Chapter 1 - The City of Smoke
Chapter 1 - The City of Smoke
Mythical Diadem
by Crystal Secret
Chapter 1 - The City of Smoke
The unfamiliar whirring sounds of the bustling city roared from outside. Sunlight streamed in through the cracks in the wooden walls, Rarity's eyes fluttered open as she awoke from what had been an incredibly deep sleep. An air of unfamiliarity surrounded her but that invisible barrier suddenly broke as she realized that she was inside an abandoned wooden structure of some kind.
As she shakily rose to her hooves, the wooden boards clunked beneath her. Unsure of where she was and how she had gotten there, she decided to take a few shaky steps towards a large rectangular hole in the wall.
When she stepped out onto the structure's balcony, she was blinded by the morning light. But when her eyes finally adjusted to the intensity of the sun, what she saw utterly amazed her.
The sight that was laid out before her was covered in a layer of thick black smoke, making it difficult to depict the buildings as they sat there, leaning over one another fighting for the spotlight of the sun. Some kind of miniature moving contraptions were moving along the snaky roads at a fast pace, Rarity stared down and wondered what they might be.
The unfamiliar city appeared to be inhabited due to the creatures that she quickly identified as ponies roaming the ground and the skies. She wanted to find out where or perhaps even when she was, but first she needed to find a way to get down from the abandoned structure she was in.
She suddenly looked down at her hooves and realized that she was wearing a rather peculiar style of attire, one that she found rather interesting. Her clothes were undeniably fabulous but in a style she had never seen before.
A military green jacket covered her torso while a silky, see-through collar with spikes exceeded from it. A large, lavish, spiral patterned cloak was wrapped around the small of her back and hanged to one side. Latticed leather boots concealed her back hooves while the front had black lace cuffs that sat at the middle of her forelegs. A black lace choker was sitting around her neck and a miniature top hat adorned her head. She looked simply marvelous in a style she was not all familiar with. This was presumably the style of clothing that the locals must wear.
Rarity walked back inside and realized just how dusty and abandoned the place really was. She groaned in disgust at the state of her once perfectly shined hooves that were now covered in the repulsive filth.
She spotted a staircase and descended it, finding her way onto the streets of a foreign city.
The once pristine roads were now covered in the excess smoke of the city's main power source; coal. The buildings appeared to be shrouded in darkness; the absence of clean air and natural light was phenomenal. No ponies passed in what to be a back street, everything around her seemed to be ten shades darker.
The empty street was entirely abandoned, with much under appreciated courage she made her way down the broken alleyway. Not a sound was to be heard other than the repetitive clop of her hooves on the narrow, cobblestone streets.
She looked around to see if she could find anything familiar about the world that surrounded her, but to her luck she found nothing. A large, once regal archway stood before her as it lead out onto the Main Street.
In a whirring parade of thick black smoke, a mysterious transportation mechanism rushed past her, sending debris onto her. Ponies of all kinds bustled through the busy lane way as another vehicle passed her. Here she was standing in the heart of a steam fueled city losing every bit of her dignity. She was absolutely filthy, her mane had lost its shape and she looked like a disgraced young pony standing on the side of a chaotic road.
Suddenly, her legs took over and sent her onto the road, almost getting hit by several passing vehicles.
Rarity whimsically avoided them all as her legs sprung into action as she crossed the road. Once she had safely reached the other side however, the local ponies seemed most outraged by her incredibly dangerous feat of what this town considered of epic proportions.
"Hey lady!,' Rarity's head swiveled to the pony who had just addressed her in a most inappropriate fashion. 'Watch where you're going next time!" hollered a stallion with an upraised hoof, as though he was about to hurt her. Rarity just stared, eyes wide with complete and utter shock. The stallion simply turned and walked away but she stood there for a moment, taking in what had just happened.
It was as though the city had been tipped on its head, but the question still remained, where was she?
She took another look around to realize that the buildings were made of strong, reliable bricks and how steam seemed to come from every chimney, every road was smothered with oil and every pony seemed to be in the grayest of moods. She spotted a newspaper stand and decided to enlighten herself on the date.
The local newspaper was known as the Canterlot Express but that's not what caught her off guard, it was the date at the top right hand corner of the front page; 17th of June 1820. Rarity simply stared at the newspaper in shock. She had somehow travelled hundreds of years into the future, which would explain quite a bit; but not only that but she was also in Canterlot, which only confused her more.
She walked away from the newspaper stand and made her way down the street, unsure of where she was going. She continued this route for quite awhile, remembering to take note of some landmarks along the way. With smoke filled skies ahead and no way of knowing of where she might end up, Rarity took in the sights around her.
Many hours had past and she found herself quite lost and hungry. Her stomach groaned in spite as she realized that the shops were closing up and less ponies were roaming the filthy, litter filled streets. The moon rose high into the scorched black night sky. A chill ran down her spine as the cool night air rolled in, echoing the omniscient sounds of the back alleys of a once gleaming jewel of a city.
Without meaning to, Rarity found herself at the dead end of one Canterlot's most hostile neighborhoods. Her body shivered against the cold air, her heart raced, her fear of the darkness reignited a childhood fire.
"Hello?...Is...is anypony out here?" She called out nervously into the dark.
Noise erupted from behind her and she quickly turned around, gradually cornering herself into a corner. Suddenly, three large stallion like figures stood before her, grinning devilishly in the dark.
"Well, well, well, look at what we have here. Boys, I think we've found ourselves a little lost filly." snickered the middle stallion, who appeared to be the dominant leader.
"Yeah, look at her shiver in fear." chuckled the stallion to the left.
"Please, leave me alone. I mean no harm!" pleaded Rarity as she bumped into the back fence.
The three stallions gradually moved towards her, backing her into a inescapable trap. She stared up at them in fear as they kept their ground.
"Ah, don't worry darling, we won't hurt ya." insisted the middle stallion.
"Yeah, we wouldn't hurt a fly. Would we boys?"
"Nah, we sure wouldn't." they agreed, hunger in their eyes.
As they made advancements upon her, Rarity screamed, her cries echoing into the night. She only hoped somepony would save her, get her away from these ruffians.
"You get your hooves off of her!" called a familiar voice.
Within an instant a black figure swept in and stood before Rarity, shielding her from the three stallions who were utterly confused by this point.
"Or what?" asked the leader coolly.
"Or I'll kick your butts that's what!' she stated triumphantly. She pulled out a set of daggers and armed herself ready for battle.
"Rainbo-" but before she could finish announcing the mare's name Rarity was quickly interrupted.
"The name's Night Slayer." the mysterious mare cut in.
"You're Night Slayer? Please, a little filly such as yourself couldn't take the three of us."
Two, large, mechanical wings sprouted from the mare's back. "Wanna bet?" determination in her eyes.
With that trademark phrase, the four ponies all launched into action. A series of lightly taken hits followed. As the mare took each stallion down, with style. Her daggers were used expertly, like she was an absolute pro. With every hit, she gave back even harder and even as a stallion came flying on top of her she managed to insure her own safety with a dodge roll and a dagger to the stallion's eye, blinding him.
As they fought, Rarity stayed back and out of the way. Watching them incessantly. It would seemed that Night Slayer liked to fight dirty, throwing a rounded punch to the jaw wherever possible. By the time the battle was over, the victorious stood high above them all. She stood proud as the heaving bodies of the defeated surrounded her. Her armor gleamed in the light of the moon, giving a tough edge to her already hardcore personality. She leaned down and whispered something into one of the stallion's ears.
"Go, tell everyone that these streets belong to Night Slayer now.' "Go! Get outta here you pathetic cowards!" She yelled, giving one of them a kick in the side. The three stallions quickly got up and raced away into the night, their howls filling the night air. "Sorry about that, they kind of needed showing who's boss.' The mare removed her helmet, revealing her rainbow colored mane. 'The name's Rainbow Dash."
Before she could even attempt at replying, Rarity embraced her friend into a hug. Relived to have finally found a familiar face in the dark, sinister streets of a city she didn't even know the name of up until just a few hours ago.
"Oh Rainbow Dash, it's so good to see you."
"Rarity? How did you get all the way out here?"
The pair returned to a normal stance as a confused Rainbow Dash stood staring back at her.
"Rainbow, my dear, did you not recognize me?"
"Well, not exactly. It was dark and you can't really see much with a helmet on."
"Oh, I see. Well, it's terribly hard to explain and I'm not sure here is the best place to be in any case."
"Yeah, you've got a point. It isn't safe out here, especially not for unicorns."
"What exactly do you mean by that anyhow?"
"I'll explain all that later. Now come on."
Rainbow Dash led Rarity on through the night, turning onto one dark alleyway after enough with utmost of caution. Unaware of what really lurked the narrow streets and murky corners but were certain that there was no way of been spotted with the thick fog that now covered the city, adding yet another layer to the grayscale picturesque.
"Where are we going?" Rarity spoke up after awhile.
"There is a secret entrance to our base not far from here, just trust me okay?"
Rarity had no other choice but to trust her. After all, without her, she would have been killed by now. She couldn't stand to think of the tormented things that they would have done to her if Rainbow Dash hadn't jumped in at the right moment. A picture of those hungry, demeaning eyes suddenly rose to her mind and Rarity's stomach churned. It sickened her to even think about it.
The sound of their hooves on the cobblestone streets filled the night as they raced through the streets, taking one turn after another before finally coming to a halt at what appeared to be the back entrance to a wine cellar.
"Here we are." announced the panting Pegasus who gave the door a good knock.
"Password?" called out a voice.
Rainbow Dash silently whispered the password into the crack and the doors swung open.
"You go first. I don't want to get in trouble for bringing a unicorn."
Before Rarity could even reply, she had been gently pushed down the slippery shoot that led to the wine cellar below. She squealed in surprise and delight at the fast pace that she came down. When she finally reached the bottom, she was met with a welcome of confused and somewhat outraged stares.
Chapter 2 - The Night Slayers
Mythical Diadem
by Crystal Secret
Chapter 2 - The Night Slayers
As Rarity came down the chute, she met the ground with a bump that would make her quite sore for awhile. She was now faced with a bunch of confused and somewhat outraged stares from a group of pegasus ponies. They started rearing their hooves ready to attack but just as they started coming at her, they were stopped by the cyan body of Rainbow Dash, shielded the terrified mare from the mob.
"Wait! She's with me!" cried out the cyan pegasus. A series of sceptical groans and sighs soon followed. "Everyone, this is my friend Rarity." she said moving away from her, allowing her to stand on four hooves again. "Rarity, we are the Night Slayers. A group of pegasus ponies trying to shut down Future Industries." she explained.
"I see...but what's Future Industries?" she asked feeling dazed. The world spun around her as she tried hard to hold herself up. Everything became rather blurred as she collapsed onto the solid ground beneath her.
In her deep slumber, Rarity found herself in a vivid dream. In this miraculous dream she was standing on an airship, a large, extravagantly decorated airship. The wind blew through her perfectly styled mane as she sailed through the clouds. She was
surrounded by nothing but endless sky and big puffy clouds that were chased away by the speed in which she was travelling. Unfortunately, she was unaccompanied which was rather disappointing as it would have been nice to share such a fantastic place with somepony.
But she was not entirely alone. For as that thought drifted through her mind, she found herself rather well accompanied. However, this company came in the most terrifying form as a large, monstrosity rose from behind a cumulonimbus cloud. Its engines roared as steam rose from all sides of its enormous mechanical and intimidating structure. Fear latched itself onto her heart as it raced, her breath quickened and she found herself running towards the bow as it fired its cannons at her, ripping large holes in the exterior of the ship.
Rarity screamed as a large canon came crashing down near her, sending pieces of the ship everywhere. Wooden planks, brass and strangely enough, large poles that crashed into the floor creating large holes. A shriek of terror escaped her as it only got closer to her. The ship was still flying but at a much slower pace and it was being torn to pieces in a mad parade of destruction. Who were these ponies anyhow? And why were they trying to kill her? She was quickly running out of wood to stand on and was growing more terrified by the second. There were only two options; to either stay here and be blown to pieces or to make her descent off the ship and hope she somehow manages to spontaneously grow wings.
With the latter sounding more preferable and with the reassurance that once she jumps, the enemy will stop firing at her, Rarity takes one reluctant jump off the remainder of the airship, sending her descending to her death. The clouds evaporate beneath her as she flails her legs before her, screaming as she falls from the incredible height. After awhile she stops screaming and calms down.
She closes her eyes and relaxes her legs by her side, simply allowing the wind to just carry her away. Somehow, she would survive. Somehow the wind would choose her course and may it be a safe one, one that would lead her back to the sleep idyllic village of Ponyville. Her home. Her friends. It was all she wanted now that she was falling from thousands of feet in the air.
However, this subtle peacefulness was stirred by the bright, imitable light that shone in through the cracks in the makeshift walls. What an odd place this was. Rarity held a certain familiarity with it, but nothing was familiar except the wooden walls that let in the distant whirring sounds of the city. It would seem that the city never slept, not even at night. It was as though she was back at the abandoned structure again, where she had waken up yesterday morning. Only this time she was lying on a dusty old mattress that should have been disposed of long ago.
Slightly confused, Rarity rose to her hooves and began to walk towards a small entryway that led her out to a large room filled with pegasus ponies who were all standing about discussing important matters and what their next course of action might be.
"Hey Rarity! Good to see you're awake." greeted Rainbow Dash who came over to her excitedly.
"Oh, hi Rainbow Dash." she replied still half asleep. "How long was I asleep?" she asked inquisitively.
The pegasus scratched her head, a cheeky smile spread across her face. "Well...you were kind of out for about forty-eight hours."
"What? I was asleep for two whole days!" she exclaimed, finally waking herself up.
"That's just a guess though...I'm not really sure how long you slept for. You must have been pretty tired though. I mean, I've never seen any of my team here sleep that long and they're usually up all night. Ah, look at the time, I guess I should probably call a meeting to order."
A loud defining whistle was released from her lips and the entire room of ponies came over, forming a circle in the middle of the room. The organization that these ponies had surprised Rarity as she took a seat next to Rainbow Dash who eyed off everypony in front of her.
"Alright everypony, listen up! I think it's time we step our game and start making more aggressive and obvious manoeuvres towards the enemy. I say we get rid off any unicorn that chooses to stand in our way. Its either they join us, or get the hell out of the way." she said in a rough, confident tone. The circle of ponies roared in agreement at the suggestion, clearly loyal to their leader.
"So what's the plan?" asked a mauve pegasus.
"Well, I say we round up some forces and barge in there and take out everypony in sight. Show no mercy. We haven't got time for standing around. I've been leading this group for the past decade and sadly, we haven't made much progress. Go! Ready yourselves for battle! Round up some troops and we'll be out of here shortly."
"Rainbow Dash wait!" pleaded Rarity, finally speaking up.
"What?" she asked, slightly annoyed.
"What are you thinking? You can't just invade an entire industry like that and think you cna just go in and kill everypony in sight!" she objected ferociously.
"Why not?" even more annoyed.
"Well...because you would be killed of course. Besides, why would you even want to make militaristic advancements upon them anyway?" she asked.
"Let me explain to you something Rarity, Future Industries is the very corporation that has sent this city into its decade long economic downfall. I mean, everything's turned to shit and nopony's doing anything about it. So I decided to lead the pegasus ponies into a war against Future Industries. They're the ones who started this whole thing. Now, I need to go and gear up." she replied with hostility.
"Wait!" she called out.
Rainbow Dash looked over. "Yes?"
"Let me come with you. Please?" she asked pleadingly.
"What? Are you crazy? Do you have any idea how dangerous the streets are? Look, around these parts a beautiful unicorn like you is likely to be either raped or killed. Besides, from what happened last night I can easily tell that you can't defend for yourself so you're better off staying here."
"Rainbow Dash, if I'm going to be here for a long time then I'm going to need to be trained in melee combat. How can I make use of my time here if I can't at least be able to defend myself against the..the -'
"The members that make up Future Industries's night patrol team?"
"Ah yes! The night patrol team but my point is that I'm going to need to be able to defend myself. Besides, in a world like this a lady such as myself should know at least the bare basics of combat. Now shouldn't she?"
"Well...I guess so. But you're going to have to follow my every command otherwise you'll give yourself away to the enemy. Now, follow me so I can get you fitted into some battle gear."
"What's wrong with my current attire?"
"What's wrong with it? Well...it's not exactly battle material and it would probably just become a nuisance. I mean, somepony could trip on the train. It's too risky. Besides, you can always change when we get back."
"Oh, alright. For you Rainbow Dash, I shall wear whatever kind of not so fashionable attire you require me to. After all, it is for the better good of all pony kind so I suppose that's reason enough. Even if I have to make a few small sacrifices along the way."
"Great. Now let's get you ready."
Rarity followed Rainbow Dash into a small, dusty room that was full of armour, weaponry and anything that somepony could need if they were going off to fight some heroic battle alongside an army of a few hundred. But this wasn't a war, it was just a battle of the fittest and only those who were truly exceptional in the art of warfare would survive the next few hours.
"Here. Go and put this on." insisted the pegasus, handing Rarity a pile of garments. "Oh and don't forget these." she continued handing her some silver boots that appeared to be made of steel. She took the garments and returned to the small room in which she had woken up not along ago.
With care, Rarity slipped off her beautiful, perfectly sewn garments and tossed them aside. She struggled with the upper torso as she pulled it over her head and tried to strapped around her waist. The buckles appeared to go underneath as the pristine metal shone on top. She slipped on the heavy metal boots that gleamed as they reflected off the morning light. Her helmet came last and it covered most of her head and face, it reminded her of the armour worn by ponies in the ancient era.
Ever since she was just a little filly, Rarity had dreamed of being rescued by her own knight in shining armour but today the tables had been turned. A new twist had been put on a her fantasy fairytale that made up her dreams. Today, she would have to be her own knight in shinning armour and she would be so bravely, she would face the challenges that lay ahead with nothing but an infinite amount of valour because today, that was the pony she had to be. So that's who she would be.
She marched out the room with pride, her silver armour gleaming with honer. She felt proud to be a part of an organization of ponies who were fighting for the greater good. But also a little sympathetic for the very ponies of whom she would now have to watch being slaughtered in order to make a stand on this industrial, chaotic catastrophe that had changed the course of history forever. Today, she would make history alongside the bravery and valour of the righteous Night Slayers.
"Are you ready?" asked Rainbow Dash, her face full of guilty pleasure as she gave her a once over.
"As ready as I'll ever be." she replied nervously. The truth was, not even a heavy layer of steel armour could protect her from the fear that grew inside of her. She was very much unprepared for the sheer horror of the sight that she was about to be faced with. Rarity tried to suppress a look of confidence and determination, she had to be strong for not only her own sake but for the rest of Equestria's. While deep down, she was ready to cry.
"Alright every pony! Move out!" ordered Rainbow Dash demandingly.
Since they were underground and since they were pegasus ponies, she wasn't entirely sure at how they were going to as Rainbow Dash had put it 'move out'. However, what happened next utterly amazed her. The small, elite team of pegasi moved swiftly, and moved fast. A few ponies pulled down on some levers as two large wooden boards moved back as the ceiling disappeared. There was now a large hole which led to a wide, dark tunnel that would lead them to the outside.
About a dozen pegasi sprouted individual sets of mechanical wings as they took off into the ominous tunnel. Rarity watched them as they flew out, like a dozen metal silver back beetles migrating to a new home. She suddenly realized that she wasn't able to join them because she lacked wings, but with a sudden tap on her shoulder she turned and was faced with Rainbow a Dash who was holding out to her a pair of wooden mechanical wings, not unalike those of the very ponies that had just left. Rarity just stared at her, confused.
Rainbow Dash just rolled her eyes and dropped them to the ground. "Put them on."
"Oh, right. Of course."
Rarity levitated them onto her back as she struggled to tighten the straps around her waist. She spent the next few minutes struggling to reach her back, the straps were out of reach. With one smooth movement she reached to the side a little too far and ended up falling over onto her back, like a horse trying to play dead.
"Here, let me help you." she said as Rarity got off the ground. "First of all, you've got them upside down, the straps are supposed to go around your waist, not your back." She explained as she rotated it around her torso, so the wings faced upwards. "Second of all, your front hooves go through here." she said as Rarity slipped her hooves through a series of straps and buckles. "Your back hooves go through here and you tighten the straps around your waist." as she said it, the cyan pegasus came underneath her and tightened the straps on her stomach, the feeling of her hooves on her coat was enough to make the unicorn blush.
"Alright. Now you're ready, let's go."
"Wait, how do I use these things?"
"You just use your hooves, us pegasus use our wings but unicorns normally steer using their hooves and the straps." she explained. "Let's go!" she called before taking off into the dark tunnel above her. Rarity just stood there, abundantly confused and what she was supposed to do. So she decided to just go with her instinct ins and push the wings down before taking the weight off her front hooves and propelling herself into the air, flying through the long, dark tunnel.
Since Rarity was not all used to the complex mechanics of flight, she had quite an 'ungraceful' landing but was also terribly embarrassed due to the riotous laughter that erupted from the skilfully trained pegasi. Rainbow Dash quieted the crowd and helped her onto her feet.
"Sorry everyone, I'm just not all used to flying, especially with these robust structures." she apologized before following her friend to the front of the pack.
The paper moon hang dimly in the night sky, there were fewer stars than she remembered and she began to wonder what else had happened in the many decades and perhaps centuries that had passed. An air of unfamiliarity surrounded her and the cool chill of the night sent shivers down her spine as she crept along the walls of a back street, the sounds of machinery became louder with every step and nopony muttered a word. It was tense, and she felt like that they were all walking a tightrope, one wrong move and they would all surely fall.
They carried on like this for what seemed like hours, silent, tense and guile. Creeping along the backstreet, jumping occasionally from tin roof to tin roof. They didn't use their wings too much, but Rainbow Dash had said they would need them when they reached their 'final destination.' Rarity didn't even know where their 'final destination' was. But she grew rather frightened as a group of shadowy figures slowly approached them, she took a large gulp and prayed in the name of Celestia that she would somehow get out of this...alive.
