Twilight yawned as she sat up, rubbing her forehead gently. As she woke up, she looked around herself, before chuckling. She pulled an all-nighter, and must’ve fallen asleep somewhere in the middle of it, since she had woken up with her face on an open book, which was covered with some slobber. Twilight shook her head at herself, before cleaning off the book and putting it back to where it belonged, along with her other study materials. She frowned as she remembered the purpose as to why she was doing such a thing.
She was sitting at the map by herself, catching up on some reading while she had some spare time. Sadly, that time was interrupted by a certain purple and green drake ran into the room, carrying a scroll. As soon as she saw the scroll, Twilight gently took it with her magic, thanking Spike for bringing it to her. As she read, Twilight’s face grew a excited but worried look.
Dear Princess Twilight
It seems we may have encountered something rather interesting. My sister and I have detected a strange magic being used close to the borders of Equestria. It was faint, but what we found was astonishing. Whatever it was, it was an ancient, powerful magic, which could be told even with the light amount of magic we pinpointed. We have no idea as to what it could be, but we hope you can help us. Me and Luna believe that you and the Elements of Harmony should go and investigate this strange anomaly. If it is dangerous, we believe you will be able to handle it. I wish you good luck.
Your former mentor
~Princess Celestia
Ever since then, Twilight had been turning every book in her library upside-down in her attempt to figure out what this magical anomaly could mean. Sadly, she didn’t find any luck in getting information. She simply would have to make do, she guessed.
Twilight then got up, straightening her mane and tail before grabbing her saddlebags she prepared. She had Spike deliver messages to the others so they could prepare before hand, since she wanted them to leave early. It would be a long train ride after all. She had to put Starlight Glimmer in charge of a few things, since Twi would be away for awhile. By now, she trusted her to handle herself.
As soon as she opened the door, Pinkie jumped on top of her. “OhmygoshIcan’twaitwegettogoseenewplacesandfightevilthingsandlookformagicand-” Twilight lifted her friend up and off of herself with her magic, chuckling.
“I know it’s hard to, but try to tone it down a little, Pinkie. We need to get going soon, and I’d love to get going as soon as possible.” Twilight said with slight impatience. Her inner nerd wasn't wanting to wait for much longer to figure out the strange magic the Princesses wrote to her about. Pinkie nodded, still bouncing in place with a wide smile on her face. Twilight couldn’t help but grin at her friend’s seemingly boundless energy. The two trotted (Bounced in Pinkie’s case) towards the train station, where the others were there. They all exchanged some quick pleasantries before boarding the train, which was prepared to leave.
They all watched as their home shrunk in the distance, and looked to the skies as the train went on it’s way, to an unknown destiny.
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Unknown to these ponies, something indeed awaited their coming. A crystal ball hovered in the air, showing the image of the train as it went on it's way. An ivory claw gently touched the globe, which caused it to glow a light purple. A smooth, but ancient voice rumbled throughout the room. "My... This will certainly make things interesting around here... Been a long time since a pony braved my home... Maybe this time they'll stay for a while... Heh heh heh..." The voice quietly laughed to herself, the sound reverberating off the walls and through the hallways connected. This would be most interesting indeed.
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The Mane 6 tiredly trotted through a dense forest. They had left the train some time ago, the tracks going no further. If the Princesses’ prediction was correct, the strange magic would be nearby. Twilight turned to the rest of them. “Alright everypony. We need to be on the lookout for anything that is out of the ordinary. This being could be anywhere.”
“Even over there?” Pinkie cheerfully asked, pointing towards an old looking massive temple. They all simply stared. “What? It’s so big! How did you miss it?!” They didn’t answer, deciding not to question the convenience of the situation. It was better they didn’t. So, with that, the six went over to the large, ancient building. For some reason, Twilight felt hesitant to enter the temple. Even from here, she could sense a great power deep inside.
Twilight gulped down her fear, knowing it would not help her to be afraid right now, and went inside, followed by the others. Even though they knew it wasn’t true, they felt as if there were an invisible pair of eyes watching them. They had felt this even as far back when they exited the train. Though now, the feeling was stronger than ever. Twilight cast a minor light spell, allowing her magical light to guide their way.
The inside was to be expected from ancient ruins. Old, crumbling stone everywhere. The room they seemed to be in, which looked to be an entryway of some sort, was certainly made a long time ago. For whatever reason, though, it seemed that there was little to no dust on any surface, and the room looked rather well kept, all things considered.
The ponies cautiously approached the large doorway that would lead into another room. The archway itself looked to be big enough to fit a grown dragon, it seemed. This room was very much like the first, but branched off into several rooms, judging from the various arches lining the walls. The one thing that stood out the most, however, was the large, clear orb that floated in the center of the room, reflecting the purple glow of Twilight’s magic in an almost breathtaking way.
Twilight, on the other hand, was in full nerd mode. “Oh my Celestia! Is that a working crystal ball..?! Most ponies have very few of these that actually have magical properties! And even then, I’ve never heard of one so large! This is an amazing discovery!” Twilight flew over to it, wanting to study it closer. Unfortunately, she didn’t see the nearly invisible runes that covered the crystal ball, and as soon as she touched the ball out of excitement, she was shocked (literally) as a jolt of electricity blew her back to the wall near the arch they came in from.
As the girls rushed over to her to make sure she was alright, which she told them she was fine, just frazzled, a light fit of laughter filled the air, coming from an unknown source. “Oh my stars! That was beautiful! Don’t you just love see through chalk? You went all ‘Zap!’ and was blown back…” The 6 were too busy trying to figure out who was speaking to truly pay attention to what she said, but Twilight felt just the slightest bit peeved.
“Though, I must admit, it has been quite some time since I’ve been in the presence of Royalty, let alone an Alicorn Princess.... Unless Alicorns are more common than I thought. Of course, it’s been many years since I last came near the surface. I imagine I’ve missed quite a lot. Now, may I have the pleasure of knowing the names of my guests?” The voice asked. The others looked to one another, but Twilight was the one who gathered her courage to respond back.
“We won’t answer you until you answer to us! Just who are you, and why are you here?!” She said boldly, much to the amusement of the voice.
“Ah, of course! Where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself.” She said in a slightly mocking voice. The ground rumbled as the temple shook slightly, heavy footsteps being heard coming from one of the rooms. The girls immediately turned their attention over to that room, but what met their sight was quite surprising.
There, standing before them, was a large dragon. She had a long, lithe body, her seemingly covered all over in pitch black scales that seemed to shimmer at the same time, like the night sky filled with twinkling stars. Her wings, which she now unfurled, were huge, easily being as wide as two houses put side by side. Her dark magenta eyes stared at the dumbfounded ponies with amusement. She stretched her body, showing off her long, whip-like tail, practically brandishing her long, bronze colored, spiraled horns coming from the back of her head and sprouting backwards several feet. She grinned at the 6 ponies before her, showing off her nearly perfectly white teeth, sharp enough to cut diamonds and rubies with ease.
“I… I am Queen Lightbeam the Blinding, and this, my little ponies, is my home.”
Author's Note
Aaand scene! Who is this Queen Lightbeam the Blinding? Is she friend or foe? Will we ever find out what invisible chalk is? Find out in the next chapter!
Author's Note
This is my next installment! Hope you all enjoy!
The Temple of Old
Last Time;
There, standing before them, was a large dragon. She had a long, lithe body, her seemingly covered all over in pitch black scales that seemed to shimmer at the same time, like the night sky filled with twinkling stars. Her wings, which she now unfurled, were huge, easily being as wide as two houses put side by side. Her dark magenta eyes stared at the dumbfounded ponies with amusement. She stretched her body, showing off her long, whip-like tail, practically brandishing her long, spiraled horns coming from the back of her head and sprouting backwards several feet. She grinned at the 6 ponies before her, showing off her nearly perfect white teeth, sharp enough to cut diamonds and rubies with ease.
“I… I am Queen Lightbeam the Blinding, and this, my little ponies, is my home.”
The six just stared at her, wondering what they had just gotten themselves into.
The black dragon simply chuckled at their expressions. “You should have seen the look on your faces! Absolutely priceless!” With that, the supposed Queen fell into a giggle fit, which made the mares wonder if this one was all right in the head.
“*Ahem* Excuse me, but if you could stop for a second…” Twilight started, and after a few more giggles, the Queen had calmed herself, though she was still grinning widely. “... Thank you. N-Now, since you have… Introduced yourself… I guess we should return the favor.”
Twilight then went on to introduce them all, then turned to the large dragon. “Now… We’ve been sent here because the Princesses sensed a powerful magical imbalance, and we were told it came from here. Would you mind elaborating..?”
Lightbeam blinked, then chuckled. “Oh, that… Well, that’s simple really. I sneezed.”
This caused everypony to deadpan. “E-Excuse me?”
Lightbeam continued to chuckle. “I swear, tis the truth! I sneezed, and some of my energy must have radiated a bit.”
Twilight stared at her incredulously. “A bit..?! The Princesses sensed the magical energy from your sneeze halfway across Equestria!”
“Oh, they did? My bad. I guess you all didn’t exactly come here to say bless you, huh?” Lightbeam joked. It had been a while since she last got to have this much fun.
The others simply facehooved. That didn’t last long when the Queen suddenly lowered her head, sniffing Twilight with a deep breath. She narrowed her eyes. “... Where did you find a baby dragon?” She asked, her voice dripping with venom, a complete 180 from her earlier behavior. Twilight backed up nervously.
“W-Well, I hatched h-him from his egg. It was for a magic test… S-Spike’s been my trusted assistant ever since..!” She spoke quickly, beginning to get nervous.
Lightbeam kept up her glare. “You do realize this ‘Spike’s egg was most likely gotten by ill-means?”
Twilight gasped. “Celestia would never-”
“I didn’t say it was Celestia, but those ponies got their hands on that egg somehow. I will tell you one thing Twilight Sparkle. Dragons may be driven by Greed. Dragons may often be selfish. But there is one thing Dragons aren’t. Horrible parents. Even if they don’t care much for it, the egg is still the vessel for their child, something that becomes hard to obtain with the current greed of most dragons, and they will lay down their life to protect it from those who want it. A dragon never, EVER, gives up their egg without a fight. No matter the cost.” Queen Lightbeam allowed this to sink in as realization slowly showed on Twilight's face.
The black dragon then sat back up. “But, that is a matter for another day. Perhaps you would like some time to relax..? I understand you took quite a while to get here. I’m sure the rest of my clan wouldn’t mind visitors-” She was cut off by a certain flying purple princess.
“Did you just say.. Clan?! As in… There’s more of you here..?” Twilight asked in wonder.
“Yes, it is true that I do not live here by myself. I couldn’t exactly call myself a Queen if I didn’t have others to live with.” Lightbeam said with a grin. “Follow me.” She walked towards the archway she came in from, and the others, though with apprehension, decided it might be worth it to follow.
And what met them was an amazing sight to behold.
