For a Dream (Operation Alaska_Down)

Premonition

A sudden tumultuous shuffle of hooves and voices could be heard in the normally quiet halls of Canterlot castle.

“Stop right there!”

The struggle continued.

“In the name of the Royal Triumvirate, I order you to stop at once!”

Suddenly, a zebra and a pegasus rounded a corner, pursued closely by three armored sentinels. The fugitives had passed a checkpoint and the pursuit was quickly nearing the throne room.

Around another bend, the door to the official- but not actual- residence of the royal sisters was open and the intruders were approaching their destination.

“Stop them!” Shouted a guard from behind.

Immediately, a wall of armored guards formed in front of the door. That did not stop the pegasus from flying right over the barricade- but he landed right in front of a line of spearheads, which then entrapped him from behind. Any sudden move and he would be skewered. The zebra was tackled from behind, sending a saddlebag sliding on the marble floor.

Celestia and Luna were present in the throne room, as they had just finished speaking with an emissary from Mustangia. All attention had been drawn to the sudden commotion.

“Your majesties, my dearest princesses! I bring-“ began the concrete-grey pegasus.

“Silence!” interrupted a guard, “your excellencies, we caught these two passing a security checkpoint without a warrant. That pegasus said something about urgent news but that-”

“Despond is returning!” shouted the pegasus.

A sudden heaviness crashed through the room, although only Celestia and Luna knew of what the pegasus spoke.

“At ease, gentlecolts,” said Celestia. The pegasus and the zebra were released reluctantly. “Despond…I have not heard that name for at least five hundred years. How do you know of Despond?”

“Because of him,” said the pegasus, pointing a hoof to the zebra behind him. “You are looking at the direct descendent of the great scholar Mtefuta.”

The zebra stood up. His coat seemed diminished from long hours of study and his blue eyes seemed weary. His resilience and forthright resolve were evident in his solemn statue-like composure.

Celestia and Luna were taken aback. Five hundred years ago, they had banished this zebra’s ancient ancestor from Equestria for possessing dangerous knowledge about Equestria, which included the existence of Despond.

“What evidence have thee to support thine claim?” inquired Luna, with the tone (but not the volume) of the ancient Canterlot voice.

The zebra spoke something in his native language.

“Yes. It is the stars. Using a magical telescope, we have been observing the star closest the moon. Using a special lens, we have observed that that green-hued star is glowing brighter than before and is starting to flicker more intensely,” began the pegasus.

How did these two ponies know of Despond- and possess dangerous technology that Celestia had tried to destroy hundreds of years ago?

“While I do not condemn your studies of the stars, I am very concerned about the knowledge and the instruments you possess, both of which are forbidden. Despond was sealed away forever over a thousand years ago. He cannot return to Equestria,” explained Celestia. “Despond is the most dangerous foe our world has faced, as he is highly elusive and very deceptive. Even though he is no longer in this world, he can still influence it somehow. We currently believe that if you show too much interest in him, he can poison your mind. This is why I keep information like this hidden from my subjects- to protect them from harm.”

“That’s one thing I don’t understand about you, Celestia! Sometimes, in order to protect a world, you need more than just one pair of eyes! For all we know, Despond’s invasion has probably already begun!” pleaded the pegasus.

A bone-dry ghost stirred in the castle. Blind yet seeing, Celestia knew just what she had to do.

“I regret to inform you that you cannot leave this castle with the knowledge you possess,” said the princess of the sun, bowing her head.

“You cannot do this! We’re here to help save this world,” exclaimed the pegasus.

Celestia remained silent. The trespassers were seized taken to Canterlot Castle’s greatest secret- the dungeon. Like the palace of the Crystal Empire, this royal castle, this beacon of hope, had a dark hidden secret- another bit of information to which the Equestrian populace was to remain oblivious.

The day waned on. There was no sunlight in the Canterlot dungeon- only the lambent luminescence of some decomposing charged light crystals. The two prisoners remained in captivity- one hunched over, his back against the crystaline wall, the other upright and pacing.

“We cannot stay here! We have to escape. There has to be a way out,” muttered the grey pegasus, scanning the refractory walls of the dome-like cell. After a brief pause, he turned to his zebra comrade. “Imprisoned by the benevolent and caring Princess Celestia!”

“Patience,” breathed the zebra.

“Patience?! You know we’re dealing with an emergency situation here! The longer we wait, the more Solum will eclipse this world. I am positive that there are Auroran Frequencies wandering this world as I speak. That’s one of the intermediate phases of the invasion. The longer they spread their poisonous influence, the less love and harmony will reign this world. And when that moment comes- when the star in the night sky nearest the moon, which is Solum, turns green, then will the Eclipse occur.” The pegasus, Solar Wind by name, was gifted in the knowledge of something very secret.

How did either of these ponies know all of this information? How did they know to even look for it? Perhaps they were privileged with something most ponies were not permitted. Perhaps it was a matter of genealogical-legendary inheritance.

The hours rusted onward. Escape was impossible. Solar Wind began to despair.

“If we ever emerge from this prison, we will discover a ruined Equestria- if the whole world is not a pointless, singular grey moor. We’ll be too old to bring about any sort of repair.”

The zebra did not say anything. His eyes remained closed. He was meditating in the way of his people, secretly preparing some Zebra Magic. This particular type of magic is highly mysterious and can only be performed by zebras. The more common forms of zebras involve the magical infusion of potions and medicinal vapors. The rarer forms of this magic involve long meditative sessions in which only the most patient, pure minds can tap into an elusive, powerful magic aura that can only be found in a certain state of sustained peace.

“Surely there is something we can do. Anything…” continued the pegasus, staring at the dirt floor with a defeated air.

“Patience. We must remain calm, observant and objective. Sit with me.”

“There’s nothing we can do.”

Despair endured for Solar Wind.

After a long time, a faint quake shook the cell.

The zebra, Ameni by name, opened his eyes. “Do you trust me?” he asked.

“Of course I trust you,” said the pegasus standing up.

“Believe in solidarity. Believe in strength. Believe in what we know of the truth,” he said, rising.

A blinding white tapestry-like portal was torn into a wall of the cell with a loud cracking noise. The two stood in front of it silently. They looked at each other then looked forward, entering the portal. The two were instantly whisked out of the cell and into an overwhelmingly white environment. Equestria was sealed behind them. After a moment, a strange, wireframe-looking world was emerging before them. Before they knew it, the two prisoners were standing on some sort of mud-brown pseudo-turf, made of a synthetic grass that had a soft, fabric-like texture. It did not crunch or hiss like normal healthy grass. The wireframe-like world had become clear and tactile. The turf extended forward until it was intersected by a path of pure silver, atop which a purple pony with a fuchsia mane was walking. Her very form was sharper and more jagged than usual, her mane and coat textured in an unnaturally fibrous manner, something highly foreign to Equestrian eyes. Her face was placid, neither sad nor happy, and contrasted with her fading cutie mark- three flower blooms with smiling faces. Not far behind her, another pony- then another- was walking down this silver road- one of many. Intermittently and non-strategically positioned by the roads, towering high, were ornate yet sturdy steel structures, lustrous and shining in a pearlescent luster. The architectural craftsmanship was outstanding. Such structures must have taken tens- or hundreds of years to complete.

“It’s unreal…isn’t it?” remarked Solar Wind quietly, turning to his zebra friend.

The pegasus stood alone.

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// Primary DOE confirmed: 02/2014

Potential for secondary DOE: High.