Equestria Eclipsed

by DougtheLoremaster

Chapter 1

“…The flash of muzzle-loaders lit up the darkness, one, two, three seconds, followed by a scream and then silence. All around me the sounds of gunfire died down one by one, with a scattering of screams in the darkness. And then, silence, nothing but silence. Just me, alone in the eternal darkness.
Suddenly, there was the unmistakable sound of hoofsteps growing closer. In a panic, I swung my head around and the light from my helmet illuminated a curious sight. The slender creature possessed dark lavender fur and resembled a drawing from my book, I gasped in disbelief, that muzzle, those hooves. Could this be a pony, believed for ages to be extinct?

As it stood there, I stared at it in awe. It appeared to be a female, of a relatively curious nature. Probably the most prominent feature I took notice of was its lack of eyes. It appeared to have pits alongside its snout, that flared as it turned its head this way and that, as though it were analyzing me. As though it were studying me.

I stared at it as it opened its mouth to reveal two hooked fangs. I froze, was this to be my fate? Was I to be devoured by this strange creature? That’s when I heard the distinct click-clicking sound coming from it. From all around me, the sounds of hoofsteps grew closer…”

-From the Diary of Unknown

---

“...And that is why I am requesting a small investment to fund an expedition to discover the lost civilization of Equestria.”

Ember looked up from her notes. The auditorium was filled with aristocrats from all kingdoms, though as she stared hopefully out from the podium her heart slowly began to sink. What should have been excitement at her presentation, was an awkward silence. There was a slight cough before one of the guests, Chrysalis, the Queen of the Changeling Empire, spoke up.

“And just how much are you needing for this little escapade of yours?”

Ember felt nervous as she spoke into the microphone.

“Only two storm gems and seventy-two hundred palladium ingots.”

A dragon began choking on his Hors d'oeuvres as another called out in disbelief.

“Only two what? You can’t be serious!”

Ember desperately called into the microphone.

“It’s for supplies and we’ll need a crew and specialized gear and..”

As the room erupted into chaos at this, Chrysalis turned her gaze towards the doorway, where a robed griffon locked eyes with her. With only the faintest nod, Chrysalis calmly turned away from the podium, as the griffon raised the hood on its robe and vanished from sight amidst the unruly crowd.

***

Ember’s head hung low as she slowly trudged down the hallway. On all sides, she could feel them watching her, laughing at her; the would-be investors and aristocrats of high society. The laughter was deafening as it continuously rang in her ears, mocking her, taunting her. Just when she felt she couldn’t take any more of their judgemental stares, Ember heard another type of ringing in her ears, cutting through the drone of mockery.

Reaching into her purse, Ember fished out her cellphone, which was ringing, and smiled at the caller display. Answering it, her voice took on a gentle, caring tone.

“Hey honey, how are you?”

On the other end of the line, Gilda Featherfall could be heard giggling at the greeting.

“Oh you know, babe, just getting dinner ready for when you get home. How did your little speech go?”

Though neither was romantically interested in the other, both Gilda and Ember had been proudly wed for two years; a result of the Dragon and Griffon Kingdom’s treaty of peace. As both kingdoms had grown, in order to solidify the treaty between the two, Princess Ember and Princess Gilda had been coerced into an arranged marriage.

Though at first, both were vehemently against it, over the past two years, the Princesses had settled into a steady relationship; growing much closer, in which Gilda became a willing housewife, while Ember earned the gems to provide. Ember chuckled at the response.

“It didn’t go so well.”

“Oh no. Well don’t you worry baby, when you come on home, I’ll make you feel like a proper Dragoness. A full scaled massage with molten oil.”

Ember smiled. She couldn’t help it. There was just something about the way that Griffon spoke that just made all her worries melt away. Ember smirked.

“I’ll hold you to that.”

“I expect nothing less.”

As she was talking, Ember headed towards her office, unlocking and pushing open the door. She froze for a moment at the strange form of a black feathered griffon sitting in her chair. Locking eyes with the intruder, Ember took notice of how relaxed the creature was. She spoke into her phone.

“Gilda I’ll call you back.”

Hanging up with a small click, Ember confronted the mysterious Griffon.

“Who are you and how did you get in here?”

The Griffon just sat there quietly, as Ember without waiting for an answer, ran out into the hallway calling for security. It wasn’t long before two security Dragons, dressed in police attire appeared in the doorway, shouting at the Griffon.

“Claws where we can see them!”

“What do you think you’re doing here?”

“Guests are not permitted in the labs!”

Clearly amused by this reaction, the Griffon calmly raised her front claws and gently tapped on the desk with one of them, causing a glint of gold to shine forth. The officer’s eyes went wide before their attitudes immediately changed. Both immediately bowed their head and spoke in more hushed and respectful tones.

“Er, forgive us for interrupting your meeting, ma’am.”

“Yes, carry on. As you were.”

Ember stared, dumbfounded as the two cops pushed passed her, leaving her alone once more with the griffon. Turning from the retreating cops to the griffon, who was now smiling, Ember spoke hesitantly.

“Just who in fang are you?”

Shaking her head, the Griffon once more tapped on the desk, revealing that same glint of gold.

“Who I am, Mrs. Flashfire isn’t important. It’s those I represent that you should be aware of.”

Ember froze as she saw what the police had seen, a small golden ring with the insignia of a Griffon’s wing engraved on it. Without a sound, she mouthed.

“Griffonautii.”

Nodding, the Griffon spoke softly.

“Why don’t you close the door and take a seat, Mrs. Flashfire. I have a proposal from my employers that I believe you will be most interested in.”

***

“Is this real?”

Ember stared at the worn, waterlogged book in front of her. The pages were yellowed from age, torn, and clearly had been through a lot within a cover that Ember could have sworn was a tanned hide with an unidentifiable furred texture. The Griffon stared pointedly at her, as Ember slowly and carefully peeled the pages apart.

“You tell me, Mrs. Flashfire. You’re the expert on Ponies after all.”

Ember’s heart raced as she slowly looked up from the old book.

“Are you saying this book…came from Equestria?”

“That’s right. Or at least we believe so.”

The Griffon’s eyes shined a bright acidic green, for a split second as she finished her thoughts.

“We were hoping you could authenticate it for us.”

Pulling out a pair of spectacles from her purse, Ember put them on.

“I see, alright then, let’s see what we have here.”

Using a pair of tweezers to turn the fragile pages, Ember muttered to herself growing more and more excited with each passing moment.

“Hm, this isn’t paper, the fibers are too large. it’s almost as though it’s made of fibrous calcium…Hm, and this binding isn’t plant-based, is this some sort of muscle-like sinew, and if it is, from what?... And why are all these pages blank? They have an odd smell, rust? No, it's more acrid than rust...Wait, that’s it!”

Glancing quickly up, she practically shouted at the Griffon.

“Quick, cut the lights!”

Meanwhile, Ember had pulled out a large black strip, on which rested a luminescent tube. As the lights went out, Ember held the tube close to the pages while the Griffon stood nearby watching curiously. As the ultraviolet light crossed the surface, glowing words materialized in the darkness:

What day is it? I don’t know anymore, and I won’t have much time to care; the torches are dying. I lost three more flames, I’m down to my last one. I can hear them. Whimpering, nickering, whining. They know. They know the lights are dying, and when the light dies, so too will I. I barricaded the door, hoping to buy some time, but there is no hope. The timbers won’t hold against those hooves of theirs. It won’t be long now.

This isn’t the way it was meant to be. Equestria was a land of peace and harmony. That’s what we were told. What a crock of scales. Nothing waited for us here but death. If anyone finds this, know we set out to prove the existence of Ponies.

The last few words were sloppy as though written in a hurry, next to a large stain.

And we succeeded.

Signaling to the griffon to turn back on the lights, Ember pressed a button on her spectacles, giving a low whistle followed by a moment of silence. As the lights came on, Ember spoke up.

“This was found in the river, wasn’t it?”

The river. On the borders of Equestria, a single river of an unfathomable depth ran out from within the zone of stark darkness. Regular spring water, the river wasn’t magical in and of itself. Yet, every few years, artifacts of lost explorers would find their way into its waters; almost as if placed there by some entity. Ember had seen quite a few of them, but as she closed the gruesome book, it became clear just how excited she was.

The Griffon responded.

“Yes, a fisherbeast was angling in the river and fished up that book. We ‘procured’ it from them. Why?”

Ember tapped her spectacles on the desk.

“I could tell. Here take a look at this.”

Passing the spectacles to the griffon, Ember instructed her to press the button on the side. Doing so, the Griffon shouted out in surprise.

“What is that?”

Ember’s eyes twinkled with excitement.

“Magic.”

The Griffon narrowed her eyes in a skeptical manner.

“Magic?”

“See how the gold and midnight blue intertwine around the object? That’s preservation magic. From them.”

Passing a claw through the shining particles, the Griffon took off her spectacles and passed them back to Ember, noticing the excitement in her voice.

“Who exactly is ‘them’?”

Going to her bookcase, Ember pulled forth a storybook. She opened it on the desk and began to read.

“The Two Sisters. Long ago, in Equestria, there were two sisters; Alicorns. Possessing the wings of a Pegasus, the Horn of a Unicorn, and the sheer strength of an Earthpony, the two Princesses ruled over the land.

The eldest was as white as fallen snow, with a mane and tail that embodied the energy of the Aurora Borealis. Celestia’s magic was as radiant and elegant as the Sun which she awakened in the morning to raise into the sky, and put to bed every night.

The youngest was a rich navy blue, with a mane and tail that housed the stars in the night sky. Luna’s greatest joy was to raise the moon at sunset and feel the cool night’s wind in her mane. At dawn, she would gracefully lower the moon once more.”

Closing the book, Ember clutched it tightly against her torso.

“Oh, it would be so amazing to meet them. Tomorrow is an eclipse; the moon will move in front of the sun and the gateway to Equestria will open once more. Oh, how I’d love to have entered it.”

The Griffon opened her beak to speak only to be interrupted by Ember’s mutterings.

“-If only I had gotten my funding, I could have gotten a crew, some equipment, and-”

“Mrs. Flashfire-”

“I could have finally achieved my goal-”

“Mrs. Flashfire, if you would just-”

“-I could have finally met them! If I just had gotten funded.”

The Griffon cleared her throat and shouted.

“Mrs. Flashfire!”

Suddenly shaken from her fairytale daydream, Ember coughed with embarrassment as she replied.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Yes, your book is authentic, I can say without a doubt this journal came from Equestria. Thank you for sharing it with me.”

The griffon shook her head before saying.

“Mrs. Flashfire, there is a secondary reason for my visit to you. I was sent to collect you as well before I leave.”

Ember looked confused.

“What do you mean by ‘collect-”

Her words were cut off as she felt something slam into the back of her skull and the world went dark.

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

What is that thing in the cover art?

[origami]

Interesting start. Getting vibes from both Indiana Jones and Atlantis the Lost Empire from this first chapter.

[Deergenerate]

*Whistles*

Damn... This is good.

It's great even. The only issue I am seeing is a couple characters acting out of character when compared to their personalities from the show, the big one being Ember, but that can all be glossed over considering that this is an AU lol.

Overall, I am really excited to see more of this story, it's that good so far.