Hour of Twilight

by -Brutus

A Bad Omen

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// Story: Hour of Twilight
// Chapter: Chapter 3: A Bad Omen (Reworked)
// Author: Darth Femto
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Chapter Three
A Bad Omen

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Princess Celestia lay in her bed, in her quarter atop the southern Tower of Canterlot, humming to herself as she brushed her mane. Despite flowing with magic, it was not very different from regular hair. The clock on the wall ticked once loudly, followed by four consecutive bangs; it was midnight. She dropped her hair brush and sighed.

"Who would have thought being immortal is so... so boring! Pfft," she snorted.

She got up from her bed and went to remove her makeup. Sitting down on her haunches, she picked a wet tissue and gently removed her makeup, her reflection in the mirror showing just how old she really looked. Celestia closed her eyes and her horn flared for a few seconds. Upon opening her eyes, she gave a weak smile at herself, as she noticed her rainbow mane turned a soft pink, how it used to be before she ascended the throne of Equestria. A gentle knock on the door drew her attention.

"Yes?"

"Your tea, your Majesty," a soft but stern voice replied from the other side of the door. '

"Come in."

The door opened slowly, revealing a white unicorn bearing a tray with a large cup of tea and a plate of cupcakes. He trotted next to her nightstand and placed the tray carefully as to not break anything. He turned towards the Princess and bowed graciously before leaving the room.

Celestia picked the tray with her magic and brought it over to the mirror. She smiled to herself upon noticing the chocolate cupcakes. 'I will have to thank the chef for those,' she thought to herself. She picked one and started nibbling on it, while levitating the large cup of black tea, to sooth her senses.

CRACK

Celestia almost spilled the tea when she noticed that the mirror in front of her cracked, now looking like an interesting spider web of reflecting shards. However, that was the last of her concerns. In the reflection of the mirror, she could discern the Moon, the mirror facing the balcony. The shape of a bloody Moon could be seen, emanating a powerful reddish glow, the sky dark with storm clouds. Terrified of this, she turned her head to the balcony, expecting the worst. However, she was relieved to see the Moon as it is normally, glowing white and a clear sky. It is then that she noticed the difference. The Moon in the mirror bore no mark of the imprisoned unicorn. Sweat was pouring from her face.

'Something's terribly wrong... I must get Luna,' she said to herself, in an attempt to steel herself. Taking a few moments to overcome the paralysis of fear, she ventured outside her quarter to look for Luna.

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Princess Luna was in the Royal Garden, trotting around the marvelous statues that decorated it. She wasn't an expert in art, but she did enjoy taking a walk in the garden at night, when everything would be peaceful. In her opinion, it made the statues more 'artistic'. She reached out the monument for the Elements of Harmony, who were depicted as defeating Nightmare Moon. Luna gave a soft chuckle, leaving it to that. She gave the statue another glance before she turned to leave.

CRACK

Luna's eyes widened in fear, turning around immediately, only to drop to her haunches when she noticed something very disturbing. The heads of the bearers of Kindness, Generosity, Loyalty, Honesty and Laughter have been crushed to dust, while the Element of Magic, depicted as Twilight, was crying blood. Luna felt her stomach turn and started panting heavily, as if something was chocking her. She cautiously stepped backwards, stumbling blindly until she tripped and fell on her back. Rolling on her side, her eyes made contact with the surface of the small lake in the garden. A bloody Moon was visible. She was paralyzed.

"Ce... Cely... Celestia *pant* sister... Celestia, where are you," the blue alicorn was whimpering in fright, an unbearable sense of horror washing over her, locking her down.

She started trashing and kicking at the ground, trying to get up, but there was a mysterious force pinning her down. When she felt a hoof touching her shoulder, she glanced at the source with such speed she could have broken her neck on the spot. Luna calmed down when she noticed Celestia, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Celestia! Look!" she pointed at the broken statue. Celestia followed her motion and looked upon the statue. Her legs buckled and she dropped to the ground with a 'thud' her lips quivering as if she wanted to scream. But she did not. Instead, she got to her feet, and motioned for Luna to follow. Luna did not question her sister and followed her towards the Library.

Upon arriving, Celestia took a parchment and began scribbling furiously, before rolling it and sending it away. Luna approached her sister slowly, herself still in shock after what she had just seen.

"What was that... the statue... the bloody moon in the reflection of the lake... WHAT'S GOING ON!?" Luna lost herself for a moment.

"Luna! Control yourself! It was just a message," Celestia sighed, rubbing her face with her front hooves. "It can only be a message..."

"Y-you mean... she's coming back? But... but! She should be imprisoned for at least a thousand years if not more! I know she is powerful, but to break a seal as powerful as the Moon?! It's beyond impossible!"

Celestia said nothing, instead she started looking around for something on the bookshelves. Several minutes of silence passed, Luna becoming more and more frightened.

"Cely... please, tell me. What are you planning to do?"

"I need you to call out a very special unicorn from the Winterhoof Academy in the north. She was your student for a while."

Luna thought for a few seconds. "You mean Silverghost? What are you planning, Celestia..." She asked her sister, her interest piqued.

"You are to assemble a task force and set out to the north, and establish a defensive force capable of handling anything, if only to buy time."

"You... you mean?"

"Yes. You must defend Dragonblight," replied Celestia with authority in her voice. "Equestria's survival might depend on it. Go now, I have to prepare our defense here, at the castle. I will also debrief the elements once they arrive. Time is of the essence sister, make haste!"

"Very well, sister," Luna turned to leave, but stopped shortly and turned towards Celestia and hugged her dearly. "No matter what happens, Celestia, now that I will always love you," she said, tears gently streaking down her cheeks. Celestia returned the gesture and nuzzled her sister affectionately.

"I love you too, Lulu... I love you too."

"Ahem. Your Majesty?"

Both Princesses looked at the massive figure standing in the door. A large grey pegasus adorned in golden armour stood tall before the Princesses.

"Captain Valiant Heart," Luna began, "we have a mission ahead of us. Prepare Squad Zero for immediate departure to Dragonblight. Nopony else is to know about this mission! Do you understand?"

The pegasus nodded and saluted the Monarchs before flying away.

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In a distant land, across the Frozen Sea, lay Dragonblight, a wasteland surrounded by a chain of mountains, resembling a crown made of ice and snow, its peaks littered with dragon bones and parts. It was a vast cemetery, the wind howling as it was snowing furiously. In the middle of the large island, there was a dome covered in snow, like a mound, surrounded by frozen rivers and several dragon statues, each bearing a six pointed star mark and a black frayed cloak that danced in the storm winds. The statues were standing in such way, it seemed they were defending the tower of ice that protruded from the surface of the island itself.

The colossal tower was in fact hollow on the inside, a cavern of some sort. In the center of the cavern was a dizzyingly tall spire of rock. Blanketed in snow, a set of stairs spiraled up the sides of the spire. Far above, at the top of the spire, a large chunk of crystal lay dormant. Untouched by snow, it had a faint bluish gleam. It looked like a jagged throne with hazy dark shapes inside it. There was a palpable aura of menace surrounding the strange 'sculpture'. The throne, or rather, a prison, radiated bone-chilling cold, and mist surrounded it. A prison not of crystal, but of ice. A set of plate armor was locked within the prison, rather than upon it, positioned as if there was a pony, a unicorn, wearing them, however nothing was there.

CRACK-AKOOM

The sides of the cavern cracked, the echo reverberating throughout the entire room, the walls shaking slightly. Several thick metallic chains that anchored the massive structure to the walls moved in unison. The echo faded out, only to be replaced by a hazy sound, as loud as a whisper, but clear enough. Laughter. Insane laughter.

Comments

[Skeeter The Lurker]

So.... Equestria's version of the Frozen Throne, yes?

Liking it so far.

~Skeeter The Lurker

[Brother_William]

So, will Twilight become the new Arthas? She's already done the Culling of Ponyville.
Or will she be Illidan? Her imprisonment has already begun if that's the case.

[AleaJactaEst]

Damn you.