> Hour of Twilight > by Shining Moonlight > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Destruction > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Quick!! Get more water!!" A white coated earth pony screamed as he was throwing bucket after bucket of water at one of the burning houses. A couple of pegasi shot into the air to comeback seconds later with rain clouds. As the rain poured down on the burning houses the fire died. Seconds later the fire returned, only this time the fire was the color of green and purple.. The rain kept pouring and pouring but the fire only became stronger. Eventually the fire spread to the rest of the small town and soon they all heard a horrifying scream. "My wife!!" A Green coated and blue maned unicorn cried out as he started rushing towards the house where the scream had come from, many more ponies following. As they kicked open the door the fire inside died away to reveal a young pegasus with a cyan coat and purple mane lying on the ground with two baby foals lying in her arms. The unicorn fell to his knees in front of his family and whispered. "Flitter..." All three of them were covered in burn marks and one of the foals, a blue coated colt, had a bloody mark on his forehead, as if someone had taken a knife and carved the shape of.... "The dark crystal..." A mare whispered terrified. Her voice echoed through the room and as she gazed around the room her eyes fell upon a spot in a corner where a small red light was glowing. As the other followed her gaze everyone of them stepped back except the unicorn who still sat beside his wife grieving. A pony appeared from the shadows and one of the stallions dragged the unicorn outside where all other ponies where gathered as the town had burned down and now laid in ruins. As the pony stepped out onto the porch of the now only standing house everypony stared at her. The mare had a lavender coat and a dark blue mane with highlights of dark purple and pink. She had a long horn which was glowing. The aura was blood red and as they looked closer they noticed she had wings as well. "She's a Princess!! She's come to save us!" A young filly cried out and some ponies started cheering only to stop when the mare opened her eyes. Instead of a creamy white her eyes were a glowing green and her pupils were dark red. Purple smoke made from pure power flowed through the corner of her eyes. She took a step forward, and another until she stood in front of the green unicorn. She opened her mouth to reveal fangs and spoke. "What is your name unicorn?" Her voice was icy and confident. When he didn't speak she flared her wings out and lifted the young filly that had cheered her arrival in her aura. "Speak up! Or I will kill this young filly in front of her parents!!" She hissed. The unicorn stood up and held his head high. "I am Green Jewel." He said, his voice deep with pain. As the filly started to tremble and shake he added. "Let her go! You have what you wanted!" The princess knelt down so that she was eye level with him. "Well then...." She said in a mild tone that startled Green Jewel. Then she stood up and addressed the whole crowd. " This filly... She's got strong potential I see... I will be fair to her.... I will not kill her.... until she's watched her parents burn!" They all gasped and two ponies, a mare and stallion stepped forward. "We won't let you kill our daughter!" The stallion boomed with his strong voice. The Princess laughed and black smoke gathered at her feet. "Oh and who will stop me?" She said and shot her magic at the couple. As the smoke cleared, they were chained to two poles on a scene. She shot her magic again and they started burning in the same green and purple smoke as the houses burned in. The filly screamed and tears streamed through her eyes as the couple screamed in terror and pain.The horrifying screams went on and on until there was nothing left of the filly's parents. The mare once again turned to the crowd. "I am the Queen of the Shadows, I am the Queen of Darkness." She chanted. The crowd chanted along until she had enough and sent a blast of purple mist through the town square. Everypony shrieked as dark assassins appeared out of the mist. The assassins swiftly slashed the throats of all ponies except Green Jewel's. As she walked up to Green Jewel he lifted his head. She slashed the throat of the filly and dropped her to the ground. She knelt down beside Green Jewel and whispered into his ear."and this is the hour of twilight..." She then stomped her hoof on his head, breaking his skull. She ordered her assassins to move the bodies to the center of the square. When they were done, the Princess along with her dark assassins disappeared into the night. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ "Good morning Princess Sparkle." Twilight simply nodded at the guard outside her door and went straight for the garden. She passed many ponies who greeted her but the alicorn was busy and just nodded as a greeting. As she entered the garden of her castle she breathed in the sweet scent of roses and lavender. She went past all the rows of flower bushes until she came to a large fountain. In the middle of the fountain was a statue of Twilight herself. She waded through the fountain water and stomped three times on the white marble and said "Aperi" Immediately a hidden staircase opened and she looked around to see if anypony saw her before disappearing into the underground room. The room was very dark and as Twilight lit her horn, the lavender aura shot into the roof and lit a big lamp so that the whole room was filled with light. The staircase disappeared as she stepped onto the cold stone floor. She went through the room passing a stand with a dark crown with the symbol of The Dark Crystal carved into the center of the crown. She passed many similar stands until she reached a large one. Inside was a large dark crystal. As she lifted the glass with dark magic the crystal started to glow. "Almost there my beloved King of Nightmares..." She whispered. > Alliances > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The sound of three pair of hooves echoed through the cave as three shapes appeared from the shadows. The one in the middle, a mare, stepped forward, her followers following. She stopped dead when she reached a stone throne. On the throne sat a dark grey unicorn with a black mane and red horn. He smiled to reveal fangs as he saw his visitor. He stepped down from the throne and greeted her. "So what horrifying things have you done lately?" He asked the mare. She opened her mouth and spoke with the same icy and confident voice as the mare from the night before. The guards behind were two of her dark assassins. "I did what you asked of my King of Nightmares." He went up to her and smiled. "Good." He said before he kissed the mare passionately. As she pulled out he continued, "Oh my Queen of Shadows, how did I deserve you..." He returned to his throne. "There is one more thing you can do for me though.." He continued. "I need you to send for Queen Chrysalis. If I asked her, she would't come, but if you asked she would." As the mare opened her eyes and bared her fangs she spat back. "I will not! That witch may help us, but I won't call for her! You'll have to!" As she calmed down, she said."If you're so sure she won't come. Tell her you love her... She seems to be interested in that subject..." And with that she disappeared into the shadows along with her assassins. The unicorn sighed and walked up to his throne, sat down, and started waiting for inspiration to hit him. "Ouch!" He growled as a rock out of nowhere and hit him in the head. "Aha!" He said and started writing. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Somepony knocked on Twilight's door. She called "Come in!" and kept brushing her mane. When she saw that it was Princess Celestia she stopped brushing and went up to her. "What is it Celestia? I am very busy so I don't have time for one of your lectures or small talks." Just as she was about to turn around to go back to brushing her mane Celestia spoke. "Last night, when a group of guards were patroling along the coast of the Whinnysota, they passed a small town...." Celestia shed a tear that dropped down on the marble floor. "In the report there were enough details to paint a vivid picture in my mind." "Well then the pony who wrote it must be an artist..." Twilight sarcastically muttered. Luckily Celestia either did not hear her or was too upset to react. She continued. "Let me think... you want to go to the town to investigate and see it for yourself and you want me to come with you. My answer is no!" She flared her wings out and then tucked then in and started preening them. "I have got other things to do... Like my royal duties for example, haven't you got any?" Celestia walked up to her and smiled the sweetest smile. "Pretty please..." Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine..." The two princesses went out of Twilight's chambers and went down to the courtyard where the carriage that would take them to the coast of Whinnysota, but there was somepony else waiting for them as well... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ "Surprise!!" The five mares jumped out from behind a marble statue. Twilight gasped and two mare guards in purple uniforms tackled the mares to the ground and growled. Twilight looked the guards in the eyes and the guards stopped growling and let the mares stand up. As they did, she realized it was Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. "Girls? How dare you sneak up on me like that!!" She motioned her guards to move away and continued. "You know how sensitive my guards are." As the girls lowered their heads she added. "You aren't young mares anymore! You have families, children who look up to you. What would they think if it stood in the newspaper "Five mares snuck into the castle and was attacked by the Twilight Guards"?" They shook their heads and scratched the ground with their hooves, shame written all over them. Then Twilight smiled. "I am happy to see you though!" They all shared a group hug. Suddenly, Twilight teleported herself out of the hug and asked. "What are you doing here?" Applejack stepped forward. "We came to follow you on your trip to Whinnysota. Pinkie has some relatives there so we thought we would stop by!" Celestia spoke while shaking her head. "Do you know why we are going there dear Applejack?" As Applejack shook her head Celestia continued. "Last night a guard patrol was patrolling the coast when they passed a town. It was burned to the ground except one house that was still standing... In the town square was...." She stopped and calmed her self. "Bodies.." Pinkie raised an eyebrow. "Dead bodies?" Twilight rolled her eyes and said sarcastically. "No, bodies of water, of course it was dead bodies!" The others stared at Pinkie while she tried to shrink away into her own mane. "Pinkie... That mane is still not big enough for you to hide in..." Twilight continued. As Celestia spoke again her voice was stern and determined. "As I said, you cannot come with us... I was hesitant about taking Twilight along at first but then I decided to ask her. When she said no, I was about to force her when she agreed to following me." "Yeah because going to look at dead bodies is really a job for two." Twilight sighed. Celestia coughed and Twilight stood straight and held her head high. She closed her eyes only to open one to stare at Celestia. "Can we go now? I want to be back for dinner." At that, the two alicorns stepped into the carriage. The cushions were the color of light light yellow while the carriage itself was a white and dark lavender. The carriage was also decorated with lavender and roses - both Twilight and Celestia's favorites. The pegasi that were pulling the carriage was a white stallion with a blue mane and an orange stallion with blue mane (Flash Sentry ^-^) As Twilight stroked her hoof over the carriage door she thought to herself before signaling to the two guards who earlier wrestled Rarity and the others to the ground. Instead they now pushed the mares in front of then and shoved them into the carriage. "You are coming with us!" She declared and her friends smiled bright. Oh no!, she thought. What have I gotten myself into. She took one of the loose cushions and face planted into it. Rainbow Dash burst into laughter while the rest of the mares just snickered amusingly. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ "My Queen!" A changeling announced as he entered the throne room. He trotted through the hall and passed by portraits of many changeling Queen and Kings until he stopped in front of a tall tower. The tower was several meters high and a staircase went around it. At the top of the tower was a grand throne. On the throne was a mare sitting, but she was different from other mares, oh so different. "You have a letter. From.... King Sombra your majesty!" At that the mare looked up from her hooves to reveal Queen Chrysalis. She bared her fangs at the name and flared her insect wings out. She scream echoed through the halls and the changeling fell to his knees and but his fore hooves to his ears. When the echoing stopped, Chrysalis went down the stairs until she reached the changeling who was lying on the ground lifeless. Suddenly the changeling jumped up and yowled and ear piercing scream and Chrysalis bared her fangs. She bit the changeling and shook him like a lion would shake it's prey. When the body in her mouth went limp she spat him to the ground and hissed. As she looked down at his hooves she saw a paper. She picked it up with her magic and started to walk up the staircase. When she reached the top she sat down on the throne, opened the letter, and started reading. Dear Chrysalis, I, King Sombra, have requested that you come to the Crystal Mountains. Since it is near the Changeling Border it isn't much to ask. The reason I want you to come is that I have a problem... I have fallen in love with you! I have fallen in love with those mean and piecing eyes, the killing scream and those shiny fangs... Come to me so that we may join each other in a war against Equestria so that we may live in peace, together forever. I know what you will say, so I say this... Think of how beautiful those Crystal Changelings will look... I await your arrival my Queen Chrysalis, King Sombra Chrysalis gasped. She couldn't believe it. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ She was a young Princess changeling when King Sombra came to power. She had been ordered by her father, King Metamorphosis, to infiltrate the Crystal Empire. He thought they would have the advantage since the young King just had taken control. He was right. They succeeded. Chrysalis had stormed into the castle and caught the King by surprise. The battle went on for weeks until finally Chrysalis and King Sombra were face to face. They fought and fought until Sombra fell to his knees. Chrysalis brought out her dagger out of her armor and put it against the stallions throat. They were in a room deep inside the castle as Chrysalis had chased Sombra when he fled. Just as she was about to slash his throat, he opened his eyes. Instead of a green and blazing red with purple mist streaming from her eyes they were a soft, creamy white. His pupil was a ruby red. Chrysalis hesitated and put the dagger back in her armor. As he stood up, he looked at her with a disgusted look. "Why didn't you kill me?" He asked her. She looked him deep in the eyes. "I don't kill..." She said. She stepped towards him and Sombra stepped back. It kept going until Chrysalis accidentally teleported herself so that their muzzles touched. They blushed and backed away from each other. She had stormed out of the room and out onto the Crystal Square and had yowled the signal to retreat. Just as Sombra stormed out of the castle and ran towards her she pressed her hind legs to the ground and leapt into the air. As she started beating her wings the other changelings joined her. They set off to the Changeling Border and disappeared into the sunset. Sombra and Crystalis kept meeting in the Crystal Mountains every day right after sunset during twilight. They used to laugh, tell stories and play games. One night Chrysalis was sitting on her balcony and looking at the sun as it began disappearing behind the mountains. She sighed. That had been the most beautiful sunset she had ever seen, she had thought. This was the night, she had told herself. This was the night she was going to tell Sombra how she felt. As she fluttered off to the mountains an hour later she felt like she could just start singing. Bad idea though... Wouldn't want to tell everyone where I am at. she thought. Chrysalis had been born with the natural talent to lead her hive. Unlike her mother who hadn't. Once she was born, her father had killed her and made Chrysalis as his heir. She knew that she had been lucky. Royal changeling who aren't born with the talent to scream were either killed or tortured. The worst was that some were kept alive so that the ruling King or Queen could mate with her or him. Her mother had been that, but she had been treated even worse. Her fathered had kidnapped her from another hive so that she would give him an heir. A question popped into her head. Would she ever mate with Sombra? She decided that if she and Sombra ever mated, she would be the happiest Princess in the whole galaxy! As the cave where Sombra was waiting for her came into sight she pressed her wings to the limit and arrived at half the time it would have taken before. When she saw Sombra she saw that he had gotten his normal eye color back. She got goosebumps. He looked so handsome. As Sombra greeted her she flew into his arms and kissed him passionately. There was a scream, a blast, and everything turned black. > Betrayal > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- As Chrysalis opened her eyes and woke up she noticed she was lying on cool stone floor. She also realized that instead of hearing her hoofs tough the stone floor as she heaved herself onto all four, she heard a loud beep. Then she remembered last night. She had kissed Sombra, and then everything had went black. As both her hearing and her balance came back, she saw that it was still dawn. That meant that she had kissed Sombra just a few moments ago. As she turned around, she was met with Sombra and her father King Metamorphosis standing face to face, fangs bared. "How dare you betray your king Chrysalis!" Her father spat at her. She held her breath, closed her eyes and let it all go. "Because I love him. I always will." As both Sombra and King Metamorphosis gasped she lunged herself at her father. "I know that you will never let me love him, but I do! All I am asking for is your blessing." As she looked him in the eyes she knew what he was going to do. She surrounded his dagger with her aura and threw it over the edge of the cave. She did the same with his sword. As she let him go he made a run for Sombra. Before he could do anything though, he fell to the ground, his body limp and lifeless. Chrysalis had taken her dagger and shot it at her father's throat. Sombra looked at her, terrified. "What have you done, Chrysalis?" She was shocked at the harsh tone Sombra used. "I thought you said... That you didn't kill...." Before Chrysalis could stop him, he teleported himself out of the cave and back to the Crystal Empire. When Chrysalis came back to the hive, she noticed how all the other changelings were just lying around, barely moving. She rushed forward to the Changeling Army Captain, Stained Heart. "Stained Heart! What is happening?" As she spoke, he lifted his head and said. "Without a King or Queen.... The hive won't survive..." He said between the attempts to breathe. Chrysalis' face hardened and her aura lit up an empty space on top of her head. Seconds later, the aura vanished, to reveal a crown. She opened her eyes and said in a threatening, cold and confident voice. "Then let me be your Queen..." She burst into an insane laughter that echoed through the hive. After mere second, the changelings all joined in. And that, was the beginning to the reign of Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ The soil churned as Twilight's hooves touched the ground. Instantly she flapped her wings so that she didn't have to walk on the dirty soil, she flew over to where the ground turned into cobblestone. As her friends and Princess Celestial caught up to her, they all gasped. In the middle of the town square was a big pile of dead bodies. At the top was a little fillie that had a slashed throat. All around the square were burned down houses, except one, that was left standing. The mares walked into the house slowly, and once again gasped at the sight of the mare with her two dead foals in her arms. Celestial walked up to the burned bodies and investigated on if the foals forehead. She growled as she saw the dark crystal and shoved the mares outside, with an exception for Twilight. "Do you know what this is?" She hissed. Twilight shook her head as she leaned forward to see the mark for herself. "That is the mark of King Sombra. Actually one of his allies. Whenever someone joins side with a powerful King or Queen, they mark one of their victims with the King or Queen's symbol. The dark crystal is Sombra's symbol." Celestia sighed. "I thought we were done with him for good, but it looks like he has made an ally.. An ally that can make him stronger!" Twilight took Celestia outside where a body was being transported in a golden carriage. As Celestia screamed in horror and started crying Twilight stopped her from running to the side of the dead body. The other mares went up to investigate who it was. "Excuse me good sir? I am a friend of the Princesses and The Element of Generosity, Rarity. I was just wondering who this is, or.. was.." She pointed to the green unicorn with crushed skull. The earth pony dragging the carriage answered her politely but sorrow filled his voice. "I am afraid that this is Green Jewel, Mayor of this town and one of Celestia herself's most trusted advisors..." He sighed."I'll be taking him to Fillydelphia where he is scheduled to be buried. That," He said, pointing at the house that was still standing. " Is where he lived with his wife, and two foals, Misty Jewel and Blue Sky... I'll miss them..." And then he continued to walk with his head drooping. Rarity and the others looked at Green Jewel as he disappeared into the sunset and looked back at Celestia. They shook their heads. It was enough that many pony citizens had been lost,so had one of the most important ponies been too. They helped Twilight steady Celestia as they helped her back to the carriage and went home to Canterlot. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ "Stained Heart!" Chrysali's voice rang through the hive and seconds later, the Captain rushed into the hall. The first thing he saw was the dead body lying in front of the Tower. "Yes your majesty?" He said in a confident voice. "I want an escort of four changelings ready in the hour.I am going to visit an old friend of mine." She said as she made her way down the staircase. "I have been waiting for this moment since I became Queen.." She burst into a horrifying laughter that was soon joined by Stained Heart and all of the Changelings in the hive, creating a laughter of absolute death.... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ "Spread out!" A cool voice hissed as the cave came into sight. Hoofes scraped across the mountain side as the ponies obeyed their commander's orders. "Alpha O2 Strike!" The voice spat out the movement pattern and the other ponies instantly bent down so that their bellies just barely touched the ground. They started to sneak inside, quieter than a mouse, with the leader taking the rear. As the cave roof closed in over them, the first two rolled to the sides, the next two following, and the next, until the voice stood in the middle. The pony went forward, the sound of hooves echoing. Suddenly it stopped and lit it's horn to reveal a blood-red aura. It bared it's fangs and lifted it's wings slightly off it's flank. It hissed something barely hearable and the other ponies instantly hopped forward and knocked out all ponies intruding in the cave. As the alicorn shot it's magic into the roof, a light turned on to reveal all Changeling guard on the patrol pinned down by Dark Assassins. The alicorn walked into the middle of the crowd where Chrysalis was pinned to the ground by three Assassins. "I knew you were coming Chrysalis.." The mare spoke."After all, I sent for you!" She hissed. She bit down on Chrysalis fore hoof and started to suck blood. Chrysalis gasped and tried to shriek, but one of the Assassins was covering her mouth, a grin on her face. The mare licked her lips and backed away from Chrysalis."I can't believe what a fool you've become! You think he would want you back after what you did?" Chrysalis tried to bite the Assassin's hoof but the Assassin was too quick and dragged her hood away. "What do you mean by what I have done!? I am no worse than you.... Twilight.." Twilight turned around. "Well did I promise him I wouldn't kill anyone? No... Did I almost get him killed? No... Did I kill my kin?!! NO!!"Twilight lunged for Chrysalis but before she could bite down on her neck and kill her, another pony appeared. "Having fun my Queen?" Chrysalis gasped. "Sombra! Help! She's trying to kill me!" Chrysalis tried to struggle free of the Assassin's grasp but they only held her tighter. "Oh Chrissie?" He sighed and walked up to Twilight. "Didn't you know? I want you as an ally... She wouldn't kill you..." Twilight sighed. "Let's just get on with it and tell her.. And by the way sunshine," She said to Chrysalis."If I could choose, I'd have torn you to pieces at the sight of you!" She growled. Sombra looked her in the eyes and so she sighed and continued."Celestia has never been the rightful ruler... We think it's time to change that, if you were our ally, we would win the war that will rage out when I reveal my true self... Will you help us?" Twilight sneaked up on her like a lion would sneak up on it's prey. "Because if you won't, I'll snap your head off!" She Teleported herself so that she was lying with her head on Chrysalis shoulder."You already know I would, but he wants me to let you... consider." She said hissing at Sombra. Chrysalis gulped and rasped. "I'll help.. If you promise not to kill my son..." Twilight stood up and eyed Chrysalis. As hoofes echoed, Twilight turned around to see an unusual Changeling, not like the others, about her age. Infact, he looked just like any other pony.. correction, like any other alicorn. He had a green mane and tail, a Twilight walked up to him. He started shaking and almost seemed to shrink in the presence of the savage and cruel Princess. "Is it true?" He said, trying to hide the fear in his voice. "Will you kill my mother?" Twilight stood face to face with the Prince and licked her hoof and stroked it across his mane, making it look more tidy. "Why do you ask?" She whispered into his ear, her lips touching his cheek once she backed away slowly. The Prince blushed and Sombra growled. The Prince instantly went up to Sombra and faced him. "What are you growling at? Huh? Are you a Timber Wolf or what?" He stepped away and went up to Twilight. He whispered something in her ear and she nodded curtly. She then whistled and ran out, the Dark Assassins following her out just a second later. Before Chrysalis could do anything, more Dark Assassins appeared and dragged her into the darkness. The Prince smiled at Sombra and said."I will be the King soon..." He then backed out of the cave where Twilight had disappeared to, and laughed quietly. > Mirrors > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- >!!WARNING!!< The following chapter is strongly suggested to not be read by sensitive people such as kids or emotional people. Please take notice of this warning before criticizing my work. >!!WARNING!!< "Hello?" Chrysalis croaked as she found herself in a dark big room. She couldn't see anything, though she thought she heard the sound of wings flapping and soft hooves landing on the cold ground. "Hello? I can hear you!" She said again, stronger and more confident. She wasn't afraid, she was the Changeling Queen! Or was she? Chrysalis sunk to the ground and waited for the sounds to come back, but all she heard was a terrible shriek from far far away that found their way to her now and then. She had tried to find the noise several times but had found herself each time chained to the ground. She was growing desperate, she didn't know if it had been days or hours or even weeks time since she first woke up here. All she knew was that she had been there long enough. She rose to her hooves, trembling with exhaustion from lying still for so long. When she had walked for a while, she realized she wasn't chained anymore! She stopped to look around, but saw nothing except darkness. She was amazed that she wasn't growing used to the cold and cruel environment like Changelings usually do. She kept walking and walking until she flopped onto the floor, ready to give up. But she couldn't! She had to keep moving, she had to get out before she went mad... She rose once again and started to walk in what felt like circles. She kept going for hours and hours until she thought a week gone by. That's when she saw it... She was just about to collapse again when she saw a faint, deep green light in the distance. Chrysalis felt like she had all the energy in the world as she started to run towards the light. This is it!, she thought. I'm getting out of here! As she neared the green light, she heard the scream again, only very faint, like a whisper. This time, instead of just a scream, she heard words. They were barely noticeable so Chrysalis made her way closer to the light. The closer she got, the louder the "screaming" became. When she reached the light, she stopped to study what the light shone upon, preparing herself if she had to fight. She saw a well in the middle of the light made of white marble. She walked up to it since she saw nothing that seemed capable of harming her. When she looked down into the well, she heard the whisper, now more clearly as if she was reading them from a page in a book. "Hoola cassri dembedo... " Chrysalis gasped as she recognized the ancient language. It was spoken before Equestria was even near, before Discord, when Changelings ruled the world. "Fafora gorgeli y trispatic gensive... Tsahiku roras bendoreva..." Chrysalis leaned in closer and saw something. Inside the well was a small ledge where a small pile of rocks where covering a green light that shone bright. It was the source of the light, her hope, that was lying beneath the rocks. She saw that there were cracks in the ledge and just as she thought about it, a small part of the ledge crumpled and fell into the what seemed endless well, disappearing. She gasped as she realized that if the object fell, it would be gone forever. She looked at the pile of stones again and saw that the falling rocks had uncovered part of the wall that kept her from seeing it properly. It looked like some kind of crystal.... Before thinking, she lit her horn and surrounded the object with her aura. She tried to bring it out carefully from under the stones but it wouldn't budge. Sweat drops started showing on Chrysalis' forehead and she started to feel light-headed. She tugged even harder but to no success. She stomped her hoofs on the ground and ripped the light out, making the rocks tumble down,the ledge crumbling down along with them. That's when she heard the sound again. The flapping of wing, the sound of soft hooves touching down on the cold flooring. Chrysalis' head smashed into the ground as a pair of hooves grabbed the back of it and forced it down. As she dropped the crystal to the ground, the sound of it clashing against the floor echoed through the halls. Her head kept colliding with the floor until the pair of hooves pulled Chrysalis' mane so hard that she shot her head backwards and let out a terrible shriek that echoed through the room. The creature pulled one last time before scattering away, laughing devilishly to itself, the clattering of hooves making it ring in Chrysalis' ears. Chrysalis put her hooves over them, trying to block out the noise but failing to. Before Chrysalis had even a chance to recover from the assault, the creature came rushing back. The pair of hooves clutched Chrysalis fore-hoof and put a leather strip around it, tightening it while making her squeal. It did the same to the other three and flew into the air and fastened the chains - that were connected to the leather- into the ceiling. Chrysalis hissed as a knife cut across her belly and blood poured out onto the floor. She tried to wriggle out of the leather chains but instead, they tightened and sharp thorns shot lout from them, making her hooves bloody as well. She screamed in agony and the attacker laughed again. The creature rushed off again and pressed something that clicked. Before the thought of what would happen even became obvious to Chrysalis, the whole room lit up to reveal mirrors. Everywhere she looked, she saw mirrors. The walls, ceiling and floor was made from mirrors. The mirrors underneath her was almost totally covered in blood and Chrysalis once again tried to break free, the thorns going deeper the harder she tried. She tried to look around but she was dizzy because of the sudden brightness, being used to walk in the dark for who knows how long. What she could make out though was the well and the crystal from the ledge. As she looked harder, it lit up and she blacked out. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *Knock, knock, knock!* Cadance started as there was a knocking on her door.She put her comb down on the table and went up to the door. "I'm coming!" She said as the knocking was repeated. When she opened the door she was instantly "attacked" by Princess Celestia when the white mare hugged Cadence tightly. She hugged back and then stepped back with a smile. "Celestia! How wonderful to see you again! How have you been!" Celestia smiled back. "Oh I've been just fine! I was just coming to well, say hello and escort you to the courtyard. The fireworks along with Princess Twilight are being shown soon. Don't want to miss either of them." Cadence snickered. "Oh of course! We can't keep the birthday girl waiting!" The two princesses trotted down the halls until they came to the courtyard. It was very crowded with both ponies from Canterlot and Ponyville, Unicorns, Pegasi and earth ponies. When the two princesses arrived, Fancy Pants along with his wife Rarity, the Bearer of Generosity came up to them. They bowed to the two princesses and then went along to take a drink with Applejack, Bearer of Honesty and her husband Caramel along with their two sons Woody and Caramel Apple. Across the courtyard stood Discord with his daughter Screwball. Celestia narrowed her eyes as she saw the look in Discord's eyes and saw that he was looking at Sapphire Shores that was dancing with Trenderhoof. Suddenly Sapphire squealed as her mane turned pink. Just as Celestia was about to cast a spell to make it blue again, she heard Trennderhoof saying. "Oh it's aright. You're still beautiful to me." They went off to the private garden together and Celestia smiled. Discord had only meant good after all. As she looked over to where he stood, she saw that Fluttershy, his wife had made her way up to her husband and daughter.They shared a hug and Screwball said what her father had done to Sapphire Shores mane. At first Fluttershy seemed almost angry but when Screwball finished she just smiled and kissed Discord on the cheek. Celestia was brought back when Cadance gasped. During the next couple of seconds all you could here was the sound of ponies "ohing" and "ahing". As Celestia looked to where all the antension was sent to she gasped as well. In the entry of the courtyard stood Twilight Sparkle in a white gala gown. Her mane was curled up in the same manestyle as she had at her cornation ten years ago. The fabric of the gown looked like it was made from the softest clouds and her eyes were sparkling with the reflection of the stars in the enchanting night sky. Beside her stood her brother, Captain Shining Armor and held her tight. Celestia realized that there were a lot of young stallions at the party as well and concluded that he was going to play protective big brother as he always did. "Oh please, don't mind me, enjoy the party..." Twilight said and smiled. Many ponies that had gathered around went back to dancing, drinking and talking with each other while some stayed to greet the princess. Cadence walked up to Twilight with a grin on her muzzle. As Twilight smiled back they crouched down in front of each other. "Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake." They sang, while jumping up and down and then covering their eyes and uncovering them. "Clap your hooves and do a little shake." Then they clapped their hooves against each others and shook their tails. They then laughed and embraced each other. Shining Armour stood embarrassingly beside them. Suddenly Soarin' along with his two sons, Thunder Soar and Rainbow Storm, came up to Shining armor and greeted him. Before the Captain knew it, he was on the other side of the party. Twilight and Cadence joined them after a while and soon Rainbow Dash showed up too. Soon Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich followed by their daughters the Tri-Pies joined them once they had finished entertaining them with magic and dancing and stuff that they normally do. Celestia looked up at the sky and sighed at the beautiful full moon. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Celestia went into the castle to get some rest from all the loud noise and went up the stairs to the forbidden floor, the fourth floor. No guards or visitors were allowed here, not even the other princesses, only Celestia. She looked at the stained glass panels that she passed as she sulked thought the halls. In her mind she went through the story that the glass pictures resembled. Tears started forming in the corner of her eyes. She went into a room that looked very similar to her room on the first floor. When she looked down at her hooves and saw the shape of the moon carved into the stone floor she broke. Tears flowed out of her eyes and she collapsed to the ground, crying herself to sleep. When she woke up the next morning she went down and out to the courtyard. Everything from the party had already been removed by the staff and so she sat down on a bench in the private garden. She looked behind her where a statue of Celestia as a young filly. Beside her was another filly that resembled Celestia so much it could only have been one pony in the whole of Equestria, Luna... > Darkness Surrounding > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following text is an event that occurred about one year before the first chapter, Destruction. The wind was blowing harshly and the rain was pouring down as a young lavender alicorn mare ran out of the castle doors. The full moon glimmered in the sky and still the streets were filled with ponies, though none noticed as the mare rushed past them. She ran until her hooves wouldn't bear her any longer, and then she flew. She flew over high buildings and long streets. There were ponies everywhere, though none looked up. She flew over the first trees, marking where the forest began. That's when she dove. As she landed in the woods and started running again, the rain stopped pouring and the mare's hoof marks were carved into the forest floor. Suddenly, she burst into tears and fell to the ground. She didn't even care as her face was scraped across the hard and cold ground. She twisted and turned. She started beating the ground with her fore hooves and started to rip her beautiful mane. She then just lay there, thinking, crying.. She was laying in a beautiful forest clearing, with bushes of flowers that almost glowed in the moonlight. As the mare lay there, a small pool of tears started forming on the ground. She kept whispering that she wasn't good enough or that she was never meant to be. She had said it herself...., she thought. She said she didn't think I was up to it, that I couldn't make it, that I didn't belong... She heard thudding, the sound of somepony approaching. Turning her head, she spotted nothing but darkness and two glistening, red eyes... She stood up carefully, shaking and took a step towards the darkness. Then another, and another until she stood right in front of those enchanting eyes... That's when he stepped forward... A stallion not much bigger than herself. He had a flowing black mane and was wearing some kind of cape, dyed in a blood red color. He opened his jaws and laughed as everything turned black. There was a shriek, and then they were gone, leaving the clearing full of blood and lying in it, the crown of Princess Twilight Sparkle... Back to the present! Sombra sat on his throne and sulked. The cave was enormous, but very boring. Every so often, he would imagine the sound of wings and he would rush out, expecting to see Twilight, though nopony was there.. Suddenly, he heard that sound again, the sound of wings. He once more rushed outside, only to find the pony he least wanted to see, Prince Thorn. Sombra growled as the young alicorn landed and went into the cave, not bothered that the unicorn didn't want him there. "Queen Twilight will be arriving soon by the way." Prince Thorn said. Sombra glared at him and snarled. "Oh and how would you know that Princey? It's not like she told you since she would have told me first!" Sombra almost said the last part to mock Prince Thorn. "I am her love, future mate, king and her only!" He yelled that to Prince Thorn as to claiming her as his own. "Well I'm sorry but she did indeed tell me. Well she didn't exactly tell me, one of her messengers did. So I came here as soon as I could." He turned on Sombra. "Do you really think she loves you? How could she? You're so utterly boring, while she's so free and adventurous. She needs a stallion like me, somepony who is exciting and....... Young." He said as he lifted a bit of Sombra's cape. "How old is it? 100 years old?" He laughed and sat on Sombra's throne. Sombra stomped his hoof on the cave floor and Prince Thorn looked at him surprised. Sombra bared his fangs and charged at the Prince. That was enough for him. He was just about to kill the fear-stricken Prince when he dropped to the ground. He tried to get up, but couldn't move. The young alicorn looked down at him and laughed but stopped as another pony came into view. It was Twilight. He smiled and ran up to her. She didn't smile back, but let him come either way. "What is going on here!?" She yelled at the two stallions. Sombra rose to his hooves and shook himself. "I did not do anything my love! He is the one to blame! He called me old and said you did not love me! Nonsense I know-" He was interrupted by her laughter. "Oh Sombra, Sombra.... You are so funny." She buried her muzzle into Thorn's mane and he put a wing around her flank. Sombra's eyes went wide in shock as Twilight continued. "I knew you would fall for it, for your own apprentice. When you attacked me in the woods I had nothing. You corrupted me and trained me in the dark arts. After a while, I realized that I was far greater than you. I am after all the Element of Magic, aren't I?" Sombra gasped. "I kept on training and training until I knew I was ready. I did everything in my power to make you like me and wow what a result. I never loved you Sombra....." She nodded her head and five Assassins came out of nowhere and grabbed Sombra, then dragged him into the darkness. The couple stood still for a moment in silence. Thorn dragged her closer to him and breathed in her scent. She opened her mouth and let out a silent sigh before she kissed his cheek. He blushed slightly before bending down a bit and started kissing her neck. She put her hooves around his neck and kissed him passionately. She fluttered slightly of the ground before he laid his wings around her and laid her on the ground. He started kissing her neck again while she still had a firm hold around him. He laid down on top of her as they kissed. Everything went silent as Twilight then feel asleep in Thorns arms..... Twilight landed in front of the castles gate, beneath the stairs. She trotted up to the guards and they let her in. The sound her hooves made as she made her way to her study echoing through the halls. As she reached her study she lit her horn and opened the door. She rushed inside and found Celestia reading a book by the fireplace. Celestia stood up, startled and spoke. "Oh hello Twilight! I didn't know you were back from your trip to ponyville!" She went up to her student and embraced her. Twilight embraced her back then pulled away. "I am so sorry but I have to write some letters!" Celestia looked at her, her eyes asking why. "Well I thought I'd make a banquet and I wanted to invite Cadence and Shining Armor! And my friends of course..." She smiled and Celestia smiled back. "Of course, what a splendid idea!" She joined Twilight as they went and sat at the desk, Twilight taking the piece of quill and starting to write. When she was done, she put the quill back and used a duplication spell to make two copies. She then sent them away with magic.