-Equestria, town of Forestpool-
It was a calm dusk. The sun was just dipping over the mountains, bathing the sky in the final beams of its orange glow, the soft glow of the moon sliding to replace it as it rose from the opposite side of the world. The waning light filters through the leaves of trees, bathing the small town of Forestpool in an orange and emerald twilight. Ponies went about their normal business, wooden shutters closing over stalls in the market, some small groups meeting in the central plaza, called the Promenade, to talk and laugh and say their goodbyes for the evening, a colorful mix of the three races. One unicorn slid the curtain over the front of his shop, a sign hanging on a chain above painted with a bright picture of jewellery and magic; he seemed to be an enchanter of sorts, and he hummed as he closed up for the day, the soft light making his alabaster fur slightly amber. His cutie mark was a curl of magic, simple, but proved his magical talent. He smiled at a Guard pony that trotted past, an Earth Pony dressed in the livery of the Royal Guard, who maintained a small post nearby. “Evening, Spark! Another quiet day, I hope?” the unicorn asked, the Guard stopping to return the smile.
“As usual, Ivory. Though, a cat did get itself stuck in a tree this morning, so there was a little excitement.” The Guard, Spark, replied, chuckling under his breath. Ivory Gleam, the unicorn, returned the laugh, his cool blue magic glowing as he slid the buckle closed on his bags.
“Well, it’s a good kind of busy then, eh?” Ivory provided.
Spark chuckled again. “Absolutely” he replied, then turned away. “Anyway, I have the night rounds tonight. See you tomorrow?”
Ivory nodded. “Yeah, and I’ll have the charm made by then!” he said, gesturing to an empty slot in the Guard’s armor. It was customary for all Guards to have a small magical warding built-in to their armor, though this far from Canterlot, only a few actually had them, unless a craftspony like Ivory was near their posting. Spark nodded his agreement, and trotted off towards the squat Guard building, waving his goodbye. Ivory waved back, and turned towards his own house, just across the street from his shop.
The sun had set, and Ivory’s house was lit by a globe hanging from the ceiling; made of pure glass, he had enchanted it himself, and it gave off a warm yellow glow, illuminating the whole bottom floor of his cozy house. He had hung his bags on a peg by the door, and he was rifling around in the cupboards, trying to find something to snack on. His blue magic sorted through cartons and bags, and he huffed, closing the cupboards having found nothing that caught his eye. He sat at his small desk, next to a large picture window set into one wall, the moon large and glowing bright, filling his view of the street with white light. He had a book propped open, and he turned to that, flipping a few pages, reading up again on the Guard’s armor enchantment, making sure he had caught every detail.
He remained like that for a quarter of an hour, looking up from the book and stretching. He took a glance out the window, and his eye caught something strange. A fog was creeping in from the forest, unusual for this time of night. He gave it a curious look, leaning forward to try and get a closer look. It boiled from between the trees like a liquid, and yet some rose, sliding in front of the moon partially, like an oil slick, though this fog was…purple? It was as dark as wine, blotting out the light from the moon. Ivory’s brow furrowed, and he snatched up his glow-globe in his magic, rushing out his front door. Many other townsponies had the same idea, coming out from their housed to see what in the world was going on. A few Guards had trotted up the street, a worried look on their faces, mixed with plain confusion. A few told the ponies to stay back near their doors, though even she didn’t know why. Ivory spotted spark, moving near the front of the small group with two unicorns, talking with them in low voices. Ivory trotted up, clearing his throat as Spark and one of the unicorns turned to face him. “Any idea what…that is?” Ivory questioned, gesturing with a hoof towards the thick purple fog. Spark shrugged.
“No idea. But whatever it is, it doesn’t seem dangerous, yet.” The earth Guard replied, shifted his gaze to Ivory’s orb. ”Are you fine with me borrowing that, friend? I’d like to try something. The enchanter nodded his assent, dropping the ball carefully into the Guard’s hooves.
“Just be careful with it, please.” He added, casting Spark a joking smile, which his friend returned. Spark turned to the fog, and gently rolled the glowing amber orb towards it. The moment it slid into the roiling wall, its light vanished, like a light dropping into a pool of oil. Several of the Guard watched in stunned silence, and the townsponies erupted in a murmur, words like ‘dangerous’ and ‘curse’ coming from the worried ponies.
That was, until, the ball rolled back out, it’s light completely doused, bringing a startled expression from Ivory. As far as he knew, the light would only fade during daytime, or if it was broken, and it looked completely intact. Following it, figures melted from the fog like inky shadows, several with eyes that glowed yellow and gold and blue in the dim moonlight. As the ponies on the road froze in confusion, staring at the figures, another set emerged, but as fast as lightning, and two of the Guards fell under the shapes. The ponies quickly panicked as more and more figures shot from the fog, taking off down the street. The figures came into more light, though moving so fast it was hard to see them.
Several guards fell in the first moment, screaming in pain as they were struck by arrows or claws. The rest of the Guard quickly organized, a unicorn duo managing to create a barrier between the approaching shadows and the townsponies. One of the figures shifted into view as a unicorn Guard with a staff blocked it’s strike, the now-still attacker resolving into a Gryphon, wearing armor as black as the night sky, with a single teardrop of silver set into the chestplate, growling as he pulled his heavy broadsword back, striking the guard’s staff again. Another, a batpony with fur as inky as his armor, knocked a Guard over with a kick to a leg, silver blades glinting on the ends of her dragonlike wings like deadly stars. Ivory stood frozen in fear, his mouth hanging open at the sudden, violent spectacle. The soldier were like nothing he had ever seen, and assortment of every intelligent race all in midnight armor. He yelped in surprise as a unicorn locked his gaze onto him, the soldier grinning viciously as he turned on the enchanter, approaching with a glaive floating at his size. Ivory couldn’t move, his body panicking but refusing to move despite the sheer terror flowing through him. As the unicorn raised the glaive, a shape dove into view, and with a sharp clang of steel on steel, Spark stood before him, shuddering under the blow he had blocked, carrying a spear strapped to his hoof armor, grunting under the effort. He didn’t speak, but Ivory quickly scrambled out of the way as the enemy unicorn huffed in what sounded like annoyance, swinging the glaive in a wide arc at Spark. The Guard barely dove out of the way as the blade carved a brutal crescent through the air, but he used the momentum of the swing to pivot a hoof around, slamming Spark in the side of the head, and the Guard crumpled to the ground like a sack of wet rags, soundless.
The situation around them was quickly worsening, the scant few Guard unable to resist the sheer number of shadowy attackers, all of them now dead or wounded. The unicorn approached Ivory, twirling the glaive smoothly, but stopped at a sharp voice, what sounded like an order, but Ivory couldn’t understand over the din of battle. The soldier clearly understood, and dutifully backed up, turning to assist one of his comrades instead. Ivory blinked in confusion, and scrambled to his hooves as two figures slid from a bank of the nearby fog. One was a pony, a batpony from his eyes, and beside him a black shadow moved soundlessly, eyes as red as hot coals, and burning. Ivory found himself catching his breath at the sight of the creature. A shadowblade, he had read about them somewhere. Native to the Shadowlands, rarely ever seen, and as deadly as they looked. It was graceful and sleek, like a drop of liquid obsidian, moving with an exotic grace, strangely beautiful in a vicious way, its tail sporting a bone blade as wide as Ivory’s body. As the batpony came into the light, it was clear he was different. He was a unicorn, a half bred batpony from his appearances, with fur as grey as slate and slitted eyes the same shade as ocean water. What Ivory had originally thought were wings, were in fact mechanisms seemingly crafted to the muscles between the stallion’s shoulder blades, twin wings of dull brass and glittering silver, which moved as if they were natural. The stallion whispered to the dragon, which stopped where it was, flicking its gaze around like a cat searching for a bird. The unicorn-batpony approached Ivory, and the enchanter backed up, stumbling over a stone down into a sitting position, shivering in fear. The stallion shook his head, almost sorrowfully, and stood right in front of the enchanter. He lifted a hoof, two silver claws sliding from the black armor on them, and he used them to lift Ivory’s chin up, to meet his gaze.
“What is your name, unicorn?” the stallion asked, his voice thick with command, with an exotic undertone. He moved Ivory’s head, as if examining him.
“I-Ivory G-g-gleam” he barely managed to stammer out, the claws pricking his chin, a small bead of blood running down it. The unicorn tilted his head, as if confused.
“Ivory, I will not hurt you, I am here to protect you, and all the other ponies in this land. But, I would like you to deliver a message for me.” He said, his voice quiet and dark. “To Canterlot, and the palace. Tell them an age is approaching, an age never seen before.” He said, grinning, and added with a more menacing tone. “Tell them the Echoes of their past have come to bear fruit.”