Creationism

Chapters

Prologue: There was nothing
Chapter 1: Letters
Chapter 2: The Truth
Chapter 4: Progression
Chapter 3: Distant Past

Prologue: There was nothing

There was nothing, an infinite expanse extending outwards onto itself; emptiness.

For a time this nothingness remained, for a short time, a long time, somewhere in-between. That is until an idea emerged. A thought by an unseen presence, this idea drifted across the infinite expanse taking on solid form, the first and only thing to exist.

Bringing with it something; from a single pin-prick of light the idea expands. It pushes aside the nothingness, ushering in the pure white of its own light. The whiteness giving way to a grey din, from which emerges the first discernible forms. Multitude pin-pricks of light become clear upon the darkening blackness.

The presence awes at the expansive beauty in all its wonder. Yet feels there is still something missing. Turning its attention towards a lifeless rock drifting nearby, the presence decides that there should be others to admire this view.

A lone star from far off and a small chunk from the planet are taken up and set in motion circling the world. They will provide the crucial timing for this land, defining the differences between night and day. He then brings himself down to the surface and, with yet another thought where there was once merely a presence, now stands a lone creature, made distinct by its mismatched features. Thinking to himself; the creature takes a seat on a nearby stone.

Now that I have a body, it is only fitting that I give myself a name.

The creature strokes his small tuft of a beard. But now what shall it be? Drag—, the creature dismisses the idea. No. That won’t do. Dragon sounds too ferocious, that most certainly wouldn’t fit.

But I do like how it sounds... The creature shuffles uncomfortably on the hard rock.

Perhaps if I mix it up a bit, like Dracon, Dracone, or even—

A smile spreads across the creatures face as the perfect name forms in his mind.

Draconequus.

The creature springs to his feet throwing his arms into the air, proclaiming to the world, “I am Draconequus.”

His deep baritone voice sends the words echoing across the barren landscape, unheard by the lifeless rocks.

Draconequus looks around at the empty world. “Now it is time that this land became more than just a pitiful lifeless rock.” With a tap of his hoof a spider web of cracks spread out from where the creature stands, widening and deepening into steep trenches as they encircle the world. From deep within the earth, countless clouds of steam burst forth; the starry blackness giving way to a deep blue sky.

Gushing from the open crevices, come next the torrents of water. The world is left covered deep in oceans, still, their mirrored surface perfectly reflecting the skies above.

The calm only lasts for a moment, as towering spires of rock emerge from the depths. They shift and collide, once again forming solid ground. Then, with a wave of his claw, Draconequus grinds the rocky landscape into pliable fertile soil.

Now with his paw, Draconequus bids life to spring forth from the soils. Desolate plains give way to peaceful meadows, all manner of creatures roam the land, forests, and lakes. Taking contentment in his new surroundings he decides that this new realm shall be called Equestria.

Taking up the raw materials in both his paw and claw, he creates now sentient creatures to rule over this new land. From the rocks of the mountains come forth the Earth ponies, to be unrivalled in their strength and endurance. From the cooling breeze the Pegasi are formed, with their mastery of the skies and the greatest capacity for loyalty. Finally from the light of the burning sun, the Unicorns are born. Thus far the most powerful of the three races, with command over the very laws of nature itself.

Tired from his endeavours Draconequus takes refuge in observing his creations, watching as they form their simple societies, taking care not to intervene in their struggles.

Through the years Draconequus has begun to grow lonely. He is envious of the ponies’ simple existence, with their friends and families to care for and console them in their time of need. He longed for another like himself. One who might understand him, and could keep him company in his ever relenting existence.

With these matters heavy in his heart Draconequus turns once more to the mountains. From there he attains a statue not too dissimilar from his own form. With all his strength Draconequus pulls forth from his own body a small part of his essence.

Turning the small jewel over in his hands Draconequus observes how it catches the light. Seemingly satisfied, Draconequus then turns to the statue and places the jewel firmly upon its breast. With a slight press, the jewel sinks into the surface as it were no harder than butter. As the jewel passes, the stone quickly closes in behind it leaving the surface unmarred by the jewels entry.

With a shudder and a deafening crack, a blinding light spreads across the statue. A burst of wind whips up a cloud of dust around the base of the figure. Upon the clouds dispersion, where there was once but a lifeless stone figure now stands revealed, living, breathing, a being almost identical to its creator but for the difference in size.

Draconequus looks down upon his creation beaming with pride. Extending his arms in preparation for a warm embrace, he exclaims “Welcome, my son!”

The young creature simply looks up at his father, a mischievous glint visible against the stark yellow of his eye.

Just loud enough to be heard, he utters, “Please, call me Discord.”

Chapter 1: Letters

“Call me Discord”, Twilight Sparkle reread that last line. She had heard that name before, yet, she could not place it. Twilight carefully closed the book, levitating it back up to the shelf and returning it to its hiding place among the ancient tomes.

Continuing on her way, Twilight turned a corner only to be faced with more of the same. Books, countless books, the corridor stretched off into the distance. Each side lined with shelves packed full of books. At any other time Twilight would have loved nothing more than to inspect each and every last one. But now she couldn’t bear to look at them. As she travelled through the labyrinth, searching for a way out, each twist and turn had revealed nothing but more books.

Early on, when she had just awoken, Twilight had been elated at the sight of all these books, but her excitement had long since run dry. Now she just passed them by, not giving them so much as a second glance. It did not matter, from experience Twilight knew that most of these books were just for show. Just like many of the others she had looked into, these undoubtedly were the same, blank. Any books that did have something to them were completely illegible, either written in a tongue long forgotten, and that Twilight had long since given up trying to decipher, or with their text so badly scrawled and damaged that nopony could hope to discern their meaning.

There was only one book that had been an exception to that rule. It was a rather odd book, unlike the others it was written in plain Equestrian. Its leather binding was freshly woven, its single page a pristine white as on the day it was printed. All the books on these shelves were thick and heavy, so heavy in fact that Twilight became exhausted levitating just one of them for longer than a few minutes. Yet that book had only one page, hardly enough to warrant having it leather bound.

Coming to the end of the passage, Twilight encountered another split in the path. Feigning confidence the mare took the left passage in hopes that it would lead her out of this maze. She had been walking for what felt like a life time, the aches and pains of her tiring body making the ordeal no more bearable.

Turning another corner Twilight happened upon a sudden break in the monotony. Revealed before her lay a spacious circular room surrounded on all sides by connecting passages. In the centre of the room sat, brightly illuminated by an unseen spotlight fixed to the ceiling above, a lone reading table with a wooden statue of a horse’s head as its centre piece and a small wooden bench.

Twilight took careful note of which passage she came from, as if it would make any difference, and slowly walked around the room. Counting the passages, she was able to determine that there were sixteen different paths she could take, counting the one she had just come from.

Turning her attention next to the round desk, Twilight couldn’t help but feel that it was familiar. Upon closer inspection she was able to find a number of wrinkled scrolls lying on the desk. Each one delicately rolled and bound tight with a red ribbon. Taking the first from the top of the pile Twilight carefully pulled the ribbon loose and allowed the scroll to unroll as it rested delicately in her magical grasp.

Holding it up to the light she began to read, “Dear Princess Celestia”.

“THUNK”

The hardened wood gave a resounding shudder from Applejack’s hind quarters. Panting with exhaustion, Applejack straightened her hat and turned round to inspect her handiwork.

“Gosh darn’ it, not even a dent! Ah been bucking and bucking but it ain’t done a lick.”

Applejack was standing in a small circle, roughly three meters across, enclosed on all sides by tall apple trees. Their thick trunks packed tightly together to form a solid wall stretching upwards out of view.

Applejack took another pace around the circle, closely inspecting each trunk for signs of a weakness she could use to her advantage. Having found none she returned to the centre, her head hanging low in defeat.

“Well”, Applejack gave a heavy sigh, “I’ll just have to wait for somepony to find me.” She lay down, resting her head against one of the trees and shifted her hat to shield her eyes from the harsh sunlight.

“Applejack!”

Applejack perked up, her ears swivelling to find the source of the sound, “What? Is somepony there?”

“Applejack!”

The voice came again, this time closer. Getting to her hooves, Applejack started looking around all the while listening for the mysterious voice. As she looked up, Applejack thought she saw a flash of blue out of the corner of her eye.

Moments later a gust of wind hit Applejack from behind, sending her hat flying. A blue Pegasus swooped past overhead and, with a flurry of her wings, Rainbow Dash righted herself and hovered momentarily, inches above the ground, before allowing herself to drop down.

“Oh am I glad to see you, Applejack.”

Applejack strolled over to where her hat lay, upturned on the ground. “And I, you, Rainbow” exclaimed Applejack, picking up her hat and brushing it off, “How’d you find me?”

Rainbow Dash waved her hoof in the air, turning it in a circular motion. “Oh, you know. After my own death defying escape, I flew as fast as I could over to where I thought you would be, and what do you know I was right.”

Applejack returned her hat to her head, looking at Rainbow Dash with a look of disbelief, “Really?”

Rainbow Dash stood straight, pushing her chest out in a gesture of confidence, “Hell, yeah!” Applejack continued to glare at the Pegasus, unwavering.
Rainbow Dash slumped over in defeat, “You got me. I don’t know. The last thing I remember was falling from somewhere up there,” Rainbow Dash pointed to the tree tops. “Then, seeing you lying down here, all I could think to do was scream your name before having to pull myself from the dive.”

“Well now we both need a way out ’a here,” Applejack gestured toward the trees surrounding them. “These things are hard as buck. I’ve been beating them all day, an all I’ve got to show for it is, well, nothing.”

“I could probably fly us over them.” Rainbow Dash looked up at where the trunks disappeaedr into the distance above. “I mean, they have to end eventually. However high they go I could keep it going to reach the top.”

“I don’t know, Rainbow. What if you get tired, flying on your own is one thing but... carrying me too?”
Rainbow Dash trotted over to where Applejack was standing, “I can handle it; I’ve been training for ages. If I couldn’t fly with passengers then what hopes do I have of getting into the Wonderbolts. Anyway, if I start getting tired we can just come back down, rest up, and try again. And when I was falling from way up there I passed by plenty of branches strong enough to hold both our weight.”

Applejack glanced up at the trees; “Yeah bu—” Cutting her off, Rainbow Dash scooped Applejack up and made a beeline for the free tops. They quickly ascended as they spiralled round the perimeter of the circle, but before they could make any substantial progress a stray tree branch whipped across Rainbow Dash’s face sending the two tumbling back to the ground.

“What in tarnation, Rainbow!” Applejack exclaimed as she got back to her hooves. Shooting a glance at Rainbow Dash, she picked up her hat once again. “I was bout’ to say. I don’t think they would be too happy to let us leave.”

Still massaging a headache from the fall, “What are you talking about? show me this they and I’ll give them a reason to let us go.”

Applejack pointed to the apple trees, “That they. These trees don’t want us to go.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, “They’re trees. Even if they did want us here, I don’t think they could do anything.” She got to her hooves and extended her wings, “Look, I just missed that branch. I won’t make that mistake again.” With that Rainbow Dash launched herself into the air to demonstrate. She immediately began spiralling upwards again, but was quickly sent crashing to the ground by yet another branch.

Blushing profusely, “Th -that was just for practice, now watch!” Rainbow Dash got up and launched into the air once again, and again she came crashing to the ground.

Her cheeks an even darker shade of crimson, Rainbow Dash got up again, “Not. A. Word.” She then went up for her next attempt, this time spiralling the other way around the trees.

Applejack watched on in amusement as the Pegasus steadily rose. Just as Rainbow Dash was about to reach fifteen or so meters, Applejack was astonished to see a branch come shooting out of a tree trunk to block Rainbows’ path.

Applejack held Rainbow Dash back just as she was getting ready for her next attempt. “I know, I know, Applejack. I’ll…” Rainbow Dash trailed off as she followed Applejack’s gaze to where she had just been flying. Sure enough there was a single tree branch sticking out there. Rainbow Dash’s jaw dropped in gaping awe as, with a sudden shake, the branch retracted into the trunk leaving no trace of its existence.

Twilight, now sitting on the small bench, had the last of the scrolls floating in front of her. All the scrolls had begun and ended the same way, with an address to a Princess Celestia, and with her signing off as Celestia’s personal student.

It was the actual contents of the scrolls that had held her interest for far longer. They all communicated a different lesson in friendship she had learned, but more importantly they offered a small glimpse into her life, a life filled with amazing friends that made her happy and who she had gone on countless adventures with.

However it was the last scroll, the one Twilight was currently staring at, that was of the most significance. Unlike the others, this one had virtually no writing. No address to Celestia, no sign off from the writer, just a large picture affixed in its centre.

In this picture were depicted six ponies, with Twilight among them, all smiling happily at the camera. To her left was an orange earth pony, leaning to one side and smiling with a tilt of her Stetson hat. To Twilights right was a dazzlingly white unicorn, standing there with a calm and collected demeanour. Behind them hovered two Pegasi, a blue one with a multicoloured mane and a smug grin on her face and, at her side, held in a warm embrace was a yellow Pegasus trying in vain to hide her eyes among her pink locks.

Lastly right in front, spread out on her back across the ground, with an assorted mix of cake frosting and twigs clinging to her tangled mass of a mane, was a pink earth pony. The pink pony clearly didn’t care as she was wearing an outrageous grin from ear to ear.

Underneath the image were delicately written all of the names of the ponies mentioned in the previous scrolls, the names of her friends.

Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy

Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity

And on the last line, scribbled in thick brightly coloured crayon.

Pinkie Pie

Chapter 2: The Truth

The hastened clatter of hooves echoed through the halls as Shining Armour raced towards his destination. Though the letter was vague the message had still been clear. “There is a matter of great importance”, Celestia needed him in Canterlot immediately.

Rounding one last corner a set of large doors came into view ahead, the shape of the sun and moon clearly etched into their golden surface. As Shining Armour approached the stationed guards stood to attention. They parted their crossed spears and turned to push the heavy doors open. Not breaking pace, Shining Armour was only able to flash a quick nod to the saluting guards before ducking inside.

Celestia quietly contemplated the situation as she awaited her guest, a worried expression visible on her regal visage. The room echoed with a thunderous creak as the main doors swung on their hinges, and finally a resounding boom as they sealed shut.

The room lapsed back into silence, only broken by the sharp clatter of hooves on the marble floors. Celestia looked up to greet her guest, a lone Unicorn approaching at a brisk pace.
Shining Armour paused before the princess, still panting and out of breath and his mane a dishevelled mess. “Princess, I came, as quickly as I could. What matter is it that requires my attention so urgently?”

“Shining, as you know since Twilight Sparkle took on her responsibilities as princess she has frequented Canterlot fairly regularly.”

Shining Armour nodded in agreement, "I have heard. She tells me you have helped her a lot since these last few weeks."

“Indeed. This week I have asked that she and her friends come for a special occasion. They were to board the Ponyville Express. I would then have guards waiting at the station to escort them to the castle.”

“But things did not go as expected.” Shining cuts her off.

Celestia’s gaze falls slightly, “I’m afraid not. The Ponyville Express and all of its passengers have gone missing. We were able to confirm with the Ponyville station that the train had left and seemed to be progressing as scheduled; several witnesses also reported seeing it leave Ponyville towards Canterlot.”

Shining Armour looked to his side, his brow furrowed as he took in this new information. His expression changed to one more serious. “Princess,-”

Celestia silenced him with a raised hoof glancing towards the back doors. Shining Armour glanced in the direction she had pointed and waited for her to continue. They sat in silence, the only sound that of a muffled sneeze from the guards outside.

Seeming satisfied the princess continued, “We’ve yet to determine who might be responsible for this, nor how. I’ve asked you here because I believe you can help us find her. It is little known that all unicorn siblings share a special bond. Their magical auras are linked. It is normally very weak, but on rare occasions it can be strong enough that they could sense each others presence or even communicate. With you, her brother, and the right kind of spell we could use this to our advantage.”

“A Unicorns magic tends to linger, Alicorns even more so. With your help we could detect her magic and hopefully follow the trail all the way to where she currently is.”

“Right, and who would create such a spell?”

“No need to worry about that, I’ve already asked Luna to start work on it, but these things take time. Until then I need you to coordinate with the royal guard. We need to be ready should something happen, and this must be kept quite. Nopony outside of this room can know what is happening. We don’t know what we’re up against and we can’t afford to have the media complicating matters. I will leave you to deal with that as necessary.”

“Yes, princess,” Shining Armour gave a bow and turned to make his exit.

As he reached the door Celestia called out to him one last time. "Shining?"

Shining Armour turned back to face the princess. "Yes?"

“Um", Celestia hesitated for a moment,"I promise you, we'll find her. Wherever Twilight may be, I can assure you that she has the situation well within hoof."

A thin smile appeared on Shining’s face, "Thank you, Princess" He then left the throne room, the resounding boom of the doors marking his exit as they swung shut behind him.

Heaving a sigh, Celestia leaned back in her throne. Her shoulders relaxed and her regal demeanour dropped revealing the tired and worn out pony underneath.

Princess Luna stepped forward from her hiding place amongst the shadows. “You did not tell him?”

“No, Lulu. I just-,” Celestia heaved another sigh.

Luna stepped lightly round to the front of the throne, leaning in to whisper to her sister. “He will have to find out eventually.”

“Yes, and I will deal with it in time. For now, I need to rest to. I need to… think.”

Luna leaned back regarding her sister, a concerned look on her face. “I warn thee, not much longer delay lest he find the truth of his own accord. It is best you be honest than to attempt to spare his feelings.”

Reaching the top of a hill, a pink mare took a moment to catch her breath. She’d had this dream many times before. Pinkie Pie risked a glance behind her. The pink cake icing landscape covered in giant candy canes forming a dense forest stretching out far into the distance, all bathed in the warm light of the setting sun. Not far off the horizon the darkness slowly drew closer. A malignant dark cloud spreading across the land, sapping away the bright colours as it passed.

Granted, it had been a long time since this dream last occurred, yet still Pinkie knew exactly how it went. It was always the same.

I have to get to the lighthouse. Before the darkness overtakes me.

Turning her back to the shadows, Pinkie Pie continued on her journey. Galloping at full pace, she ducked under a low hanging branch and weaved past the thick sugary undergrowth.

The forests shook as a distant rumble spread out across the landscape. Pinkie chose to ignore it and picked up her pace. She continued on.

It was not long before the voices began. From somewhere far behind, a soft melancholy voice reached Pinkies ears, “Pinkie”, a subtle echoed, resounding through the woods.

Pinkie kept her head down and focused on her destination, “No — no, leave me alone! I’m not listening to you.”

The voice persisted, “Come on, Pinkie. I’m your friend.” It stressed the last word as the voice trailed into an echo. “You know me, Pinkie. Remember all the fun we’ve had.”

“No! We’re done! I’m not that kind of pony anymore.”

Reaching a fork in the path Pinkie took a left without the slightest hesitation. As she galloped forth through the winding path Pinkie quickly sensed her surroundings changing. The once healthy bright reds of the candy canes now replaced with a more sickly brown, the path once bright pink now a dull grey.

Pinkie heard the faint sound of thundering hooves behind her as the it began to draw closer. “Pinkie; you look tired. Won’t you have a rest? Let me help you. I can fix everything…”

“No! I won’t let you!” The Pinkie the end of the path and galloped out into a clearing in the forest, the once vibrant scene now only a dreary reminder of the impeding darkness. On the far side, the first signs that she was approaching her destination became visible. A faint light was just visible through the thick woods, anything within its reach still holding a healthy glow. She risked a glance behind her; the shadows were now much closer, a dark cloud billowed down the path. Pinkie could just make out a dark figure standing in the distance before it was lost to the sea of blackness.

Pulling on her last reserves of energy, the pink mare built up her speed once again. She darted across the clearing and dove into the woods on the opposite side. Pushing her way through the thick under growth, Pinkie arrived at her destination. Towering before her stood a building made up almost entirely of sweets, the spitting image of the one place Pinkie would care to call home. Its windows gave off a blinding, pure white light that bathed the entire area blocking the darkness from progressing.

A wide grin spread across Pinkie’s face and she bounded up the steps towards Sugar Cube Corner. Putting a hoof to the door handle, she turned and shouted back, confident in her victory, “It’s over; you’re finished! You hear me? Finished! All I have to do is go inside.”

She turned the handle and pushed forward expecting the door to swing open with eas, but it did not. Pinkie’s expression changed to one of confusion, she tried pulling but to no avail.

Now using both hooves, Pinkie pushed even harder. She put all of her weight into the door and still it does not budge. “Oh please, please, please” Pinkie begged. She fumbled with the lock, her hooves now sweaty and nervous, starting losing their grip.

Pinkie glanced back at the approaching shadows, the purifying light now having less of an effect. “Please don’t let it be-”

“Locked?” The voice, now much clearer than before, sounded behind Pinkie with a hint of arrogance.

Let’s see. It was left, right, right, left, right, left, left?

No, no that’s not right. It was left, right, right, left, right, right, left. But then where did-

“Hey, Twilight!” a shrill voice echoed down the passage breaking Twilight Sparkle out of her thoughts. She looked around for who might be calling, but seeing nopony Twilight shrugged and continued walking.

“Twilight, yoo-hoo!”

Hearing the voice again Twilight paused and looked behind her expecting there to be somepony there, but instead just found the passage empty. But turning back, she was met not with an empty passage but rather with a very happy, very pink face staring right at her.

“Hey, Twilight!” the pony suddenly shouted.

“Woah”, out of surprise Twilight Sparkle jumped back away from the pony. Unable to keep her balance she fell and landed in a sitting position.

The pink pony continued, oblivious to her companion’s surprise. “I’m so glad I found you! I was beginning to think I was the only one here! I was worried that something awful might have happened but you know what, I realised I didn’t have anything to worry about, since I didn’t have any twitchy-twitch twitches. I always get twitchy-twitches when something is wrong or somepony’s in danger but I didn’t have any! So I figured everything must be fine. And what do you know I was right!”

“Um, excuse me?” Twilight tried to interrupt the pony from her rant.

The pink pony just continued, not taking any notice. “Now that we’re together we can solve anything! Twilight’s got a plan, that’s what I say. Cause you always have a plan!”

Getting back to her hooves, “Who are you?” Twilight asked.

“What!?” the pink pony was dumb struck. She pushed her agape jaw closed with a hoof and leaned in closer to Twilight. In an accusing tone, “How could you not remember me?” She bounced back to a normal distance from Twilight, “You know me Twilight, why I’m the septuple-P of course!” She paused for a moment, her face twisted into a frown and her eyes crossed as she focused on the object of her displeasure, a single strand of hair hanging limp in front of her face. She gently tucked the rebellious strand back among its comrades behind her ear. Seemingly satisfied she returned her attention to the conversion at hoof, as if she hadn’t been interrupted at all. With a wide grin spreading across her face. “I’m Ponyville’s positively pink party pony Pinkie Pie!”

Twilight eyed this unusually merry pony standing before her, “Um, Pinkie Pie?”

“Yaha” Pinkie Pie nodded energetically in confirmation.

“Um, doesn’t Pinkie Pie have a curly mane?”

Pinkie stopped nodding and ran a hoof through her mane lifting the strands slightly before they fell back under their own weight and hung down straight, just brushing her shoulders. “Nope, you must be thinking of my sister Maud. She has this hectic curly mane; it almost has a life of its own.”

“Nope, mine’s straight. Straight, straight, straight like Big Mac on a date with his mate.” Pinkie paused in her rhyming to think “When it’s late!”

“Straight, straight, straight” She continued to chant as she merrily bounced in a circle around Twilight.

“Well”, Twilight scratched that back of her head. “I was sure it was you with the curly mane. You see I found some letters an-”

Pinkie abruptly stopped her bouncing, spun round to face Twilight and shoved a hoof in her mouth, silencing her. She leaned forward and looked Twilight in the eyes. “What letters?” she whispered in a more serious tone as she removed her hoof.

“Um, they were some letters I found in the maze. One of them had a picture wit-”

“Twilight”, Pinkie Pie interrupted her. “Don’t listen to anything those letters had to say.” She pulled Twilight to her side and waved a hoof in a wide sweeping motion, gesturing to their surroundings. “You see this place, this maze. It’s built to deceive you. Those letters are just another one of those obstacles put in this place to confuse you.” She turned to face Twilight holding her close with their muzzles just inches apart. In little over a whisper, “Trust me, Twilight. Ignore anything you read in those letters. They’re lying to you.”

Twilight Sparkle pulled away from Pinkie, a confused look on her face. “But, how do I know? How I can trust you?”

“I’m your best friend, Twilight. I would never lie to you.”

“Really?”

Pinkie nodded “Pinkie promise.” A smile spreads across Pinkie’s face and her eyes lit up, “Now let’s find a way out of here!” Pinkie Pie darted past Twilight. A clatter of hooves is heard as she galloped into the distance, she then stops and calls back to Twilight. “Come on, this way! Last one there’s a silly filly!”

Twilight Sparkle can’t help but smile as she uttered under her breath, “Pinkie Pie…”

Author's Note

Pinkie Pie is so much fun to write. So much fun, so much fun.

Chapter 4: Progression

“I can’t believe this!” Rainbow Dash was now pacing and swearing vehemently at the trees around them, “These stupid tr- Why can’t they just- Arg!” Rainbow kicked the nearest trunk. The tree, much like the countless times before, showed no signs of emotion.

“Calm down sugar cube. Yelling ain’t going ta fix anything.” Applejack was lazing calmly with her back against the tree trunk, her Stetson hat shifted low to cover her eyes.

Rainbow Dash skipped into the air and hovered above where Applejack lay, giving her, her best glare. “Says you, what have you done?”

“Ah been thinking.”

“Pretty sure I heard ya’ snoring just a minute ago.” Rainbow Dash jested as she leaned back, folding her hooves and giving a smug grin.

“Well, what am ah suppose’ to do? ‘Not like ah can talk to trees or nothing.”

“But don’t you talk to your apple trees all the time?”

“Well…” Applejack thought on this for a moment, “yeah, but this ain’t quite the same.”

“Please, trees are trees. It’s worth a try isn’t it?”

Applejack sighed and rolled her eyes, “All right.” and rolled over onto her hooves to stand. She began pacing around the circle, running her hoof over the rough bark. Rainbow landed in the centre to watch.

“Right” Applejack stopped at one of the trunks and ran her hoof up and down it, “Uh… hello there, tree?”

“You can do better than that.” She heard Rainbow comment from behind.

Choosing to ignore it Applejack tried again, putting her ear to the wood she spoke quietly, just above a whisper. “Hey, uh, little fella, won’t ya be a nice guy and let us out?”

Silence.

Applejack stepped back and turned to Rainbow, “Ya see? N-” A low rumble reverberated through the clearing cutting Applejacks sentence short. It quickly grew in volume until all the trunks around them began to vibrate, and moving as one the tree Applejack had spoken to parted from its neighbour revealing a passageway.

Applejack’s jaw dropped, literally, “Hubba what?” Applejack shook her head to make sure she wasn’t seeing anything.

“Told you,” Rainbow Dash mocked as she trotted past towards the now open passage.

“Hmf” Applejack frowned and pushed her hat down, “Ya’ll got this one, Rainbow…” then continued on after Rainbow Dash.

Pinkie Pie bounded down the passage, every so often checking behind her to make sure she hadn’t lost Twilight, “Hurry up!” She shouted back, and then resumed her merry bouncing.

She followed the passage for a while longer and then stopped, having noticed a faint blue light out of the corner of her eye. Checking that Twilight was still going to be a while, Pinkie followed it to one of the side entrances.

“Whoa...” She silently whispered to herself. On the other side was a large circular space, dimly lit from the centre by a spotlight focused squarely on a free-standing mirror in the middle of the room.

Pinkie quietly paced around the room, investigating. There didn’t appear to be anything else of interest, the walls were bare marble, and there appeared to be nothing above, quite literally. The walls just seemed to keep going until they faded into blackness. In fact, it occurred to Pinkie that she couldn’t remember ever checking up there, it seems like the place didn’t even have a roof.

Seeing nothing else to care about, Pinkie turned to the mirror. It was a simple swivel mirror, like the one you would see in a boutique. Its frame was a very deep purple with a faint sparkly finish to it, and the top boasted a lavish star-shaped jewel.

Pinkie placed a hoof against the frame as she walked around the front; it felt cold. Looking into the mirror Pinkie saw her own reflection staring back but, as she watched, the image seemed to shimmer ever so slightly.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack were quietly following a small path from their starting place in the ring of trees into what looked like a deep forest. Trunks loomed on either side, a thick mass of leaves and intertwining branches forming a long green tunnel. Above could be heard the occasional chatter of creatures scurrying through the canopy.

“Look!” Rainbow pointed ahead where the tunnel came to an abrupt end, with what looked like an old swivel mirror standing in the middle of the path. Its frame, a single piece of wood, was starting to show the signs of age. Its surface was faded and cracked along the grain. At the top of it sat a faint engraving, with what looked like three small apples upon closer inspection.

“That’s strange...”

“Why is there a mirror all the way out here?”

“I... don’t know.” Rainbow Dash reached out with a hoof to touch mirror’s surface. It felt cold, and strangely bouncy to the touch. The surface of the mirror stuck to her hoof and deformed for a moment as Rainbow pulled her hoof back, then snapped back to return to its normal flat surface.

It shimmered for a moment and, as they watched, their reflections changed. The scene of a forest with two ponies standing side by side faded away, and was replaced by a much darker scene. A pink mare, with a long straight mane flowing over her shoulders and wide, blue eyes stood in the centre of a dark room, staring directly at them.

Applejack leaned in closer and squinted into the glass, “Pinkie Pie, is that you?”

“Pinkie Pie, is that you?” The voices echoed out through mirror and across the room. The spotlight above was well overpowered by the bright daylight sun flowing forth from the mirror and it took several moments for Pinkie Pie’s eye to adjust.

She simply sat there, staring, her normal smile having long since faded. The two figures in the mirror were continuing to try and get her attention, not that it mattered.

“Pinkie Pie? Where are you?” Twilight’s voice sounded somewhere up the corridor and there was the faint sound of hooves clopping against the ground signalling the mare’s eventual arrival.

Without a word, Pinkie Pie stood up and trotted around to the back of the mirror. “Wait, Pinkie, was that Twi— Where did she go?” Applejack’s voice was heard from the mirror and the reflections were seen looking around, trying to find where Pinkie had gone.

“I don’t know,” Rainbow Dash’s voice joined her, “Pinkie, come back! Get Twilight, somepony!”

Pinkie Pie stepped around the back of the mirror and pressed her side firmly against the back, “Sorry, girls” She spoke softly into the mirror, “but I can’t let you go ruining all my fun, now, can we?” Pinkie Pie sneered as she pressed with her full weight.

The mirror was much more solid than it had initially appeared. The stand had a large heavy base and she could feel the mirror resisting her efforts.

The base slid an inch across the floor, almost knocking Pinkie off balance and sending her face first into the ground. She adjusted her stance and continued pushing.

This time the base caught on something in the ground and, inch by inch the mirror began to tilt. The voices inside were sounding more and more frantic, “Pinkie, wait, stop!” And the sounds of hooves slamming against the mirrors surface filled the room.

Pinkie licked her lips and tried her best to ignore that voice inside her head, and continued her efforts. She continued pushing, adding all her weight. She was now almost lying on top of the mirror as it continued the downwards decline.

“Pinkie Pie, sto—” The voices suddenly became silent with a loud crash, and the room was plunged into blackness.

“Pinkie Pie? Where are you?” Twilight called out. She was still trotting in the direction she’d seen Pinkie Pie take off in, but couldn’t see where the mare had gone after she disappeared around that corner, “Pinkie Pi—” A loud crash broke her off.

Her fur stood on end and she swivelled around in the direction of the noise. “Oh no,” she whispered under her breath, and dashed in that direction.

Twilight came across Pinkie Pie sitting in the middle of another circular room with her hooves crossed in front of her. She was sitting slumped on the floor with her back to the entrance, shards of broken glass scattered around and the broken frame of some kind of mirror lying face down at the back.

Twilight rushed to her friend’s side, “What happened?”

“I- I’m sorry, Twilight” Pinkie sobbed. She didn’t look up at Twilight and instead focused on wrapping her hooves around each other, “... it was an accident.”

That’s okay, Pinkie” Twilight kneeled next to Pinkie Pie and put a hoof on her shoulder, “Let me see,”

Pinkie held up her arms for Twilight. There was a large gash along the left and it trailed blood lightly down the side of Pinkie’s foreleg but it didn’t look like there was anything more serious. Twilight sighed, “Pinkie, you have to be more careful.”

She stood up and pulled Pinkie Pie to her hooves with her. Twilight led her out of the room, away from the broken glass, and let her lean against the wall outside. She checked the mare over once more to be sure she was okay.

There were other scrapes but none of them proved life threatening, “Okay, I’m going to go find you something to dress that,” Twilight motioned to Pinkie’s leg. It had just begun to dribble anew, so Twilight lifted the leg up into the air and instructed Pinkie to keep it that way.

Twilight ran over to the nearest shelf and levitated down one of the old books. She flipped it open in her aura and inspected the pages. Blank, of course, but this was perfect for what she needed. The book was rather large and thus its pages could easily be wrapped around one’s forleg.

She took the book over to pinkie and ripped out several pages, then stuck them around the wound as a make-shift bandage. Twilight pressed them down and held the pages in place as she soaked up the blood, “Okay, this should hold,” Indeed the pages did stick, thanks to the clotting nature of blood, but they still hang limply around the edges. She directed Pinkie on how to keep the pages in place, “You just have to hold your hoof here,” She placed Pinkie’s other hoof under her forleg, positioned against the place where the edges of the pages met.

“Thanks, Twilight.” Pinkie did as looked up to the Unicorn with a thin smile, “I can always count on you to help me.”

“What are friends for?” She replied, and helped Pinkie up, “Are you able to walk?”

“Not like this, no.”

Applejack and Rainbow Dash stared blankly at the mirror, Rainbow with her mouth hanging open in horror. The glass surface, though still intact, now stood shattered into a web of shards, each reflecting their own smaller copy of the woods, “Why would she do that? If that was a portal we could have—” Rainbow fumed and threw her hooves in the air, “That could have been out ticket out of here!”

Applejack said nothing. She simply frowned and glared at the mirror then, pushing her Stetson low, turned around to begin trotting away back the way they’d come.

“Hey!” Rainbow turned around, “Where are you going?”

“Ah’m going back to the clearing, we haven’ time t’ lose,” Applejack kept her head low and continued walking.

After a quick glance to the broken mirror, and then back to Applejack, Rainbow decided to follow. “Do you have a plan then?” Rainbow took to the air and hovered next to Appejack as they walked.

“Ah do,” the nodded, “Ah recon there must be another mirror hidden somewhere around here and we’d better find. Ah get the feeling we’re not the ones that need to be rescued.”

Shining Armour stood in silent darkness for what felt like forever. He could feel his heart beating against his chest and the faint warmth of the Princess standing next to him, “Tell me Shining Armour,” Celestia spoke, causing Shining Armour to jump at the sudden sound, “Are you familiar with the concept of Creationism?”

“Um, I am, Princess” Shining Armour nodded, though he wasn’t sure if the Princess could see him. He continued without prompt, “It is a belief that Equestria was created all at once, by a deity, as opposed to the Celestian model currently taught. Followers of such a religion believe that you, Princess, are responsible for the world we currently know, and that it is your good grace that it remains as it is.”

“That is very good, Shining Armour.”

“B- but everypony knows that it is not true. Such a theory goes in complete contradiction with the Hearthwarming’s tale, among many other historical records dating Equestria’s origins.”

“And how do you know those records themselves, are true?”

At this Shining Armour frowned, and went silent. It couldn’t possibly. The records of the Hearthwarming’s event are numerous, with many accounts from many tribes, not to mention other historical records predating that.

After what felt like an eternity, a faint glow emerged from below. It slowly grew brighter by the minute as the platform carried them both further into the mountain below and closer to their destination.

Suddenly the walls around them come to an end, revealing a large cavern below Canterlot. The entire space was brightly illuminated by hundreds of crystals lining the ceiling, reflecting the form of Equestria’s most known constellations. Two large fire gems, a ruby and sapphire, studded the roof of the caver on opposite sides bathing the space in a mix of orange and gold.

The cavern is perfectly round, a series of doors stood equally spaced around the circumference of the chamber, eight of them, each bearing a unique insignia. One had a large sun emblazoned in the middle, likely representative of Princess Celestia; another had the moon which would put that as Luna’s. A third had a combination of the two, a large sun with a crescent moon at its centre, likely shared equally between both princesses. But the other five were not anything that Shining Armour could recognise. The platform slowed its decent and came to rest in the centre of the room, perfectly level with the floor and completing a solar diagram mirroring the one from the surface.

“This way”, Celestia walked forward briskly, leading Shining Armour across the room towards the door with both the sun and moon on it.

“What is this place?” asked Shining as he tried to keep up.

“This is the ancient royal archives, a long kept secret of the crown. Until now, only Luna and I have ever set hoof in this place.”

“Has this been here all along?”

“It was a natural cavern we found early on and a major factor in our later decision for the location of the Capitol. During the castle’s construction we had the cavern enlarged and finished. The construction ponies were never told as to its final intention and were sworn to secrecy.” The two arrive at the door and Celestia light her horn. The door’s insignia glowed in a like aura and the doors cracked ajar. They started to slowly separate revealing another chamber insides, “In the years after its completion Luna and I went on to populate it with personal artefacts of old and enchanted these doors to secure the contents.”The two continued forward through the now opened doorway. The door leading into yet another room, a cavernous void lit only by a single column of light illuminating a platform suspended in the centre.

Under the light floated a large heavy set tome its pages yellowed and torn around the edges, an assortment of ribbons hanging out near the binding, and the inscription of the two Royal Sisters etched into the front cover.

Celestia trotted forward into the room, with Shining Armour close behind. She stepped aside and motioned to the book, “This is the Diary of the Two Sisters, the real one. It contains records of events going back far beyond the conception of modern day Equestria all of which are true. In that book is contained all your answers, and many secrets that the crown has gone great lengths to keep hidden from prying eyes.”

“It is now your choice, Shining Armour. We have chosen to trust you with these secrets. You may now read it, and know what we know, or refuse and continue on in ignorance. We will not blame you for choosing the latter.”

Author's Note

You thought it was dead, didn't you?

Yeah, I thought so too. :applejackunsure:

Chapter 3: Distant Past

Celestia stood with her eyes closed, on the edge of her balcony overlooking the castle courtyard. She took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, feeling the warmth of her sun radiating from above. She pictured it in her mind, the ball of immense power and mass hanging far off in the distance, and felt for its weight as it rested in her aura in space.

She imagined pushing it slightly, and felt the resistance it gave, then slowly building up strength until it finally gave. She felt a slight tingling sensation up the back of her neck and off the tip of her horn as the flow of magic changed.

Releasing her breath, Celestia allowed the image to fade and opened her eyes. She watched as her sun slowly glided away towards the horizon. After watching if for a few moments, ensuring it followed its descent as instructed, she turned her attention to the activity below.

A row of guards stood to attention; their golden armour catching the sun’s light in a brilliant display, as Shining Armour passed by doing his inspections. Celestia watched intently as he stopped in front of one of the guards, a Pegasus. He spoke quickly, though too far for Celestia to make out what he said, his intent became clear when the guard nodded and reluctantly separated away from the group. He moved forward, lowered himself to the ground, and began doing wing ups in front of his comrades.

Celestia was jolted back to the present by Luna’s voice from behind “You truly have outdone yourself, sister. I could not have asked for a better prelude to the beginnings my night.” Celestia gave a heavy sigh and moved aside to allow her sister to join her at the ledge.

Luna turned to Celestia “Is something the matter?” she asked, concern clearly evident by her tone.

“I sometimes wonder if we made the right choice… all those moons ago.” Celestia replied, “Whether it could have turned out differently.”

“We did what we believed to be the best for them at the time.” as she said this Luna glanced over at the city of Canterlot, sprawling out beyond the castle walls. “There is nothing we can do to change the past. Why, ti’s thee that should know this better than any.”

“I know, Luna. But one cannot help but wonder...” Celestia trailed off and focused her attention back to the activities below.

Luna frowned and sat in silence beside her sister. A metallic clatter was heard from below as the guards saluted to their captain and took off jogging laps around the courtyard.

Celestia broke the silence, “How has the research been?”

“It is... slow”, Luna admitted. “We have the beginnings of a spell worked out and indeed have had some success in testings and with samples, but the spell fails in the most crucial parts when placed to any sort of realistic use. It is times like this that we wish Starswirl were still with us. He surely could have solved this within a fortnight.”

Luna looked up to Celestia. “What of you sister, will you be telling him soon?”

“I shall.” Celestia answered flatly. “I have already asked Shining Armour to meet me in the throne room this afternoon. I will be leaving to meet him there shortly.”

Draconequus glides aimlessly through the sky, observing the land as he thinks to himself. How could I have been such a fool? All of the signs were there, yet, I refused to seen them.

Through the ages Discord had slowly slipped his claws into Equestrian society, twisting the minds of their leaders. Blinded by his influence, the once peaceful ponies have now broken off into factions each claiming their own domain. The Unicorns now distance themselves from the other tribes in the belief that they are the master race.

The Pegasus tribes have claimed the skies as their dominion, governing them with an iron hoof. Their soldiers can be seen patrolling all throughout day whilst the Thestrals take to the skies at night.

But it is the Earth Pony tribe that is by far the worst off. They remain stuck in the middle at the mercy of the other tribes, tasked with providing food to both parties in exchange for the sunlight and summer rains they need to grow the very same crops.

These developments worry Draconequus; for the longer things continue on this path, the stronger Discord will become and the less likely that anyone will be able to stop him.

I need to stop this before it’s too late.

A distant gleam catches Draconequus’ eye. He directs his gaze out towards the horizon. Just visible in the distance stands a castle surrounded by a small village and defensive wall; its jewel-like surface glistening in the sunlight, the last nation outside of Discord’s reach, the Crystal Kingdom.

A smile spreads across Draconequus’ face. And I know exactly where to start.

Celestia sat at her throne deep in thought, her stone-like visage giving no indication as to the inner workings of her mind.

Her ears flicked forward when they picked up a light click as the front door cracked. The armoured head of a unicorn guard peeked through the partially open door, “Your Highness, he’s here.”

“Thank you, send him in.” She did not wish to delay much longer.

The Unicorn bowed his head, “Aye Princess” and then disappeared back through the door.

Celestia slowly picked herself up, descending to the base of her throne where she waited to meet her guest. Moments later the doors opened once again, accompanied by the trotting or armoured hooves through the throne room.

Shining Armour stopped a few feet before Celestia, and bowed his head slightly. “You asked to see me Princess?”

“Yes, I trust the preparations are coming along well?”

“Sort of” Shining scratched behind his head. “They’re all scrubs. I can’t believe how they could get so slack in such a short time.” Noticing Celestia’s slight disappointment he quickly added. “But I can assure you, they will be ready when the time comes.”

“Good, then I shall leave that to you…” Celestia gave a faint sigh. “But that is not the main reason for why I have called you here today.”

“You see, there are some details that may have been left out in our last meeting and, with some convincing from Luna, I’ve decided it may be best to bring them to your attention.”

Shining Armour’s ears drooped and he looked up in slight confusion, “What do you mean?”

“What’s happening now, the disappearances, is not so much a surprise to me and Luna as we may have let you believe. In a way, we were expecting it eventually. That is why we had to call you here so urgently. If we had not you surely would have befallen the same fate.”

“I’m not following, are you saying you knew this was going to happen? And that I could be a target as well?”

Celestia shook her head and paused for a moment in thought. “Perhaps, it would best I show you.” She moved to Shining’s side “I ask that you keep close. I would not want you to injure yourself.”

Shining nodded, and then Celestia turned her attention to the throne and began to focus magic into her horn. She lowered her head and aimed to the top crest of the throne where a large jewel sat, much like the one in the Crystal Empire. Celestia’s horn gave off a spark and flash as it was enveloped in a golden hue. A small wisp of shimmering light arced from Celestia’s horn and reached out to the jewel, finally connecting with it and making it glow in like colour.

There was a faint mechanical click, and a low rumble as an unseen mechanism sprang to life. On que the floor around them began to move. With a monotonous click, click, clicking, the arms of the solar emblem carved into the floor around them tilted and slid past each other. They turned and retracted away from the centre revealing a black abyss below, a dark tunnel carved deep into the core of mountain.

The mechanism’s tune changed and the sun’s centre, now a platform to both parties, began to descend. Shining watched as the petals of the sun closed in above them once again, cutting off the light from the outside world.

As Draconequus alights outside the front gates of the Crystal Kingdom, two guards run out to greet him. They set their spears upright at their side and flash a solute to their esteemed guest, “Lord Draconequus, it is an honour that you would grace our kingdom with your presence” they proclaim loudly.

Draconequus waves his claw nonchalantly, “Yes, yes, I care not for your formalities. I wish to speak with your princess. It is a matter of most importance.”

“Of course, this way your highness” The guards turn and lead Draconequus back through the front gate. The gate slowly closes behind them as they walk through. The one guard heads into the guard station to relay a message ahead whilst the other carries on as Draconequus’ escort to the castle.

The guard keeps up a quick pace as he leads Draconequus through the crowded streets, ponies clearing the way as they pass. He leads Draconequus to the castle gates where he leaves him in the capable hooves of the castle guard to return to his post.

Draconequus is taken to the grand hall, meeting place of nobles and princesses alike, where he is left to await the princess’s arrival.

At length, the door to the hall opens to allow a tall, plain white Unicorn mare into the room. Her light pink mane hanging almost perfectly straight, if not for the occasional curl, over her withers and her cutie mark, an ornate, cerulean crystal heart placed upside down adorned her flank.

“Draconequus, to what may we have this pleasure?”

Draconequus inclines his head, “Greetings, Princess Chrysalis. It is about my son, Discord. I trust you are aware of what is happening to the West?”

“Indeed, I am, you do not think Discord is behind this?”

“I know he is. I can feel his magic in the air when I speak with the nobles; I can sense his dark arts at work when I hear the dribble that flows forth from their muzzles. They are his puppets, blinded and manipulated into doing his bidding.”

Chrysalis walks over to the table and takes a seat; she welcomes him to join her. “Do you plan to confront him?”
Draconequus’ brow furrows. He pulls up a seat opposite Chrysalis and leans forward, resting his elbows on the table. “No, it’s too late for that. Discord would not listen to reason, and a full frontal assault would be foolish. As the chaos in Equestria grows so does his power, and as it is, with my power waning, I could not defeat him.” He pauses for a moment and ads “Even if I were at the height of my potential the, fight would be no more beneficial for Equestria.”

“No, I have another plan.” Draconequus looks back up towards Chrysalis, “And for this I need your help. Through some means your nation has been able to escape Discord’s influence, for now. I hope to use that to my advantage.”

He waves a claw over the table and a small patch starts to glow with magic. A mound no larger than his fist quickly takes form and so morphs into a small satchel sitting on the table between them.

Draconequus motions to the sack “This is for you. It contains a note and one seed. I entrust upon you the responsibility to find a place that this seed can grow and to protect it until it reaches maturity. The tree that it grows into will become the source of a powerful harmonic force capable of halting Discord’s advance. But as natural opposites, the tree will attract the chaos from around Equestria for which you must be prepared.” Draconequus pushes the satchel across the table towards Chrysalis. “When the time comes it will bear seven fruit that will aid in stopping Discord. The note contains instructions on what to do when that time comes.”

Chrysalis takes the satchel in her magic and weighs the contents, “Very well, we will ensure the tree receives the proper care.”

Draconequus nods, “Good.” He pushes his seat back and begins to stand. “Now I must take my leave.”

Chrysalis looks to him with a questioning gaze. “Wait, are you not going to stay to see your plan through?”

“I cannot. The eons have taken their toll. The effort needed to create that seed alone has taken a large portion of what little strength I have left. I now plan to head north of here, to the frozen wastes, where I can rest and regain my strength.”

“If you must go then I ask that you take some of my guards as an escort. They can help you along the way should you need it.”

“Thank you, Princess.” Draconequus inclines his head and turns to leave. He stops at the door briefly and turns back. “Just one more thing; a warning before I leave. No matter what, do not touch the fruit. For to trifle with untamed magic as powerful as this, even good magic, can lead to a fate far worse than death.” Chrysalis nods in understanding and Draconequus takes his leave.

Author's Note

Such a short chapter for such a long wait. How many months has it been? 8?

Anyway I finally picked this up, no need to find me!