The Day It Began

by Dyon

Chapter 13

The quick tapping boomed through the ancient halls of the castle that now lay in ruins. The stone structures that had once stood tall and proud were now old and falling to pieces with no one to care for them. The only one that did choose to reside in the ancient palace had long ago stopped caring about the state of his manor.

Dust and other small pieces of sediment fell from the roofs of the building as the tapping continued to beat against the support of the structure in an unending and never changing tempo. One beam, no longer able to support itself after centuries of neglect, crumbled and brought down an entire section of the castle ruins with it, but the tapping still did not cease. More structures continued to show their strain and groaned in protest, but the source of the beat cared little for their misgivings.

Deep within the ruins, on a throne that had been forgotten by all those except the most ancient sat Apollo tapping his foot against the cold marble below him in annoyance. He had been alone in his castle for so long he had almost forgotten what it was like to have an audience before him, but his inability to forget was the problem here. No matter how hard he tried or the various ways he struggled that day long ago played over and over in his memories. It taunted him to do what he knew he would, but the fear of the act kept him rooted to his throne.

Fear was not something that the immortals experienced very often, and fear of the self was usually completely discarded after a century or two. Apollo knew himself very well, he knew exactly what kind of man he was, but in the circumstances he now found himself in that particular man could not last long. The type of man that he knew himself to be would do something very foolish very soon, and then everything would come to an end.

He continued to beat his foot against the floor of his chamber completely unaware of the strain that the building he resided in was undergoing. The course had been set, and he knew that nothing he did would ever change what was going to happen next. There was no free will that could intervene and stop him; nothing could save the god from himself.

Finally, unable to resist the urge any longer he bolted upright from his throne of stone. The back of the throne was blown apart and scattered in pieces against the wall that lined the back of the room as Apollo tore through it with a mighty fist. He breathed heavy for perhaps the first time in millennia as his anger left him.

He stood straight once more and fixed his clothing. After making sure that his long jacket was free of wrinkles and that his long black hair fell over his shoulders in just the way he liked he set off to a seldom used door that protruded from the back of the room. His boots clanked against the old marble tiling as he crossed the throne room, and reached the large oaken door.

Unlike the rest of the castle, the door looked like it could have been crafted just the day before. It bore no blemishes along its surface, and the ravages of time had left the entrance completely untouched. Apollo placed a single hand on the surface of the door, and instantly it sprang to life.

Runes ran out in all directions across its surface with Apollo’s hand as the epicenter. They spiraled outwards and began beating in time with the heart of the owner a deep green color. The locks and wards on the door fell away, and it slowly swung inwards allowing access to the secrets that lay beyond. Apollo looked into the looming darkness of the staircase the descended into the lower levels of the ruins.

He proceeded forwards with only a moments hesitation into the depths of his castle. The stairs continued for a long time, but he did not grow tired or weary as he descended the several hundred levels into the earth. The air began to grow warmer and thick with poisonous gasses that would harm a lesser being, yet he continued forwards without pause.

After some time the stairs let out into an antechamber that would look at home near the gates of Tartarus. A long stone bridge extended out before Apollo for what seemed like miles suspended over a lake of bottomless magma. The heat inside the room threatened to combust any material that was not magically warded and pillars of lava would often spring from the lake and drape themselves over the bridge. The lava would harden on contact, and be made into more of the igneous stone that made up the bridge itself, forever keeping it strong and sturdy.

He proceeded down the walkway without even sparing a thought for the small specks of lava that littered his coat, but left it unmarred. He didn’t even slow as a column of the molten rock rocketed up towards him and covered him. It fell away from Apollo leaving no trace that it had ever touched him except for the streams of steam that rose from him. Nothing would stop him from completing his task, and he hated that there wasn’t anything he could do to stop it either.

The pathway started to crumble behind him after every step he took as its enchantments were tossed away by the god who had constructed the platform. This massive chamber would serve its purpose soon enough, and he would no longer have any need for it. Every step he took sent more stone crashing into the pool of magma below, but he kept his steady and purposeful speed as he approached the archway at the end of the bridge.

As he stepped through the archway that held another set of stairs leading downwards the bridge behind him finished collapsing, and fell away into oblivion. The passageway was not dark this time however, and was illuminated by several sconces lined across the walls as Apollo made his short descent into the final chamber.

The room was circular and only supported by five pillars that stood steady despite being submerged in the lava lake below. The platform that he now stood on was bare, save for one thing that stared back at him from the middle of the room, Discord. The Draconequus still imprisoned in stone stared straight into the eyes of the man in black as he slowly approached. Several chains held the statue in place as the platform shuddered with explosions going on beneath the surface of the magma pool.

The two stared at each other for a long moment before Apollo suddenly decided to break the silence. “It has been a long time,” he said, looking almost his age.

The statue didn’t respond for a long while, and Apollo kept staring at it waiting. Finally a voice rang through the air and though it was strained to get through the enchantment that held its owner captive it could be made out clearly. “Yes, it has.”

“I suppose you know why I have decided to come here.” It wasn’t so much a question as it was a statement of fact.

“You of all people should know exactly how observant I can be,” Discord replied coyly.

“I know exactly what you are! You are a traitor and a murderer!” Apollo snarled.

“Careful there old friend, your mask is slipping.”

Apollo struck the statue, but didn’t do anything except vent some of his rage. The two waited there for a long moment as the man in black collected himself once more, and tried to calm his anger. After a while he stood tall and glared at the statue once more.

“You can still get under my skin.” He took a calming breath before continuing. “This is the end for you.”

“You say that now, but can you really go through with it?” The walls of the cavern shook drawing Discord’s attention for the first time.

“Oh so you see what is happening around you then don’t you? I imagine that it would be difficult since you are imprisoned in stone.” It was Apollo’s turn to taunt. “Whether or not it is by my hand your end is here.”

“It doesn’t matter if you bury me in this cavern. The consequences of your little pact will still affect you,” Discord sneered.

“I know.” Resigned to what was about to transpire Apollo threw open his coat and unsheathed his sword.

“You would really cut me down? Does vengeance mean that much to you?” Discords voice quivered as he spoke.

“Yes it does.” Apollo held his sword in front of him and the blade began to shudder. Black smoke pulled away from his coat and began to wrap itself around the blade, encasing it in a thick black aura. The blade began to hum as it finished its transformation, slicing the air and causing the temperature of the room to drop slightly as Apollo held it out before him.

“You were once my best friend, and this is what has happened to us. You have to know that this is all your fault.” Apollo’s eyes left his blade, and he stared long and hard at the statue that was soon to be his victim.

“Think what you will, but my actions were completely justified. Am I not supposed to defend myself?”

“You killed her you bastard! Now die!” Apollo didn’t wait for Discord’s response as he sliced straight through him. The sword made a clean cut, as if there had never been a stone structure impeding it. He didn’t wait for the statue to hit the ground as he brought the blade back through it again and again. He sliced the stone over and over venting all of his hatred on the being that was already dead.

The cavern shuddered as the enchantments holding it together ended with the life of its prisoner. One of the columns supporting the platform collapsed almost spilling the platform itself into the lava below. The pieces of the being that used to be Discord began to slide off of the angled surface and into the magma below as Apollo stumbled back to the entrance of the chamber. He made it to the archway before his sword was discarded and he fell to his knees with his hand across his heart.

The crumbling of the cavern was forgotten as violent coughs struck the man in black, and he tried to get a hold of himself. The stalactites that could no longer hold tight to the ceiling crashed around him as he pulled his hand away to see the blood that had escaped his mouth. Slowly, he reached down to his discarded sword and picked it up smiling a little as he did. Slowly, he walked out of the room as the cavern continued to crumble.

____________________________________________________________________________

I was in my room when Twilight arrived. I sat against the wall lazily playing anything that came to mind to alleviate my boredom. She didn’t bother knocking like she usually did before she entered, which I found slightly odd but it didn’t really bother me. She strolled into the room like she owned it looking directly at me the entire time.

There was something different about her, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. There was a confidence in her eyes that I hadn’t seen in her before. She seemed so sure of herself that it was almost threatening to look at her, but I had long ago stopped thinking of these ponies as defenseless. The look she was giving me told me immediately that she wanted to talk, but since I was unable to she began.

“I have a way to send you home.” As soon as the words left her lips my music cut off in a classic screech of a vinyl record. “We will be performing the spell later today so be ready when we call for you.” Without further ado she turned and left the room like nothing had happened.

I continued to sit against the wall completely stunned by what had just happened. I had almost resigned myself to forever living in this world, and suddenly Twilight walks into my room and tell me that she is going to send me home. One emotion overrode all other, happiness. I was absolutely ecstatic, and I would have been screaming in victory were I able.

I jumped from my spot on the ground and began packing everything I had accumulated during my small vacation in this world. I mostly just had clothes that I would be taking so after setting aside my suit and putting it on I went about wrapping everything else up in a bundle. There wasn’t really anything else left for me to pack so I grabbed my bundle and strode out of my room to find the mess hall. I was going to try and get at least one decent meal before I dared venture across another dimensional divide.

____________________________________________________________________________

Apollo stood over the computer console having completed his task. The screen told him of his success in the small green text that stood out on the glass “Operation Complete”. He took a step back and glanced around at the desert that surrounded him on three sides and the magnificent slab of stone that the console was buried in. The wastes were a place that he and he alone could find, but their secrets were not even fully revealed to the god who saw all.

He plunged his fist into the terminal and ripped out the various wires that kept the machine running for the past countless millennia. He tossed the wires into the sand at his feet before plunging his hand once more into the broken screen to retrieve more of its insides. It had to be completely destroyed so that there was no way to undo his work.

Having thoroughly torn the computer apart he took a weary step backwards towards the dunes that surrounded him. One hand rested in the pocket of his jacket while the other rested on his heart as if trying to slow its tempo through pure will. After a few calming breaths he did succeed in gaining control over his body once again as he started to walk away from the stone monument. He would have to make it all the way back to shore before he could travel away from the wastes.

He hesitated a moment and turned back to the tall slab of stone that lay motionless behind him. There was really nothing remarkable about the massive object other than how perfectly marbled it was. It was one single large slab of stone forty feet tall and a hundred feet wide with a broken terminal sticking from its side next to a metal door.

The door had always been there for as long as the stone, and no one knew exactly how long that was. Around the edge of the door were red dotted lines that displayed a primal warning to anyone that looked upon its surface. Though he knew just how futile it was, Apollo conjured a small ball of flame with his free hand and threw it at the door.

The fireball was rather impressive by anyone’s standards, but as it approached the door it began to wither and die. It had completely dissolved into nothingness by the time it struck the metal entrance to a place unknown. The man in black sighed before turning back to his trek across the dunes of the forgotten world. The time when those doors would open was fast approaching.

____________________________________________________________________________

Once again the mess hall thoroughly disappointed me, but I was at least used to being continually let down by this point. I had sucked it up and ate the salad, which still tasted terrible but at least I wasn’t hungry. The ponies had finally stopped viewing me with suspicion everywhere I went, or at least most of the guards had.

There was a tour group wandering the halls today and as I passed them I heard more than one rude comment. Mostly there were surprised that such a beastly creature would be wandering around the castle in a suit. Was it really so surprising that I wanted to look my best on my final day here? I had made sure to groom myself to the best of my abilities, and even I had to admit that I looked damn good.

Unfortunately, the mare that had fainted as I walked by their small group had not shared my opinion, which almost brought me back down to a depressed state. I shrugged it off and continued to walk along the halls to where Twilight had said that they would be conducting my return back to my own world.

I had honestly expected to find myself in the throne room once again since for some reason it seemed that everything that went down in the castle happened there. The room I was directed to however was much smaller by comparison and located in one of the lesser-used wings of the palace. It was a shame that I was going to be leaving just when I had started to figure out the layout of this place.

As I approached the door I distinctly heard music playing on the other side of the door, which brought me to an immediate halt. It wasn’t the type of music that I usually listened to; no it was the music that you would find playing at a seven year-old's birthday party. Part of me wanted to flee as soon as possible while another part wanted to throw the doors wide and make a grand entrance. Being torn on what to do, I quietly made my way to the door and opened it just an inch to take a look inside.

Through the small crack in the door I was able to make out a couple of ponies that I knew milling around talking with each other. Rainbow Dash was over near a punch bowl shootin' the breeze with Luna of all ponies, and seemed to be discussing the strange dance moves that Celestia and her student were displaying. Applejack and Rarity seemed to be in a heated but friendly debate over something that I wasn’t able to guess at, and Fluttershy was hanging out in the corner being her usual meek self. The distinct feeling that I was missing something hit me only a second before the wall of pink did.

The door flew open, and I was tackled to the ground by the pink ball of energy I had met on my first day in this world. She grinned happily like nothing was amiss from her position on my chest, and was talking at me a mile a minute. I of course do mean talking at me since talking with me was actually impossible to do at the moment, but this did not deter the puffy pink pony in the least; nor did it stop her from bouncing on my chest like I was a trampoline as she broke the world speed talking record.

It didn’t actually hurt to be used like a child’s mattress, but it did find it rather frustrating so I reached up and caught the mare as she was coming back down on me and set her to the side so that I could stand up. Being man handled didn’t seem to dampen her mood, and she continued to speak as I stood from the ground and straightened my clothes. My hair had come apart from where it had all rested nicely just a moment before and it took me a few seconds to reorganize it into something somewhat presentable.

I noticed that the music had stopped and everyone was now looking at Pinkie Pie and I who had still not stopped to take a breath. These creatures really did have no respect for what should be scientifically possible… well baring Twilight, but she had broken her fair share of physics just by bringing me here in the first place. It had only just occurred to me then that I should try listening to what Pinkie Pie was actually saying to me so I turned my attention back to her for a moment.

“but then Gummy was all like ‘I don’t want to miss one of your parties’ so I told him that he could come, but he would have to make it here by today. He is so silly sometimes; he should know by now that alligators can’t ride the train by themselves so there was no way he would make it here. It is too bad that you didn’t get to meet him before you left so I brought some pictures of everypony that you didn’t get to meet.” At this she pulled out a very large photo album and began to show me pictures of several random ponies.

“This here is Cheerilee, and this pony here is Thunderlane. Lyra is over here with Bon Bon, and this is Scootaloo. Oh and here are all of our critter friends. This is Gummy, Tank, Opalescence…” I had returned to tuning her out at that point. Sure she had no dishonest or sinister intentions, but I feared for my mental health if I kept paying too much attention. Not wanting to hurt her feelings I motioned for her to follow me as I headed into the room and nodded periodically along with whatever she said like any man knows how to.

I made my way over to the punch table and grabbed myself a drink as pictures bombarded me, but I tried to remain as calm and nice as possible. After all, I wasn’t going to be here for too much longer so I might as well enjoy everything while I can. To my never-ending delight there were actually several pastries laid out on the table that I dug into greedily. The cupcakes were glorious and the several different types of cake that ranged from chocolate to banana nut were all incredibly moist and delectable. I may have ruined the dignified look I was going for as I dug into the food without restraint.

“You should probably slow down before you choke,” the blue pegasus to my left informed me between a fit of laughter. I stopped immediately, which happened to be a terrible idea since the large glob of cake and frosting in my throat stopped along with me. That all too familiar feeling of choking hit me and I was scrambling for my drink to wash it down. Thankfully the punch did the trick and I was able to breath once again moments later.

With a sigh I leaned back against the table and brought my breath back under my control. The party, which is what I guessed was going on at the moment, had started back up again and the ponies were having what I could assume to be the time of their lives. Twilight’s dancing looked almost reminiscent of a seizure and Celestia’s was no better. Their legs would kick out erratically and they danced with their eyes closed making the entire display actually somewhat dangerous to be near.

Luna’s face was red with the fit of giggles that she was attempting to hold back, but failed miserably to. Rainbow Dash was far less subtle and was rolling around on the ground in laughter, but this didn’t disturb the two mares in the middle of the dance floor in the least. Pinkie Pie joined the two in their strange dancing ritual and soon there were three mares kicking about randomly in the middle of the room.

I noticed a banner above my head decorated in words that I couldn’t read so I nudged Luna to get her attention and pointed up to it. It took her a second, but she got what I was getting at and leaned over to read it to me. “It says ‘Going away party for mister alien whose name we still don’t know.’”

I caught myself smiling as she finished reading the inscription, and there was no doubt in my mind of who had written that banner. I bit into another cupcake as I continued to lean back against the snack table, and looked around that the assembled ponies. I hadn’t really been here too long, but I could say that I had made a few friends while I was here. Twilight and Rarity definitely fell into that group and I hoped that Luna did as well. The rest seemed to be friendly acquaintances that I could have gotten to know better during my stay, and I honestly had no idea where Celestia should be placed. Perhaps she was a nice frenemy? All in all I couldn’t help but feel a little bit sad about my inevitable departure, but I was very ready to get back home. Now if only nothing else would go wrong in the short span that I had left here I would be golden.

_____________________________________________________________________________

The party had wound down after some time, and all of the ponies were gathered in the back of the room watching Twilight who was preparing to open a portal once again so that the human could be sent back home, except for Celestia who stood at her side. The man in question was in the back of the room conversing in the only way he could with a certain lunar princess who he seemed to have grown close with over his short stay. The music had been silenced and a space cleared near one of the walls away from the festivities for the spell to be performed.

“Are you sure that you can do this, Twilight? It is fine if you cannot I am sure that we would be able to find some other way of getting him back home eventually,” she said to her pupil.

“Of course I can do it Princess, I am still not entirely sure of how this new power that I have been given works, but I know that I definitely have enough magic to pull this off,” she replied as she continued to concentrate on the wall where the portal would be made.

“Yes Tia, you really should have more faith in the mare.” As if no gathering or important event could happen without him, Apollo appeared between the two without warning. Neither even spared him a glance or acknowledged his rude entrance, having long grown bored with his casual waltzing wherever he liked.

“As long as you are sure,” Celestia said in resignation before she turned her attention to the man standing next to her. “Why are you here anyways? Haven’t you done enough already?”

“Believe it or not I do feel awful about some of the things that I have done whether they were needed or not. I came here to lend my special brand of assistance to this little endeavor to make sure that it goes off without a hitch,” he replied curtly.

“I don’t need your help,” Twilight sneered and took a step away.

“Not with opening a portal you most certainly don’t. I can tell that you have easily enough juice to do that. The reason I came was to help you direct where the portal connected to since you may not be nearly as experienced in navigating the channels of the multiverse as myself.” He rubbed his knuckles against his chest in an attempt to play off his boastfulness.

“It is a simple matter of getting the frequency right and the portal will be connected to his realm. It is exactly the same way that it was done the first time,” Twilight replied with a roll of her eyes.

“Oh yes that would give you the right realm for sure. I also assume that you know how to make the portal open exactly where it did before and not in lets say an active volcano, or two hundred feet above the ground, or twenty feet below the ground, or in space.”

Twilight stared back at him for several seconds unable to come up with a reason why she could make sure that none of those things happened. “No I don’t know how to keep that from happening actually,” she said as her head bowed in defeat.

“Buck up my young unicorn friend, that is why I have come to stop something disastrous from happening. I am actually specifically skilled in this area of expertise and can direct a portal to wherever I so choose. Between the two of us I am sure that nothing can possibly go wrong here.” He smiled back down at her and laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

Twilight looked back up at him for several seconds before joining him in smiling. “Thank you for coming to help, Apollo.” Celestia stood near her pupil giving the man in black a very disapproving stare, but was unable to actually raise anything against him. In all her dealings with him he had been at least truthful, and she didn’t have any reason to doubt him now.

“I think that it is about time that we get this underway don’t you think,” Apollo said, motioning for Twilight to begin. She nodded and began to gather energy in her horn that would be used for the spell to come.

That sealed part of her mind where she felt her newfound power lie was opened once again as she accessed the seemingly endless well of energy and directed it outwards. A black sphere appeared against the wall and began to grow ominously as several more black spheres orbited it.

It continued to grow for some time until it was nearly as big as a doorway before the orbiting spheres all coalesced onto its surface. The smaller balls of energy pulled at the large sphere elongating it into a solid circular wall that swirled with the energy that lie just on the other side.

“Okay now just hand over control of the portal, and I will get to directing it,” Apollo said as he stepped over to where Twilight was and motioned for her to do as he asked. She hesitated a moment, but eventually relented and handed him control of the spell. The change was immediate and the black portal, which held a tinge of purple at its border instantly lit with green flame around it.

“What was that?” Twilight asked as her portal took an unnatural change.

“It is just my own brand of magic taking a hold of the spell. It will take me some time to completely trace the previous path that this spell took and establish the link. I would suggest that you take this time to say goodbye to your friend over there,” he said motioning to the group with his chin since both his hands were taken up by holding onto the spell before him, alight with a green fire that match the color that surrounded the portal.

Twilight looked between Apollo and her friends for a moment before deciding to take him up on his advice and say her goodbyes. She walked over to the group that had been watching the two and made her way over to the mute human that she had come to know over that last couple of days.

“So I guess this is it,” she said to him with a shrug. He arched an eyebrow at her and shrugged as well.

Twilight sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. She had come to expect frustrations from this human, but right now she had important things to say. “I know we didn’t always get along, but I have come to see you as a true friend. I am sorry that I brought you into this mess in the first place, and nearly trapped you here with no way to return home. My thirst for knowledge got ahead of me, and I cast that spell without really thinking. Can you ever forgive me for doing something so stupid?” she asked with tears in her eyes.

He continued to look down at her for several more moment before he smiled and did something no one truly expected of him. He bent down and gave the purple mare a hug. Twilight was momentarily stunned by his actions but quickly returned the gesture in earnest. The two embraced for a moment before the sound of something incredibly loud tearing behind Twilight brought her back to reality.

The lighting in the room had taken on an eerily green tone, and immediately she looked to its source. Apollo stood before the portal, which was now looking upon a swirling mass of green energy with his hands spread wide in triumph and the energy the portal was giving off blowing back his hair. Twilight could sense that he had done something wrong, and the spell had been altered far beyond its original intended purpose.

She jumped away from where she had been and raced towards Apollo who was definitely not doing what he said he would. She was stopped short as she ran face first into a shield that protected the god from her, and brought her to a slightly painful stop. She prodded the shield with a hoof and was met with a zap of electricity warning her away before she started to fire some weak magical bolts at it in hopes of bringing it down. Her magical attacks did nothing as the shield simply ate them, causing them to disappear entirely.

“What are you doing?” Twilight shouted through the rising wind the swept through the room.

He didn’t look back at her, instead keeping his attention focused on the portal in front of him. “I am sorry about this Twilight, I truly am.” Were his only words as the light coming from the portal began to brighten rapidly. Soon the light was too much for anyone to stand and they had to shield their eyes to keep from being blinded. As the light finished its crescendo it suddenly ceased. Twilight chanced a look at what was going on in front of her to only be met by a massive explosion-taking place on the other side of the room.

The explosion rocked the very foundations of the castle, but everyone was protected by the shield and unharmed as the entirety of the other side of the room was blown away. Dust shrouded the air as the shield continued to hold and left the room beyond it completely obscured.

“Is everypony okay?” Twilight called back to her friends that still stood behind her. Some of them had been rattled by the blast, but were picking themselves up off the ground not looking any worse for wear.

“Ah’ think we’re alright, Twi. What was that all about?” Applejack asked as she helped Rarity up. Pinkie Pie was bemoaning the fate of her pastries while Celestia and Luna looked at the barrier that bisected the room like it was a serpent about to strike. Fluttershy was fussing over their human friend that was collapsed against the back wall seemingly unconscious.

“I have no idea,” Twilight replied honestly. “I think he did something to…” she was cut off as the shield that had separated the room fell, allowing the dust to billow out of its small space and clear the air. The air coming from that portion of the room was hot and laden with unused magic that Twilight could practically taste in the air. After a few moments a figure began to take shape through the rapidly dispersing dirt in the air. No not one figure, but two.

Apollo stood where the portal had just been smiling down at the silver haired woman he was holding in his arms. She was just a slight bit shorter than he was, and looked to only be half conscious as she stood almost collapsed against his chest. No one in the room dared move a muscle as they tried to process what was going on in front of them.

“Impossible,” Celestia said in a whisper, but was still heard by all around since everything was so deadly quiet. The hoofsteps of guards could be heard outside the door as they raced through the castle to where everything was happening.

Apollo never losing his smile reached into his jacket pocket with his only free hand, and retrieved a small item that the small amount of dust that was still in the air obscured. He brought it out before him and leveled it at the group that was gathered on the other side of the half destroyed room allowing them to see what looked like a simple rock. Only Luna recognized it for what it really was as he opened his mouth, and with a smile that suddenly seemed far more sinister, he spoke a single word.

“Bang.”

Author's Note:

And so ends the first act of The Day It Began. Sorry that it took so insanely long for me to finally get around to finishing this chapter, but i have been super sidetracked recently. What will the future have in store for our heroes only I know, but I think that everyone will like. Or at least I hope they will. The beginning of act two shouldn't take nearly as long to get around to as this chapter did, but only time will tell.

Comments

[Shader]

Chekhov's Gun?

Chekhov's Gun.

[Zarek]

97k words...

First act, eh? Seems legit. I look forward to more!

[banjo2E]

...did he really just use the Rock of Destiny in the center of Canterlot?

Against everyone he's been working with up until this point?

Is everyone a bastard in this story?

[Dyon]

2118533
Reasons for everything. Always have to have reasons.

[Menelaus Redz]

...

Well FINALLY the Rock of Destiny comes into play. I would have been quite upset if that little guy didn't have a role to play.

Awesome ending. Some might say that it ends with a bang.

Wait that was just act ONE?! Oh ho, I eagerly await the start of the next act.

[Shadow-Dancer]

2118533 poor human stuck in the middle of all this