legs and raises her body to the sky. Her horn begins to glow a bright red and the hearts of the eight ponies appear circling her horn, slowly morphing into different orbs of light. The orbs begin to circle around her horn at an increasing speed then blast into the sky and split off into eight different directions across Equestria. "I expect a worthy challenge." Destiny turns and begins to take flight and disappears into the clouds. The ponies watch as their villain flies away but can't keep their eyes open for much longer and evidently pass out from pain...