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A Hearth's Warming Eve Special: Part One7,334 words
A Hearth's Warming Eve Special: Part Two13,203 words
A Hearth's Warming Eve Special: Part Three9,205 words

10

Author's Note:

Revised January 1st, 2014

(10)

Down deep into the depths of the pit, she continued her fall. As she glided downward slowly, using her wings to break the speed of the descent, she also used her magic to produce light to guide her down. The temperature dropped tremendously the longer she fell, the length of time in which she fell seemed like hours to her. Concave, splintered bricks and earth lined the curved walls of the hole, no organic life broke through them. Celestia wondered who could had built this and for what cause.

She began to think that maybe she was caught in some spell where her descent continually looped her falling forever. She knew however that she would have sensed such a hex the moment she entered the pit. Now knowing that she was actually falling deeper into the planet, it gave her a growing terror in her mind. How would she escape such a place? She couldn’t blindly teleport out, and by the looks of it, she was far from the citadel she once knew and much more further than any help would aid her. Her mischievous meandering throughout her years of being the Princess had finally caught up to her and now she was in for whatever lurked below, (if anything).

In a sudden moment, she was caught off guard by a protuberant rock face in the wall of the pit. She hit it unexpectedly and fell faster; the rock had most likely broken her wings as she now free fall. She began to hit other protruding rocks and ledges in the shaft. She couldn’t catch herself with her wings and continually dashed herself against the obstacles. Finally, she fell flat on solid ground; she would have been pleased by this if her body wasn’t bruised and beaten. Though she was immortal, she was not invulnerable and her damages were quite severe. She felt that her wings were crooked and broken, and that she had sprained one of her legs, but continued onward as she rose to her hooves in the darkness.

Her magic spurred back up, but she could only emit a crude amount of energy due to her damages. Light built up around her horn, only to reveal that she was in a large, dark room; big enough that she couldn’t even see the walls or ceiling of the place she was in, only a little patch of the floor she stood on. Like any curious alicorn princess, she began to make her way through the darkness–not as much as to find something valuable in information, but to find a way out. Though she was immortal, Celestia was beyond frightened for her life at the moment. With no visible way out and not enough strength to fly with her broken wings, her hope seemed to be as lost as she was.

As she pressed through the shadows of the under-earth, she noticed something strange about the ground she stepped on. The floor seemed to be made of some sort of metal, which made an echoing clanking sound with each hoof step. Besides these obvious sounds, the rest of the place she was in was utterly quiet and vastly expansive from the reverberations she gave off. Something large from the corner of her light was spotted by the Princess that gave her a jolt of fear from its presence. It was a perfectly round sphere which was roughly larger than herself. It was a burnt–gray object and with closer inspection, it revealed no markings around the ball whatsoever. She placed her hoof on it gently, it was cold to the touch and felt as if it was made of glass. She then noticed something on the edge of it, a small port large enough to place her hoof into. She moved her hoof to the spot and did so, easing it in until she felt the end of the small hole.

Once she did feel it however, it tightened around her hoof and she began frantically trying to pull it out. It was difficult at first, but she finally managed to break free from it. Though when she did, something very odd happened. The hole she pulled out from rippled outward like a raindrop hitting a puddle. Bits of round, wavering metal floated from the indention and in front of her, calmly hovering away from her. She felt a moment ago that the ball was completely solid, but now it seemed to become some sort of floating liquid as she lightly touched the floating droplets of metal, pushing them gently in the air.

A white noise her brain had ignored soon became overt to her sense of hearing. A deep buzzing, an intense and growing bass coming from the inside of the sphere she had just felt echoed throughout the expansive and shadowy chamber. Then, in a sudden movement, a white glow circled around the face of the ball in front of her and affixed its gaze upon Celestia. It lit her in a powerful, amber radiance, as if a spotlight had been pointed on her location. The orb of energy was like a pupil of the eye that looked upon her, gazing wildly at the Princess. Hexagonal plates made up the circle of light that looked over Celestia and the lines between these six-sided shapes ebbed with a hidden, red energy. The Princess did not know how to handle this moment; whether to run or stay, or whether it intended good or evil, her mind was in a state of shock it had not been in in a very long time.

After the large sphere peered over the alicorn, it swiftly rolled off into the shadows and once again, the Princess was alone. Though it did not simply, ‘roll off’, it rather hovered away, keeping its one, glowing eye fixed on Celestia and then darkening it once it was out of sight, so it remained hidden in its lair. It was hard to tell what it did from the Princess’ perspective, but soon she had other problems to worry about. Massive shifting sounds and grinding metal could be heard above and below her. She tried to use the light of her horn to spot what was going on, but the light of it couldn’t reach the edges of the room.

Panic soon settled over her and felt that she did not want a part in any of this she had set in motion. Fear, she thought she had left behind in her filly years, arose in her once again as she made a mad dash out into the dark and away from the noises that ceased to escape her. Tears of unknown terror began to torrent from her eyes, blinding her vision more than the darkness about her. She limped as fast as she could with her broken leg, but her injuries prevailed her dismal escape as she fell to the floor. Celestia tried to scramble upward to her hooves, but something grabbed her around her waist and pulled her speedily from the blackness.

She screamed out for the help she knew wouldn’t come as she was hoisted into the cold, shadowy air. Lifted an unknown amount of height upwards, she was coiled in metal tentacle made of tiny spheres, shards of metal bits and wires. The metal morphed and rippled like water, but was strong as steel against her. Her Princess instincts finally kicked in as she fired bolt after bolt of energy into the flexible, metal limb that ensnared her. She mustered up all off her magic into the beast’s limb, but nothing seemed to harm it. A sudden surge of magical energy erupted throughout Celestia coming from the thing that held her, which violently and painfully sapped the magic from within her. Her powers had been depleted and she hung in the unknown beast’s grasp lifelessly.

Her vision had been distorted from the tears and pain, but once her eyes readjusted to her surroundings, she finally took notice of the monster that held her. The large sphere with the blood-eye overlooked her again, while other tentacles of the same materials hovered around them, encasing them in a continual, moving globe. Towers of glowing, white energy floated about them and she had no worldly idea what this creature was. She felt as if she had to say something, but her tongue was fastened behind her teeth and she dared not speak to the creature. She sensed that this being was more than just metal, but of pure magical energy, making it truly alive; but of what type of being this was eluded her. It levitated itself in front of her, keeping its eye staring into Celestia’s. Its sight upon her burned within her mind, an ever increasing pain she could not hide from. Finally, from the depths of the sphere, it spoke in a tone that shook Celestia’s bones to her core. A voice which brought fright from beyond her, a voice which she will never, ever forget.

“Princess... Celestia...” it spoke, pronouncing each syllable with a deep, grinding voice as if the earth itself spoke before her.

She stuttered back, “H-how do y-you know my name?”

It bellowed back with raw power in its tone, “I have known of this... I have seen all, for I see all. And all that will be seen, I have already seen. For I am, the Foreseer.” Celestia’s mouth gaped open, all that she had read of the Foreseer from the ancient texts were true. This was it, the being of the ancient world itself. She couldn't comprehend it as she searched for words–it was too much for her mind or anyone’s to take in in her position.

The Foreseer spoke again, hushing Celestia’s mind, “What have you come for, Star Maiden? Do you seek Om? For he is not here. Do you seek wealth? For you will only find death in these tombs. What then do you seek, Queen of the Cosmos?”

“K-knowledge... Where am I?”

“This place has had many names. Tel Megiddo, Dream Valley, and now the Wasteland of Eden. I have seen the mountains flattened, the seas dried, the utopias die. Kings pass, armies destroyed, cities burned and stars fallen. I have seen all of this and more, though something comes upon the horizon of the next moon, an evil far greater than the evil’s of yesteryear. You know of his name, but will you have the strength to defeat such evil? No, you shall not. It shall consume you and everything. This is the beginning of the end of you, Celestia. You cannot escape it.”

Celestia spoke out, “What about Zachary? What about the Son of Eternity?”

The Foreseer fell silent and spoke again, “I know none of these individual’s fates, for one now resides in the Firelight Woods, and the other beyond my sight. It is hard for me to determine what both of these are capable of.”

Celestia whispered to herself, “The Firelight Woods... Oh no...” Her attention was brought back as one long tentacle arose next to the sphere. The limb split in two and from each end shot a long, spear-like blade.

The Foreseer cautioned, “So much of what I have to tell you of this: The ancient world is vast and we do not have the time to tell you of its secrets. For now, the armies are gathering, evils are brewing within your walls, and not even Harmony shall subdue such darkness. Fate and hope are such a distance, but a distance nonetheless one can travel to. Now temporize for the extemporizing.” On that last word, the Foreseer rose the two, thin blades and stuck each into the pupil of Celestia’s eyes. It pulled each out quickly and Celestia fell unconscious without a word.

The secrets of the ancient world are now fully known to you, immortal one.” A flash of magic engulfed Celestia and soon she was gone, teleported away from the tomb of the Foreseer.

The entity spoke to itself, “Now... now we shall wait for the one... We shall wait for the key to enter the port hole, and we shall turn the key to our desire.” After this, its eye dimmed into the dark, sleeping once more. Sleeping and watching.

In the northeastern plateaus, the high morning’s rays came forth and scorched the wastelands. No, this was not the same place Celestia found herself, but somewhere much more filled with foul life. The rocky red terrain with howling winds and piercing sand storms was home to these foul beasts, the beasts which have assembled themselves. They came forth from the earth below, into the light for a larger purpose than one might imagine. This was none other than the home of the Changelings.

Atop a high and slanted boulder, half submerged in the sand, this rock was to be a podium for their leaders. From holes in the ground, they poured forth like blood from a wound. Hundreds, thousands, they continued to grow across the landscape. Crawling and hissing and buzzing about, something precipitously fierce was soon to unfold. The gathering surrounded this prow of a rock, where it now seemed to be in a sea of black creatures. On this boulder came forth the Queen and King of the Changelings. Queen Chrysalis stood back as King Hexarch looked over his subjects. He stood menacingly and proudly; his staggering height and sheer strength was what brought fear into the hearts of the civilized lands. This goliath of a creature who ruled justly and fairly over his kin took full charge of the moment with a ground shaking roar. The crowds were silenced and their attentions were drawn to their ruler.

Hexarch spoke with a hiss over his people, “Fellow brotherssss, fellow sistersssss. The time has drawn near. Lord Disssscord is on the verge of awakening and long have we waited and grown. I have hoof-chosen sssseveral thousand of you from the colony to join me in taking back the Equestrian Landsssss. We are sssstrong, we are ready, and I sssshall guide us to victory!” As his hoof raised high over the army, the Changelings cheered and shouted, giving off their battle cries throughout the Dead Lands.

“Take flight with me, my kin. And together, we sssshall sap all of the love from these landsssss! The poniessss have grown weak from centuriessss of peace while I have raised you all for battle. I promisssse you that in three days, we ssssshall take hold of the kingdom! First, we devasssstate their air defensessss in the city of Cloudsdale, then from there we take the townshipssss around Canterlot, and finally take Canterlot for ourselvessss. Now rise! Rise! Rise with me! And together we-shall-be-victorioussss!”

Hexarch unleashed his hardened forewings, allowing his dual pair of gigantic, insect wings to lift him off of the ground and high into the air. The army of Changelings soon took flight as well, the incessant buzzing of every Changeling’s wings sounded as if a hurricane was rolling through the wastelands. The mass, black cloud of creatures sailed high into the sky and as one they flew quickly over the landscape, off to war.

Darkness shrouded Canterlot Castle. The evening haze fell back over the distant mounts and were blown away by the gusty, night breeze. Purple and dark blue skies entered the twilight as a large swarm of cumuli speckled the heavens. The streets calmed a bit, but the lights of the town of Canterlot gave certainty of the sprawling community in which it inhabited. Luna watched all of this as she raised the moon, a crescent satellite which she hung in the air above. Moonbeams danced down the valleys and crevices of the mountains which held Canterlot. The trickling river which ran through the center of the city played with the nightly lights; splashing colors of gold and silver that shimmered off of the water’s face.

“Too much beauty,” she thought to herself as she dared not look away from it; but something did make her look away, a familiar noise which grew from the Royal Gardens below. Her eye’s grew in exhilaration with the expectancy of Zachary. She opened her wings and took flight, gliding down and around the tower she perched herself a top of. She landed in the garden as soon as the Panexus gave of its final burst of blinding energy. What was revealed was not Zachary, but Celestia. Luna stopped and was taken back by her sister’s appearance. Celestia was bruised and battered, fighting against the fatigue of what had happened mere moments ago to her. Luna, expressing sibling concern for her sister, raced over to help lift her sister to her hooves.

“What happened, my sister?”

She raised her eyes towards Luna and thanked, “Oh, bless the heavens I’m back home.” A moan of pain escaped from her mouth and Luna began to use her magic. Her horn glowed and her magical aura washed over her sister, trying her hardest to sooth her injuries. The two began to slowly stumble their way back into the castle, though still making their ways through the garden.

Luna asked again, “Sister, what has happened to you?”

“Do not worry about me,” she said whilst pushing off her sister, trying to walk on her own. “However, we need to hurry.”

“But I have so many questions... I haven’t heard a word from you or received a sign from you in a month!” Celestia stopped when Luna finished her sentence. She became motionless, broken now by fear of what she had said. Had it really been a month? To her, it had only seemed like a day. Then she remembered, the Panexus’ teleport time differed with every use. While you may be instantaneously teleport half way across the world, it may also take weeks or a month for the teleportation process to be completed, yet it may only feel like an instant to the user of the device.

“No,” she whimpered in growing panic, “the time...” She looked back at Luna with an utmost terror in her eyes and trembled, “The enemy is at our doorstep, my sister.”

“Wh–... Who do you mean?”

“He has broken through our seal...”

At that moment, both sisters raced, with all of their might, raced towards the Enigma Chamber. Celestia did her best to push through the writhing pain in her body to keep up with her quicker sibling. As the two entered the dark chamber, Luna made it first to the door of the room and waited for Celestia’s approach.

“His embodiment statue at the hedges has yet to be destroyed from which I can sense, which means he can’t have escaped his real prison yet.”

Celestia stepped towards the door, powering up her unicorn horn and replied, “We can’t be certain. We must check the real one.” The two alicorns harmoniously fired two bolts of light from their horns into the lock of the Enigma door. The gateway lit up and opened a room only the two of them can have access to. When the pressing light had faded, Celestia and Luna’s hearts raced with coming fear. The actual statue of Discord was gone, only the pedestal remained.

“H-How has he escaped,” Luna clamored in disbelief. “Nothing of this world can escape...”

“Precisely. He is not of this world.”

“The signs! The signs said we would have time to prepare for this! We cannot fight him. We have not prepared for this!” The two fell silent, now knowing that something was watching them from behind.

This something spoke out, “You surely cannot, my dear alicorns.”

(End of Part 1)

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