Everything in life has an origin but what of magic? Everypony knows of it's presence and how in Equeastria, but where did it come from? No pony can recall magic's origin, it had always just been there. At least thats what they were led to believe.
Everything in life has an origin, but what of magic? Everypony knows of it's presence and how it impacted Equeastria, but where did it come from or who created it? No pony can recall magic's origin, it had always just been there since unicorns and alicorns first began using it; or at least that's what they were told.
Only one unicorn, knowledgeable and powerful, knew the truth; the truth which he kept sealed away on the dark side of the moon; the truth which took centuries itself for many to forget; the truth about the goddess who was the first tamer of magic, the first alicorn of existence, Genesis De Magia.
Since Star Swirl The Bearded's disappearance, the truth was now lost and no pony knew anything about the goddess. However, questions begin to arise when a mysterious unicorn attacks the Crystal Empire and steals the magic of princess Cadence, claiming that Alicorn magic is needed for "Mother's Rebirth".
Twilight begins investigating at the orders of princess Celestia, sensing something strange is happening with her precious moon, Luna joins her in her quest. However, nothing could have prepared anypony from what the two were about to uncover.
The Elements of Harmony are known as one of the most powerful sources of magic in all of Equestria. The Elements of Harmony were birthed from the Tree of Harmony, a mysterious and magical tree found by Luna and Celestia who used the elements to stop Discord and save Equestria. Though the Tree of Harmony has used it's power to save Equeastria more than once, many questions about it are left unanswered.
Where did it come from? How long had it been there? What pony planted it and why? While it did indeed use its powers to protect Equestria, the Tree of Harmony was created to serve as the will of a God.
Before the existence of magic was discovered, the land which had yet to be Equestria was torn apart by a seemingly never ending war. Earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi alike all fought for dominance over the land. The princess ruling at this grim point in time was a young earth pony named Genesis De Magia. Genesis had tried her hardest to resolve the conflict between all the tribes with peace countless times as she despised violence and saw the war as senseless fighting which she knew no side would win, however, every attempt she made only ended with the same resulting failure.
After many years of her subjects suffering, Genesis decided what had to be done. Deep down at the bottom of a ravine were no pony dared venture, grew a unique tree known at the time as the Seraph Tree. The tree was seen as a very important deity figure and was worshipped by all who knew of it, however, it was what was on the tree which gave it such a sacred reputation. On the tree grew a single strange berry unlike none ever seen and it was considered forbidden by all that no pony should even let the thought of touching it slip their mind.
Yearning for a peace that she feared would never come, Genesis ventured forth to the tree and consumed the berry which granted her Godlike magic as well as a sharp unicorn horn and a pair of large white angelic wings. Using her newly endowed magic abilities, Genesis solely ended the long running war and was worshipped as a Goddess for her deed as well as for being the first Alicorn in history. She returned back to her kingdom were she began to teach others about magic, though she discovered only unicorns could utilize her teachings. She eventually fell in love with a colt unicorn who was a student of her's who was in the same age group, and together they conceived a young pony whom they were happy to call their son.
Though as time went on, Genesis began losing trust in the other ponies and due to her now higher state of being, she became corrupt and convinced herself that the unicorns she taught magic to would now attempt another war. After succumbing to madness out of fear that another war would break out and more lives would be lost, Genesis used her divine powers to move the moon in front of the sun, blocking its light from hitting the earth. As the darkest side of the moon consumed the sky, darkness fell across the land and all who were caught in it's gaze fell under the Goddess's spell which drained their spirit, color and even their distinguishing features. Pegasi lost wings, unicorns their horns; allowing the goddess to control everypony within the shadow as she pleased.
Within in the few short years it took him to grow, Genesis noticed that her child now wielded a godlike magic very similar to her own. Genesis raised the young unicorn in the ways of a God, teaching him that they are above all others and attempted to convince the unicorn that her eclipse was necessary to maintain peace. After watching the other ponies for a few years, Star Swirl was convinced that this was not true peace for no pony was happy. In a attempt to change the fate of the land, he tried talking to his mother about her “peace”. Seeing she would not listen to reason, Star Swirl challenged his mother and fought for all ponies.
He was victorious and even managed to undo the eclipse that she had created, however, with the power of a god coursing through her very being, Star Swirl couldn't completely defeat his mother. Instead, he used his own divine powers to seal her within the Seraph Tree and banished it to the darkest side of the moon where it would be unseen and forgotten by all. When the Seraph Tree was removed a strange new tree sprouted in it's place, Star Swirl claimed that it represented the unity and good of all ponies and their newfound peace; and with that, the Tree of Harmony was born.
Star Swirl eventually went on to better hone his own abilities and learn more about the newfound magic element which his mother had left behind. He became known by many for his knowledge and even went on to teach many other unicorns magic as well, and though his divine magic over time became more of an old myth than factual, Star Swirl still knew what he was capable of. He rejected the life of a deity fearing he would turn as his mother once did, and instead, settled in life as a unicorn and covered up anything in his past which could lead to others knowing of his powers.
With the wicked goddess sealed within the penumbra of the darkest side of the moon and harmony restored to the land, everything had seemed at ease. However, deep within the soil of where the Tree of Harmony had sprouted, roots from the Seraph Tree still remained which carried fragments of Genesis' will inside. Over the years it had grown the roots of both trees became intertwined and began to fuse, producing some of Genesis's will inside the Tree of Harmony which began to consume its magic from within. On that day, the Tree of Harmony not only served as the beginning of a new start for the land, but also the beginning of a god's rebirth.
Luna stared down at the planet below her, she then looked around at the grey, barren landscape. Craters of different sizes scarred the land’s surface and not another inhabitant was in sight.
She had been here before, it was a place that held painful memories of her imprisonment, however, it made her nights shine and sometimes filled her with joy as well.
Luna walked along the moon’s surface and pondered as to why she was here when something had caught her eye. On the darkest side of the planet was a strange formation which she had never noticed until now. Though it was too dark for her to see completely, Luna thought she could make out the shape of a tree.
This was impossible, no tree could survive on the moon, it couldn’t have been that. As she attempted to get closer, the shadows of the moon which shrouded the tree began to come alive and take the form of an Alicorn. Though the figure was a silhouette, Luna could make out a pair of white pupiless eyes.
The eyes locked on Luna who froze were she stood. Unable to move, Luna held a look of fear on her face.
“The magic that thou art fond of has served many a purpose. It has saved many lives, yet also, taken just as many; thou shall relinquish that which makes thee a princess and bow before Equeastria’s true queen; behold for we are Genesis. Goddess of peace; mother of magic; and true heir to Equeastria’s throne. Soon we shall bring peace and harmony across all of the world, and all that is needed is the magic that thou has stolen.”
The alicorn moved closer toward Luna, who was now attempting to move even more. Luna felt odd, she tried to scream but when she opened her mouth nothing but silence was released; all she could do was watch as the figure drew closer inch by inch.
Luna awoke from her nightmare in a cold sweat with a gasp, she looked around to notice she was not on the moon, but instead, in the safety of her bedroom. She let out a sigh and walked over to her open balcony as she stared up at the white sphere in the sky.
“What are you trying to tell me?” she whispered as though telling the moon a secret.
“What is this feeling I'm sensing?" Luna looked back up at the moon one last time before returning to her bed.
Cadence looked down from her castle as she stared down at the kingdom and it’s subjects below her. It was moments like this she enjoyed, being able to see so many ponies smiling because of her.
Life in the Crystal Empire had been even better since she had less royal duties to attend to. For the time being, she could enjoy spending her time with her husband she loved dearly.
“Enjoying the view?”
Cadence turned around when she recognized the familiar voice. She was faced with the love of her life, her husband Shining Armor.
“Of course, but it’s only better now that you’re here,” Cadence replied as Shining Armor made his way to her side. She gave him a quick peck on the lips as he put a hoof around her.
“Isn’t it wonderful how peaceful it’s been lately?”
“Yeah, it’s nice to just relax every once in awhile,” replied the unicorn.
“Speaking of which, I’ve got my duties wrapped up for today, what about you?”
“Just the Crystal Court, I should be done in enough time for us to prepare for Twilight’s arrival,” replied Cadence with a smile.
“Speaking of which, I better get going, it’s just about time for me to start the Court,”
“Alright, I’ll prepare for Twilly while your gone,”
Cadence gave Shining Armor another kiss before she left their room.
Cadence walked down the streets of the Crystal Empire and was greeted by everypony she seen. They smiled as she walked by and waved at her, in return, she politely smiled and waved back.
Since she had become the ruler of the Crystal Empire, all the crystal ponies always had a smile on their faces. The atmosphere in the Crystal Empire had changed dramatically now that the fear of King Sombra’s return had settled.
“Excuse me your highness,”
Cadence turned around to notice a young unicorn before her, unlike most residents she didn’t carry the same crystal features like those around town. Seeing this, Cadence could tell she was not of the Empire and possible is visiting right now.
“I have a concern I wish to speak with you about,” the unicorn said with gloomy eyes.
“I’m sorry my dear I have to attend the Crystal Court right now, but if you’d like you could accompany me and I could hear your concern once we get there?” Cadence said as she replied with a smile.
“Please, it’s an emergency, my mother she…,” the unicorn paused as tears began to well up in her eyes and stream down the side of her face.
“Oh dear,” Cadence said as she stopped walking and moved towards the unicorn.
“What’s happened to your mother? Are you lost?” she asked as she attempted to comfort the unicorn.
“Mother is really sick and the only thing that can help her….is….is….” the unicorn began sobbing uncontrollably as she couldn’t finish her statement.
“What is it? What does she need?” Cadence asked as she made an attempt to wipe away the unicorn’s tears.
“She needs….She needs….” The unicorn’s sobbing expression changed to an evil smile.
“The magic of an alicorn,” as she said this, the unicorn pulled out an amulet which she pointed at Cadence who gasped when she seen it.
The amulet flashed and then emitted a red light which surrounded Cadence. She let out a cry of pain as she felt herself become weaker. When the light stopped, the unicorn smiled, pleased with herself.
“The magic which you alicorns have stolen is needed for mother’s rebirth. Soon she will return and bring peace to Equeastria, true peace,”
At the sound of their princesses’ cry, several crystal guards rushed towards the unicorn. Cadence laid collapsed on the ground, her magic completely drained.
“Oh please,” the unicorn said as her horn glowed.
“I have no use for your princess anymore, or for this kingdom,”
The unicorn disappeared with a flash of light moments before the guards could arrest her.
“Your highness, are you alright?” asked one of the guards as he helped Cadence to her hooves.
“Inform Sir Shining Armor immediately,” he commanded to the others who saluted him before dashing off.
“My…..magic…..she stole my magic,” Cadence said with exhaustion in her voice.
“Please your highness, try to conserve your strength until sir Shining Armor….”
The guard was interrupted by a loud explosion which destroyed some shops nearby. Another explosion destroyed several buildings and homes in the area.
“What’s going on!?”
The guard looked over to see Shining Armor running to his side at full speed.
“What happened to Cadence?” Shining Armor asked as he carried his wife.
“Her magic has been drained and we’re under attack by an unknown enemy. With all due respect your highness, its not safe out here we must get you and Princess Cadence to the castle at once,”
Shining Armor nodded and began to make his way back to the castle carrying the now unconscious princess on his back. He was joined by several other guards who helped escort the two of them back to safety.
Once back inside the castle, Shining Armor took Cadence to their bedroom and laid her down gently. She awoke when he did, though she was still groggy and could barely move.
“Shining Armor? What’s going on?” Cadence asked as she attempted to open her eyes.
“The kingdom is under attack, I have to go help the other guards,” Shining Armor replied as he turned to leave. The weak hoof of his wife stopped him from leaving.
“I’ll come with you I can still…”
Cadence attempted to get up from the bed but to no avail. In her attempt she almost fell but her husband caught her at the last minute.
“Your in no condition to be moving right now, just stay here and rest for now. I’ll be back soon, I promise,” Shining Armor said as he tucked Cadence into the bed and made her more comfortable.
He gave the princess a kiss before leaving the room to assist in defending the kingdom.
Shining Armor rushed outside only to see several explosions go off and dark shadowy figures infiltrating the kingdom.
“What….are those things?” he asked himself as he watched them.
The figures moved in an awkward manner, it was as though they weren’t completely whole. As Shining Armor stepped forward to confront them, he was graced with the presence of several other crystal guards.
“We shall hold them off for you, your highness,” said one of the guards.
As they stood in the way, several of the guards began shooting the shadows with their magic. The bolts of magic seemed to dissolve the dark figures, but in seconds they reformed themselves from the shadows around them.
“What? Did our magic not work?” asked one of the guards in confusion.
“So, their strength lies in the shade? That gives me an idea,” Shining Armor stated.
“Listen up, all of you, I want you to evacuate all residents to the emergency emerald bunker. Once that’s done I want you to await further orders, understand?”
“Sir!” all guards replied in unison. They all gave a quick salute before dashing off in the direction of homes.
Shining Armor ran back into the castle and began to make his way to the top of the roof. Once there, he noticed how much damage had actually been done to the kingdom. Several homes lay in ruin, shops and stands were now nothing but ruble, and several violent fires began to spread towards the center of the kingdom as more of the dark figures followed.
‘Can’t worry about that now, I have to focus for this spell’ Shining Armor thought to himself.
As he closed his eyes and cleared his mind, Shining Armor’s horn began to glow brightly. It took a few moments, but eventually his horn emitted a barrier which quickly engulfed the kingdom; subduing the flames and expelling the strange creatures from the kingdom with a bright and powerful flash. Once done, Shining Armor gave out a sigh of relief as the kingdom was safe…for now at least.
“Sir,”
Shining Armor turned around to face one of his guards staring back at him.
“Awaiting further orders sir,” he said as he bowed his head before Shining.
“Send an emergency letter to Princess Celestia informing her what has happened here right away,” Shining Armor commanded in a serious tone.
“She is in Canterlot, correct sir?”
Shining Armor stared at the guard with a puzzled look as he asked this.
“Of course, you should know this. Now hurry there is no time to waste” he replied as he grew irritated by the question.
In a quick flash, the guard transformed into a unicorn wearing an evil grin, one whom Shining Armor didn’t recognize.
“That’s all the information I needed, your just as gullible as your wife. Your no alicorn so I have no need for your magic,” she said as she zapped him with a beam of red magic which fired from her horn.
Shining Armor felt a quick surge of pain, and then collapsed to the ground. The grinning unicorn was the last sight he had seen before blacking out.
Twilight burst threw the doors of Princess Celestia’s throne room in a quick gallop.
“I came as fast as I could once I got your letter princess, what’s the emergency?” she asked once she stopped to catch her breath.
Twilight noticed that the look on the princess’ face was one she hadn’t seen before. Seeing this, she knew this was no ordinary friendship emergency.
“Earlier today, the Crystal Empire came under attack by an unknown threat. The kingdom suffered no casualties but the amount of damage done is devastating,” said the alicorn as she walked over to Twilight.
“No….that means…” Twilight began as a look of fear and concern filled her face.
“Don’t worry, your brother and Cadence are fine. However Cadence has apparently had her magic stolen from her during the invasion and is currently incapacitated at the moment; but she'll be fine nontheless,” Celestia reassured the young Princess.
“How is that even possible? I didn’t think an alicorn’s magic could be stolen....at least not so easily, wasn't Tirek the only one capable of that?” asked Twilight in a questionable tone.
“I’m not entirely sure myself,” Celestia said with a nod.
“I want you to go to the Crystal Empire and gather more information about the incident. However, I’d like to keep this incident as isolated as possible which is why I want you to tackle this assignment alone,”
“I….I understand,” Twilight said with a defeated sigh.
“You won’t be going alone,”
Twilight turned around to face princess Luna who stared back at her with a serious expression.
“Sister, I’d like to accompany Twilight to the Crystal Empire. The moon has been giving off a strange presence and I believe this attack may have something to do with it,”
Celestia nodded in acknowledgment of Luna’s request.
“Yes, I’ve felt this presence as well, it certaintly is a remarkable one. If you wish, you may join Twilight,” Celestia said as she turned to face her sister.
“Very well, we shall depart at once, come Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said in her royal Canterlot voice as she exited the room.
Twilight and Luna exited the train to be greeted by several crystal kingdom guards who wore conscerned expressions. One unicorn stepped forward and took charge of the situation.
"Forgive us Princess Luna, but I'm afraid we'll need to ask you both some questions before you may proceed any further into the kingdom," the unicorn said in a serious yet nervous tone.
"What? What is the meaning of this? Do you not know who we are!? We are Princess Luna and we demand passage!" the princess boomed in her royal canterlot voice at the group of ponies who appeared to back away frightened.
"I'll take it from here,"
From within the group of guards, a white unicorn with blue hair emerged, one that recognized Twilight right away.
"Forgive me for the extra precautions Princess Luna, but our enemy was able to change her appearence at will. We just wanted to make sure she isn't planning an aftermath attack," said Shining Armor as he bowed his head to greet the princess.
"Understandable," Luna replied.
"Shining Armor, is Cadence alright?" asked Twilight with a worried face.
"Yeah, she's tired and is resting right now, but she'll be fine,"
"Can you tell use more about what happened during the attack?" she asked as her, Twilight, and Shining Armor were escorted to the castle by the group of guards.
"We came under attack so sudden, there was little time for us to react so I had all the civilians evacuated to the emerald bunkers underneath the kingdom,"
"This was no ordinary attack, it was premeditated. The enemy quickly took out the medical centers and places which held food before assaulting the civilian homes. It is a strategy which was used in olden days, old but effective," replied Luna as she looked around at the destruction.
"You said the enemy could change it's appearance at will, is it possible this was a changeling attack?"
"No, not likely, considering the fact that she used magic and her soldiers were not of changeling descent,"
Twilight kept turning her head, acknowledging the destruction that had been caused. The kingdom was almost unrecognizable from the old Crystal Empire her and her friends visited in the past on numerous occasions.
"Who would do such a thing?"
The unicorn approached the giant crack in the earth and proceeded to the tree which was glowing dimly in the dark. She bowed her head as if in the presence of royalty before speaking.
"Mother, I got one just as you asked, and I know where to get the next; Princess Celestia in Canterlot," the unicorn said as she spoke to the tree of harmony. She then began to talk as though somepony else was there with her.
"You need 4? Well that shouldn't be too hard considering I already got one.....yes I suppose your right, they will be on their guard now that I stole Princess Cadence's magic.....what's that mother? A distraction you say?........yes I know of the pits of Tartarus," the unicorn had a dastardly grin form on her face as she sat in silence.
"Yes mother, your right. This......Tirek creature will make a fine distraction,"
The pits of Tartarus was home to many dangerous foes imprisoned by Princess Celestia over the course of many years, however, not many compared to Tirek. Though his exterior appearance seemed weak and fragile, this was only one of his many forms of strength. Tirek had been locked away for longer then he could remember, he lost count of the days after a thousand. Due to his infamy, he wasn't allowed to have other common privileges that others got. No matter where he was taken, or when he was moved to another pit, he was almost always accompanied by heavily armed guards who monitored his every little movement like hawks. He was used to it though, in fact, it was seen as a sign of respect among other prisoners in Tartarus if you had more guards than everyone else. It meant you were a force to be reckoned with and no one should dare cross you.
Tirek sat in his cell and watched what appeared to be a dozen of heavily armored unicorns approach his cell. They all wore the royal armor of the usual guards but the guards of Tartarus were outfitted more heavily than the guards of Celestia or Luna. One guard stepped forward and opened the cell door as everypony filled the inside of the cell edges, surrounding the old Tirek from every angle.
“You should feel grateful, it’s not often that the princess graces the presence of someone like you with a visit,” the commander called as he stepped aside to reveal a large white alicorn standing behind him.
“Princess Celestia, what do you want, I hope your not expecting to reform me like you did that puny creature Discord,” Tirek’s voice was raspy and sounded weak as it did in his old looking age.
“Lord Tirek, I must say your not at all like I expected,” Celestia said as the cell door was closed behind her. Tirek was confused at the princess’ words when she suddenly casted a spell which seemed to effect the surrounding guards. In the blink of an eye, every guard was rendered unconscious and the princess which was standing in front of Tirek was no more; instead, he saw a tiny cyan unicorn with dark blue hair and an evil smile.
“It would appear that your not the princess after all, I commend you for getting this far, but who exactly are you?” Tirek asked as he rose to his feet slowly, waiting for a response.
“Who I am doesn’t matter, it’s who I represent that will interest you. I’ve come to tell you that your suffering in this prison has finally come to an end, but if you want to leave, you’ll have to do as I say,” the unicorn wore a cocky smile as she said this, Tirek however, wasn’t smiling at all.
“Insolent creature, do you not know who I am!?” the minotaur roared. “You’ve got a lot of nerve to speak such words, there is no way I will work for you!”
“I tried to tell him mother, but it seems like you’ll have to talk to him instead,” the unicorn said as she shook her head in disappointment. She than closed her eyes for a few moments, when she opened them, the unicorn’s blue eyes were replaced by white eyes which seemed to have no pupils. Tirek only seemed confused at this, aside from her eyes, the pony’s whole demeanor appeared to change. “Lord Tirek, we are speaking to thee from a borrowed vessel, does thou know who we are?”
“From all that gibberish your speaking, you sound a lot like princess Luna,” Tirek laughed.
“Perhaps you’ve heard of us, we are Genesis De Magia,” when he heard the name spoken Tirek’s raspy voice erupted in laughter.
“You’re a fool for hiding behind such a folklore title like that. I’m one of the few who still remember the tale. Genesis De Magia; the first ever alicorn eons ago; was revered as a goddess in her time before she went mad with power. She was destroyed by Starswirl The Bearded, there’s no way she still lives among us, especially in the body of a unicorn,”
“Thou said that we were revered as a goddess, and I assure you, our powers hath been retained,” the unicorn disappeared in a bright flash of light, what stood before Tirek now was a tall alicorn with a white mane, white eyes, and pale light colored skin. Her eyes appeared to stare not at Tirek, but through him instead, as if staring into his very soul. “Does thou need more proof?”
“Impossible! That mane, those eyes, they resemble the goddess as she was depicted in the scriptures!” Tirek shook his head in disbelief at what he saw before him. “No this can’t be, this is a trick!”
“Spare us of the disconcerting outburst, we did not come here to prove our existence to you; as a matter of fact, it’s probably best of none are aware of our presence until the ritual,” Genesis’ horn began to glow as it enveloped Tirek in a white angelic like aura and lifted him off the ground, bringing him closer to her. “We have come before you to offer you your freedom, in exchange, all you must do is cooperate with our underling when the time comes; other than that, you are free to do as you wish,”
“And if I refuse?” Tirek asked intrigued by the alicorn’s offer.
“Thou may hath been the first on our list but be aware there are others whom would be a better candidate than you; take you that creature Discord for example. His powers resemble that of ours, though on a scale of lower magnitude,” Genesis threw Tirek aside causing him to hit his back hard against his cell. “A decision of this magnitude doesn’t seat someone like yourself easily, we will give you time to decide,”
In another flash of bright light, the guards who once laid unconscious were gone, and the normal sized cyan unicorn stood before Tirek once more. She was smiling at him in an innocent manner as she giggled and turned to leave.
“You there, pony!” the unicorn turned to face Tirek as he called out to her. “You no not of what you’ve gotten yourself into, how can you just do what is asked of you without any question?” the unicorn smiled back at Tirek and giggled once again as she exited the cell and sealed the door once more.
“Mother knows best,” she said before turning her back to the prisoner and disappearing in a flash.
"Mother, If my calculations are correct, why don't I just return to the Crystal Empire? I know Princess Celestia would have sent Princess Twilight to investigate the attack, it would be the perfect opportunity to steal back more of your magic."
"Though thy intentions seem pure child, make no mistake, that is exactly what they are counting on. Furthermore, the presence of a far stronger princess is awaiting at the empire. T'is a foe you would experience difficulty with, though she is younger you mustn’t underestimate Princess Luna. The ambient voice was loud, but soothing. With no one else around, it appeared as though the disembodied voice was coming from the Tree of Harmony.
"Then what am I to do now?" The cyan colored unicorn bowed her head humbly before the tree, awaiting a response. "What are your further orders mother?"
"Fret not Faith, thou still have a many a purpose to serve. In fact, I need thou to travel somewhere rather dangerous; another ally is needed for my second coming. Celestia shall be our next target, however, I suspect she'll be on her gaurd so you shan't go alone.
"Who is this second ally you speak of?"
"Creatures with unique transformation abilities, known as changelings. Though to seek them out you must venture forth to The Badlands. T'is an area you should tread cautiously, you'd do well to remember that. Take the Shades, they are made of my own shadow and will protect you from any threat that may come your way. Fair warning my child, Queen Chrysalis is your target, she is stubborn. If you need our help, thou knows what to do.
"Yes ma'am," Faith raised her head only to see she was now surrounded by several shadow like creatures which twitched and convulsed themselves in violent, jerking motions. None of them appeared to hold still and they moved awkwardly as though they were shifting through planes of existence, though to Faith it seemed as though they were teleporting all over the place. “I shall depart at once.”
"Cadence!" Twilight cried as she rushed over to the bed where the princess lay, Cadence greeted her sister in law with a weak smile as she now rested by her side. "Are you all right?"
"Yes, my strength is returning but I'm afraid for now my movement is restricted." Cadence looked past Twilight to see Shining Armor and Princess Luna making their way toward her now.
"Princess Cadence, we have been sent to investigate this attack on your kingdom. Surely thou ought to remember who it was that attacked thee?" Luna's awkward way of phrasing her question was still true, they had been sent to investigate, so knowing who the main attacker was could be a turning point.
"I'm not too sure if she was behind the attack, but the pony who stole my magic was a cyan colored unicorn with a mane that was a shade of deep blue. She wielded with her a strange looking emerald, it was that item which stole my magic." Cadence found the strength to sit herself up in the bed, Twilight wasn't reluctant to help her when she decided to do so.
"Anything else?" Luna insisted.
"Actually now that you mention it, she said something about her mother....something about Alicorn magic being needed for 'Mother's Rebirth' and that she was going to bring 'true peace' to Equestria." Cadence tapped a hoof under her chin as she attempted to think of any details she may have left out. "I'm not really familiar with what any of that means."
"True peace? Assaulting a kingdom and stealing a princess's magic isn't peaceful whatsoever, as a matter of fact--"
"T'is a declaration of war!" Luna boomed as she stomped a hoof on the crystal floor, interrupting Twilight and startling several guards which presided nearby. “Such an act cannot be seen as anything else but that! I shall notify my sister at once to prepare the troops!”
“Wait!” Twilight called out to stop Luna from flying out of the room. “We still don’t know all the details yet, if you rush this, you could be bringing on an unnecessary war.”
“Princess Twilight Sparkle,” Luna began as she descended back down to ground level. “Thou hasn’t seen war before so clearly thou doesn’t know the signs. An attack on a kingdom, especially one as peaceful as the Crystal Empire, is a direct declaration of war by any standards.”
“But Cadence said it was only one unicorn, we can just imprison her.”
“That might not be as easy as you think,” Shining Armor added. “She brought with her these strange looking creatures that appeared to be made of shadows or something; there were thousands of them, but I did manage to figure out that their weakness is light.”
“Hmmm, the ability to steal magic; being able to conjure up an army of shadow creatures.” Twilight said each clue out loud as though she was crossing each off on a mental checklist. "Whoever we're dealing with seems to know a lot of powerful spells. Is it possible we're dealing with another old student of Celestia?"
"I don't think so," Cadence began in her weak voice. "She wasn't a mare whom I've ever seen before, and the magic she used felt.....angelic, almost divine."
"Perhaps some long awoken spirit is behind this, either way, we need to start looking for clues." Twiligiht turned to a stern faced Luna. "Luna, you and I shall search the ruble of the kingdom and see if we can't find anything. Shining," Twilight now turned her gaze to Shining Armor who appeared ready for action. "You should release the civilians, maybe somepony saw something out of the ordinary before the attack."
"Right." Shining agreed before galloping out of the room with Luna and Twilight following behind shortly after.
Faith wasn't too sure exactly where she was, it had been some time since she entered the Badlands. The sun was now hanging high overhead indicating that it was now around noon. She carried with her nothing but a sadle bag which contained a pouch of Bits that was needed to take the train which brought her to the Badlands; the trian conducter feared for his and the other passengers' safety, so he stopped at the border of the area which left Faith to continue on hoof. Faith now felt as though several pairs of eyes where watching her; she shifter her gaze to a shrub and she could have sworn she saw a shift in its leaves. A twig from behind her snapped causing her to whirl around, not of fear but of instinct. She was graced with the precense of a crature she had never before seen. It had bright eyes of a shade of blue; a pair of sharp fangs which hung over its pointed muzzle; a pair of insect-like wings; and several holes and puncteres on its hooves and tail.
"So this is what mother called a Changeling, kind if creepy if you ask me." The changeling hissed at Faith and when it spoke it sounded like it was hissing and buzzing.
"What is a pony doing here? Come to surrender your love? Because we grow hungrier everyday."
"We?" Faith's question was answered with the presence of seven other changelings coming from out of nearby bushes and shrubs joining the first. The eight creatures appeared ravenous and surrounded Faith from all directions, her demeanor had not wavered however, she was still smiling a happy smile. "Oh, so its a numbers game huh? Then here, let me make it fair." Faith tappered her hoof on the ground and was quickly surrounded by shadowy figures which stood between the changelings and her, their movements still appearing convulsed and haunting. The changelings had a genuine look of fear, never before had they seen such strange creatures in their lifetime; the creatures stepped forward twitching and shiveriing violently, causing the changelings to back off.
"W-what is it that you want?" one changeling managed to cry out, a hint of fear mixed with worry hung in his voice.
"Oh finally, somepony has the common courtesy to ask." Faith tapped her hoof on the ground once more, causing the shadow creatures to disappear as otherworldly as they came, exploding into black and white flashes before dissolving into smoke. "Now then, I wish to speak with your queen, Chrysalis I believe?"
The changelings looked at each other in bewilderment, never before had a pony come to speak to their queen, especially not willingly. One changeling looked over at several others and received what Faith only assumed was a confirmation nod, then, he motioned with his hoof for her to follow.
