Chapter 1 - Wake Up Call [Uncompleted Draft]

The ponies of the light,

O how they rejoiced,

when their Ruler was laid to rest.

Flowers and banquets,

Naught for the king to wake,

For the earth would tremble,

The day he returned.

For moons it seemed,

that all was well.

Ponies are mirthful and kind,

weak from tranquil and peace.

He who slumbered has yet to miss,

ponies ignorant to his vengeful hiss.

When the cycles they turn,

Discord will return.

~ Taken from the Book of Prophecies

7 Years after the event of Prologue…

The bustling laboratories of the Trident Research Facility were alive, as it always was. Whereas its sister research facility in Captiol were responsible for the countless domestic inventions and innovations that increased the quality of life in Celestine, it was here that the more dangerous and sensitive subjects were constructed, studied or taken apart to further the interests of the nation.

The corridors and the containment rooms of the facility all appeared the same, off white colour that were illuminated by electricity behind glass covers. The temperature was always maintained at a perfect room temperature, though adjustable depending on the situation. However, the comfortable temperature was contended by the sterile smell that persisted everywhere.

Currently, in the central chambers of the giant complex, a recently recovered artefact was brought to be examined. The artefact itself was a solidly prism shaped object, with the exception of a few chipped corners at the top. Intricate rune markings and patterns marked its surface, though they had long since been drained of their power.

“Set it down, gently does it.” A band of unicorns wrapped in hazmat suits and thickly bounded barding circled the mysterious artefact, all within a sealed see-through room. All had a shimmering glow around their horns, matched by an identical one on the artefact. Beyond the glass panels, Director Emeritus bit her lips. With her were half a dozen scientists and technicians, all under her command.

“Right corner at three degrees angle to the medium,” uttered one of the unicorns as the artefact tilted ever so slightly towards the left.

“Adjust on left flank, we want to do this as carefully as possible,” said the Director, speaking into a small rounded microphone attached to the console. She moved away from the microphone and took a sip of water, calming her parched and irritated throat. The speaker overhead spoke again.

“Tilt stabilized. Right corner at less than half degree.”

The rest of procedure went flawlessly, the expert team of ponies lowering the object inch by inch. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the artefact was lowered onto the observation deck with a soft thud. Several ponies circled the device, searching for any minuscule detail that didn’t exist before. Another moment passed and Emeritus raised her hoof, posed to ping the emergency buzzer.

“Everything is as documented, Director.” The Director’s hoof lowered and the other operators in the control room seemed to collectively sigh in relief.

“All personnel except for Specialist Glimmer exit the containment chamber. The examinations shall begin shortly.” Emeritus wiped away the condensation above her brow with a hoof. So far so good, she thought to herself. A nervous twitch had begun to occupy her right hind hoof, an old habit from her university days.

Lights overhead flashed and a soft siren wailed as the dozen or so ponies exited the containment chamber. The deadlock seal quickly shut close behind them, leaving only one occupant within the testing chamber. The precautionary alarms settled down and left a clear view of the artefact again.

“Draining all arcane presence in three… two… one…” A stallion next to Emeritus quickly flipped switches and manipulated knobs, causing a vague emerald sheen to spread across the containment chamber before dissipating into nothingness. Each operator sat silently in their seats, their brows knitted as they all stared intensely at the readings and control valves.

Beside her, a small recorder turned on, tuned to record both inside the chamber and outside. Giving a nod of satisfaction Emeritus took control of the microphone again.

“All controls are in full functioning capacity and entropy levels are stable. You may start your examinations.” Emeritus leant back into her comfortable chair as the specialist gave an affirmative and went to work, bringing out her arsenal of advanced tools.

The small, bizarre picks, screwdrivers and hefty drilling devices as well as charge emulators were laid across the table. Each was made of an arcana core with a coldsteel shell, with the exception of some of the more sensitive contraptions. The specialist paused a small moment, her hoof flexing slowly underneath her suit before she reached for an Optical-Arcanum device, a magically infused visual scanner.

“Test 01: subject appears to be made of cast Laxite-Ruponzium alloy for the purpose of repurposing strong currents from ley lines or an active life force.” She squinted as she tried to read the markings that criss-crossed the prism. “The current embedded runes suggest that it could be have been used as a magical retainer.”

The unicorn lowered the examination device and put it down gently. She then picked up another device with a small spiralling tip at the end. Being careful, she lowered the device onto the surface of the artefact, drilling a small hole it into it. She picked up the examination device again and raised it to her eyes.

“Test 02: Arcane dating suggests that this artefact dates its origins back to as early as fifteen BC, in the midst of the last chapter of the Discordian Wars.” Glimmer shifted her view and twitched the small knobs on the device. “Small scars and the uneven rune distribution are scattered throughout the surface, meaning that it had at least seen some form of action in the wars. On whose side, it is not evident so far, though the runes seem to favour more to that of Discord.”

The specialist mare stopped to take a breather as everypony in the room let the thought sink in. It was not rare to uncover artefacts used by ponies during the war; in fact they were quite well documented. However, it was rare that anything used by Discord or his legions could be recovered due to their powerful yet unstable nature. Emeritus turned her eyes on the specialist Glimmer, whose eyes shifted before settling back on the artefact.

“Shall I continue, Director?”

The operators around her looked at the Director, hooves twitchy as they waited to hear her decision. Director Emeritus chewed on the inside of her cheeks before answering.

“Yes, please resume your examination, Specialist Glimmer.” Glimmer gave a stiff nod in return and went back to her task. She picked up one of the larger devices: an arcane ophilometre used to measure arcane devices by running a small passive magical current through it.

“Test 03: conducting a two point one ophilome current on subject.” The device hummed to life, and as the two ends were connected to the artefact, a fizz quickly built up through the wires connecting the ends. However, nothing came out of it. Emeritus frowned as the specialist put the device back down. “The results return a negative. The current had failed to penetrate the protective casing. Requesting permission to conduct a larger current?”

“Granted,” replied Emeritus.

“Upgrading current to three point one ophilome.” The twin ends were once again on the surface of the artefact. As soon as it was turned on, however, it was apparent that something was wrong. Emeritus was the first to notice one of the sensors had picked up a huge current of magical energies leaving the room.

“Shut down the curren–” she tried to yell but was interrupted as a deep rumble erupted around her. An operator jumped out of her seat and rushed over to pull at the emergency buzzer, but for the one time they needed it, the buzzer was too stubborn to move.

“Director, the emergency switch’s jammed!”

An unearthly quake suddenly shook the room, causing Emeritus and the operators to stumble across her control panel. A bolt of panic and fear shot through her body. She frantically righted herself and looked into the containment chamber. Her eyes widened at the sight of the artefact shaking as its runes and markings lit up with energy. Without a single moment of hesitation she slammed the emergency response button and spoke into the comms. “We need a full arcane containment crew here, now!”

“Ma’am, the artefact is becoming unstable!” shouted a pony nearby.

“I can see that! Lock the seals and make sure nothing gets into that containment chamber or out!” Emeritus gritted her teeth. Inside, she saw the specialist backing away from the examination pad, her tools and sensors laid abandoned. The mare tapped into her radio and quickly uttered something, only to find no reply or static. She looked towards the sealed entrance – and exit – with growing dread.

The Director was sweating profusely, adrenaline pumping through her veins. She flinched when she heard a banging from the other side of the entrance, no doubt the mare inside pleading for them to let her get out.

“Um, Director?” She turned her attention on the pony who prompted her. “Should we leave? The policy says that we must evac–”

“The rules dictate that we must act in the best interest of our nation.” Emeritus gritted her teeth and looked back into the desperate and terrified eyes of the trapped mare through the glass panel. “This facility is currently under lock down, meaning that nothing gets in or out of here until we know more, including us.”

“The containment team is en-route,” somepony called out. “ETA twenty minutes.”

“Shit, that’s going to take way too long,” muttered a researcher next to her. More banging ensued and the Director could feel an onset aneurism.

“Alright, suit up everyone, in case the containment chamber breaks open,” she said, slipping into her own Hazmat suit along with her co-workers. The alarms were immediately muffled as the Hazmat isolated the Director from the outside world as best as it could.

That was when the lights cut out.

The control room and beyond was plunged into a suffocating darkness. A hiss and heavy thud rang through the control room as everypony fumbled to turn their inbuilt headlights on. A sharp squeal of metal caused everypony to flatten their ears, even with the sound muffling Hazmat suit. Emeritus herself quickly cast a ward spell, but found that her magic was cut off.

“What the-” The pony never finished the sentence as a cackle quickly signalled the return of electricity. Light flooded through the control room and everypony could see again. However, when they quickly looked into the containment chamber, it was now empty accompanied by a new hole.

Panic ripped through the assembled scientists as everypony scrambled away from the now-compromised containment chamber. Even the Director herself took a step back away from the observation panel.

“Where is the damned containment team?! We should’ve heard from them by–”

A bright flash accompanied by a deafening roar drew their attention. The sound of shattering glass didn’t matter as much as what they saw. The space that was previously occupied by the mare and the artefact was now host to something much more dangerous.

“N-no, it can’t be!” stuttered Emeritus, scrambling to get away from the impossible eldritch horror before her.

Her only reply was a malicious smile as it stepped forward and grasped the files that were knocked open during the quake. Its maniac eyes stopped as it glanced over a picture of purple unicorn mare. Beside the image, there were two imprinted words.

Twilight Sparkle

The chilling laugh that followed echoed through the facility.

***

Twilight ducked under a brutally swung saber and rolled away sharply, keeping her limbs close to her body. A matching saber in her own telekinesis blocked another coming attack, allowing her to catch a breath. Her legs spread out underneath her, and she once more morphed into a combat ready stance. She could taste the salt on her lips as she caught her breath in short bursts. Her bangs well across her eyes limply, drenched down by her own sweat. She really should’ve tied it up before.

Twilight assessed the situation. In front of her was a hostile opponent, an expert in combat and sword jousting. Any swings that she might make will be easily countered and in turn she will be open to attacks. However, she had the advantage of a large cesspool of ready magic at her command. A small plan coming together, Twilight charged forward, feigning left before suddenly swirling towards the right. Her prod was easily blocked, but the assault had done what she wanted.

Her horn released a bout of magic, teleporting her to the immediate back of her opponent. She then jabbed her saber as fast as she could, but found it skilfully reflected. Twilight leapt backwards once it seemed that the element of surprise was not with her, narrowly avoiding a barrage of swings and jabs by her opponent.

The failed surprise attack had left her slightly winded, and so she panicked when she saw her opponent charging towards her again. She saw her opponent coming in for another jab from the right, and she readied herself to block it.

At the last second, however, the pony shifted suddenly to the left, causing Twilight to try and intercept the coming attack with her own weapon. Unprepared as she was, her saber was torn away by a simple twirl from her opponent. She managed to teleport again, this time to where she had dropped her sword. Her opponent was faster, though, and had predicted where she might go. A powerful thrust headed for her and she was forced to roll out of the way.

A series of rapid attacks soon followed, as it seemed that Twilight’s opponent was capitalizing on her weariness. Both rapidly losing hope and worn out, she raised an impromptu magical shield as her last defence. She yelped as the shield shattered against the sudden, pinpoint assault of the enemy’s saber. Her mind dazed by the shattering of her shield, she found herself on the floor, a sabre pointed towards her.

“Okay, I yield!” The sword was at once lowered and sheathed back into its place. Twilight gasped, panting to get her breath back. The smooth, cold marble stone beneath her body providing a small but not unpleasant chill down her spine. A throbbing ache had started at the back of her head, reminding her of the headache that would not doubt consume her day soon.

“Not bad, Twily, not bad at all,” said the all-too smug looking stallion in front of her. Twilight glared at the stallion, knowing all too well that the stallion in front of her knows that she hates the nickname ‘Twily’. It made her feel like she was just a foal.

“Yeah, laugh it up Sergeant Armour,” Twilight snapped back, blowing the mane from her face. “I’d almost got you that time, too.”

Sergeant Armour, or Shining Armour as he much preferred to be called was an imposing stallion with a pure white coat that contrasted deeply with his dark, navy mane. His sabre sheath was made of an elegant brass with ironwood trimmings, with only the handle of the sabre present. It was slung across his taunt and muscular back, no doubt a result from the years of military training and service.

Shining Armour was in charge of Twilight’s ‘exercise’ regime, a fact that Twilight did not enjoy. Self-defence was, however, a much need skill for anypony of stature in the Capitol. According to the age old rules of politics and treachery, the higher your position of power, the larger the blood red cross painted across your back.

And the position of protégé of her majesty was a high position indeed.

Twilight didn’t care, of course. Politics and power plays had always either bored Twilight or disgusted her. Regardless, it was requested nicely by the Princess – though to Twilight it was as good as a mandate – that she attend a one on one session with her personal trainer at least twice a week.

Groaning at the sounds of her bones grinding against each other, Twilight helped herself up, completely ignoring the Shining’s outstretched hoof. She walked to the sidelines to where Spike – currently transformed as a mountain lion – sat lazily on the benches. She scanned the benches and spotted a small canteen of water. She sighed in relief as she took it in her magic and chugged it all     down in one swig, giving her drained body some much needed fluid.

“Alright, rest time’s up. You have done enough for techniques today, so we’ll be doing a simulation now. It’ll require both brains and brawn this time.” Twilight straightened herself as she heard this. As much as she generally disliked the training regiments, the simulations were the best part of it in her opinion.

“Alright, what is the scenario this time?” asked Twilight eagerly, her previous grumpiness all but forgotten. Shining Armour chuckled at her enthusiasm as he charged up his horn again, and five fizzes jumped off the tip of his alabaster horn to form five pony constructs made of magic.

“Now, this time your job would not be to simply defend yourself against your enemies, but instead taking them out silently, and if not, baiting them into a trap.” Shining skipped back into the midst of the conjured beings, and drew his blade. “They say that the best offense is a good defense, but it would be naïve to have no knowledge in offensiveness either. Sometimes, it will save not only your own life, but those of many others.”

“Shining Armour, is that you?” asked Twilight, surprise evident in her voice, her voice echoing through the empty streets.

“Hard to mistaken me with anypony else with my rugged handsomeness,” replied Shining, a wry grin on his face before it disappeared. He spoke again, keeping his voice low and turning away from Twilight looking from building to building. “Yes, it’s me, keep your voices down and follow me.”

“Why? What are you doing here?” Shining let out a small breath and turned back to Twilight, seeing that she hasn’t moved at all. Sighing, he produced a scroll from the pocket of his palace issued coat. Twilight hurriedly snatched it over, the familiarity of the smooth parchment making her pause before she read through the lines of perfect cursive writing… written none other than Princess Celestia!

“What does it mean this place is unsafe for me?”

“Look, just… I’ll explain on the way but we really need to move now, so c’mon.”

Twilight wanted to ask more questions, but when she looked at Shining, there was something that she never saw before. Even in the dark night, she could make out what it was; fear. She nodded and silently motioned for Spike to follow her as well.

The night wore on, with only what little light from the artificial light of the dome ceiling that managed to penetrate the cloud cover to illuminate the streets along with the occasional lamps. As late into the night as it was, few lights were still lit within the houses. Twilight was not accustomed to the Capitol being so quiet. It was also a first regarding to how vulnerable she actually felt.

“What’s going on?” asked Spike, the same question that Twilight was itching to know the answer to too.

“Traitors,” said Shining Armour, his eyes narrowing. Twilight barely restrained a gasp by forcing a hoof into her mouth. Taking it out and trying to calm herself down with breathing exercises, she collected herself before whispering anxiously, her eyes wide and unbelieving.

“How could that be? Why would anypony even do that?”

“That’s beyond my knowledge, Twi. What I do know is that somepony, or someponies are stirring up a big ruckus, and that you are the key to it all.” Shining sat down heavily and turned to face the pony and the construct, while Twilight and Spike all but stared at him.

“Me?” “Her?” said both Twilight and Spike at the same time, and would’ve drawn a chuckle from Shining Armour if not for his tenseness at the moment. This time, unlike before, the feeling of somepony watching her grew tenfold, and Twilight shuddered in fear.

“Yes, though I’m out of the loop as to why. All I’m concerned about is getting the two of you to the safe confines of the Palace.” Twilight gave a jerky nod and followed silently.

They were almost out of the quiet residential area and was starting to climb the steps up the Capitol Hill when a rustle nearby stopped them cold. Another, almost inaudible smack on the cold, cobblestone road turned their ears around. Twilight gulped and exchanged uneasy looks with Spike. When nothing else appeared to attack them, the group started moving again.

“We need to loop around,” said Shining quickly.

“Can’t we contact the Royal Guard for an escort?” Shining gave Twilight a shake of his head. “I already did, but clearly something had either delayed them or worse.”

Twilight didn’t press when the blanch stallion stopped at that.

“Where are we?” Shining didn’t look back as he replied in a somehow stranger tone.

“The seedier part of the Capitol.” Twilight

“This shortcut was a bad idea, guys,” hissed Spike, his form a small flying bat that flew from wall to wall under the hidden veil of the shadows. Broken rags and old, mushy newspapers littered the ground along with the occasional puddles of dirty water that looked deeper than they were in the absence of light. The alleyway would’ve looked completely natural as a scene for a horror play.

“Did you hear that?” As he said this, a rapid shadow flew across the street adjacent to them, causing all three of them to tense up. Under his breath, Shining muttered, “Prepare yourselves.”

Shining carefully ventured a few more steps, scanning the crooks and nicks for anything that moves. Slowly, he cast a scanning spell, lighting up his horn for the briefest moment.

And then they saw them.

The creatures each looked twisted and wrong, and they snarled and growled loudly as Shining’s horn shone. Their bodies were in the shape of wolves, but each limb was hellishly long and their eyes a milky orb. Then there was the smell, something they somehow didn’t notice before. It was a putrid, rancid odour that seems to come from everywhere, and overwhelmingly so. The creatures, dripping slime and a pinkish vapour, darted across the street towards them, snarling loudly as they.

“Run!” roared Shining as he rushed Twilight and Spike away from the eldritch horrors. Without the slightest hesitation, they did as they were told. A glance backward showed that the monsters were chasing, and gaining rapidly. Remembering her training, Twilight quickly casted an armoured shell outside her coat and used her magic to speed boost herself. Beside her, Spike had morphed into a leopard and had started running at full speed.

Meanwhile, Shining Armour cursed as he lagged behind the mare and the construct, his sheer bulk making it difficult for him. As he saw a few of the creatures catching up to him, he cursed loudly and let off a series of concussion bolts, slamming them backward as the bolts impacted directly in their faces.

“Hey, Twilight, you remember the lesson today?” yelled Shining as he kicked off his left hoof and turned a sharp corner. Twilight followed suit and replied.

“Yes?”

“Shining, what in Tartarus were those things?!”

“Chaos spawnlings. And by Celestia’s horn they should not be anywhere near Celestine much less in it.” grunted out Shining. A second later, he collapsed onto the ground, his face contorted in pain. Twilight rushed over, and gasped when she found a gaping flesh wound on one of the unicorn stallion’s legs. It was apparent that he had already lost quite a lot of blood. The coppery scent of the liquid sent Twilight’s head spinning but she managed to keep her cool as well as her lunch.

“Shining! We have to get this treated!”

“Urgh, no time. We need to get to the Palace and warn the Princess.” Shining grunted as Twilight tore away a piece of cloth from her coat and applied it to his wound. He grimaced slightly as she pressed down

The smell of fresh dirt with a metallic twang filled her nose.

“Shining! Spike! No, wait stop, my friend and construct are still in there!” Twilight wrenched herself from the grasp of the pony holding onto her, but found herself grasped by strong hooves again. She tried to use her magic again but a splitting migraine caused her to lose her concentration.

“No, missus! If you get back in there they’ll getcha’ for good this time!” said the stallion, pulling them both away from the establishment. The pony, whoever he was, was certainly strong as he carried both of them in half a gallop.

Through the smokes and vapours, Twilight saw a Royal Guard squadron rush up to the bar and rammed against its backdoor. A bright flash later and the sound of musket shot roared in the nighttime air. The ponies around them instinctually ducked down before running away from its source in hysterics.

“U-uh, Twilight,” she said, her head feeling dizzy and wobbly. An uncomfortable tingle ran through her body. “Uh.. wait, why are you doing this, helping me?” The stallion carrying her paused for a moment, before continuing on.

“Because it’s the right thing to do, and there ain’t enough ponies around that do it.”

“Where’d you say you lived again, missus Twilight?”

“C-Capitol Palace,” said Twilight, struggling to keep her eyes open as her limbs ached and groaned at her in the absence of adrenaline. She wanted nothing more than to collapse into the heavenly hay stack and be consumed by the realm of slumber, but forced herself to stay awake.

“Well, I don’t know how to say this, missus, but you pro’lly won’t go back there until her majesty and her fine guards sort the deal out. For now, you should just follow me and a few friends for the evacuation”

“Evacuation… w-what?” The wagon rocked as they went over a rough patch of ground, and the jitter shook Twilight into awareness for long enough to comprehend the farmer’s reply.

“You didn’t hear, missus Twilight? The Palace is under attack.”