//------------------------------// // Chapter 16 // Story: Chaos Falls // by Black Hailstorm //------------------------------// A Goddess Emerges Moving on the outskirts of Ghastly Gorge, thunder boomed, and the sky appeared nothing but grim in comparison to the rest of Equestria’s blue skies. Four ponies moved on through these outskirts. Two of the members of these four were behaving in a strange manner. And for Screwball, that truly was something bizarre. Looking around, even though being cross-eyed, the mare still had as much depth perception as any other regular mare or stallion could have or hope for. Yet for the sake of appearances Screwball focused her attention on her eyes and straightened them out so they would appear ‘normal’ at least in pony standards. The deeper the four ponies traveled through the Gorge, the darker the place would appear. More thunder, stronger wind, and even on a few cases there would be rain. And all the while as the group pushed on Pinkie Pie would not stop shaking. At first when they got to the gorge it had been minor, but the deeper they got and the more time passed the worse her shaking became. Screwball herself had begun clucking her tongue nervously like a chicken, constantly looking around as this ‘presence’ she was feeling grew stronger and stronger, a few bristles on her coat even standing straight up and emitting a static like feeling the deeper they went through the gorge. And needless to say, while Daring Doo payed more attention to the task at hand and only bothered to look back at her teammates when she felt they were too far away, Hailstorm couldn’t keep his eyes off the other two equines that had been acting strangely since coming here. Only being here for about a week Screwball knew that the human had many things he needed to adjust to. One of the things that actually surprised her however was his mental state of mind. Because Screwball although never meeting a human till now, knew for a fact that most humans would crack under this form of psychological pressure. Yet for some strange reason, Hailstorm had not. The reason Screwball knew this? She didn’t know, she didn’t care. All she knew is that whoever she was feeling, was strong, and not the same strong she had felt practically radiating off of the God of Serpents when he had appeared before them at Zecora’s. No, no, no. Jormanzir’s strong was like heat coming off a furnace that was raising the already burning temperature of a volcano. This kind of strong was...disturbing. Maybe that is why my pelt is standing on end? Screwball reasoned. “Are you two are going to be alright?” a voice asked from behind them. Daring Doo didn’t stop moving but the now twitching Pinkie who had been breaking the laws of physics and Einstein’s theory of relativity a few minutes ago now stopped moving and turned to stare at the concerned look on their mysterious friend’s face. Screwball herself glanced back at this stallion she felt such a strong attraction to, and only managed a small goofy smile, her eyes losing their focus giving her a slightly unnecessary look, accompanied by a insane giggle escaping her lips in the process. Pinkie managing a weak smile, nodded her head. “We’ll be fine, I guess whatever is coming is something really really really really really really really-” “Pinkie” Hailstorm cut in, concern filling his voice. The party planner stopped saying the word ‘really’ a few seconds after, staring at Hailstorm along with Screwball who was now sporting a weak goofy grin that made her look like she was smirking now instead when in fact it was supposed to be a frown. Hailstorm’s expression was a serious one, Pinkie noted. No jokes would lighten his mood right now. A few seconds of silence passed, in which Pinkie felt her nose undergo a burning twitch that hopefully went unnoticed. The twitch from her nose being a product of her Pinkie Sense telling her that Hailstorm was still hiding something. “Pinkie?” Hailstorm’s voice came in again. The stallion was now staring at her with that same look of concern, one he had been sporting ever since her Pinkie senses and Screwball’s...senses? had been acting up. “Oh...right, sorry” she said with a sheepish smile. A smile soon broken when she suddenly twitched, her head craning to the right, her left eye dilating, right eye closing as if she had been badly pinched, ears dropping docility and her right foreleg lifting in synchronized timing with her left hind leg, forcing me, to take a step forward and grab Pinkie by the tail before she fell over the edge they now stood on, the stallion pulled her safely away from her precarious position just in time also, for a rock Pinkie had been standing on collapsed seconds after the stallion pulled her away. Screwball doing nothing but watching the entire time as her goofy look now actually became a real frown. Hailstorm sighed when he saw Pinkie’s muzzle scrunch up with worry, and for a second Screwball noticed that look of guilt pass over his face once again. “Look” Hailstorm said, “I don’t think you guys should follow us any further. Let Daring Doo and I handle this, I don’t want you two getting hurt. I could never forgive myself if someone got hurt because of me.” Pinkie’s nose twitched again, a small burning sensation telling her to ask the stallion what he meant by that. Screwball noticed the party planner look at her, for help as the pink mare twitched once again. Hailstorm was now silent waiting for an answer, and Pinkie was looking to her, Screwball, for help. Screwball’s frown turned into a prim straight line expression. She nodded to Pinkie assuring her that she would convince Hailstorm that sending them back wasn’t the answer. But before Screwball could even get a word out just as she opened her mouth, a shadow passed above them and a second later Daring Doo had landed right beside Hailstorm with a mildly surprised look on her face. “You guys are going to want to come with me and see this. Right now.” Pinkie, with difficulty, and only with the help of Daring Doo was she able to rise to her shaking hooves. “Look Pinkie I really feel you and Screwball should-” Hailstorm began. The sentence was never completed however. A hoof promptly pushed it’s toe right on the former humans lip, silencing him. The stallion’s eyes met Screwball’s now focused ones and before he could mumble words out, Screwball merely shook her head at him. “We’re not leaving till we figure out what’s causing all of this” she said waving her hoof at the skies. “Now suck it up, and let’s go. Daring Doo could you lead the way?” Screwball asked the mare who now donned a confused look. Daring Doo though indeed confused, simply nodded. “Right. Follow me, we’re going to need to head up ahead a bit then make our way down the gorge. The thing or rather the pony I want to show you, is down there.” “The pony?” Pinkie asked with a hint of surprise as another twitch traveled through her. “You heard me, the pony.” “What is a pony doing out here in Ghastly Gorge?” Hailstorm’s voice came from behind as Daring took up the lead. “Don’t know. We’ll have to find out when we wake him/her up” Daring stated. At this statement another riveting shock went through Screwball’s coat, causing more hairs on her coat to stand up on end, signalling the pressure of this presence was reaching it’s peak. And that’s when Screwball knew, the pony they were approaching...Was a god. Princess Celestia is a calm, level headed type of ruler. She does not make rash decisions, she does not make many mistakes, and she is always thoughtful of her ponies. Ruling Equestria as a monarch for a thousand years can give you a lot of knowledge on what you need to work on and improve one. Especially after you had to banish your own sister in the process. Maintaining peace, working to maintain the tidal of power so that it never completely shifted to the nobles of Equestria, and doing her best for a millennium's worth of work to make sure that all evil that her ponies would face remained vanquished and never did harm her subjects like Nightmare Moon had been able to do in the shadows was not easy. It took years. Eons and eons of work. Tired and effortless work, all to get to where this nation currently stood. Constantly factoring in a variety of things, the lives of ponies and unpredictable results to get Equestria where it currently was as a stable nation. And on some few occasions it had required some manipulating, to make things work in her favor. But it was all worth it. All worth it as long as she knew the world had some amount of peace in it every day. And right now as the princess of the sun lay in her room, resting while her sister overlooked the skies. And as she lay asleep Celestia could feel it. A powerful presence she had not sensed in a long long time was making its appearance in Equestria. Sweat began to form as the princess lay in her trance, tossing and turning under her covers and all Celestia could do was sleep. And turn. And sleep. And turn. Till she heard a voice speak to her in her dreamless slumber, speaking the words she had heard over and over throughout her many battles of the past. But never had Celestia ever heard it in this manner. Her eyes springing open, the princess of light awoke shrouded by darkness. Her regalia, gone. Her ethereal flowing mane, gone. And her surrounding world, dark and empty. Then all of a sudden, there was a light. Not too strong, not too bright, but small enough for her to see. Celestia paused, and stared at this orb of light, waiting, expecting something to happen. But nothing did. Her only source of light just floated a mere feet away, waiting in the ever encompassing darkness that surrounded the princess’ dream. After a minute of silence Celestia, took a step forward, her hoof causing an echo. The light pulsated, allowing a flow of white energy to completely ripple through the darkness like a pebble hitting water. The ripples only continued with each step Celestia took. The closer she got to the glowing orb of light, the greater she could feel and sense a stronger force behind all of this. It was strange really, Celestia thought. Despite being through many battles of her own, you’d think the princess of the sun would be used to powerful figures making their appearances in Equestria. But the truth is that was far from correct. When Discord returned Celestia wasn’t prepared for him. When Tirek came back, it had been her faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, and her friends to beat him. And as for Sombra? It had taken Spike and her niece Cadence to rise to the occasion. “And who could forget the time Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings defeated you?” said a voice that echoed throughout the darkness. Celestia stopped her procedure towards the orb, and looked at it. The white ball of light had changed to a purple color and now burned even brighter. Celestia’s eyes narrowed. “Who-” “I mean you no harm princess, I just wish to speak in private is all. I’m sure you do not know of me, unless perhaps Starswirl was more loose lipped than I imagined him to be” the feminine voices stated, every word causing a white ripple of utter power to shake and warp the darkness around them. Celestia paused, her brows knitting together in thought as she could feel every pulsating ripple whip her less than ethereal mane around like a gust of wind. It wasn’t until a few seconds had passed that Celestia had went through her memories and tried to recall what Starswirl said did she remember her long expered friend mentioning something about a...”Athelia?” There was a giggle, from the glowing orb before it responded. “That stallion always had trouble keeping things to himself when he discovered something exciting.” A nostalgic smile formed on Celestia’s muzzle. “Yes. Yes he did.” A few moments of silence were offered in regards to this somewhat warm moment, before Athelia spoke once again. “Memories aside Princess, I assume you know of his theory of creation?” the orb asked. Celestia nodded. “There are four gods who created Equus, and Fourteen minor gods who represent our world. But Starswirl was always one for theory, when he couldn’t find hard proof or evidence on what he wanted. There’s been no such proof of gods or goddesses ever existing.” The orb’s light dimmed slightly at the last statement. “Yes, I suppose there hasn’t been any proof has there?” it asked rhetorically. Celestia tilted her head to the side, feeling the pressure in power rise. “Athelia was your name correct? You said you knew Starswirl...but if that’s so are you a” she paused. Such a thought had not been on her mind for centuries. But then again what was curiosity if no one ever asked a question? “Are you perhaps” Celestia paused once more, already knowing the answer. Trying to ask this type of question was proving to be difficult. Long had she destroyed any thoughts of there being other alicorns aside from her and her sister. True alicorns that had lived as long as her and her sister had, and weren’t made like her nephew and faithful student. But as if realizing the question Celestia was going to ask through the silence, the orb answered. “No, I am not. I am different, from an alicorn, but if you still have doubts on me knowing Starswirl. I assure you, I have lived as long as you have. And I can assure you just as well, that Starswirl’s theory was more than just a theory.” Celestia’s eyes narrowed. The power she could sense, radiating from this orb wasn’t a joke. It was strong, if she weighed everything currently happening correctly she had to at least for now go with what this being was telling her and play along. So she did. “What do you want?” “I’ve come to warn you.” The orb said, a powerful pulse radiating through darkness. Celestia’s eyes though narrow, nodded slowly as she rose to her full height. “Go on.” And so she did. “Equestria will fall, if ten heroes do not stand tall. Trials will rise, they will not stop till he claims a once great prize. There is nothing to stop him, while he is always watching. And as time flies many creatures may die, and so I give you this warning Princess of the light, your sister too will soon come to awake you. And now I must take my leave, my guests are arriving, and it is time I set things right.” The orb pulsed strongly and the force and energy it released actually pushed Celestia slowly back against the ground. With the explosion of the orb a figure could vaguely be seen within the burst of luminous brilliance. And as the wind pressure pushed Celestia slowly back, despite her efforts a voice was carried with it. “I hate to say it Celestia, but my job is real. Just as real as Starswirl’s theory of creation. The gods are real, and if you’ve noticed the disruptions in magic, so is the being that has invaded our world. “But don’t worry” the figure in the form of a tall unicorn said, her smile being the only thing one could see through the incandescent light. “I’ll make sure everything is set right.” “Set right?” Celestia asked, wincing at how strong the light was. “What do you mean? Who’s causing the disruptions?” But the only response she received from the unicorn was a smile before hearing the word “Awaken.” A second later Celestia awoke covered in sweat, looking around frantically she calmed once she realized she was in the safety of her own room. Looking out the window, Princess Celestia paused feeling like she had forgotten something. She looked at a nearby clock on her table drawer. It was almost 7. Then she remembered, she had a duty to attend to. So she rose keeping in mind the dream she had just had, deciding she would talk with her sister about this as soon as she saw her. Because if that warning was true. Then it was only a matter of time before something horrible happened. Daring Doo, Screwball, Pinkie and Hailstorm had finally made it to the bottom of the gorge. It had taken some time, with Pinkie’s constant twitching. And it had taken even more time with the strange way Screwball’s coat got all electric. “It’s taken us an hour, but we finally got down here” Hailstorm said feeling really exhausted. “So” he turned to face the explorer. “What did you want to show us?” Daring Doo pointed up ahead in response. Making the former human, Screwball and Pinkie all turn to see what she was referring to. Laying on a small pond, surrounded by dead plants was a unicorn mare. And a majestic one at that, Screwball noted, her coat standing fully on edge. “Why is there a mare here?” Hailstorm asked. But before Screwball could even begin to answer the question the stallion had just asked, Pinkamena Diane Pie suddenly, stopped twitching. No more shaking, no more trembling, no more vibrating, nothing. Just stone cold out of nowhere she stopped twitching. And not a second after she did, did Pinkie’s eyes immediately begin darting around looking for whatever was about to happen. At that exact same moment as Pinkie began scanning the place frantically, all static that had been fluffing Screwball’s coat suddenly stopped, all her hairs standing on edge, even her tail rising up slightly in alarm. Screwball’s eyes widened, as she watched the sleeping majestic unicorn; coin colored in coat, with a perfectly pewter curved horn that was steel grey at the tip, slowly rise from her sleeping position, her hooves standing on the pond as if it were the ground itself. Daring Doo who had noticed the unicorn awaken first, was able to get Hailstorm’s attention. Though that was quite unnecessary. I was already watching. The tall unicorn mare’s mane had three different shades of grey in it. Ash, anchor, and argent. And at the tips of her hair, gold, a sparkling gold that made the color gold itself look shameful. And what was even more surprising, was her mane flowing freely and easily, despite the wind that had suddenly picked up upon her awakening, her mane flowed normally. Just. Like. Celestia or Luna. Screwball’s eyes were still wide, her cross-eyed expression making her appear a bit more goofy than she should despite her sudden state of alarm. The power emanating from this mare was crushing her. And now, her eyes glanced in the former human’s direction. She feared for Hailstorm. She worried for Hailstorm, because right now, every fiber in her body was telling her that this god, particularly was here for him. Pinkie was the last to notice the tall unicorn mare had awakened, though her eyes were still closed. Slowly Pinkie turned her head, then her entire body to face what the rest of the group was currently facing. A unicorn mare that was now the tallest out of these five, Hailstorm being the second. The wind picked up blowing harder, blowing stronger. And in all honesty, Screwball had to admit that she didn’t like the way this presence was emanating an ominous feeling. But Screwball, being all goofs and chortles knew when to act when in the face of higher power. And by the four makers she was not about to do something to anger the god of truth and misfortune. Daring Doo ever the perceptive observer, caught on to Screwball’s strange antics and began backing away. But upon seeing Hailstorm was still the closest to this mare whose eyes still remained closed she whispered harshly, “Get your butt out of there now!” Yet to all three other mares befuddlement, the stallion did no such thing. He simply continued to stare, mesmerized by this creature, too shocked to even lift a leg. So Screwball had to improvise. Rushing forward and grabbing Hailstorm by the tail the stallion was pulled back so hard he fell on to his flank. But the tug had done it’s job and snapped him out of it. The wind was growing stronger as the seconds passed, and as if coming out of a deep trance Hailstorm now registered how bad their situation was. They needed to find cover, before things got worse. As if to confirm this, lightning struck, and thunder boomed soon after. Rising immediately on his legs, Hailstorm turned to the others, all of whom had their attention on the unicorn still standing in the water of dead plants. “We need to take her and find cover!” his voice managed a shout through the howls of the winds. Screwball understood what he was saying, Daring Doo as well. But Pinkie. Pinkie refused to leave. “What are you thinking Pinkie?! We can’t stay here it’s dangerous!” the stallion shouted, trying to be heard as best he could. But Pinkie once again shook her head. “WE can’t leave. Whatever reason I was shaking, whatever reason my Pinkie senses have been acting up, it’s because of her” she yelled pointing a hoof at the mare in front of them. “We leave and who knows what will happen.” “But Pinkie we can’t-” the stallion stopped. His voice now clearly audible, as there was no longer a strong wind that drowned out the sounds of his voice, or played with the manes, and tails of the group. It was silent now. Deadly silent. The three mares looked to the unicorn, but I looked to the heavens. And that’s when I saw it. Through the grim, dark nimbus clouds above us, a shape had formed in it’s atmosphere, a shape depicting an image for all to see. That shape was one of my cutie marks. The bullseye, loomed over us like horrible omen. And for a second all I could do was stare at the depiction of my cutie mark in the sky, shaped by lighting, crafted by the winds. And before I knew it, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked in that direction and froze when I saw Screwball’s terrified expression. She was pointing a hoof straight ahead. I turned, not wanting to, but still going ahead anyways. The unicorn still standing on the pond, still surrounded by dead flowers, was staring not at the others. But at me. Her purple eyes glaring daggers at me, yet her expression calm and tranquil. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t move. I felt...paralyzed almost like when that spider had used it’s webbing to stop my movements. It was horrible. None of us could move. We could only stand and watch, thunder once again making it’s appearance as the unicorn mare moved towards us. Her movement: slow, calculated, majestic with a regal feeling to it. She stepped off the pond, over the dead flowers and stood on solid ground looking down at all of us, while her mane and tail continued to flow despite not a single breeze being present. She looked at Daring Doo, smiled at her. Looked at Pinkie who smiled weakly back, and simply nodded to her. Then glanced over at Screwball a small look of surprise crossing her face before she quickly erased it, and simply shrugged. Then finally she looked at me. Her expression baring no emotion, but her eyes giving me all the information I needed to know. She was mad, furious even. And that anger was directed at me. “You are Hailstorm I presume” she asked, her voice soft, yet cold at the same time. It echoed all throughout Ghastly Gorge, and in the silence that passed after her question was asked I heard birds in the distance take flight and flee. A wise decision, I did not have. I nodded, not wanting to speak. She bobbed her head, nodding as well, before looking around Ghastly Gorge, then up at the sky where my cutie mark could be seen. “Do you know why I called you and your friends out here?” the unicorn asked, thunder booming and the world flashing with lightning around us. “I-Is it because you wanted to thank us for doing such a good job in protecting Equestria?” Pinkie asked hopefully. To that the unicorn mare looked at her, smiled in response, then shook her head. “No Element Of Laughter, nothing of the sort. In truth, I am here to reveal to you the things that he will not say.” Her eyes looked back at me and narrowed slightly. Those bright magenta eyes burned a hole in me, to be honest. Silence transcended for what felt like an eternity as the mare stared at me with those bright magenta eyes of hers, before taking a step back towards the pond she had been resting on, once she was an inch away she turned and faced us. A smile was on her face. A smile directed to me. “I am Athelia, goddess of truth and misfortune. And it is time you learn what will befall on your world.” Back in Ponyville, in Twilight’s castle. Discord was growing ever impatient with how long the others were taking to get back. He had been feeling this sense of power for the past few minutes. And the stronger it grew the more disturbed he became. If anything happened to Pinkie what would he do about his weekly pranking routine?! They were supposed to prank Parcel Post next week now that he was back from Chaosville, although how he had managed to survive that long in Discord’s pocket universe draconequus had no idea. Then again he didn’t really care either. What he cared about right now was figuring out why Athelia was making her appearance after a thousand years of silence. The others who had been watching Discord pace back and forth for the past hour and a half knew not what to say about his pacing. Till Swift Strike spoke up. “So, explain ta me again why we’re standing in a corner away from him?” “When Discord gets fidgety like this, it’s best to stay out of his way” Rainbow Dash said simply. “Trust me, I know” Starlight stated. “What did he do to you?” the jack asked. Starlight frowned, recalling why she couldn’t eat oranges anymore after that horrible experience. A shudder went through her. “I...I don’t want to talk about it.” Swift Strike cocked a brow at her before looking back to the pacing draconequus. Then an idea hit him. “Fluttershy” the mare looked up at him upon call of her name. “You know Discord better than the rest of us, talk to him.” Fluttershy looked at Discord then looked back at her friends. They all shrugged, only Rainbow Dash nodding. Fluttershy looked back at Swift Strike wanting to say something, but kept quiet and ultimately went to meet Discord upon his six hundredth round back. “Discord?” “Mhm?” he said still pacing. “Is there um, is there a reason you’re pacing back and forth like that?” “Mhm” he said absentmindedly. Fluttershy lifted a confused brow and looked at the others for some support here. They all shook their head and goaded her to push on. She stared at them, shook her head and rolled her eyes before looking back at Discord with a sweet look of concern. “Do you mind telling me what you have on your mind that’s bugging you?” she asked. Discord stopped pacing. Looked straight at the common room doors, then looked at where he was standing. After he’d done all that he stared at Fluttershy and shook his head. “No.” “No?” she said slightly surprised. “But-” “Fluttershy please let me finish” Discord said as gently as he could. Fluttershy paused, but nodded regardless. “She’s already going to explain things for me.” “She? She who?” Fluttershy asked in confusion. But Discord didn’t reply. He merely picked up his friendly gingerly in one arm, much to her surprise before walking towards the others and setting Fluttershy down. Everyone stared at him in confusion. Until the common room doors burst open, the castle flooded with wind, books, teacups, manes, and everything not heavy flying into the air and crashing into something. While everyone looked alarmed and confused Discord merely stared with both arms crossed waiting, for the drama to end. When it did, he snapped his fingers, materializing sunglasses on everyone, including himself. And before AJ could even ask what the hay was going on around here. A flash of brilliant light exploded into the room, that was so blinding that it burnt several books much to Twilight’s terror and utter horror. One of those had been knew, and she was a sentence from finishing it. Oh well. When all had settled and the blinding light died out, Discord snapped all the shades out of existence, before he looked at the unicorn mare standing before them. Her bright magenta eyes looking at the group with a hint of kindness, before looking at Discord with a hint of disapproval. “Hello Discord” she said in a calm, yet stern tone. “Pleasure to see you again, Athelia.” “Yes...pleasure.” Athelia said with some distaste. "Anyway" her eyes began glowing white with magic. “Listen up all of you. I have come to deliver a message.” Fluttershy looked at her friends, all of whom were so confused by everything that happened none had anything to say. Twilight enamored by the unicorn’s appearance just as much as Rarity was amazed by the color of the unicorn’s mane. But still feeling the pain of having lost a good book. Looking up to Discord who now stared with a deadpan expression at the mare, the pegasus opted to ask him a question, but after a few seconds of thinking on the answer she would receive, Fluttershy merely changed her mind, and decided to listen to what this unicorn had to say. After all, how bad could it be right?