//------------------------------// // Act 1 - A Prelude to Fear // Story: The Lords of Harmony // by Whinifree //------------------------------// The world seemed to close in around Celestia as the words escaped her. She coughed as she felt a crushing weight grip her throat, and she stared down at the small expanse of wooden floor separating her from Twilight and the others. Standing rigid as stone, Twilight and her friends stared wide-eyed at Celestia as the silence enveloped the room. “Couldn't find her?” Twilight repeated breathlessly. “As soon as I arrived, I searched all across Ponyville." She raised her gaze to meet the ponies' alarmed eyes while she spoke. "But I could not find Luna anywhere." The incomprehensible chatter from the townsponies outside was the only thing that broke the tension that hung heavy in the air. “But how can that be...?” asked Fluttershy. Celestia slowly shook her head. “I don't know...” Twilight removed her goggles and placed them in her saddlebag. “And you didn't see what attacked us either?” “Whoever it was had already gone by the time I arrived.” “Why are we in here talking about it?” Rainbow inquired. “We should be out there looking for Luna.” “Now, hold your horses there, Rainbow,” said Applejack. “Where do we start? We don't even know what really happened out there.” She gazed down and let out a sigh. Twilight pondered for a moment. “The ripple...” At those words, Celestia glanced at Twilight and rose to her hooves. “I felt it too.” Everypony went quiet as they turned their attention to Celestia. “All the way in Canterlot?” gasped Rarity. Briefly, Celestia glanced between the ponies before sitting back down. “What we felt was an extremely rare magical instance called an arcane pulse.” “I've never felt anything like it before in my life,” said Twilight. “And Luna knew something.” “What exactly is an arcane whatsamathingus?” asked Pinkie as she tilted her head. Twilight glanced at Celestia before taking a deep breath. “I've read about them in my studies. I could give you the detailed version.” “Tell us what you think would help, sugarcube,” said Applejack. “Simply, it's an expense of magical energy. Small ones supposedly happen all the time, such as whenever a unicorn starts to use magic. They're so small that nopony feels any effect from it.” She paused and gently rubbed her horn. “But the one earlier this evening...” “Specifically, an arcane pulse is a sudden discharge of negative energy,” stated Celestia. “Large ones, the ones you can feel, are extremely rare and can stretch for miles.” “How many miles are we talkin' about, Princess?” asked Applejack. “Nopony really knows. The last recorded pulse was just over a thousand years ago.” “A thousand years?” inquired Rarity. There was silence in the Town Hall and the ponies gazed at Celestia. Twilight's ears drooped and she frowned. “Do you mean...?” Celestia returned her attention to the ponies and slowly nodded. “The last one before that was when the Crystal Empire disappeared.” She let out a hesitant sigh and glanced away. “And I believe there was another one even before that...” “This doesn't exactly tell us a whole lot,” said Applejack as she turned her attention to her friends. “What should we do?” “Easy!” Rainbow stated. “We find Luna!” “I know you all want to help search for Luna, but let me handle that.” Celestia raised her hoof as the others began to protest. “We can't just go around blindly turning over every rock in Equestria or we may never find her.” After a brief moment, Twilight gazed solemnly at Celestia with a gentle gleam in her eyes. “Do you need us to do some research?” And this is why I like her so much. Celestia smiled at Twilight and nuzzled her. “My star student, you yourself said that Luna identified the ripple right away. I'll handle the search effort. I need you and your friends to gather as much information about pulses as you can find. As things stand now, it's the only lead we have.” Twilight sniffled and returned the nuzzle. “I understand, Princess.” “We won't let you down,” Rainbow declared as she gave a firm nod. Pinkie ran her hoof across her chest and poked her eye. “Pinkie promise!” “Come on, y'all,” said Applejack. “You must have somethin' in your library, Twilight.” “Let's get back.” Twilight rose to her hooves and opened the door. “We'll start first thing in the morning.” The ponies exited the Town Hall into the cool night air of Ponyville's central square and Celestia's guards bowed to her. The moonlight reflected off a puddle at the base of the stairs and the branches stirred in the cool breeze. Gazing all around, the ponies saw that everyone had left the area. “Uh...y'all hear that?” asked Applejack with a slight tremble in her voice. “Hear what?” Rainbow replied. The ponies perked their ears and all was silent as they waited. “I don't hear anything, darling,” said Rarity as she shivered. “Sure is terribly chilly though.” Applejack gulped and glanced at Rarity. “Exactly...the quiet that is.” “Hey! Who turned off the crickets?” Pinkie let out a loud cry and it echoed across the deserted streets before slowly fading away. “Where are you, crickets?” Twilight gave Pinkie a stern glance and shushed her. “Pinkie! Ponies are really scared right now. Please keep it down.” “Can we please hurry home?” muttered Fluttershy. “I like peace and quiet, but not the creepy, it-feels-like-something-is-watching-you-from-the-shadows-and-waiting-to-pounce-on-you kind of quiet.” Gazing up at the starry sky, the memories of the vision the night before slowly began to creep into Celestia's mind. A wave of despair rushed through her heart, and she trembled before redirecting her attention to Twilight and the others. “Come my friends. I will see you safely to the library.” She nodded at the guards and they formed a defensive line on either side of the group. Everypony went quiet and they began to make their way down the road toward Golden Oaks Library. They scanned the roads, between homes, and down alleys as they stepped, but they saw no movement other than torn banners swaying from trees, and small candy wrappers rolling along the ground in the breeze. Celestia watched her friends closely, but her gaze periodically turned skyward and her breath deepened. “It's gonna take the town days to clean up this mess,” said Applejack. “Not only that, but ponies are gonna be wonderin' why we ain't helpin'.” “I'll have the guards explain the situation to the mayor and help with the cleanup,” replied Celestia. As the ponies arrived at the library, Twilight and her friends faced Celestia and hugged her in succession. A warmth danced through Celestia's heart and she smiled. “I'll be waiting eagerly to hear from you again, my friends.” After returning each embrace, she gave Twilight and the others a firm glance. “Use extreme caution from here on out, but remember, we can't let fear stop us from living our lives. Luna once told me that...” Twilight nodded affirmatively. “We'll report back to you as soon as we possibly can, Princess. And we promise we'll be careful.” The ponies boldly nodded their heads in agreement and beamed at Celestia one final time before stepping into the darkness of the library. Celestia maintained her gentle demeanor as the door closed before her, and retreating past the line of guardian pegasi, she lifted her gaze to the star-speckled heavens once more. The weight of a millennium fell upon her as she stood among the guards, staring at the moon in utter silence. Briefly, the familiar image of the Mare in the Moon pierced Celestia's mind, and with a pained gasp, she tore her gaze away. She rubbed her eyes and returned her attention to the celestial body. It will be time soon... Quickly, Celestia glanced around the vacant streets before dipping her head and drooping her ears. She fanned her wings, kicked into the air, and with the guards following close behind her, she circled Ponyville one last time but saw no trace of Luna. With a heavy sigh, she turned around and Ponyville soon faded into the distance as she returned to Canterlot. Passing over the gates, she scanned the city below. Except for pairs of ponies dressed in dark armor patrolling by the light of their horns, the stone streets of Equestria's capital were vacant. The carts and booths had been taken down, but all the decorations from the days festivities still hung in their places between the large brick buildings, and moonlight reflected off the towering golden spires that dotted the metropolis. What am I supposed to tell them? Reaching the grand palace that sat in Canterlot's north-eastern district at the edge of the mountain face, Celestia rose up above the tallest tower. She hovered in place and glanced down at the castle gardens, slowly moving her gaze up to the point between the far watch towers where she and Luna had conversed that morning. Celestia perked her ears and waited, but hearing only the singing of crickets, she hung her head and allowed her ears to fall. We can't let fear stop us... With a heavy breath, Celestia lit her horn. As if its keeper herself was commanding it, the moon began to descend from the sky toward the distant waters of the western sea. A tear fell from Celestia's face as she watched the moon grace the surface of the ocean and cast its silver light across the surface. Before long, the divine body had fallen below the horizon, and keeping her gaze fixated on the spot where she last saw it, she rubbed her eyes and sniffled. With the deed done, she hovered down to the garden and folded her wings against her side as her hooves pressed down on the soft grass in front of the door to the royal quarters. She stepped into the darkened room, and immediately, her gaze landed upon her bedside mirror and the photo sitting atop her nightstand of Luna and herself smiling together. Celestia approached the nightstand, and opening the top drawer, she levitated a small, polished wooden box from its shadowy depths. Staring at it for a brief minute, she let out a gentle sigh and returned the box to the drawer before climbing into her bed. Before long, the shroud of darkness enveloped her mind and she drifted off to sleep. In every town from Manehattan to Las Pegasus; from the Crystal Empire to Appleloosa; ponies crowded around news stands and filled the streets with their eyes glued to the paper, gossiping and murmuring fearfully as word of the attack on Ponyville and Luna's disappearance spread across Equestria like wildfire. Inside the royal palace in Canterlot, Celestia spent the days that followed seated upon her throne with her head hung and ears drooped. Periodically, she would gaze at the vacant marble throne to her right, and with each glance, a wave of despair washed over her as she stared at the symbol of the moon that was carved into the throne's backrest. As the days dragged on with neither sight or sound of Luna's whereabouts or whatever caused the pulse in Ponyville, the reassurances from the droves of ponies who came to visit Celestia did less and less to ease the devouring dread that haunted her every thought. After two weeks, she called off all public audiences and began to devote her every second to the search effort. In the third week, rumors began to circulate about sightings of pony-shaped creatures that were as black as midnight and had eyes that glowed like torches. All attempts to get a closer look ended in failure as the shadowy figures seemed to vanish as quickly as they appeared. At Celestia's orders, teams of royal guards patrolled the roads with heightened fervor, and with volunteer pegasi keeping a sharp lookout, ponies began to keep to large groups as they traversed the land. The royal quarters were silent. The sky outside the windows was dark, and the lantern that hung from the ceiling illuminated the room with its gentle golden glow. Resting on her bed, Celestia rubbed her eyes as she levitated a piece of parchment in front of her. Dear Princess Celestia, my friends and I have gone through every book in Ponyville, but I regret to inform you that we have not been able to find any new information about arcane pulses. I promise that we will keep looking and we will not give up hope that Luna will be found. We wish we could be there with you. On a side note, we have heard the rumors about these unidentified creatures. We did a little digging, but there is no mention of such creatures in any of my books. Rainbow Dash said she saw some of them heading into the Everfree Forest while she was out scouting, but as we don't know what they are, we did not dare to try and follow them. Unfortunately, that's all we have to report for now. Stay strong, Princess. -Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle Celestia set the letter down atop her nightstand and rolled onto her side. Her gaze fell upon the photograph, and several tears ran down her face onto her pillow as she stared at Luna's smile. She glanced at the clock on the wall, and seeing that it read two, she groaned and climbed out of her bed before walking up to the window with her mane and tail dragging behind her. Sitting down and lifting her gaze skyward, Celestia watched silently as clouds glided over the moon's shimmering surface and obscured its form. After a few minutes, a loud crash and the sound of ponies shouting in the distance broke the quiet night. Celestia jumped to her hooves and turned toward the room. “What was that?” She started forward, but she had not taken more than three steps when a pounding came from the door and a voice called from the other side. “Your Highness, come quick! Strange creatures are attacking the city!” Celestia gasped, and opening the door, she galloped out of the room in time to see the guard ponies disappear from sight around the corner at the end of the hallway. With quickened breaths, she raced through the dimly lit corridors as the echoes of her every step rang in her ears endlessly. Exiting the palace into the courtyard, she came to an abrupt stop and gaped at the sight before her. A large group of royal guards were gathered in front of the palace gates. While the pegasi and earth ponies stood in defensive positions before the gate with their spears raised, the unicorns were using their magic to hold the gates closed. A swarm of dark pony-shaped creatures with ghostly, glowing white eyes were pounding on the gate and throwing themselves against it while making ghastly shrieks. “Your Highness!” A pegasus in dark blue armor flew down to the ground, landing in front of Celestia and panting as he gazed at her with eyes filled with terror. “They came out of nowhere! We barely had time to get the gates closed!” Breathing rapidly, Celestia gazed back at the guard. “The ponies? Are they safe?” “I didn't see any. Those things have the city completely overrun!” Trembling, the guard took a deep breath. “But that's not all...” Celestia paused for a brief moment and raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?” The guard motioned for Celestia to follow him, and the two rose up into the air until they could see out over the whole city which was buried underneath the sea of dark creatures. “Out there!” cried the guard as he extended his hoof outward. Gazing in the direction the guard was pointing, Celestia spotted a large, dark, rounded object hovering high above the ground to the south-west near the Everfree Forest. “It appeared moments before those creatures arrived!” The guard retracted his hoof and returned his attention to Celestia. “I've never seen anything like it before!” “It's an energy field...” murmured Celestia. “But how can that be?” “What's an energy field?” the guard replied. “Something has destabilized the local magical energies and caused it to converge all in one place.” “How do we get rid of it?” As she hovered in place, Celestia glanced down at the palace courtyard before gazing back at the guard. “If we fill it with an excessive amount of magical energy too quickly, it will overload and collapse.” “But those things have the unicorns completely trapped!” “I'll get a few of them out of there with a mass teleportation spell.” “We won't be able to hold the gates for long without all of them here.” Celestia gave the guard a solemn stare. “If we don't remove that field it will grow bigger and begin to destroy everything around it.” With drooped ears, the guard went silent and slowly nodded. “Understood, Your Highness.” Celestia comfortingly patted the guard's shoulder before flying back down to the palace courtyard. Landing behind the line of guards holding the gate against the shadowy creatures. She closed her eyes and her horn began to glow. After a moment, Celestia and several of the unicorns became engulfed in golden light. There was a bright flash, a loud pop, and they vanished from the courtyard, reappearing in a wide open field of grass at the base of the mountain. The guards muttered and glanced about in confusion before facing Celestia. “Your Majesty,” said the captain as he gazed at her with urgency in his demeanor. “What are we doing here? Those things will destroy the city!” “We've got an even bigger problem.” Taking a moment to catch her breath, Celestia stood tall on the windswept grass and glanced between the ponies. “A magical anomaly of substantial size has appeared to the south-west of here and threatens to engulf the land! I need your help to destroy it!” She pointed off in the direction of the Everfree Forest, and the guards let out loud gasps as they beheld the large dark orb floating high in the sky in the distance. They resumed their murmuring, and several of them shrank back with ears held flat against their heads. “We need to fill that field with magical energy until it overloads and falls apart, otherwise all of Equestria will be consumed!” Celestia took another deep breath. “Come quickly, there's no time to lose!” With Celestia in the lead, the ponies charged through the sprawling grassland toward the energy field. As they got closer, strong winds whipped up around them and the sound of thunder began to roll through the air continuously. Upon reaching the area directly beneath the anomaly, the ponies craned their necks to gaze up at the dark orb. It had a bright white glow around its outer edge and several small waves of energy encircled it at a rapid pace like a snake. Bolts of lightning shot out from it with each passing second, and the clouds in the area seemed to converge in the sky above it. Celestia gulped as she stared at the swirling mass, but she stood firm and glanced back at the guards. “Give it everything you've got!” As the fierce winds blew through their manes and coats, the unicorns lined up on either side of Celestia. Together, their horns began to glow, and with as much force as they could muster, they shot beams of magic straight into the orb. A bright flash of light pierced the darkness of the area, an ear-splitting crack whipped through the air, and the ponies yelped as they were suddenly pushed back along the ground. Celestia let out a weak groan and rose to her hooves, glancing back at the heap of guards also struggling back to their hooves. “Again!” The ponies all returned to their former positions and they lit their horns once more, firing another wave of magical energy into the orb. There was another flash and crack and the ponies were knocked back again. When they recovered, they spotted the orb still hovering in its place, seemingly undamaged and the ponies despaired. “Don't give up!” called Celestia. “We can do this!” “It's not working,” replied the captain. “That thing's too big and there's not enough of us.” Celestia drooped her head and a tear fell from her eyes. If only I wasn't so tired. Luna... Twilight... Cadance... I could really use your help right now... She glanced around at the guards before returning her gaze to the anomaly that loomed above them. “Let's try again, and don't hold back. Even if I have to fly up there and break it apart with my bare hooves, I won't give up until that thing is destroyed and my ponies are safe!” She gave the guards a firm nod and the captain beamed. “We're with you all the way!” Keeping her gaze fixated on the orb, Celestia stood firm as the guards rejoined her side. “For Equestria!” The ponies aimed their horns, and readied their magic for one more shot. Without warning, the captain stopped. “Wait!” Everypony stopped and glanced at him in confusion. “Something's happening. I think I see something moving in there!” Raising an eyebrow, Celestia opened her wings and kicked into the air, struggling against the wind that continued to blow across the area. She lurched her head forward, and peering into the orb, she spotted something beginning to emerge from its depths. After a quick minute, she gasped and returned to the ground. “Everypony get back! Now!” A large dark object suddenly emerged from the orb and plummeted toward the ground like a meteor, kicking up a towering wall of dirt as it collided into the earth with a boom. The ponies whirled around and covered their eyes as the dust rushed past them. When the dust cleared, they turned back around and gazed at the rocky object, muttering in fear and remaining in place. “What is that thing?” asked the captain. Silently, Celestia stared at the object as she felt dark energy pulsating from it. Without warning, the dark object began to move and everypony slowly backed away, keeping their gazes fixated on it as it rose high into the air above them. It began to extend back down to the ground, and two white orbs appeared inside the top portion, seeming to glare down at the ponies. It then extended out to its side, forming what appeared to be arms and the ends each split into four separate, sharpened tips that resembled a claw. Its base split into two legs with large, clawed feet, and three jagged spikes grew from its head. With loud screams, the guards began to run away. The dark colossus remained unmoving as it stared down at Celestia. Celestia stood her ground as she met the shadowy creature's ghostly gaze and she began to recall something she had once heard Luna say. The ones we love are never truly apart from us so long as we keep them within our hearts... The words filled Celestia with hope and the smiling faces of Luna, Cadance, and Twilight flashed in her mind. We can't let fear stop us... A fire ignited deep inside Celestia's heart and her legs stopped shaking. With renewed vigor, she glared at the nightmarish creature towering before her. “I don't care how tired I am. I don't care how tall or frightening you are. You think you can come into Equestria and threaten us?" As Celestia spoke, the creature began to let out a low rumbling sound. "You'll have to get past me first. I'm not afraid of you!" The creature clenched its fists and arched its back. It unleashed a deafening roar, and the sound of its fury was carried on the winds across the land.