Blood, Stars, and The Fight For The Future
Ultimum est , recapitulando
Many years had passed since that fateful day, the day when Equestria was forever changed. The Alicorns that protected their world and controlled the balance of day and night were lost, as were the six ponies that saved and defended Equestria on numerous occasions.
But this day would be different. Nopony knew what was happening in Canterlot, since the day of the war the Invaders had taken it, probably to perform horrendous experiments on the few inhabitants that were left.
It was now within sight, Shining Armor looked out over the hill and saw the remains of Canterlot, still smoldering. Behind him stood thousands, all wearing the armor that was once worn by the Equestrian royal guard. It was an even mixture of Earth Ponies, Pegasi , and Unicorns, even changelings, all ready and waiting to take back their former kingdom. Shining Armor knew that the Crystal Empire was in a much similar state at this time, but among those lost was Princess Cadence herself. The most puzzling thing about it all however was the fact that none of the Alicorns, or any of the six was confirmed to have died. They just seemed to have vanished on the day of the invasion.
The sun still rose, as did the moon. The ones who conquered Equestria declared that it was their own technology that was rotating the planet to give rise to the sun and moon, but Shining Armor never trusted anything the overlords said.
Finally, the moment had arrived. Shining Armor looked over the army behind him, each one of them had lost a great deal during the invasion, and they hoped that with this, they could finally take back what was lost, and restore some semblance of peace, and order.
He was wrong.
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Five years earlier.
“Princess Celestia! I came as soon as I could.” Twilight Sparkle declared, nearly out of breath as she bowed in respect to Celestia.
“Thank you Twilight, I have disturbing news, and I may need your help.” Celestia said with a somber yet concerned tone.
“Y-yes, what can I do to help?” Twilight said, noticing her mentor’s uneasiness.
“Twilight, I have known for many moons that other life exists beyond our own, far off in the stars. So far, that’s never meant anything, but lately I’ve been experiencing dreams, all telling of a horrible fate that will befall Equestria.” Celestia explained.
Twilight gulped. “Well, hopefully it’s all just…stress, or something. I don’t know.” The young Alicorn said.
“I wish it were as well Twilight, but I’m afraid it isn’t. I wouldn’t have called you here to simply console me about my night terrors. No, this threat is very real. Not too long ago, Luna and I were contacted by a strange race of individuals that walk upright on two legs, and can’t breathe the air on our planet, so they need to wear a strange sort of mask when they are here. We did not see their faces, yet we heard their voices. Apparently they’ve been wandering the stars for a long time after their world was destroyed by means they refused to share. But they promised us access to advanced technology in exchange for the magical assistance of our unicorns, and access to some of the resources on our planet such as water.” Celestia went on.
“Well…I admit, that does sound a little too good to be true.” Twilight responded.
“Precisely, we understand very little about them, or what their true agenda is. Luna does not share my weariness of this alliance, she wants to help them. As much as I would like to as well, I can’t trust them. However, I feel as though I have no choice. Dreams aren’t reason enough to distrust an entire society with no place left to go.” Celestia said.
“But…what does any of this have to do with me Princess?” Twilight asked.
“You’ve always had a good heart Twilight, and I trust in your judgment. But this alliance will happen, I cannot stop that, nor will I. But I need you and your friends, just in case my dreams are in fact premonitions.” Celestia said as she stood up, placing a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. Twilight looked back at Celestia with a reassuring nod, that fire in her eyes as prominent as it had always been.
“Twilight, what I’m about to share with you is something you must tell no one, not until the time is right.” Celestia said.
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Twilight exited the castle, as she stepped out she was met with an embrace from each of her friends simultaneously as the large door shut behind her.
“Darling! How did it go?” Rarity asked.
“It…well, it went okay I guess, nothing all that important. Come on, let’s get back to Ponyville.” Twilight explained briefly, trying to hide her true feelings about the situation.
“Twilight? I hope everything is okay.” Fluttershy said anxiously.
“Yeah, everything is fine…for now.” Twilight responded, her words causing an awkward silence.
“Twilight dear, whatever is going on we’d really appreciate it if you told us. We are your friends after all.” Rarity said raising a hoof.
“Yeah! What’s the big idea Twi?” Rainbow Dash chimed in as she hovered above them.
Twilight just shook her head. “Nothing is going on, nothing we need to worry about anyway. I’ll tell you when I have to, if I have to. Now can we please just go? There’s a lot we still need to do back at the castle.” She replied. With a flurry of mixed emotions and whines, the others agreed, and began making their way to the train station.
As the others hurried onto the train, Twilight paused for a moment; looking up at the sky she noticed a faint glimmer. She shivered at the thought of what it could be, knowing full well the threat that was only a few miles above their heads.
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Present day
Plains outside of Canterlot
The once lush, green plains now lay in waste, covered in thick snow and still a smoldering, blood soaked ruin, after the recent bloody battle to retake Canterlot had ended. Shining Armor lay on the ground, his left side badly burned and bleeding profusely. His armor was torn and sheared off in unimaginable ways from advanced weaponry of sort.
Around him was the bodies of the army he led not half an hour ago, the few that were still alive were struggling just to breath.
“Well, it seems today is our lucky day.” One of the masked figures said with a raspy voice from behind Shining Armor.
“No shit? Is that who I think it is? Well, damn. The doctors will pay us a fortune for this one don’t you think?” The second individual said.
They both approached Shining Armor, guns raised. “The docs would prefer it if you were alive, but your genetic information is still invaluable in learning more about your sister Twilight. Don’t struggle, or we will kill you.” The first figure said.
Shining Armor just panted, still struggling to just take one breath after another as he bled out. One of the masked figures reached a hand out towards Shining, but he was instantly cut off as his partner screamed out, dropping his assault rifle which was now glowing red, causing the snow around it to turn to steam.
“Fuck!” He shouted.
“Kalo, what did you do this time?” the other said turning around.
“I don’t know! But look at my gun!” He said pointing to what was once his rifle, now a glowing puddle of red hot liquid metal. Soon after the other figure felt his gun begin to heat up, and dropped it as soon as it burned his gloved hands.
“Damn it, what’s going on here?!” The first one said. He reached his hand up to the side of his helmet to signal the rest of his team, but it instantly exploded as he touched it showering both him and his partner in sparks.
It was at that point they both drew their knives and stood back to back. “Killing us makes no difference, whoever you are come out! Spare yourself the trouble of being hunted down by our forces! We will find you!” Shortly thereafter a hissing noise was heard.
“What-what the-” The younger said just before he began to choke and gasp for air as he mask became twisted and distorted.
“Kalo!” The elder figure shouted, but soon experienced the same, and within seconds they had both died. All the while Shining Armor looked on in astonishment at what was happening, not sure if it was real or a delusion he was experiencing. What would happen next tested this even more.
“Brother!” A familiar voice shouted. Shining Armor couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“T-Twily?” He managed to say.
“Look, you’re going to be fine. You’ll pass out soon but you’ll wake up in my old castle in Ponyville. I don’t have much time, but you can’t tell anypony that you saw me. But you need to find a Unicorn living in alone, wandering through Equestria aimlessly. I don’t know his name but I do know that his cutie mark is the symbol of the invaders. He may be stubborn, but he will help you, and he is the key to setting things right.” Twilight Explained to him.
She put a hoof on her brother’s side; the feeling seemed to fill him with warmth. She then leaned down kissed his forehead. “Cadence is alive, and so are we. Never give up hope. We’ll see each other again, I promise.” She said just before Shining Armor lost consciousness.
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One week before the invasion
“Twi, be straight with me, what’s got you so troubled? You’ve barely talked since we left Canterlot.” Applejack said to Twilight as she looked out the window of the train, watching the scenery roll by.
Twilight sighed. “Everything we know…it’s all going to change. We can’t stop it, and I don’t know if we can fix it, but when the time comes we have to try. I just don’t even know where to begin.”
Applejack put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder, giving her a warm reassuring smile. “Twi, you’ve always came through for us, and all of Equestria. Compared to everything we’ve been through, how bad could this possibly be?” Applejack asked lightheartedly.
“Bad…very bad. Ponies are going to die; the whole world is going to change. But it’s up to us to find a way to save it.” Twilight tried to explain.
Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Really now? That bad huh? Don’t stress out, that’s something you always seem to do too much Twi. Seriously, we’ll be with you the whole time, and we’ll find a way. Trust me. We’ve never failed before have we? We’re all still alive, and that’s not going to change.” Applejack said.
Twilight smiled back at her. “Yeah, you’re right; you all will be with me. But…to all of Equestria, they’ll think we abandoned them, or that we somehow failed and ended up dead.”
“Twilight, what the hay are you even talking about? You ain’t making any sense.” Applejack said in a more serious tone.
Twilight just shook her head. “I’ve already said too much. Just know that these, err…people, from the stars, they don’t mean well. Celestia and I know that. The only chance we have rests in a decision I have to make. I’ll explain more when it happens…I just hope it’s later rather than sooner. I need a few days at least to take all of this in.” Twilight said covering her face with her hooves.
Author's Note
Reviewed by Syx and Lordnatedog. Thanks guys! :)
The title of this chapter is latin, and it translates to: "The last new start"
Please, if you find this story unsatisfactory in any way whatsoever, please share your thoughts. Let me know what I'm doing wrong, or what this story does that deserves your down vote should you decide to do so. It'd be much appreciated, thank you. ^^
Blood, Stars, and The Fight For The Future
Abyssus Abyssum Novo Vetus Miles
Author's Note
The chapter titles are in Latin, in case anyone was wondering. :3
Abyssus Abyssum Novo Vetus Miles
“Twilight, do you know when the attack is supposed to happen?” Applejack asked.
The young Alicorn simply shook her head as she paced back and forth in meeting room of her castle.
“Well, what’s our plan for when it does? Surely Celestia is having us help? Right?” Applejack responded.
“Actually…no…she isn’t. We’re leaving the second it happens, going someplace Celestia described as a plane of existence that shouldn’t exist. But she did say there was a way to stop it, but that it’s not in our hooves.” Twilight explained.
“If not ours, than who? Somepony has to stop this craziness.” Applejack pressed on.
“Even she isn’t sure, she says this individual might not exist. She called that individual Pariah.” Twilight finished solemnly
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Darkness, infinite black, it was like sleeping, but being completely conscious, fully aware, but I was not. Still, I heard them from time to time
“Impossible, it cannot be done. Even with their magic. The brain will not survive.”
I heard a voice echo.
“Of course it can, if we take the proper precautions and use the magic properly it will work. I know it.”
“But what if you’re wrong?” The first voice responded. There seemed to be a pause that dragged on for a while after that.
“I’m never wrong, but if I am so what? He wasn’t the first we’ve tried it on, plus he’s a pariah anyway. No one will remember him.” I heard. That word, pariah. It seemed to stick into my mind. I remembered not who I was, but perhaps that was my name. Of course that was before I was able to remember that pariah meant outcast, but it mattered not. Pariah became my name, in this strange existence that I seemed to have.
From then on all I remember is pain, drilling sounds, sometimes panicked doctors. But I never was able to see, perhaps I had been blinded in battle, or maybe I was always blind. Those are the questions I continually asked myself when I was capable of thinking. Who was I? Why was I put here?
I suppose it didn’t matter, my life was over; if you can even call what little I remembered a life. Just blackness, voices, echoes, drilling, pain, and the smell of burnt flesh every so often. I’d either die soon or always be subject to these horrific experiments, or whatever else it was they were doing to me.
But then, I dreamed. I felt cool air blowing against me, and for the first time I was able to open my eyes, and see. I was soaring through the air, going at an incredible speed. The clouds were beneath me, and for the first time since the start of my memories I felt free, truly free.
I began to relax after the first few moments, letting the air crash into my face. It all seemed so real, but it couldn’t be, could it? The more I relaxed the more I seemed to dip closer and closer to the clouds; soon I was diving straight down. I plummeted through the clouds like a speeding bullet.
For a dream this seemed a bit too real, and I felt a sense of terror. My body seemed…different. I remember having hands, five fingers on each, and feet with the same number of toes. But I didn’t anymore. I tried to move my fingers but it all seemed stiff, as if locked into place.
On my back I felt what seemed to be a pair of wings, and then I realized, if this is a dream my wings can probably save me. So in the final few moments before I hit the ground I flapped them furiously, even wearing myself out. But I still hit the ground, hard. My chest smacked the hardest, and I could have sworn I felt ribs crack. I tried to stand up again but fell over, and for the first time I saw myself, for what I now was. What were once my arms and hands were now two tan colored legs, and the same with the back.
I looked at them, and finally I remembered something, a faint memory of the past. I was holding a newspaper, and the front caption is what I remember most prominently. “INTELLIGENT EQUINE RACE DISCOVERED ON FRINGES OF GALAXY”
That must have something to do with it, it was likely my own people that performed these monstrous experiments, turned me into one of these creatures. I tried standing up again, my new legs wobbled, not used to the even weight distribution on all four. But after a moment I gained a sense of composure.
Finally, I was able to stop and think. Evaluate my surroundings, asses my new and confusing situation and try to come up with a decision from here. I was in a field; lush, and green. Far off in the distance stood two castles. One on the side of a mountain, with what seemed to be a city attached to it.
The other had a slight purple tone to it, and around it was a settlement of sorts, some scattered buildings, not as vibrant looking as the first castle that caught my eyes. I considering going to the second castle, seeing if anyone there might have some answers. I gathered I was on the Equine world that I heard of in my distant memories, but then I paused as I saw a glimmer in the sky.
It was a bright glimmer, and it only seemed to grow larger and larger until after about two minutes I was able to make out the characteristics of a space-faring vessel. It descended above the mountain kingdom before finally stopping, just hovering over it. I looked at it carefully for a moment, and soon the markings on the sides of the ship struck my memories. It bore the insignia of my people, or at least they were my people.
A sick feeling came over me when I remembered the last time they attempted to make contact with a less developed race, and the time before that, and so on. They gained their technology from conquering other races. Each time they came with the same lie that they were in need of basic resources in exchange for technology, always using that to gain the trust of the leaders of other worlds so they could exploit it.
I shook my head, and turned to head as far away from civilization as I could. If these “ponies” were to survive I certainly would not be welcomed among them, even if I was, I wouldn’t deserve such an honor, not when I once belonged to them.
I turned to the forest, folding up my wings. I trotted towards it to scrape together an existence, one that I didn’t earn, or deserve.
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“So that’s it? We’re just gonna run away? Are you serious Twilight?!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed after hearing Twilight’s briefing.
“Look, there’s more to it than that. Celestia knows more than she let on, but all she said was that the future rests in the fate of Pariah, whoever that may be. But our job is to survive, only to return to find the one who holds our destiny, and help him, or her.” Twilight went on.
“Well I think that’s a stupid plan!” Rainbow continued.
“Sorry I have to interrupt you lovebirds, but we seem to have a bigger problem.” Rarity said from over by the window with a view of Canterlot.
The six ponies crowded near it looking on with anxiety and fear as they saw the ship set in place above the kingdom.
Twilight let out a sigh of mixed emotions, none of which were relief. “Damn, it’s all happening so fast…I thought we had more time…now it’s just a matter of waiting for Princess Celestia’s signal.” The Alicorn said glumly.
“Then what? What happens after you see her signal?” Fluttershy asked.
“We leave. That’s all I can say.” Twilight finished as she sat against the wall clasping her hooves over her face once again.I really like this
You've said exist three times at this point, consider a word change here.
Shouldn't there be a tab here? Also fix up the structure in this section
All in all, pretty good. Enjoyed reading this!
