Author's Note

Hello Readers,

This is the first fan fiction I have ever wrote and I am hoping you will enjoy it. I have a lot planned for this story and I'm hoping it won't be unpleasant.

Enjoy,
daOtterGuy

P.S. Editting done graciously by Cyanhyde

Prologue: Pinkie's Last Gambit

~ Pinkie Pie’s Last Gambit ~

In a dark room located in a place unreachable by the average pony, a mare bounced patiently in a circle while singing badly rhymed verses about cupcakes and sprinkles. She had been waiting for a while now, and her right flank was really itchy from the build up towards this day. The day that everything would change.

Click. Neon light emitted from a table in the center of the room. The itchy mare bounced towards it, revealing her pink complexion and even pinker hair. The mare known as Pinkie Pie peered closely at the table and noticed that it was a 3D map of Equestria.

She took notice of the crumbling walls of Canterlot and the abandoned orchards of Appleloosa. She gazed intently at the faded splendor of Manehatten and rusted buildings of Fillydelphia. She sighed at the shattered ruin of the Crystal Empire and frowned at the steady descent of Cloudsdale.

Her eyes finally came to rest on her old home of Ponyville, now overrun by plants from the Everfree Forest due to its abandonment. She felt a pang of sadness at seeing her home lie in disuse but quickly buried that feeling before it overwhelmed her; This was not the time to indulge in her depression.

Dotting the landscape were glowing patches of life. Pinkie Pie didn’t know for certain what was in these patches of life or even what they were, but she knew that it was due to the hard work of her friend Rarity.

This was Old Equestria. A long time ago, ponies had a abandoned it for their new home in the Badlands to the Southeast: the floating continent of New Equestria.

It was glorious. The streets were lined with sparkling lights and buildings shone from new fittings and trim. Along the most prominent street were the Guilds, and in the center was New Equestria’s shining jewel: the Flying Citadel. You could almost ignore the Slums that threatened the very borders of this magnificent place and skim over the decay of filthy sewers underneath.

Almost.

New Equestria was the life’s work of one of Pinkie Pie’s closest friends, Twilight Sparkle. Pinkie Pie would like nothing more than to see that continent fall and burn until nothing was left of it. It was a monument of her friends’ broken friendship and a testament to Equestria’s sad decline. She couldn’t stand to see it still floating there, Mocking her.

But alas, no more reminiscing and looking at the silly floating continent; Her right ear was twitching madly, and that meant he was here.

“Ah, Pinkie Pie. So good to see you.”

Pinkie Pie giggled at the formal greeting and looked towards the source of the voice. A stallion emerged from the dark.

He had a chocolate brown coat and a faded smoke-gray mane groomed to perfection. He wore a tidy tux and his dazzling smile could fool any pony into loving him if not for the hate in his eyes. Pinkie Pie took note of his rather spooky cutie mark: a silver mirror with two red glowing eyes staring back. Gave her the willies, that mark.

“Hey Lysandre”, Pinkie greeted enthusiastically, “how ya doin’?”

Lysandre laughed, “Wonderful, dear Pinkie Pie. I see you are wearing one of your friend’s creations?”

Pinkie Pie grinned widely as she struck a pose, “Thanks! My friend Rarity made it for me to attend the Galloping Gala back when Twilight first came to Ponyville.”

“Indeed,” Lysandre smirked, “and I suppose it was a match to those other dresses that your dear friends made sure to burn when they came to New Equestria?”

Pinkie Pie frowned, “a low blow mister scary pony, but I suppose it’s better than being betrayed by your right hoof for a pegasus.”

Pinkie Pie noticed the mask slip, but the smile was back in place almost immediately. No normal pony would have noticed the seething rage underneath. “Yes, well, he was bound to leave eventually.”

Pinkie Pie’s itch along her right flank became more irritated. She bounced and said gleefully, “So are we going to play the game? My right flank has been itching to play”.

Her words brought a smile to Lysandre’s face, the only pony Pinkie Pie could do without getting smiles from. “I’ll ignore that rather odd statement and answer yes, and such a delightful game we will play.”

Lysandre waved a hoof over the map. Immediately, six lights shot out. They were spread out across New Equestria, but two of them were milling about Fillydelphia and Las Pegasus. An image could be seen in each showing a different pony.

An Alicorn telling a rousing speech to the amassed ponies, her voice carrying an underlying threat. A stallion rifling through his treasures, revelling in their splendor. One pony staring at his reflection and, seeing a monster staring back, grins. A mare throwing a filly into a cage laughing at the poor thing’s defenselessness. A pegasus standing above a pony on the chopping block, giving the order to another pony offscreen. A pony stalks her prey in a room soaked with red, her hysterical laughter echoing along the walls.

Pinkie Pie grimaced, recognizing the last mare as her Gloom.

“You could always concede, you know.”

In response, Pinkie Pie grinned widely and waved her hoof over the table. Another six lights shot out of the table, same as the first.

A mare studiously reading through several large volumes on the founding of Old Equestria, mildly irritated by the lack of concrete information. A squad of pegasi soaring over Ponyville, one with a shining star on his flank. A unicorn mare talking happily with a stallion who was unsuccessfully trying to woo her - The stallion in particular wondering why he keeps trying. Another unicorn bouncing around giddily to the excitement of some fillies. A pegasus looking morosely over the crumbling facade of a castle.

“I can’t do that; I already Pinkie Promised to play!” Pinkie jumped happily, “and I need to prove that I’m right and you’re just a big meanie.”

Lysandre chuckled humorlessly, “Well then, shall we finally begin?”

“Of course silly, but as Dash would say, I already know who is going to win!”

Lysandre smirked, “I suppose, but truly, what will change the outcome is what was stronger: your friends’ Gloom or their Resolve.”

Pinkie Pie laughed “Of course it’s their Resolve that was stronger silly! My friends were always good at heart!”

“Well then: without further ado, let the game begin!”