Prologue: A Strange Visitor
A Strange Visitor
It was a few months after Princess Twilight Sparkle’s coronation. Princess Celestia sat on her throne, reading some letters she’d gotten.
Suddenly, one of her guards burst in, panting and limping.
“Your highness!” he shouted. Celestia stopped what she was doing and looked up at the guard; whatever the matter was, it seemed urgent.
“What is it?” she asked.
The guard had to pant in between words in order to get the sentence out. “You—have—a visitor!”
Celestia stayed calm. If it was just a visitor, why was he so urgent? Then again, a visitor could be anypony ranging from Twilight’s Ponyville friends to Queen Chrysalis.
“Who is it?” she asked.
“He didn’t say.”
“And why such commotion?”
The guard’s continuous panting got even faster as he recalled the incident. “He said he wanted to speak to the three of you princesses. He looked a little suspicious, so we asked him to reveal his identity to us or we wouldn’t let him in. Then he—he—“ The guard took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. “He began using his magic to destroy the other guards! And he also destroyed some nearby ponies that had nothing to do with the incident! I was the only one he didn’t destroy. However, he did injure my front leg and shoulder with his magic.” He showed the princess his injured leg and shoulder, both of which had multiple burns and gashes. “Then he told me to beg for you to let him in, or else he’d destroy all of Canterlot!”
Celestia gasped. She turned to the guards on her left. “Go get Princess Luna and Twilight Sparkle! Tell them that the matter is urgent!” she commanded. (Cadence is ruling in the Crystal Empire at this time.) The guards nodded and went to fetch the other two princesses. “You may take a break now. You’ve done very well,” she said gently to the first guard.
The guard bowed. “Thank you, Your Highness.” He galloped away.
The Princess of the Sun just stared ahead, wondering who this “visitor” could be. Was he a Changeling? Or maybe it was Discord’s work. Somepony who wanted to rebel against her? Whoever he was, he was clearly desperate, and would do anything to talk about whatever the matter was.
She also felt a pang of sadness for the guards that had been killed. They’d just been doing their regular jobs as guards, and the stranger had flat-out killed them! Now those guards would never be able to see their families again, never be able to resume their jobs as guards, and if they had goals in mind, they’d never be able to achieve them. And the pedestrians! They weren’t even involved with the incident, why did the stranger have to kill them as well?
Luna came flying gracefully through the window, and Twilight teleported into the room. They both looked to Celestia.
“What is it, sister?” asked Luna.
“We came here as soon as we could!” said Twilight.
“Fellow princesses, one of my guards just came in, notifying me of a strange visitor who wants to speak to the three of us,” responded Celestia.
“Do you know who it is?” Luna asked, walking up to her sister. Twilight followed.
“No. According to the guard, the stranger killed the other guards when they asked him who he was.”
“He did WHAT???” exclaimed Twilight.
“Why would he do that?!” Luna half-yelled. “Nopony should be so desperate as to kill somepony else! Sister, we should not let him in!” She stomped her hoof on the not.
“We’ve no other choice,” Celestia said grimly. “Come to both my sides, sisters, and keep your guard up in case the time to fight comes!”
Luna and Twilight did just that as Celestia gave permission for the guards to let the visitor in.
After an agonizingly tense minute, the door to the throne room opened. Waiting just outside of the room was what seemed like a stallion. He had on a black cloak that covered the top half of his face and body, but one could clearly see he was a unicorn.
The stallion sauntered in, each step echoing in the dead silence of the throne room. The guards kept their eyes trained on him as he passed by, knowing already what he’d done beforehand. The three princesses had their wings open, ready to fly at the first sign of danger, and mind ready to cast a spell through their horns.
When he was a few meters away from the throne, the stallion stopped. Without his footsteps to add noise to the room, everything was completely silent. Nothing made even a single sound, as if nothing was there.
The stallion smirked under his hood.
"I like this silence. Very calming, don't you think, princesses?" His voice sounded like any other stallion's voice.
Celestia made no response. She just glowered at him. Even though she’d just met him, she could sense that something was wrong—really wrong. Was it the sudden drop of temperature in the air? The dark presence she felt? Or perhaps it was the voice in the back of her head telling her to take off immediately and hide somewhere? She couldn’t tell. Luna sensed it too.
“No?” the stallion asked. He chuckled. “Well anyways, it’s been a long time, Celestia. How has it been? You seem to have grown—“
“I’m sorry, but I don’t believe we’ve met!” interrupted Celestia.
The stallion chuckled again. “Of course you don’t. I wouldn’t expect you to, anyway.”
“Who are you, and why are you here?” demanded Luna.
“Oh, Luna! Almost didn’t recognize you! You look so different!” the stallion said dramatically. Luna and Celestia were confused. Who was this mysterious stranger, and why did he seem to remember them, when they couldn’t recognize him in the slightest way?
“And who is this?” the stallion said, turning his head sharply towards Twilight. The young princess tensed up as she suddenly felt like a dozen bricks had placed themselves on her back. “A new princess?” The stallion seemed to be suppressing laughter. “And what’s your name?”
“Uh, T-T-T-Twilight Sparkle,” stuttered Twilight.
“Interesting name.” He looked back to Celestia and Luna, and Twilight felt the huge weight come off of her suddenly. She sucked in a quiet breath, and let it out.
“I will ask again, who are you, and why—“ Luna began, but the stallion interrupted.
“My fair Luna, maiden of the night, I was getting to that. I was simply asking who the new princess was. I mean, last time I checked, there were only three princesses, and to find Twilight Sparkle here was surprising and—“
Celestia was beginning to get impatient. “Just tell us!” she yelled. Even though the hood of the cloak covered the stranger’s eyes, Celestia could feel him glaring at her intensely. And she suddenly felt a little scared. The throne room once again grew silent.
“I will expect no more interruptions,” the stallion snarled. He cleared his throat. “Anyways, I am here with a message from my master. His name will remain anonymous until he wishes to uncover it, and so will mine. All I can tell you is that I am his top assistant. And now for the message…” The stallion grinned menacingly, revealing sharp fangs. “Your time is short, princesses. For you, Equestria, and the whole world. Enjoy your lives while you still can. For not too long from now, my master is going to rule this world. But he can’t have you filthy ponies in the way—you might rebel against him and try to overthrow his beautiful empire!
“However, he can’t kill you either. Instead, he’s going to put you in an endless sleep. That way, you won’t be born again in another body, you won’t be able to frolic happily in the land of the dead, and you won’t be able to come back to haunt him as ghosts! No, you’ll forever be in a state of sleep, you won’t die in your sleep ever, you won’t have any dreams, nothing!
“Every stallion, mare, foal, Changeling, dragon—everything will suffer from this never-ending sleep! And you want to know something, princesses? THERE'S NOT A SINGLE THINK YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT!”
Celestia, Luna, and Twilight stared at him, wide-eyed. The whole world in an endless sleep? That would be a nightmare!
The stallion laughed a little before saying, “I’ve revealed enough for now. Oh, and there’s one other thing I need to tell you…”
The three princesses grew quiet, a little scared of what the stallion would say. He just grinned extra wide and said, “There’s another one of you in Equestria.”
“If you’re talking about Cadence, she’s ruling the Crystal Empire!” said Celestia.
“I am not a fool, Celestia, I knew that!” snarled the stallion. “I’m talking about another alicorn in your kingdom. One that is not a princess.”
Celestia widened her eyes. Another alicorn? How could she not know this?! Better question, how come nopony had ever reported seeing an alicorn? After all, an alicorn wasn’t hard to miss. Had he or she done a spell that prevented others from seeing his or her wings/horn and passing off as a unicorn/pegasus?
The mysterious stallion chuckled. “Well, it’s been fun. But I must take my leave now.” Suddenly his cloak flew off, revealing a dark gray coat, white spiky hair, and yellow eyes with slits for pupils. His horn began to radiate darkness that swirled around his body. The temperature in the room became freezing cold.
“Ta-ta, princesses! I’ll see you later!” the stallion said with a wide grin from ear-to-ear. The darkness made a tornado around him, the wind pulling at everything in the room.
“Guards! Don’t let him get away!” Celestia yelled. The guards rushed towards the dark tornado, but it was too late. The tornado suddenly exploded, blowing back everything its winds touched. Everything of the throne room became dark for a few seconds.
When everypony could see again, the stallion was gone. Not a single trace of him being there. The guards were littered throughout the place, one even hanging from the ceiling. The princesses had been blown against the wall, hitting their heads and blacking out temporarily.
Luna was the first to recover. “Is everypony alright?” she called. Some guards gave a nod, and others didn’t move at all. Luna looked to her sisters, and saw them unconscious on the ground. She began shaking Celestia. “Sister! Sister! Are you okay?”
Celestia opened one eye, then the other. She sat up and looked around.
“Thank goodness you’re alright!” sighed Luna, relieved. Celestia nodded, and then looked at Twilight. When she saw Twilight knocked out, she shook her with one hoof.
“Twilight? Are you awake?” she asked.
Twilight groggily lifted her head. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she mumbled. “Ow, my head hurts.” She rubbed the back of her head with her hoof.
“Sister, everypony is alright, except for a few guards who are knocked out, or worse…” reported Luna.
“Good,” said Celestia, though she didn’t seem to be paying attention. She was thinking too much of the stallion’s message, and the fact that there was apparently another alicorn in Equestria other than herself, Luna, Twilight, and Cadence.
“What is it, sister?”
“We have to fine that stallion, his master, and look for the other alicorn. He or she could be of use in this unavoidable battle. We'll also need the Elements of Harmony,” Celestia said grimly. “We must stop at nothing to keep the world from falling into Eternal Slumber.”
New to Ponyville
I looked up from the map I was holding at the small town of Ponyville. The town looked pretty peaceful from where I was standing. There were some ponies chatting on dinner tables, a colt chasing a ball, a pony reading a newspaper while sipping some juice, and other ponies simply walking around and enjoying the day.
Taking a deep breath, I made sure my vest was secured tightly, and pulled the cart which held boxes containing my stuff, levitating the map with my horn. As I walked into the town, some ponies stared at me, and then went back to what they were doing.
“All I need to do is ask for directions. Can’t be that hard, right?” I said to myself. Suddenly some rabbits hopped by. A soft voice could be heard saying, “Excuse me, excuse me!” Following the rabbits was a light yellow pegasus with a pink mane and tail. On her flank were 3 pink butterflies that served as her cutie mark.
“Hey, uh could you tell—“ I began, but the pegasus was too much in a hurry to acknowledge me. I sighed. “Well, better luck next time.”
Out of the blue, somepony shouted in a southern accent, “Coming through! Ah gotta whole lotta apples here!” An orange mare with a yellow mane and 3 apples as her cutie mark walked by, carrying, pulling, and pushing carts and barrels full to the brink with apples.
I trotted alongside the orange pony. “Do you need some—“
"Nah, Ah've got it covered," she interrupted, clearly straining against the weight of all those apples.
"Well could you at least tell me where--"
“Can’t talk now, sugarcube, gotta carry these apples!” I stopped and watched as an apple fell to the ground, the pony not noticing. I picked up the apple off the ground and waved it in the air.
“Hey, you dropped an apple!” I shouted to the orange pony.
“You can keep it!”
Sighing, I took a few huge bites out of the giant juicy apple before continuing to wander around town. Before I could get far, a loud boom sounded throughout the town. A giant rainbow-colored circle appeared in the sky, expanding outward. Coming in my direction from the center of the rainbow circle at top speed was a cyan pegasus with a rainbow trailing behind her. I panicked for a moment, because she was coming straight at me! Before I could do anything, the pegasus zoomed right by me, kicked off of the ground, and made a rainbow in the sky. Ponies around me ooh-ed, aah-ed and applauded as the cyan pegasus landed back on the ground, grinning. All I could do was stare at her with a wide open mouth and bulging eyes.
The pegasus signed autographs, posed for pictures, and answered questions from an interviewer, blowing her rainbow-colored mane out of her face. Her cutie mark was a red yellow and blue lightning bolt.
I unlatched myself from the cart and walked towards the pegasus while pushing my way through the fanponies. “That was amazing,” I congratulated the pegasus.
“Why, thank you,” she said, flexing her legs. “Sonic Rainbooms are my specialty.” The pegasus slung a hoof around my shoulder. “Is there anything I can do for ya? You look new here.”
“Well you could tell me where—“
“Didn’t think so,” said the pegasus, patting me on the head. With that, she trotted away, the crowd of fanponies following her.
I muttered random gibberish under my breath. “Well, I better find my house.” I picked up the map with my horn, latched onto my cart, and continued walking around the town. Unfortunately, I had no idea where I even was.
Up ahead I saw a light pink mare with a frizzy raspberry-colored mane walking in my direction. She had 3 balloons as her cutie mark. She also seemed really bored and trying to find something to do.
“Hey, maybe she could give me directions!” I said to myself. When she was close enough, I began, “Hey, could you please tell me where—“ Before I could finish what I was saying, the pink pony did a loud, exaggerated gasp.
“Oh. My. GOSH!!!” she screamed, jumping up high into the air. When she landed back on the ground, she began hyperventilating. “YOU’RE NEW HERE!!!”
I began to back away, intimidated by the screaming pony. Before I could break into a run, the pony took my hoof and shook it vigorously.
“Hey there my name’s Pinkie Pie and sorry if I got so loud it’s just that you’re new here and I rarely get to see new ponies ‘cause I know everypony around here and the last time somepony new came to down was a cranky donkey and the time before that was my best friend Twilight Sparkle who is an alicorn princess now ruling Equestria in Canterlot along with Luna and Celestia all because she learned the magic of friendship and saving me and my other friends from a spell which changed our cutie marks anyways what’s your name?” Pinkie Pie said, and squeed.
“Uh…I’m Shimmer,” I said slowly.
Pinkie Pie did another exaggerated gasp and leaned in close to my face, eyes narrowed. “You’re not related to Sunset Shimmer, ARE YOU???” she demanded.
“Um, no. Wh-wh-who’s Sunset Shimmer?”
“Okay, you’re not.” Pinkie stood upright again, smiling widely.
What is wrong with this pony, does she have a mental problem or something? I wondered. Nevertheless, she could help me get to my new house.
“Hey, could you—“
Pinkie widened her eyes and brought her hooves to her face.
“I ALMOST FORGOT TO DO THE WELCOME SONG!!!!” And with that, she disappeared for a moment, and came back with a cart. “HERE GOES!!!” A bunch of balloons and streamers and party stuff flew out of the cart as Pinkie sang a really catchy welcoming song. When she finished, a hatch opened in the cart, and sprayed confetti in my face.
I had to admit, this was sort of brightening up my day and making me feel a little welcome. So I did a crooked smile.
“YAY!!! YOU SMILED!!! And my work here is done,” said Pinkie Pie, turning around and walking away. I threw my hooves up in the air. Nopony else was going to reject me again!
“Wait! Um…Dinky Die—no, Flinky Fly, gah—Slinky Sly, wait—Pink Tie! Pink—Pink—Pink!” I thought hard for a moment. Then I remembered: “PINKIE PIE!!!”
Pinkie was back to me in a flash. “Yeeeeeeeeeeees?” she asked, grinning.
I pointed to the spot on the map where my house was with my hoof. “Could you tell me where this is? It’s my new house.”
Pinkie swiped the map out of my hooves and studied it carefully. When she was done, she shoved it back to me.
“Why, sure I could! That’s right next to the Carousel Boutique where my best friend Rarity lives! But first, you have to pass inspection.” For a moment, she disappeared, and then appeared again with a fake mustache, a detective hat, and a magnifying glass.
“Inspection?!”
“Well yeah, silly. You could be a Changeling or somepony else who is bad,” explained Pinkie. “Now hold still.” I was about to explode from impatience. But I complied and just sighed.
Pinkie examined my black-and-white-striped mane and tail, my medium blue coat, my green and tattered and ripping-apart-at-the-seams vest which covered nearly my entire torso, my cutie mark (red lightning bolt surrounded by black stars, still not entirely sure what it represents), and my blood-red eyes, which stared her down.
“You look young. How old are you?” asked Pinkie.
“I’m 17, gonna be 18 in a few weeks.”
“Okay, you’re clear!”
“Can you please just take me to my house now?” I asked as politely as I could.
“Well yeah! Come along!” Pinkie Pie and proceeded to bounce instead of walk towards my house. I pulled my cart and followed her. After what seemed like an eternity, we finally made it to my new house. It was cream colored, with two stories. On the roof was a small hatch, leading to a balcony, perfect for stargazing at night and other things.
“Well, here we are!” said Pinkie. “If you ever need anything, Sugarcube Corner is just a hop, skip and a jump away in that direction!” She pointed in a direction and hopped away.
I put away the map and opened the door and levitated boxes into my new house. When I was done with that I went inside and slipped off my vest, arranged some boxes to resemble a couch, and just crashed onto them. Only then did I realize just how physically spent I was. Just as I began to doze off, a knock came from the door. I screamed and hid inside a box, startled.
“Hello? Is everything alright in there?” asked a feminine voice with a slight English accent. I peeked out from inside the box. The head of a dazzlingly beautiful unicorn with a curly dark purple mane and white coat peeped through the window next to the door.
“Oh. Um, hi there!” I greeted, slightly annoyed that my sleep was disturbed.
“May we chat? I’d like to know you better,” said the white unicorn.
“Uh, yeah, sure, I’ll be there in just a second!” The unicorn disappeared from the window. I put on my vest—hey, I have to look presentable—and opened the door. The unicorn grinned at me. Her cutie mark was 3 blue diamonds.
“Hello there, my name’s Rarity, owner of the Carousel Boutique,” Rarity said, pointing to a beautifully decorated building in the background, apparently the Carousel Boutique. “I design attire for everypony ranging from little petite fillies here in Ponyville to the magnificent fashion models in Canterlot.”
“Hi, Rarity. I’m Shimmer, and well…I’m new here.”
“Ah, yes. Pinkie Pie notified me of you, which is why I’m here.”
“Pinkie Pie? You mean that crazy pink pony who can’t seem to be quiet?”
“Yes, that pony.” Rarity suddenly gasped. “Shimmer! Your vest!” She pointed to it.
“Yeah, what about it?”
“It’s—it’s—it’s ripped!”
My heart sped up. “What???” I twisted my head around to look at my vest. My panic ceased when I saw that there were only the few minor rips and holes that'd always been there. “It’s just a few rips, nothing special about that.”
Rarity scowled. “A few rips, my hoof! It must be fixed at once!” She turned around and began walking away. “Come with me to the Carousel Boutique and we’ll get that vest fixed up, my dear!”
“But—“
“No buts! Nopony should walk around with damaged attire!”
I sighed and trotted after her.
When we got to the boutique, Rarity got out her sewing machine and scissors. She sat in front of the sewing machine, facing away from me. I sat on a chair against the wall.
“If you don’t mind, I’ll just levitate the vest off of you,” said Rarity, not even waiting for my response as she took the vest off of me with her magic and set to work. I sat there, feeling naked and exposed. After some awkward silence, Rarity broke the ice. "So, Shimmer, how has your time in Ponyville been so far?"
I thought of the three ponies that I'd run into. "Well, I tried to ask for directions three times, but was either ignored or rejected every time."
"By whom?" Rarity asked, still facing away from me.
"Well, there was this yellow pegasus who was trailing some rabbits--"
"That would be Fluttershy," interrupted Rarity. "She's really good with animals, and like her name suggests, she's very shy--and I mean shy."
"There was also an orange pony who had a whole ton of appples--"
"Applejack. She's the apple harvester of Ponyville, along with her younger sister Applebloom, older brother Big Macintosh, and frail elder grandmother, Granny Smith."
"And a rainbow-maned pegasus who did some sort of Sonic Rainblast thingy--"
"That's Rainbow Dash. And she did a Sonic Rainboom. She's the fastest flyer in Equestria, and saved me once from falling to my death. Very loyal to everypony."
"So, she's not some arrogant, self-centered pegasus who always wants attention on herself? Because that's what she seems like."
"Oh no, she is. Just not all the time. Alas, it's ready!" Rarity said, holding up my fixed vest. She turned around to face me, holding up the vest so that it covered her face. I had to admit, it did look better. Rarity had even added some diamonds!
"Wow, Rarity, it's beautiful!" I said.
The white unicorn nodded, the vest still covering her face. "Why, thank you." Suddenly something fell from its shelf somewhere in the house. Rarity widened her eyes. "I'll get it!" She dropped the vest and ran in the direction in which the sound came. I went over to the vest and put it on. When Rarity came back, she had a satisfied look on her face. When she saw me, her smile turned into a grin.
"You look dashing," she said.
I blushed. "Thanks."
"Now I shall escort you back to your home."
"Oh, you don't need to."
"I insist!" Rarity opened the door. I shrugged and walked out of the house, Rarity following me. We talked until we got to my house.
"Well, it was nice meeting you, Shimmer. I do hope we get to talk more in the future."
"Thanks. It was nice meeting you too, Rarity."
My new friend smiled and walked away. I smiled as well as I opened the door and walked in, shutting it behind me. Everything was dark since I hadn't turned on the light. Just as I began to slip off my new and improved vest, the light suddenly turned on, and what looked like dozens of ponies surrounded me. Confetti and streamers fell from above as everypony yelled "SURPRISE!!!"
I screamed and hid inside a box. Somepony opened the lid for me and peeked inside. "Silly, now's not the time for naps!" said a familiar voice. I looked up and was met with the grinning face of Pinkie Pie. Four other ponies were beside her, including Rarity. The other three were the ponies that I'd run into earlier.
"Pinkie, what are all these ponies doing at my house???" I demanded.
"It's a party! To welcome you to Ponyville!" I sighed and climbed out of the box. Pinkie Pie rushed beside the 3 ponies. "Shimmer! This is Fluttershy," she said, motioning to the yellow pegasus. Fluttershy smiled and in a quiet voice said, "Hi, Shimmer."
"And this is Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie hugged the rainbow-maned pegasus. Rainbow Dash grinned and said, "Hi there, newbie!"
"And last but not least, Applejack!" Pinkie sprung over to the orange pony. Applejack tipped her hat and said in her southern accent, "Well howdy there, Sugarcube."
"Then you've already met Rarity and I!"
"Um, Rarity?" I asked. "How did you get here? Because you just left a moment ago."
Rarity opened her mouth to say something, but thought for a moment before saying, "Good question...because I honestly do not know."
I stared at the five smiling ponies and everypony else behind them, and slowly managed a crooked smile that probably looked more like a grimace.
Fluttershy gasped in recognition. "Hey, you're that pony who I nearly ran into while chasing those bunnies!" she said in her quiet voice.
"And you're that pony who wanted to help me!" Applejack said.
"And you're the pony that I ran into when I did that Sonic Rainboom!" Rainbow Dash said, levitating off the ground with her wings.
"You were going to ask me a question, right?" the three ponies said in unison.
I laughed and nodded. "It's okay, the problem was solved. But so you know, I was going to ask if--"
"That doesn't matter!" interrupted Pinkie. "What does matter is that we need to..." She grabbed a balloon out of nowhere and blew it up until it was bigger than her and climbed on top of it and shouted at the top of her lungs, "PARTY!!!!"
So we did party. I got to know almost everypony in the entire town, and make friends with Fluttershy, Applejack and Rainbow Dash; turns out they're really nice and fun to hang around. I also got to dance and sing and drink punch--but I almost drank the hot sauce (Pinkie Pie says that that's one of the first mistakes that Twilight Sparkle made when she first moved to Ponyville). All in all, it was the best party I'd ever attended in my whole life.
That night, long after the last pony stepped out of my house, I went up to the second floor and opened the hatch that led up to the small balcony on the roof. The sky was its usual dark purple, with the stars littered across the sky like little white pebbles. The night was lukewarm with a nice and chilly breeze, just the way I like it.
I stepped onto the railing of the balcony and looked at my nice view of Ponyville; nearly everything in the entire town could be seen. My real concern was how many ponies were around. As I looked around I saw none; the entire town looked desolate, almost like a ghost town. Good. I then looked down and judged the distance between myself and the ground. It would be safe to assume that the ground was about 20 feet away. Anypony who wasn't a pegasus and jumped off would probably break a few bones, or worse...
The wind blew at my monochromatic mane, making it sway like a delicate flower in the spring. My eyes shimmered in the darkness like rubies in the sunlight, indicating excitement.
Taking a deep breath, I bent my legs, and jumped off the balcony.
