Our story begins, like so many events in our own lives, in medias res...
The darkness was ephemeral, sweeping about his head with a thickness like a heavy, choking smoke. He moved his hand through it trying to clear it from his face as he worried that the soupy air would prove impossible for him to breathe. As he did so a pair of burning green eyes appeared in front of him. The adrenaline coursed through his system, shocking him and causing him to attempt to recoil, though his legs found no purchase in the smoky atmosphere.
"HUMAN. I HAVE AWAITED YOUR ARRIVAL FOR CENTURIES."
The young man cringed to hear he rasping yet potent voice sweep over him. The words caught in his throat as he croaked in reply: "W-w-who are you? What do you want from me?"
"YOU WILL REGAIN ME THE KINGDOM WHICH IS SO RIGHTFULLY MINE. WHICH WAS STOLEN FROM ME FOR OVER A THOUSAND YEARS. WHICH I HAD RULED WITH POWER AND STRENGTH. YOU SHALL BE MY INSTRUMENT."
The young man furrowed his brow, still trying to work out the form of the creature in front of him. "B-but how?"
"YOU SHALL FALL."
In that instant, the fog seemed to part and release him into blinding and sudden light. Blinking his eyes quickly to clear his vision he looked about to Guage his surroundings. Immediately he felt the flapping of air about his face, and the horrible sinking sensation of falling without slowing. Just as he became convinced that whatever height he was descending from was too much
much, he felt his body slam into something soft, fluffy and boney.
The dull pain was acentuated with groans and grunts of discomfort. "Where did you come from anyway?" His aches burned as he looked up to see the shocked faces of what appeared to be small horses. "More like: what are you?" thr pinkish-purple one began before being cut off by an orange one standing nearby. "Uh, folks... I'm afraid we've got some bigger fish to fry." She said with a Southern twang while gesturing at the sky.
As all eyes turned to take in the sight she had motioned toward, a powrful rumble began to shake through the balcony they stood upon.Up in the sky it appeared that some sort of crystal object was flying right into the grasp of an ebony colored stallion. He licked his lips as he caught the crystal stone, his laughter booming out like miniature explosions. In one swift motion, he brought the stone to his lips and swallowed it whole.
A rending crack streaked across the domed sky, like a lightning bolt on the inside of an upturned salad bowl. A creeping blackness crept from its edges, polluting the air into a crimson black mix of corruption. Then a terrible silence, save the stallion's laughter, and the sobs of ponies somewhere below.
As he pulled himself up onto his knees, the pony he had landed on looked at him and asked, in a horrified tone:
"What have you done?"
He had no idea. The expression on his face betrayed as much.
The purple unicorn he was laying upon growled and threw him off, turning towards the cacophony emanating from the horrified screams of the many ponies reacting to what seemed to be the end of the world.
"Shining Armor! We need to stop him, NOW!" Out of nowhere a set of beautiful wings unfurled and she lifted off from the balcony, heading toward the crowd of ponies below and the ominous, choking smog now surrounding them. Almost immediately, there was a great and powerful flash of light and everything went dark.
A dull throb.
A prod, followed by a poke. Both of which were mere fractions of the pain he currently felt inside his skull.
"Get thee up vile scum!" shouted anearby voice, followed by a searing electric jolt.
"OW! Jesus! I'm up, stop. STOP." he shouted as he flinched away from the arcing blue electricity shooting from the horn of what appeared to be a majestic dark blue unicorn. He took a moment to focus on his surroundings. The rough cobblestone floor he sat upon was scattered with straw and twigs. The walls appeared to be a beautiful white marble, thiugh the sconce of the nearby torch had left a smoky residue upon the wall. Most of all, however, he saw that he was behind solid iron bars, on the other side of which stood two angry horses, one of which had just been electrocuting him.
No mistake about it, he was in jail.
"Thou foul wretch! Grovel before us and beg for clemency, lest we exact our punishment upon thee for thy crimes!" Screeched the blue horse while stomping her front hooves. The fact that each stomp released crackles of electricity definitely added an element of credence to her demand.
Shocked, scared, and more than a little desperate, the young man flung himself onto his knees. "Please, I-I'm so sorry please don- yarggghh" he was cut off as electric arcs flipped down his back. The acrid smell of ozone filled the air as he coughed out in agony "p-p-please don't hurt me, whatever you want, PLEASE!"
The larger white horse placed a hoof on the other. "Sister..." she began, "let it be." The electricity atopped and the young man slumped back, sobbing and with fear in his eyes. "P-please...." he choked out, unsure of what to expect.
With a pitiful anf merciful glance, the white horse nodded and said "Creature, what is your name?" "Alan" he replied, still gasping and recoiled against the far wall of his cell. "Well, Alan. Can you explain why you would dare to help Sombra and doom an entire empire to slavery, then dare to come to Canterlot, alone?"
