Prophet
Princess Celestia swept down the stairs of the deepest, darkest dungeon in Canterlot’s Royal Castle. Flanked by two guards, both armed with batons, she clip-clopped down the winding staircases. They passed more than a few prisoners that tried to make grabs for her feathers, each getting shocked into submission. Forms were signed, passwords were exchanged, and locks were undone.
“Nice to see you, Princess,” said the final guardian of the ‘elite’ cells. The ‘F’ block held but one prisoner, and needed several keys to unseal. Leaning gingerly, the white alicorn allowed her crown to be plucked off of her head by the jail-keeper. The muscled pegasus stallion turned, pressing the rising towers of the headpiece into a series of slots. No other crown would do, only hers. The gears began to turn, and a steel door several inches thick began to slide to one side. “Be safe,” he said gruffily, returning her crown with great reverence.
“Thank you,” Celestia murmured. “I’ll go alone from here, gentlecolts. Please be comfortable until I return,” she bade. Her two guards nodded, and the jailer gestured toward a rickety table and a dusty old set of cards. They nodded their thanks as the Princess vanished slowly beyond the threshold into the darkest deep.
Taking a firefly lantern from a waiting hook, the alicorn walked the narrow path. The tunnel wormed about, into the very heart of Mount Canterlot. Taking a deep breath, Celestia paused at the final door and lifted a hoof. She knocked three times.
“Come in, Celestia,” a soft voice said. “You’re earlier than you expected. I’m sorry you didn’t sit to enjoy the whole opera because of me. You normally really enjoy music.” It was a statement, not a question.
Celestia’s neutral frown softened a bit, and she sighed. The alicorn didn’t question why it knew how her evening had gone. Turning the knob and opening the polished wooden door, she emerged into the cell. “Good evening,” Celestia said. “I’ve come to ask—”
“Questions, questions, always questions.” said a creature sitting in the corner. There were no windows for light, but a few perched candles and a grated hearth were enough to light the room lightly. “How about you ask how my day went now and then, huhm?” It rose to its impressive height, turning towards Celestia with a rather bitter smirk. The Princess wasn’t used to being eye to eye with anypony, but it was an exception.
“How was your day?” Celestia asked, sitting when it gestured for her.
“Well I’ve been in a dungeon all day, you see. So not much going on. Heh!” it coughed twice, then leaned on an old bookshelf. “But where are my manners, I’m in the presence of royalty!” It walked forward quickly and easily, bending at the waist to bow. Bizarre for a creature with such tender feet and posture. (That was how they’d captured it, it couldn’t walk across a gravel road without injuring itself!) “You only visit when you want something, so let’s hear it.” It sat across from her, half-orange and half-black because of the firelight.
“One of your prophecies came to pass yesterday,” Celestia said wearily.
“I know,” it said, “But for the sake of having someone to talk to, why don’t you tell me about it.” It reached intrusively, stroking Celestia’s mane. The Princess fought a shudder, but did not move. The ugly thing seemed to find an inner peace when petting somepony. She’d even sent braver soldiers in to visit it, so it could pet them and remain calm. Well, calm and sane. Each stallion or mare came back rattled and was forced to sign a non-disclosure contract. Some under pain of gelding or permenant memory-wiping. The things it would tell them sometimes! Horrors!
“A purple little unicorn filly conjured a dragon out of its egg for her academy entrance exam,” Celestia said. “But her magic swirled out of control and it grew enormous. Purple and green… greatly deformed, just like you said.”
“Mhm?” The creature nodded, still running its intrusive fingers through her ever-flowing mane. “Twilight Twinkle, er, Sparkle,” it seemed to be confirming things to itself. “Anything else you’d like to tell me?”
“I’m worried,” Celestia confessed a bit, cocking her head when two fingers pinched one of her ears and rubbed coarsely at the fur on either side of it.
“Of course you are. You’re a ruler,” it said with a snort. “There’s a lot of big stuff coming up in the next fifteen years or so.”
“Will Luna ever return? Surely my spell won’t last forever, even augmented by the Elements of Harmony?” Celestia blurted before she could stop herself. “Is that what Twilight is going to do? Bring my sister back? It’s been almost a thousand years!”
“To know the future is to change it,” it paused for a moment, then chuckled darkly, “My little pony.” Celestia frowned at its cryptic answers, shuffling her wings about to push the stroking hand away.
“Will you tell me nothing else?” Celestia asked softly. “If you say Twilight is to be the tipping point of Equestria’s history, for good or ill, I must know more!”
“Twilight will be the most important thing that has ever happened to your little ten-town nation,” it said mysteriously. “If I told you everything, that would ruin the fun of finding it all out.”
“You’re worse than Discord.”
“Oh please, if I was worse than him we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” it stood, gesturing to the thick door and the tunnel beyond. “You wouldn’t even have a sister if I’d had my way. You’d have been Queen Celestia!”
“Don’t say such things! I love my sister!” Celestia snapped, jumping to her hooves. She quickly caught herself and winced, for the red-maned monster laughed at her. Taking a deep breath and collecting herself, she sighed. “What will you tell me, then?”
“What makes you think I have anything to say?”
“Why would I be here if I didn’t have questions for you to answer?”
“What makes you think I’ll answer them?”
“I came for a reason and you know what it is. Don’t talk paradoxes at me.”
“I’ll talk all I want, it’s all I’m allowed to do anymore,” it gestured miserably to its surroundings. The fluffy cot sat in a lonely corner, and the tally-marks on the wall were like a twisted maze that covered the whole far wall. The bookshelf and the art supplies were all it really had down here. Much more than that was too dangerous. IT was too dangerous.
Celestia sat in silence for a long time, waiting for the eventual set of demands to come about. Prophecy, even from a prisoner like it, was not free. Sure, she could starve the creature, have it tortured for information or something of that ilk… but it was not Celestia’s way. Imprisonment, yes, but not harm. There was a line. “So, what’ll you give me?” it said rudely, leaning on the hearth and folding its arms at her.
“What do you want, aside from your freedom?” Celestia made sure to amend the question.
“How about a cell with a window?” it said. “It might be nice to see the sun now and then. Feel the breeze. Hear ponies singing.” It stared at one of the blank walls, turning to touch it and stroke the cold stone. “It’s so lonely down here…” it whispered.
“You know I can’t. You’re very dangerous. Too dangerous to move to another location without magic.” Celestia said. “What else?”
“How about a playmate?” it said innocently. Celestia made a face. “Not like that you pervert,” it groaned. “Send a soldier in to play checkers, or talk, or even just look at me. A deaf-mute would be good company at this point.”
“And condemn a pony to a life of secrecy and non-existence?”
“You’ve done it before,” it said savagely. “With Sombra. And Princess Luna. None of your little ponies know Nightmare Moon was your sister. Or that you even have a sister. You let her pass into myth so ponies wouldn’t worry about you doing such things to THEM—given you did it to your own flesh and blood. You do like your thousand-year prison sentences, don’t you?”
Celestia went hot in the face, but had no biting comeback. Her patience was starting to run out. Then a scarlet line of realization went across her mind. “Luna will have been gone one thousand years… fifteen years from now.” Celestia smirked a bit. “Thank you for the hint! My sister’s return is imminent—and I would wager it’s because of Twilight Sparkle!”
The creature scowled at her angrily, not having meant to drop such information for the princess. “Touche,” it admitted softly, flipping its scarlet mane with a grump to not look at her. Celestia smiled despite herself. The verbal fencing was nothing if not revealing sometimes. “What else do you want to know?”
Celestia stood and went over it, leaning gingerly into its line of sight, “What else would you give me for free? We were negotiating for something else, I believe.” It refused to look at her, having lost this particular round of arguing. Celestia batted her eyes and it flicked her on the nose sharply. “Owch!”
“You’re cute, but not that cute,” it said bitterly, turning from her. “If you’re going to keep me here forever, you could at the very least send me a friend now and then. Friendship is magic, after all.” It gave a short, hollow laugh.
“I agree, but I’m afraid of what you might tell them.”
“You want to put tape over my mouth?”
“I wouldn’t want to hurt you.”
“You are hurting me!” it snapped. “I haven’t seen the sun in years! I’ve not had meat to eat in ages! I’m lonely and pissed off and you won’t give an inch!” it shouted angrily, turning and thrusting a finger into her nose. Celestia back-peddled a little. “You want to know the future, Celestia?! Fine!” It came forward and grabbed the alicorn by the mane. Celestia shrieked, an arc of magic firing wildly from her horn. It bounced off the prisoner like rubber, striking the ceiling and sending a few stones to rain to the floor with the sound of a gunshot. Hoof-steps came galloping up the hallway, shouts and cursing echoing up the passage. The prisoner pulled Celestia forcefully to her knees, making her shriek like a feral horse. Through clenched teeth it whispered to her, “You will be struck down, in a sheer show of power, at a wedding. In front of everypony that loves and respects you. Struck. Down.”
Ice pumped through Celestia’s veins as her eyes widened. “Wh---what?!” she gaped. She was an alicorn! No force was powerful enough to kill she who brought the dawn! Who could possibly-?! The door crashed open, flying off its hinges as the final guard of the prison block bucked it in.
Two guards-ponies rushed the monster with a shout. It went down hard, crashing into the bookcase behind it. Celestia’s mane was released and books rained all around the creature. It moaned softly, slumping a little and nursing a bruised head.
Celestia was herded out by the three panicked guards, the thick-armored one pulling up the rear and walking backward with his shield. Out, out, out of the accursed hallway they trekked with their Princess. It watched them go, giving the day princess a savage grin as she went. It touched the back of its head to check for blood, and the last it saw of Celestia’s face was a rattled expression of fear.
Outside, the huge metallic door was rushed closed and firmly locked. The guards fussed over Celestia, checking her over for injuries and even hugging her like foals. That had been a close one! “Guard?” the alicorn asked when she finally got her voice back.
“Yes, your highness?” he asked, still panting. “Want me to go in there and punish it?” he begged angrily, gesturing to a round mace that was leaning against the wall. “It should know better than to mare-handle a princess!”
“No, no don’t,” Celestia said, staring down the hallway with a haunted expression. “Reseal the room as per protocol. Have its firewood restocked as well, it’s running low.” She pawed at her abused mane a few times before it caught the ethereal winds again. This seemed to help her gather her dignity. “I’ll be sending you a list of things to bring to the prisoner’s cell.”
“Things?” he asked with a frown.
“We’ll need to replace all of its books with new ones. Replenish its art supplies. Bring it a puzzle or two. Living in such conditions can try one’s sanity, after all,” Celestia took a few more cleansing breathes, finally standing to her full height.
“But it attacked you! Shouldn’t we at least punish it?!” he demanded.
“It’s just restless. You are to double up on your petting time appointments. If nopony volunteers, you are to switch to a draft.” Celestia commanded while one of her two guards touched her cheek a few times with a cool wet rag. “Tell them to bring board games or other safe activities with them from now on. Anypony that refuses their turn will answer to me directly,” she bade.
“Er, yes. Yes, your highness,” the guard bowed low, submissive to the crown and her rather frowny face. Celestia thanked him and returned the firefly lantern to its waiting hook. “See you again soon?” It came out like a question.
“Not for a few months!” shouted the creature from far back in the hallway.
“Quiet, you beast!” he kicked the thick door with his back hoof.
“I’ll see you when the time comes, Lt. Sentry.” Celestia bade the middle-aged stallion with a practiced, feminine smile. “Until then, don’t talk to it anymore.”
“Yes your highness,” he said again, bowing.
Celestia left without another word.
Holy shite! You're back!
this is a great start to this story. i have high hopes for it. Hope to see more soon.
Whooooohoooooo! New Aegis story!
It could do with some tags though, if that's ok
This is very similar in premise to Machinations In The Dark, but I enjoyed what I read so I'll stick around for your rendition of the story.
Have not read it yet, but just by the description it sounds like BaryonBrony's Machinations in the Dark.
Fan of your other stuff so hoping this is just as good as the others.
... well played, prophet. Well played. After all: “To know the future is to change it.”
So, let me guess, it's a human, a brony, that watched the entire show, but somehow got transported to Equestria to the time before the actual show started and now he knows everything that will happen up until the end of Season 4?
Whether I'm right or wrong, it's still an interesting concept. And hey, I'm always excited to read a story from Aegis Shield :D.
This is a good story, but it feels very reminiscent of Machinations in the Dark by Baryon Brony, though Celestia in this universe seems a lot more reasonable with the prisoner. Your stories are usually very good, so I'll still follow this story and see where you take it.
5703892 It reads very similarly as well. I'm skeptical of shenanigans at this point. I don't think Aegis meant to do anything, but it is...odd.
Interesting.
5704134 Doubly so because of the no tags.....
5704140 I actually didn't catch that.
There's an immortal, magic-proof fan of the show in that cage. Might be the author.
Gonna spoiler it, because I think I might be right. I'm pretty sure it's
LauraLauren Faust.The person has red hair, access to art supplies (Which would have been one of the first things she'd have asked for), and "You wouldn’t even have a sister if I’d had my way. You’d have been Queen Celestia!” Laura mentioned at some point that she had wanted Luna to be a throwaway character, and for Celestia to be a Queen and the sole ruler. It was Hasbro that told her to go with Princess, and the popularity of Luna got her screen time and relevance.
And who better to know the lore, history and future of Equestria?
You could say Celestia's making deals with the devil. There was another name for those... Oh, what was that old doctor's name again?
Consider my disbelief suspended... Over a precarious drop.
Am I an old man now? How do these people not recognize the prisoner?
Wow, someone's been reading Baryon Brony's stuff.
5704344
Lauren, not Laura.
5703883
5703892
5704113
5704134
5704426
I've not actually ever heard of or read this story everyone is referencing, but I don't think anyone would believe me if I denied it so meh. There are plenty of stories that share similiar themes in fan fiction. This is just my take on this sort of story, I suppose.
5704552 No you don't understand, you're writing a story where there is a HUMAN in Equestria! That has already been done before! You won't get away with this!
5704552 it's not even that. just on reading the description for both stories, your stories description reads like a summary of Machinations in the Dark's description. Seriously. Not even trying to start anything, go take a read on that description and read yours again. It's really eerie.
5704552
I like the feel of this a little better than Machinations. I'll admit, I thought this was a retread, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with re-visioning a fic. Done it myself. That said, I believe this is a case of polygenesis. I know another author working on a similar story, who has also not read Machinations. I'm not sure why, but it seems this idea got planted in the minds of several authors all at once.
I like how Celestia is feeling so far, I like the human. The petting thing made me giggle, right balance of dark ad silly.
Look forward to the next chapter.
5703978
Or a writer.
"If it was up to me, you'd have been Queen Celestia!"
5704344 Bloody brilliant.
~Crystalline Electrostatic~
*whistles* Featured on first day.
Been done before dude, this doesn't belong.
5704727 huh, makes sense. Though there are some bronies who think that way too...
Wait....
Red-maned... Knows what will happen... Queen Celestia... Is that f*cking Lauren Faust sitting in the dungeons???
This premise sounds ludicrously similar to Machinations in the Dark.
I really have trouble judging this story by itself because I keep comparing it to Machinations...
Sarcasm of this story leaks through my laptop. Its pretty bad-written. I supppose you just trying to go into shape for new achievements, i hope so...
Moar moar, I demand it!
So, how do the guards open the cell to feed/interact with the prisoner if they need Celestia's crown to do so? They just constantly borrowing that thing, or what.
And I see you being a jerk, Lt. Flash Sentry.
Why do they even need a cell door? Just throw some of these down in the hallway:
dickgraybeal.com/i/991155%20intermediate%20trans%20stat.JPG
It's super effective!
Anyway, good start; while similar to that other story, I already see improvements. The first being Celestia isn't a total bitch like she was in Machinations In The Dark, spitting hatred and borderline throwing tantrums. Another bonus is that your human, while probably still going to be a kind of annoying villian, isn't overpowered. Machinations' human had an aura of corruption/rot, rapid healing, super speed, and musical mind-control powers (probably more too).
Now, hopefully, this person won't be walking a contradiction like the other guy. Seriously, in Machinations In The Dark, the sapien, as it's called (pfft), tries to say it's not evil after mutilating a bunch of guards, and bringing Sombra back to life because he apparently owes him (This is like saying someone would have been in the right saving Hitler if they owed the bastard).
Well, good luck and I hope you update soon. It's very hard to tell if this story is going to be any good yet, after all.
Edit
All above predictions are wrong. This story is going in a near complelty different direction than MiD. Conclusion: Coincidence.
Brilliant.
I like how totally not lauren faust acts towards the princess.
5705152 quick the elements of harmony
*insane rainbow light show splitting of human like a prism*
"so was that supposed to do anything ?, anyway twilight would you and fluttershy like to hear how In one future you actions killed and mutilated ponies against your will and helped destroy the whole of equestrian? or how every pony is terrified of you pinkie pie even after your long reduced to a skeleton ?" (fallout equestira!)
Sentry, eh? Red herring, relative, or real deal?
I do think the gravel road capture was a bit silly, but given whom I believe the individual to be I am quite interested. Hmm... the solitude does seem a bit extreme but we don't know what the individual did to earn it. I would hope there is an actual reason for imprisonment. There are already far too many stories of wrongly imprisoned humans, most of them changing Equestria and the characters considerably (and for the worse) to allow such a thing to occur.
Well, technically, almost any mammal that treated their feet like most humans would fare the same. Tough soles are usually developed by continuously walking on bare feet. In about a year, some people are able to walk across broken glass.
So we know our naked human was in Equestria for much less than a year if he had trouble walking across gravel.
5707841 I walked on a rose bush only 2 cuts.
Hmmm, this looks interesting...
I'm sorry, but I can't upvote this. I just can't feel good about a story that makes me despise Celestia.
Okay, that's way worse than just being a despot.
5710294
I see it more as "I did what have to be done". Any ruler have to deal with such situations, and given that ponies can be panicked by stampeding rabbits... a rumor about omniscient magic-immune outwordly creature can cause a nation-wide wave of panic.
5711924 Try not to think of the pony panic as bad - think of it more as "It'll help Darwinian selection."
That's how my grandad taught me to not play with matches. He burned my fingers until I got the idea. And if I failed... hey, he had other grandchildren.
So the prophet is Lauren Faust, right?
A few paragraphs in and the mystery over the prophesier I already solved lol.
People keep comparing this to Machinations but that's not entirely fair. The premise to both is similar and the timing was unfortunate but Celestia's characterization is quite different here, much closer to canon. Also, from what I gathered before reading past the first chapter there's a very important difference between how each of these characters predicting the future, since Lauren isn't so much "predicting" as she is "causing" these events. That alone is pretty huge.
Also, this one seems better written so far, always a plus.
Nuke the planet. It's a mercy.
*cough Nathan cough*
*cough Nathan cough*