Rise of Darkness

It was a cold night in the glorious city of Canterlot, and the castle was bathed in glistening moonlight. Thousands slept in the comfortable protection of their princess, oblivious to the massacre that had transpired on Howlrokin. They slept, ignorant of the coming storm and of the enemy that they would soon dread.

Stillness permeated the hallways of Canterlot castle, interrupted only by the gentle tread of the night guards' patrols. Celestia was in her room, reading one of the numerous letters sent by her favorite student. She had been awake for hours. An unnatural chill ran down her spine, but she could not fathom why. A heavy pounding on her door pulled her from her reading.

“You may enter,” she said regally.

The door swung open, admitting a stallion with a white coat and a three toned blue mane

“Shining Armour, what are you doing here? Why have you come from the Crystal Empire?” Celestia was truly surprised at the sudden unannounced arrival of Shining, the Captain of the Royal Guard.

“Princess, I came as soon as I heard.” He looked devastated, with bags under his eyes and his mane messed up.

“Heard what, Shining, what has happened?” Celestia said as fear and urgency crept into her voice.

“The Wolfkrine are back.” As much as he didn't want to believe it, he knew those words were the truth.

Celestia was stunned. The lords of shadow had returned, and she must act quickly if she were to prevent their darkness from spreading.

“Captain, awaken all guards and prepare them to defend the southern border. Assemble a war council and place Equestria on high alert. I must speak with my sister." Shining saluted quickly and ran down the hall to tend to his duties. Celestia teleported just outside of her sister's chambers.

Celestia swung the door open without bothering to knock. Luna was stunned at the sudden interruption to her nightly preening, but Luna could sense her sister’s distress.

“Sister, what is troubling your mind? Pray tell,” she said nobly.

“Lulu, do you remember an ancient race known as the Wolfkrine?” Celestia asked.

Luna thought hard. She vaguely remembered them, even after her millennium of imprisonment.

"They were those arrogant wolves who always boasted of their technological superiority, correct? Whatever happened to them?" she queried

“Oh sister, I have a lot to fill you in on, and I have a mission that you must complete….”

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The faint light from the chandelier slowly brightened, warming the cold stones with its flames. Steelwing had spent all night trying to loosen the the ropes that secured him, but they would not budge. He turned his head as the door groaned open and Caster skulked into the room.

Steelwing quickly looked away, refusing to look at his captor's face. Suddenly he felt his bindings slacken and fall to the floor. He saw that the rope had been slashed by the wolf's claws. His relief was short lived as a thick rope noose was thrown around his neck and tightened, almost to the point of choking him.

"Come now, pony. It is time for you to fight for your life," Castor said nonchalantly. He tugged on his end of the rope, dragging Steelwing across the room. Steelwing fought as best he could, but he quickly realized that he could not win this battle.

As Castor led Steelwing out of his workshop, he frantically gleaned every detail he could from his surroundings. If he was ever to escape, then he would need all the information he could get. As they moved through the underground fortress, the only things he noticed were the eerie purple lamps and the imposing gothic archways that they illuminated. The lamps unnerved Steelwing. Something about them felt unnatural, something malevolent.

After walking down the monotonously repetitive hallway, Castor led him through a large doorway framed chiseled from beautiful granite. As they walked through, his eyes widened at the display before him.

There were flowers all over the underground chamber, but they were not normal plants. Each petal was made from some sort of delicate crystal. He was being led through a crystal garden. Sadly, like other gardens, it was not without the pestering insects that nipped at Steelwing as he walked by.

The gardens soon ended and the passage opened up into a massive cavern, large enough to fit an entire city. Grand buildings with towering spires reached up impossibly high, as if to pierce through the very mountain. Alas, the ceiling was lost to their sight. The only things visible aside from the city itself were tiny glistening crystals embedded in the rock, which painted the cavern as if it were an eternal starry night.

Castor paraded Steelwing down the city streets. The pups looked on the pair with curious eyes as the adults looked on them with disgust and contempt. When Steelwing tripped on an uneven stone, the crowd jeered, taunted, cursed, and spat at him. He felt like a criminal being led to his execution.

As they exited the city, Castor led his charge to a deep recession dug from the cavern wall. At the end was a deep vertical shaft with four rusty chains trailing away into the darkness. A single wolf stood guard. As Castor approached, he saluted and said, "Royal Engineer," he glanced quickly at Steelwing, "where are you taking this scum?”

"Just bringing him down to the arena for a little wholesome family fun," Caster said, rolling his eyes.

The guard chuckled as he pulled a lever on the cavern wall. The chains became taut and the clanging of iron gears echoed from the hole.

A small iron cage rose up from the hole. It was rusty and worn from its long term of service. Castor quickly lit a lantern inside the cage and pulled Steeling unceremoniously inside. He then flipped a second lever and the cage descended into the dark abyss.

As the rusty cage descended, rocks ground roughly against the metal sides. Soon a light slipped into the dark tunnel, displaying another city similar to the one above them. Except that this one looked dirtier and smaller than the grand city above. Castor explained as they continued down, leaving the dirty city behind.

Castor's gaze locked on the floor of their steel cage as he explained quietly, "This level houses the middle class. Most are pitiless merchants who prey on the weak and the desperate, but offer very little in return."

Light crept in as another level rose up to meet them, but this time it was tainted with thick smoke. Steelwing could barely see the crumbling buildings through the heady smoke laced with herbs and toxins. While not much could be seen, Steelwing heard plenty. A breaking bottle, a crying female voice, the gentle rattling of dice.

Castor inhaled a small whiff of the thick smoke, then shook his head slowly. "This is the place where wolves go to immerse themselves in selfishness and lust. Many good souls have died here in tainted bliss," he sighed.

The cage ground to a stop as they approached their destination. Steelwing looked over a vast cavern with numerous coliseums scattered around. Raucous cheers and agonizing screams filled his ears.

“...And this is where money passes hands, where bets are placed on flesh and where flesh is taken as debt...It is also the place of judgement. Prove your worth, or fail and suffer in agony," he said grimly as he made eye contact with Steelwing for the first time since the tour started. He led the pegasus out into the cavern, leading him to his trial by blood.