Chapter 1: Sweet beginning
It was a silent night, save for the soft sound of hoofs walking on the white floor. But then, this mysterious pony, hidden by the shadow, arrived at his destination, a massive room with an open roof as big as an amphitheater, with only the shining stars as spectators.
Despite its massive size, the room was filled with strange machinery, with the largest being a small tower structure right at the center.
The pony at the balcony overlooking it all raised a hoof, a small translucent and numerical display appeared before it. And then… this hoof simply presses it.
The entire room was soon filled with noise as all the machines were coming back to life, almost like yawning from several millennia of sleep.
A vivid white light was emanating from the tower, becoming brighter and brighter. And when the light attained its paroxysm, the tower expelled it in a giant beam, piercing the sky like a spear, with the clouds running away from it like in fear. And from the beam, a massive shockwave of pure energy dispersed itself across all Equestria.
His deed accomplished, the mysterious pony simply went away at the same rhythm as he had entered. The shadow was covering his face, and the only thing shining was his eyes—ironically showing that his iris lacked any sign of a spark.
‘’It’s done. Now it is only a question of time before it happens. And when it will, all of Equestria will see that its way of life is… nothing more than foolish, childish make-believe. They will see. Soon. Very soon.’’
Chapter 1: Sweet beginning
One month later
Canterlot castle: the throne room
Sweet light was shining through the stained glass, illuminating the room’s blue walls along with the princess’s translucent and chromatic mane. More precisely, Celestia looked to her left, to a little wooden stool with a small, cloth covered object on it. The princess had a smile of excitement that she could barely contain.
‘’I just can't wait to show this discovery to Twilight. Knowing her, I am sure she will barely stay on her hooves over this wonder. The face she will make. Oooh, it will be such a delight to see.’’
Celestia clapped her hooves like an excited little filly while Luna rolled her eyes for this lack of decorum. The way the Princess of the Sun was acting in private was a sharp contrast from her public persona. It was such that Luna often had to be reminded of how... lax her sister had become since her banishment.
That isn’t to say her sister hadn’t been playful or free spirited prior to her banishment, but it seemed now she was more willing to let her professional mask slip. It was quite jarring
Yet, in spite of this, Luna wasn’t so set in her ways she wouldn’t admit that this carefree attitude was starting to rub off on her. Whether it was a bad influence or not, she was still questioning that. But she found that her big sister was especially enthusiastic today and...knowing the reason, she could hardly blame her.
‘’Do not exaggerate, sister. She is impressed by everything you do and say.’’
‘’Oh, I’m fully aware of that, but this time, it will be different. When I will reveal all I have in store for her, she will be beyond captivated.’’
‘’Well, knowing her, that's actually what worries me. Though on that note, sister, isn’t it about time to start?’’
‘’Hum. Guard, could you please tell us the time?’’
She spoke to the lone, white, earth pony guard with golden armor stationed at the front of the door. At this demand, he grabbed a pocket watch from somewhere in his armor and opened it.
‘’It is exactly 2:03, your majesty.’’
‘’Wait, Twilight is three minutes late! Usually, she is always so obsessed with punctuality… oh! Oh dear...this could be bad. Guard, you really should stay away from the door.’’
The odd statement left the guard perplexed.
‘’Huh! Why is that?’’
‘’Because I hope—"
She could not finish because the double door burst itself open with great force, slamming against the wall and smashing the unfortunate guard with the right one. All he could do was scream a simple *gyah*. And the culprit was, of course, Twilight, jumping through the opening, sliding on the floor and braking with style despite a hint of belabored breathing.
The light from the stained glass was bathing the Princess of Friendship, giving a bright gleam to her beautiful purple coat. As she was flapping wide open her wings and letting her mane fly, it was like all the spectrums of light were dancing around her. And as she opened her eyes filled with a sense of commitment, she announced:
‘’Your faithful student Twilight Sparkle ready for duty.’’
Annnd ruined everything the next second by letting her panic go free and going into a nervous rant.
‘’Sorry, sorry, Princess Celestia for being tardy. I was on my way here when I saw some decorations that were not perfectly symmetrical, so I made some adjustments, but then some of your staff complained that I was ruining running their 'supposed' hard work, so I had to made a lecture about the fool-proof method established by Harmonious Assemblage and the benefits that symmetry has on the psyche which in-turn had lead to a raging debate *inhaleeeeeee* and I was so caught up that I did not see the time passing, but you know how it is. Actually, no, you probably don't. Please forgive me, forgive me.’’
‘’… … hoped that this tragedy didn’t happen.’’
‘’Ghaaaaaaaah!!!’’
The eyes of Twilight became the most apologetic in the world, and her jaw nearly dropped to the floor for how ashamed she was.
‘’Huh! Oh no, no no no, I am not talking about you, Twilight, but about this, ummm…’’
Rather than speak further, Celestia simply pointed her hoof behind Twilight. The young alicorn turned around and saw the right door moving slowly by itself, revealing the poor guard flattened against the visibly cracked wall. Said pony looked both dazed and irritated, not helped by his dented and dirtied armor. Realizing immediately what she had done, the pony princess all but teleported to the guard’s side, practically pleading for forgiveness.
‘’GYAAAAA! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were there, believe me, it's not in my habit to slam doors on a pony.’’
The guard didn’t look especially convinced.
‘’Oh. Well, I am delighted that your first time was so successful.’’
She was trying to take him off the wall with her magic. But since he didn’t move, she then tried to give more oomph to her spell. Sadly she greatly underestimated her strength, practically ripping him off the stone wall, resulting in him immediately falling flat on his face.
‘’Ow,!” The guard managed to mutter with his snout still planted on the tiled floor.
“*sigh* Take a job as a royal guard, my wife said. Equestria is so peaceful, there’s no job easier than that, she said.’’
Celestia was quick to help the guard to his feet with her magic, conjuring a brush and duster to help clean him up somewhat, before lightly bowing her head.
“I do apologize again for my student. Despite her experience and age, she still has some difficulty controlling her excitement and enthusiasm for knowledge and duty.”
The guard made no comment, seemingly accepting the apology with a slight nod, yet kept an intense gaze on the purple princess, who shrunk under his gaze.
Twilight, still visibly embarrassed by her misstep, tried to shake off the matter and turned her attention back to her mentor.
‘’Greeting Princess Celestia, Princess Luna. It's good to see you.’’
‘’The same is true for us. It's always a pleasure to see my most prized student and dear friend.’’ Luna offered a simple smile and nod along with her sister, conveying a similar sentiment.
‘’So Princess Celestia, why’d you call me? When Spike gave me your letter asking me to come, I immediately thought it was another of your assignments. So what is it this time? An internal political problem? A diplomatic mission to another country? Or maybe another friendship lesson?’’
‘’I do have an assignment for you,” Celestia said somewhat firmly. “However, this time it has nothing to do with friendship.’’
That caused Twilight’s eyes to widen considerably. “It’s not a friendship problem!’’
‘No Twilight, in truth I did not summon you here as a Princess of Friendship. Rather I called you here with regards to a magical matter and your expertise on that subject.”
‘’Wait, what! Princess, you need help with magic!’’
“Of course,” Celestia said, showing no embarrassment over such a proclamation. “I’ll admit I have a fair amount of confidence in my knowledge on magic, but even I’m willing to admit when somepony surprasses me. Admittedly, I could’ve conveyed the details more clearly in my letter but I wanted to make it a surprise. But first, I need to explain to you all the situation. Are you ready, Luna?’’
‘’Ready when you are.’’
The two princesses charged their horns with magic and combined their might into one big spell. The entire room went dark, then an blue and translucent light formed on the roof, like a beautiful aurora. The brilliant light shifted into a dive to the floor, creating a single image… a map of all Equestria.
The sight of said beautiful magical projection left Twilight positively floored.
‘’Amazing. Simply amazing. A magical virtual projection. And of all Equestria. It’s even more detailed then the Cutie Map.’’
‘’This will help us to better explain the… strange phenomenon that had happened recently.’’ Celestia spoke, far more serious than at the start, pointing her horn towards the map.
From the projection appears a pillar of light, flying straight to the sky for then changing itself in a shockwave which went flying above all the map.
‘’It was exactly one month ago that a mysterious pillar made of pure magical energy suddenly appeared. We at this moment don’t know it’s purpose, however it has begun releasing magical shockwaves that’ve been felt throughout Equestria.’’
Twilight had a sudden look of realization. ‘’Now that you mention it, I remember hearing some talk about these pillars recently. Plenty of ponies have formed their own theories about what exactly they are. And unfortunately not all of them are exactly sensible. The media dub this phenomenon 'the extraordinary, bright, and mysterious light,.’ and talked about it being some kind of alien attack."
At the mention of the title, Luna looked less than impressed. “‘’Se... seriously! What newspapers would print such a mouthful of title?’’
‘’Hmmm, the Foal Free Press.’’
Twilight’s answer only left the Princess of the Night stumped. “Isn’t that the ponyville school paper? Wait, you are reading a school paper!” Twilight’s fur turned a nice shade of pink at the response.
“I mean, yes, but they actually do produce some quality stories. All of Ponyville reads the FFP.’’
Again Princess Luna didn’t know what exactly to make of such a thing, only for Celestia to get everypony back on track with a light cough.
‘’Ponyville’s choice in publishing aside, the shockwave seems to produce an effect similar to Rainbow Dash’s Sonic Rainboom. The difference is that its reach was far greater, but paradoxically, the magical energy was too dispersed to have any noticeable effects on the landscape. Only highly attuned magical beings such as we alicorns could have felt it, and again, it was only for barely one moment. Even then, I was only able to detect it since I’m awake during the night. Naturally we spent the next day checking to see if there were any negative effects across Equestria, but outside of some mild panic at what many now see as a simple light show, nothing seem to come of it.’’
Taking a moment to let all that was said sink in, Celestia noted how Twilight’s eyes still focused on the map, though this time it wasn’t out of surprise for its contents.
‘’Twilight, did you happen to see this pillar of light, or perhaps sense anything unusual about it?’’
‘’Huuummm…
FLASHBACK: a month ago; Twilight bedroom
Twilight was sound asleep, lightly snoring and in her bed, making light snoring and smiling, enjoying a particularly pleasant dream. Sadly a rather bright light brought the dream to an abrupt end, practically filling the entire room with it’s glow. This awoke Twilight… who immediately threw a cushion at the closed window.
‘’Ugh, is Pinkie throwing another all night party?” Twilight’s head barely came up enough to glance at the window, before using her magic to shut the blinds as tightly as possible.
Her room sufficiently darkened again, Twilight’s head immediately returned to her pillow, smile returning. “Too tired. I yell at Pinkie in the morning.”
And in a matter of seconds, her snoring resumed while the light only peered ever so slightly at the very bottom of the curtains.
‘’Aaah, so that what it was.’’
‘’You'd say some something?’’
‘’Huh! Oh no no no, nothing.’’
And she punctuated that statement with a big embarrassed smile, sweat dripping all across her face. The sight was suspect to the two Princesses, but neither decided to broach the subject further.
‘’Let us come back at the subject at hoof, my dear student.’’
With a flick of her horn, Celestia rewound the scene of the pillar to when it emerged before pausing the scene. In mere moments, the image quickly zoomed in on what appeared to be a large mountain.
“While we couldn’t identify the source of the Pillar, we were at least able to easily pinpoint its location. Mount Heaven. Ages prior it was an active volcano that thankfully has since gone silent from even before our birth”
The image on the map shifted its focus to the base of the mountain, revealing a small settlement near the rock.
“Currently, there is a small town on the outskirts of this mountain called Happy Town. It’s a rather small, rustic village not so different from Ponyville.”
Luna, having been silent for much of the start, opted to chim in. “Once we learned the location we dispatched a team to investigate the area. They discovered a series of old tunnels within the mountain and upon further inspection they discovered something... unbelievable”.
“What did you find?” Twilight asked, looking both curious and a bit scared at the possible answer.
‘’Ruins, Twilight. Ruins of an ancient civilization far older than all we could imagine.’’
‘’... ... What… WHAAAAAAT!’’
‘’Yes. The team found structures made of material as white as ivory formed in an architecture style unlike anything seen before. When the squad reported this to me, I knew that it could be a major discovery in history and that I must send specialists. So, I asked for the service of a team of archeologists, and I gave them the best of the best leader I could find, Daring Do.’’
At the mention of the famed adventurer Twilight was again struck with surprise. “Wait, Princess, you know Daring Do? You know she’s real?”
Celestia actually beamed somewhat with pride at the question. “I will concede I was made privy to that information and Miss Yearling has provided some invaluable services to Equestria in the past. It’s unfortunate, but our country has a history of leaving rather dangerous artifacts out for anypony or creature to steal. Thus I provide her with the necessary funding and directions, she recovers the relics and ensures they stay out of the wrong hoofs. Though.”
A floating copy of one of the Daring Do adventures came into view next to Celestia. “Ever since she started publishing her adventures, she hasn’t needed nearly as much royal funding as before.”
‘’Wait, sister, she writes novels!?” Luna inquired as she eyed the book with a look of familiarity. “Odd, I presumed she was merely writing a series of autobiographies.’’
“I suppose in a sense she technically is, but we should try to keep such matters private,” Celestia said as she placed the book on a nearby shelf. “She already takes more than enough steps to keep her editors in the dark and I’d rather not make her work more complicated. Now as to the matter at hoof, as expected Ms. Yearling was all too eager to accept the task and began her expedition some time ago.”
FLASHBACK: a month ago; the inside of Mount Heaven
Clad in her classic green cargo vest and pith helmet, A.K. Yearling, aka Daring Do, traveled carefully within the vast caverns of the mountain, a trio of additional explorer ponies behind her. Already the team was thoroughly engrossed in the mission having made a crucial discovery.
Originally they had presumed the cavern they’d entered as simply that, a natural cave that resulted from rock formation and erosion. However, as they went further in they discovered to their surprise the walls appeared to be pony made, being too well polished, with several old tools found on the floor. Needless to say the prospect of a potential new discovery had left the group all too eager to continue, though Daring Do remained cautious, a benefit of years of experience in such places.
This experience in turn proved valuable as she came to a halt, her team stopping as well, finding themselves faced with an all too familiar scenario. Namely a large, seemingly bottomless chasm, with a single, rather flimsy bridge as the only means of crossing. The sight left the veteran explorer sighing and blowing strands of her mane out of her eyes.
“A rickety bridge over a pit? Even for my books this would be cliche. I mean at least fill it with some giant snakes, or fire, or something.”
Turning to her crew who eyed the bridge with more than a bit of paranoia, left Daring only to sigh harder. “Really wishing it was just me or even Rainbow on this. Least then we could just fly over this.”
Putting her thoughts aside and adjusting her helmet, Daring advanced to the bridge. “I’ll go first and make sure it’s safe. Until I’m sure it’s clear, stay here okay.”
Her companions all nodded eagerly, looks of relief evident. True they were archeologists like her and lived for this sort of thing, they lacked her more hoofs on approach to the art.
So, her path ready, Daring stepped onto the bridge on high alert for the slightest noise or loss of footing. Of course, while she remained cautious she stayed relatively relaxed, knowing if she needed to she could simply use her wings to avoid a gruesome demise.
Thankfully for all those involved nothing serious occured, as despite a few creaks here and there, the bridge held fine. In mere seconds she was on the other edge, no worse for wear. Yet, in spite of the ease, she couldn’t help but eye the bridge suspiciously, feeling a slight moment of dread.
Concerned, she tapped her hoof against the nearest plank several times, receiving no reaction despite increasing the force with each tap. Still not satisfied, she again stepped on the bridge and opted to actually jump up and down several times, shaking the bridge somewhat yet it still remained held strong.
‘’HuUm… hum, miss Daring Do,” One of the assistants muttered, getting the writer ponies’s attention. “I... I’m pretty sure that this bridge is safe and solid.’’
Turning slightly red with embarrassment, Daring quietly returned to the end of the bridge, eyes refusing to look in her comrades direction. “Eh, yes, it would seem it’s quite sturdy. Just kind of surprising is all. I mean a bridge that doesn’t collapse! That's the very first time that’s ever happened. Lucky us huh?”
With any danger firmly dispelled, the others quickly crossed the bridge and the team pushed forward towards the next tunnel.
At the end of the tunnel, they had found a substantial white double door as big as a house on the wall. Interestingly, it did not seem to be carved out of the rock itself but instead buried in it.
Eyeing the door wearily, the adventurous pegasus put her two hooves on the stone door and rather easily pushed it open. However, she refused to take another step forward beyond the threshold.
‘’This is the entrance they had mentioned. Meaning there’s probably a ton of traps inside.” Picking up a nearby rock and putting on her usual confident smirk, Daring readied herself.
“Time to go to work.”
With a decent toss, she sent the rock into the room, her eyes immediately preparing for what came next, while the rest of the group immediately ran to the wall beyond the doorway to avoid anything that possibly came out.
As the rock hit the floor, everypony’s sense of dread/excitement was on full alert as they prepared for what was to come.
… … But the only thing that came was silence, just silence. All the archeologists were looking at each other with dumbstruck looks. And the look of Daring Do was that of confusion and outright annoyance.
‘’Nothing! I don’t understand! Usually, the ruins I explore were built with so much security you could call them paranoid to the point of insanity.’’ Peering into the room just to make sure nothing was coming, her disappointment only grew. “Geez, at this rate I’m gonna have to do some heavy embellishing if I want to make a book out of this adventure.”
With the path now safe, the group entered the corridor, finding every inch of the room covered with vertical and horizontal lines, as if the entire room were made of blocks.
Immediately, Daring Do stuck herself against the wall and carefully advanced with her back firmly pressed against the white structure.
‘’Alright, everypony, follow my lead and do the same thing as me. It’s important to avoid potential pitfalls and—HEYYYY!!!’’
But she saw everypony was walking past her, trotting casually along the floor, without a single problem or deathtrap falling on them. Like before Daring Do was left stunned, her back still on the wall, and the only thing she could do was blinking her eyes at how dumbfounded she was.
‘’You know…I think I’ve forgotten my life as an archeologist isn’t the norm.’’
After Daring removed herself from the wall, the group had arrived in a vast room, all made of white. The room itself was in a less than ideal shape, with several broken columns and furniture, while at the end of the room was a strange window of glass that was completely opaque.
Ever the treasure seeker, Daring could not resist and flew into the room, spinning herself with her hooves extended over this magnificence.
‘’Amazing. Even after all the artifacts I’ve seen in my life, this one truly is a sight to behold.”
‘’Miss Do, could you please come here? I want to show you something.’’
Tearing her eyes away from the strange window, Daring flew to the archeologist who showed her that the wall was covered in strange symbols unlike anything she’d seen before.
‘’It… it’s a language I don’t recognize! I’ve studied many dead pony languages over the years, but they all share some common roots. Yet, here that isn’t the case and it also doesn’t look at all like dragon, yak, or other creatures' language, past or present. ’’
Utterly lost, Daring continued to scan the room. Ever since she’d entered something had bothered her in the back of her head. She scrubbed her hoof on the wall, and her suspicion was confirmed.
‘’No dust! Everything here is in pristine condition! How could everything have been conserved to such a perfect state? Unless this building is recent.’’
She saw white debris, grabbed it, took a magnifying glass from her bag, and used it to observe the erosion of the white material to determine its age.
‘’…Looks like I was actually, whatever this is, it’s old, possibly older than anything in recorded history. Just what is this place?’’
***
Twilight looked awed at the tale. “That’s amazing? Admittedly, I think you could’ve left some of the more embarrassing stuff out but artifacts possibly older than Equestria itself? Were they able to confirm anything ’’
‘’They were able to send us several artifacts, and our scientists were quick to begin studying them. Regrettably, they were incapable of conclusively determining the object's age. At moments, they theorize they at least exceed twenty millennia.’’
At this declaration, Twilight felt something in her brain snap, followed by the muscle control for her jaw.
‘’Twen, twen, twen, ttttt twenty. Pr… princess, this could be one of the greatest historical discoveries of the century. What I am saying, simply ‘the’ greatest.’’
Celestia’s face broke into a further grin. “Oh, but I’m not quite done my dear student. Even though this ancient civilization precedes us, all evidence shows that they had long surpassed us in terms of both science as well as magic.”
Thankfully, this time around Twilight’s jaw regained some function more quickly this time. “More ancient yet this advanced? How is that possible?”
“I feel it’d be easier to show you rather than try to explain it further.”
The wooden stool with the cloth covered object on it was levitated towards Twilight in Celestia’s yellow aura. With her teeth, Princess Celestia took the cloth revealing a glass bell. And within it… was a white cube, floating.
‘’A… white block? I don’t understand… wait… I don’t see any magical aura. So how is it floating?’’
Taking a seat by her student Celestia zeroed in on the object. “As far as we can determine, it’s able to do so on it’s own.”
‘’Is it then an object infused with magic? Like staff and amulets.’’
‘’You are half right, half wrong. The truth is that this is a machine. Working with magic.’’
“Princess, I’m not one to doubt you but… I find it difficult to believe. Sure there are machines that exist that require magic for activation but to use magic as fuel! I’ve only seen that in science-fiction novels.’’
‘’Well, it seems that science-fiction has come to our doors.” Celestia muttered somewhat ominously. “Come closer, I will explain to you.’’
Celestia traced a circle with her horn, forming a yellow magical circle, acting like a magnifying glass, showing the structure of the white block with more details.
‘’First, our scientist tried to find out what material those blocks were made of. But the only thing they discovered was that it was not natural but ponymade. We’re still scratching our heads on that, but for now look closer.’’
She makes several zooms of her magnifying spell, nearly going to microscopic levels and the circle shown on the ivory surfaces several revealed lines going in all directions, all circulating with light of rainbow color.
‘’Princess, what it is?’’
‘’Magic, Twilight. Circuits through which magic flows.’’
‘’Circuits! You mean… like electrical circuits?’’
‘’Exactly. Electrical circuits are a recent invention in Equestria, and we think that the machines of the ancient civilization work on a similar concept. But instead of electricity it is magic that circulates. And what’s more, they manage to build those circuits to a size so small they cannot be seen with the naked eye. But what’s more baffling is that it never seems to exhaust its reserves of energy, as if this cube could produce infinite magical energy.”
Celestia pulled away from the device, letting her spell dissipate, a grave look on her face. “I have spent centuries perfecting my knowledge of magic and even studied under Starswirl himself. Yet this machine goes against every law of magic I’ve ever known. To put simply, it is beyond even my knowledge.”
As one could expect, this revelation left Twilight floored, her eyes shining with a mixture of shock and awe, darting every so often to the cube with that same look of hunger for knowledge Celestia had come to know.
For a moment the two princesses worried Twilight might take the object and immediately teleport away to study it in her own lab. Let it be known when it came to learning about magic, Twilight was borderline addicted to the subject.
While certainly admirable, it did have a tendency to cause her to lose sight of reason in her pursuit.
Thankfully Twilight rained in her crazy for the moment, turning her full attention to the cube. “This truly is the discovery of the century. Magic and technology merged perfectly together to form… magitechnology for a lack of better word! It’s mind blowing. The possibilities of such a thing could be endless.”
Taking a few steps toward the cube, both princesses could see a slightly dangerous glint in the purple pony’s eye.
“I should try the machine out myself, perfect way to get a feel for how it works.”
Luna’s clearing throat was what finally broke Twilight from her stupor, enough to give the Princess of the Night her full attention.
‘’Apologies Twilight, but I feel my sister left out some details regarding this. Prior to your arrival we tested the device itself. We’ve learned that regardless of whether it be. Pegasus, earth ponies, unicorns or the like, any creature in this world with even a hint of magic could use this device.”
Again Twilight was shocked, but thankfully kept her composure this time. “I mean, that’s good isn’t it. That should make learning more about it easier?”
Twilight’s question only brought a look of surrender from the royal duo. Clearly it seemed a demonstration was needed to get the point across.
“Twilight,” Luna paused as she thought of what to say, hoping to keep things simple. “Touch the cube with your hoof and then think of a direction you wish it to fly in.”
Somewhat perplexed by the odd request, Twilight obliged. In less than a moment of touching the object and projecting her desire…the item immediately flew about at an almost blinding speed, zipping across the room like a rage filled hornet.
‘’EVERYPONY, GET BEHIND COVER!’’
Unfortunately, there was so little cover in the throne room that several ponies could only drop to the floor or hide behind the throne for some protection. Sadly one guard wasn’t quick enough as the projectile rocketed towards him.
‘’Oh no.’’
And the cube hit him right on the face, sending him flat on his back with a noticeable bruise forming. Thankfully for everyone else, this act of unintentional self sacrifice seemed to stop the cube, which bounced off the ground like a dice before coming to a complete stop.
The poor guard was now immobile except for one of his legs that were twitching and a groan that echoed through the otherwise silent throne room. .
‘’… … Sister. I do believe this think you really should give this poor guard just earned a considerable bonus on his next salary.’’
‘’Agreed.’’
Once the injured guard was brought to the infirmary and the cube placed in a bubble to avoid future contact, the three princesses could resume their conversation. Or rather, Celestia and Luna tried, while Twilight desperately wanted to disappear from the room out of embarrassment.
‘’Don’t blame yourself, Twilight, you had no idea. and this is precisely why we brought you here. As it stands we know virtually nothing about this magic based technology.”
That seemed to at least shake Twilight from her funk enough to look her mentor in the face. “You really think I can help with this?”
“Absolutely,” Celestia offered with a friendly smile. “Though we feel it best to start at the ruins to learn as much as possible. My sister and I sadly still have royal duties we must attend to and I feel confident in your own abilities. We are after all dealing with a technology using magic in a way we can’t properly comprehend. If somepony could solve that mystery, it’s you. Can I count on you?”
‘’You want me to study the history of a civilization recently discovered that we know nothing about, see inventions only found in imagination, and learn about magic in ways that change everything I know?” Despite her prior slip up, it was clear Twilight had not lost her prior investment. “Of course, you can count on me Princess Celestia. I gladly accept this assignment.”
‘’As I knew you would. I already contacted the mayor of Happy Town. Now I can confirm to him that you will come, and he will gladly shelter you for a few days. Also, hum… I suggest that you bring your friends with you.’’
At these words, the wings of Twilight flipped open, and a spark was shining in her eyes.
‘’Really? I can? Even on this important mission?’’
“Of course, they’ve proven time and again to be a reliable group of companions to have. And I must say, you do tend to work best when you have them by your side. And beside…’’
‘’What is it, princess? Is there something you’re not telling me?’’
She was
‘’Oh it's alright. You will know soon enough. Then I suppose that the only thing left to say is to wish you a good trip to you and your friends.’’
‘’Thank you so much, Princess Celestia. And also to you, Princess Luna. I will not lose time and go to prepare immediately. Goodbye and I will inform you of my findings as soon as possible.’’
Eager as she could be, Twilight let her wings out and flew out a nearby window towards Ponyville, ready to prepare herself and her friends for their new adventure.
Silence and darkness.
In a dark corner of a restricted room, a pony was seated before a working desk. The only source of light was the flame of a dim candle that only served to accentuate the encroaching blackness of the room.
After staying immobile for a bit, the pony decided to open a drawer and, from it, took out a photo. The picture was a smiling purple alicorn on the day of her coronation—The Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle.
The pony then grabbed a pencil from a nearby holder. He pointed the tip toward the image of the mare, and... he scribbled wildly all across the image. Yet despite the seemingly frantic movement, it was at a relaxing pace.
Once he was done, he looked at his work. The image of Twilight was now covered entirely under a chaotic arrangement of pencils lines denying her. Yet, no feelings, not even a ripple, were forming on the heart of the pony responsible for that vandalism.
‘’... Somehow... I can tell. The day to come... would not be an ordinary one.’’
It was simply a perfect day in Ponyville. The weather was clear thanks to the pegasus, and the streets were buzzing with activities. All the ponies were going about their daily lives, shopping at the stands, and saying hello to each passerby. And this idyllic view was seen by Twilight, flying right above them, musing how great and peaceful this town can be. And yet ironically enough, it was never boring.
In the time she lived there, something interesting always happened. It is no wonder that Celestia chose this place to send Twilight to learn about friendship. It was already something special before she came to live there.
From where she was flying, she could see some foals playing together, but one of them got clumsy and tripped on a stepladder, dropping the bucket of water at the top, on his head, spilling all its watery content on him. But instead of feeling sorry for himself, he simply laughed to his heart's content, and all his friends followed soon.
The next thing she saw was a mother giving a toy to her child, which he answered with a hug. It sure gave a wave of warmth to the alicorn.
Then, Twilight saw Lyra Heartstring from the living room window, sitting on a couch, playing her lyre. At first, she stirred the lyre strings at a calm pace, but out of nowhere, she decided to become more daring and shredded wildly at her string instrument, changing the melodious song into a rock show that was making the wall shake. After a few wild choreographies, she made a big finish by sliding on the carpet and did a final and bombastic strike on her lyre as if it was a guitar.
‘’Yeaaaah. Now that's what I call an awesome solo. Hmmm. You know... maybe I should change my style. For some reason, I can see myself as a rocker. Hey Bon-Bon, what do you whoaaah!!!’’
She barely avoided a thrown potted plant that was aiming at her, a potted plant thrown by her exasperated roommate Bon-Bon.
‘’Lyra, will you stop that fuss! Neighbors will complain. Again.’’
‘’Sorry, sorry. I just thought to heat up things a little. Don't you want to have a day full of strong sensations sometime?’’
‘’Hell no. I left that all behind. I’d rather that this day be the quietest possible. Unless you want an 'awesome solo' time on the couch tonight.’’
‘’No, no, no, I will calm down.’’
At that scene, typical of those two, Twilight could not suppress a giggle.
‘’Yes, the citizens of Ponyville are true champions for enjoying life and seeing its brighter side. I constantly learn from them to do the same. Speaking of it, I can't wait to tell my friends that a fun adventure is waiting for us. Then let's not waste time. Full speed to the town hall.’’
Flying high in the lobby of the town hall, Ponyville’s resident fastest flyer, Rainbow Dash, was in the midst of hanging a rather festive looking banner. Pity that her attitude didn’t match her altitude.
‘’Pinkie, can you tell me how the hay we are stuck preparing a play for the whole town? Bad enough it comes right out of the blue, but now we’ve gotta handle the set up too. Seriously! How come we always get stuck doing this sort of stuff, don’t towns usually have reps for this sort of thing?”
‘’Super duper sorry about that, Dashie. The Mayor really wanted to throw together a fun little event for the town and thought a play would be extra fun for everypony. And she asked us to help after I mentioned the amazing Hearth’s Warming show we pulled off in Canterlot a few years ago.”
“Oh yeah, we were pretty awesome back then.” Dash’s moment of nostalgia clouded her prior frustration.
“I don’t see why you're even complaining about Rainbow Dash.” A familiar mane of purple and white emerged from the curtain. “As I recall, despite a few hiccups here and there, it was a positively marvelous experience and I relish the chance to perform again. Plus it’ll be a perfect showcase for my latest costume designs.”
The marble white fashionista seemed to practically swoon at the idea of being on stage, before pulling the curtain back to reveal some half completely outfits.
Her enthusiasm only served to bring Dash back down from her pride high. “Yeah it was fun, but did she really have to spring it on us at the last minute? And you don’t find it weird that ‘we’ always get to be at the center of all major events for some reason? And now that I think about it, are we even getting paid to do this?”
‘’Hummm, no, sorry Dashie, no money for this one,” Pinkie’s energy seemed to shrink as she stared at the ground. “I am kinda sure that it was a clause mentioned in the contract I signed without reading.’’
Dash’s wings practically locked up as she let out a loud groan before planting her face on the floor. Her annoyance was only met with chuckles courtesy of Applejack, currently painting a nearby stage wall.
‘’Aww, stop your whining sugarcube. Sure it’s a little last minute, but a little hard work never hurt nopony and we do this kind of thing all the time. And we usually have fun doing it anyway.’’
‘’I agree. Helping out the community is always fun and doing it with you girls just makes it even better.’’ Had said Fluttershy, flying next to Applejack, a paintbrush in her mouth and covering the wooden wall with pink paint.
‘’Well said sugarcube. By the way, ah was wondering, why ya were painting with this color? Ah thought we were using red?’’
‘’Oh! Well, I wasn't even sure what kind of play we were doing so I thought I’d go with some really soothing colors. There is no more relaxing color than pink, don’t you agree. Or not, if it is not all right with you, I... I can take another one, if you prefer.’’
Amidst Fluttershy’s backtracking, Spike appeared nearby, carrying a tea chariot to Rarity, who was drawing with a floating pen.
“Anyone else a little worried nopony seems to have a plan for what this play is even about?” When he was met with no response, he merely huffed in mild annoyance. “I know the world’s not at stake or anything, but everypony’s being way too relaxed about this.”
Letting his annoyance go for the moment, the drake selected a steamy cup of tea and quickly brought it over to his favorite pony of all time.
‘’There Rarity, my special tea made with nine different blends, heated to the perfection with my dragon breathe.’’
The posh pony looked up from her current project and seemed to glow at the offered cup. ‘’Oh, thank you Spike, you're such a darling.’’
The white unicorn took the cup delicately and, with the elegance of a lady, took a small sip without making any noise.
‘’Aahh, I was dreadfully in need of this. It is simply perfect. I can see why you’re Twilight’s You really are a number one assistant, my Spikey-Wikey.’’
The young drake’s cheeks flushed red at the praise. ‘’Oh Rarity, it's always a pleasure to help you. Plus, you’re way easier to work for then Twilight….please don’t tell her I said that.’’
‘’My lips are sealed,.’’ Rarity said with a smirk and a wink as she raised her cup for another sip of the still hot tea.
Sadly for the fashionable pony, As for Pinkie Pie, she’d somehow acquired a large was now taking out of nowhere a helium tank, which she used to inflate several balloons, simply because she was thinking that balloons go with everything. But then, it was at this moment that Twilight decided to burst through the town hall door then pointed her hoof dramatically to the group.
‘’STOP THE PRESS EVERYPONY.’’
The sudden shock had the expected result, most notable the sound of a splash, followed by an extremely loud scream, both courtesy of Rarity whose once pink lips were now a violent shade of red.
The others weren’t much better. Rainbow Dash acted like lightning had struck her then went flying in all the directions in panic, Pinkie Pie had lost grip of the tank of helium she was using, resulting in the nozzle getting into her mouth and quickly inflating her like a party balloon. Applejack lost her balance and fell on the paint buckets in a big colorful splash with Fluttershy looking at her, her hoofs on her mouth.
As for Spike, the shock put him into full-panic mode.
“Huh, the what? What the hay, what have we done wrong, what press, I thought we were putting on a play. Are we making journals now, how can we stop what we never did, I mean WHAT GOING ON HERE!!! ... Oh! False alarm, it's just Twilight.’’
At the sight of thet his pandemonium she’d unintentionally wrought, Twilight could only just blankly, her hoof still risen stupidly.
‘’… … Heheh. S… sorry everypony, it’s… it was just something I had always dreamed of saying. Oops.’’
While Twilight was living the embarrassment of her life, for the second time in the day, Pinkie finally unlatched her mouth from the tank, letting loose a stream of air from her mouth that sent her flying around like an angry hornet for a good few seconds. Her deflated body finally fell back down to the ground, with her almost immediately reinflating without issue.
Finally able to stand, Pinkie opted to start speaking, and the results were…unexpected to say the least.
‘’Woooo way to make an entry Twilight. Wait, that's my voice! That’s really my voice? Hahaha, that’s so funny. It sounds like a robot.’’
She burst out laughing in that weird voice, which made her laugh even more. Everypony else merely rolled their eyes at her antics. Of those present Fluttershy opted to be the one to ask the obvious question.
“Is everything okay Twilight? You usually don’t burst into a room screaming unless something awful is happening.”
Shaking off her embarrassment, Twilight nodded. “You’re right there is something I need to tell all of you, though thankfully it’s not something world ending for a change. Quite the opposite, I think you’re all going to like this.”
Everypony quickly gathered around the Princess of Friendship to hear all about her day and the trip that she and her friends will eventually do. All except Pinkie Pie, who went bouncing around the hall, saying things like, ‘’Bip-bop, bip-bop, I’m a robot, bib-bop, I will steal all your jobs.’’
‘’And that’s pretty much all Celestia told me. And although it is serious research, I don't see why it couldn't also be a nice vacation for all of you. So what do you think, would you all like to go on this trip to Happy Town?’’
Rainbow Dash didn't lose time and pumped her hoof high in the air.
‘’Oh yeah, a trip for all the gang. Count me in. Any excuse to get out of this mess is okay in my book.’’
Applejack looked at the cocky pegasus with a smirk. “Funny, that doesn't sound much like the loyal thing to do Dash.”
Said Element of Loyalty immediately realized the irony of her antics, but had her own counter. “Okay AJ, be honest, do you really see this little project working out?”
The farm pony could only lower her hat in embarrassment at being outplayed.
‘’I mean, if you want mahn honest opinion…this was going nowhere anyway. Best we hand this off to sompony a little more qualified.’’
Dash only smiled in victory while
Pinkie started hopping around eagerly.
‘’Woohoo, that sounds like *cough**cough* I mean, that sounds like a lot of fun. Hey, don’t look at me like that; I did listen. Count me two.’’
Fluttershy raised her hoof.
‘’Then count me three. But what are we going to do about the play? We can just not abandon it.’’
“Obviously we’ll need to hand it over to somepony qualified enough to ensure its success,” Rarity said, taking over the conversation. “Though obviously I intend to come on this excursion as well. However, I’m fairly confident I know just the one to do this play justice.”
Without a word of warning, Rarity using herusedSay Rarity, using her magic to levitate Spike before all mares. Saidy Dragon was left pointing his finger at himself in incredulity.
‘’What! Me!’’
Spike was so surprised that his wing opened wide. Rarity grabbed him by the shoulder and dragged him closer.
“Come now Spike, you’re perfect for the role. Ever since we started you’ve been positively brimming with excellent ideas for the play. Beyond that we know your skill with organizing, scheduling and multitasking is second to none.”
The onslaught of praise was looking to be too much for the drake, whose previously purple scales had turned practical scarlet.
‘’Rarity!’’
‘’Oh, silly you. Did you really think nopony was listening to you.’’
And the white unicorn gave a subtle little wink in the eye to Spike.
Twilight silently nodded her head in approval, knowing well her first assistant was a reliable dragon. She felt a little disappointed Spike could not come but understood it could not be helped.
‘’I see that all is settled. Then it's official girls, tomorrow we are all going to Happy Town. Better head home and get ready, the only train is at 8:00 am tomorrow morning.”
All ponies were so enthusiastic at the prospect of a fun trip they could hardly stay on their hooves. They even gathered around in a circle, and each one put their hoof atop each other in a pact of camaraderie.
The light of the day was coursing through a window, shining its benign rays on the circle of friendship like a makeshift projector. Particles of dust were sparkling around our six mares.
‘’Alright everypony, then to a trip that will bring us many good memories–
But a dark cloud came and snuffed out the light. However, it did nothing to darken their mood.
‘’That I am sure we will never forget.’’
And all hoofs went jumping in the air in a unanimous ‘’YAY’’. Then without losing time, they went running to the exit to quickly prepare for tomorrow. Spike was the only one left. And when he was sure that no one was around, he too went flying in the sky in a burst of joy.
‘’ALRIGHT, RESPONSIBILITY. How long did I wait for something like that? No time to lose; I have so many ideas to try. First, I need to find a black jacket and a pompadour to wear.’’
As he has said, Spike was now in the costume he wanted, standing on a chariot, surrounded by ponies dressed in platinum mechanic suits.
‘’Everypony is ready? Alright, don’t forget, as we sing, we also raise our hands, hum, hooves for you, in front of us, and then we move it from right to left and after, left to right. Okay, now bring the music.’’
Go, Varnished lightning, you burning up the carter mile
Varnished lightning, go, Varnished Lightning
Go, Varnished Lightning, you coasting through the heat lap trial
Varnished lightning, go, Varnished Lightning
The next day came and it was a lovely morning at the train station. The chimney smoke was dancing along the blue sky, showing that the engine was full of life and ready to go. What was also full of life was the passenger deck, with our heroines and their baggage.
Nearly everypony was at the station. There were just three missing. Twilight, Pinkie, and Rainbow Dash.
Speaking of the aforementioned flyer, she came flying from above and went to do a supersonic dive to meet them. She had slid with panache on the wooden floor to stop right before her friends. Then the air left behind came to catch on her and made her feathers and hair fluttered with style. She was making such a cocky smile. Applejack, however, was rolling her eyes.
‘’Show off.’’
‘’What can I say? I live to impress. By the way, where’s Pinkie Pie? Twilight, I can understand what with her over preparing for everything but Pinkie usually wants to be the first to be in the festivities.’’
As if some mystic force were listening in, Pinkie could be seen entering from the distance. However, she was without her usual bouncing. She was followed by two other ponies, a unicorn mare and a pegasus stallion. And they were both having clipboards on them that Pinkie was signing with a pencil on her mouth.
These two were Sugar Lefty, the sugar supplier, and Righto Dough, the flour supplier. Although Ponnyville had a bakery shop known for its top quality, these two suppliers could rival the sheer quantity they were producing themselves. Needless to say, Sugarcube Corner was their biggest customer. Another thing... those two were also known as bitter enemies, always trying to surpass the other and to sell more, and thus always went to Pinkie to get the better deal.
The irony of course that both of their products were equally as important in baking never seemed to cross their minds, but most of Ponyville was content to leave them be.
Plus they always provided Pinkie with top quality ingredients, thus indulging in their little contest was something she was happy to do. Hence why she was happily signing both contracts.
‘’There, all signed. As I had said earlier, I’m gonna be gone for an undetermined period of time. So just to make sure, I pay the two next week in advance.’’
Contract in hand and smile on face, Righto Dough pushed away Sugar Lefty.
‘’No problem Miss Pie, there is no way we will disappoint our main purveyor. In a way, we could say that our lives are in your hooves.’’
And Lefty was sure irritated that her rival was trying to steal the spotlight. Again.
‘’Oh, you and your noisy dramatic speech. Why don't you lick her hooves while you do? It will be the same?’’
‘’No one had asked you, witch. By the way, I was thinking of offering you a friend discount. What do you think if I give you these two weeks for only fifty percent.’’
‘’What! You fiend. Don't listen to him! I have a better offer. I give you those two weeks for the price of one. If you accept my and only my offer.’’
‘’Wait, it's the same thing as mine! Do your calculation right, you she-devil.
‘’No one asks you, you con artist.’’
‘’Tooth decayer.’’
‘’Clogger of arteries.’’
After several seconds of back and forth juvenile insults, Pinkie Pie felt uncomfortable and discreetly left the two growling at each other like wolves. She went to rejoin her friend with embarrassed looks.
‘’Sorry, you had to see that, girls. This trip was a little sudden, so I had to deal with the flour and sugar shipment. Usually, I handle them one at a time to avoid all that. They are good ponies, but when they're together, wooooooh, they are such party poppers. Trust me; I tried to make a lot of parties to make the dark cloud over their heads go away. A lot. But let us forget about that because it is time for FUN TRIP.’’
She threw a rain of confetti from her hooves. A lot of them went into the hairs of passersby, who rubbed them with a grudge. But Pinkie didn't notice anything of that, too focused on the sight of Twilight galloping towards the group looking a fair bit out of breath.
‘’Sorry, sorry to be so late. *inhale**exhale**inhale**exhale* I... I just wanted to make sure to be well prepared, and I may have gone a little overboard. Alright, now that we’re all here, let’s make sure we’re ready. You have everything you want? Good. Once we arrive in town, Mayor Paternal, the mayor of Happy Town, promised us he’d provide us with vacant chambers and a lot of space for all seven of us. We will have no problem in comfort.’’
‘’Oh my, that’s so generous to offer,’’ Fluttershy said. ‘’Now I feel a little shy before so much kindness. … … Hum, Twilight… did you say, seven?’’
Realizing her blunder, Twilight looked ever so slightly embarrassed. ‘’Oh right, I forget to mention, I allow myself to bring another friend.’’
It was then that an irritated remark came from an unknown source.
‘’Precisely, speaking of this other friend, could you *huff* give her a little help? As always, you bring way too much reference material.’’
They all saw a mountain of books, shining with a cyan aura, going forward to them. Though it looked more like a bulldozer since all passerby ponies were getting out of its way in fright as the books were saying sorry each time. The pony transporting them made a false step, and they had nearly tumbled on her if Twilight had not grabbed them with her magic.
‘’My babies!’’
‘’Oh sure, your babies are more important, don't worry about me.’’
‘’Don't be like that! We are going to research like nopony has done before. What's wrong with taking only the strict minimum? Hehe.’’
Twilight did an embarrassed laugh. But the one in that pile only answered her with silence, a silence that meant a thousand words, forcing the pony princess to admit defeat.
‘’Alright, alright, I get it, it's overkill, geez.’’
The alicorn teleported the majority of the books back to the library. Revealing that the one behind them, at the surprise of all, was a unicorn with a pale hue of magenta. Starlight Glimmer herself.
‘’Hello. Surprised to see me everypony? Twilight already filled me in on everything and insisted that I come with you sooo here I am. But Twilight, are you sure this is a good idea? Pretty sure the mayor only prepared for six not seven.’’
Twilight merely brushed those concerns aside, wrapping a hoof around Starlight’s shoulder. ‘’Of course you should come. Starlight, we are talking about ancient technology that uses magic in a way that goes above everything we know so far. There is no way I can find answers alone; I need my best student. Two heads are always better than one. l am sure the mayor can accommodate one extra pony. Besides… even if there were none of these reasons, I will still insist that you come. You are one of us, so there is no way we can exclude you.’’
‘’I… gee thank Twilight. That… means a lot for me.’’
Starlight almost stumbled over her words as her face was left a glow.
“You know, if it wasn't for the whole play thing, I’d swear you guys wanted to get away from me.” All eyes turned to find Spike standing with his arms crossed. ‘’Well, what does that say about me?’’
“Oh, Spike. Of course we want you to go, but right now we need you to handle the play for us and you’ve always said you wanted more responsibility.”
Standing before her small assistant Twilight gave him a reassuring pat on the head. “I’m more than confident you can handle this.”
She then comes closer to Spike to whisper in his ear.
‘’But just in case, I have prepared several lists of tips that I have put on your desk if you need some help. You know, just in case.’’
‘’Humm, thanks alot, Twilight. I suppose.’’
He was acting like it was slightly bothersome, but deep down, he was very touched that she was taking the time to give him support when she already had her own job to do. These two then went to hug each other, showing all their familial love. Once this was over, Spike went saying his goodbye to everypony.
‘’See ya later everypony, and don’t forget to have a good time.’’
Rarity came trotting toward him.
‘’And you, my dear Spikey-Wikey, you better impress the gallery. Thou I have no doubts your songs will ‘’couper le souffle’’ of everyone.’’
‘’You can bet on it... HEH wait! How do you know that my play will be a musical?’’
Like always Rarity simply offered her normal knowing smile. ‘’Oh, let's just say I may have taken an innocent little peek at your notes. It wasn’t a lie when I said that you have good ideas. And I never would have guessed you could write such good lyrics. ''You're the one I want, you’re the one I want''. Why I think I may already have become a fan.’’
From this declaration, it was like the eyes of Spike were shining with the purest of light.
‘’Rarity. You can’t know how much it means. For me, your praises are the most important in the world.’’
That declaration was met with a friendly roll of the eyes from those present, save for Rarity who merely offered a chuckle. ‘’Oh Spike, You have no idea how well I know.’’
‘’… What... do you mean?’’
Realizing too late what she had said, the two were plunged into an embarrassing silence. In fact, it seems that not a single sound was coming from nowhere which didn’t help the situation. Until…
‘’Be careful, clear the passage everypony!’’
Something went flying between Spike and Rarity and went tumbling on the deck. They all looked to see the mysterious object and saw a grey pegasus with golden hair and cross-eyes, dressed in a postman uniform. Rainbow just greeted her as if that occurrence was commonplace. Which it was.
‘’Sup Derpy.’’
The pegasus named Derpy uprighted herself and rubbed the dust on her with a big smile as if nothing had happened.
‘’Well, hello, everypony. Sorry to bother you, I’m just here because this train has an important delivery that we must take to Ponyville. A huge one, I heard.’’
A cough was heard in the distance. This was followed by a voice saying:
‘’Well? Introduce us.’’
‘’Oh right, right. I meant me and... pause for dramatic effect... the Mail Squad.’’
Three shadows slipped on the floor, and one by one, three pegasus went to land in front of the group. One was a pegasus with an orange mane, red fur, and a sun as a cutie mark. The second had a blue mane with a cyan coat and a rain-drop cloud cutie mark. And the last one, purple with white hair and a white flower. The pegasi then did some acrobatics on the ground, and the four reunited themselves to do a bombastic pose.
The whole group that saw that was speechless. Not in the good sense of the term. Everything was plunged into an embarrassing silence. Well, except for the cry of crickets. No, there literally were crickets crying. Rainbow, who could no longer bear the awkwardness, finally decided to break the ice.
‘’Sooo, you'd practiced doing... whatever this is?’’
Derpy looked positively proud at the display. ‘’Oh yes, yes, the mail office is trying to create a new image. You know, to attract the younger generation. What do you think? Pretty amazing?’’
Rainbow looked positively awkward trying to think of a response.‘’Oh, um, um, yeah, yeah, it's...um, it's sure...’’
It was then that the train’s whistle made its noise, signaling that the train was ready to go. Twilight quickly grabbed her books.
‘’Ahhh, we have no time to lose. We must quickly board the train. It was good to see you, but we must go. Goodbye Spike, I know you will do an excellent job. See you soon.’’
‘’See you soon, Twilight.’’
Our heroines went inside the train with all their baggage while the Mail Squad quickly took from the cargo car a huge crate. Then, the wheel started to go slowly for them to go faster, and the train finally exited the station. Our heroines open the window to wave goodbye to Spike one last time, who also did the same. And the train bringing them to adventure continues its travel until it disappears at the horizon. This... was the start of a moment in their life that none of them
WILL EVER FORGET.
The four mailmares were flying in the sky, each grabbing a rope attached to other ones who were warping all around the humongous crate so that the pegasi could fly with it.
‘’So Derpy, to whom are we supposed to deliver this huge thing to.’’
‘’Let me see. Notes, notes, ah, there they are. … … Oh! No one. We’re just supposed to bring it right at the center of the park.’’
Goal in hoof, the quartet moved on to the Grassy Pentagon, the local park of Ponyville, which was the number one relaxing destination for many ponies.
When they had arrived at the right location, they deposited the crate, opened it, and took off what was inside. Once their job finished, the pegasi took the empty container and flew once again in the sky.
‘’That was a very unusual delivery. I've never seen anything like that. Who sent it in the first place.’’
‘’I will look at my notes. It comes from a certain pony named, A, no, ny, mous. Whoops! Sorry, I mean this is a sender who wants to stay anonymous. Bah, it's probably somepony who wants to make a generous donation to Ponyville. But what a strange sculpture it is. Oh well, I never understood anything about art.’’
Once they were out of sight, the park was deserted. Except for the white block they left.
The object in question bore a striking resemblance to the one Princess Celestia had shown Twilight, though one was far bigger, nearly as big as a carriage.
As the wind was quietly blowing on the grass, the object remained silent in a way that was serene and ominous. But all that disappeared when a mechanical noise was made from the cube, and from four of its faces appeared an opaque glass window showing nothing. Until they turned on and white and gray statics appeared on them with a buzzing noise. The ponies would certainly not understand what these things were, but we would have no problem recognizing them… as television screens. They seem to show nothing more than the statics… but for a split-second… a little split-second… the static and the buzz disappear and show an image for then disappear again onto static. It was too short to know what it was, but it reappears again and again at short intervals, which means that you will have no problem understanding what the image is in the long run. It was white letters in a black font. And these letters were saying…
The game will begin in 20 hours.
written by La Jester
Beautiful and Magical stories of Anguish
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So based on the description and first chapter it sounds like this is gonna be some kind of Jigsaw type death game utilizing ancient technology? (maybe a little more pg than that cause no violence tag)
The first chapter hasn't really gotten me too invested, but I'd read some more to see where this is going.
Oh! So these "games" are gonna be live? Basically, everypony in Equestria is gonna watch the poor Mane Six and Starlight try to survive these "tests/games"?
Excellent!!!!!! ~
Which Season in the MLP timeline are we anyway?
11122583
You are in part correct. This will be indeed a dangerous game but one that will be more focused on emotional damage than physical one. I cannot tell you more. I wouldn't want to spoil the whole thing.
Also, sorry but the next few chapters will be heavily focuse on comedy. But let me tell you this. Those comedic chapters are a trap. One misleading the readers on what is truly to come. Tragedy hit more harder when you can see the happy days that had been lost, after all.
11122750
To anwser your question, it is after season eight but before season nine.
11123807
That sounds unique, I'm a bit curious to see what you mean by that.
And don't feel the need to apologize, a lot of my favorite stories start out pretty slow. It's still only the introduction after all.
11123810
Even better. Because not only does Pony Kind is watching. The other Non-Pony Kingdoms ( Especially the Young Six ) WON'T want to miss this.
