Monochrome Mystery and the Lost Kingby ReddioneChaptersA Meeting with a MareChapter 1: The CaseChapter 2: The JourneyChapter 3: The DescentChapter 4: What Lies BeneathArtefact: The King's Lost FilesChapter 5: The CaptureA Meeting with a MareThe doors swung open to the tavern, revealing the sleek body of a mare. She walked rhythmically, but the sound of her hoofsteps was lost to the slurred chatter of the intoxicated stallions that surrounded her. However, she was only here for one pony, and she subtly scanned the room. Just as expected, in the far corner of the room, there was a lonely stallion sitting by himself, drinking apple cider. She strided over, and quickly sat down. "Monochrome Mystery?" she enquired. "Yes?" the stallion mumbled, and looked up slowly. "I've heard tales of your..." – she paused to think of her next words – "detective skills, and I believe you could be of help to me." Monochrome scrutinized the pegasus that sat in front of him. She had never introduced herself, but he could tell quite a lot from her appearance. She was rather healthy, and obviously had money to spare, as she wore the clothes that were in fashion currently. However, he noticed a small amount of fibre around her throat that didn't match the colour of the clothes - she obviously changed her clothes a lot. She had two black saddlebags, one of which was bulging, but the other seemed almost empty. Her wings were well looked after, and she seemed to generally flaunt how good she looked. "Yes, I'm listening." He shook his head to dismiss to clear his head of his previous thoughts, and earned a confused look from his client. "Well then. Recently, I've been doing some research into the past rulers of Equestria, and I believe I have found something interesting. "I believe Celestia's rule has been built on lies. Scattered around in historical books are hints at a past ruler, but they don't make any appearance in any books written after she rose to the throne. I've managed to locate some sort of tomb relating to this king, and I wanted you to investigate." Monochrome stifled a yawn, and looked at the pony sat across from him. He sighed, and replied, "I'm a detective, not an adventurer." "I was afraid you'd say that, so I brought you this." She pulled out a bag filled to the brim with bits, and Monochrome's eyes lit up as soon as he saw it. He quickly estimated the amount of money in the bag, and slowly began to nod. "I guess I'm in then. So, where is this tomb?" "Well, we don't exactly know yet... We'll tell you when we know," she replied, carefully choosing her words to make herself sound more confident. "Where shall I find you then?" As he asked his final question on the matter, the mystery mare stood up, and began to walk away. She laughed quietly as she said, "Oh, you won't find us. We'll find you." The doors to the tavern swung open, and Monochrome's client walked out, and was gone as mysteriously as she appeared. Chapter 1: The CaseIt had been a few weeks since Monochrome's meeting with the strange mare, but she still had not contacted him. His mailbox was slowly gathering dust, and when he went to the same tavern in which he had met, nobody approached him. He sat in his home, quietly going through his conversations with her. In his mind, he had assigned the name 'Sleek Secrets' to her, as he found it hard to constantly call someone 'her' or 'them' - it just didn't seem right in his mind. "So... she said she would meet me, and yet she didn't even ask where I lived," he thought out loud. "And yet she seemed adamant she would find me. Maybe Sleek Secrets has friends around town? Come to think of it, she didn't seem like the type to make friends." Monochrome knew that talking to yourself was frowned upon in social conditions; However, he felt like it really helped him think. For some reason, he also enjoyed having debates and arguments with himself, and his thoughts gradually ended up doing so as he began to doubt Sleek Secrets would ever find him. It was at just that moment that the bell on the inside of his door rang. Secretly, he had set up a trip wire at the end of the path to his house, as he had made many enemies in the past, and knew many would attempt to assault him if they found out where he lived. He grabbed a small, sharpened knife and proceeded towards the door. The door creaked open as he cautiously opened it... "Monochrome Mystery?" Stood at his door was the very mare he had been thinking about just minutes ago. "How... how did you find me?" he said, obviously astounded she was stood there at his door. "I know people." As she replied, she strode past Monochrome and walked into his living room. "Now then... I've been told to give you more information on the case we've talked about. Come, sit down. We have much to discuss." "Hey, you can't just strut around my house like you own it!" Monochrome cried out, but decided to sit down anyway. "OK, so here is what we've found out so far... "Have you noticed that all of the stories from the past involve 'Princess' Celestia, Luna or Cadence? Discord, Sombra, Nightmare Moon - all defeated by one or more of them using the Elements of Harmony to solve everything. We found it suspicious that all this happened with one or two alicorns, and yet in the present the power of the Elements can only be harnessed by six ponies. "One of our researchers found an old, tattered book in Twilight's library, with many pages torn out. However, thanks to some of my people, we have deciphered the remaining information and located a tomb under the Canterlot mountains. Our evidence suggests that this is the final resting place of the King of Equestria, but Discord was never buried in a tomb, and Celestia and Luna have ruled for as long as anyone can remember. "We had a team of adventurers journey to there, but we lost contact the second they were out of sight. We found you because of your detective skills - surely you'll be able to make sense of anything you find down there. We are aware you are not an adventurer, but I'm sure you can handle yourself. So, are you in?" Monochrome closed his eyes, and began to look at the situation in his head. If he were to take this opportunity he could discover one of the most interesting conspiracies to ever happen and bag himself a large amount of money, but on the other hand he knew that if he went into the tomb, he could suffer the same fate as the other adventurers - lost to the shadows. "Yes, I am aware. You do realize you think in the third person?" It took a few seconds to register that he been thinking out loud again, and he quickly glanced at Sleek Secrets with an apologetic look. "Well, I guess I can do it. On one condition: I never caught your name." he said quickly, attempting to move the conversation on from him thinking out loud. "Excellent. I'll leave a map on the table. And I think you know my name - Sleek Secrets." "Wha- what?" Once again, Monochrome Mystery was left astounded. "Its easy to plant an idea in someone's head. Maybe it wasn't even you that agreed to doing this. Maybe I made you." With a knowing smile, she placed a neatly folded map on the table and stood up slowly. "I've had a nice chat with you today, Monochrome. I hope you survive this, and maybe we could talk again." As she spoke, she opened the door quietly, and let herself out. "Such a strange character... Well, it won't hurt to look at this map." Monochrome said, and as he did, got up, and started to unroll the map. He sighed, and tutted to himself, as the house became silent once again. Chapter 2: The JourneyMonochrome remembered the journey being much shorter by train, as the lush grassland seemed to stretch over the horizon. He had set off the morning after Sleek Secrets had visited, at the crack of dawn. The plains were known to reach high temperatures in the day, and ponies spread the rumours that it would be desert if is weren't for a magic spell placed on the ground by unicorns that lived between there and Canterlot. For the fifth time, Monochrome paused, opened his saddlebags, and went through his possessions he had brought along. "Pop-up tent - check. Pen and paper - check," he murmured under his breath, although he was aware no-one would hear him out there anyway, "Deerstalker hat -" he put the hat on his head for a moment, and smiled to himself, before packing it back into the bag quickly "- check." Night was coming fast, so after checking his belongings, he began to set up camp, starting with his trusty tent, and starting a campfire with his trusty lighter. He lowered himself until he was lying down half-in the tent, half-out, pulled out a marshmallow - tree-sap marshmallow of course - skewered it on a small nearby stick, and began to toast it over the warm fire. Before he knew it, he was stuffing his mouth with s'mores, and watching the moon hang in the sky. It seemed brighter tonight, more prominent. He found himself staring into the sky, almost hypnotized by the small stars that dotted the sky, and he suddenly realised how tired he was. His eyes began to droop, and he fell into a deep slumber... ~~~~~~~~~~ A young colt is stood under his mother's wing, looking at the stars above Ponyville with her. They are stood outside a small house on an isolated plot of land. The mare's cutie mark is a pen and paper, but her son does not have one yet. "Mommy, one day I want to go to the stars." She sighs as she speaks. "My dear, when you become a big stallion, you'll be able to go further above, and you'll be able to see all of Equestria." "I love you Mommy." "I love you too, Monochrome." A middle-age stallion walks out from the house behind them, obviously extremely drunk. He walks up to the colt, and pulls him from under the mother's wing. The colt begins to shout and cry, and the mare begins to shout at the stallion. He kicks the young, terrified colt out of the way, which causes it to cry even more. The two adult ponies proceed to fight, and are both badly bruised when one runs into the house again, with the other in pursuit. The young colt, still shaking from a combination of the cold and fear, walk in a few seconds after, to be presented with the scene of the stallion edging towards the mare, holding a knife above his head with his magic... ~~~~~~~~~~ Monochrome jolted up, shaking and sweating. He blinked a few times, and quickly began to console himself. "It was just a dream," he whispered, "you're a stallion now. You can't go on being scared by your past." The night had passed, and he quickly began to pack up. He was almost at the entrance now, and he wasn't going to give up. He cantered for the rest of the journey, and it didn't take long to arrive at the cave. He was here, and there was no turning back. Chapter 3: The DescentThe entrance to the cave loomed ominously in front of Monochrome, and the darkness seemed to be unaffected by the daylight, with it shrouding anything more than a stone's throw away. Monochrome produced a small gas lamp, struck a match, lit it, and levitated it slightly above his head, but not before quickly regretting skipping magic class when he was a young colt; the light-casting spells would have helped him here a lot. He swung his head to look at the plains behind him, and turned back to the cave - now was not the time to have second thoughts. Slowly but steadily, he walked into the cave. The walls of the cave had drawings and strange dialogues etched into them, languages lost to time. The walls were cold, and as Monochrome descended further, the tunnel became smaller, until he was forced to crouch down into an uncomfortable position, but he pressed on down nonetheless. To his relief, it wasn't long before it began to widen, but the cave seemed to be much more uniform. to the point of the walls intersecting at exact right angles. "I must be getting close. Why else would someone carve an artificial cave?" he said to himself. At the same time as he spoke, the ground beneath his hooves began to shake. Instinctively, he stepped back, just in time to see a small crack begin to open in the ground. It continued to open until it was the size and shape of a large ball - and then something began to rise from it. It was a small podium, with a weapon made of wood and string. Once it had fully risen from the ground, Monochrome saw exactly what was on the podium. It was a small bow, with a quiver and a note next to it. The note read: Use this bow to pierce the night; use these arrows to spread the light. "Hmm... I was never one for riddles. 'Use these arrows to spread the light'?" As he spoke, the answer suddenly clicked in his head, and he looked ahead into the darkness... A few meters away, there was a unlit torch on the wall. He carefully removed the glass casing of his lantern, and began to walk towards the lantern. However, just as his magic could almost reach the torch, a magical shield formed around it, casting a low, throbbing light on the floor. There were patterns engraved, and Monochrome could see the ones directly under the torch were either a shade of brown like the walls, or they had a red tint. "Red can never be good. So, if I can't use magic to light the torches, that means that hopefully my theory was correct. And if I shoot a lit arrow at it -" He paused to light the tip of an arrow in his lamp, picked up the bow using his magic, and readied the bow, "- then it should go straight through the shield and light this place up." He shot the arrow directly at the top of the torch, and chuckled to himself as the torch lit up. Just like the tiles under the torch, all of the tiles had different symbols on them, some tiles red, some tiles not. Quickly, Monochrome noted that the red tiles had pictures of villains from the past on them, such as Discord and Nightmare Moon. He also noticed that the normal coloured ones had some random Cutie Marks on them, with a row of Luna's on the other side of the room, and a row of Celestia's at Monochrome's feet. "Well then," he sighed. He began to walk forwards, stepping on the first tile. It clicked down under his feet, and shone bright white for a second, before the light died down and revealed the tile once again, except this time it was green. He stepped forwards again, onto what looked like Twilight Sparkle's cutie mark. Once again, it went through the process of shining, then becoming green. He began to waltz across the floor, the tiles forming a pattern, until he was two tiles away from the other side. He was almost surrounded by Discord tiles, and the only way to continue was a black tile on the floor. Hesitating before he continued, he stepped forwards. The ground began to shake once again. Monochrome looked down, and to his dismay, the black tile had turned red. He jumped across the rest of the puzzle, and galloped towards the exit. As soon as he was safely through the door, he turned back just in time to see the tunnel cave in behind him. "Hmmph," he grunted, "Looks like we're not getting out that way then." Chapter 4: What Lies BeneathThe cave Monochrome was stood in was quite similar to the previous one in shape and size, but the carvings on the walls were much more intricate, and were accompanied by etchings. He brushed his hooves along them, attempting to read the manuscripts. The pictures told the story of a civil war of the Earth Ponies that was stopped by but a young stallion. This pony rose to high ranks within their tribes, and quickly became a peacekeeper. Before long, however, other ponies started to become suspicious, and doubted his abilities, to the point at which he was exiled from all the tribes until further evidence of his peacekeeping surfaced. During this time, he started to meditate. He meditated for days on end, until one night he had a vision. A strange presence spoke to him, and told him he had impressed the spirits. He then fell into a slumber, where he dreamed about becoming an alicorn. To his amazement, he woke up as an alicorn, and ascended to the throne of Equestria. "So... he must have been the ruler before Celestia..." Monochrome pondered. He trotted forwards, still tracing the walls, when the ground under his feet went down slightly. Instinctively, he jumped back and ducked, just in time to hear a arrow whistle by, and a quiet twang when it hit the wall. To his dismay, more holes were appearing in the wall, each one containing a razor-sharp arrow with a glinting arrowhead. Time began to slow down for Monochrome. His extremely fast detective reactions kicked in, and he saw the room in another light. He could draw the trajectories of the arrows in his head, and work out exactly when and where he had to be to escape this room unscathed. The first arrow shot out of the wall. Monochrome ducked quickly, and lifted his hind legs, before lashing out. The arrow suddenly jolted upwards, and stuck into the ceiling. The next arrows came out much faster, and much more at once. Monochrome slammed his body to the floor, and felt the second wave of arrows brush through his mane; he quickly imagined that scenario if he hadn't hit the floor, winced, and dismissed the images that were in his head, just before the third set arrived. They fired in a wave formation, and Monochrome realised he couldn't dodge without using some of his magic. Luckily, there was a strong aura in the tomb, and he found he could easily draw from the area's mana pool. He jumped, and created a spherical shield around him. The arrows split when they came into contact with it, and he breathed out as time sped up for him again. There were no more arrows, and there was a clicking sound coming from the firing mechanism, showing that there was a potential for more ammo. He was lucky. In front of Monochrome was a small pedestal with some worn paper on it. He levitated it up to eye level, and began to read. This will be my final contact with the outside world. Celestia has been hunting me down, and I fear she has found this tomb already. I am writing this so maybe in the future someone will discover this, and find out my story. Celestia's rule is a lie. Artefact: The King's Lost FilesCelestia's rule is a lie," he wrote. "She somehow won the ponies of Equestria over, without even matching my kindness. I still have no idea how, nor did my friends, wherever they have got to. This is my recount of the events leading to my exile, written for my eyes and yours, the reader, only. It all started when she appeared out of nowhere. As soon as Celestia walked into Canterlot, she already had gathered an audience. Everyone was bewildered - she was an alicorn, and yet was not related to royalty! Casually, she walked right up to the Canterlot Castles, where after some convincing,she was let in. She ascended to my room, where she confronted me and my Royal Guard. She bargained with me to split my rule with her, for her to rule at my side. I declined politely, as she had literally just waltzed in to my chambers, and asked to become a queen. When I told her I would not accept, she seemed to become slightly confused, and showed a tiny bit of anger. She turned to her audience, and spoke to them. "This king is not so mighty! You see, I can turn you all into alicorns, so everyone will be equal, and there will be no need for this" - she pulled a disgusted face -" mockery of a king you have here! Please, join me at my house in Ponyville, and you shall all be able to become alicorns!" She then quickly concentrated her magic, and teleported away, purposefully leaving a trail so any other unicorns could follow her. Slowly, the first brave unicorn stepped forwards, pointed his horn towards where the pearly alicorn had just been, scrunched his face in concentration and struggle, and pursued Celestia. Gradually, other unicorns began to follow, and the pegasi and earth ponies began to search the streets for the house that they longed to find. That was when the disappearances began to happen. Every day, a few ponies would disappear, although the exact number of disappearances was unknown - some ponies had no-one that were in touch with them, so nopony would be concerned when they couldn't be found. The newspapers were flooded with lists, and updates on the status of ponies, where to keep safe. The only thing that the ponies had in common was that they all visited Celestia on the same day they were lost - but nopony suspected anything. A few weeks later, the ponies started appearing once again, one by one. However, when they were asked about where they had been, they all looked confused and all said the exact same thing: "I was just with Celestia for a bit - isn't she great?" "The newspapers were suddenly filled with praise about Celestia, and the occasional mention of her being better than the king. Only a few ponies - including me - had not been to see her, and we were all suspicious. Not one of the ponies who had seen her had become alicorns, or even commented on that. The only thing they seemed to care about was 'how great Celestia was!' and nothing else; they were like tapes that had become stuck on the same phrase. We started to become suspicious, and theories about mind control were thrown about. One day, we decided to confront Celestia. We asked around for her location, proposing that we wanted to speak to her. The ponies were obviously programmed with a response, as they all said the exact same thing, confirming our suspicions - she must have tampered with their minds. As soon as we entered the house, I sensed something was wrong. "Hello, old friend." Celestia purred. "Since when were we friends?" I replied. "Why not have a seat? My assistants are just dying to see you." "Look, we know you've been messing with ponies' minds, with some sort of dark magic, or something." "Who, me?" She pretended to be concerned, putting a frown on her face which quickly faded away to reveal a evil smile. "Well, looks like somepony finally found out. I wonder why nopony else got to that conclusion before you did? Oh wait - they are completely under my control." She smirked, and signalled to two pegasi stood behind her. "Please, take the king's assistants away to be... repurposed." They advanced towards my guard, and I tried to stop them with a powerful magic barrier, but they just smashed it, with a single robotic movement, acting like the two ponies had one mind. My guard were quickly captured, and even trying as hard as I could, I was quickly overpowered - I was sure there was a charm or something that had weakened me and my magic. They were helplessly pulled away, kicking, shouting, and shouting words I shall not repeat, and I sat there, unable to help, watching my protection - and my friends - being pulled away, obviously to be turned against me. "You'll never get away with this!" "Oh, I won't? Who will you tell, your royal guard? Don't you mean MY royal guard?" She said, her voice dripping with hatred. Suddenly, I began to feel something strange within me - anger, but not as I knew it. It was corrupting me, yet making me stronger; it was accessing my mana pool, replacing pure magic with distorted, evil magic. Something was telling me I could pull from it even though the weakening charm was still in place. Before I could even think, I was racing towards Celestia, horn facing directly at her, its glow a deep crimson rather than its usual pale blue. After a short period of running directly at Celestia, she sighed, and began to work up her magic. "Some ponies never learn. As of now, you are banished from Canterlot, and the whole of Equestria!" Her magic erupted out her horn, hitting me full force. I began to feel uneasy, and gradually descended into unconciousness. Compared to the pain the magic had caused, it was bliss, and I soon lost utter control. When I woke up, I was in the plains outside the cave I'm in now. I will take refuge in here for a short while, but I cannot for too long - the 'Royal Guard' are searching for me, as they know I have not yet departed Equestria, or even the area around Canterlot. This will be my final message to the world. Goodbye, he signed off. "This is Princess Celestia's Royal Guard! Come out with your horn up!" an all-too-familiar voice shouted from above. "Looks like I finished just in time," he sighed. "No need! I'll surrender myself." Chapter 5: The Capture"So, it was true!" Monochrome said, a slight look of horror crossing his face. "And to say I followed her lead for all my life." A thought suddenly crossed his mind. "What if I was brainwashed?" He shuddered at using the word 'brainwashed', as he disliked such concepts, although he had no choice but to accept it. "It's true, isn't it?" he asked himself. He started to test his suspicions. He tried to think of Celestia as a lying, cheating fool, but try as he might, he couldn't. Something was stopping him, something embedded deep in his mind. "Oh no... It's true." Slowly, he began to feel himself breaking down. His heart sank, and his legs became weak, until he fell to the ground. He had been lied to all his life, and he didn't know what to believe. He couldn't trust his memories, or his thoughts - he was unable to use anything that had got him through life. A grim tear rolled down his cheek, and he decided to just curl up into a ball in the corner of the room. Gradually, the day began to catch up with him, and he began to sleep. A moderately sized colt stands in front of a mirror, his face covered in tears. Slung over his shoulder is a small bag, presumably what small belongings he had. In front of him was a picture of his family, a large, burly stallion, a slender, blue mare, and him. They were all smiling together, although he knew that would never happen; He could remember the horrible night that his mother died, at the hands of his father. He was no longer welcome in the house, and he felt that he couldn't stay any longer. A draft blew through the window - this was his time. Looking back one more time at his small bedroom, he put one hoof on the windowsill, pushed on it, and jumped out. Monochrome woke up to the sound of voices nearby. It took him a second to realise that he should be alone, as he was still half asleep. He jumped up as soon as he could, and got ready for whatever would be upon him in just a moment. There was an almighty crash from outside the room he was in, and two figures stepped through the doorway... "In the name of Princess Celestia, halt whatever you are doing, and come out with your hooves in sight!" somepony shouted. It was the royal guard, and Monochrome had an awful feeling in his stomach. How had they followed him? However, right now, it didn't matter. All that did was that they were there, and they had him trapped. "Listen to me! Celestia has you brainwashed! She's a liar!" he cried, bargaining for his freedom, but to no avail. The guards were unchanged, but as soon as another figure stepped through the door, they kneeled down at her side. She stomped one of her hooves sarcastically. "Well, you're the second to find that out, and I'm sure you know what happened to the first." Her voice was changed from what he knew, almost constantly sarcastic, and evil to the core. "Celestia. I won't go down without a fight. I know what you've done, and you won't get away with it." "Ah, but a minor mistake of my mind control. Guards"- she signalled to one of the guards behind her -"Remind me to schedule an... update to the brainwashing, causing everyone to forget anything about me being evil." The guard nodded, and Celestia chuckled. "And as for you, Monochrome Mystery, you have no choice but to surrender." "And, if I was to fight you?" he questioned, seeing how far he could go. "You can't. See, I've already won." She grinned. "How?" he said, slightly anxious. "Well, I'm sure you figured you've also been brainwashed, when you were born. And every time I did that to someone, I implanted a trigger phrase." "No. You can't have." "But I have." As she spoke, Celestia began to walk slowly towards Monochrome, until they were almost face-to-face. Celestia carefully brought her hoof up to his snout, and gently pressed down. "Sleep." The world began to spiral around Monochrome. He could feel himself descending into the darkness, and tried to fight it, but found himself weakened and unable to resist. After a short struggle, he gave up. He couldn't win. Soon, he felt him lose is body, and his mind began to drift.
A Meeting with a MareThe doors swung open to the tavern, revealing the sleek body of a mare. She walked rhythmically, but the sound of her hoofsteps was lost to the slurred chatter of the intoxicated stallions that surrounded her. However, she was only here for one pony, and she subtly scanned the room. Just as expected, in the far corner of the room, there was a lonely stallion sitting by himself, drinking apple cider. She strided over, and quickly sat down. "Monochrome Mystery?" she enquired. "Yes?" the stallion mumbled, and looked up slowly. "I've heard tales of your..." – she paused to think of her next words – "detective skills, and I believe you could be of help to me." Monochrome scrutinized the pegasus that sat in front of him. She had never introduced herself, but he could tell quite a lot from her appearance. She was rather healthy, and obviously had money to spare, as she wore the clothes that were in fashion currently. However, he noticed a small amount of fibre around her throat that didn't match the colour of the clothes - she obviously changed her clothes a lot. She had two black saddlebags, one of which was bulging, but the other seemed almost empty. Her wings were well looked after, and she seemed to generally flaunt how good she looked. "Yes, I'm listening." He shook his head to dismiss to clear his head of his previous thoughts, and earned a confused look from his client. "Well then. Recently, I've been doing some research into the past rulers of Equestria, and I believe I have found something interesting. "I believe Celestia's rule has been built on lies. Scattered around in historical books are hints at a past ruler, but they don't make any appearance in any books written after she rose to the throne. I've managed to locate some sort of tomb relating to this king, and I wanted you to investigate." Monochrome stifled a yawn, and looked at the pony sat across from him. He sighed, and replied, "I'm a detective, not an adventurer." "I was afraid you'd say that, so I brought you this." She pulled out a bag filled to the brim with bits, and Monochrome's eyes lit up as soon as he saw it. He quickly estimated the amount of money in the bag, and slowly began to nod. "I guess I'm in then. So, where is this tomb?" "Well, we don't exactly know yet... We'll tell you when we know," she replied, carefully choosing her words to make herself sound more confident. "Where shall I find you then?" As he asked his final question on the matter, the mystery mare stood up, and began to walk away. She laughed quietly as she said, "Oh, you won't find us. We'll find you." The doors to the tavern swung open, and Monochrome's client walked out, and was gone as mysteriously as she appeared.
Chapter 1: The CaseIt had been a few weeks since Monochrome's meeting with the strange mare, but she still had not contacted him. His mailbox was slowly gathering dust, and when he went to the same tavern in which he had met, nobody approached him. He sat in his home, quietly going through his conversations with her. In his mind, he had assigned the name 'Sleek Secrets' to her, as he found it hard to constantly call someone 'her' or 'them' - it just didn't seem right in his mind. "So... she said she would meet me, and yet she didn't even ask where I lived," he thought out loud. "And yet she seemed adamant she would find me. Maybe Sleek Secrets has friends around town? Come to think of it, she didn't seem like the type to make friends." Monochrome knew that talking to yourself was frowned upon in social conditions; However, he felt like it really helped him think. For some reason, he also enjoyed having debates and arguments with himself, and his thoughts gradually ended up doing so as he began to doubt Sleek Secrets would ever find him. It was at just that moment that the bell on the inside of his door rang. Secretly, he had set up a trip wire at the end of the path to his house, as he had made many enemies in the past, and knew many would attempt to assault him if they found out where he lived. He grabbed a small, sharpened knife and proceeded towards the door. The door creaked open as he cautiously opened it... "Monochrome Mystery?" Stood at his door was the very mare he had been thinking about just minutes ago. "How... how did you find me?" he said, obviously astounded she was stood there at his door. "I know people." As she replied, she strode past Monochrome and walked into his living room. "Now then... I've been told to give you more information on the case we've talked about. Come, sit down. We have much to discuss." "Hey, you can't just strut around my house like you own it!" Monochrome cried out, but decided to sit down anyway. "OK, so here is what we've found out so far... "Have you noticed that all of the stories from the past involve 'Princess' Celestia, Luna or Cadence? Discord, Sombra, Nightmare Moon - all defeated by one or more of them using the Elements of Harmony to solve everything. We found it suspicious that all this happened with one or two alicorns, and yet in the present the power of the Elements can only be harnessed by six ponies. "One of our researchers found an old, tattered book in Twilight's library, with many pages torn out. However, thanks to some of my people, we have deciphered the remaining information and located a tomb under the Canterlot mountains. Our evidence suggests that this is the final resting place of the King of Equestria, but Discord was never buried in a tomb, and Celestia and Luna have ruled for as long as anyone can remember. "We had a team of adventurers journey to there, but we lost contact the second they were out of sight. We found you because of your detective skills - surely you'll be able to make sense of anything you find down there. We are aware you are not an adventurer, but I'm sure you can handle yourself. So, are you in?" Monochrome closed his eyes, and began to look at the situation in his head. If he were to take this opportunity he could discover one of the most interesting conspiracies to ever happen and bag himself a large amount of money, but on the other hand he knew that if he went into the tomb, he could suffer the same fate as the other adventurers - lost to the shadows. "Yes, I am aware. You do realize you think in the third person?" It took a few seconds to register that he been thinking out loud again, and he quickly glanced at Sleek Secrets with an apologetic look. "Well, I guess I can do it. On one condition: I never caught your name." he said quickly, attempting to move the conversation on from him thinking out loud. "Excellent. I'll leave a map on the table. And I think you know my name - Sleek Secrets." "Wha- what?" Once again, Monochrome Mystery was left astounded. "Its easy to plant an idea in someone's head. Maybe it wasn't even you that agreed to doing this. Maybe I made you." With a knowing smile, she placed a neatly folded map on the table and stood up slowly. "I've had a nice chat with you today, Monochrome. I hope you survive this, and maybe we could talk again." As she spoke, she opened the door quietly, and let herself out. "Such a strange character... Well, it won't hurt to look at this map." Monochrome said, and as he did, got up, and started to unroll the map. He sighed, and tutted to himself, as the house became silent once again.
Chapter 2: The JourneyMonochrome remembered the journey being much shorter by train, as the lush grassland seemed to stretch over the horizon. He had set off the morning after Sleek Secrets had visited, at the crack of dawn. The plains were known to reach high temperatures in the day, and ponies spread the rumours that it would be desert if is weren't for a magic spell placed on the ground by unicorns that lived between there and Canterlot. For the fifth time, Monochrome paused, opened his saddlebags, and went through his possessions he had brought along. "Pop-up tent - check. Pen and paper - check," he murmured under his breath, although he was aware no-one would hear him out there anyway, "Deerstalker hat -" he put the hat on his head for a moment, and smiled to himself, before packing it back into the bag quickly "- check." Night was coming fast, so after checking his belongings, he began to set up camp, starting with his trusty tent, and starting a campfire with his trusty lighter. He lowered himself until he was lying down half-in the tent, half-out, pulled out a marshmallow - tree-sap marshmallow of course - skewered it on a small nearby stick, and began to toast it over the warm fire. Before he knew it, he was stuffing his mouth with s'mores, and watching the moon hang in the sky. It seemed brighter tonight, more prominent. He found himself staring into the sky, almost hypnotized by the small stars that dotted the sky, and he suddenly realised how tired he was. His eyes began to droop, and he fell into a deep slumber... ~~~~~~~~~~ A young colt is stood under his mother's wing, looking at the stars above Ponyville with her. They are stood outside a small house on an isolated plot of land. The mare's cutie mark is a pen and paper, but her son does not have one yet. "Mommy, one day I want to go to the stars." She sighs as she speaks. "My dear, when you become a big stallion, you'll be able to go further above, and you'll be able to see all of Equestria." "I love you Mommy." "I love you too, Monochrome." A middle-age stallion walks out from the house behind them, obviously extremely drunk. He walks up to the colt, and pulls him from under the mother's wing. The colt begins to shout and cry, and the mare begins to shout at the stallion. He kicks the young, terrified colt out of the way, which causes it to cry even more. The two adult ponies proceed to fight, and are both badly bruised when one runs into the house again, with the other in pursuit. The young colt, still shaking from a combination of the cold and fear, walk in a few seconds after, to be presented with the scene of the stallion edging towards the mare, holding a knife above his head with his magic... ~~~~~~~~~~ Monochrome jolted up, shaking and sweating. He blinked a few times, and quickly began to console himself. "It was just a dream," he whispered, "you're a stallion now. You can't go on being scared by your past." The night had passed, and he quickly began to pack up. He was almost at the entrance now, and he wasn't going to give up. He cantered for the rest of the journey, and it didn't take long to arrive at the cave. He was here, and there was no turning back.
Chapter 3: The DescentThe entrance to the cave loomed ominously in front of Monochrome, and the darkness seemed to be unaffected by the daylight, with it shrouding anything more than a stone's throw away. Monochrome produced a small gas lamp, struck a match, lit it, and levitated it slightly above his head, but not before quickly regretting skipping magic class when he was a young colt; the light-casting spells would have helped him here a lot. He swung his head to look at the plains behind him, and turned back to the cave - now was not the time to have second thoughts. Slowly but steadily, he walked into the cave. The walls of the cave had drawings and strange dialogues etched into them, languages lost to time. The walls were cold, and as Monochrome descended further, the tunnel became smaller, until he was forced to crouch down into an uncomfortable position, but he pressed on down nonetheless. To his relief, it wasn't long before it began to widen, but the cave seemed to be much more uniform. to the point of the walls intersecting at exact right angles. "I must be getting close. Why else would someone carve an artificial cave?" he said to himself. At the same time as he spoke, the ground beneath his hooves began to shake. Instinctively, he stepped back, just in time to see a small crack begin to open in the ground. It continued to open until it was the size and shape of a large ball - and then something began to rise from it. It was a small podium, with a weapon made of wood and string. Once it had fully risen from the ground, Monochrome saw exactly what was on the podium. It was a small bow, with a quiver and a note next to it. The note read: Use this bow to pierce the night; use these arrows to spread the light. "Hmm... I was never one for riddles. 'Use these arrows to spread the light'?" As he spoke, the answer suddenly clicked in his head, and he looked ahead into the darkness... A few meters away, there was a unlit torch on the wall. He carefully removed the glass casing of his lantern, and began to walk towards the lantern. However, just as his magic could almost reach the torch, a magical shield formed around it, casting a low, throbbing light on the floor. There were patterns engraved, and Monochrome could see the ones directly under the torch were either a shade of brown like the walls, or they had a red tint. "Red can never be good. So, if I can't use magic to light the torches, that means that hopefully my theory was correct. And if I shoot a lit arrow at it -" He paused to light the tip of an arrow in his lamp, picked up the bow using his magic, and readied the bow, "- then it should go straight through the shield and light this place up." He shot the arrow directly at the top of the torch, and chuckled to himself as the torch lit up. Just like the tiles under the torch, all of the tiles had different symbols on them, some tiles red, some tiles not. Quickly, Monochrome noted that the red tiles had pictures of villains from the past on them, such as Discord and Nightmare Moon. He also noticed that the normal coloured ones had some random Cutie Marks on them, with a row of Luna's on the other side of the room, and a row of Celestia's at Monochrome's feet. "Well then," he sighed. He began to walk forwards, stepping on the first tile. It clicked down under his feet, and shone bright white for a second, before the light died down and revealed the tile once again, except this time it was green. He stepped forwards again, onto what looked like Twilight Sparkle's cutie mark. Once again, it went through the process of shining, then becoming green. He began to waltz across the floor, the tiles forming a pattern, until he was two tiles away from the other side. He was almost surrounded by Discord tiles, and the only way to continue was a black tile on the floor. Hesitating before he continued, he stepped forwards. The ground began to shake once again. Monochrome looked down, and to his dismay, the black tile had turned red. He jumped across the rest of the puzzle, and galloped towards the exit. As soon as he was safely through the door, he turned back just in time to see the tunnel cave in behind him. "Hmmph," he grunted, "Looks like we're not getting out that way then."
Chapter 4: What Lies BeneathThe cave Monochrome was stood in was quite similar to the previous one in shape and size, but the carvings on the walls were much more intricate, and were accompanied by etchings. He brushed his hooves along them, attempting to read the manuscripts. The pictures told the story of a civil war of the Earth Ponies that was stopped by but a young stallion. This pony rose to high ranks within their tribes, and quickly became a peacekeeper. Before long, however, other ponies started to become suspicious, and doubted his abilities, to the point at which he was exiled from all the tribes until further evidence of his peacekeeping surfaced. During this time, he started to meditate. He meditated for days on end, until one night he had a vision. A strange presence spoke to him, and told him he had impressed the spirits. He then fell into a slumber, where he dreamed about becoming an alicorn. To his amazement, he woke up as an alicorn, and ascended to the throne of Equestria. "So... he must have been the ruler before Celestia..." Monochrome pondered. He trotted forwards, still tracing the walls, when the ground under his feet went down slightly. Instinctively, he jumped back and ducked, just in time to hear a arrow whistle by, and a quiet twang when it hit the wall. To his dismay, more holes were appearing in the wall, each one containing a razor-sharp arrow with a glinting arrowhead. Time began to slow down for Monochrome. His extremely fast detective reactions kicked in, and he saw the room in another light. He could draw the trajectories of the arrows in his head, and work out exactly when and where he had to be to escape this room unscathed. The first arrow shot out of the wall. Monochrome ducked quickly, and lifted his hind legs, before lashing out. The arrow suddenly jolted upwards, and stuck into the ceiling. The next arrows came out much faster, and much more at once. Monochrome slammed his body to the floor, and felt the second wave of arrows brush through his mane; he quickly imagined that scenario if he hadn't hit the floor, winced, and dismissed the images that were in his head, just before the third set arrived. They fired in a wave formation, and Monochrome realised he couldn't dodge without using some of his magic. Luckily, there was a strong aura in the tomb, and he found he could easily draw from the area's mana pool. He jumped, and created a spherical shield around him. The arrows split when they came into contact with it, and he breathed out as time sped up for him again. There were no more arrows, and there was a clicking sound coming from the firing mechanism, showing that there was a potential for more ammo. He was lucky. In front of Monochrome was a small pedestal with some worn paper on it. He levitated it up to eye level, and began to read. This will be my final contact with the outside world. Celestia has been hunting me down, and I fear she has found this tomb already. I am writing this so maybe in the future someone will discover this, and find out my story. Celestia's rule is a lie.
Artefact: The King's Lost FilesCelestia's rule is a lie," he wrote. "She somehow won the ponies of Equestria over, without even matching my kindness. I still have no idea how, nor did my friends, wherever they have got to. This is my recount of the events leading to my exile, written for my eyes and yours, the reader, only. It all started when she appeared out of nowhere. As soon as Celestia walked into Canterlot, she already had gathered an audience. Everyone was bewildered - she was an alicorn, and yet was not related to royalty! Casually, she walked right up to the Canterlot Castles, where after some convincing,she was let in. She ascended to my room, where she confronted me and my Royal Guard. She bargained with me to split my rule with her, for her to rule at my side. I declined politely, as she had literally just waltzed in to my chambers, and asked to become a queen. When I told her I would not accept, she seemed to become slightly confused, and showed a tiny bit of anger. She turned to her audience, and spoke to them. "This king is not so mighty! You see, I can turn you all into alicorns, so everyone will be equal, and there will be no need for this" - she pulled a disgusted face -" mockery of a king you have here! Please, join me at my house in Ponyville, and you shall all be able to become alicorns!" She then quickly concentrated her magic, and teleported away, purposefully leaving a trail so any other unicorns could follow her. Slowly, the first brave unicorn stepped forwards, pointed his horn towards where the pearly alicorn had just been, scrunched his face in concentration and struggle, and pursued Celestia. Gradually, other unicorns began to follow, and the pegasi and earth ponies began to search the streets for the house that they longed to find. That was when the disappearances began to happen. Every day, a few ponies would disappear, although the exact number of disappearances was unknown - some ponies had no-one that were in touch with them, so nopony would be concerned when they couldn't be found. The newspapers were flooded with lists, and updates on the status of ponies, where to keep safe. The only thing that the ponies had in common was that they all visited Celestia on the same day they were lost - but nopony suspected anything. A few weeks later, the ponies started appearing once again, one by one. However, when they were asked about where they had been, they all looked confused and all said the exact same thing: "I was just with Celestia for a bit - isn't she great?" "The newspapers were suddenly filled with praise about Celestia, and the occasional mention of her being better than the king. Only a few ponies - including me - had not been to see her, and we were all suspicious. Not one of the ponies who had seen her had become alicorns, or even commented on that. The only thing they seemed to care about was 'how great Celestia was!' and nothing else; they were like tapes that had become stuck on the same phrase. We started to become suspicious, and theories about mind control were thrown about. One day, we decided to confront Celestia. We asked around for her location, proposing that we wanted to speak to her. The ponies were obviously programmed with a response, as they all said the exact same thing, confirming our suspicions - she must have tampered with their minds. As soon as we entered the house, I sensed something was wrong. "Hello, old friend." Celestia purred. "Since when were we friends?" I replied. "Why not have a seat? My assistants are just dying to see you." "Look, we know you've been messing with ponies' minds, with some sort of dark magic, or something." "Who, me?" She pretended to be concerned, putting a frown on her face which quickly faded away to reveal a evil smile. "Well, looks like somepony finally found out. I wonder why nopony else got to that conclusion before you did? Oh wait - they are completely under my control." She smirked, and signalled to two pegasi stood behind her. "Please, take the king's assistants away to be... repurposed." They advanced towards my guard, and I tried to stop them with a powerful magic barrier, but they just smashed it, with a single robotic movement, acting like the two ponies had one mind. My guard were quickly captured, and even trying as hard as I could, I was quickly overpowered - I was sure there was a charm or something that had weakened me and my magic. They were helplessly pulled away, kicking, shouting, and shouting words I shall not repeat, and I sat there, unable to help, watching my protection - and my friends - being pulled away, obviously to be turned against me. "You'll never get away with this!" "Oh, I won't? Who will you tell, your royal guard? Don't you mean MY royal guard?" She said, her voice dripping with hatred. Suddenly, I began to feel something strange within me - anger, but not as I knew it. It was corrupting me, yet making me stronger; it was accessing my mana pool, replacing pure magic with distorted, evil magic. Something was telling me I could pull from it even though the weakening charm was still in place. Before I could even think, I was racing towards Celestia, horn facing directly at her, its glow a deep crimson rather than its usual pale blue. After a short period of running directly at Celestia, she sighed, and began to work up her magic. "Some ponies never learn. As of now, you are banished from Canterlot, and the whole of Equestria!" Her magic erupted out her horn, hitting me full force. I began to feel uneasy, and gradually descended into unconciousness. Compared to the pain the magic had caused, it was bliss, and I soon lost utter control. When I woke up, I was in the plains outside the cave I'm in now. I will take refuge in here for a short while, but I cannot for too long - the 'Royal Guard' are searching for me, as they know I have not yet departed Equestria, or even the area around Canterlot. This will be my final message to the world. Goodbye, he signed off. "This is Princess Celestia's Royal Guard! Come out with your horn up!" an all-too-familiar voice shouted from above. "Looks like I finished just in time," he sighed. "No need! I'll surrender myself."
Chapter 5: The Capture"So, it was true!" Monochrome said, a slight look of horror crossing his face. "And to say I followed her lead for all my life." A thought suddenly crossed his mind. "What if I was brainwashed?" He shuddered at using the word 'brainwashed', as he disliked such concepts, although he had no choice but to accept it. "It's true, isn't it?" he asked himself. He started to test his suspicions. He tried to think of Celestia as a lying, cheating fool, but try as he might, he couldn't. Something was stopping him, something embedded deep in his mind. "Oh no... It's true." Slowly, he began to feel himself breaking down. His heart sank, and his legs became weak, until he fell to the ground. He had been lied to all his life, and he didn't know what to believe. He couldn't trust his memories, or his thoughts - he was unable to use anything that had got him through life. A grim tear rolled down his cheek, and he decided to just curl up into a ball in the corner of the room. Gradually, the day began to catch up with him, and he began to sleep. A moderately sized colt stands in front of a mirror, his face covered in tears. Slung over his shoulder is a small bag, presumably what small belongings he had. In front of him was a picture of his family, a large, burly stallion, a slender, blue mare, and him. They were all smiling together, although he knew that would never happen; He could remember the horrible night that his mother died, at the hands of his father. He was no longer welcome in the house, and he felt that he couldn't stay any longer. A draft blew through the window - this was his time. Looking back one more time at his small bedroom, he put one hoof on the windowsill, pushed on it, and jumped out. Monochrome woke up to the sound of voices nearby. It took him a second to realise that he should be alone, as he was still half asleep. He jumped up as soon as he could, and got ready for whatever would be upon him in just a moment. There was an almighty crash from outside the room he was in, and two figures stepped through the doorway... "In the name of Princess Celestia, halt whatever you are doing, and come out with your hooves in sight!" somepony shouted. It was the royal guard, and Monochrome had an awful feeling in his stomach. How had they followed him? However, right now, it didn't matter. All that did was that they were there, and they had him trapped. "Listen to me! Celestia has you brainwashed! She's a liar!" he cried, bargaining for his freedom, but to no avail. The guards were unchanged, but as soon as another figure stepped through the door, they kneeled down at her side. She stomped one of her hooves sarcastically. "Well, you're the second to find that out, and I'm sure you know what happened to the first." Her voice was changed from what he knew, almost constantly sarcastic, and evil to the core. "Celestia. I won't go down without a fight. I know what you've done, and you won't get away with it." "Ah, but a minor mistake of my mind control. Guards"- she signalled to one of the guards behind her -"Remind me to schedule an... update to the brainwashing, causing everyone to forget anything about me being evil." The guard nodded, and Celestia chuckled. "And as for you, Monochrome Mystery, you have no choice but to surrender." "And, if I was to fight you?" he questioned, seeing how far he could go. "You can't. See, I've already won." She grinned. "How?" he said, slightly anxious. "Well, I'm sure you figured you've also been brainwashed, when you were born. And every time I did that to someone, I implanted a trigger phrase." "No. You can't have." "But I have." As she spoke, Celestia began to walk slowly towards Monochrome, until they were almost face-to-face. Celestia carefully brought her hoof up to his snout, and gently pressed down. "Sleep." The world began to spiral around Monochrome. He could feel himself descending into the darkness, and tried to fight it, but found himself weakened and unable to resist. After a short struggle, he gave up. He couldn't win. Soon, he felt him lose is body, and his mind began to drift.
