//------------------------------// // I Wasn't Prepared for This // Story: Sol Umbrae // by Dream Bolt //------------------------------//  Sol Umbrae  Chapter 1: “I Wasn’t Prepared for This” Twilight Sparkle sat anxiously upon her seat in the train. Ever since she had become a princess, she had been given a lot of responsibility, but today was different. Princess Celestia’s letter had been brief and cryptic, and had sounded urgent. She reread the letter for the twentieth time, still trying to decipher its meaning. Dear Twilight Sparkle, I require your aid on a matter of utmost importance. I cannot tell you in this letter, for I do not wish to spread panic if I am mistaken, and I do not wish unfriendly eyes to read this if I am not. The fate of more than just Equestria may lie in the balance here. But I have faith in you, and I believe you will be able to face whatever may lie ahead. Your dear friend and former teacher, Princess Celestia. “You worry too much.” Spike said casually. He was leaning against the back of the seat, crunching on a couple sapphires he had brought along as a snack. “I mean, let’s think about this. Discord, Chrysalis, King Sombra, that Ursa Minor, that time Trixie had the Alicorn Amulet. You’ve faced all kinds of trouble, and you always came out on top.” “But what if I don’t this time?” Twilight asked. “I’m not even sure what I’m preparing for! What if I fail, and the fate of Equestria really is in the balance?!” Spike sighed. “Twilight, I have faith in you. The princess has faith in you. Your friends have faith in you, and pretty much all of Ponyville for that matter. The only pony who doesn’t think you can do this is yourself. Seriously, how can this be worse than Discord?” Twilight sighed. “You’re right.” She then proceeded to pull a large stack of spell books out of her pack. “But I’d better catch some extra study time, just in case!” Spike sighed, shaking his head, and went back to eating his sapphires. ************************************************************************************************* Once they reached Canterlot, Twilight received a pleasant surprise as she saw who was standing at the platform. “Shining Armor!” she cried with glee. “Twily!” Shining Armor called back. “Good to see you!” After a warm hug, Twilight gave him a confused look. “Why are you here? I though you became prince of the Crystal Empire.” “Well, Princess Celestia wanted extra security here, and she asked if I could temporarily take over as head of the guard again. I guess whatever it is must be really important.” “That’s what I’m worried about.” Twilight said. “What if I can’t complete the princess’s task?” Shining Armor smiled, and put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Hey, since when did my little sister ever fail a test? You’ll do great.” “See?” Spike encouraged. “I told you. Everypony has faith in you!” “I know.” Twilight said. “I’m just nervous.” She turned towards Shining Armor. “Let’s go. We wouldn’t want to keep the princess waiting.” ************************************************************************************************* As Twilight walked through the halls of Canterlot, she felt a little odd. Ponies continued to bow to her as she passed by. She had told everyone back in Ponyville to treat her the same as they always had, so it was rather unusual to actually be treated as a princess. They stopped in front of a large pair of doors. “Well, here we are.” Shining Armor said. “The princesses are inside. Good luck, Twily.” “Thanks, B.B.B.F.F.” Twilight replied with a nervous smile. Then, taking a deep breath, she opened the doors and went inside. As she entered, she saw Celestial’s familiar face, as well as Luna’s. But their expressions were both very grim. Luna always tended to be rather stern by nature, but if Celestia was so serious, the Twilight knew something was wrong. “Please sit down, Twilight Sparkle.” Celestia said, her gentle voice now grave. As Twilight and Spike sat down, Princess Celestia said sternly, “What is discussed here must remain secret. Only your friends should be told of this. Shining Armor and Princess Cadence have already been informed on this matter, so you may also discuss it with them, and some of the heroes of Mobius, but tell nopony else.” “You have my word.” Twilight replied. “But who are the heroes of Mobius?” “We get ahead of ourselves.” Luna stated. “Sister, I believe Twilight Sparkle should be told the whole story.” Princess Celestia nodded, and began. “Long ago, an evil power came into Equestria, a shadow of darkness. Nopony knows where it came from, but we know what it did.” “What did it do?” Spike asked. Princess Luna sighed. “In a time when I was weak in spirit, and my jealousy of my sister had clouded my vision, this evil being came unto me. It offered me greater power, the ability to make the night greater than the day. I had never wished harm upon my sister or my subjects, but I became selfish, and wished to surpass my sister. I accepted the being’s terms, for I thought that, as the ruler of the night, I had nothing to fear from shadows.” Luna gave a deep sigh, and bowed her head. “How wrong I was. My selfishness blinded me to how wicked this being truly was. It possessed me, filled me with rage. And that is all I remember before I became… Nightmare Moon.” Twilight looked shocked. “So… was this evil destroyed when we used the Elements of Harmony to defeat Nightmare Moon?” “Sadly, no.” Celestia replied. “This evil is not easy to destroy. The Elements merely banished it, sending it to another world, a world we have not visited for a long time.” “Another world?” Twilight asked, hanging on every word. “Where? How?” “This world was once a place we visited often.” Celestia said. “We rarely showed ourselves directly to people, but we protected them. I even granted some of my power to protect that world.” Celestia gave a deep sigh “But… things went wrong. Some of the inhabitants, from the race called ’humans’, crossed a line that broke our trust, and we have avoided that world ever since.” “But we never ceased to watch over it.” Luna stated. “And what we have learned has disturbed us. It appears that the evil shadow has risen again. It was recently defeated by the heroes of that world, but the shadow has great power. It will not remain defeated for long, for it is neither destroyed nor imprisoned. Its last attempts nearly doomed that entire world.” “We have seen stirrings of its power.” Celestia said. “It is cunning and manipulative. I have done my best to hide the power I have gifted that world with away, and my avatar had guarded them well, but now I fear that neither she nor the power she guards are safe. In the defeat of the evil she fought, she sealed away its power within herself, and left for her own world, to keep this power safely hidden.” “Wait, I thought you said that this avatar was from the first world you mentioned?” Spike confusedly asked. “I know it is difficult to explain.” Celestia said. “You see, for you to understand, you must know of what happened long ago.” ************************************************************************************************* In ancient times, I and Luna were at war with Discord. We had the Elements of Harmony, but he had an advantage; he had found a way to travel between worlds. We didn’t want him to wreak chaos in other worlds as well as Equestria, so we sought a way to follow him and, if possible, prevent him from being able to travel to these other worlds. After much difficulty and failed attempts, we finally managed to use the Elements of Harmony to create a portal and follow Discord. We shut door after door behind him, locking out of world upon world. We weren’t without help. There were many warriors from these various worlds who aided us. With our help, and the help of many other powerful wielders of magic, they managed to forge weapons known as Keyblades to be able to open or close the paths between worlds. Eventually, we had given Discord no choice. He was trapped, with only Equestria to run to. We knew that, in our own land, we could stand against him. But things went… very bad. Discord had come into a world filled with chaos, where the inhabitants barely went a day without being attacked, and where only a few brave warriors guarded the world from slipping into chaos entirely. These warriors, of a race known as the Echidnas, protected and wielded seven powerful gems known as the Chaos Emeralds, and the one great Master Emerald. Though its power, they could control time, space, and reality itself. Very few of the could master the art of “Chaos Control”, and so they were in great trouble, for they were fighting a losing battle. They had threats of their own. Discord is not the only god of chaos. Mammoth Mogul, Enerjak, Perfect Chaos, all these and more were threats they had to face. Discord united these others to his side, and began his attempt to overthrow the world. Things went from a simple fight with Discord to an all-out war. I eventually was given a choice. Although I did not wish to influence another world too greatly, I could not stand by and let the people of this world fall under the power of chaos. And so I forged my own gems to compliment the Chaos Emeralds. I infused them with the power of the sun, and dubbed them the Sol Emeralds. With the help of these magical gems, and the mighty defenders of that world, we finally managed to defeat all of Discord’s allies. As for Discord himself, he fled to Equestria, where we finally defeated him. I and Luna came back to that world from time to time. We were loved and welcomed, and we made many friends. Towards the end, I made a friend of a princess who ruled over a large island. But the one race, the race known as humans, went too far. A few of them tried to steal my power, so that they could use the Sol Emeralds for themselves. While I knew that many of the world’s inhabitants, including the humans, were decent and friendly, I could not allow the power I had given them to fall into the wrong hands. And so, with the help of the Echidnas and the Master Emerald, I separated part of the world, creating a new world in which to hide the Sol Emeralds. I also altered their magic, so that they would be unable to exist in the same world with the Chaos Emeralds for too long, so that no creature could use both of their powers and become too mighty. Some of the inhabitants of the first world offered to colonize this new world and protect the Sol Emeralds. I chose only the most trustworthy to be allowed this honor. One of them, a princess who had been my close friend for many years, was chosen to lead them. I gifted her and her descendants with a portion of my power, and set them as guardians over the Sol Emeralds. And for thousands of years since, that is what they have done, and they have lived in safety. ************************************************************************************************* “But with the return of the evil shadow, we are not certain just how safe they will remain.” Celestia finished. “This second world has now been reached by people from the first world, the world where the shadow was banished to. It is possible that the shadow may rise again, and reclaim its power. That would be a disaster that would threaten both of our worlds.” Twilight stared in shock, her mouth hanging open. “I understand this is a lot to take in.” Celestia said softly. “But the recent attack this shadow performed upon this other world was far more devastating than even Nightmare Moon. It is growing more intelligent than before, knowing how to use its power better. We cannot risk its return, lest it grow too powerful to conquer. Your quest, Twilight Sparkle, is to stop this threat from coming to power.” Twilight stared in shock, but finally managed to say, “Yes, Your Highness. I will do my best to complete this task.” “Then gather your friends and the Elements of Harmony.” Celestia ordered, handing her a scroll. “This spell, together with the Elements of Harmony, should enable you to travel to this other world.” “I won’t let you down, Princess!” Twilight said confidently. “I know you won‘t.” Celestia said kindly. “And do not forget, even though this may be a strange and unusual world, the magic of friendship is still the same wherever you go. You will find help in that world. Be ready to accept it, but be aware that some may try to deceive you.” “I’ll be careful.” Twilight replied. “I always try to be!” “Then good luck to you and your friends!” Celestia said. “And if you need our assistance, Luna and I shall be there for you!” “Indeed, let me know before you finish off this evil!” Luna cried. “I, for one, have a score to settle with it!” “Will do, Princess Luna!” Twilight replied, standing up. As Twilight walked out of the room, followed closely by Spike, Shining Armor strode up to her. “So? How did it go?” he asked. “Couldn’t be better!” Twilight responded, a rather forced grin upon her face. Spike sighed. He knew that look, and he knew what it meant. Twilight kept that forced grin on her face all the way to the train station, and all the way back to Ponyville, and all the way back to her library. As soon as they entered, Spike dove behind a table. He had a feeling he knew what was coming next. Twilight calmly walked into the room. She gently shut the door behind herself. She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. And totally freaked out. ************************************************************************************************* After about ten minutes of nonstop screaming and running in circles and shouting “What will I do?!” about a thousand times, Twilight finally settled down on her bed, exhausted. “Spike?” she called wearily. “Uh-huh?” Spike called back. “Could you knock me out with a frying pan, please?” Spike chuckled. “Twilight, I think you’re overreacting… again. You’ve faced all kinds of stuff before and done just fine.” “This… is… DIFFERENT!!!” Twilight Sparkle shouted. “This is another world we’re talking about! I have no idea what I’m getting into here!” “You said the same thing at the Crystal Empire, when we fought off King Sombra.” Spike said. “And you came through in the end. After all, it’s not like you’re doing this alone.” Twilight sighed. “You’re right. I guess I will be with my friends. At least I can rely on you all.” Spike gulped. “Wait. Did you say ‘us’? As in, ‘Spike too us’?” “Well, where would I be without my number one assistant?” Spike gave an awkward grin. “But… who will watch after the library while you’re gone?” Twilight frowned. “If I have to go, you‘re not getting out of it. Now go get the others. We have a quest to complete.” ************************************************************************************************* In a few minutes, Spike and Twilight had gathered the others atop a hill overlooking Ponyville and explained the situation to them. “So now you know the mission.” Twilight said. “Find this evil power, and bind it away for good. Any questions?” “Yeah.” Pinkie Pie piped up, raising her hoof. “What’s your favorite type of cake?” “I mean about the mission.” Twilight sighed. “Well, duh!” Pinkie giggled. “What kind of silly filly do you think I am? I have to know so I can pack snacks for us. We might be there a while, and they might not have pastries in that world!” “Pinkie Pie makes a good point.” Rarity pointed out. “We’re not quite sure what we’re getting into, and we should probably prepare ourselves. Did the princess tell you anything about this world, Twilight?” “Not much.” Twilight said. “She said that not much documentation has been left about this world. Star Swirl the Bearded was one of the only ponies to do research into this world, but his writings were lost long ago. As for Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, they have tried to keep an eye upon the world, but with the world being closed off for so long, all they really can do is receive a few tidbits of information. Apparently, this threat only caught their attention because it threatened that world’s entire time/space continuum.” “So, basically we don’t know nothin’ about this world we’re going to?” Applejack asked. “Well, the Princess gave me a scroll with the little information that is known about it.” Twilight replied, pulling out a small scroll. “But there isn’t much. And it’s been so long. This world has probably changed a lot since anypony last saw it.” “I vote we try and open the portal now.” Rainbow Dash suggested. “I wanna see what this new place is like. This is gonna be so awesome!” “We should prepare first before we attempt anything.” Twilight Sparkle said. “After all, this could be dangerous.” “Not to argue, Twilight,” Applejack spoke up, “but I’m with Rainbow Dash here. Maybe if we got just a quick glimpse of what we’ll be heading into, we might know what to pack.” “And what we should wear.” Rarity added. “I am certainly going to be quite displeased if I step out into a desert in a winter ensemble.” Twilight looked thoughtful. “That’s a good point. It would help us be prepared.” She then stood resolutely, pulling out a small chest. “Very well, girls. Put on your Elements. We’re going to take a look at this new world.” As they all put on their Elements of Harmony, Fluttershy looked even more nervous than usual. “Um, Twilight?” she asked. “What, if… what if something goes wrong?” “Don’t worry!” Twilight reassured her. “I’m one of the best users of magic in all of Equestria, and we have the Elements of Harmony. What could go wrong?” The six friends stood together. As they began to focus their minds, the Elements of Harmony began to glow. Each began to emit a ray of that element’s specific energy. Ribbons of rainbow light encircled the friends, linking their elements together. “This is it, girls!” Twilight cried out. There was a brilliant flash of light, and a deep, rumbling boom. When the light was gone, the friends all saw a large portal, like a hole in the air, swirling before them. On the other side, they saw grassy hills covered in flowers, and majestic, soaring cliffs. Gentle clouds hovered in a brilliant blue sky, and a waterfall could be seen in the distance. “It’s… beautiful.” Twilight breathed. She took a step forwards, her eyes shining. This was an epic moment. Nopony had done this for over a thousand years. The great Star Swirl the Bearded himself was the only pony, other than the princesses, to ever perform this spell. Suddenly, Pinkie Pie gave a shudder. Her excited face suddenly grew very worried. “Twitcha-twitch!” she cried out. Twilight turned about. “Pinkie, what are you…?” Pinkie Pie dove for Twilight, knocking her away from the portal just as a wave of heat, fire, and smoke erupted from the vortex. The other ponies jumped back in surprise as something flew past them and crashed to the ground. Twilight was on her hooves in an instant. With a brilliant flash, she collapsed the portal, closing off the other world. “Thanks, Pinkie.” she breathed heavily. “You saved me.” “No problem!” Pinkie grinned, her cheerful demeanor not dented in the least by the explosion. “That’s what friends are for!” As everypony dusted themselves off, Rainbow Dash looked at Twilight with a worried expression. “What was that?” she asked, a little more harshly than she intended. “What kind of world is that?” “Maybe there’s some kind of war or something going on.” Spike suggested. “I mean, if there’s some kind of threat there like Princess Celestia said, maybe it’s already causing havoc.” “Um, everypony, I think I saw something come through the portal.” Fluttershy said softly. “We have to prepare for battle!” Rainbow Dash cried. “There could be anything on the other side of that portal!” “Um, it fell in those bushes….” Fluttershy murmured. “Perhaps some flame-retardant clothing would prove useful.” Rarity suggested. “I could design some protective measures for us that would be stylish as well as functional.” “It… looked like it was alive.” Fluttershy said quietly. “If you can shield me, Twilight, I can give whoever did that a buckin’ they won’t soon forget.” Applejack suggested. Fluttershy turned towards the bushes and gulped. Her friends were too busy trying to think of what to do, and she knew she wasn’t outspoken enough to be able to get their attention at the moment. Suddenly, a groan came from the bushes. Fluttershy stifled a yelp of fear. What if this thing was a monster? What if this was the very thing that Princess Celestia had warned them about? As these and other worrisome thought poured through her mind, she suddenly noticed a rabbit staring curiously at the bushes. “No! Stay back!” Fluttershy tried to warn it. Either the rabbit hadn’t heard her, or it ignored her warning, for it hopped into the bushes. But much to Fluttershy’s relief, it hopped out a few seconds later, and dashed up to her. “There’s a creature in there.” The rabbit spoke in the language of animals that only Fluttershy could understand. “It looks badly hurt.” Fluttershy took a deep breath. She was absolutely terrified of what she might find, but her compassion was stronger than her fear. She gingerly inched towards the bushes, then slowly parted them and peeped fearfully inside. The creature was rather strange, but not frightening. It was blue, with a lanky build and large spikes coming off of its back and head. Fluttershy could tell from its gloves and shoes that it was an intelligent creature. She galloped over to her friends. “Girls, I need your help! Somepony… or something… is hurt over there!” “Maybe I should go back and ask the princess for more information.” Twilight said. “Um, I really, really need your help, everypony.” “Ready the party cannon!” Pinkie Pie cried. “I’ll give them a taste of cake! Wait, that actually sounds kind of fun. Maybe I can use the party cannon on myself.” “If you could just come here for a moment….” “First impressions are very important.” Rarity added. “Our outfits will need to denote status as well as be defensive. After all, ambassadors are expected to….” “EVERYPONY!!!” Everyone turned in surprise to stare at Fluttershy, who was rather surprised herself at her outburst. “I am so sorry I had to shout, but I need your help!” Fluttershy said, meekly but urgently. “A creature came through that portal during the explosion and crashed into those bushes, and I think it’s hurt!” “Well, why didn’t you say so?” Twilight asked as she and the others dashed over to see. “That’s, um, what I was trying to do this whole time.” Fluttershy murmured. As they all looked at the creature, Twilight used her magic to lift it carefully out of the bushes. “We should take it to my house.” Fluttershy said. “I don’t think the hospital is going to know how to treat a creature like this, and since it kind of looks like an animal, maybe I’ll be able to do something for it.” “Well, we don’t really have any other ideas at the moment.” Twilight conceded. “Somepony should also fetch Zecora. I can’t think of anypony who would be more likely to have some potion to heal this poor fellow.” Twilight proceeded to carefully trot towards Fluttershy’s house, being careful not to jar the creature, while the others followed closely behind. “What could go wrong?” Spike said, rolling his eyes as he remembered Twilight‘s words. “Every time somepony asks that question, something always goes haywire.” As they walked away, nopony noticed a small, metal sphere lying in the bushes as well. Nopony saw as its red eye lit up. And nopony saw as it sprouted legs and began to scurry after the ponies.