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// Prologue : A Destiny in Orange and Pink 
// Story: The Fortunates Ones 
// by AzelTheMantis 
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Prologue




With a burst of light that blinded every angel, as if the sky had blown the heavens into stars 





Homes plundered, trees burnt, farms ravaged, mountains obliterated. Such was the power of the spell which rained down throughout Equestria, its magic strong enough to render the protective barrier surrounding the kingdom null and ineffective. The brilliant flash of iridescent light in the blue sky was the last sight seen by the ponies before it enveloped them all, laying wastes to cities and crippling the denizens of the land and leaving many dead in its wake. Blood, bones and rubble filled the entire place. The gruesome scenario was the very definition of Tartarus on Equestria. In fact, it was Tartarus on Equestria.

Only a mere month had passed since the Tirek episode. Normalcy had returned to the lives of everypony and there hadn’t been a single threat to it during the period of peace. The peace seemed to last forever, so much so that nopony, not even the Princesses had expected another attack. It was this false confidence that eventually led to their downfall.

Hordes of monstrous creatures of all shapes and sizes, some from the cells of Tartarus and others which many did not even know existed assaulted the castle in Canterlot. Though a protective barrier conjured by the best unicorns in the land temporarily stopped the beasts from the Dark North, it was eventually destroyed by a sinister illumination in the sky which exploded into fragments of magic before raining down like an unwelcomed shower onto the ponies, greatly rendering them unable to resist the onslaught of attackers. Resisting the attack was a Herculean task for anypony.

The unforeseen assault lasted for two whole hours during which the equines were rounded up, the princesses weren’t spared either and the surviving populace was locked up in the dungeons below the castle, a place where petty criminals were usually temporarily held. Nopony knew how the inmates escaped their cells or how their magic was restricted by the mysterious spell from before. The unicorns had arcane bands around their horns while the pegasi had lost their ability to fly. Magic suppression was an obligatory duty for the beasts that were in charge of keeping a close eye on the ponies. The lack of pegasi to control the weather meant that the magic-draining mist was free to cover the sky, partially shrouding the sun and the moon from sight.

The greatest toll however was upon the princesses. No longer the grand rulers they used to be, they were reduced to mere commoners sporting useless horns and wings. Whatever their attackers did, it was something way beyond their own near-omnipotent powers. The four alicorns were forced into the depths of the dungeons, bound by chains at their hooves and kept in the dark, never to see the light of the sun or the moon ever again.

After a day, there was nopony on the streets as hydras, chimaeras and rogue dragons roamed the decimated cities, looking for ponies who might have still been hiding inside basements, waiting for a savior or at least an explanation. But hope was a bane rather than a boon as the dungeons kept filling up with prisoners every single day. Never before had there been a period that represented the pinnacle of Tartarus’ successful invasion.

On the throne of the castle sat Equestria’s new ruler, a monstrosity which older ponies only knew as the Nuckelavee. A skinless stallion with an extra head and arms who once terrorized different dimensions before he was finally brought to justice by the Empress millennia ago. Its mere breath could plague an entire city with sickening results and crush unfortunate victims with a swift swipe of a claw or with an earth-shaking stomp.



Old Nick (as he was called by his fellow inmates) escaped from Tartarus along with the other prisoners when the magic sustaining the dreaded place was temporarily disabled by Tirek while he was rampaging in Ponyville. Even though some of them fell at the paws of Cerberus, most were able to flee to the Hallow Woods, banding together before waiting for the perfect time to attack those who imprisoned them.

However, even in the darkest of nights, there can still exist one star, a tiny speck of white twinkling weakly to the eyes. A pegasus filly who managed to avoid the spell which washed the bright colors of the world away.

Unknown to almost everypony, there was an old bunker built during the 3rd Changeling War by a paranoid unicorn who took the fear of a changeling takeover very seriously. It was located hidden below a tree for decades, undisturbed all the while. Lined with metal and stocked with large amounts of food and water, it was the perfect shelter for anypony who might have stumbled upon it.

Almost the size of a small house, it was built deep beneath the ground, having enough space to hold two dozen ponies. A large analog clock was present on the ceiling of the metal room which was lined with the strongest type of glass as well as being powered by solar panels fitted above the ground. Lines of bulbs illuminated the steel rooms bright enough for comfort. Two other rooms were also present: a store room where sufficient amount of food and water was present and a large bathroom lined with showerheads and toilets, almost resembling a public restroom. There was only one entrance to the underground fort which was cleverly hidden beneath a tuft of grass which led to a ladder in the middle of the bunker which in turn led to an exit covered by a manhole right above it. 

As the years went by, a farm was built over it which belonged to the Apple Family after Ponyville was founded. Some decades later, three friends transformed the tree growing above the bunker into a clubhouse of sorts but left the entrance to it hidden, undiscovered by anypony until an hour before the “Oblivion” spell hit the skies.

The filly found herself accidently tumbling into the bunker after inadvertently stepping on a trap door. She was a bit puzzled by the sudden fall but she was otherwise unharmed. A revolting odor had filled the place, due to the rotting food from the store room while the walls and the ceilings showed signs of rust. There was nopony else except for the poor pegasus. She tried to fly her way out of the bunker but her wings could not work. Hopeless, she curled herself into a ball, sobbing silently as she waited for somepony to get her.

A loud explosion succeeding a flash of light from above the manhole snapped her out of her brief trance of desperation. Quickly, she climbed the ladder and took a peek through a small hole although she knew she didn’t possess the strength to move the manhole. Her eyes widened when she saw a large wave of air flying towards her, a magical shockwave.

She had no time to react as the blast knocked her to the floor of the bunker with so much force that the manhole as well as some parts of the metal ceiling cracked and bended. 

Scootaloo could only attempt to weakly open her eyes after being thrown violently. Her vision slowly faded to black as she kept her sight on the light peeking through a large crack in the manhole before she fell unconscious.