Enter, Cloudbuck: the Earth Pony who wants something more
Cloudbuck
Ponyville: 13872
I begin walking down the aisles of the Ponyville Grocery Store, inspecting the unnecessary amount of Milk options they have. I grab the usual Lactose free type, aware of how tasteless it usually is for me, but Twilight be damned if I'm going to sacrifice my night to the shits instead of having a good game night with my friends.
I look at the metal bars lining the floor of the store, and stare at the reflection caused by somepony having one hell of a cleaning strategy, and look at myself. To my dismay, I'm still the same Pony I've always been. Same green fur, pure black hair, and stupid facial expression that I could never stop doing when I look in the mirror.
I chuck the milk jug I had into the Grocery cart, and trot my way over to the checkout. As I'm walking, I see the familiar cloud Cutie Mark I was so ironically given, since I'm an Earth Pony. I'm not at Liberty to discuss how I earned my Cutie Mark right now, so maybe that'll come later. I walk over to the checkout counter, and put the few items on the conveyor belt as a Pony I recognize from the multitude of news stories she's been in.
Her gray hooves struggle a little bit as she tries to straighten out her eyes to see straight, and her yellow mane is messier than anything I saw on the Projector during School.
"Aren't you the Pony who won the last Lunar competition?" I ask, hoping I'm not just flattering some random Pony.
She nods her head, and hands me the bags filled with the items I had put onto the conveyor belt. I grab the bags, and quickly make my way to my A.E.T, before sitting down and telling it my address.
"Travel to 6 Cadenza lane, Ponyville." My body begins buzzing as the A.E.T's light surrounds my body. My body feels like it's being split in half, until a flash blinds my vision, temporarily blinding me.
When my vision comes back, I'm in the Living Room of my house. I see Ampstrength doing his usual thing of playing Maretroid other M, how he can stand it I don't know, with dubstep blaring out of his Subwoofer. He notices me, and turns off the music as I begin going to the kitchen to put the Groceries in the fridge.
"Hey Cloud," He says, tossing an envelope to me. "it's from the Princess, you might have finally been caught."
I roll my eyes, remembering the one time when I stole somepony's wallet out of desperation. I swipe the envelope from his hoof, and rip it open with my mouth as I toss the letter on the floor to read it.
Dear Cloudbuck,
It is with great pleasure that I say, you have been accepted into the 10th Lunar games. You have 12 hours from the time you receive this letter to respond at the training grounds, and demonstrate your skills in combat.
Your loving leader,
Twilight Sparkle.
"Holy shit," I say, ecstatic that I'd actually been accepted. "I was actually accepted. I can finally become somepony else."
I pump my hoof into the air, and give a whoop as Ampstrength glares at me with a look of annoyance in his eyes. I give a sheepish smile, and rush to my A.E.T so I can make it to the training grounds in time.
I rub my eyes, waiting for the blindness to subside as the sound of Ponies sparring and fighting non-living beings fills my ears. The blindness subsides, and I get my first look at the training room. The walls are completely white, aside from a green accent wall where the Competition administrators have set their table. The three administrators that currently surround the table are the most prestigious Wonderbolts in recent history.
Fireflash, a relative of the once great Spitfire and the ex of Ampstrength. Thankfully, she's the one who split with him, so she shouldn't be giving a biased result.
Thundersound, one of the few Wonderbolts who can go faster than sound, but also the only pony who can go faster than lightning. If he were to show up anywhere it would be here, since competition would be his second Cutie Mark.
Finally, there's Aerialstrike, the toughest mare you could ever meet. She trains the Wonderbolts that get stuck with Combat Ops, and the day she retires is the day Twilight dies. It's clearly visible, as she's been around for longer than most inventions I've seen, as well as having more wrinkles than a shirt that never got Ironed.
Fireflash walks up to me, and greets me with a less than stellar welcome.
"Oh great," She says, mocking a gag reflex once she approaches me. "I have to deal with grading you of all Ponies." She shakes her head, and begins telling me where each type of training is. "Let's get this over with. Far back, behind me, is where the C.Q.C practices are held, along with the sparring arena. Try not to get your flank beaten before I get a chance to watch you beaten silly at the Competition.
The area to my right is survival skills, ranged fighting, and some books for the weird Ponies who enjoy studying fighting techniques rather than using them. Little tip: stay away from the blue girl, she tends to be nitpicky to who can enter the trap making area."
I look over to the trap making area, and see a Sky blue Unicorn with a Brown and Yellow mane, levitating a Screw Driver coated with a light purple aura, busily making what looks like a toy Train. She finishes it with a sigh of satisfaction, as she puts it on the ground and uses her magic to propel it to one of the other Ponies on the Training Grounds. The Pony looks at it quizzically, and I see the blue mare hunch over in anticipation of her little prank.
The Pony picks up the Train, and he is immediately bombarded by Confetti and other party products. The mare gives a giggle, and begins to run away as the Pony she had pranked chases after her.
"Also," says Fireflash, getting my attention back. "to my left is the Administrators, don't bug us unless your on the brink of death okay? We don't need any more whiny idiots here." She walks away, leaving me to figure out what to do for the twelve hours I'll be stuck in here.
I look around a bit more, to see what my current competition is. I don't feel the need to watch the Unicorn in the Trap-making area as I've already seen what she's capable of, but I still look in that direction to know what else I'll be dealing with. The only other Pony there is a Scarlet colored Earth Pony, busy forging some form of netting as she sticks out her tongue in focus.
I look to the ranged combat area, and gulp when I see that a multitude of Ponies have hit the Bullseye more than once, and a hoof full of those Ponies can shoot their Arrows with a very small time interval before they can make another precision shot. I decide to stay away from there, as I'm still not the most confident Pony when it comes to holding a Bow in my mouth.
The C.Q.C. area looks even worse, as there's way too many Ponies here today for the small amount of equipment in the room. The ones who couldn't snag some equipment went right to sparring, and most of them has gotten beaten beyond recognition after fighting a Stallion who looks insanely vicious. He has a completely shaved head, save for a small patch of black across the back, and a light green mane. His Cutie Mark represents his fighting ability as it's two swords crossing over a suit of armor. If he was a Pegasus he'd definitely be a superior rank in the Wonderbolts, but his glowing horn shows that it's not a possibility.
I cautiously move towards the trap making area, trying not to attract the attention of the Unicorn who had made the toy Train. I get within close proximity of her, and she looks up at me. I stop, and wait for her to react before I do something I'll regret in the competition. She squints at me, then pushes her glasses back up her snout.
"Why are you just standing there?" She asks me, her tone not malicious in any way as I thought it would've been. "it's not exactly practical to sit and do nothing in a practicing area for a fighting tournament."
I take a sigh of relief before answering her.
"I was told that you were a bit choosy about who could use this area." I put my left foreleg behind my neck and give a sheepish smile, before she returns a small smile of her own.
"Now who told you that?" she asks "One of the administrators?" I nod my head, looking towards the ground a bit as I realize that Fireflash was messing with me yet again. She shakes her head, shrugging it off as if it were nothing. "Honestly, some times I think those three are trying to help somepony they've already put bets on."
I see her give a glare to Aerialstrike, who's buy giving quick tips to a Pegasus who's struggling with her knife wielding. I look back to her, and give a shrug as I look at her unusual Cutie Mark, which is the outline of a heart, with wings extended on the widest side of the Heart.
"What's your Cutie Mark supposed to represent?" I ask, giving her a quizzical look. She closes her eyes and gives a smile, before responding.
"Ponies need to keep some secrets, don't you think? My Cutie Mark is one of them. My name, however, is something I'm willing to give provided you give me yours." Seeing no threat from her, I decide to give what she's asking for.
"I'm Cloudbuck, ironic for an Earth Pony I know, but my parents were told I was a Pegasus when I was born." She giggles a bit, and stops levitating her tools for a second before standing up and bowing.
"Sweet Disaster is my name, and I'm glad to meet somepony new." She sits down again, and gets back to making whatever form of toy, weapon, or prank she's been working on since I met her. I grab what equipment I can from the table next to me and start crafting some form of net, talking to Sweet Disaster all the while.
Prologue: The death of royalty
Celestial Throne Room: 2637 AP
Twilight ran into the Throne Room, tears streaming down her face as she tried to suppress the memory of her Mentor passing away moments ago. She sat down infront of the Throne that had supported the resting body of the deity that had brought light to the land of Equestria since the dawn of a land ridden from Discord's chaotic imagination, now barren and cold, as it will be until Luna accepts her role of the new Sun Goddess.
Twilight looked out the window, reluctant that she'll ever be happy again. She could still remember the warm embrace that she had received as Celestia died in her hooves. Her last words would be treasured by Celestia as long as she'll remember.
"Don't be startled that you now control the Night, and try not to turn into a Nightmare like what happened with Luna. Most importantly, don't look at anything negative. Forever and always, Your loving mentor.
Celestia had slipped into the endless black sea of death shortly after, and Twilight ran into the Throne room shortly after realizing that it was to be a letter, had Celestia not said it out loud. She sat there, staring at the Throne as she cried herself to sleep
Ponyville Library: 3795 AP
Twilight opened the all too familiar letter, and read it for the fifth time. Cadance had just been assassinated by a changeling, shortly after Luna's passing. The letter contained news of both deaths, and the information that she must become the impromptu Deity of both Sun and Moon the day after.
She had just raised the Sun, and decided she needed a day off from royal duties so that she could have alone time remembering what Ponyville used to be like. She looked outside at the bustling streets a block away from the Library, and couldn't help but marvel at her inventions being used more casually than a hat, or a hoof for some Ponies. She had invented Prosthetics, and the injured Ponies who had lost limbs, or even wings and horns in some cases, were able to live like normal people for the first time since they lost whatever body part that ailed them.
She noticed an old carriage, the kind Manehattan used to use before they switched to Automated Equine Transporters (A.E.T.s), and couldn't help but marvel as she watched a Lone Pony use it for a Training regime.
Twilight walked out of the Library, and waved to anypony that looked at her as she glided back to Canterlot to finish some Royal business.
