T'was a dark night in Canterlot, when suddenly, one pony came galloping up the steps to the castle.
"Halt!" the guard pony exclaims. "Who are you?"
"Listen here, pal, if I don't get this news to Celes-"
"I said, who ARE you?" Insisted the guard.
"I am Silvia Stardust, the 25th enlisted Stargazer, Rank I. I have news that BOTH the Princesses must see at once."
"Hmph, " the guard mumbled. After a short while (to which Silvia did not take kindly), the guards let her in. As she galloped to the throne room, her bright white coat shimmered with her silver mane in the moonlight. Upon entering, she slowed to a halt, and bowed before Celestia and her sister, Luna. After some words were exchanged, Silvia decided to bring out the news.
"Celestia, I'm sure you've noticed, but the stars, the constellations, they've..."
"Faded away? Yes, I have heard." Celestia finished. " Luna has seen it happen before her very eyes, and came to me. This is a very serious matter, Silvia. I assume you know that."
"Yes, princess."
"Well then, I assume you know what this means as well. Am I correct?"
"Y-Yes, princess. The prisoner of the Dark Void... he is..."
"Returning," finished Celestia. They took some time considering their next move. After some hushed whispers and urgent nods, Silvia went out, warning as many of the other Stargazers as she could. As for Celestia, she would have to wait until morning to tell Twilight, for if she knew now, she would stay up all night trying to understand who the prisoner is.
Morning. Ponyville is just starting to wake up. the lights are flickering off, and everypony is starting to wake up.
Except for one.
A newcomer to the town, Andante Cantus, just trotted into town. He's walked all over Equestria, from Hoofington to Manehattan, he's been all over, lugging his own, small, upright piano with him everywhere he goes. He makes a living by playing in the streets, near busy towns, anywhere where ponies can hear his music, he's there. His pitch black mane on top of his grey body with specks of dust and dirt in it all sway in the wind. His gold eyes searching for a spot to rest. He's been through a lot, and he needs a break. When he finds a spot somewhere near the edge of town, he sets his upright near a tree, kneels down in the shade and catches a few winks of sleep before starting his casual 'Will play for bits' business. After a couple of hours he wakes up to a band of ponies behind an unfamiliar pink face merely inches from his.
"WOW so you play for bits? OMIGAWSH if only I had some bits for you i would listen to you for HOURS but only if you're good, wait are you a good player, a good pianist? I haven't seen a pianist in AGES omaigawsh this is the best day EVER if only we could hear you play that would be....."
" Uhm, excuse me, but who are you, exactly?" 'Man is she energetic. If only I had that kind of energy...'
"OH oh oh oh I forgot to introduce myself and my friends I'm SOOOOO sorry. I'm Pinkie Pie, this here is Twilight, AppleJack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and...Fluttershy? FLUTTERSHY WHERE ARE Y-"
She was interrupted by a purple unicorn, who Andante could only assume was Twilight.
"I'm terribly sorry about Pinkie Pie, she's kind of a party animal," Twilight managed to say. Then a yellow pegasus slowly flew
her way out from behind a tree.
"I'm Fluttershy..." she could only muster.
"Uhm, come again? I didn't quite hear you..." Andante said. Twilight covered for Fluttershy, and after some explaining and a couple of hoof-shakes, the ponies all got along together.
"So, piano-boy," AJ insisted, "why don'tcha play a song fer us?"
After some consideration, a quick "Sure, why not?" from Andante and he was playing a fitting morning tune on his upright. He picked an old time favorite, Canon in D. Of course, he faded his own little notes and rhythms to it, making it more beautiful by the second. Not to long after, a crowd started gathering at his playing spot, and one request after another, followed by some encouraging bits, Andante was playing tune after tune.
When break time hit, he decided to use some of the bits he got to go to the bakery and buy a breakfast roll, buttered up and with a nice hot cup of tea on the side. After some thought, he decided to stay in Ponyville a bit longer than usual, just to get to know some ponies, particularly the six he met in the morning.
But out there, somewhere, in the Dark Void, a dark and mysterious voice rings in the mind of the prisoner...
"Ahhh Solari. It's nice of you to come down here with me to this lonely, solitary prison..."
"Shut it, Malice. If I had the power I would rip you from my soul and blast you apart, you unholy demon spawn."
"Now now, Lumino, no need for this vulgarity. Remember, I am a part of you now, we're both stuck here."
"That's exactly why I hate you, Solari. You unjustly took hold of my mind, rooted your seeds of insanity, and forced my to destroy Equestria. I hate you, you filthy writhing heap of idiocy." The words were spat out with anger all over them.
"Whatever, Solari. Just keep this in mind. Every last drop of your hatred fuels me and my malicious deeds. I suggest you start liking me, lest you give me more power every time you express your hatred if me..."
"You will die for this, Malice."
"Oh, I'd love to see that happen...
After all, there is a world out there...
without any constellations to guard it from me..."
Author's Note
I'm sorry if the actual telling of the story is horrifically bad; I'm not a professional writer.
Still, I hope this is a good enough story for you guys. It's just the first chapter though, so leave a comment if you have any suggestions.
I'm working on this story as I go along, so if there are any horrible, horrible mistakes, please tell me so I may fix them. Thank you.
It was another busy day in Equestria. Farmers were readying crops, bakers and chefs were preparing food, everypony had something to do. Andante, for example, had to prepare his music, as he was going to perform for an audience at the Summer Solstice Festival, in celebration of the day Celestia brought out the most glorious sunrise to start off the longest day in the year, and ended it with a magnificent sunset. Little did the Equestrians know, the longest day of the year was going to have the darkest, most lonesome night, without any constellations.
Celestia decided it was fit for Twilight to know about this pressing matter, for she was sure her apprentice could find a way to stop it from happening; Twilight never seemed to disappoint. The Princess made an appointment at i hour before the noontime, one hour before the height of the celebration took place, as the sun would rise to its highest point during the year. Celestia was certain that Twilight would come, after some hard reading on the subject. She did, after all, wanted to know what she was getting into.
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
" Princess Celestia, I have come at your request," Twilight said as she entered the throne room.
"Twilight, I presume you have read up on the constellations?"
"Yes, Princess, I have. They were conceived at the time when the first Stargazer was enlisted, Lumino Solari."
"Very good. Then I believe you also know of the Prisoner in the Dark Void?"
"Yes, Princess."
"Then I have some very troubling news. The constellations are fading away, and my current Stargazer, Silvia Stardust, believes the Prisoner may be responsible. Without any constellations to protect us..." The Princess turned to Twilight, "the Prisoner can come at any moment, with all the Zodiac under his control."
Twilight sat there, eyes wide with shock. "You're not saying that I-"
"Yes, I am, Twilight. You must find a way to prevent the destruction of this world, " The Princess finished.
"But I read that this 'High Majesty' banished him. Who are they, and can't they do it again?"
"The Majesty consists of two deities of ultimate power. Lux, with her partner, Tenebris, both watch over Equestria. Tenebris banished Solari to the Dark Void, yes, but it is still a mystery to why Solari was even exiled. Before he went on a destructive rampage, he had a good moral, a good conscience. It seemed he was vastly different when we sent the Zodiac to destroy Equestria."
The princess went on about how magnificent and selfless Solari was before the rampage occurred, and how he changed overnight. It was a mystery to everypony at the time, and still was to that day. Several theories were brought up, saying how Solari saw the power he held, and wanted more, or how he wanted revenge on somepony, but none of them matched up with his character.
But it wasn't the time for reminiscing about the past, it time for Celestia to make her special appearance at the Summer Solstice Festival. When the princess was finished with her story, she sent Twilight off to regroup with her friends and other such matters before noon came.
For Andante, things went along pretty smoothly. He was playing his own composition, 'Sonata a la Sole'. Note after note, hearts were touched, the sky got brighter, and when the final chord struck, the Summer Solstice had officially begun with the sun high in the sky. Everyone was joyful. Ponies danced, all the pegasi flew around, doing loop-the-loops and whirls in the sky, and the unicorns did as many tricks as they could think of. It was a beautiful sight.
After the festival ended and the bright sun finally receded below the horizon, mostly everypony had gone to bed. Andante sat in a clearing in the Everfree Forest. He lay there, thinking back to the days with his family. The fun, the games, all that good stuff. Then he remembered why he left.
His siblings always teased him about the orchestra, and how he'd always fail in it. He knew he couldn't play anything they gave him. Viola, violin, chello, bass, harp, anything in the orchestra really, he just couldn't master it. Every night, his parents would insist he try again to make it in, just as the rest of his family. Both his parents, his aunt and uncle, even his siblings and cousins were in the string ensemble, except for him. He'd go to sleep every night, lonely. But there was this one pony that stood there for him. One of his sisters. But he never remembered her name, not even what she looked like. In his dreams, he saw a vague figure. He made it his quest to find her, because he knew she had left home to look for him. He wasn't sure why, but he just knew. Like a sibling sort of thing.
Twilight, on the other hoof, had stayed up to look at the night sky. Sitting atop the highest hill in Ponyville she craned her neck towards the night sky. Nights before, she had seen thousands upon thousands of twinkling lights up above. Now, only a few stars remain. Taurus, the bull, Pisces, the twin fish, and Libra, the pony of love and just. These were the first and most powerful constellations to have been forged in the sky. They have watched over Equestria ever since they were created, along with Orion, Leo, Sagittarius, and many others. But now, those first three remain to be the only ones left.
She wondered why the stars were fading away into the deep, dark abyss that is the night. She was about to turn back when the night sky burst into light. Taurus, to Twilights chagrin, was losing his luster in the heavens. She saw him wriggle and writhe in the night sky, fighting something the best he could.
Then he slowed...
Then he stopped.
With a final cry the stellar beast succumbed to the darkness around him, the only feature left of it was its pure white eyes. Which slowly turned a dark and vicious red...
As if it turned evil.
Deep in the heart of the Everfree Forest, one very unique pony scans the stars. In her hut, she gazes as the night sky, witnessing the very same event Twilight had. Taurus had gone corrupt and vanished from his place in the sky. Zecora had seen this event earlier in the week, but as the number of missing Zodiac grew, so did her fear of the Prisoner's return. As the time drew ever nearer, an old family tale had begun to resurface in her mind. She grabbed her most prized gem, a spell book, and a string with red beads, and took off to a very secluded area. Once there, Zecora began to piece together a necklace. Holding the gem, a solid, black diamond, she uttered a spell that would summon a powerful being. One that would help save the land of Equestria from the hooves of the Prisoner.
In this gem I hold with me,
I wish to keep a deity...
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
The sound of fire crackled in the wind. Torches aflame, candles lit, darkness covered the fields. Two ponies stood in the midst of the night. A zebra, with her body covered in the classic black and white stripes, with gold rings around her neck, paired with an alicorn, his mane a pitch black with blue tips at the ends, the fur on his body a dark shade of blue. His sapphire eyes gazed into the zebra's.The two were stuck like this for quite some time, until the alicorn turned.
"My dear Zaria, my enchantress, why have you brought me here? You know I am supposed to help the Princesses with their duties." He looked rather tired, but happy nonetheless to see his beloved.
"Well, my dear Fury, I have brought you here, to tell you something you need to hear. Somepony is trying to destroy all of us, and he must be defeated, he truly must." Her thick, exotic accent flows through every rhyme she speaks, but there is a subtle hint of concern in her voice.
This is an incomplete chapter at the moment. I will try my best to finish it.
Author's Note
If this chapter doesn't look all that good, I do apologize. It's not my best work, but this is just a story I'm coming up with at the moment. Hope it gets better.
