//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 - The City of Smoke // Story: Mythical Diadem // by Crystal Secret //------------------------------// Mythical Diadem by Crystal Secret Chapter 1 - The City of Smoke The unfamiliar whirring sounds of the bustling city roared from outside. Sunlight streamed in through the cracks in the wooden walls, Rarity's eyes fluttered open as she awoke from what had been an incredibly deep sleep. An air of unfamiliarity surrounded her but that invisible barrier suddenly broke as she realized that she was inside an abandoned wooden structure of some kind. As she shakily rose to her hooves, the wooden boards clunked beneath her. Unsure of where she was and how she had gotten there, she decided to take a few shaky steps towards a large rectangular hole in the wall. When she stepped out onto the structure's balcony, she was blinded by the morning light. But when her eyes finally adjusted to the intensity of the sun, what she saw utterly amazed her. The sight that was laid out before her was covered in a layer of thick black smoke, making it difficult to depict the buildings as they sat there, leaning over one another fighting for the spotlight of the sun. Some kind of miniature moving contraptions were moving along the snaky roads at a fast pace, Rarity stared down and wondered what they might be. The unfamiliar city appeared to be inhabited due to the creatures that she quickly identified as ponies roaming the ground and the skies. She wanted to find out where or perhaps even when she was, but first she needed to find a way to get down from the abandoned structure she was in. She suddenly looked down at her hooves and realized that she was wearing a rather peculiar style of attire, one that she found rather interesting. Her clothes were undeniably fabulous but in a style she had never seen before. A military green jacket covered her torso while a silky, see-through collar with spikes exceeded from it. A large, lavish, spiral patterned cloak was wrapped around the small of her back and hanged to one side. Latticed leather boots concealed her back hooves while the front had black lace cuffs that sat at the middle of her forelegs. A black lace choker was sitting around her neck and a miniature top hat adorned her head. She looked simply marvelous in a style she was not all familiar with. This was presumably the style of clothing that the locals must wear. Rarity walked back inside and realized just how dusty and abandoned the place really was. She groaned in disgust at the state of her once perfectly shined hooves that were now covered in the repulsive filth. She spotted a staircase and descended it, finding her way onto the streets of a foreign city. The once pristine roads were now covered in the excess smoke of the city's main power source; coal. The buildings appeared to be shrouded in darkness; the absence of clean air and natural light was phenomenal. No ponies passed in what to be a back street, everything around her seemed to be ten shades darker. The empty street was entirely abandoned, with much under appreciated courage she made her way down the broken alleyway. Not a sound was to be heard other than the repetitive clop of her hooves on the narrow, cobblestone streets. She looked around to see if she could find anything familiar about the world that surrounded her, but to her luck she found nothing. A large, once regal archway stood before her as it lead out onto the Main Street. In a whirring parade of thick black smoke, a mysterious transportation mechanism rushed past her, sending debris onto her. Ponies of all kinds bustled through the busy lane way as another vehicle passed her. Here she was standing in the heart of a steam fueled city losing every bit of her dignity. She was absolutely filthy, her mane had lost its shape and she looked like a disgraced young pony standing on the side of a chaotic road. Suddenly, her legs took over and sent her onto the road, almost getting hit by several passing vehicles. Rarity whimsically avoided them all as her legs sprung into action as she crossed the road. Once she had safely reached the other side however, the local ponies seemed most outraged by her incredibly dangerous feat of what this town considered of epic proportions. "Hey lady!,' Rarity's head swiveled to the pony who had just addressed her in a most inappropriate fashion. 'Watch where you're going next time!" hollered a stallion with an upraised hoof, as though he was about to hurt her. Rarity just stared, eyes wide with complete and utter shock. The stallion simply turned and walked away but she stood there for a moment, taking in what had just happened. It was as though the city had been tipped on its head, but the question still remained, where was she? She took another look around to realize that the buildings were made of strong, reliable bricks and how steam seemed to come from every chimney, every road was smothered with oil and every pony seemed to be in the grayest of moods. She spotted a newspaper stand and decided to enlighten herself on the date. The local newspaper was known as the Canterlot Express but that's not what caught her off guard, it was the date at the top right hand corner of the front page; 17th of June 1820. Rarity simply stared at the newspaper in shock. She had somehow travelled hundreds of years into the future, which would explain quite a bit; but not only that but she was also in Canterlot, which only confused her more. She walked away from the newspaper stand and made her way down the street, unsure of where she was going. She continued this route for quite awhile, remembering to take note of some landmarks along the way. With smoke filled skies ahead and no way of knowing of where she might end up, Rarity took in the sights around her. Many hours had past and she found herself quite lost and hungry. Her stomach groaned in spite as she realized that the shops were closing up and less ponies were roaming the filthy, litter filled streets. The moon rose high into the scorched black night sky. A chill ran down her spine as the cool night air rolled in, echoing the omniscient sounds of the back alleys of a once gleaming jewel of a city. Without meaning to, Rarity found herself at the dead end of one Canterlot's most hostile neighborhoods. Her body shivered against the cold air, her heart raced, her fear of the darkness reignited a childhood fire. "Hello?...Is...is anypony out here?" She called out nervously into the dark. Noise erupted from behind her and she quickly turned around, gradually cornering herself into a corner. Suddenly, three large stallion like figures stood before her, grinning devilishly in the dark. "Well, well, well, look at what we have here. Boys, I think we've found ourselves a little lost filly." snickered the middle stallion, who appeared to be the dominant leader. "Yeah, look at her shiver in fear." chuckled the stallion to the left. "Please, leave me alone. I mean no harm!" pleaded Rarity as she bumped into the back fence. The three stallions gradually moved towards her, backing her into a inescapable trap. She stared up at them in fear as they kept their ground. "Ah, don't worry darling, we won't hurt ya." insisted the middle stallion. "Yeah, we wouldn't hurt a fly. Would we boys?" "Nah, we sure wouldn't." they agreed, hunger in their eyes. As they made advancements upon her, Rarity screamed, her cries echoing into the night. She only hoped somepony would save her, get her away from these ruffians. "You get your hooves off of her!" called a familiar voice. Within an instant a black figure swept in and stood before Rarity, shielding her from the three stallions who were utterly confused by this point. "Or what?" asked the leader coolly. "Or I'll kick your butts that's what!' she stated triumphantly. She pulled out a set of daggers and armed herself ready for battle. "Rainbo-" but before she could finish announcing the mare's name Rarity was quickly interrupted. "The name's Night Slayer." the mysterious mare cut in. "You're Night Slayer? Please, a little filly such as yourself couldn't take the three of us." Two, large, mechanical wings sprouted from the mare's back. "Wanna bet?" determination in her eyes. With that trademark phrase, the four ponies all launched into action. A series of lightly taken hits followed. As the mare took each stallion down, with style. Her daggers were used expertly, like she was an absolute pro. With every hit, she gave back even harder and even as a stallion came flying on top of her she managed to insure her own safety with a dodge roll and a dagger to the stallion's eye, blinding him. As they fought, Rarity stayed back and out of the way. Watching them incessantly. It would seemed that Night Slayer liked to fight dirty, throwing a rounded punch to the jaw wherever possible. By the time the battle was over, the victorious stood high above them all. She stood proud as the heaving bodies of the defeated surrounded her. Her armor gleamed in the light of the moon, giving a tough edge to her already hardcore personality. She leaned down and whispered something into one of the stallion's ears. "Go, tell everyone that these streets belong to Night Slayer now.' "Go! Get outta here you pathetic cowards!" She yelled, giving one of them a kick in the side. The three stallions quickly got up and raced away into the night, their howls filling the night air. "Sorry about that, they kind of needed showing who's boss.' The mare removed her helmet, revealing her rainbow colored mane. 'The name's Rainbow Dash." Before she could even attempt at replying, Rarity embraced her friend into a hug. Relived to have finally found a familiar face in the dark, sinister streets of a city she didn't even know the name of up until just a few hours ago. "Oh Rainbow Dash, it's so good to see you." "Rarity? How did you get all the way out here?" The pair returned to a normal stance as a confused Rainbow Dash stood staring back at her. "Rainbow, my dear, did you not recognize me?" "Well, not exactly. It was dark and you can't really see much with a helmet on." "Oh, I see. Well, it's terribly hard to explain and I'm not sure here is the best place to be in any case." "Yeah, you've got a point. It isn't safe out here, especially not for unicorns." "What exactly do you mean by that anyhow?" "I'll explain all that later. Now come on." Rainbow Dash led Rarity on through the night, turning onto one dark alleyway after enough with utmost of caution. Unaware of what really lurked the narrow streets and murky corners but were certain that there was no way of been spotted with the thick fog that now covered the city, adding yet another layer to the grayscale picturesque. "Where are we going?" Rarity spoke up after awhile. "There is a secret entrance to our base not far from here, just trust me okay?" Rarity had no other choice but to trust her. After all, without her, she would have been killed by now. She couldn't stand to think of the tormented things that they would have done to her if Rainbow Dash hadn't jumped in at the right moment. A picture of those hungry, demeaning eyes suddenly rose to her mind and Rarity's stomach churned. It sickened her to even think about it. The sound of their hooves on the cobblestone streets filled the night as they raced through the streets, taking one turn after another before finally coming to a halt at what appeared to be the back entrance to a wine cellar. "Here we are." announced the panting Pegasus who gave the door a good knock. "Password?" called out a voice. Rainbow Dash silently whispered the password into the crack and the doors swung open. "You go first. I don't want to get in trouble for bringing a unicorn." Before Rarity could even reply, she had been gently pushed down the slippery shoot that led to the wine cellar below. She squealed in surprise and delight at the fast pace that she came down. When she finally reached the bottom, she was met with a welcome of confused and somewhat outraged stares.