Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Princess Cadance looked upon the city of Canterlot with great pride. Ponies worked with great spirit, not because they had to, but because they could. The smell of baked goods and delicious food wafted through the city, as if the grease of fast-food was banished from this utopia. Ponies shopped and shopped, emptying their wallets happily for high-quality goods. Princess Cadance sighed happily, knowing how happy the people were.
“Good afternoon, Princess Cadance” Princess Celestia greeted her, “How goes your day?”
“It’s going quite nice, everything is peaceful and well in Canterlot” Princess Cadance responded as Princess Celestia looked at the sights as well.
“Something I really love about Canterlot is the wonderful things that bring joy to all five your senses” Princess Celestia sighed happily.
“Yes, we can hear the working of happy ponies, the smell of food, the sight of happiness, the taste of happiness, and touch of nice clothes” Princess Cadance responded. She had remembered what Princess Celestia had taught her when she was adopted many years ago.
“How goes Shining Armor? The last I heard that he was sent to look after strange activity” Princess Celestia asked her niece.
“Yes, there was some rumors and a few stray photographs about crystals rising from the earth” Princess Cadance reminded her, “And there were a few cases of ponies going missing from the nearby areas”
“Ah, that’s right” Princess Celestia remembered as she poured Princess Cadance and herself a cup of tea.
“Many ponies are speculating that this could mean the start of something ominous, evil even” Princess Cadance responded as she took a sip of tea. It was a special kind of green tea, her favorite kind.
“There could be something malicious at foot, but in my best thoughts this might be some random magical mishap” Princess Celestia sighed as she also took a sip of tea.
However, as the two continued to chatter amongst each other, the door leading to the balcony slammed open! Catching Princess Celestia and Princess Cadance off guard, a messenger ran in. He was thin, with large glasses and sweat all over him, having run all over the castle.
“Princess! Princess! There are new reports of a mysterious castle made of crystals popping out of the ground! They’ve been spotted near Fillydelphia!” The messenger reported before collapsing on all fours due to pure exhaustion.
“Dear Equestria, does this mean that he’s back?” Princess Cadance worriedly asked Princess Celestia.
“This doesn’t mean anything, we need to investigate further into this matter” Princess Celestia reminded her niece, “We can’t go and start a panic among our citizens”
“Alright then, we must get to the scene as soon as possible” Princess Cadance sighed as she looked at the messenger.
“Messenger, do you know how long it would take to reach the scene by train?” Princess Celestia questioned the messenger.
“I guess it would take about a day” The messenger huffed as he passed out.
“Well then, shall we be off?” Princess Celestia asked Princess Cadence, who quickly nodded in agreement. She knew that Shining Armor was there, and he might be in danger.
That night, as the train sped down the tracks, Princess Cadance sat from her seat and watched the stars. She remembered the day she and Shining Armor first met. It was a night similar to this, on a train to be more precise.
She almost fell, with Shining Armor catching her. She remembered how they continued to talk afterwards, eventually ending in her marriage. That day and all other days felt happy, unlike what she felt now.
“Cadance, I’m sure that Shining Armor is okay” Princess Celestia calmly tried to assure Princess Cadance, “He’s been through much worse in the past, and I’m sure he’ll do fine now”
“I understand that, but since the day I married him, I’ve had some sort of metaphysical connection with him” Princess Cadance sighed as she pulled out a locket, revealing a picture of her and Shining Armor.
The next day, Princess Cadance and Princess Celestia had reached the affected area, seeing a few ponies relieved by the sight of the two royalty. However, some still looked frightened. When they reached the command tent, the commander sat, reading various maps.
“Your majesty, the troops went into the crystal fields and haven’t returned from their recon mission” The commander informed Princess Celestia, who scratched her chin.
“Should we go inside? We have no idea what awaits inside” Princess Cadance asked Princess Celestia.
“Yes, and I’ve brought a couple of royal guards to provide some cover for our entrance into his castle” Princess Celestia answered.
“Not to be rude, your highness, but how do you know the one who owns the castle is a he?” The commander questioned Princess Celestia, not trying to upset his ruler.
“Because I have a feeling I know who the owner of the castle is, and what he’s going to do” Princess Celestia responded grimly as she and Princess Cadance left the tent. Grabbing their guards, they began to advance the crystal field.
“These crystals don’t look like those that belong to the one you’re speaking of” Princess Cadance noticed as she looked upon the crystals.
“They do, but some of them do feel a bit different” Princess Celestia replied as she put her hoof on one of the crystal growths. It felt strange, almost like it had a pulse or a small heartbeat.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this” A Royal Guard gulped as all of the crystals began to glow strange colors. The colors shifted from white, to green, black, orange, and then back to white.
Stepping back from the crystal, a group of Royal Guard surrounded the crystal, pointing their spears at it. As Princess Celestia and Princess Cadance slowly walked towards the crystal, it began to crack. Not like that of a crystal falling apart, but more like an egg hatching.
“Good morning, Princess Celestia and Princess Cadance!” A voice boomed from the distance, “Welcome to the start of my new kingdom!”
“Who’s there?!” Princess Celestia demanded as the top of the mysterious castle began to glow with a black and red light. A pair of green eyes filled with a dark shadow appeared, and began laugh.
“Do you not remember myself? I sealed the Crystal Empire long ago, and now I come to seek power with a new army!” The voice cackled as Princess Celestia’s eyes widened.
“King Sombra! You will not enslave the ponies of Equestria!” Princess Celestia’s voiced boomed in defiance of King Sombra’s evil.
“Fine, then you have chosen death to all those in Equestria!” King Sombra laughed as the crystals that surrounded them began to burst, revealing strange creatures inside of them!
The creatures had a crystalline appearance, shiny and clear. They had four legs in an almost insect-like form, having a square body and a jagged head. They had no hair or nose, but they had red-gems or blue-gems for eyes and a mouth cut out of its head.
“What the hay are these things?!” A Royal Guard exclaimed as the creature with the blue-gem eyes opened its mouth, revealing a blue-gem. It then fired a laser-like blast from its mouth, cutting a Royal Guard’s spear in half!
“No way! Those things just cut through them like paper!” Another Royal Guard cried as four of the creatures jumped onto him, swarming and blasting him with their lasers.
“To all forces, we must retreat!” Princess Celestia declared as she and Princess Cadance began to lead Royal Guard through the maze of crystals.
However, as the group made it out of the maze, Princess Celestia had noticed six of the ten Royal Guards were no long with them. She put two and two together and ran with the others.
“Wait! I can see him!” Princess Cadance exclaimed as she ran back into the crystals.
“No! Cadance!” Princess Celestia called out for her niece, seeing a group of the creatures chasing after her in the maze of crystals.
Ignoring Celestia, Princess Cadance ran through the crystals. She moved gracefully, dodging through the unhatched crystals and the creatures that were spawned from them. Seeing past a horde of creatures, she saw the one thing she cared about most.
“Shining Armor!” Princess Cadance cried as she laid eyes upon Shining Armor’s unconscious body. He looked like he had been out for a day, probably by one of the creatures. Princess Cadance checked for a heartbeat, breathing a sigh of relief as she found one.
Picking him up on her back, Princess Cadance froze in terror as hundreds of the creatures surrounded her. Princess Cadance closed her eyes and hoped for a miracle as the creatures opened their mouths.
“Open fire!” A voice roared as green laser-like shots were fired upon the creatures, shattering them!
“What happened? Am I dead?” Princess Cadance whispered as she opened her eyes, seeing the creatures now shattered. However, one rose up and began to charge a beam, until it was destroyed by a green blast!
Almost dropping down the sky, a group of white ponies wearing a light body-armor and a special helmet came down from a strange gunship. The gunship had had a jet-like cockpit, along with a square body and missile launches on the top. Out of these gunships came more of these white ponies. Looking at them, they did have black manes and white bodies.
“Are you okay, ma’am?” One of the white ponies asked Princess Cadance. He seemed like the others, but he had a blue mane instead of a black mane.
“I am, but who are you?” Princess Cadance responded, then asking the pony the question.
“My name is CSLDR-2913” CSLDR-2913 introduced himself as he blasted a creature with a strange gun-like weapon, “But you can call me Commander Shrike”
As the rest of the white ponies finished destroying the creatures, Princess Celestia approached Commander Shrike and a group of the white ponies. All of them bowed to Princess Celestia, which made her raise an eyebrow.
“Just who are you ponies?” Princess Celestia questioned Commander Shrike.
“Your majesty, there is someone you should speak to, and we can take you to him in person” Commander Shrike answered, now showing a pre-recorded voice of the being.
“Hello, Princess Celestia” The voice greeted Princess Celestia, “My name is the Clonemaster, and I want to make you an offer”
(To be Continued)
Chapter 2
After loading up into the gunships, Princess Cadance sat while medics attended to Shining Armor. The gunship bumped as it flew through the sky, passing through a couple of clouds. A couple of troops were bragging to each other about destroying the creatures, which they referred to as Diamond-Drones.
“Hey, thanks again for saving me and my husband” Princess Cadance thanked Commander Shrike, who was cleaning his helmet.
Commander Shrike was actually quite handsome, having a regal blue mane and silky white fur. However, he did look a bit scruffy, as he had probably been in many battles before this. This reminded Princess Cadance of Shining Armor a little bit, except less scruffy.
“No problem, your majesty” Commander Shrike responded as he politely bowed.
“But, how did you know we were royalty?” Princess Cadance asked him.
“Our master told us everything about you, even Celestia’s sister, Luna” Commander Shrike explained, leaving Princess Cadance with more questions than answers.
Your husband is awake now, you can see him” A medic informed Princess Cadance, who ran to her husband and hugged him.
“Shining! I’m so glad that you’re okay” Princess Cadance happily as Shining Armor hugged her more.
“Thank you, but where are we?” Shining Armor asked his wife in confusion, taking in the sights of the gunship. Having been in the military, he’d seen many strange things. But not in his life had he seen anything like this.
“It’s a very long story, but we know that King Sombra is back” Princess Cadance sighed as looked around the gunship. The bumpiness of flying with the ship was still something that Shining Armor needed to get used to, as his face turned green.
“Don’t puke on my ship, we’re practically here!” A pilot told the ponies as the gunship landed on a pad in the middle of a lake. Looking over the sights as she exited, Princess Cadance saw various landmarks that didn’t look like any place in Equestria.
“Welcome to Cloning Facility 253-29391, where clones are made” Commander Shrike informed Princess Cadance and Princess Celestia.
Cloning Facility 253-29291 seemed to look like a high-quality factory. However, the signs of a typical factory were still present. Smoke still escaped and noises louder than fireworks could be heard from other parts of the factory.
“Can you take us to your master?” Princess Celestia asked Commander Shrike.
“No, but you can meet him here” A voice chuckled as a strange being walked onto the landing pad.
He seemed rather alien, not even looking like a pony. The being seemed to walk on two legs, but they were hidden by long, crimson robes. He also wore white robes on his shoulders that seemed to reach the ground. His arms were covered with light armor, it almost looked like a part of his body. In his hand he carried a staff with a strange symbol in the middle of it, with gems on both ends. He also had a face-concealing helmet, with a chainmail-like material covering the front. It also had two horns made from a black ore, and a red sensor in the center of the face.
“Thank you for saving me and my friends at Fillydelphia” Princess Celestia thanked the mysterious being, “But, who are you?”
“I have many names, as I am many years old” The being answered as he took a polite bow to Princess Celestia, “But my clones call me Clonemaster”
“Clonemaster, I don’t mean to be rude in my next statements, but why did you come to save us?” Princess Cadance politely asked Clonemaster.
“That's actually why I wished for you three to see me, because I have an offer that could save Equestria” Clonemaster responded as he opened the door to his facility, leading the three inside.
Inside of the facilities were strange, grey creatures with bulbous heads and red eyes working on various panels. When one would press a panel, various robotics began to create a white pony with black hair.
“What are those things that are making the clones?” Princess Cadance inquired Clonemaster.
“Those are my Clone Makers, and they’re being paid if you want to know” Clonemaster responded as he continued to lead the tour.
“Let’s not dance around this, why are you having us tour your facility?” Princess Celestia asked the question that was on everyone’s mind.
“I wish for you to have access and use my clone army in the war, and in exchange I want some political power in your government” Clonemaster answered as he showed them a group of clones standing at attention. At the front of each line of clones was a pony with either yellow, blue, red, or green mane. These were most likely commanders, similar to Commander Shrike.
“Is there anything else to offer?” Shining Armor raised an eyebrow in suspicion.
“Why yes, I can give locations of Sombra’s troops and future locations of his Diamond Drones for no extra price” Clonemaster added as he let out a nice chuckle. Princess Celestia turned to face Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, who looked at her in return.
“We need some time to think on this and get the approval of the representatives of Equestria” Princess Celestia answered as Clonemaster stroked his chin.
“Fine, but do come back at another time soon” Clonemaster sighed, “But at least keep in contact with me”
“Alright then, now have a good rest of your day” Princess Celestia smiled as a pair of clones lead Princess Celestia, Princess Cadance, and Shining Armor out of the facility, leading them to the gunship. Clonemaster checked for their departure, and stealthily opened up a communication link.
“How long until my Diamond-Drones are complete?” King Sombra inquired Clonemaster.
“They’ll be ready in about two or three days, and they’ll be ready to face and destroy Celestia’s grand army” Clonemaster responded.
“Excellent! Now Celestia’s ponies will be crushed under my foot!” King Sombra declared as Clonemaster ended communications with him.
During the next morning, delegates from all around Equestria had begun to gather inside of the Canterlot Castle. Fifty representatives had made their way here, ranging from gryphons to giraffes to zebras to dragons.
“Good morning, my fellow rulers” Princess Celestia greeted the others from her large stand, “As you may or may not know, King Sombra has begun to invade Equestria with an army of Diamond-Drones”
“And how do we intend to protect ourselves?” The Dragon Representative questioned Princess Celestia, her tone sincere.
“You have no right to talk, dragon! If anyone needs protection, it’s us!” The Breezie Representative sneered, “You are big and we are frail and small!”
“Our race has been hunted for many years now, Breezies lack organs that can make fake medicines and our scales for rich collectors!” The Dragon Representative snapped back.
“We have received a generous offer from the Clonemaster to use a cloned army to fight for Equestria” Princess Celestia answered as she showed a hologram of the Clonemaster.
“Yes, I can insure you that my clones will annihilate King Sombra’s army, I swear it n my life” Clonemaster addressed the room, causing the entire hall to erupt into chaotic debate.
“Are we no longer strong enough to protect ourselves anymore?! Should we even trust this Clonemaster that she speaks of?!” The Zebra Representative demanded as more insults and yells were hurled at Princess Celestia.
“I can insure you all that-”
“I move for a group of small nations to join King Sombra’s new empire!” The Breezie Representative declared as twenty-two other representatives cheered. Princess Cadance gasped as she was sitting next to Princess Celestia at the time.
“I second that!” The Diamond Dog Representative agreed as the entire room was now consumed by name-calling and finger-pointing.
“We’re leaving! And don’t try to get us back!” The Breezie Representative exclaimed as he and a few others up and left the hall.
“Have I failed to keep us united in these times?” Princess Celestia sighed in defeat as she left the room with her head hanging low. Princess Cadance followed after her, seeing her looking upon Canterlot.
“I’m so sorry that this happened” Princess Cadance comforted Princess Celestia, whom she hugged. Princess Celestia smiled at Princess Cadance, wiping away a teardrop.
“It’s not your fault, it’s just that some folks don’t feel safe anymore” Princess Celestia sighed as the two kept hugging.
Meanwhile, down in Canterlot itself, Shining Armor was walking through the streets, trying to forget about his experience. The nice smells and sights weren’t enough, and the memories began to roll back. He blood and the ambush, those were things that one couldn’t forget about easily.
“Hey, did you notice that Filthy Rich’s business has left?” A mare asked her friend, “No one else sells Zap-Apple Jam, he owned the monopoly on it”
“Yeah, so did four other rich stallions” The second mare responded, “Rumor has it they’ve left Equestria”
“Excuse me, but could you tell me more about this rumor?” Shining Armor politely asked the mares.
“Yes, I can” The second mare responded, “The rumor states that Filthy Rich and four other rich stallions, two with monopolies in weapons and the other two in food have left Canterlot to join some up and coming force”
“Yeah, they might be associated with King Sombra” The mare added as Shining Armor began to realize something.
Not only were representatives of nations leaving, but various owners of big business had left too. Not only did they have the support of well-respected nations, but now the rumors of big business joining them. This wasn’t a normal political situation, this was the beginning of a war.
(The End)
