The RCC Volume One: The Fall of Harmony

Dinner had been extravagant, as always in the castle. Twilight had become accustomed to such feasts long ago, but now she was tasting of things that she had never known existed. Rare strawberries that actually glowed a hint of red in the dark. Fresh leaves of lettuce that could apparently only be found in the frozen wastes beyond the Purple Mountains. She had been expecting strange new foods the first night she'd stayed in the castle...but to be continually surprised by just what she found on the table before her; Twilight was very impressed.

"Pray thee tell, Lady Twilight. How art thou enjoying thy stay in Our castle home of Midnight?" The Prince gave a raise of his decorative flagon as he watched the dinner unfolding merrily from his seat at the head of the table.

Twilight, for her part, had all but forgotten the mannerisms of her station, and was busily dissecting one of the glowing strawberries, attempting to find its method of producing light. When she finally realized she was being spoken to, her fork clattered to the plate, her muzzle beneath the fur turning nearly as red as the fruit.

"It's been amazing, Your Highness. I feel I could spend years here just studying all of the amazing things I've seen...and it's only been about a week!" She exclaimed.

"Wonderful! Tis most excellent to hear thou hath been well entertained. We trust thy quarters art warm and comforting as well?" He asked.

Twilight nodded.

"It could use more books. But that aside, the bed is one of the most comfortable I've ever slept in. It's incredible; how many things I never knew could be possible. Back home, we never would've thought to use bird feathers for cushioning. It always seemed like such a bad idea, asking the birds for their feathers. We just use cotton and hay to stuff our mattresses and pillows."

"Thou mentions books, Lady Twilight. Is there anything in particular thou wouldst wish to read of?" Scorpio raised a curious eyebrow.

"Anything really. There's a lot about this place that I don't know yet." She shrugged in return.

"You seem to be of the studious sort." Aries chuckled from her position next to the Prince. She had finished her meal long ago and was preparing to leave for her rounds on the castle guard.

"Well...I've spent most of my life studying and learning. To the exclusion of a lot of other things, truthfully." Twilight's ears folded back as another sheepish expression crossed her muzzle. "I've always loved to read and learn. After all, there's no problem that can't be solved with the proper knowledge."

The Prince nodded sagely at this, while Aries paused for a moment, looking down to Scorpio. A strange look flashed between the two momentarily before Aries' eyes went wide.

"Surely you can't think, Sire..."

"But We do, Captain. We do."

Twilight looked between the two, confused as all around the table, the conversation between the other attending members dulled down as all attention was turned to the Prince.

"Lady Twilight...We wouldst like to request thine assistance on a matter of some importance...if thou wouldst be willing to hear Us out?" Scorpio leaned forward over the table, head resting behind closed hands propped upon elbows.

The unicorn could only tilt her head in interest, waiting for him to continue.

"You see...We hath had undue troubles as of late regarding thine field of expertise."

"You're having trouble with magic, Your Highness?" She asked.

The Prince nodded.

"There hath been many disturbing reports as of late from Our western provinces. Tales of black magics and despicable creatures capable of razing many a home to the ground on a mere gesture of the hand."

Twilight's mind clicked, remembering Aries' stories of magical humans from earlier before dinner that day.

"That be the Volcano of Gloom. Tis the home of peoples most vile. Those that would use their evil black sorceries for the most heinous of crimes...Sorcerers. Spell Weavers. Witches all; and be they damned, I say."

"A dark cloud gathers over yon Volcano...and be it not natural. Our people art suffering in these lands...all due to a magic with which We hath no experience in how to combat. Had We been in our homelands...surely there wouldst be a holy mage capable of levying a counter-spell to this darkness. But alas...We find ourselves severely lacking in the ability to properly deal with this dilemma. We wouldst ask...if thou were't willing...that thou wouldst investigate this issue for Us."

Twilight slowly rose from her chair, standing beside the table. Part of her was screaming at her to avoid the situation. There was no telling just what magic she would find out there. With her own power still slowly recovering, there was no way of gauging if she could defend herself if it came down to it.

Then again...these people had been nothing but friendly thus far. They had not only provided her a place to recover from whatever it was that had sapped her of her strength; but they had also fed her, provided her shelter and even entertained her curiosity.

There was that against her conscience, but her mind was another story. Her innate curiosity would not allow this to go without investigation. Even as she stood there in the stone halls of the castle, debating the best way to gently ease herself out of the situation; her mind was already swimming with possibilities as to what kind of magic was at work...and whether or not the usage of it was actually meant for good or evil. It spun over the idea that she might actually have a chance to first-hoof learn new magic. After all, nothing about this world so far had been normal. Why would the magic be any different?

Twilight swallowed the lump in her throat, knowing that she would likely regret her decision as it was finally made.

"All right, Your Highness. I'll help you with this problem." She nodded stiffly, even though every fiber of her rational intelligence was warring with itself.

There was the thunderous sound of applause from all around her as the humans gathered in the room began clapping and cheering. The sound startled Twilight at first before she realized just what was making it; and then as to why it was being made. Apparently, the issue at hand was both more well known than she might have thought, and more troublesome.

That thought made her gut sink even further.

"Well then! With this matter settled, let Us convene for the evening in Our private study where We shalt attempt to inform thee of Our plight in greater detail." Scorpio rose from his chair, prompting all present humans to do the same and illicit a bow to their Prince.

Aries was the only one whom did not mimic the gesture, Twilight noticed, as the Guard Captain merely slunk out of the room wearing a rather troubled frown. As Prince Scorpio led the way out, Twilight's eyes followed Aries for a moment. She shook her head slowly, resigning herself to ask the Captain in person later.

~D.W.~

Together, the Prince and Twilight settled into their respective seats before a large, roaring fire in Scorpio's personal study. Stone walls stacked high with books on shelves end to end in a large circular pattern around the room told of Twilight's hosts' propensity for reading and knowledge; one she was grateful to find was just as excessive as her own in some respects. As the Prince threw another log onto the fire to stoke the growing flames, he sat back in his armchair whilst Twilight nestled into a large plush cushion that had been fashioned for her during her stay.

"Tell Us Twilight..." Scorpio asked, all formality now dropped outside of common ears, "...what dost thou know of the stars?"

Twilight's gaze leaped from the fire to the nearby window where already, tiny motes of light were beginning to dot the nearing evening sky.

"Well, Your Highness..." She began.

"Please. We art no longer amongst the nobility. Thou may address Us by Our name."

"All right, Scorpio." Twilight nodded, adjusting her position on the pillow to avoid a light bump in the floor. "The stars; from what I know, are small gaseous pockets that burn with an intense heat. They don't travel through the sky by way of magic; like the sun or moon...but are placed in their respective spots each night."

Scorpio looked amused by this.

"Is that what thou hast been taught?"

Twilight nodded again.

"Everypony knows in this day and age that Princess Luna controls the night sky. There was a time when Princess Celestia had to do it, but those days are over now that Luna has returned."

"And this...Princess Luna; she is a pony as well?"

"Well, yes. She is an Alicorn of great magical power and influence. You're saying you've never heard of her?"

Scorpio shook his head, a hand on his chin in thought while he gazed into the flames.

"Nay. We hath not much familiarity with thine people, Twilight; as has been said before." He sighed, a pregnant pause passing between the two. "If thine Princess Luna be in control of the stars; tell Us this then. How doth she know where to place each one every night so as to keep an orderly sky?"

Twilight opened her mouth to reply; but found she had no real intelligent answer.

"I've always assumed she made charts and graphs...or just knew some how."

Scorpio smiled her way, standing up to retrieve a particular scroll from his shelves. Gingerly, he unrolled the ancient looking parchment across the desk on the opposite side of the room, lighting a candle in a brazier overhead to cast illumination upon it. With that done, he beckoned Twilight closer to investigate.

When Twilight approached, she saw a detailed sphere of data scrawled across the parchment. Points, lines, names and notes all neatly organized into a chart much like she'd just mentioned of the stars in the night sky. Some of them were connected by lines, while others were not. But upon closer inspections of the connections, Twilight noted a few names that she was well familiar with.

"This is Ursa Major...and Minor. I know these shapes." She murmured.

"We wouldst expect one as well learned as thou to know such things as astrology."

"No...I mean...these are living creatures."

The Prince's brow quirked at this revelation; a knowing grin crossing his face.

"And what dost thou knowest of these others?"

Twilight scanned the chart with a more delicately trained eye this time, noting again more names she was becoming familiar with.

"Aries. Taurus. Scorpio. Leo...is there some kind of connection here?" She turned and looked up at the Prince to see his eyes focused on her intently, almost passionately as she searched for answers.

"Thou art catching on, little pony." He smirked.

"You're not saying that humans are the same as the Celestial Star Animals...are you?"

The Prince shook his head, but his smirk never left.

"Nay, Twilight. We art indeed named after these stars however." He began to point to further constellations. "Saggitarius. Pisces. Libra. Gemini. Virgo. Aquarius. Capricorn and Cancer. These art the names of Our family. Brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces and cousins. Together were we brought from our land into this through the golden gateway yonder to the North. Along with others from throughout many shires and villages."

Rolling up the scroll again, Scorpio replaced it on the shelf and brought down a tome this time; not a very thick one but bound with obvious care and well worn with age and use. He flipped it open, giving Twilight a brief glimpse into his people's background as each page was turned carefully to safe-guard against its own age before stopping on a page with images.

"Once we had arrived in this strange and new world...Our family quickly separated to avoid conflict. Thou must understand: divided, we art in balance. But together; while our numbers increase...anarchy reigns as power is fought for. It hath been said by elders of old that all good things in the world wouldst be lost if Our family were ever to fight amongst itself. Thus...we took heed and went our separate ways to keep such things from becoming truth."

Twilight only nodded as the Prince continued.

"Aries and Ourself stayed here and rallied Our peoples to construct this castle. Though she be Our niece and still young to the ways of the world; Aries is an accomplished warrior and a well learned keeper of estate. Brother Taurus and his son, Sagittarius, went north into the mountains to search out a way home. We hath not heard from them since. Sister Aquarius presides over the peoples by the sea with brother Pisces. Cousin Virgo and her daughters; the twins Gemini, retreated to the west. Last We hath heard from them...they strayed near the Volcano." Scorpio shook his head. "They hath also gone silent."

"What about the others? You know where they are, right?" Twilight asked.

"Cousin Leo resides not far from Dream Valley. She hath sequestered herself in a mountainous maze of sorts. Leo hath always been a might touched in the head. The rest though...We hath little to no idea where they may have happened to find their journey's end."

The Prince set the book down and reclined into the chair behind the desk, a hand to his forehead. He removed his crown for but a moment, wiping his brow free of some imagined moisture. Twilight gazed at the human and the book in turn, wondering just how such things were possible. As she was about to ask, the stone about her neck flashed once in a bright radiance, causing both in the room to flinch back instinctively.

"What is this light, Twilight? Some sort of spell?"

"I don't know! It's only happened once before, and that's how I got here!" She replied, holding it up to inspect it. Inside, the dormant flames had once again lit and were slowly growing in intensity.

Just as she was about to speak again, there came a knock on the door to the study.

"Your Highness! Are you in there?" Called a strange, scratchy sort of voice.

Twilight eyed the door as Scorpio moved to open it. As he did, Twilight jumped back in shock at what stood on the other side.

There, upon two legs with scales colored somewhere between pink and purple depending on how the light hit them, complete with green dorsal spikes running from the top of his head to the tip of his tail...was a baby dragon.

"Spike?" Twilight asked out of sheer incredulity.

Both the dragon and the Prince turned to Twilight, before Scorpio looked down at the dragon.

"Thou art acquainted, young friend?"

"No sir." The dragon shook his head. "I've never met a pony in my life."

"Then how dost thou know young Spike's name, Twilight?" Scorpio once again turned to Twilight, whom looked herself to be both awestruck and dumbstruck in concert.

"I...but you...he...this doesn't make any sense!" Composure now gone, Twilight rushed up to the dragonette, lifting his tail, checking under his arms, running a hoof down his spines...all to make sure she wasn't dreaming. "There's no way you could be..."

"Be what, Twilight? We thinkest thou dost hath some explanations to divvy out." The Prince, for all intents and purposes, was more than intrigued now. His expression was no longer one of interest; his face now bore a deep concern.

For a few moments, the three stood in the Prince's study in silence; the only sounds breaking the calm coming from the snap and pop of the wood on the fire. Before the uncanny tranquility could last much longer though, Twilight shook her head to clear the daze she'd found herself in, attempting to put things together while trying to figure a way out of her latest predicament.

"We await thine explanation, little pony." An impatient foot began tapping as Scorpio crossed his arms.

"Well...you see, that's going to be a bit hard to explain..." Twilight shuffled backwards towards the room's center a bit, unease beginning to conquer her incredible doubt of the situation.

"Thou must attempt. Do not try Our patience. How didst thou come to know of Our young servant's name? Be out with the truth, Twilight."

For her part, Twilight could think of no way out of the situation, other than the truth. How much truth, though...was a different question all together. Quickly picking choice pieces she could reveal with certainty, the unicorn gave a sigh.

"You see, Your Highness...when I was first given this stone pendant around my neck, I was told it was dragon-forged. I didn't think too much of it at the time...but here's going to be the strange part. Back home, I have a dragon assistant who helps me with my tasks. When the stone got near him, it activated somehow...and that's how I got here. The thing is...my assistant looks much like your friend, and apparently even has the same name."

"Art thou telling Us that thy dragon and young Spike here are the same?" Scorpio's expression soured further.

"No! Not at all! There's just a lot of striking similarities. Scale color, fin arrangement, name...My Spike is shorter and well...not as stocky as this Spike. He's also got a much rounder head with a shorter snout. But the resemblance is still uncanny."

"Not to butt in, Your Highness...but it's kind of urgent." Spike stepped up to Scorpio and gave a tug on his cloak.

Scorpio returned his attention momentarily to Spike, then shot a rather unsettling glare at Twilight.

"We will have further words of this, young pony. Do not think Our questions hath been properly satisfied." With that, he knelt down to Spike. "What is it, friend?"

"We've just received word from the mountains! Lord Taurus is on his way here!" Spike held out a scroll to Scorpio.

The Prince's expression shifted from scorn to shock as he accepted the scroll from the dragon, opening it to begin reading. As he scanned the document, disbelief at what he was reading became further engraved on his brow. He stood up, rolling the scroll back up and began pacing.

"This must be a jest. Surely he wouldst not think..."

"Is something wrong, Prince Scorpio?" Twilight ventured to ask.

Scorpio did not deign to respond directly to her; instead making for his desk where he began to scrawl out something on another piece of parchment. When finished, he handed it to Spike.

"Take this to Aries. See to it that the Castle is prepared for Our brother's arrival. There is much work to be done, and solace to be granted upon his return. Dark times have indeed befallen us, young friend."

"Yes sir, Prince Scorpio." Spike accepted the scroll as the Prince stood back, shifting slowly past Twilight and back to his armchair before the fire. The dragon was gone almost as quickly has he had come before Twilight had even realized he'd vanished; her attention was too focused on the human.

By the sound of it, something terrible had happened. Twilight swallowed past the growing lump in her throat, daring to approach the slumped figure bathed in firelight.

"Is there anything I can do, Your Highness?" She asked, her voice barely more audible than Fluttershy's.

With a wave of the hand, the Prince sunk even further into his chair.

"Nay, pony. Unless thou canst revive those who hath departed to the stars."

Twilight cocked her head in confusion, taking a few minutes before coming to the realization of the truth behind Scorpio's words.

"Oh...oh no. What's happened?"

Scorpio shifted uncomfortably, leaning his head down to rest his face in an open palm, gently.

"Young Sagittarius. He hath been taken from us. He hath given his life in pursuit of finding a way home for us all."

"Did the letter say how?"

The room was once more silent for a moment.

"Please...leave Us. We will speak with thee again at a later time. For now; it is a time of grieving."

Twilight stepped forward to ask just what had happened; but the second her hoof contacted the stone floor, Scorpio's hand flew up in a way she was well aware of. 'Come no closer'. Resigning herself to that reply, Twilight turned around slowly, ears laid low and tail hanging similarly as she left the room, feeling almost as dreadful as she might've guessed the Prince to be feeling.

It was a long, quiet and lonely walk back to her quarters. Not a sound was to be heard throughout the castle halls, even though there were supposed to be preparations being made for Taurus' return. Then again, she couldn't imagine she'd want to move too quickly either; after being delivered such dreadful news. It wasn't until after she'd laid down upon the bed she'd been provided that her thoughts turned to home and the friends she'd left behind.

What must they be doing at that point, she wondered? Were they trying to find her? Had Princess Celestia known this would happen? There were a lot of unanswered questions on that front. Mostly; concern for her friends and what they would be thinking crossed her mind, back and forth. Her brain tried to interject that no; Princess Celestia would not let them worry over her disappearance. Surely this had been part of the plan, right?

Twilight shook her head as she tried to clear her thoughts and focus on the issues presented to her.

Not for the first time since she arrived, the once-again unicorn mulled over the situation she was in. It had been a topic of much debate between the neurons in her head as she tried to wrap her thought patterns around the seeming impossibility of her arrival.

First; there was the stone amulet around her neck. That; she was sure, had been the cause of her transportation. How and why were yet still a mystery. Where, also, had yet to be decided. There had been mention of places like Dream Valley and Ponyland...but neither of these had ever come up in her studies of recent or even ancient Equestrian history. Or anywhere in the world, for that matter.

Then there were the humans. Yet another creature that had no place in her canonical knowledge of the world at large. Sure; there had been some speculation by nut-job ponies back in Equestria about bipedal apes mentioned in ancient writings. But these had merely been myth and legend; not science fact. A few extremist groups had even sprung up dedicated to xenobiological and crytozoological creatures theorized of...but never proven to exist. Creatures like the Headless Horse or BigHoof.

Some even claimed that the name of the city in western Equestria; Tall Tale, originated around myths surrounding a mysterious creature that lived in the nearby forests. Supposedly, it would come after fillies and colts in the night who told lies and drag them away to some purgatorial world where they were punished over and over for their bad habits and misdeeds. But that's all it was. Wild theories, unfounded speculation...and campfire stories told to frighten little foals into learning good behaviors.

Twilight sighed, burying her head in the soft, downy pillow beneath it.

She couldn't think straight. Too many mysteries without any answers. With an indignant snort at the seemingly unsolvable puzzles staring her in the face, the unicorn rolled over and attempted to fall asleep. Perhaps things would be clearer come the morning light.

~D.W.~

The castle resounded with an earth-shaking boom.

Twilight found herself with a muzzle full of carpeted stone floor before she knew what had happened. As she struggled to rise, feeling the entire structure beneath her swaying back and forth, she stumbled to her hooves before covering her eyes with one shaky forelimb; for being the middle of the night...it was really bright outside of her window.

As she made her way to the window to find out just what was going on, the castle gave another mighty heave...and with the sound of cracking stone and a rush of air; the unicorn suddenly found herself airborne. The entire side of her chambers were gone. Straight below her loomed a breath-taking plummet of well over three-hundred lengths.

Focusing her concentration, Twilight channeled her thoughts into an image of the dining hall where she'd been only hours earlier before letting her magic fly. The moment the teleportation spell cleared though, she was hit by another strong gust of wind. This one carried smoke on it. As she opened her eyes and felt the intense heat about her, her heart sank. Teleporting into a location was always a bit tricky when you couldn't see it. This was why.

The unicorn had just whisked herself out of the frying pan...and into a quite literal fire. Her magic felt extremely drained after such a wild teleport...and there was little she could do to escape what she saw next.

About her, an inferno raged beyond control. There were no chamber maids or servants attempting to put it out. Only panicked screams and pained cries reached her ears. Seeing an exit through the thick, suffocating smoke; Twilight burst forward on a renewed sense of urgency. Adrenaline pounded in her ears as she dashed out of the golden orange glow of the flames and into one of the receiving halls outside the main dining quarters with the wind pounding her face. She had a clear view through what was left of the ceiling to a blackened sky full to the brim with roiling, angry storm clouds.

Knowing of only one good vantage point from which to get her bearings, the unicorn made her way to the parapet tower that looked out over the valley. Twisting through debris and rubble, rushing past unmoving bodies of her human companions, Twilight raced as fast as her four legs would carry her to the wooden staircase that lead up into the top of the stone battlement. Circling round and round the tower stairs until she threw open the hatch at the top, she stepped out onto the crenelated structure and turned around to survey the damage.

Castle Midnight was in ruins. Broken spires, damaged walkways between equally destroyed halls and chambers; the palace itself looked beyond repair.

Just as she was about to head back inside to search for survivors, or even the cause of the turmoil; a bright flash of lightning and a peal of thunder rang out through the air. Her horn tingled with the arrival of dark energies as her fur stood on end from the feeling. Following the currents of raw, untamed, and woefully intimidating magic, her eyes locked on two figures standing atop the drawbridge to the gatehouse below.

There stood the Prince Scorpio with sword in hand. His crown was gone and his robes were tattered. Blood flowed slowly from lacerations all about his form, soaking into the wooden bridge beneath him. But across from him...that was what really had Twilight's attention.

There, posed like some mythical monster from legend and lore itself...was a monster. Four powerful, fur covered legs tipped with what looked like cloven hooves held a massive muscular body aloft. A torso like that of a minotaur extended from where a normal pony’s shoulders would be; steel plate mail stretching taut over an upper body wrought with tendons and thick muscular pectorals. The arms that stretched from its shoulders were absolutely enormous and bare of fur and covered in a layer of thick, crimson flesh. They worked an absolutely enormous broadsword that cleft the air between the two combatants.

The head of this creature was shaped altogether differently though. A comparatively flat nose arced down from its brow where an even flatter mouth lay underneath with fangs seemingly as long as Twilight's horn sprouting from the thin crease of its lips. Two evenly shaped, golden eyes gleamed in the darkness that surrounded them. Twin horns like that of a demon sprouted from either side of its head, curving high into the air. All of this was topped with a mane and lower body coat of a deep blue color, contrasting sharply with its skin tone.

Over the droning of the wind and the now frequent peals of thunder, Twilight could just make out the voice of the Prince, calling in anguish at the beast.

"What hast thou done, fool?! Thou wilt destroy us all!" He cried up at the monster as sword met sword.

The other creature laughed heartily; though it did anything but amuse anyone who could hear it.

"I have finally realized why the elders sought to keep us apart! And in doing so, I will reign supreme over this land and all others that I see fit!" The creature brought its forehooves down on the drawbridge heavily. Wooden splinters flew in every direction from the impact as the gate moaned ominously after a resounding crack from the impact. "Saggitarius knew too! Now he assists me! Will you not do the same, brother?!"

"We would never lower Ourselves to such baser instincts! Such tripe is nothing but the madness of a tyrant!" Scorpio spit back at his opponent.

"Madness?" the other halted momentarily. As if to double-take, it shook its head in what appeared to be disbelief. "Madness you say?"

"Indeed! Now, have at thee, foul demon! Begone from Our brother Taurus immediately lest thou be smote down with all the righteous wrath of the stars above!"

Twilight backpedaled. Taurus? Surely not...things were becoming more and more interesting by the moment. And just as terrifying in threefold.

"You think you can best me? Fool! For your insolence; you will become my personal slave, brother Scorpio!"

Twilight couldn't see exactly what happened next...but from the creature's waist belt, it withdrew a small object. Holding it aloft, it shouted something that was lost to the winds.

Immediately, the air grew still for all but a second.

All Tartaurus broke loose in the next as before she was thrown from the tower by a massive gust of wind; Twilight caught a glimpse of a large black column of energy erupt from whatever object the creature had held aloft.

"Taurus! What foul trickery is this?" She heard Scorpio cry.

"My name is no longer Taurus, pitiful knave. The world will know that my name is Tirek! Behold and tremble at the power of Darkness!"

As Twilight fell, still partially drained from her emergency teleport earlier, she heard the monster bellow out his war-cry of dominance. Slowly, as the mountainside raced past her in flashes...she could feel herself losing consciousness once more as the world around her started to grow darker and darker.

'So...this is how it ends then?' She thought, unable to do much more than shut her eyes and await the abrupt stop at the bottom of the incline.

When it came...Twilight found that it didn't hurt anywhere near as much as she might have expected. In fact; it hadn't hurt at all. She could feel a familiar plush fabric beneath her barrel and hindquarters. All of her limbs were still feeling and functional as well. Daring to open her eyes; Twilight was greeted with the welcome sight of her bedchambers in Canterlot Palace.