Chapters Chapter 2-The Meeting in Canterlot
The train rolled inside the city of Canterlot. At night, its glowing, ivory beauty stood out in stark contrast to the dark,cold forbidding mountain which it was built on. The train suddenly shuddered and ground to a halt. Everyone in the train rose their heads;this had not happened before. The ponies and Spike looked out of the window, to see a group of Royal guards standing in front of the train.
"What in tarnation do them Canterlot guards think they're doing?" said Applejack.
Twilight looked puzzled,
"I don't know," she said, "But I think we should go and investigate,"
Twilight and her friends stepped out of the carridge, only to see the point of a spear thrust in her face.
"Halt!" Shouted the white pegasus guard.
Everyone looked at the guard in shock. Rainbow Dash suddenly flew upwards in a rage,
"Hey!" She shouted, "Do you know who you're talking to? This is Princess Twilight Sparkle!"
"Rainbow Dash..." said Twilight, but Dash ignored her.
"Take that lame stick out of her way!" Said Dash, "Or I'll..."
"Silence!" Shouted the guard. "You are all under arrest!"
"What?" Exclaimed Twilight Sparkle, "We haven't even done anything..."
But at that moment, a loud,terrifying voice shouted,
"Guard C-129! Step down immediately!" It was Princess Celestia.
Everyone was dumbstruck. None of them had ever heard her use the Royal Canterlot Voice before, and after that experience, none of them ever wanted to again.
"These are my guests!" Said Princess Celestia in her quiter, but no less angry voice, "And this is Princess Twilight Sparkle! You are dismissed!"
The guard did something which shocked the seven friends even more. He looked at Celestia with a scowl of utmost loathing, then spat at her hooves and galloped away.
Princess Celestia looked at him go with a trace of sadness in her eyes, then said to the company
"Follow me. We need to head towards my chamber as fast as we can."
Twilight Sparkle walked side by side with her mentor, while her six friends followed behind.
"Princess," began Twilight, "Why..."
"Quiet, Twilight," hissed Celestia, "I will explain everything when I can."
They trotted silently through the halls of Canterlot. Twilight Sparkle noticed there were much more Canterlot guards around than usual.
"Don't look," whispered Celestia, "Ignore them. We need to focus on getting to my room."
They ascended a flight of stairs until they reached a wooden door. They walked in, one by one, and Celestia closed the door with her yellow magic. The room was very luxurious; there was a large bed in the corner, the room was painted red and had a dark crimson carpet and there was a flickering fireplace in the wall.
Celestia turned around and faced the others, a look of fear on her face.
Twilight opened her mouth, but Celestia raised a hoof to silence her.
"I know you will all have questions you want to ask me," she said, "But I will have to be brief. I will tell you everything you need to know."
The room was silent, except for the faint crackling of the fire.
"Over the past few weeks,"Celestia began, "I have been noticing my guards have been behaving strangely. Few can still meet my eyes, and the display you saw there was only one of many."
"Why don't you do something?" Interrupted Rainbow Dash,"You're Princess Celestia! You could have them banished or thrown in a dungeon in ten seconds flat!"
Princess Celestia looked at Rainbow Dash.
"I'm afraid it's not that simple, Dash," she said sadly, "You see, I have a feeling that there is something behind this. Someone wants to rise to power, to take over Canterlot. And for that, they would need me out of the way. I know some of the guards are in on it, though I would like to think some remain loyal. If I were to banish anyone in the current situation, it could be just the excuse they need to arrest me and take my throne."
The ponies looked on, wide eyed. All the things that had posed a threat to Celestia so far had been magical and even alien, though now they were seeing a very different threat-a threat from the inside.
"This is why I have called you here," continued the Princess ,"You are the only ones I can fully trust to investigate this issue. I know none of you will let me down."
Suddenly, the wooden door burst open to reveal a dark brown pegasus guard. He bowed to Celestia, then got up.
"My lady," he said, "I have come to warn you,"
"What is it?" asked Celestia,
"Downstairs, in the Hall," said the pegasus, "There appears to be some kind of revolt!"
Celestia's eyes hardened.
"They've made the first move," she said, half to herself, then she rushed down the stairs, followed by her student and her friends.
Chapter 3-A Skirmish In Canterlot
Twilight raced down the stairs after her mentor. She had never seen Celestia run before, and was surprised at just how agile the large alicorn was.
They burst through the two huge doors, as Celestia herself had done at the Grand Galloping Gala almost a year ago. The sight they beheld was very reminiscent of that occasion. The whole room was alive with chaos;guards were fighting guards, and pegasus feathers fell from the roof, as a group of them were involved in an ariel scuffle.
Suddenly, some unicorn guards spotted Celestia.
"It's the Sun Princess and her student!" the lead one shouted, "Seize them, quickly!"
Some of the pegasus guards above turned their attention away from their flying opponents, and dived straight towards Princess Celestia. However, before they could reach her, a blue flash intercepted them, and they were knocked onto the ground.
"That's for the Princesses!" shouted Rainbow Dash, as the pegasi hurled towards the ground.
However, every guard in the room was alerted to their presence. Suddenly, two thirds of the guards in the room started trying to surge forwards towards Celestia, and the others tried desperatly to push them back.
"Quick, my ladies!" Shouted one of the guards to Twilight and Celestia, "Retreat whilst you still can!"
"No," said Celestia, "You are my subjects, and I will defend you!"
She shot out a golden stunning spell, and an Earth pony fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Twilight," Urged Celestia, "You must get out of here. Alert Princess Luna. I don't think I can hold them for long!"
Twilight looked up at her mentor, then nodded. She turned around to see her friends, staring at the scene in horror.
"Okay, everypony," she said, "Let's go!"
They turned around and ran down the corridor, only to come face to face with a battalion of unicorn guards.
"Celestia!" yelled Twilight.
"I'm sorry!" shouted Celestia back, "I can't get to you! They've pinned me here! You'll have to face them yourselves!"
Twilight gulped, and watched on as the malicious unicorns advanced towards her and her friends.
Twilight, in a desperate effort to stop them, cast her multi-stunning spell, and the group of unicorns was temporarily stunned.
"It won't stop them for long!" she shouted "The more ponies under the spell, the weaker it is!"
"But Twilight, dear, we have to protect Princess Celestia from them," said Rarity.
"There's no time!" replied Twilight, "We can't hope to face a squad of fully trained Canterlot Unicorn Guards! We must get back to the Princess!"
The others followed Twilight and they returned back to Celestia.
"Princess," panted Twilight, "We can't get past the unicorn guards. I'm sorry, Celestia."
"There's no need," replied Celestia, as she used a discharge of gold magic to repel a brown pegasus that was charging towards her. "Look ,"
The other side of the room started growing dark, and out from a door, a tall, dark blue Alicorn charged in.
"Sister," shouted Luna, "I'm here!"
The guards on her side of the room charged towards her, but Luna conjured a dark, black cloud over her head and there was a huge, bright flash of lightning. The guards were thrown backwards.
"Luna," Shouted Celestia, "There is a battalion of enemy Unicorns approaching from my direction!"
Princess Luna was firing beams of dark blue magic at approaching guards as she shouted back her reply.
"Don't worry, Tia!" She said, "If we can keep these ones busy for long enough, we will have already won the battle!"
"How?" shouted Celestia
"He's coming!" Said Luna, simply.
The battalion of unicorn guards was fast approaching the group.
"We'll have to hold them off!" Shouted Twilight to her friends.
The guards galloped towards the group, and Twilight shot out some purple spells and the oncoming crowd and a few of the guards fell to the ground. However, the others created a magical blue shield around the entire group, leaving them resistant to any magical attacks.
Rainbow Dash charged at them, but the lead one fired a well placed stunning spell at her, and she was thrown backwards.
"Rainbow!" screamed Twilight as the blue pegasus was launched towards her.
"I'm...fine," said Rainbow Dash weakly, "I just...need to lie down..."
The others looked in shock at the guards, then charged towards them. Applejack took out her lasso from under her hat and managed to grab onto the nearest guard, but he was only slowed down for a few seconds, as he used his blue magic to lift the rope off of himself.
"Step down!" shouted the guard, "Or you will be responosible for the consequences!"
"Never!" shouted Twilight, "Why are you doing this? Who is your leader?"
The guards of course did not answer, but instead they all stopped about twenty feet away from the group. They all closed their eyes, and their horns started burning bright blue in unison. Suddenly, a wave of magical energy surged forwards, engulfing Spike and the mane six. They tried to move, but found they were frozen in position.
"Get this off me!" Shouted Rainbow Dash, but it was no use. The spell was too strong, and the unicorns trotted right past them towards Princess Celestia.
"Celestia!" shouted Twilight, "Look out!"
Celestia turned around, but it was too late. The guards shot a single beam of magical energy at her, and she too was stunned in place.
Luna had almost finished with all the guards in the room. Just a few more...
Suddenly, a beam of magical energy hit her, and she was stunned in place.
When this happened, the Unicorn guards smiled confidently.
"Looks like the Princes coup was a success," the lead Unicorn said confidently.
"Thou should not hold thy breath," said Luna, and at that moment, a fiendish cackling rang out through the room, the same cackling which had been heard a long time ago in the same room.
The lead Unicorn looked to his side, and there he saw Discord, Lord of Chaos, examining his claws.
"My, my Celestia," he said, without looking up, "I never thought I'd see the day you were defeated by a bunch of pampered Royal Guards,"
"Stop him!" Yelled the lead guard, and they all fired the stunning at him. However, by the time it reached the spot, Discord had gone.
"You Royal Guards really are quite slow, aren't you?" Said Discord's voice, eminating from behind them. Fifteen seperate spells were fired in Discord's direction , but he was gone yet again.
The guards felt something wet rolling down their faces, and looked up to see a group of pink candy floss clouds above them, dribbling chocolate milk rain.
"Stop it, serpent!" Shouted the unicorn guard, "I order you in the name of Canterlot!"
"But Canterlot is not rightfully yours, is it now?" Came the draconequus's snide voice. "Release everypony if you want me to stop, or continue and deal with the consequences.
The chocolate milk puddle forming on the ground suddenly transformed into a puddle of banana skins. The guards tried to run out, but ended up slipping over, much to the amusement of Discord. The few concious Earth pony guards were still slopping in the chocolate puddles and the pegasus guards found themselves entangled in the candy floss clouds. It looked as if Discord had won.
From the two wooden doors where Celestia, was trapped, a tall, white unicorn strode in.he was wearing an expensive tuxedo and had a manicured blonde mane. When they saw him, all the Unicorn guards bowed down on their front hooves. Despite her being stunned, Rarity could not help let out a shout of disgust.
"You!?" She said, aghast.
The figure walked up to the guards with an irritating smile on his lips.
"My lord Blueblood," said the lead Unicorn, "We have failed you."
Chapter 4-The Capturing of Discord
The frozen ponies and Spike looked on in shock. They had all heard about Blueblood from Rarity, and gathered that he had been a complete jerk, but none of them had expected him capable of this. Celestia, however, looked furious.
Fluttershy looked around at her friends in terror. There must be some way to help them, she thought, especially poor Spike. He's only a baby dragon, after all.I'm lifting the stunning spell . It was Discord's voice. She remained silent, determined not to let Blueblood know she was being released.I'll distract the prissy fool, continued the voice Get away and raise the alarm
The battle was over. The Princesses were magically levitated away to a top secret location, leaving Discord, Spike and the mane six alone.
Chapter 5-The Canterlot Caves
The Royal Guards marched the prisoners down the hall, led by Blueblood. When they finally stopped, they were in a new room, with a sign : Canterlot Public Library
The room was filled with bookshelves. There was an hourglass in the centre, and a huge, sunny window with a view of the entire City of Canterlot.
At this, Twilight's eyes widened.
"Spike," she whispered, "This was the last room we were in before we moved to Ponyville. It seems so long ago!"
"Oh, yeah," said Spike, "Never did manage to give that present to Moondancer," he added, with a hint of regret.
Blueblood trotted up to the huge hourglass, and gave an order to his troops.
"Guards, open it!" He shouted.
The guards nodded, then their horns all glowed blue. The hourglass was surrounded by a blue aura, which caused it to levitate away, revealing a huge hole in the floor.
"This is where my worst prisoners will go," he laughed, "There will be no way for anyone to find you here, as I will close off these caves forever."
"Our families will hear 'bout this," shouted Applejack, "They'll come looking!"
"No they won't," Blueblood smirked, "Because the last time these caves were discovered, Princess Celestia removed all information of the caves or how to access them, to stop invaders like the Changeling Queen from using them again. There is no way your family could find you, even if they tried!"
At this, Rarity finally lost her patience.
"Sweetie Belle will be worried sick!" She snarled at him, "I cannot believe I could have had anything to do with you!"
At this, Blueblood smiled. He walked up to her and held her head in his hoof.
"My dear Rarity," he said, "Had you stayed with me, you could have been so much more. You could have ruled with me, as a Princess, and Sweetie Belle would have been next in line for the throne!"
"You are insane if you think she would want anything to do with you!" Retorted Rarity,
"So be it," said Blueblood. He turned to the group of unicorns.
"Guards," he barked, "Lower the prisoners into the minecart."
The ponies, the dragon and the draconequus were levitaed down the hole, each into individual carts.
"Don't forget to write!" Blueblood remarked snidely, and the prisoners felt their carts being pushed forwards, and they fell downwards into the dark abyss.
Fluttershy felt like she was going to be sick. She had never liked it when she had been in the Junior Flight Camp and she had seen the others fly at speeds she could not dream of ever doing. They had made her feel slightly dizzy. She had gotten over that now, but she had never travelled so fast before in her life. She opened her eyes to see huge, dark caverns of crystal and stalagtites rush past her vision. She covered her eyes and hugged the floor of the cart, hoping it would be over soon.
The minecarts finally ground to a halt. Everyone rose slowly out of their individual metal caskets and converged together on the stony floor. The cavern they were in was huge; crystals and rock stretched on for as far as the eye could see. The only light source was the soft glow from Twilight's horn which illuminated the cave.
"Is everypony okay?"She asked.
There was a collective 'yes' from everyone in the group, except Fluttershy, who was still laying flat on her minecart.
Rainbow Dash flew up to Fluttershy and tapped her on the shoulder.
"Uh, Fluttershy?" said Dash, "I think you can get out now,"
Fluttershy crawled out of the cart and slowly joined the rest of the group.
"Hey, Twilight," said Dash, "How is it that we can move again?"
"If we are far enough from the unicorns who cast the spell, " explained Twilight, "It automatically wears off,"
"What should we do, Twilight?" Asked Applejack, "There must be someway of getting out of this darn cave system."
"I don't know," said Twilight. "I was thinking that we could try and follow the minecart track, but Blueblood is likely to expect us to do that, so he has likely blocked it up."
"If I may, Princess," interrupted Discord, "I was under the impression that you have been in these caves before. Surely you have some idea of how we can get out?"
"Well," said Twilight, "After I got out, I did do some research on these caves before Celestia removed the information, and I think if we we head west, there might be a way out."
"But how will we know which way is north?" Asked Pinkie Pie, "Everywhere looks the same in this place."
"Don't worry, everpony," said Twilight, "I have a spell which will point us north. Just give me a few seconds of concentration..."
Twilight closed her eyes, and her horn stared to glow. Suddenly, she was lifted a few centimetres off the ground, and she slowly started turning, like a magnetised needle on a piece of paper in a water dish.
When she had turned about 90 degrees, her horn stopped glowing, and she landed on the floor.
"According to my spell," she said, "North is this way. Therefore, if we head in that direction," she turned to her left, "We should be able to find the exit."
"Well, what're we waiting for?" said Rainbow Dash, "Let's get out of here!". She flew forwards, only to feel herself being pulled back by her tail.
"Hold yer horses, girl," came Applejack, who was holding onto Rainbow's tail with her mouth, "We should wait for Twilight to come up with a plan. These caves are likely to be dangerous, after all."
"Applejack's right," said Twilight, "We'll need to tread carefully; the mining has made the rocks and crystals in these caverns very unstable, and they could fall in at any moment if they are disturbed."
Twilight cantered forwards, and the others ran behind.
Chapter 6-The Beast in the Caves
Twilight and her friends walked across the dark, stony path with crystals rearing up on either side. Rarity looked at them with wide eyes.
As the company walked on, Spike asked Twilight a question.
The creature looked like something from the gates of Tartarus. It had an emerald green snake's head with two blue eyes, sparkling with malice. It had the body of a leopard, the front paws of a lion and the back legs of a deer. It padded towards them, snarling.
After the event had finished, Twilight turned to Discord, her eyes filled with fear and anger.
The dishevelled band tread towards the light. Although it wasn't particularly bright, the grouo had been in the caves long enough for it to dazzle them, as they approached the exit to the outside world. However, as they approached the cave exit, they noticed something was wrong. There was a huge black gate barring their exit, and a group of guards, with members of all three races, were in front of the gate, all asleep except one unicorn.
"Twilight," said Spike, "That gate is made out of that same black crystal you were trapped by in the Crystal Empire."
The group crept out of the gate, being completely ignored by the grey unicorn, who was wandering off in a random direction, abandoning his post.
Chapter 8-Journey from Canterlot
The skies above the company were turning dark, as black clouds started forming above. There was a slight drizzle pouring from them, covering the friends below.
Twilight suddenly stopped. She pointed forwards with her hoof.
Author's Note
Haven't had much time to update with GCSE's and stuff, but here you go. Next chapter. Like, comment, follow etc. all that stuff.
The sky blue expanse glared in sharp contrast to the bleak, stormy skies above. The once friendly and quaint town of Ponyville now seemed dark and forboding. Inside the shield, several small groups of Canterlot Soldiers marched menacingly, rounding up the inhabitants of Ponyville into the Town Hall. Twilight suddenly noticed how exposed they were- if one guard were to simply look out the force field, they would be spotted. She whispered,
"Quick, everypony behind that rock,"and she jumped behind a large boulder. Everyone else did the same.
"You know," whispered Rarity, "I can't help but think that this rock feels somehow familliar to me..."
"Shhh!" Said Twilight.
"What's the plan?" whispered Spike.
"We need somepony to infiltrate Ponyville," she replied, "I know there's a book in my library which has some information on the Hollow Shades. The only problem is, if any of us go in, we'll be recognized immediately."
"I think I may have the solution to that, Twilight Sparkle," came Discord's voice, and when she turned around, she saw a grey stallion with a tornado shaped cutie mark looking back at her.
"D-Discord?" she whispered,
The stallion nodded, smiling.
"Those mindless guards would never visit Ponyville unless ordered to," he explained, "So none of them will be able to tell me apart from anypony else."
"But how will you get past the force field?" Whispered Twilight.
"Like this,"
Discord's horn glowed blue and he quietly teleported into the other side of the field.
"But how could he get past-" began Twilight.
"He's Discord," Fluttershy reminded her with a smile.
Discord looked around Ponyville, and even he could not suppress a feeling of shock for what he saw. The Ponyville as he knew it was gone. Sugarcube Corner was boarded up, Carousel Boutique looked as though it had been closed for years and Twilight's library was cordened off with yellow and black tape. Suddenly, an orange pegasus with a blue mane stormed up to him.
"You there," barked the guard, and Discord saw a nameplate marked 'Flash Sentry'. He didn't know why, but Discord felt a strong surge of loathing for this pegasus.
"Why aren't you in the Town Hall?" Shouted Flash.
"Why, I thought Ponyville was a place which allowed ponies to go about their buisness unhindered?" Said Discord.
Flash could have sworn he had heard this voice somewhere else, but couldn't quite place it.
"The days of your weak Princesses are over," snarled Flash, "And Lord Blueblood has decreed that everypony in Ponyville must be rounded up in the town hall. So move!"
Discord had no choice but to follow the mass of ponies crowding into the hall.
The town hall had never been so packed since the last Summer Sun Celebration, which was when Nightmare Moon had returned. As soon as the last few ponies were herded into the hall, the doors closed. And the lights dimmed. A spotlight lit up a small podium on the stage, and onto it walked a large, white unicorn stallion. It was Prince Bluebood. He trotted up to the podium, cleared his throat and began to read.
"My subjects,' he began, 'My dear, uncultured subjects. Since you were born, and since many of your ancestors were born, you have all been under a terrible, terrible tyranny. The Princesses who ruled over you have been threatning you with eternal night and blackmailing you with refusing to bring forth the night and day unless you submit to their rule.''
There were gasps of shock and outrage from the audience. No one there (except Discord and the guards) had ever actually met Prince Blueblood, but since he was royalty and all of them had liked the Princesses well enough, they all assumed he was a fairly decent stallion. Now many of them were starting to reconsider their assumption.
'Well,' continued Blueblood, 'I come bearing good news. For I, your glorious Prince, have overthrown and imprisoned the two upstart oppressors and replaced them with a far smarter, wiser, more handsome and better candidate in every regard! Myself!' He grinned, obviously expecting some show of gratitude from the citizens of Ponyville. What he recieved was an all encompassing silence. Discord realized this was the perfect chance to create a distraction and escape, so, making sure nopony was looking, he summoned a box of tomatoes and telekenetically launched one at the stage. It hit Blueblood directly on the muzzle. Suddenly, the entire crowd started booing, and the unicorns in the Hall started telekinetically launching tomatoes from the box onto the stage. As the uproar continued, Discord silently slipped out the double doors into the quiet streets of Ponyville.
As soon as he was out, Discord instantly snapped back into his draconequuine form. He stretched himself and shuddered.
'How do those ponies manage to survive so long in such short, predictable bodies?' he mumbled. He looked around, and saw Twilight's library rearing up ahead of him. He grinned. That wasn't too difficult, was it? He thought. He snapped his talons and was instantly teleported to the interior of the library. He looked around the room, then realised something which he knew he should have seen ages ago-he had no idea what this book looked like or how he would find it. He said out loud, with a paw over his brow, 'Ugh, this is just like Twilight Sparkle-she thinks she has everything figured out, yet there's always some flaw in her thinking not apparent until the very end.' Suddenly, he heard a voice.
'Who?' It said.
'I would expect everyone to know who Princess Twilight is,' he said to the disembodied voice, 'At least, anyone who hasn't spent these past years bansihed from Equestria.'
Discord looked around, and staring at him from outside the window was a small bird-an owl.
'Ah yes,' Discord said, 'Twilight's little avian friend,I should have guessed. I suppose you know the location the book on the Hollow Shades that your owner has so wisely neglected to inform me of?' The owl hooted again and flew over to the bookshelves, where he picked out a book entitled 'Expert Mages of Equestria.' Discird grabbed it and said to himself while walking towards the door 'That moron Blueblood didn't lift a hoof to stop me. Hmmf, how the Princesses could have been outwitted by him I really have no-' as he opened the door, Discord was greeted by an scowling Blueblood and a small legion of 15 Royal Unicorn Guards. Discord gulped at the sight.
'Oh pooh,'
Author's Note
Because of A-levels, I'll put this on hiatus. At the latest ai may update this again in my next Summer holidays, but maybe before that.
Chapter 10-Discord's arrest
Rainbow Dash paced across the dry, dusk grass. She, Twilight and Fluttershy were on watch whilst the rest of the group rested in Twilight's magically conjured tent.
''Where's that draconequus gone to?'' Whined Rainbow Dash. ''He should have been back hours ago! What's taking him so long?''
"Ugh, this is SO humiliating!"
When they arrived at Canterlot, Discord was taken to the highest watchtower. Several layers of shield spells were placed around it, making any attempt to escape impossible.
Owlowiscious looked out from behind the bookshelves. Everypony seemed to have gone. As he cautiously crept out, he noticed a flash of white in the corner. It was there only a second, but it appeared to be heading for the door. He flew over to the spot, only to hear the door creek open and then slam shut loudly dislodging a book from the shelves. Owlowiscious read the title 'An explorer's guide to the Hollow Shades'
Angel bunny scampered out of the oak tree. He knew something was wrong-Fluttershy had never left him alone this long without someone to care for him. And those guards which took away that ridiculous draconequus did not look friendly at all. There was only one thing to do. Though he strongly disliked Discord, he was the only person who knew where Fluttershy was. Angel bunny needed to save Discord.
The train station was packed with Royal Guards attempting to get back to Canterlot. Prince Blueblood had evidently thought it far below his station to give orders to mere plebs, so he had left them to get on with it. The result was pandemonium. Angel bunny attempted to squeeze past them, but he was lucky not to get stepped on by a careless earth pony, let alone successfully able to board the train. Angel buried his head in his paws. He glanced at the timetable and noticed it said, in glowing, magical writing ''FRIENDSHIP EXPRESS IS EXPERIENCING SLIGHT DELAYS'. There must be some other way to get into Canterlot quickly! He thought. He saw a group of pegasi flying away one by one. He would never convince them to let him across, unless... Suddenly, an idea formed in angel's mind.
The nearest guard was a bright orange pegasus with a blue mane. He looked down and saw a white rabbit standing at his hooves. He frowned at it and raised his hoof, about to stomp on the small, white thing. Suddenly, it leaped onto his foot and bit, drawing a drop of blood.
And with that, the pegasus took the cage in his mouth and flew towards the ivory tower in the mountains.
Author's Note
Hello! I'm not dead! Yay! I have no clue when I will be updating this story next, but hopefully it will be soon as I have completed my ridiculous examinations.
Chapter 11 - Home is Behind
Blueblood tried to get to sleep on what was once Princess Celestia's Royal bed, but he couldn't. The noise from the tower was just too loud.
"Urgh," He muttered 'Does that vulgar serpent ever rest? How am I supposed to recover from having to deal with all these ridiculous commoners without my beauty sleep?" He thought about sending another guard to stop him, but decided against it. There were already too many guards with spaghetti for manes in the Hospital Ward without having to add more to their number. Irritated, he put a cushion over his head to try muffle out the constant roars and shrieks coming from Discord's jail cell.
Discord lay on his couch, surrounded by beasts and creatures that looked as if they had been taken from the deepest and darkest pits of the imagination. The Draconequus seemed oblivious to their yammering as he absent mindedly clicked his fingers to change the images on the screen in front of him whilst using his paw to eat kernels of popcorn.
"No, I am your father!"
* Snap! *
*I will take the Ring to Mordor!"
* Snap *
*Yer a wizard, Harry!"
With one final snap of his claw, the screen turned off. The moment it did so, the beasts that were fighting and roaring vanished instantly. This moment of silence was short lived, however, as Discord produced a grammarphone and it started playing the sounds of the beasts no more quietly than before.
"Don't want our friend downstairs getting too comfortable, now do we?" He muttered to himself.
Discord got off the couch and started pacing up and down his cell, with rubber boots on that made a squeaking noise with every hoofstep he made.
This is worse than being encased in stone, he thought. At least when he had been in stone, he had had some sort of a plan to get himself out. The elements' power wanes after a few millennia, and he needed only to be patient to free himself. Now, however, it was different. With a battalion of mages enchanting his cage every night, there was precious little chance of ever getting out without help. Discord reflected on how ironic it was that he, the spirit of Disorder and Strife needed to rely on the bearers of the Elements of Harmony to save him. But deep in his octarine heart, he knew there was no hope for them to save him. He summoned a bed and fell asleep, with his last thoughts before unconsciousness being a vague hope that Flutterhshy at least would not be resigned to a similar fate to his.
"Halt!" Shouted an earth pony guard to an orange pegasus flying towards Canterlot. "You are currently flying in restricted
airspace! Land in the designated zone and prepare to be taken to Prince Blueblood!''
"Relax," called the pegasus. "I'm here to see Blueblood anyway. This mangy flea-bag attacked me and I want it destroyed under section 287 of the diseased animal act!'
"Hmm..." the guard lent down and saw the white rabbit sitting in the cage with his paws folded and not looking too impressed by the situation.'
"He doesn't look diseased," the guard said, sceptically. "I say we let it go!"
Flash scowled at him.
"Need I remind you that I outrank you and if I want this beast taken to Blueblood, then that is my right under section-"
"Fine, whatever," the guard grumbled. "Take it to Blueblood. But it's not my fault if you get imprisoned for interrupting his 'beauty sleep'!"
The pegausus grinned and trotted to the palace, carrying the cage containing angel bunny in his teeth.
The pegasus knocked upon Blueblood's door fur times. As he did so, a very messy maned princes opened the door.
"What is it that you want?" The prince replied gruffly. "Have you come to deliver my new tail extensions? They should have arrived 3 hours ago!"
"No, Your Majesty," Said the pegasus, " I have come to have this beast put down. He is diseased and-"
"Whatever," Groaned the irate Prince as he levitated angel's cage. "I'll put this...thing on my dresser."
"But Your Majesty,2 the Prince said desperately, "It needs to be put down imme-"
The door slammed in his face and he heard the door bolt.
Disgruntled, he flew into the skies of Canterlot and headed home.
Fluttershy awoke at dawn. She rubbed her eyes with a hoof and trotted out of the tent. There was a thick mist in the air and Fluttershy squinted, hoping to see the form of Discord somewhere in the mist to greet her. There was nothing but cold, blank space wherever she looked. She felt a hoof on her shoulder and jumped, only to see it was Twilight Sparkle, looking at her with a grave face.
"Oh, it's you Twilight," Fluttershy muttered softly "You...startled me."
"I'm sorry about this Fluttershy," Said Twilight in her most sympathetic tone, "But Discord still hasn't come back. We're going to have to go t the Hollow Shades without him."
"But Twilight," Protested Fluttershy, "He has the book! How are we going to get there without him?"
"I already have a rough idea as to where it is," Said Twilight. "And it looks like we have no alternative. Blueblood's troops will be marching out of Ponyville soon, and if we don't leave now, they could catch us. And Discord's sacrifice would have been for nothing."
Fluttershy's worried look turned into a scowl.
"Well, then you can take our friends and go, but I'm not leaving until Discord comes back."
Twilight sighed.
"I know this is hard for you, Fluttershy, but I do not think Discord would want for you to get captured, too."
Fluttershy looked unconvinced.
"Perhaps if we just stay a few more hours-" she started, but Twilight silenced her.
"In the end, I cannot force you to come with us." Twilight said, "The decision to stay here or leave must be yours. But please, Fluttershy, do not make a decision on the spur of the moment. Think of what would be best for everypony, Discord included."
Fluttershy looked into the mist one more time. She could just make out the houses of Ponyville, looking familiar yet somehow different, like they were asleep in the gloom. Her heart sank as she realised that she would not only be leaving her home if she went with Twilight, but Discord and her animal friends. But what other choice did she have? She turned to face Twilight, dejected.
"You're right, Twilight. Let's go."
Author's Note
Here's the next chapter, still technically released in the same year as the last. I hope to update a little more frequently as its the hiatus, but really I have no idea when the next chapter will come out.
Chapter 12-Out of the frying pan
Angel Bunny looked around the room from his cramped metal cage. There was a mirror a couple of centimetres away from him in which he could see his own reflection scowling back at him, as well as a selection of wigs and hair curlers on the mahogany table he was currently situated on. And at the other side of the room, on a Princess sized bed, was the still form of a sleeping white unicorn stallion. Angel smirked at this-now was the time to put his plan into action!
Prince Blueblood awoke to a horrible screeching noise. Across the room, the cage was making a horrible screeching sound. No, not the cage, but the occupant inside it. He got up and hauled himself over to see why the beast was making such an odious racket.
"What is it now, you disgusting creature?" Blueblood said.
He examined the beast closer. It started coughing and retching, as if about to be sick. Blueblood jumped back as if he had been stung.
"Get away from my suit, you beast!" Blueblood snarled 'It's worth a thousand times more than your mangy hide!"
Angel bunny gave a loud, hacking cough.
"Urgh," said Blueblood "This creature is quite obviously infected with some terrible disease! If I don't get rid of it, I could become sick too! My new subjects won't be able to bathe in my radiance if I become ill due to some mangy fleabag!"
Angel bunny smiled inwardly. Now was his chance! Prince Blueblood would let him out and he'd be able to find Fluttershy and...
"ANIMAL CONTROL!" Blueblood shrieked, his voice magically enhanced to reverberate through Canterlot. "COME TO MY QUARTERS HAVE THIS DISGUSTING BEAST INCINERATED!"
Angel's thoughts skidded to a halt. Blueblood yawned and fell back to sleep again.
A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door, and a very tired and ill-kempt Blueblood opened it to reveal a grey, grizzled old unicorn stallion. He had a shiny, golden badge which read 'Trapper Hooves:Animal Control'
and a cutie mark depicting a sickly-looking squirrel behind bars.
"About time you got here." Whined Blueblood "What took you so long? Still throwing rocks at harmless, innocent animals, eh?"
The old buck gave a malicious grin, and Blueblood smiled in return.
"Which is exactly why I chose you for this position." Blueblood said. "Now, begone with this wretched beast. Your King needs his beauty sleep."
Trapper Hooves grabbed Angel's cage, none too gently, and trotted off in the direction of the gates to Canterlot.
Angel's heart was thumping in his chest. This was not how the plan went in his head. He shrieked and tried pulling at the cage door, but it was no use. If he had hoped his screeching was off putting to his captor, then he was sorely disappointed-if anything , the old buck seemed amused by his pained cries.
"That noise will stop soon enough," he chuckled "And instead I'll hear the beautiful crackling of burning fur."
Angel bunny stopped and looked up to the heavens, desperately begging them for mercy. All he saw was a single bird, circling the site where he was headed.
Probably a crow, thought Angel dejectedly, waiting to devour me afterwards.
The old buck stopped on the path to the gates as an orange Pegasus took the cage from him.
"Finally," grumbled Flash "The old fool's let me give this beast what it deserves."
Trapper smirked.
"I wouldn't let the King hear you say that if I were you. He's never taken too kindly to ponies who don't worship him."
Flash rolled his eyes and flew off to a large, round pit filled in with bundles of sticks. He took out a match, lit it, then threw it into the pit. At once, a huge, roaring flame got started. Flash laughed mercilessly as he took out the squirming Angel bunny from his cage.
"Now maybe you'll think twice before touching me again," He hissed. "Or more likely, never think again."
The eagle had been starving. Ever since he had caught word of a diseased animal in the castle, he knew they would take it to the old fire pit. Perhaps the Princesses, in their wisdom, would have taken the creature to a vet to be fixed, but luckily for him, Blueblood did not seem to be a wise or humble pony. The eagle would be getting a good meal tonight!
Angel stared up into the merciless eyes of his tormentor one, final time. Suddenly, he was tossed towards the vengeful flames of the pit. He shrieked and his eyes closed, expecting to feel the flames engulfing his body. But that moment did not come. He felt his body jerk at a nauseating speed, and then a sensation of flying upwards. He dared to glance upwards into a cold, hard face with a cruel, hooked beak. He looked down and could see Flash Sentry shouting and flailing his hooves, yet his slow and untrained wings could never hope to match the speed of the wings of the raptor now carrying him-wings which had been honed by millions of years of natural selection to carry off prey as swiftly as possible.
************
The wind whistled harshly in Angel's ears and rippled coldly through his fur. He had been granted a few more moments, he believed, to collect his thoughts. How could he escape and get to Fluttershy? He instinctively tried to reach for the talons and tug them off, but then stopped himself. That would probably not end well. He glanced down at the ground and saw an old, brown stallion looking up at him. It had a raised hoof which suddenly shot forward, catapulting a small, grey object directly towards Angel!
The stone hit the eagle directly on the head, but did not quite knock the bird out. The animal did, however, lose its balance and started plummeting downwards, towards a tall tower in Canterlot. Angel braced for impact and landed flat on his face into a cold, white surface. His dazed would-be predator looked around and saw something which seemed to spook him, so he took off as fast as he could fly.
Angel got up. He had a terrible headache. He looked upwards and saw several metal bars looming up at him and behind them, a pitch darkness. Suddenly, a noise reverberated through the still night. It was deep, loud and unsettling, as though it contained a millennia of amusement with the smallest hint of malice. And it came from the darkness inside the cage, and into the light stepped the master of chaos himself.
Author's Note
Sorry about the late chapter. School is getting considerably more demanding.
Chapter 13-The Hollow Shades
Chapter 13-The Hollow Shades
The towering trees of the Hollow Shades enshrouded the 6 ponies and dragon. It was as if they had travelled back to the first day that they had met, under the creaking willows of the Everfree Forest. These trees felt just as ancient but somehow even more foreboding.
Applejack lead them beneath the trees across the path. It seemed to Fluttershy that the forest itself was displeased with their presence: she would occasionally see large, insectoid eyes in the branches that would scamper away as soon as she looked at them, and more than once the group tripped over roots that they were sure weren't there mere moments ago.
As they walked, they came to a fork in the path. On one side, there was a still pool and on the other, a churning river.
"To all things and mares I appertain,and yet by some am shunned and distained.
Fondle me and ogle me til you’re insane, but no blow can harm me, cause me pain.
Foals delight in me, elders take fright. Fair maids rejoice and spin. Cry and I weep, yawn and I sleep. Smile, and I too shall grin. What am I?"
The group stopped. Each of them tried to silently figure out the riddle.
As the company sat around, Pinkie Pie leapt up.
The original Pinkie looked back at them, then smiled and waved. Her clone did the same, in union.
After some walking through the dark, ancient woods, they were stopped.
Chapter 14-A Tyrant’s Destiny
Chapter 14-
Each member of the group was expecting the Hollow Shades to look different. One thought it would have gem-encrusted buildings, their sheen so bright it would look like day even in the blackest night. Another was expecting each tree to be crackling with magical energy. Yet another thought their power could come from the earth itself.
The settlement in The Hollow Shades did not look like any of these. The lights were simple firefly lanterns, and the buildings were simply huts with thatched roofs. And all around, there was nopony to be seen.
“ Perhaps they have found some way of disguising it, darling.” Suggested Rarity.
The companions sat around a campfire in the night, with the guest hut looming over them.
The first ponies to surround them were the Unicorns. Each one was armed with a full body paralysis spell, and as the group looked out of their hut, they saw the Pegasi flying in towards them.
“Shame,” drawled Blueblood, “Because if you don’t, or if you try and set your pet Draconequus on it, I shall have my unicorns level this village to the ground. There shall be nothing left but a faint haze of magical energy, and all these innocent ponies will have died because you were too cowardly to face justice!”
The 8 friends walked out of the hut, and down the dirt path, to where the army was waiting.
“Kill him!” Snarled Blueblood, “ Kill them all!”
The dirty white unicorn was left, alone, on a bed in the centre of a desolate village. The dust that had been kicked up by the guards now covered him, ruining his mane and reducing him to a silent, quivering mass.
“Y’know,” Said Rainbow Dash, as they trotted back to Ponyville, “I was expecting a huge battle or something, like what happened with Celestia and Chrysalis! Huge magic beams and explosions and stuff.”
The End
Author's Note
This has been a very long time in the making, but with the series ending soon I thought I should finally put this tale to rest. Thank you so much for staying with me all this time!
Twilight Sparkle and her five friends were all very tired. They had just come back from joining Fluttershy to see the Night Swallow migration. The Night Swallow was now a very rare bird in Equestria; after Princess Luna was banished, their numbers slowly went into decline, and not even Princess Celestia could help them. Many experts were worrying that they could go extinct, something that almost never happened in the lands of Equestria. However, since Princess Luna was restored, the animals were starting to increase in number. Fluttershy had been even more excited to see the migration than she had been when she was going to see the Breezies,and nopony could possibly have denied her offer to go and see the migration. And everypony agreed it had been wonderful:the birds were very beautiful, and had dark blue, shimmering feathers that looked as if they were imbubed with the light of a thousand stars, and when they caught the light of the moon, they looked as if they had been bathed in silver. However, the migration had lasted well into the night, and when the ponies got back, there was a full moon hanging in the sky,
As they reached the town square of Ponyville, Rainbow Dash gave a large yawn.
"I don't know about you guys," she said, "But I think it's about time for me to hit the hay."
The rest of the ponies, except Fluttershy, nodded and muttered in agreement. Even Pinkie Pie had drooping eyelids. Fluttershy, however, was sitting near the gentle, tinkling fountain, staring up at the night sky. A soft wind blew through her mane.
Twilight noticed and walked up to her.
"Fluttershy, is there something wrong?" she asked in a concerened tone.
"Oh...no,"said Fluttershy,"No, nothing is wrong,"She paused, "Well, nothing here, I think,"
"What do you mean by that?" asked Twilight curiously.
"I don't really know, Twilight," she replied, "But I think this night is important, somehow."
At this, Twilight smiled.
"The swallows were really beautiful, weren't they?" she said, "I've read that if their quills are used correctly, they can be very powerful at channeling magic..."
"No, Twilight," interrupted Fluttershy, "It's something bigger than the Swallows, something more dangerous..."
At that moment, a small, two legged baby dragon came running from the direction of the Golden Oaks Library towards the ponies.
"Twilight!" he yelled, panting for breath"I have...a message...from the Princess..."
"Spike, dear, whatever is the matter?" asked Rarity. There was a bright green flash, and a scroll appeared from Spike's burst of flame. Twilight levitated it with her magic, and read it out loud.
"My dearest Twilight Sparkle," she began," I do not have much time to send this letter. Come to Canterlot as fast as you can. Bring only those you trust the most. Do not let anyone else know you are coming.
Your Mentor,
Princess Celestia."
Twilight turned the scroll around, but there was nothing written on the back. She looked exceptionally worried.
"Come on, everypony," she said, "I don't know why the Princess wrote me this, but I can tell that there is something very serious going on. We're going back on the train!" She trotted back towards the station, and her five friends followed her. She stopped, and called,
"You too, Spike!"
The six ponies and Spike all walked, sleepy eyed, onto the train, which slowly chugged forward towards the City of Canterlot, which was silloueted in the large, full moon.
Author's Note
My second proper sized fanfiction. Please be sure to comment on as many chapters as you can, if you have the time.
