Chapter 1: A Twitch of an Ear
Celestia's ear twitched. Though the white alicorn's hearing was as sharp as a wolf's- perhaps sharper- she'd had almost two thousand years to master her senses, enough time to control instinctual reactions.
No, it was not a normal noise that made her ear twitch. Maintaining her attentive posture, she turned her mind inward- the debates of the nobility were still being heard, and she would be able to remember them later.
The sound. What was it? It was the padding of large paws quietly, the scenting sniffs of a keen nose. A wolf in the castle? Celestia mused, not at all worried. Even if there was one, no alarm had been raised- Captain Metal Hoof or the newly-appointed General of Defense, Sharp Thought, were the best in Equestria; if there was a problem, she would have been told either by a guard or a messenger. Sharp Thought, especially so; after the Changeling attack, Luna had pushed for improvements in the Department of Defense- and the legendary Commander Sharp Thought, whose intellect perhaps matched Twilight's, was the obvious choice for the new General of Defense,
Celestia relaxed. Though he was seated to Celestia's right, the old grey pegasus had appointed some of the finest in Equestria to protect Canterlot. The sounds could have come from a dog, now that she thought about it.
Sharp Thought, Celestia recalled, in a casual chess match with Twilight, put her in checkmate in seventeen moves. 'It's not a matter of intelligence or knowing all the strategies,' he'd told Twilight, 'But a matter of knowing your opponent.'
A few day later, Twilight beat Sharp Thought- and every Sunday since, they'd met for a game.
Speaking of Sharp Thought, Celestia noticed, a messenger had slipped him a note through the Adjudicator's Door- a back entrance into the Parliament Debate Hall used mostly by the Debate Moderator.
Sharp Thought's steely blue eyes scanned the paper, his mouth creasing into a frown. He looked like an old stallion unhappy with the morning paper- and with his grey fur and white mane, he looked the part.
Celestia was never entirely sure what went on in Sharp Thought's head- she could use the powers innate to longer-lived alicorns to peer inside and read his thoughts, but Celestia had sworn off the use of those abilities; they were morally wrong and corrupting.
Whatever he was thinking, he folded up the paper and instructed the messenger to put it in his office. The issue that had been brought to him, if it was an issue, seemed to be something that could wait.
Celestia turned back to the debate.
The stallion on the left, the infamous Prince Blueblood, thought that the Public Works bill that Lord Gold Tracing was proposing would 'funnel funds from other branches into the Department of Public Works'.
Lord Tracing's counter argument was that, if the roads and tracks were left as they were, they would fall apart or be overtaken by plants.
Sharp Thought coughed.
Gold Tracing paused, and all heads were turned towards the aging general.
"Prince Blueblood," he said, his gravelly voice carrying across the room, "Though this bill would draw funding from other departments, it only draws funds as dictated by the seventeenth reform to the Department Fund Allocation Act. As such, unless the projects implied by this bill go over budget, the funds will be taken from departments that have generated excess revenue." Sharp paused for breath, letting that sink in.
Lord Gold Tracing, a light blue stallion whose cutie mark was a silver bar outlined in gold, let out a barely audible sigh of relief that many other attending nobles copied- though some nobles didn't seem to care for the greater population of Equestria, most were good ponies. "Thank you, General Sharp Thought. I would now ask that all in favor of this bill being brought to the Parliament during its next meeting say, 'Aye'. If any have misgivings, bring them forward."
Such was the tradition of the various Parliamentary committees, and Blueblood's 'misgivings' had prevented many other, more important bills being reviewed this session.
Blueblood said nothing, and a resounding 'Aye' echoed around the room.
The Moderator, a small, lime-maned green unicorn mare named Middle Ground chose this moment to speak. "This Parliamentary committee is hereby dismissed, and will resume one week from now on Wind's Day."
As the room emptied, Sharp Thought stood, revealing his cutie mark- a mapping compass superimposed over a map of Equestria. "Princess Celestia," he said in greeting, "A matter has arisen, and Captain Metal Hoof is putting the castle on high alert.. Though the message was unclear, I would ask that you take extra precautions until the alert is over."
Celestia frowned slightly. The only times that the castle was put on high alert were ones where it presented a significant risk to the populace. "What is the issue?"
Sharp Thought hesitated. "A wolf approximately twice the size of the guard that reported this entered the castle through means unknown and entered the statue garden, bypassing all wards."
This almost made Celestia do a double take. The only ones who had the raw power to bypass the wards were....
"I think it may be a deity of some sort, your majesty," he said, finishing Celestia's thought. Unexpectedly, the old pegasus sighed tiredly. "Something tells me this will be a very trying day."
"Beautiful," Sharp Thought breathed, loosing his composure momentarily. The report had left out more than a few details about the wolf.
The back of the wolf's forelegs had long, spiraling fur that looked like an artist's rendition of wind and wings- and smaller tufts of fur on the backs of all four paws. The wolf also had red markings, making it look like a spirit of some sort; perhaps even a god.
Metal Hoof, a white stallion in silvery steel armor- much more for fighting than the ornate armor the Guard wore- tilted his head. "I'm not sure what you mean. It's just a white wolf."
Sharp Thought's focus snapped back to the present. "Describe the wolf to me, if you would."
Sharp Thought and Metal Hoof looked into the statue garden from one of the marble porticoes, the sun shining down upon the manicured grass. "Well... it's a large, white wolf. Well groomed- it could be a pet, I guess, and... that's it."
“I see something a bit different. In fact, this wolf looks more like a spirit to me. Can you not see the red, spirally markings?”
Metal Hoof scratched the back of his head with a silver hoof- a ‘metal’ hoof, as Sharp Thought had often noted. “Sharp, my friend, do you have that Truesight enchantment still?”
Sharp almost scoffed before getting what Metal meant. “Of course I do. At this point, it’s no longer an enchantment, but a part of me...”
They grinned at each other like young foals. “I would be lost without your help, Metal.”
“The same to you,” Metal Hoof replied. The two were old friends, and had served together in the Gryphon Wars- not well known, but it was true.
Sharp sighed. “That doesn't even make sense, Metal,” he said, his thoughts clicking into place, “And could you contact Princess Luna as quietly as you can- perhaps using a silencing spell to avoid alerting anypony else, even one of the other Princesses?”
The old captain was startled. Sharp Thought had never shown anything other than loyalty to the Crown, and if he only trusted one of them... it must be really important. “Alright. I’ll send a messenger, but what should he say?”
“Tell Princess Luna that she is needed here, but that nopony else should be alerted.”
He wasted no time, writing the message down on a scrap of paper, and muttering instructions to the messenger. As he turned back to Sharp Thought, he asked,“Why, though?”
Metal Hoof saw his friend’s shoulders sag. “This wolf, as you can see, is not a hazard,” he explained, gesturing to the sleeping canine, “It even reminds me of the old legends- the tale of Shiranui, in fact- and I think it is a guardian spirit. If so...”
“When the world darkens and the sun yet shines, so shall come the spirit of the shrine,” recited Metal Hoof, the line etched into memory. Everypony had assumed that this was Discord or Nightmare Moon- the ‘Shrine’ being where the Elements rested originally, and the spirit of it being the power of Harmony.
“And, as I learned, the Elements are part of the ‘Tree of Harmony’. The fabled lines have not been fulfilled...”
“Something in my gut tells me that they just came true.”
Author's Note
And that's it for today, folks!
Please let me know what you like and what you don't, what I did wrong and what I did right, and if you want more of this story.
Chapter 2: A Kingdom Silenced
The world flashed around her; it was everything she knew, yet this was not Equestria as she remembered it. Everything was sapped of life and color, frozen in time. She looked up and saw the sun, she saw that it still shone down upon the earth; yet it brought no warmth nor did it chill.
When the world darkens and the sun yet shines, so shall come the spirit of the shrine.
There was no voice to speak to her, there was no sound, yet it still reverberated throughout her very being.
Be warned, Luna. The Barrier has fallen, and worlds are melding.
Luna gasped, leaping out of bed. Her heart beat faster than a rabbit’s, and her mind raced faster than a falling star. Having a nightmare was highly unusual, as she was the ruler of dreams.
Something very, very powerful must have influenced her. She shuddered- higher beings were unknowable and cryptic. This one seemed to want to help her, but with a prophecy that had been fulfilled?
Before she could go further with that line of thought, there was a knock at her door- whomever had knocked must have used a silencing spell, or Luna would have heard them before that. “Who goes?”
“I am a messenger from General Sharp Thought and Captain Metal Hoof,” the pony on the other side of the door replied, “And I apologize if I woke you, Princess, but the message was urgent.”
A paper slid under the door. “Please read this at your earliest convenience, Princess.”
Luna read it.
Princess Luna, you are needed at the statue garden immediately. Do not alert anypony, even Princess Celestia, unless necessary.
Luna read it again, and made haste to the statue garden. No lies or malicious intent could pass through that threshold.
“Thank you, Princess, for arriving so quickly,” greeted Sharp Thought, bowing.
“I presume that wolf is why you needed me?” Luna guessed, noting the sleeping wolf.
Sharp Thought smiled briefly. “It is no wolf. If I am correct, it is the ‘Spirit of the Shrine’, or at least a powerful spirit. Can you not see it is no ordinary wolf?”
Luna glanced, noting the intricate designs on the fur. “I can.”
“Most cannot,” Sharp replied, “And I think it is part of a prophecy.”
Luna inwardly groaned. This was going to be a very long day. “Which one?”
“When the world darkens and the sun yet shines, so shall come the spirit of the shrine,” he recited, “And thus one part has come to pass. If you recall the legend of Shiranui, who was fabled to look much like this wolf, manifested from a shrine.”
The dream had been a very apt and well-timed warning, without any cryptic attachments at all, now that she thought about it. “Then.... that means...”
“Something very bad is going to happen soon,” Sharp finished. “Metal Hoof is already readying the guard and sending messages to every military outpost. I, personally, think that the Foci needs to be reactivated before this wolf wakes. Something tells me that when it wakes up, the world will change.”
She was caught on one of his statements- the Foci. “The Foci!?”
The Foci was a large, pumpkin-sized emerald banded with electrum that operated by mimicking every ward applied to it or the city, bouncing them around within its multifaceted depths, then projecting them back out with increased power. The only reason that it was risky to use was that any ward projected through it lasted for a year and a day- no longer, no less.
If they made a mistake casting the wards or miscalculated the power of the resulting protections, it could trap everypony in Canterlot inside for a year and a day.
“Yes, the Foci. That is why I contacted you. I...” Sharp Thought coughed. “I’m very sorry, Princess, to disturb you or even try to order you around, but I am worried for the welfare of every single pony in Equestria- and if we don’t last through whatever is about to happen, I will not be able to save a single one of them before I...”
Luna caught Sharp Thought’s line of thought, but said nothing. Sharp was very old for a pegasus- most lived to see 60 or 70, but he had hidden signs of his impending death well. “Very well.”
“I must attend to other matters, Princess. Good luck.”
Luna cast the wards, grateful that her sister was not here. Celestia’s cautious attitude would have slowed down this process, and speed was of the essence. Silently, a wave of magic encased the city, and the emerald lifted upwards, refracting strange light around the Shield Room, where every ward placed on Canterlot was centered.
What Luna could not believe was that she hadn’t noticed Sharp Thought’s decaying health- even her sister had missed it. Sharp Thought was, Luna grimly thought, far too dedicated to his duty. He would protect Equestria until the very day his memories faded.
The wolf opened its eyes.
Far, far away, an ancient darkness awoke, and like a flood of shadow, it rolled across the plains of its new dominion- every bit unnatural. Lands permeated with Harmony darkened in only a few moments, and the Tree of Harmony barely halted the shadow at the entrance to its cavern.
The sun remained, yet the world was drained of color. There was no warmth, there was no sound; it was as if every living thing had been turned to stone.
And they were.
Author's Note
Sorry about the short chapter, but I couldn't resist having this cliffhanger. I'm very sorry if things seemed a bit abrupt or random, but I have my reasoning for at least half of them. Again, let me know what you think.
