Fish out of Water
January 5th, 2000
1815 Hours
Canterlot, Equestria
The sun began to sink again over the horizon, for the fifth time in this new world, preparing to hand its job over to the moon. On a balcony near the top of Canterlot Castle, a pure white alicorn watched the glowing orb set, in a state of despair and sadness. Now, every time that sun set, it reminded her of how impotent her control had become. Not long ago, it gave out a feeling of satisfaction of another well-done job; no longer did it give that happy, satisfying emotion.
Princess Celestia stared at the sun for what felt like forever. Back when she could lift it into the air, she did it through a unique way that made her the Sun Princess. Rather than take control and move it with her horn, as unicorns would do to move things around via levitating, she actually shared a connection with it. She did not move it; she ordered it to move, which many saw as the same thing, but never to her. That connection was not present any more; this was not her sun.
“Still no luck?”
Celestia recognized the voice of her sister and shook her head without even looking over to her.
“I was afraid of that,” Luna said, moving next to her sister and watching the sun finally disappear. “I suppose there is no real point in trying anymore, then?”
“There is always a point, sister, even if it cannot be seen,” Celestia replied, the hopeful words being betrayed by a hopeless voice. “I know there is a reason, but I cannot see it.”
“Perhaps it will be revealed in time; we should focus on what we can see,” Luna suggested.
Celestia hung her head, though she knew Luna was right.
“Maybe if we answer some questions, the answers to others will reveal themselves, as well,” Luna continued, trying to get her sister to move.
“I know Luna; thank you for reminding me,” Celestia said, sprouting a small grin and hugging her sister. “Is there any reason you needed to speak to me, or was it just to try and cheer me up?”
“Both, actually; Princess Cadence has arrived, but I figured you would not be able to speak with her unless your mind was in the right place,” Luna explained.
Celestia was grateful that Luna was trying to help her, especially since her sister was right; recently she found her mind running off and worrying on problems that were less immediate. But what caught her attention was the arrival of her niece from her empire in the North; as least what used to be the North. She, and Twilight Sparkle, were the most immediate matters that needed to be focused on.
Celestia got up from her spot at once, with a more serious face than before, and began to move off of the balcony and into the hall, with her sister following. Walking through the castle, the halls looked as regal as ever, shining gloriously with stained glass and tapestry providing color. The biggest change was in the guards, as their activity and number had near tripled, and they seemed to line every last corridor.
She did not mind it much; as Luna told her, there were more important things to worry about. What had happened to Equestria, and her whole world, was still not known. But, as reports had come in over the past few days, it was clear that they were no longer where they were supposed to be. That much was certain, but virtually everything else was not.
How they got here, for one, was a matter of confusion. The biggest problem was the strange invasions coming from the wastes of what was once the far North; from the way the sun rose and set, that would now be the wastes of the East. At least they were the wastes, for they had seemingly turned from uninhabitable, cracked, frozen land into green lands of plateaus and plains, and life overall; life that was unsympathetic with Equestria and the other nations around it. She had formulated a theory on this, and Cadence’s words would be the final puzzle pieces Celestia needed to create a clear picture of the situation.
The two entered into the throne room, where both Twilight and Cadence were waiting. Both had worried looks on covering their faces, both for the same reason of not knowing what was happening. Though Cadence was probably far more concerned with her husband leading the Crystal Empire’s military against the unknown enemies. Celestia wondered how much they had told each-other already.
“Princess, can you tell us what’s happening?” Twilight asked immediately, eager to find out what was wrong. “Do you know how to fix things?”
“Calm yourself, Twilight,” Celestia ordered. “I may be able to provide an explanation, at least; but first I will need Princess Cadence to explain what is assailing the Crystal Empire.”
Celestia looked over to Cadence, who nodded and began explaining immediately. The day after the event, Cadence had sent a frightening letter to Celestia concerning her nation. In it's confused, panicked, and broken style, it gave the message that an invasion was taking place by some new type of ponies that she had never encountered. She had learned a bit more since then, and was now here to explain that.
“Our invaders look like ponies, but they are… twisted, corrupt… angry,” she explained, quivering a bit with the last word. “None of them shine like the crystal ponies, they are all dark. The worst have black coats, with their manes grey, and angry red eyes. Some are different, with different shades, sometimes different colors and looks... but they're mostly similar. At least from what we've seen so far.”
“That’s the same kind of pony that attacked Rainbow,” Twilight added. “They must be the same!”
“They also seem to be separated into unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies as we are,” Cadence continued, wanting to finish so her aunt could give an answer. “Also, the pegasi’s wings seem to be similar to a bat’s, but there’s nothing else I could tell you other than that. At first I believed them to be connected to Sombra in some way, but that could not be the case.”
The white alicorn sighed a bit before answering, Cadence's word's finally validating what she feared.
“I am afraid your assumption was correct. These are the ponies of Sombra,” she confirmed. “Long ago, Sombra wanted to seize control of the Crystal Empire to enslave its ponies to mine for dark crystals, and he attempted to raise a nation and army out of the divided tribes of the Northern Wastes to seize Equestria for himself, but he was never powerful enough. He needed the specific kind of black magic of the dark crystals to gain such power, but he never got to that point, as Luna and I banished him. The ponies that are attacking the Crystal Empire now are that army, Sombra’s Shadow Ponies, the opposites of the Crystal ponies, and Equestrians for that matter."
"The Shadows!? How did-"
Celestia raised a hoof to silence Cadence, and prevent Twilight from starting, who was hoping to ask her own set of questions.
"They were few in number, inhabiting the frozen lands, and followed Sombra as their leader, with many seeing his methods as the answer to their troubles. Most of them were banished from the lands in the same fashion as Sombra; only a scattered few remained in the farthest depths of the wastes, or those that broke free. The hostile ones were never in large enough number to attempt attacks. Magic was not as strong with them, especially without the crystals; none of them had the ability to resurrect their allies, and none of the banished were powerful enough as Sombra to take a form in this world as he did when he haunted the Crystal Empire. Now both have returned.”
“B-But how did Sombra return!?” Cadence asked, shocked at the revelation. “And how did he get this army? Does that mean they already took the dark crystals from my Empire?”
“My friend Rainbow told me about some ponies performing a kind of ritual. When I researched it, one of the books talked about Sombra,” Twilight suggested.
“That would be the only possibility I can think of,” Celestia agreed. “There is an old tale that states of a way to resurrect ponies of such power, so long as there is a powerful part of them remaining, and the pony conducting the ceremony is of great power themselves. It is known that part of Sombra’s horn survived."
"But how was the army raised with him? And how did they acquire that power?" Cadence asked again, persisting the Princess to get to the more disturbing part.
"I am not sure, Cadence, but the ritual was clearly strong enough to bring the Shadows out from their banishment," Celestia surmised, here tone changing a bit from grim to puzzled. "It would be possible to bring them back, and in far greater numbers, if the conductors of the ritual acquired a large amount of dark crystals and used them in the ceremony, as well as being well-versed in those dark techniques. But what strikes me as odd is the pony that would do this.”
Celestia was not talking to anypony in particular at this point, merely recounting and thinking out loud.
“The pony doing this could not be a mere servant. Just like the dark crystals, this pony would require a large amount of a specific kind of dark magic; something similar to the kind that revolved around Nightmare Moon, though I thought it was destroyed along with that evil entity,” she said.
At the mention of Nightmare, Luna looked down a bit in disappointment; she still carried some mental scars from that long, horrendous experience of the ages she spent forsaken on the moon, with nothing more than a vengeful wrath to accompany her. Despite what she had told her sister, she was also worrying a good deal over the whole experience. She missed her old moon; though on the bright side, the new one was just as pretty, and did not carry the ‘Mare in the Moon’ symbol on it, at least what remained of that dreaded symbol.
“So, Sombra is trying to take the Crystal Empire and its ponies to gain more power with this new army?” Twilight asked, attempting to put the pieces together.
“He has no immediate... necessity for the Crystal ponies, or the Empire. Though he could certainly use the crystals, he has the main tool needed for the job,” Celestia explained gloomily. “He cannot be stopped from creating the army, we can only fight the army itself now.”
“So Cadence can use the Crystal Heart to destroy him again,” Twilight said, suggesting the obvious. “Or my friends and I could use the Elements of Harmony, if that will do anything.”
“I’m afraid it is not that simple, Twilight,” Celestia said. “The Elements only work on evil entities of extreme power, such as Nightmare Moon or Discord. These Shadow ponies, though evil they may seem, and may be, are not on the same level. They are not just mindless followers, they are normal, logical thinking beings; at least the logic they have in their minds. Their devotion to Sombra and anger against the Crystal Empire and Equestria takes up a large part of their personality, but they are more than that; they fear, hope, they even love. They are not mindless minions, in fact many see Sombra as a great leader.”
“So the Elements wouldn’t work on them, because all of them aren't evil enough,” Twilight repeated, ears drooping. “Then how do we beat them?”
“Conventional means is the only option,” Luna spoke up, feeling as though she should add something to the discussion. “In other words, a war.”
“And it is a war we are having difficulties with,” Cadence added. “These Shadows are moving steadily through the Crystal Empire, and the Griffons and Changelings seem to be active against our neighboring states, as well.”
"And we can't even use the Elements on Sombra himself?" Twilight asked, still lingering on the most decisive weapon she knew of. "He has to be bad enough."
"You would have to go through an entire army to get to him before you could use them," Celestia pointed out, "and even if you got to him, we do not know if the Elements would work properly. This new land is affecting our magic, especially on the higher levels. I doubt they would work properly."
Twilight sat down on the floor, too depressed and angry to really reply. She hated not being able to do anything while others were in trouble. Even if it was not direct, even if it was just trying to find an answer, she wanted to help. But just then she thought of an idea that could help.
“What did the tale have to say about transportation?” Twilight asked bringing up the second-biggest problem Equestria, and the world in general, was having. “I mean, it’s obvious we’re not on our old planet; the stars don't even line up right.”
“That is a bit clearer,” Celestia said, though unsure of what her pupil was getting at. “There is another spell that I specifically know of that could be combined with the first in the same ceremony. It also requires that powerful dark magic, but if they could do the first, it is no surprise that they could do the second. The spell is meant to transport to another world, but why they would do that is beyond me.”
“Maybe they did it to remove your powers so they would have a greater chance to defeat Equestria,” Twilight suggested. “At least over the sun and Princess Luna’s over the moon, and whatever else got affected.”
“Oh... y-yes, that does make sense,” Celestia replied, a bit embarrassed to have not thought of that. “Well in that sense, they succeeded.”
“But they failed somewhere else, somewhere they didn’t think of!” Twilight exclaimed, throwing a hoof into the air in a sort of eureka moment. “The planet itself!”
Celestia and the others stared quizzically at Twilight. They were not sure of just what the unicorn as getting at. The planet was what was hurting the Princesses, taking away their greatest powers. How could the losses this world caused outweigh the gains that it provided them? Before any of the three could ask, Twilight quickly explained what she was talking about.
“Well, not exactly the planet, but its inhabitants,” she clarified. “These aliens we’ve contacted, well I guess we would be the aliens, but these… humans, I think they’re called, seem to have incredibly advanced weaponry, far beyond anything either side has. I’ve heard they even saved one of our ships from a Griffon attack! Maybe we can work out some kind of deal with them and they could lend assistance to us; at least to give us some technology to use ourselves.”
Celestia thought heavily on this; she had an original plan to try and fix things, but maybe Twilight had a point. These new creatures were powerful, but since she did not know exactly how they acted, it was more of a heads-or-tails chance. They could possibly help, but if they were unwelcome to visitors, they could possibly attack Equestria. Either way, her original plan still sounded the best to her and most just. Twilight may be unhappy at the missed chance to study a new being, but it was for the best.
“I am sorry, Twilight, but I cannot drag the natives into this, not when there is a chance to undo the damage,” she glossed in a simple tone. “As I said, the second spell of transportation was known to history, and as such there is a spell that has been hypothesized to reverse its affects, though it has never needed to be used. But, if I can spend some time working on it, I may be able to get the spell to work. If it does, we may be able to get back to my home planet. I would regain control of my powers with our sun, and Luna with the moon, and we should be able to put up a good fight with Sombra and his allies.”
The way Celestia worded the plan gave a bit of worry to Twilight. She said they could ‘put up a good fight’, but she did not say they would win. Was Sombra and his army really that powerful? If they were, at least conventionally, then it would be wise to gain more power in that area. If they only had a chance, but there was a species with incredible technology that could help them win here, then maybe they should at least ask; even if the humans did not want them here, they could try Celestia’s spell afterwards. It just made a bit more sense to her to try and work with them to defeat Sombra.
“Princess, shouldn’t we at least ask the humans first?” Twilight suggested. “It wouldn’t hurt to try, would it? We could come to some kind of deal with them.”
“No, Twilight,” Celestia answered sternly. “This can be handled on our own. It is not necessary to request their assistance.”
“I know it’s not necessary, but there’s nothing wrong with-”
“No Twilight!” Celestia cut her off sharply.
There was an awkward silence for a few seconds before Celestia breathed deeply and hung her head in disappointment.
“I am sorry, Twilight; this is my fault,” she apologized. “I knew about this spell, only a bit but I still knew. I made the assumption that it was impossible to conduct it. And even with that knowledge, I failed to inform you, my trusted student, so that you might have noticed it ahead of time. I… am sorry; I took a chance and now the world is paying the price. The blame is all mine.”
Another unpleasant quiet covered the room, this time lasting almost a full minute; it felt like much more, and was far longer than any of them wished for.
“This is not their war,” Celestia said softly, breaking the silence. “We came to their planet, and brought all our problems with us. I will not drag them into this fight, they do not deserve it. To have their own killed, to waste what they have, all for an alien’s war? A war we could have prevented? I will not let that happen. We will not ask them to fight for us, and we will not deal with them. To even open up to them could cause relations to begin, and if that happens our enemies may attack them anyways, for fear that they may come to our aid. We simply cannot allow that.”
It made a bit more sense to Twilight, now that Celestia would explain it. Why would the natives want to fight an alien’s war to begin with, or even have it on their planet? Though cutting any contact with them felt a bit much, she understood how Sombra, as well as the Griffons and Changelings, could be savage in their battles. If the humans showed even the slightest idea of allying with Equestria, they would attack them with everything they had. Even if trade was established, they would sink every native ship headed to Equestria, and might even go and attack the harbors they came out of, to stop the supplies from reaching them.
“So… how long do you think it will be until the spell is ready?” Twilight asked.
“It could be a long time, Twilight, as nopony has ever done it before,” Celestia replied. “If we are lucky, though… it seems we lack that a bit, it could be done in several months. Realistically, it could take a few years; at worst… I may never be able to gather every necessary piece. Still, I do not wish to see the innocent beings of this world dragged into our conflict. We must try our best alone.”
“That’s very noble of you, auntie,” Cadence spoke up, rather disappointed at the decision and the gloomy outlook of the situation.
“It is the right thing to do,” Celestia said simply. “You should return to the Crystal Empire now. They will need your leadership to see them through this, and time is not our ally.”
“I… suppose I should,” Cadence sighed, though not moving until Celestia moved over next to her.
“I understand this is difficult, but you must go and help however you can; we must move quickly,” she said, giving Cadence a quick, yet tight, hug. “I will contact you if I find anything that may be of assistance. Now go!”
“O-of course! Good luck, auntie!” Cadence replied, quickly trotting out of the room.
As Cadence left the others, moving down one of the hallways towards the exit, she slowed down again. She knew Celestia was right in her reasoning, but that did not make her feel much better. Even if it was done to protect the humans, Cadence felt that her aunt may have underestimated Sombra and his allies. They may hold a spiteful grudge against Equestria and the Crystal Empire, but a tyrant like him would not stop after that. If she knew anything about Sombra, it was that no amount of power or land would be enough. He would continue his conquest far beyond their borders, until the whole world would be under his hoof.
“I know auntie Celestia wants to protect these natives, but… it may not be her choice,” Cadence said to herself as she exited the castle and entered the placid night outside. “These humans may be dragged into conflict, whether they, or we, wish to or not."
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shits gonna hit the fan i know it, not if the 3rd division has anything to say about it!
4777376
It was a continent, yes.
It's adorable how Twilight thinks the griffins, changelings, or Sombra could harm us in any big way!
4777431
They're still only around the medieval to early steam age, and we'll still bomb them back to the stone age!
wanna know what I think?
I think humans should get pulled into it. then they should blow the shadow dudes to smithereens.
4780626
Last time I checked napalm doesn't leave smitherens.
4781569 hehehheh then maybe we should use something that does! do fuel air bombs leave smithereens?
4781577
In some cases, they do,
but they most certainly do not leave any oxygen for them to breathe.
You know, since they use up all the oxygen in the area of detonation, and leave leathal amounts of carbonmonoxid instead.
4781662 let's go with that
4781668
But then I have to clean up again!
4781693 at least the only thing you'll have to deal with is smithereens rather than identifiable fleshy remains :D
4781696
Yes, mein Führer.
I'm so glad I found this story. It has all the epicness of Widening the Lens with the added bonus do not being dead.
Gold Star and up thumb granted.
Here's to hoping the pilot from first contact makes a return appearance, with a
painted on his tail.
4798195
Thanks. I remember that was one of the stories on this site that inspired me to write. I did kind of have it in my mind when I was coming up with this, only while that's only seemed to cover first contact, this is expanded to a much more massive conflict, hence why little time (in comparison) could be spent on it.
4833765
So she is...
4709820
Well Grey, you'd better tell me what to put, cause I'm not leaving an error like that in there to make us look like ignorant Mericans.
We have some very interesting world building going on. Really, the part I don't get is the US cruiser and the Chinese vessel. I understand that you need to spark conflict between the world super powers, or Equestria's troubles would be over in a month, but really? No one in his right mind would order a quad missle strike against a wooden sailing vessel. A single missle at most. What he REALLY should've done is use his ship's 5 inch cannon. That's kind of the whole point of the gun. Also, can we really think the Chinese can target and destroy a US submarine seconds after a missle strike? How did they even know it was there, and why hasn't they taken defense measures?!
Those are my only problems. Aside from that, this story is really cool!
4839215
Precisely.
4849555 Huh... Sorry dude. Though she was.
4849580 heya inu!
Celestia how wrong you are... Humans had just made friendly contact with your Navy, they have better technology, and yet your refusing their help ... What the fuck?