//-------------------------------------------------------// Stoic Stasis -by CelestialKnight79- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 1: Smash! Break! Hello? //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 1: Smash! Break! Hello? "The Canterlot Windows of History," a young Earth Pony spoke, as she slowly trotted down the hall. "How exquisite...how enriching...how tacky." Coming to a stop in the middle of the hall, the mare known as Endless Horizon hardened her soft gaze, and then stomped her left hoof on the floor. In response an indigo ring of light manifested above her head, sparkling dust of magic rained down upon her and caused her whole body to glow a mild blue hue. Cracking a confident smirk, Endless Horizon casted one final glance at the windows, and then with a crackle and a boom every single one shattered to pieces. Shards of glass rained down on to the floor like tiny hailstones, each one bouncing slightly as they landed. Endless Horizon, completely untouched by the falling shards, knelt down, and after a moment of prodding she took a single piece of glass, and then stuffed it into a tiny leather pouch she wore around her neck. "Now the fun starts," Endless Horizon said with a snicker, as she clutched the pouch tightly above her heart. "What is the meaning of this?!" Princess Luna's voice echoed from down the hall. Slightly raising her head towards the Princess, Endless Horizon saw that Princess Luna was not alone, a small regiment of guards and her sister flanked her on all sides. To most ponies such a sight would be panic worthy, Endless Horizon did not even see it as a minor annoyance, and instead happily continued to ignore them.   "I asked you a question!" Princess Luna retorted, stomping her hoof in protest. "Luna calm down," Princess Celestia softly spoke, resting a soothing hoof on her sister's shoulder. "But she...very well," Princess Luna replied with a submissive sigh. "My name is Celestia, and this is my sister Luna," Princess Celestia said with an earnest smile. "What is your name?" Endless Horizon gawked at Celestia's question, never has anyone asked for her name, either it was know already or not worth knowing. Taking a moment to contemplate, Endless Horizon peered at the scattered shard's of glass, time was not a resource she could squander, but her curiosity was a desire she could never starve. "Endless Horizon, do not dare forget it," Endless Horizon solemnly replied, awarding Celestia with the contact of her gold and silver eyes. "Those are some very pretty eyes you have," Princess Celestia said, boasting yet another honest smile. "Why would a mare with such charm do such a ghastly thing?" "Do not patronize me," Endless Horizon sharply retorted. "I humor you simply because you are different, but do not mistake my curiosity for submission." "Humor; different; patronize, you say rather interesting things. Do you live in Canterlot, or are you a visitor?" Princess Celestia inquired almost eagerly. "Humph, my origins are of little concern," Endless Horizon said as she casually split her focus with the glass on the floor. "All I will say on the matter is my life involves much travel." "Oh, is that so? In our youth, my sister and I traveled many a mile. I'm sure you must have seen many memorable sights," Princess Celestia said, the nostalgia over taking her. "I've  seen a few, though my interests revolve around collecting rather than simply witnessing. Not to toot my own horn, but I've amassed quite a haul; a veritable treasure trove as it were," Endless Horizon replied, her ego now in full bloom. "I'm certain you have good tastes, but this begs the question. Why would a mare of such high status and culture perform petty vandalism?" Princess Celestia asked, at last coming full circle. "I retract my previous statement, you are more than interesting," Endless Horizon replied with a beaming smile. "Sadly I have to take my leave, but before I do, allow me to offer some advice; consider it a token of my gratitude. If I were you, I would move away from that doorway in about a minute or so. Well I'd best be going; ta ta." Before anypony could reply, Endless Horizon literally vanished into the air with a simple tap of her left fore hoof. Despite the shock of such a sight, Endless Horizon's last words were not lost to Princess Celestia, but as she made attempts to have them leave the hall something caught Luna's eye. The shards of glass littering the floor began to glow more vibrantly, far more than was possible from reflecting merely sunlight. The floor quickly resembled a mini-nebula of stars, and without warning each shard, as if animated, seeked out its closets sibling then merged. In seconds the broken glass amassed into abstract shapes that slowly took a life of their own, and continued to fuse. The mass grew and grew, first a massive clawed forearm took shape, then another, followed by two equally clawed legs, a long tail then thrashed about, a pair of wings flapped causing the door hinges to snap, and lastly a head sporting a pair of inverted horns upon its sides. The hall cracked and bellowed under the immense load, the ceiling fell down in chunks upon their heads, and with one mighty roar everything collapsed on itself. Princess Luna laid upon the rubble several feet below, unconscious but otherwise unharmed, whilst Princess Celestia and her guards looked down from the hall's former doorway. "Luna, are you alright?! Luna!" Princess Celestia called out in a panic. Without the slightest hesitation three of the five guards leaped down from their twenty foot ledge. Together they lifted Luna, and then slowly got her off the rubble onto the soft grass below. Less than a moment after they had secured Luna, the mountain of debris behind them was consumed by chromatic flames, and then immediately withered to ash. From the sooty mound rose a frightening, yet delightful sight. A dragon more than fifty feet tall loomed over their heads, its entire body from snout to tail was comprised of stain glass, it had no eyes, nostrils or ear holes, and around each piece of glass was thin metal thread as dark as wrought iron. Though devoid of the tools, this dragon's facilities were no less honed, even the slightest breath did not escape it. Princess Celestia was beside herself, her guards were primed to fight a dragon if need be, but there was no guarantee the conflict would remain sequestered within the castle walls. As Celestia muddled in her thoughts, the dragon gave out a rather soft yawn, its tone, contrary to its roar, was flat and uninspired. "Aaah, too bright," the dragon spoke, its voice lacked any emotion, yet boasted a feminine tone. "Ugh, covered in dirt too. What a chore." The dragon paid none of the others any mind, as she lurched out of the ash pile, and then gazed upward towards the Sun. "Begone," she simply said. Thick black clouds soon spawned forth and choked out the light in mere seconds. "Now rain," she commanded. For a second time the elements obeyed, and rain poured down washing away all the ash. "Enough, stop," she said, and so it was done. Princess Celestia's eyes were in awe, the shear magnitude displayed was just as she remembered more than a thousand years ago, and yet something felt off. "Your highness, what is your command?" one of the guards asked, his spear ready, and his body prepared to react to anything. "Do not get any ideas," Princess Celestia sternly spoke. "What you just saw was a parlor trick. If she desired it this entire city would be gone in a blink of an eye." "Please, no speak bad," the dragon said, as hundreds of cloths now polished her to a mirror finish. "I no like lesser insects. I primordial elite. I have class." "Well it is nice to see that your ego has not changed, Stoic Stasis," Princess Luna said as she struggled to her feet, her head still spinning a tad. "Pleasure to see you too," Stoic Stasis replied, promptly dismissing the cloths, and then clearing the skies as well. "Okay, now am ready. Fetch Star Swirl. Much to talk." //-------------------------------------------------------// Prologue //-------------------------------------------------------// Prologue Canterlot Castle was renowned for its grandeur and splendor. Every hall has a velvet carpet, every room was a master suite, and every balcony commands a gorgeous view. No structure in Canterlot comes close to the castle's iconic status, so it was no surprise to anypony that the castle would have its own secrets and legends. One of these myths focused on the exquisite stained glass windows in the Hall of History. Now these windows were all relatively new, barely five years old, but the glass they were comprised of was quite a ways old; antique, some would say. The way the myth goes was that before Canterlot Castle was even a decade old, there was a monster of sorts. This monster terrorized Equestria until Star Swirl the Bearded brought it down with one blow of his mighty magic. The monster did not die, but instead shattered into tiny glass shards. In his wisdom, Star Swirl knew that if left idle these shards would reconstitute in time, and so after much research, he learned of an enchantment that would render the shards inert. Once turned into harmless glass, the Princesses deemed it prudent to make use of them, and so they decreed that all momentous events would be immortalized in stain glass with these shards as the raw material. Few ponies believed in this old mare's tale, and it soon became all but forgotten. Now a days the windows served more as monuments to personal vanity than a proper compendium. However, there was a funny saying in Equestria, "Those who forget are cursed to repeat," and some secrets never remain so forever.