The Ripple Was a Tidal Wave

by Lawrin

0. Drop

The grandfather clock in the vast library chimed twelve times. Twilight Velvet jumped in her seat, letting the small amulet she was enchanting fall on the desk, and looked up. It was indeed the witching hour already. She was suddenly aware of the ringing silence. The thick darkness enveloped her despite the valiant battle the elegant candles delivered. Velvet laughed to herself as she wondered just how long it had been since the last time she could concentrate without interruption.

Since the birth of her daughter last year, probably.

With her magic, the mare picked up the amulet to admire Night Light and her's strong, intricate magical work. It was a star-shaped, midnight blue gem with a pulsing lavender-pink core. Just like her beautiful daughter's mane. A warm feeling bubbled in her chest as she felt the magic and love her husband had woven into the jewel on the night of the new moon. Tomorrow, she would finish the enchantment on the night of full moon and, the day after, on Twilight's birthday, they would bless their beloved child. Then, Twilight could finally be a part of the clan too.

She smile beatifically as Velvet recalled how Shining overflowed with enthusiasm and anticipation. He was probably the most excited for his sister's initiation to the House of Lights. The colt's love for his sister had never dimmed the slightest, even when Twilight would wake the household up, late at night, with her cacophonous cries. Velvet pressed the gem on her chest, close to her heart, and slid it back into the light lilac pouch. The mare rose from the chair and stretched to work out her kinks, feeling the ever so satisfying cracks in her lower back. She blew the candles and exited the library.

She had intended to return to her own bedroom. Instead, she decided to check on Twilight first despite her exhaustion. Her motherly habits screamed at her to make sure of her daughter's safety. Velvet lit her horn. She climbed down the stairs leading to the second floor. She was humming a lullaby, when, once again, she noticed how silent the whole house was. The only sounds audible were the creaks and groans of the old wooden floor produced under her hooves.

Normally, her daughter would be screaming on the top of her lungs. She would be attended by Night Light and, occasionally, by Shining Armour. Fortunately, the young ones seemed to have spent all their energy during the day because neither her husband nor Velvet would've had the strength to take care of them. Twilight's birth took a toll on their total hours of sleep after all.

When Twilight Velvet had returned from the Advanced Magical Research and Learning Institute earlier in the day, Night Light had pulled her aside and spent over an hour recounting the event that had transpired during her absence. Apparently, their daughter–who had become hers during the conversation–had shattered all the windows with a mighty wail and promptly teleported away. Every time he had spotted her, she just magicked herself away again. Even as he had enrolled Shining, they had only caught the little one when Twilight had tired herself too much and went back to her crib to sleep.

Only a tiny part in the back of her head had voiced disapproval when she had heard the story. Velvet had felt an overwhelming pride at the phenomenal quantity of raw magic her baby possessed. She had known that Night Light had also been proud but felt the need to act sternly to provide a serious role-model for their children. She had decided not to ruin it for him.

Twilight Velvet arrived in front of a dark blue door and opened it, beaming widely. The smile disappeared as she froze. She felt ice spreading in the pit of her stomach. The silent ringing in her ears became more and more acute. Her knees buckled under her weight and fell painfully to the ground. She would have given anything for the sight in front of her to be a illusory image, a painting, or anything except real.

The pale moonlight gently illuminated the centre of the room with a bluish tint. The open windows let the wind blow through and the curtains swayed lightly at the rhythm of the breeze. In the middle of the room, the crib rocked peacefully. Tiny sections of magical strings woven into the dark blue carpet shimmered like stars in the night sky.

The scene was wrong, wrong, wrong. Velvet knew for a fact she had closed the windows before kissing her daughter goodnight. She knew she had set up a a crystal mobile, which laid broken on the floor. And the worst of all, the crib was empty.

She felt her throat tighten until she could no longer breath and her heart thudded violently against her chest. Her eyes widened as her mouth dropped open. Bile threatened to rise up and the most horrified, bloodcurdling scream reached her ear. She had screamed, she realized.

Twilight Velvet fainted.

~~~

Emperor Glaurensúrg rubbed his temples wearily and sighed. Deeply... The sunlight filtered through the wide gaps between the tall pillars carved from white stones. The Hall of Elements remained beautiful throughout the centuries, even when exposed to nature's volatile temperament, with its white marble flooring and gargantuan statues of the dragons' most illustrious ancestors.

Seated on his throne, the Dragon Lord listened to one of his officers' report. Earlier, at the first light of the day, a cloaked intruder had stumbled upon their maritime borders, carrying a small package. When the guards had asked it to go through the local authorities with them for accidental trespassing, the creature shouted loudly and incomprehensibly. Then, it charged. Using the element of surprise, it had attacked and almost killed two guards. The aggressor had been executed on site.

"The intruder and the package smelt like Equestria. The main characteristics of the creature were its front body of an eagle and their end of a lion."

The emperor groaned internally as his subject continued to blabber on. He immediately recognized the description of the creature – a griffon – from the ancient texts he used to read obsessively. He also remembered that Equestria had hosted a small community of griffon in the south of the country, centuries ago. It probably still did, Glaurensúrg wouldn't know.

Over thousands of moons had passed since the last time Equestria and the Dragon Empire had maintained some semblance of a diplomatic relationship. Two centuries ago, a foolish tyrant had attempted to invade the land of ponies despite the peace treaty between the two countries. He had tasted the terrifying rage of the Sun Princess while he burnt to death. In the aftermath, the dragons, with none to govern them and terrified of the princess, had closed up all their borders to reorganize their inner structure. They had never reestablish their casual partnership.

Of course, the Dragon Lord hadn't done anything which might be considered too foolish or immoral during his rule. He was, however, still terrified of the gigantic flying white horse with a mane of rainbow coloured fire the legends had described. The last thing he needed was to let her know they might have killed one of her beloved subjects, no matter grow reasonable she might turn out to be. He simply didn't want to risk it.

"Also, it would seem like the package was a pony foal."

Great, just great. The emperor could feel himself loosing the rigidity of his position and sighed again. There was definitely no way to better the situation anymore; he might as well face it. He waved his hand vaguely.

"Bring it to me then."

~~~

The heavy air crackled. Dark storm clouds covered the sky sinisterly. Suddenly, a streak of light ripped the heavens apart. The rain poured down just as brusquely. It was as if the thunder tore down a dam.

At the mountain top, there was a small village filled with collapsing stone buildings. Most lacked the impermeable straws which composed their roofs. Amongst them, the dingiest was covered in graffitis with insults written around and bore the marks of repeated rock strikes. The rain slowly washed away the paint.

Inside, Guillaume was singing an old folk song to his beloved granddaughter. It was a story of a great hero who crossed the oceans, the deserts and the grassy plains to prove his worth and gain riches. Silently, he revelled in the sight of his little treasure cradled to his chest, snoring lightly.

He didn't stop singing but he could feel the magic in the air shifting and twisting. Something immense was coming and he knew it. No matter how delusional and crazy the other griffons thought he was, Guillaume knew he was right and had always been. The actions of a certain creature were going to be the catalyst to an event on a scale that possibly no one had ever witnessed. The brewing storm will be much, much worse than the one flooding Griffonstone at the moment.

Guillaume bent his neck to kiss his granddaughter's forehead. Quietly, the knowledge of the best course of action, the best way to protect her, slid to the front of his mind.

"My dear little Gilda, how about we go live with your great aunt in Equestria?"

Author's Note:

Hello, dear reader! Thank you for clicking on my story I hope you liked it. Constructive criticism are really welcome so please don't be shy :3
This story is inspired by Twilight: The Dragon Sorceress. I fell in love with the idea but was personally disappointed by the direction the author steered in (not that there is anything wrong with it), which is why I am writing my own fanfiction. I borrowed a few elements from the first chapters of T:TDS. I hope this is not considered plagiarism, copyright infringement or anything in-between

Comments

[Luna Aeterna Solutae]

NEAT

[Grekoy]

You did told the author about this right? Just incase there won't be any misunderstanding.

[Lawrin]

7150732
I did and they were really cool about it

[Grekoy]

7150816 good to know. There are times when someone thinks its a great idea to steal someone else's work or create a piece of work that looks just like another's without realizing it.

[ExoDemonG]

First off: (press the like, fav, and track botton)
Second: fantastic start, I wish I thought of this when I was writing, oh well can't wait to see what happens next.

[Greatazuredragon]

A little too soon to tell, but a very good intro.
Well done.

[Satto Kez]

Well you have my attention for this (hopefully) grand story!
And grand it looks indeed!
Hope to spot updates for this soon!

[SquidFace]

Looking good so far! Your writing feels solid and the setup is good!

Im also reading the Twilight: The Dragon Sorceress story, and have a few pointers on it as well. Will be really interesting in what direction you take your story. Looking forward to it!

Keep up the good work!
cheers!

[Lawrin]

7160165
Umm... Gilda's mom is not presented in this story Since this was only the prologue, I simply established the context of the story and how the the plot points relate to one another. The main characters come after.
Also, thanks for the congratulation

[Yurtus]

7160225

Guilliaum is the name of Gildas caretaker.
The name is a variation of the english name William