> Rising Again > by Mlp_Starry_Night > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prologue > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prologue. “What was that?” Stella squeaked, her voice reverberating throughout the dungeon where she was cowering. Her brother, Dusk looked around uneasily. “I don’t know Stella,” he whispered. The colt looked warily at the filthy walls that had kept him and his sister trapped for the past three years. “What if… its… him?” Stella squeaked out in a small voice. Her blue coat, that had once shone to perfection, was greasy and unkempt. Dusk held his sister close. “Don’t worry,” he said, trying to calm her. “I’m here.” The creaking got louder, until both siblings were trembling from fear. A gust of wind flew into the room, knocking out the candle. A wail echoed throughout the room. Stella whimpered and curled up close to Dusk, the latter shaking from fear. The creaking got louder and slowly, from the door came a soft click. The door swung open, as if in slow motion, and a figure walked into the room. The siblings moved back towards the corner of the room as the figure advanced. The hoof steps echoed through the silence. The figure was wearing a black cloak that covered most of their features. Stella however, with keen eyesight, managed to catch a glimpse of a midnight blue mane and lavender coat. The pony took a few more steps closer to the pair. Dusk pushed away his fear for his sister’s sake, and stood up, facing the cloaked figure. He lit his horn and said in a voice as brave as he could muster, “What do you want?” Silence. Until the figure pulled the cloak away letting it fall to the floor. Standing in the doorway was a pony. At first glance she appeared to be a Pegasus. But Stella realized that wasn’t the case. Her wings were bigger than any she had seen. Her coat was a gleaming lavender. Her midnight blue mane was pulled back, with streaks of purple and magenta completing it. Her violet orbs traveled around the room before resting on the two fillies. “I’m here to help.” Her voice was quiet and reassuring and Stella immediately felt safe. Dusk however wasn’t so sure. “Who are you?” he questioned. His fear had ebbed away, now replaced with suspicion. “What do you want?” The mare walked forward. “I’m here to get you out of here,” she told them. Dusk snorted. “That impossible! We’ve been stuck for three years! Nopony can!” The lavender mare sighed. “Listen. I can help. All I want to do is help you. My friends are already freeing the others. But we don’t have long before he finds out, please!” she said in a pleading voice. Dusk looked at her not knowing what to do. “Dusk,” Stella spoke from his side. “I trust her.” “Trust is what landed us hear in the first place!” he hissed. “I know Dusk! But I don’t wanna be here forever! I want to be home, where we belong. And I trust her!” “Stella…” “Please?” Dusk sighed and faced the mare. “Okay,” he said feeling nervous. The mare silently nodded and moved toward the door, Dusk and Stella following suit. “Try not to make too much noise,” she whispered to the siblings. They silently acknowledged her and continued forward. The hall was so silent you could hear a pin drop. The two siblings stated shivering from the cold. The lavender mare looked at them, pity in her eyes. A thousand thought were swirling in her head, none of which made sense. Remember, just stick to the plan. The others will meet you at the entrance. Nothing will go wrong,she told herself. After a split second, her thoughts turned from encouraging to fearful. What if I fail? What if we never get out? What if I face… him? I can’t, not after what happened last time. The mare took a deep breath clearing her thoughts. She couldn’t afford to get distracted; it might be fatal. Taking a deep breath, she addressed the young ponies beside her. “This is going to be tricky, if the guards see us we're done for. Follow my lead and stay low.” They nodded. The Pegasus mare looked past the wall. Standing just feet away were the patrollers of the temple. They were almost ponies, but not quite. They seemed to float suspended in the air. They were seemingly made from smoke and could shift between spaces. They were the colour of ash, and their eyes glowed red in the darkness. The children gulped and their rescuer felt a foreboding sense enter her mind. Her last encounter with these creatures had been anything but pleasant. They were made from dark magic and had the power to unleash it. Their magic could be deathly. Since she could not use magic to combat them getting past would be difficult, if not impossible. Still, she refused to back down. “Ready,” she asked her companions, not waiting for a reply. She carefully backed around the wall, keeping her body firmly against it. Dusk and Stella were as silent as they could be, following her suit. The shadow covered them well and they were able to move through the hall without a sound. After about a minute, Stella felt a tickle enter her nose. She tried to stifle it, but she had a terrible habit of not being able to keep her sneezes in. Dusk noticed his sisters scrunched up face and let out a groan in his mind. “Stella…” he started to whisper, but it was too late. “Achooo!!!” The noise resounded throughout the hall. The lavender mare, who had been nearing the end of the wall flinched at the noise. The guards immediate noticed and directed themselves towards the intruders. “Flippit,” the mare cursed under her breath. She looked at her companions, knowing only one thing that they could do. “Run!” she shouted before taking off. Dusk and Stella broke into a gallop. As the trio ran a wailing sound assaulted their ears. The alarm, the Pegasus mare thought as adrenaline flooded her senses. She knew that the plan was failing miserably. She hated when things, especially plans, failed. I hope the girls are having more luck, she said in her mind as the wailing grew louder. Next to her, the siblings were struggling to keep up. Of all times not to be able to teleport! She grumbled to herself. She couldn’t dwell however as Stella let out a shriek. In front of them were a group of shadow ponies. Their eyes were narrowed, and they held various weapons. This wasn’t what worried her though. It was their dark magic. The mare took a deep breath and calmed herself. “Do exactly what I say,” she told Dusk and Stella. She then began to gallop faster than before. The shadow ponies growled and got ready to attack. The lavender pony closed her eyes. She spread her wings and launched herself into the air. The air rushed beneath as her heart began racing. The shadow ponies turned their glowing eyes on her and began to shoot bolts of their dark magic into the air. The Pegasus mare narrowed her eyes and turned, avoiding the magic by a hairs breadth. She looked at the ground, where Dusk and Stella were watching in amazement. She flapped her wings harder and started ascending towards the stone canopy. Then using all her strength, she turned and bucked the roof, hard. At first nothing happened. Then a crack started to form in the ceiling. She smiled smugly and gave another kick. The crack grew larger. The mare gave a final kick at the roof, and to her satisfaction found it crumbling slowly. Those training lessons weren’t so useless after all, she laughed to herself. On the ground, the shadow ponies began shooting more bolts, but the lavender mare simply laughed. She flew in front of the crack and looked at the shadow ponies. They looked back. “You are trespassing on our land,” the shadow pony hissed. “Surrender and you shan’t be harmed. If not…” he stopped, and his eyes glowed even more fiendishly. “You know what will happen.” She laughed; she couldn’t help it. She looked at them, feeling a sense of power rushing through her. “Come and get me!” she taunted. They growled and lit their horns. Simultaneously they fired. Perfect. The bolts flew towards her, and she made no move to defend herself. When the magic was a few inches away she made her move. Soaring upward, she twisted in the air, causing the magic to crash into the wall behind her. Maybe things were working out after all. After hitting the wall, the structure began to crumble, pieces of debris falling to the floor. Dusk and Stella hugged each other, shaking. The Pegasus dove toward the floor in a split second, she was next to the siblings. “Run,” she whispered. The three took off leaving the shadow ponies to deal with the falling temple. They made their way through the temple, not stopping for a second. Shouts could be heard from all around them, but the mare paid no attention. She knew that they were close to the exit. Eventually she saw it, light ahead of them. She increased her pace, as did Dusk and Stella. The trio broke into the light. Dusk and Stella sighed in relief, but their savior was still edgy. She had one job now, wait. A minute passed and she grew increasingly nervous. Where were they? Did something happen? Should I go back? Just before she was about to turn back and head inside the temple a voice could be heard. “Come on y’all, we gotta hurry.” A tangerine mare appeared, a brown hat on her head. She was leading a group of young ponies. Two voices piped up from her left. “Where do you think they are?” “They said to wait here.” Two mares appeared. They were both pegasai, one had a light-yellow coat, the other a sky blue one. The lavender mare sighed in relief; two more to go. As the thought crossed her mind, a posh voice spoke. “Thank goodness you’re alright darlings.” An alabaster unicorn with a glossy purple mane strode towards them, a young colt trailing behind her. She looked around. “Where’s pin…” “Surprise!” a voice cried. A pink mare with a bouncy mane hopped out. “You know what this calls for, A party!” Behind her, a group of ponies giggled. The lavender Pegasus sighed in relief. “Alright girls, you’re all here. Now we can…” A voice spoke from the shadows, a voice that made her heart stop. “Twilight Sparkle.”