//------------------------------// // Prologue: Tell Me a Story... // Story: The Titans' Orb // by Mister Horncastle //------------------------------// “Mumma?” the young filly asked. Her mother looked down to her precious daughter, so young, and yet so full of life already. “What is it, my little angel?” The filly sat there, gazing at her mother with sparkles in her eyes. “Why does Princess Celestia do everything?” she innocently asked. At this, her mother chuckled lightly and rustled the young one’s mane. “Princess Celestia doesn’t do everything sweetie, she has other ponies to help her, called advisers. And her sister, Princess Luna used to help a lot too, before she turned into Nightmare Moon. There used to be a time where they ruled Equestria together. Princess Celestia is very old as well, meaning that she’s very wise and capable, so she can handle lots of important jobs.” The filly thought about this for a few seconds, then had another question. “What happened to Celestia’s mummy?” The filly’s mother wasn’t sure whether to laugh, or to frown. The Princess of the Sun’s foalhood was a very serious topic, she had studied it at the Canterlot University in her youth. She looked at the clock to find it was nearly eight o’clock. “It’s getting late honey, go brush your teeth and get into bed, and I’ll tell you all about it.” The filly gasped, another bedtime story! She ran upstairs without uttering another word. Breathing out through her nose, the mare acknowledged that if she told the story to her foal, she wouldn’t hear the end of it for months on end; she shrugged and thought that it could do no harm, besides, it was a brilliant story. Walking into the living room, the mare found her husband explaining the ‘birds and the bees’ to their son. “And that’s pretty much the basics. Now, if you have any more questions, you ask your mother.” Another puff of air left her nose from both amusement and displeasure, it was rather obvious to what her other half had done, he clearly didn’t want to explain all of the detailed procedures in the bedroom, so he thought he could pass it on to her instead. {Sneaky lil’ git.} She thought to herself. “Mum,” her son began, edging towards her, “what’s a labi-” “Not now, silly!” his father scolded. The young colt, still curious and full of questions, reluctantly nodded, and scarpered to his room. “Why hello there, sweet flanks.” the stallion said to his wife, in his deep, seductive tone. Purposefully ignoring his flirting, she went to give him a hug, instead of the kiss he was expecting. Even in their marriage, playing hard to get kept things fun, teasing him was one of her best pastimes when they were alone together; she gave him a small kiss on the neck and then pulled back to face him. “I’ve just sent our little angel off to bed, she wants to know about the origin of her royal highness.” The stallion rolled his eyes. “I swear the only thing she’s interested in is learning, she has barely any friends in kindergarten.” he said. “I know...” the mare replied, “But you never know, maybe in time, it might go the other way? Maybe all the other young ones might want to hang out with her if she’s the smart one.” The stallion let out a small chuckle, his usual one-syllable ‘Hah.’ “Since when has anypony liked the smart one, dear? I fear our little egghead won’t make many friends until she goes to a proper magic school. But you’re right, you never know, perhaps she’ll find another little smarty to make friends with.” “Hm, one can hope...” his wife sighed. “As for this bedtime history lesson, don’t expect me to partake. I’ve done enough explaining for one night.” “So I heard.” the mare giggled. “I’ll only be a little while, then I’m going to bed.” “Straight to sleep?” he hinted. “Yes.” With that, she pecked her husband on the cheek and headed upstairs, leaving him mildly disappointed. The little filly’s bedroom door opened, revealing her mother. “I brushed my teeth!” the filly announced. “Show me.” Baring her teeth, her mother inspected them and then planted a kiss on her forehead, (taking note to avoid her little unicorn horn), satisfied with her toothbrushing. She tucked her daughter in and sat down beside the bed, resting against the bedside table. “Are you going to tell me a story?” “Yes, and it’s a very special story.” While the filly wriggled into a comfortable position, her mother pondered on how she was going to word the fable, it was rather complex and she didn’t want to say anything that would confuse her foal too much. “Alright babe, this story is about how Equestria was made, and where the Princesses came from.” she replied. “Ooh, ooh, tell me!” the young one squeaked, eager to learn. “Hush now honey... I won’t tell you if you don’t settle down.” In an instant, the filly went limp and became as silent as a door mouse; she loved learning more than anything in the whole wide world. Her mother couldn’t help but be reminded of herself when she was younger. “Now then-” her mother started, but was interrupted by her son bursting into the room. “Ma, can I ask you something?” Due to what she’d just heard downstairs, it was abundantly clear on what that ‘something’ was. “Not right now honey, you can ask me after I’ve told your sister her bedtime story, off to bed now.” Her son, obediently trotted off to his room; his mother rolled her eyes, then closed the bedroom door with her magic. She then turned back to her daughter, who was patiently waiting; she nuzzled her foal before beginning her story. “Alright then sweetie, this is the story of how Equus, came to be... Once upon a time, there were six magical creatures, called the Holy Titans of Harmony. The Titans were enormous, bigger than the Great Mountain.” “The mountain where Canterlot is?” the little filly inquired, blinking. Her mother smiled, and nodded. “That’s the one! Now then, these titans, worked together to create our planet, Equus. It took them over a thousand years to make it. When it was finally done, they created tiny little things called cells, which slowly grew into all the animals and plants in the world we see today, even us.” The filly had seen cells under a microscope at kindergarten, but she wasn’t told where they came from, so being told about their origin along with the Titans was like music to her ears. “The Titans then created a great big ball, called the Titans’ Orb, this orb surrounds Equus in a great big bubble, a shield that cannot be destroyed, ever, this is so all the bad monsters can never come to our world.” Scowling, the filly’s mother pretended to be a large monster and towered over the bed with her hooves held high, letting out a playful hiss and moving towards her daughter, who started to giggle; this giggle became laughter as her mother pretended to be repelled by the forcefield and made a loud retching noise, shrinking backwards and down to the ground. “You, my darling, are safe.” she said kindly, getting back to her hooves and calming her daughter down. The filly reached up and gave her mother a cuddle, before letting her continue with the story. “The Titans created something else as well... A special sword, the Titans’ Sword! It has another name in a strange language, but I don’t remember it. This sword was given to a very special pony by the Titans themselves. This pony was the protector of Equus, and only he could hold the sword, nopony else could even try, only the worthy could use it without being hurt. The sword chooses its owner, not even Princess Celestia can use it, it is only to be used by the chosen one.” Her daughter’s pupils expanded, captivated by every word, completely starstruck with this new information. “One day...” the mare continued, “The Titan of Mass, called Appelox, turned evil, and he gobbled up the other Titans.” “He gobbled them up?”” the filly squeaked. “Indeed, he did,” her mother nodded, “but something really special, happened just before...” The filly sat bolt upright in her bed, too excited to lie still; she was ecstatic, desperate to find out more. “What? What happened?” she squeaked. Her mother calmed her daughter down again before continuing, she placed a hoof on her child’s chest and lightly laid her back down with a warm smile. “The Titan of Mana, called Twilus, realised that Appelox was going to eat her. So she used all her powers to create two, very special ponies.” “The Princesses?” Emitting a huff of amusement through her nose, the little filly’s mother smiled. “That’s right my little one, Twilus created Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna. One pony to raise and lower the sun, and one pony to raise and lower the moon. It became their job to rule Equestria, and to protect our whole world of Equus, now that there wouldn’t be any Titans anymore. After that, Twilus was sadly gobbled up by Appelox.” “What happened then?” the filly asked. “Appelox tried to gobble up Equus too, but he couldn’t. The Titans’ Orb knew that he had turned into a monster, and it made sure he couldn’t hurt us. It stopped him in his tracks and gave him a great big magical shock! Appelox then ran away, knowing he could never harm our world again. And so it is, that even without the Titans, their Orb keeps us safe.” The filly said nothing this time, she simply stared in awe at her mother, amazed that this was all true. So many questions circled her little head, what did the Titans look like? How big were they? Where was Appelox now? Maybe she could wield the Titans’ Sword? Maybe if she tried really, really hard! “Well, that’s about it.” her mother said before getting up. “Wait!” squeaked the filly. Her mother raised an eyebrow. “What happened to the hero, with the sword?” “This all happened thousands and thousands of years ago, sweetie. The hero passed away so long ago, no one can even remember their name.” she answered. “What about the sword?” Her mother sighed, it seemed that she’d never get away from the seething mass of questions her foal would now have. “The sword is kept safe beside the Titans’ Orb, deep within the Canterlot Caves.” she finished. “Will the sword ever choose anypony again?” her daughter quizzed, tilting her head. She could tell in her daughter’s voice that it was her final question, and to be honest, it was something that even the mare had wondered for herself on occasion. It had been a long time since she had read up on her ancient history, but the few books on the subject did mention the ever-flowing back and forth between Champions and Calamities. Looking down upon her daughter, she recited the honest truth of what little she knew. “Well, an old legend says that one day, a bad thing will happen, something called, a Calamity.” “A Calamimmy?” “Close enough, darling.” Chuckling, she explained that someday, Equus would find itself in grave danger. And when all hope seemed lost, a new hero would arise. The sword would choose them, and they would be named the Champion of the Titans. With the sword at their side, the Champion would protect all the ponies across the land, defeat the Calamity, and save the world. Mesmerised, the little filly lay there for a good few seconds before speaking. “Wow...” The mare smiled warmly and tilted her head, the love for her daughter, almost overwhelming. The filly rolled onto her side and looked up at her mother, innocently blinking. “Me be alright?” “Yes my little angel, you'll be alright.” Leaning forward and kissing her kin on the head, she turned away and left the room, leaving the young one to drift off while thinking of all she had learned... Fourteen years later, deep within the Canterlot Caves. A shadow, unnoticed, and unheard, slithered between the rocks, closer and closer to its target. The numerous guards had no idea what was coming. It was then when a tiny stone was dropped behind a large cluster of crystals, to which only one of the guards noticed. “Huh?” he mumbled, walking towards the sound. {Leaving the light, how witless... } The dark form thought to itself as it waited patiently for its prey. The guard walked behind the rock to investigate, and before he could even blink, a razor-sharp blade was placed under his chin and gashed his throat open, within seconds, he was dead. {Next...} The creature thought, silently crawling up a stone pillar and onto the ceiling. Upside down, submerged in shadow, none of the guards could even contemplate the unimaginable peril that lurked directly above them, mentally mapping out their patrols, observing their movements, and planning how each of them would die. Within the next half hour, another six guards had been killed, and now only three remained. At long last, the Captain of the Guard realised that their numbers had significantly thinned. “Hey, where did the others go?” “I last saw Coinhoof going around that crystal over there.” one of his companions replied. The Captain walked off in search of his fellow guards, while the other two remained in place. If only he had looked up, he might have spotted the faintly glowing eyes looking back down at him. {When you get back, you’re going to find a rather curious sight, your brothers in arms, mangled and cold... I wonder if you’ll scream, I do hope you scream...} The creature thought to itself. It made its way to the guards, isolated and only a metre apart; it was only too easy. {Such facile pickings.} It thought, drawing its main blades. Before they knew what was happening, the adversary had dropped down and landed behind them; a creature of such size shouldn’t have been able to remain so quiet, and yet it sounded no louder than a pebble lightly clattering on the ground. The noise was enough to cause them to turn around, but before they could properly glimpse at the beast, it had swung its blades, beheading them both in one X-shaped swipe. The Captain of the Guard’s right ear twitched; what was that sound? Now alone, with no idea of what was happening around him, he carried on walking in search of his brethren. He then noticed a trail of liquid, pooling in some parts of the uneven stone floor; with the little light provided, he couldn’t distinguish the liquid, and decided to follow it in order to investigate. His investigation fell short, as he stumbled upon the corpse of his fellow guardspony, Coinhoof. “Ah... Ah! AHHHH!” he screamed, bolting. The creature had to act fast, if the alarm was raised now, it could very well fail in its task. It sheathed its blades and darted towards the Captain at an alarming speed, skittering across the floor faster than any creature known to ponykind. It launched at him, smacking into him with full force, driving him into the ground so hard that it cracked open one of his legs at the shinbone. “GAAAAHH!” he howled in pain, squeezing his eyes shut, writhing in agony. “Pathetic...” the creature spoke, in a dark, demonic voice. The Captain opened his eyes, and quite literally soiled himself. He could not speak, for the sight before his eyes was so horrifying that it left him completely and utterly petrified. By the time he could snap out of it, the creature was already tearing into his flesh, ripping hide from muscle, and muscle from bone; his screams echoed all throughout the Canterlot Caves, until they stopped abruptly. The creature dropped the limp body, and headed towards its prize... The Titans’ Orb sat there on a small crystal podium, along with the Titans’ Sword, embedded within the podium itself. All but a dome of magical energy stood between this creature, and the only thing that kept Equus truly safe. The creature placed its claws on the forcefield and made an attempt to push through, only to be met with a violent shock. He had been expecting this however, and had most certainly not come unprepared for this nefarious mission. The world of Equus had many relics and artefacts which harnessed great power, and from this monster’s back, was drawn such an artefact, one which formerly belonged to the very ruler of Tartarus, the great Lich of the Underworld and Caretaker of the Dead. Yes, indeed... the relic in question had once belonged to Hades himself, and took the form of a long staff, bearing the skull of a unicorn, which in turn bore the horns of a minotaur. Asymmetrical in nature, the other end of the staff housed the malformed claw of a griffon, which tightly clutched at a crystal of a most vile green hue. With his mandibles clicking eagerly, the creature thrust the staff towards the forcefield, and a sickly green mist began to emanate from it, fusing with the magical barrier. The mist spread like a poison until the entire dome had become a deep emerald in colour, it then grew darker and darker until finally it collapsed upon itself, disintegrating into black flakes that hung in the air. “At last...” the unholy creature spoke, its fangs still wet with pony blood. The creature of pure evil approached the carved stone block that the podium was built into, and took a brief moment to inspect the Titans’ Orb. A sense of pride washed over him for finally reaching this moment, after all these centuries of patiently waiting. Backing away and aiming the staff at the Orb, he began to chant in an ancient language, almost entirely forgotten by the races of Equus. “Tung tìkawng tompa ne kifkey! Set terkup si tìkawng nekx fra’u!” Its demonic voice rippled through the caves, and more sickly green magic emerged from the staff and enveloped the Orb, causing it to rise into the air; the podium started to crumble apart, and in seconds, the entire crystal plinth had shattered into tiny pieces. The sword that had been encapsulated within floated just beneath the Orb, glowing blue and flickering brightly. The Orb then began to hum loudly, and brightly glowing cracks began to form upon its surface, and from these cracks, came forth bursts of scalding hot red and white sparks, all of which were immediately extinguished upon making contact with the demonic magic that surrounded both holy relics. And then... BOOM! The entire cave was viciously shaken, with masses of crystal, rock, and stone alike being shattered into tiny fragments from the sheer force of the calamity. As the smoke cleared, it was revealed that the Orb and the sword were gone; nothing remained but the scorched rock beneath it, and the creature, whom let out a small chuckle, slipping away into the shadows. “Finally, I have succeeded... The end of all days will come, Equus shall burn in the fires of war, and in the final moments of their apocalypse, all shall know the name...” “Nah’Lek...”